Simple gift for an ill loved one?

I just found out my grandmother went to the hospital and had several heart attacks tonight. It was completely unexpected, but she never lost consciousness and seems to be stable at the time. More testing will be done tomorrow.

I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for her. I've been very successful in whatever I've pursued and it's because of the time and many sacrifices she made for me when I was growing up. She's always been there for me when I need her and I know I can still call her anytime for anything.

So... I am extremely interested in alternative healing, etc. but am new to it. I've been watching the room for months, picking up bits and pieces, but need advice as to some gift I can give her to possibly help.

Is there a stone with metaphysical properties for good health? Please give me any ideas you may have and send prayers, positive energy, thoughts, light, anything her way. I truly appreciate any help I can get. I know how helpful this group is, so thanks in advance!

:grouphug:
Jake

I hope she recovers quickly.

An ancient Greek method was to place an earthen bowl with soil next to the patient. Today, it survives as potted plants given to patients. The bowl should be a little flat and wide-mouthed. The soil should be from a fertile area (not potting soil) like a field or grove of trees. The patient, when feeling pain, places his/her hand in the soil and asks that the earth absorb the pain and illness. After a few days (usually when it dries out..3 days), the soil is taken back to where it was extracted and replaced, with a simple prayer of thanks to Mother Earth, and more earth is taken. The process is repeated until the person leaves the hospital or starts to feel much better.

The thought behind this is that we are from the earth, therefore, when pain or suffering is too great for our human coil, She, who gave us life, will repair our bodies.

Brightest Blessings.

Also, remember, positive thoughts can't hurt! :)

I will bring her a plant with some soil from my parent's back yard and place it in the earthen bowl. I will explain to her the significance of this gift as it will make it special to her knowing I put such care into it, but I don't know if she will take the advice given she's not usually open to alternative things. I also can't be there to replace the soil, but I know this will brighten her day. It will make me feel better, too. Thanks for the great advice! I look forward to hearing more great ideas and will be doing some more of my own research too!

:hug:

It's why, at some of the worst times in my life, I spent time outside stretched out on the dirt in my garden, allowing the stress, strain, anguish, and/or pain to drain out, wrapped in my mother's arms.

I had no idea but, wow, that makes so much sense! I hope to remember that for lots of purposes.

Go, hold her hands, massage them gently, send positive energy through them. Bring some mild-scented lotion to rub into them, if you want and it's okay with her.
The loving touch of a family member can be the best gift of all.

sending her love and positive energy. Also, for both of you, telling her how much you love her and how important she is in your life. My family always stressed works over words, but I think it is very important to say it as well, and wish I had been able to talk intimately with my mother before she died, to tell her how grateful I am that she was/is my mother and how thankful I am for all she gave me.

His arms were so beat up from all the needles. He was semi-conscious, but seemed to bliss out. :D

That is one stone that has a ton of healing energy in it. Not saying it's going to "cure" anyone of anything, but the sick people I know who have worked with it have seen a distinct improvement in mood. And I really like it. Blue kyanite is also said to have certain healing properties, and is easier to find than black, but I love black. Good luck.

I understand there are no guarantees with anything and don't expect a miracle, although I do believe in them. Small things like this mean so much and will hopefully bring her some comfort. Thanks!

best gift you can give a beloved family member who is ill, is the simple gift of just being fully present with them. LISTEN to their stories, their pain, their fear, without having to fix them or make things better.

There are lots of other, more practical ways you can provide support, as well...ranging from helping with meal prep, taking her to doctors' appts, doing her laundry and shopping.

You sound like a caring and compassionate grandson. I'm sure she loves you very much. Best wishes to you both.

:hug:
Shine

take a recording device and let her record her life.

When my mom was ill my brother had the foresight to give her a tape recorder and asked her to tell us about her life. We knew she was born to a single mom and was raised by her grandmother before being sent off to Indian boarding schools. We knew the outline of her life but there was so much more that we didn't know.

