It’s more than just plopping a crystal on your nightstand

Steps to carefully select and work with the crystal that’s right for you

It’s the third week of the month which means I am writing about crystals! In the context of the Brow Chakra month, I will share with you tips to intuitively choose crystals that can work with your vibes and help you on your spiritual journey.

I carry a small amount of crystals for sale in my healing centre.  People often come looking for a specific crystal because they have read in a book that the crystal could help with such-and-such an issue. Newbies to crystal work might even believe that placing a crystal in a certain area of their home or on their bodies might be sufficient to heal specific issues. People working with the brow chakra, for instance, might be looking for amethyst, clear quartz and lapis lazuli.  (I do have a few nice specimens waiting to find a home!)

But I’m not a “by-the-book” kinda gal.  I don’t believe that because an author says that you should work with a specific crystal means that it’s right for you.  There are many generalizations and assumptions in books.  You are not a general assumption - you are a unique soul with a unique vibe, and it’s best to find out what works best with you, specifically.  Use the books as general guidelines, but trust your intuition in making your selection.

While it is true that the vibes of crystals can help enhance certain areas of your body-mind-spirit personal vibes, nothing replaces inner work.  Moreover, I learned through experience that crystals are a bit like people, or pets, in the sense that each crystal has its unique frequency or personality.  Not all chunks of amethyst or clear quartz are calibrated to work with your vibes.  It’s important to find the right crystal that can best work for you, in your particular issue.  It’s even more important to go to the root of the issue for greater healing and increased awareness.

For example, someone might want to work on opening up their Third Eye and increase clairvoyant abilities.  But even if the “want” is there, this person feels fearful.  The fear might be rooted in a lack of skills pertaining to grounding and protection.  Or it might be rooted in adopted social negative beliefs about people who are psychic.  Either way, the Third Eye will not open up until the root issues are healed.  Stare at Amethyst all you want.  It’s just not happening.

Ugh.  That means finding inner peace or increased financial flow is not as simple as plopping a crystal on your nightstand.  There’s work involved.  So what are the guidelines?

1. Go within to find what aspect of your life you would like to enhance.  Do you want to increase your Love magnetism?  Increase psychic abilities?  Find forgiveness?  Feel grounded?  Increase prosperity?  Clearly define what you truly want.  Then ask yourself why this is what you truly want?  What is the core feeling or value behind this want?  Is there a hurt behind this?  Or social pressure, or a sense of accomplishment or peace? (An intuitive session can help you with this task)
2. Listen to your intuition when you select a crystal helper.  Hold your “what” and your “why” within your heart and mind as you shop, and allow your body’s wisdom to tell you if a crystal is right for the job.  To do this:

• Hold the crystal in your receptive hand (if you’re right handed, your receptive hand is your left hand).  If the crystal is too heavy for one hand, such as a big chunk of amethyst, use both hands to hold the crystal to your heart, or to touch the crystal on its display.  
• Connect with the crystal through your senses - feel its weight, see its colours, feel its shape and the qualities of its surface (is it rugged, sharp, smooth, cool to the touch…).  This is an intuitive way to say “hello”.
• Holding your “what” and “why” in your mind and heart, ask the crystal if it is willing to work with you on this particular issue.  Ask it to give you its response through your body and your intuition.
• Close your eyes, and allow your body to give you the crystal’s answer.  With a “yes” answer, your body might sway forward.  You might sense a pulse in your hand chakra coming from the crystal as it activates.  You might even feel an opening or melting in your heart and mind, similar to when you see a new kitten or puppy.  A “no” answer feels very different.  The crystal’s energy might zap you (that happened to me once; it was very painful!); your body might sway backwards; you might hear a “no”; the crystal might feel too heavy, forcing you to place it back on the shelf; or you might feel a closing in the heart chakra.  
• Thank the crystal, and thank your body.  Respect the answer you received.  If the crystal gave you a “yes” answer, then adopt it and bring it home.  If it’s a “no” answer, then thank it and place it back lovingly on the shelf.
• This process can take a while, especially if you receive a few “no” answers before finding “the one”.  Give yourself enough time to shop, look around and feel the crystals.  It’s best when you feel relaxed and open.  Avoid rushing.

3.  Once your crystal is home, cleanse it under water, using sage smoke, or placing it in a bowl of sea salt.  Some crystals can be left in sunshine or moonlight, but remember that sunshine can be too harsh for many of these minerals who have been, after all, cocooned in the darkness of the Earth for thousands of years.  Amethyst, for instance, will loose its beautiful purple colouring if left in direct sunlight.

4.  Hold your crystal in meditation, or place it in front of you as you gently gaze at it.  Use it as a gateway to your inner consciousness, and as a key to ancient wisdom.  Ask questions.  Go deeper in your “what” and your “why”.  Ask about your next right step in your journey to healing.  Is there something - an emotion, a thought pattern, a habit - that needs to be released?  Is there a specific action for you to take?  Is there an option available to you that is more in alignment with your vibes and with your divine plan?  Does it want to be activated as part of a crystal grid?

