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Working with Indigo

In my homeopathic practice in the UK I am always delighted to work with children and their families. Over the last few years, more and more of these children could be called indigo - even crystal and, in one case, rainbow.

I have recently become part of a wonderful step-family, and acquired a new niece who is 13 and very musical. At the weekend, we were snuggled up on the sofa together and she said "Aunty Linda, can you tell me anything about indigo crystal children?" I asked why she wanted to know and she told me that earlier in the week at school, one of her teachers stopped her in the corridor and said 'you're an indigo crystal child'!

This made me very hopeful that the word is out, and that it is not only the complementary health therapists and 'special' schools who are learning about these children and how to help them.

One of the ways I help these children and their families is to introduce them to the Indigo Essences. These were created in Ireland by a lady called Ann Callaghan, who has two autistic nephews. They liked to sit on the floor of her homeopathic consulting room playing with the collection of assorted crystals and gemstones she had acquired over the years.

A few years ago they announced to her that she should be making medicines out of the gems. "And why would I do that?" she wanted to know. They told her to put the stones into water in the sunshine till the magic from the stones went into the water, then give doses of the water to "other children like us". Luckily for the many people who have benefited from her essences, she did as she was told and from there developed a whole range of gem essences with names like: Chill, Sleep Easy, Invisible Friend and The Works.

The Indigo Essences can be used by the whole family and are not limited to indigo kids. I don't prescribe these in the sense of telling people which ones they need, but direct the family to Ann's website so they can learn and choose for themselves.

One thought about indigo kids is that they simply will not brook falsity of any kind; they have a kind of radar for lies and sops. Adults aren't always comfortable with children who look them straight in the eye with complete honesty. So often it isn't a case of changing the child but creating understanding in the adults around them.

That said, I believe that indigo kids are extremely sensitive and can't filter out the things which make them uncomfortable and fearful. We can certainly take the edge off this with homeopathic remedies and essences, and I have also been able to use Emotional Freedom Technique to reduce anxieties, fears and phobias.

For example, I saw a nine year old girl who was terrified of going downstairs in the normal fashion. She only felt safe if she turned round, lay down on her tummy, and went down feet first, slithering like a snake. This behaviour vanished with her first prescription. Her terror of public performance disappeared with the Indigo Essence "No Fear" and she was able to take her turn in a school assembly, which thrilled and empowered her - at the same time, she asked to have the stabilisers removed from her bicycle and was triumphant at this achievement. She stopped wetting her bed and was so proud when the protective waterproof cover was removed from her mattress, and Mum bought her a pretty new nightdress. I heard from Mum recently, because in September came the ultimate test: moving up to "big" school: "MJ has moved up to secondary school, and it really couldn't have gone better - I just want to show her off to you, she's doing so well. We had clearly done a good job on the preparation, both at school and at home, because she was actually excited rather than worried about moving up, and once there has settled in so quickly it's not true. You've seen her, and you'll be stunned by the difference."

I think it's important to note that I don't think it was just the homeopathic remedies that made that difference, but reducing her fear levels enabled a host of changes and allowed this child to be receptive to all the other input she was receiving from parents and school. Her Mum was brilliant at finding tools which would increase MJ's feelings of security and safety, such as guided visualisation CDs which assisted in relaxing, soothing and reassuring her to the extent that she was able to sleep alone. This meant she could have her own bedroom which became her sanctuary, and the whole family reaped the benefits of reducing the friction with her sisters which inevitably arose from sharing a bedroom.

Homeopathic prescribing is individualised and each case needs to be discussed in detail to arrive at the remedies which will help. In general though, I usually find that indigo kids are not particularly 'grounded' - they seem to hold their awareness in very refined spaces, disconnected from their bodies. It usually helps to give them remedies made from trees, creating roots and a connection to our planet, which stabilises them. I also like remedies made from rocks, gems and crystals, which seem to lend the children a structure. This makes sense when you remember that rocks and stones are very much of the earth and have a defined molecular structure themselves. Many of the homeopathic remedies which help indigo kids aren't in the old books but have been evolved in the late 20th and early 21st century, as if in perfect time for them to be understood and used by homeopaths and these 'new' children.

I recently heard from the mother of a crystal child in my care that his Steiner school teacher had recommended that he wear clothing that kept him snug - elastic waistbands and T-shirts tucked in - in order to help him be aware of his body and help him to feel contained and safe. This was a new idea to me, but again I can see how important it is for adults to recognise that much 'indigo' behaviour comes from being so open and sensitive that it creates overwhelm of the senses, resulting in a fear response or complete withdrawal.

Understanding this leads to a comprehension of the need in many indigo kids for routine; it is one of the ways they stay 'safe' - hence their devastation when anything unpredictable occurs. The Bach flower essence 'Walnut' has two purposes. It helps people adapt to change such as a house move or change of school, and it protects them from outside influences like peer pressure.

There are many approaches to helping these kids and I recommend also taking into account their sensitivity to toxicity (there is a great deal of nutritional advice for example, but in practice this can be impossible when you are dealing with a child who will only eat certain foods approved by themselves)! Again, reducing fear levels and the consequent resistance to change can make them braver about trying new foods.

Vaccination is an extremely contentious issue, but I will put my neck on the block and say that indigo children are susceptible to the ill-effects of vaccination. If the child was vaccinated and seemed to get worse afterwards, it can help to put them through a homeopathic de-tox of those vaccines.

At a basic physical health level homeopathy is my treatment of choice. I provide an account of the difference that good prescribing made to a very frail child in the case studies provided on my website here.

Posted on October 17, 2008 07:22 PM

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