ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Kelly Neff is a social psychologist, author and educator who has helped
thousands of people learn about health, relationships, love and sexuality.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Georgetown and M.A. and Ph.D. in Social
Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. A professor of psychology
since 2007, she has become an innovator in the field of online teaching with
her book, Teaching Psychology Online. When she isn’t writing, teaching or
doing healing work from her home in Boulder, CO, Dr. Neff travels the globe
researching transformational festivals for her upcoming book for the Festival
Research Project. She is currently a contributing author to The Mind
Unleashed. You can find her daily doses of inspiration and positivity on
Facebook and Twitter. Facebook page. You can also email her at DrKellyNeff@gmail.com Light and Love!
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Despite the plethora of
anecdotal evidence that exists on the healing powers of stones and crystals,
the debate continues to rage in the scientific community over whether
crystals actually have any real healing power. For example, a basic internet
search reveals many articles claiming crystal healing to be pseudoscience. In
fact, one recent study argues that crystals have absolutely no healing power
and that the placebo effect accounts for people’s healing experiences with
them.
As a trained research scientist,
I am naturally critical and curious about everything in my life. Despite
having a fascination with rocks and crystals in childhood, I forgot about
them and was drawn away from them during my time in school and doctoral
training. Then in my late 20′s, during a highly tumultuous time in my life, I
began meditating, and during my meditations I began to see visions of
crystals. I didn’t know why, but I wanted to touch them and hold them. But I
brushed it aside, still new to listening to my intuition, and figured I was
just having random hallucinations.
About six months later my
boyfriend Jimmy Ohm took me to a crystal healing course taught by a Reiki
Master, Thao Le, who walked us through a bunch of different stones, allowing
us to hold them and perceive their energies. In what was very much a “blind”
experiment, I found that even with my eyes closed, I could feel how each
stone was different, and how it resonated and vibrated in my hand. I felt
something real that I could not explain or ignore.
Fast forward a few years, and
I am now a complete crystal fanatic. I use them on myself during Reiki, I
apply them in healing sessions for others, I sleep with them under my pillow,
I grid my house out with them, I keep them in my car, and I gift them to
loved ones and random strangers.
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WHY do I do this?
Because I have to trust my
intuition. Maybe this is just the placebo effect and these crystals that
resonate so deeply with me are just dumb rocks, but on some deeper, spiritual
level, I know that this is not the case. Some people might criticize me for this
perspective or call it pseudoscience, but I bet those same people are reading
this article right now on their device’s LCD screen (which stands for Liquid
CRYSTAL display), which is powered by a processor chip made of SILICON (an
element derived or synthesized from silicate minerals in the earth’s crust,
AKA, crystals). So are crystals are just random rocks? Or are they are some
of the most powerful and intriguing materials on this planet, necessary for
the functioning of modern technology?
The Science of Crystals
Crystals are millions of
years old, forged during the earliest parts of earth’s formation. They are
the most orderly structure that exists in nature, meaning they have the
lowest amount of entropy (a measurement for disorder). Crystals are structured
in such a way that they respond to the inputs of all different energies
around them, leading them to oscillate and emit specific vibratory
frequencies. Because the crystal lattice is so balanced and orderly, the
energy it emits is consistent, and when dissonant energy is inputted, it is
balanced and transformed into a harmonic energy. (Note: I am a psychologist,
not a physicist, so for more specifics on the physics behind this, check out
this great article by Aleph Healing).
Crystals are essential to the
functioning of our modern technologies, because of the way their balanced,
ordered structure emits consistent frequencies and allows them to store a
tremendous amount of information. As I mentioned earlier, Silicon is used in
every single computer and cell phone processor, and liquid crystals comprise
the display screens of these devices. Quartz (a type of silicate mineral) is
used in watches and clocks to help them tell time, because it helps stabilize
and regulate the flow of energy. Earlier this year, The Mind Unleashed
reported how a clear piece of Quartz crystal can be used to store data for up
to 300 million years! Galena and Pyrite can be used to make radio receivers
that do not rely on batteries. Ruby crystals were an important part of the
first ever laser developed by Bell Laboratories in the 1960′s, and it is
still used today for its abilities to focus and concentrate energy. Just this
week, it was revealed that a synthesized crystalline material can be used to
help human beings breathe underwater (I’m sure there are many more modern
scientific applications of crystals than what I am listing here but hopefully
you get the idea!)
