June 2006 FEATURED ARTICLE
FREDERICKA FAIRCHILD, M.A.:
Everyday spiritual practice...
by Boyd Martin
Delightfully astute, beautifully gracious, and very tuned in, Fredericka Fairchild has consequently developed an adoring international clientèle of truthseekers. Her abilities to mirror a person's truth back to them in a loving way, and her therapeutic use of gemstone elixirs have combined to create a long track record of successes, even for the most difficult and complex of psychologies. "There are healthy ways to fully experience the entire spectrum of emotion from anger, fear, and grief to hopelessness," says Fredericka. "It depends on recognizing that all emotions belong to you and are not caused by, or due to the behavior of others. When we let go of self-justification, blame and or victim consciousness we are free to fully experience what is in our hearts."
Fredericka began her public metaphysical odyssey in 1976, in New York City, when an astrology client with a TV studio set her down in front of cameras, and produced a local weekly show, "The Astrologer's Way." Every week a mover and shaker in some New York industry would consent to coming on the show and having their astrological chart read by Fredericka. She would also tune the audience in to the astrological energies of the week.
The show was a great success, and launched Fredericka's private practice internationally, thanks to the global crossroads of New York City. "I was just doing the show for fun," says Fredericka. "I was too young to understand all the concepts around promotion and production, but it allowed me to walk the talk, and was a tremendous educational opportunity."
Persistantly dedicated to her pursuit of knowledge, she completed degrees in Philosophy, Cognitive Developmental Psychology, and Clinical Psychology. Then, she went much deeper into esoteric metaphysical studies, apprenticing under famed New York intuitive and metaphysician, Rev. Phyllis Woodbury. Woodbury represented a Western mysticism lineage that included Alice Bailey, Dion Fortune, and H.P. Blavatsky--as Fredericka says, "I did the traditional, old-fashioned. esoteric mystical training."
As much of Western mysticism had its roots in Tibet, Fredricka sought out apprenticeships with Tibetan Buddhist Lamas (including H.H. The Dalai Lama), completing initiations in these ancient studies. With her wide-ranging knowledge of these esoteric traditions, she has been able to integrate it into her clinical psychology practice, and has been the "go-to" therapist for difficult cases sent to her by her peers. "People will be sitting with me and say, 'Where is this all coming from? It's so amazing.' It's coming from having practiced and studied on the intangible field of knowledge. So yes, I went to grad school, yes, I'm well-read, yes, I studied esoteric texts, but truthfully what rounded it off was this extra- dimensional instruction."
The "extra-dimensional" instruction Fredericka refers to is the Western and Eastern esoteric meditation practice of sitting with a symbol, a color, or a gemstone, and remaining mentally and emotionally clear and open to the teachings available to those who can hear them.
Much of Fredericka's practice deals with finding a person's "essential self," the part of them that is the experiencer and director of the life. This Essential Self is the essence of the expression of a person, and is what comes out when the person is self-realized. Experiencing this can have profound psychological effects. "Half of our misery--if not more--is that our essential self is trapped and doesn't have any expression," declares Fredericka. "I've sat with people who burst into tears in the moment of the recognition when we have that talk. That they've waited their whole life to somehow know and recognize what I'm speaking about. It was so primordial, so non-verbal, that they couldn't land on it. The miraculous is the discovery of something that you don't know you know."
As Fredericka delved deeply into Tibetan metaphysics, she inevitably came upon the tenets of Tibetan Medicine. It is a very pure, clear and concise system based on the Five Elements (air, fire, water, earth and space), and within this context, Fredericka deeply studied the properties and therapeutic effects of gemstone and flower elixirs.
Around 1980, Fredericka discovered Gem Elixirs and Vibrational Healing, by Gurudas. She poured through the dense study offered by the book, and became deeply inspired to create her own elixir laboratory. "I had a dream I'd have my own laboratory, and it came true!" enthuses Fredericka. "I highly recommend the Gurudas book to anyone interested in understanding essences in general. If you're really serious, it's the bible of the industry." Fredericka created her own line of gemstone and flower essence elixirs available at www.dailyelixir.com.