Healing with Crystals

I'm not the first, nor will I be the last healer who works with the highly charged energy of quartz. Crystals are rocks, hence not as lively as herbs, not as lively as we are, but they definitely exude something that clears energy, clarifies, brings light and sparkle to the process of healing. That something is subtle; you have to pay attention in order to notice, but it is there.

Crystals are beautiful. Some are so perfect looking it's hard to believe they weren't fashioned by human hands, but of course they weren't. Unlike other kinds of rocks that were formed by compression (like sandstone, for instance), or by extreme heat, (obsidian), or hardened over time, (fossils, petrified wood and such), quartz is a rock that grows. I still find it hard to wrap my mind around that truth. Quartz grows six-sided, symmetrical crystals that look a whole lot like perfectly clear, small versions of the Washington Monument. I have three crystals I work with, two of which are pictured above. The third is a chunk of rutilated quartz. It is as stunning as the two in the photo.

Here's a true story. A few years ago I had a client who was very depressed and in a tight spot in his life professionally and personally. The massage and Reiki he received from me was not nearly enough to help him climb out of his depression. I sent him to a psychotherapist, I sent him to see my acupuncturist. No one was able to help him much, it was very sad. He continued to come for bodywork and appreciated the feeling of calm he was able to access during his sessions.

At some point he told me he had a box full of quartz crystals gathering dust in his attic. He had worked with color and crystal healing at one point in his life. He insisted I take the crystals because there was no point in his keeping them if he never touched them. It was very generous and after trying to convince him it would be healing for him to clean the crystals, to hold them, to put them out in the sun every now and again, I at last accepted his gift. The box was indeed full of dozens of dusty crystals of all sizes and colors. After I cleaned them and charged them with Reiki, I gave them all away. It was wonderful to pass them on; I felt I had been given an opportunity to give light to my clients, friends, and blog friends. I certainly didn't need them. The process of giving them away was very cool. I felt like a cloud during a snowstorm, artfully scattering clean, beautiful crystals over the landscape.

After he gave me the box of crystals, my client sank deeper into depression. He stopped coming for Reiki, quit therapy and acupuncture. About a month later, he committed suicide. It was shocking - as suicide always is - and terribly sad. A few months after his death the thought came to me that those crystals, even covered with dust, up in the attic, might have been part of what kept him from taking his life. I wondered if I should have accepted his gift. But how could I have known? And of course when someone commits suicide, it's much more complicated than any one contributing factor, but it gave me pause for thought, it really did. When he gave me the box, was that his way of saying his life was about to end?

I tell the story to point out how much I respect the sublime, clarifying, beautiful healing energy of quartz.

There are those who believe it's important to try to scientifically prove that crystals are healing. Some day there will be technology sensitive enough to measure all the goodness, clarity and light they radiate. Until then, empirical evidence is good enough for me.

May your mind and heart be filled with light and sparkle today. May it be so! Shalom.