The Road to Metaphysically Me: From Tumor to Tumbles
The unexpected beginning of a spiritual journey and first hand experiences with the magic of crystals that eventually guided us to open a store where others could find their own path too.
Ali’s Certification Day 2/4/21 with Terri & Laura at the Long Island Healing Arts & Learning Center
Crystals Found Me on the Couch
In October of 2020, my doctor discovered a benign tumor the size of a golf ball pressing dangerously close to the ureter of my only kidney (I had donated my left one years earlier). So, there was no time to wait—it undeniably had to come out.
The timing, strangely, felt like grace. The year before had knocked me sideways: I lost my sweet, kind-hearted father, and I’d been managing a school-based OT program in the middle of the pandemic chaos. Now, laid up on my Long Island couch recovering from open surgery, the time-out offered a rare pause—space to feel, to breathe, and maybe heal more than just my body.
A Reading & Readers to Guide Me
On the heels of a particularly powerful reading with a medium I had waited a year to meet, I was craving something more—not necessarily to replicate another visit with my dad, but to peek through the veil and access untapped energies, supportive tools, and loving messages. I had read books, initiated searches, and eventually signed up for an online “Psychic Boot Camp” with the renowned author and medium Laura Lynne Jackson. What started as a curiosity quickly became a revelation. I devoured every topic she introduced—and when she spoke about crystals, I was utterly enchanted. She casually mentioned waving a selenite wand over her sleeping daughter to ease teenage angst, and I was hooked. I needed to know everything about these powerful sources of energy.
That was the Spark
Soon, I was scribbling furiously in notebooks, tuning into weekly live “QVC” with Madison of Open Eye Crystals (to me, the OG of crystal live sales), and earning my crystal certification with the lovely Teri & Laura through Long Island Healing Arts & Learning Center . Crystals became more than beautiful stones—they were keys to essential healing and intentional living. Anyone within my auric field was pulled into this magical world. Even my journals began to feel alive, filled with lists of properties, experiences, and synchronicities.
The universe, it seemed, wasn’t done aligning things…
Around the same time, my best friend Patty—an essential worker who never stopped—was forced to slow down after contracting what she referred to as “Corona Light” (COVID without symptoms). Although symptomless, the time down became unbearable when her husband of 18 years chose that moment to walk out and pursue another woman. Shattered, Patty became a mainstay in our everyday lives, and we found solace in rituals, card pulls, crystal meditations, and long, soul-healing conversations. The crystals weren’t just “working”—they were holding us. Patty and I rarely had the same days off, and it seemed the universe had literally cleared our schedules to do nothing else but learn and heal together.
Before long, birthdays meant crystal gifts, headaches were met with intuitive layouts, and every full moon became a reason to cleanse stones and set intentions. Even my husband began to get involved—first quietly, then with purpose. He started carrying stones in his pocket, and I encouraged him to create his first vision board. It still lives as the wallpaper on his phone today—and remarkably, most of it has long since come true.
My son was somewhat sheltered from the crystal wildfire that had started back home. Safely away at college, Connor was only affected on holidays and visits when I would plant carefully curated crystals on his windowsill and under his pillow. Shannon, however had a front row seat: I had transformed an entire downstairs closet into a treatment room with a sound system and waterfall feature and she had become a guinea pig for my crystal healings after a rough day. I still love to watch this TikTok on my very small selection of TikToks of her POV of my shift:
And then, something truly wild happened
Ian had long dreamed of working in the boating industry—a passion seeded in childhood and quietly nurtured over the years. He came from a long line of entrepreneurs, tinkerers, and hands-on thinkers. But by this point, he was a licensed electrician with an established business and deeply rooted as an elected official in the village where we lived. He had literally built our home with his own two hands and we felt firmly anchored in New York.
Then, out of nowhere, a business in the marine industry that he had admired from afar was listed for sale. In Florida. Over 1,000 miles away. He turned to me (on the couch, lol) and told me that if he didn’t at least look at it, he would spend a lifetime wondering about it.
Armed with 3 stones:
I selected three of my most favorite crystals to give to Ian for his trip: Citrine for abundance, manifestation, and fulfillment; Green Aventurine for opportunity, leadership, and alignment; and Clear Quartz to amplify and help him get clear about who he is and who he would like to become.
He flew down to meet the inventor. After hours of conversation, he called me with a list of pros and cons. All of the cons, he admitted, were fear-based. We decided together that he would JUST DO IT. We didn’t know the how, but we trusted the signs and the chance.
And that, dear reader, is how quickly crystals can work—and how, with them, our close-by (and other worldly) loved ones plus a lot of faith, we leapt into a completely new life.
To be Continued…..
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