At first she said "she wasn't dead yet and had no intention of dying any time soon" and pushed the recorder away. He then basically told her what she meant to him and the rest of us kids. He told her all of us have known her as mom and she was with us at every step of the way, even after we had gone out to make our own lives. He told her she had affected everything in his life from how he combs his hair to his favorite foods but none of us knew what made her tick much less how she was able to put up with all of us kid and have a full-time career. He told her we knew so little of her and wanted to know where her strength came from. After some reluctance she finally started using the recorder. We'd ask her a few questions to get her talking. After a while she started using it as a personal journal to fill in gaps of stories she had recorded earlier when we were in the room or to make sure we understood who our relatives were and how we were related. Sometimes she'd see something on TV or saw a picture in a magazine that triggered a memory that she wanted to share so she'd pull out the recorder. In the last few months mom was in and out of comas. She'd ocassionally say something while she was comatose and we'd ask her about it later when she was back with us.

Mom also used the recorder to tell us about the pictures in her photo albums. You know, all that stuff that you think you know but will never remember. She'd tell us where the picture was taken, if it was a special event, who the people were and stuff that happened that wasn't caught on film. She has since passed on but we've got tapes of mom telling us everything she wanted to tell us to know.

Now for the reason I suggest this, the best gift you can give her is to let her know how important she is in your life by giving her an opportunity to share hers. It also gives her an opportunity to appreciate how her life has affected yours in so many positive ways. Giving my mom a tape recorder and asking her about her life gave her a way to sort through her life and helped me understand what's important in my own. Doing the tapes brought each of us kids closer to our mom. We're transferring the tapes to CDs so each of us will have a copy. It is something we can give her grandkids so they will also know this remarkable woman who inspired everyone she met.

Though I would find it awkward to present to a hospital patient, I think. Depending on the circumstance, I guess.

I've wanted to give my grandmother a recorder for a few years.
She has so many stories I would love to have preserved.

What a treasure you have!

As time went on we'd make recordings of my nieces and nephews for her to listen to when there wasn't anything on television or she'd gone through the video tapes we took to her. Three of my brothers would make her tapes and send them to her. This way she could hear from the family (and a particular family member) whenever she wanted. It was a stress reliever in many ways. My siblings would sometimes freak out when they'd call my mom's room and she wasn't there or they'd call and wake her up. She had tapes she'd listen to over and over again like the comments of my nephew after his softball team won their first game. A lot of times she'd watch a tape of his game while listening to the audio tape. She came to love that tape recorder.

The tapes are a treasure in so many ways. My great aunt was just a couple of years older than my mom so they grew up together. I never really got a chance to know her while I was growing up and being around her for very long was always uncomfortable. I'd spent hours in her company when I was growing up but the conversations were always stifled and stuffy. She and mom rarely talked for long in front of us kids and when they did it was about child rearing and who was teething. We usually left them alone and played with our cousins. She had nine boys and my mom had the ten of us so whenever they got together (I learned from the tapes) it was nothing but bawdy talk and gossip. From the tapes I knew that this was a woman that I wanted to know better. Anyway, several years after mom passed on I spent a week with her aunt. When we got some time alone I mentioned I had a problem with sugar ants and said my mom had told me a story about when they were growing up and had a similar problem. Omigod, my great-aunt started laughing and told me the same story my mom had related but from her perspective. She then went on to tell me a lot more about mom. In short, my mom's stories have broken a lot of barriers and brought me closer to the people who were important in her life.

We also got her to record recipes. She wasn't one for writing recipes down. She'd memorize recipes in magazines or the newspaper and never saved them. If we didn't have the recordings we wouldn't have been able to make some of her traditional holiday goodies. That's one of the great thing about the tapes is that my mom had an incredible memory. She was a party activist and had to remember names, dates, etc. She was also great at Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy.

Some of the best tapes are the ones that go along with the photo albums. Otherwise none of us would have a clue who a lot of those people are and why we have pictures of them.

I'll send some healing energy. :hug: I would also advise you send some as well. When my grandfather was dying of cancer I sent as much as I could to him. He ended up dying but I hope it helped him some. :\ But check out your local New Age store if you have one in town and see what they offer. Or maybe there is something special to you like a charm you can put on a necklace and energize it with your energy (positive healing energy which is green) and you can give it to your grandmother to wear.