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Healing and Crystals
I feel strongly that crystals
have been important in my healing and my spiritual growth, and I know that I
am not alone in this. I have participated in many healing sessions with
people who claim to feel the benefits of the crystals. Fellow crystal advocate
Jordan Pearce from Spirit Science has done some really great work on this
topic, ranging from this wonderful Crystal Movie about spirituality and
crystals, to this list of 38 Awesome Crystals for Spiritual Growth, to his
support of the Crystal Movement.
Why do crystals seem to have
an impact on spiritual growth? The answer comes in the form of energy,
frequency and vibration (which,
according to Nikola Tesla, are the key to understanding the universe!)
Remember, crystals have been shown to oscillate at their own frequencies, and
even respond to the input of vibrations. The cells in the human body also
vibrate at certain frequencies, as do the chakras (the centers of the human
energy body). So when we come into contact with a crystal, its vibration
interacts with the vibration of the cells in our body.
According to the Book of
Stones, “When we bring the crystal into our electromagnetic field, two things
occur. The electromagnetic frequencies carried by the stone will vibrate with
related frequencies in our own energy field through the physical law of
resonance, creating a third larger vibration field. The nervous system is
attuned to these shifts in energy and transmits this information to the
brain. Here the frequencies stimulate biochemical shifts that affect the
physical body and shift brain function.” (Simmons & Ahsian 2005, 28)
Ancient Knowledge of
The Power of Crystals
For millennia, crystals,
minerals and gem stones have been used to bring about healing and enhance
physical, emotional and spiritual balance. The ancients must have somehow
known that when worn, the energies of the stones would interact with the
human electromagnetic field to bring about subtle energetic changes. Royals
have worn crystals throughout history in their jewelry, crowns, thrones and
swords. Interestingly, the placement of crystals on the crown on a royal’s
head could activate their crown chakra, and the same goes for a necklace over
the heart chakra, rings on fingers for energy meridians, and earrings to
stimulate reflex points. It kind of makes you wonder if all jewelry was
initially intended to connect healing stones to different energetic points on
the body?! Crystals have also been used burials, in divination, and in
healing rituals for thousands of years. Here are some specific examples from
ancient cultures around the world (again there are many more examples cited
here and here):
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* The
Ancient Egyptians: Used crystals for protection and health, and buried the
dead with a piece of quartz on their forehead to help guide them to the
afterlife. Dancers wore rubies in their bellybuttons to enhance their
sexuality, and a necklace over the heart was intended to bring love into ones
life. Forehead crowns were also worn to stimulate the third eye. They even
used ground lapis lazuli and malachite as eye makeup. Perhaps the most
interesting is the account of pharaohs who carried a copper cylinder and zinc
cylinder each filled with quartz, to balance the Ka and Ba energies of the
body (equivalent of Ying & Yang today).
* Ancient Greeks: Rubbed
themselves with crushed hematite before going into battle thinking that it
would make them invincible. The name for Amethyst is derived from the words
for “not drunken” in Greek, because Amethyst was worn as an amulet to protect
against drunkenness and hangovers. Even the word “crystal” is derived from
the Greek word for ice, because quartz crystal looked like water that was
frozen and would never melt.
* Romans:
The use of crystals as amulets and talismans was very common amongst the
Romans. They were used in medical treatment and to attract desirable things,
enhance health and provide protection in battle.
* India: The Hindu
Vedas, the sacred 5000 year old religious texts, discuss the use of different
crystals to treat certain medical ailments, as well as the specific
properties of different crystals. For example, they say that emerald will
bring good luck. Aryuvedic medicine has also recognized the healing powers of
crystals for hundreds of years.
* Mayans,
Aztecs and Incans: All three of these societies understood the power of using
crystals for balance and healing on physical, emotions and spiritual levels.
