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Emily Maultsby of Emily Rose Gems: Five Things We Can Do To Develop Serenity And Support Each Other During These Anxious Times

My business isn’t really about jewelry, it’s about self care, and using the natural world around us to promote our own happiness. I want people to think about my collection as a “toolbox,” a set of natural tools, that can be used for emotional regulation. Each one does something different. I design my jewelry so that the stones that work well together can be combined. And all of it is meant to enhance your life.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Maultsby.

Emily is a “jackie-of-all trades” creative, wife to a photographer turned software engineer, mother to three young boys. She started her own business [Emily Rose Gems] as an answer to the dilemma that faces all mothers: the desire to be with her family, while also finding some meaningful existence that gave her a way to help others outside her home, while making connections and finding strength in mastery.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

My own personal history of mental health challenges and treatment, using hundreds of hours of group therapy and training in DBT has given me tools that I want to share with others and my gemstones are the way I do this.

DBT’s main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. I have extended this concept to use gemstones as a constant reminder to return to the present — and look good too.

My business isn’t really about jewelry, it’s about self care, and using the natural world around us in a way that promotes happiness.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Building a real community where we share our life experiences and how each of us relates to the gemstones in similar ways makes me feel part of something bigger.

I designed this one rose quartz ring when I started. The combination of the style and gemstone of the ring was to emphasize the stone’s innate power of encouraging self-love. I thought to myself “I’ll never wear this ring, I’m designing it for someone else.” But when I got the sample and put it on, it awakened my feelings of inner beauty and self-worth. The effect was magical. Such a specific and clear message. I fell in love with that ring that day, and since I have started selling that ring, and heard from customers that they have had that same experience with it, it just blows my mind.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

I’ve joined together with true friends, one located in India, with whom I can share a cohesive vision. Work with people who share your passion, and who you simply like and trust..

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I loved the combination of science, photography and medicine in “The Hidden Messages in Water” by Dr. Masaru Emoto. I found his message inspirational, that something so simple, water, could actually be mystical and powerful. I also admired his bravery in dedicating his life’s work to this avant-garde study. He followed his heart, regardless of being labeled foolish. My passion is the power of gemstones.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

Being mindful means finding peace and joy in small moments. Doing one thing at a time, and doing it well.

Trying to remain in the present moment is hard. My business is built around a method that I have developed to enable me and others to achieve mindfulness.

I associate each gemstone ring, necklace and pendant with an emotional intent. If I wear the gemstone on my hand, it is a constant reminder of that intent. If I wear the gemstone on my neck (or chest) then I find it more soothing and protective. Each time I touch or see the gemstone(s) it brings me back to the present.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

Let me go back to something I mentioned earlier, how I used DBT as a tool to achieve balance.

According to the Linehan Institute: “Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others.” I have extended this concept to use gemstones as a constant reminder to return to the present — and look good too.

Mindfulness shares a core with the objectives of DBT.

When I am mindful, my anxiety dissipates. I slow down and experience life as it is happening, growing appreciation for the small things around me. I find satisfaction, and feel more complete. I find that every day activities, washing my face, making the bed, doing the dishes, become a healing ritual. The busy pace of the modern world can blind us to how important this is.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. The past 5 years have been filled with upheaval and political uncertainty. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the pandemic have only heightened a sense of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to develop mindfulness during such uncertain times? Can you please share a story or example for each.

Here are the first five steps I take every day that support my own quest for mindfulness. With a little practice, one can learn to live most of their days in a mindful state. The stress of the last year has made this incredibly important for me and for others.

1. I Wake up and stretch. Check in with my body, how does it feel?

2. I make the bed. And not in a hurried way, but actually make it. With extra pillows even. Make it look nice, so that at the end of the day, I will feel like someone wanted me to feel special when I put my tired body back into bed. I think about my future gratefulness, and about the good rest my bed gave me.

3. I wash my face and brush my teeth. I think only of the way it feels to rub away sleep and polish myself clean. I use products that feel and smell good and bring me joy.

4. I dress in clothes that make me feel happy. Natural fabrics that feel good to wear. Clothes that make sense for my day, but also make me feel put together and confident.

5. And finally, I put on some gemstones! I put a couple of rings on my left hand — which according to ayurvedic medicine is my “feeling” hand. I choose stones with my gut, my sacral chakra, letting it guide me toward colors and shapes that stand out to me, begging to be held. Throughout my day when I need a distraction, or a moment of peace, I will look down at my hand, and feel soothed.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

Begin by listening. Don’t reply with your own story, or advice. Just listen, and validate. Say “wow, that sounds really hard. I’m here for you. Tell me what you need.”

Next, encourage their inner artist. By helping people make art, especially my kids, they can find mindfulness and peace. Sometimes people just need to be handed the right tools: a rock and a sharpie oil paint marker are a great combo to help someone calm down and focus.

Third, I’ll use nature. Offer to go for a walk in the woods, assist with gardening, foraging, going to the beach. Even just sitting together under a tree.

Fourth, gifting a gemstone. Sometimes you can’t get out into nature, so for those times, hand someone struggling a gemstone to hold. Shells and rocks work well too if there isn’t a gemstone handy.

Fifth, I encourage them to do something nice for someone else. Sometimes we get so stuck in our own troubles, that we forget that so many of us are struggling. Bake cookies or muffins and share them with a friend. Get out of your own head and reach out.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

That’s exactly what I’m trying to accomplish. The gemstones are the natural resources that can be used to make mindfulness easier and “more natural.”

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

My quote is actually printed on the inside of my boxes. “Wear it in good health.” This is something I started saying to customers at fairs, when I first started selling my jewelry. I felt that it encapsulated my mission, which was to encourage people to focus on their health, and to instill the stones with their hopefulness and faith. By charging gemstones with our positive intentions they become a catalyst for our healing.

I subsequently learned from my dad that his mom used to say this in Yiddish “trog gezunterhait” when giving a gift. She passed away when I was just two. I love to believe that was more than a coincidence.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

My business isn’t really about jewelry, it’s about self care, and using the natural world around us to promote our own happiness.

I want people to think about my collection as a “toolbox,” a set of natural tools, that can be used for emotional regulation. Each one does something different. I design my jewelry so that the stones that work well together can be combined. And all of it is meant to enhance your life.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

I’m on instagram obsessively. @emilyrosegems

I also have a website, of course www.emilyrosegems.com

And look me up on clubhouse! I love to chat.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Thank you so much for this opportunity!


Emily Maultsby: Five Things We Can Do To Develop Serenity And Support Each Other During These… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.