Crystals have been universally regarded as valuable and a source of protection and healing. The ancient
Egyptians were known to use Lapis Lazuli to prevent gallstones and feelings of melancholy. In Ayurveda, gemstones like Rose Quartz correspond with the heart chakra to promote lovingness, peace, self-love, forgiveness, and beauty. In the 60’s and 70’s US, crystals represented the “new age” as Americans adopted non-Western philosophies, holistic practices, and spirituality as an antithesis to materialism and consumerism in society. Today, crystal-healing is a blend of all those beliefs.
For the average crystal lover, we are all about setting our intentions, burning some sage, and collecting crystals for healing. We get the rose quartz to promote love, maybe some red quartz to improve circulation for our health, and perhaps some amethyst to help get rid of that insomnia.
With all the renewed interest, it begs the question. Do crystals work? Is crystal-healing real? Given the vast following of believers, there’s gotta be something more to these rocks. There’s a lot of research on the science, pseudoscience, and spirituality of crystal-healing. Although I can’t speak for ions and electromagnetic energy fields, I can say that, after examining my own experiences, I believe in crystal-healing. Here’s why how I’ve seen crystals heal the mind, body, and soul.
MIND
The fascinating nature of crystals has power by engaging your thoughts and redirecting mental energy and creating a path for clearer thinking.
Meditation, mindfulness, mental clarity are all buzzwords we regularly hear. Meditation is the method in which to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness, in simplistic terms, is focusing attention to the present, allowing us to forget whatever angst-inducing thoughts we have swirling about in our heads. With the noise and clutter out of the way, we have made way for mental clarity.
Crystals are kind of like an accessory to enhance the overall process. A lot of crystal-healing resources talk about the different “properties” of stones that help with one thing or another. You can wear it, use it as decor, have it by your bedside. Regardless of the type of stone, by surrounding yourself with these calming and aesthetically pleasing crystals, you’re effectively creating a space, or a gateway, that better enables the meditative process.
Why, though? Why are crystals universally regarded as calming and healing? I like to believe it’s the otherworldly nature of crystals. Consider for a minute the amount of time, energy, and pressure required from the earth to transform raw elements into minerals. It’s kind of like when you think about space. It blows your mind a little. It’s no wonder the composition, rarity, size, and color of gemstones are highly valued.
The otherworldly nature of crystals stoke mental curiosity and interest, aka fascination. And I believe fascination can be mindful. By honoring the act of fascination, that child-like whimsy, and mental wonder, we inadvertently shift our focus and redirect our mental energy.
For me, my crystal fascination had the power to inspire an interest in other mindful activities like jewelry making and lapidary arts. As my thoughts shifted into the details of creation, I could let go of a lot of swirling, unproductive thinking. The more I engaged, the more the mental fog had lifted. Plus, by learning new skills and putting myself out there creatively in new ways, I had new-found confidence. Which eventually translated into other things like making fewer reactive, fear-based decisions and developing more positive self-speak to squash those self-limiting beliefs.
SPIRIT
Beautiful crystals activate your “aesthetic emotions” stirring new energy
I recently came across an article that explored the concept of aesthetic emotions. Wikipedia defines aesthetic emotions as “emotions that are felt during aesthetic activity or appreciation. These emotions may be of the everyday variety (such as fear, wonder or sympathy) or may be specific to aesthetic contexts.” I can’t help but apply this concept to crystals.
As mentioned earlier, there’s something aesthetically interesting and mysterious about crystals, especially when considering how its shape is formed. The natural “aesthetic” of crystals seems to draw on the emotions. What I mean by that is that more often than not, crystals elicit feelings of wonder, pleasure, curiosity, or interest…newly piqued feelings. And by the stirring of these emotions comes new energy. We all know that for a change in matter to occur, energy must be added or subtracted. With these new crystal energies, there’s an opportunity to displace and let go of old energy that no longer serves a useful purpose.
The real-life application of this concept can take many forms. For example, I attended a funeral a few years ago. My very close friend’s mother had passed. She came from an incredibly tight-knit family, so the loss was felt hugely across her entire clan. After the ceremony, one of her young sons came to sit with me. At this point, the duties of the ceremony were over, and all the emotions from the service had been expressed. He told me how much he liked my necklace. The kid was enamored by the crystal. His eyes were kind of glossed over, lost in fascination as he played with it. As the young man directed his energy into the crystal, it offered a momentary release from the emotions of the day, and you could see his energy renew. Metaphorical or not, the crystal provided a tiny moment in which to invite new energy, release some of the old, and start the process of healing.
BODY
The mind-body connection is real. Use crystals to heal your mind and spirit, so that physical healing can start to manifest.
The mind-body connection is very real and very powerful. There are numerous studies and articles with evidence supporting the connection. I once read something about how emotions could change water molecules. Without even getting into all that, the most basic examples of mind-body connection are things like a racing heart when you are anxious and scared. Tension headaches. The tension in mind literally creates a physical ache in your head. Or the act of becoming physically “turned on” by lustful thoughts. Yep, the mind is powerful. With a healthy mind and a healthy spirit, physical healing can finally start. What does that have to do with crystals?
Well, the year I started making crystal jewelry was the year that I found a breast lump and was diagnosed with an ulcer. It might be easy to construe the idea that crystals made me ill. But, it was, in fact, the opposite.
Earlier, I talked about the unique ways crystals can improve mind and spirit and how engaging in the act of “fascination” could help redirect thoughts into mindful activities. Because I had something that captured my interest, I didn’t need all the external factors like shopping, partying, or destructive activities to distract me. I was able to eliminate a lot of clutter of the mind and gain some clarity. It was at this point that I had space to think and to make mindful choices. I took an intentionally slower and calmer approach to life which in turn gave me time to pay attention and listen to my body.
I now had the time and mental energy to really take action and figure out what was going on. After consulting with multiple doctors, it turns out, it wasn’t a chronic sore throat and flu. It was an ulcer in my throat. I had been moving so fast, stressed, and taking on a diet filled with food that I didn’t even realize I had sensitivities to. I didn’t make the connection on how it physically impacted me. Then, I discovered the breast lump. Don’t worry; it wound up being benign. But, it was an overwhelming couple of months getting mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies scheduled in between meetings during the work day and wondering and reading way too much WebMD. I managed to keep it together professionally and emotionally. I managed not to flip out on anyone at work. I took all the proper steps to figure out what was going on. But, it took mental and emotional strength. And I only had that strength in my reserve because, yep, crystals. They are magic.