Crystals were used to diagnose and treat disease, well as to see the future
through divination. According to some accounts, the Incans considered certain
stones (such as emeralds) to be so powerful, they chose to die before giving
the conquerors the location of their emerald mines.
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Indigenous
Tribes: American Indians and indigenous tribes of Australia have used, and
continue to use, crystals to diagnose and heal illness. Many of the stones
used in their traditional jewelry are thought to contain healing powers,
including Agate, Turquoise, Onyx and more.
* Ancient
Chinese: the 5,000 year old practice of Chinese Medicine often incorporates
crystals for their healing powers, including the use of crystal needles in
modern day Chinese acupuncture and Pranic Healing. Chinese emperors were even
buried in Jade armor as a symbol of wealth and power.
* Ancient Japanese: The
ancient Japanese were skilled at the art of scrying, using transparent
crystal balls to produce visions. Quartz crystal spheres were thought to
represent the hearts of dragons, which symbolized power and wisdom.
* Tibetan
Buddhists have considered quartz crystal spheres to be objects of great holy,
spiritual power, believing their properties could even assist with
enlightenment. In Buddhism, the Medicine Buddha is called “Healing Master of
Lapis Lazuli Radiance,” and its rituals include meditating on lapis lazuli.
* Neolithic Man: The use
of talismans and amulets dates back to the times of prehistoric man, with the
oldest crystal amulet, made from Baltic Amber, dating back over 30,000 years.
Prehistoric humans also constructed stone tribal burial chambers, or ‘Megaliths‘
that were designed according to the texture, weight, color and vibration of
the stone to maximize its resonance.
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Shungite: The Most
Powerful Crystal Ever Discovered?
I recently came into contact
with some Shungite (pictured here) and after learning about its history,
origin and uses, I have to say it is one the most interesting crystals I have
ever encountered. Estimated to be about 2 BILLION years old, Shungite is
about 98% carbon by weight, and is only found in one place on earth, Karelia
in the Lake Onega region of Russia. Shungite is the only known natural source
of Fullerenes on earth.
Fullerenes were discovered by
Robert Curl, Richard Smalley and Harold Kroto earning them the Nobel Prize
for Chemistry in 1996. It is a compound containing 60 carbon atoms shaped
like a closed hollow cage which resembles a soccer ball. A plethora of
scientific data has revealed that fullerenes are an incredibly powerful
antioxidant, described as a “radical sponge” that can soak up free radicals
with absolutely no damage or toxicity to healthy cells. As a result, cancer
researchers are currently investigating fullerenes for their anti-tumor
effects, arguing that they offer promise in anti-cancer therapy.here
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Shungite has been used for
centuries to purify water in Russia. Peter the Great put a spa at the Karelia
in the 18th century after experiencing the anti-bacterial properties of the
water, and used the stone to provide purified water for his soldiers.
Indeed, shungite appears to
be an incredibly effective water purifier, removing almost all organic
compounds including bacteria (and other microbes), nitrates, heavy metals,
pesticides, volatile organics, pharmaceuticals, chlorine, and fluoride.
Shungite water has been shown anecdotally to help with a variety of ailments
including asthma, anemia, allergies, gastritis, erectile dysfunction,
cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, immune
system deterioration, and chronic fatigue. Shungite water can be made by
allowing the stone to soak in a container of water for up to 72 hours and
then drinking 2-3 glasses per day. Modern scientific testing has also
confirmed the antibacterial benefits of shungite.
In terms of shungite being
the most powerful healing crystal ever discovered, it is certainly possible,
at least in terms of its abilities to absorb free radicals. There are also
many other powerful crystals out there being used in a variety of different
ways, including some of my favorites: Super Seven Quartz, Tourmaline, Ajoite,
Celestite, Larimar, Kyanite, Citrine, Herkimer Diamond, Lapis Lazuli,
Malachite and so many more (this is a great list of healing crystals and
their properties).
It will be interesting
to see how the research into the healing powers of shungite and other
crystals progresses, and whether science will continue to catch up with what
many of us already intuitively know: Crystals and stones are more than just
random rocks, they really do have the power to heal.
Please feel free to share
your experiences with crystal healing in the comments.
Blessings and Love!
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