5.  Thank your crystal helper, and cleanse it at least once a month using one of the methods listed above (#3).

Crystals have a way to let us know when their work with us is complete.  You will find a change in their vibes; a fullness in your heart.  Many times, crystals will disappear.  It happened to me more than once that a crystal fell off a necklace, just like that.  I imagine it possibly waiting on the sidewalk or the parking lot for the next person to pick it up and work with it.  I’ve had other pieces disappear from a shelf and reappear years later when an issue resurfaced.  It’s important to accept that although a crystal is right for you at the moment you adopt it, its commitment to you might not be for your entire lifetime.  Like other magical helpers, crystals will move on to where their help is most needed.  A bit like Mary Poppins.  We have to be ready to let them go when their work with us is done.

I hope this article can help you select the optimal crystals to accompany you on your life’s journey.  If you have any questions on selecting and working with crystals, send me a message; I’d be happy to be of assistance.  I can also bless the crystal with Reiki and optimize it for your personal vibes.

Surrounding you in Love & Light.

Favourite crystals for the Heart Chakra

I have always been fascinated with rocks and crystals.  When I was a child, I loved spending time just looking at rocks, their colours, and their sparkle.  You could find me playing in the rocks at recess, on the beach and during walks.  I had my own little collection of rocks…  until I was told they were “just rocks” and it was silly to keep them and I had to throw them away.  That felt very sad on so many levels.  It was not just the fact that my rocks were judged at worthless, I felt that I was judged too, because something that I really enjoyed was being greatly devalued.

That negative programming around rocks stayed with me for a very long time, and I am now healing that hurt.  I’m still a little afraid of being judged when I talk of crystals and of the joy they can bring, but I can breathe through that fear now.  I can now affirm that I love working with crystals, and I love their energy!

One of the most fascinating experiences I’ve had with crystals was during my visit to The Casa de Dom Inacio - John of God - in Brazil.  The Casa is located in a mountain range south of Brasilia.  These mountains are filled with crystals, and the energy can be overwhelming.  In meditation, so many hurts and emotions were coming to the surface for clearing.  I felt torn apart and rewired at the same time.  And the weirdest thing is that I could sense all the crystals below me in the ground.  I felt such a huge need for these crystals and the healing energy they radiated that I wanted to roll in them (like that scene in “Chocolat” where the mayor is rolling in chocolate), and I wanted to hold them so close to me.  I visited the crystal shop and found a few favourite crystals that truly resonated with my heart chakra, and I held them in my hands during meditation for the rest of my 2 weeks in Brazil.  I’m sure similar crystals can help heal and tone your heart chakra as well.

• Rose Quartz.  My all-around favourite.  Its energy is gentle yet strong.  It helps us align with the energies of compassion and unconditional Love.  It gently removes blocks to self-love and helps us take down that wall around our heart.  It moves slowly but surely, in the most nurturing way.  I keep a few Rose Quartz pieces around my home and office, and I regularly wear a Rose Quartz pendant on a chain just long enough that the point of the pendant is on my heart.  I have a few of these pendants for sale at the office.
• Amethyst.  The deep purple of amethyst is soothing in many ways.  Purple is a very spiritual colour that helps us align with higher frequencies and divine love.  Often times, hearts can feel heavy with sadness, shame, guilt and anxiety.  These are emotional and mental patterns that can be changed, and amethyst can assist this transformation process.  Amethyst can be used in meditation to help purify your energy and your thoughts.  It can be used to call in angelic or divine help, and you can work with amethyst to help transmute old patterns into a pattern of higher energy or frequency; one that is more loving and nurturing.
• Green Aventurine.  This crystal is calming and balancing.  It is wonderful to keep in a pocket as a touch-stone during the day: any time you feel a rise in anxiety or negative self-talk, touch the stone and allow the feeling of the smooth stone tell your body to tell your mind to tell your emotions to calm down and breathe…  and with your exhale, focus on releasing the tension.  Working with touch-stones such as Green Aventurine can help us remain focused, clear and balanced.  

(Need I remind you that working with crystals does not replace professional counselling?).

A selection of crystals available at my healing centre.  I just love the deep purple of the amethysts!

As you reflect upon your Heart Chakra this week, remember an activity you loved to do as a child.  Find a way to bring that joy back in your life today.  If you were like me and loved collecting rocks, then stop by my shop and we can “play” with the crystals I have for sale.  If you loved to paint, find a few minutes to doodle with different coloured pens even when at the office. If you enjoyed dancing or playing sports, make a date with yourself this week to do just that.

Reconnecting with what brings you fun and joy will greatly support a healthy heart chakra!

Surrounding you in Love & Light.