RESONATING HEALTH.
Healing with the Mineral Kingdom

by Anne Christine Tooley, T.ASIACT APP, MIAC

Crystals, gems, cabochons, and seemingly ordinary rocks have captured the hearts of indigenous peoples for eons. For thousands of years, humans have realized the living, healing energies of the mineral kingdom.

In the early eighties, many noteworthy authors, such as Katrina Raphaell, Frank Alper, Ra Bonewitz, Randall Baer, Dolfyn, Gurudas, and many others, reestablished the Art of Crystal Healing into the collective consciousness. Some believe that the popularity of gems and crystals has resurfaced at precisely the right moment in our evolution when they can be of service for the healing of all life on our planet.

As a little girl, I often sat with my father gazing at his sparkling rainbow gemstone collection, coming away feeling deeply fulfilled and happy. Today, I turn to gems and crystals because their beauty still brings me deep joy. I have learned that beauty, in whatever form, heals the deepest levels of our being. I am still in awe of an intelligence that created such rich, pure colors and glistening light from minerals, heat, pressure and time.

In 1990, during a time in my life when I was healing from a serious car accident, I turned to the mineral kingdom for relief from emotional and physical pain. I began with 7 stones, one for each chakra, and Katrina Raphaell's book Crystal Enlightenment. Little did I know that I was beginning a whole new life and career in Complementary Medicine.

Unlike many, I am not concerned with the "official healing properties" of a particular stone. I have found that putting words to a particular stone is very limiting to the possibilities of what a stone can do in a given moment in time. Certainly, there is a foundation of basic information, such as color and chakras and how crystals were used in ancient cultures, but that is just a springboard to discover much, much more.

What do stones and gems have to tell us and to give to us? We must listen and observe them. They have formed in a particular way, and in that life and growth, they can give those healing qualities to us. For example, what about stones that have grown under water? Could they help us in the emotional realm - help us go with the flow of life, cleanse and purify, go to the depths of understanding, and quench our thirst for living?

I suggest that each of us can have our own unique, personal and extraordinary experience with the exact same crystal. What it tells us and gives to us is ours alone. It is the truth of the exchange of energies between the stone and us in that moment. I say put away all the books and test your own perceptions, and trust what you intuit. Quell the mind, and open your heart to see, hear, and feel the living being of the stone. Whatever you perceive is your truth in that moment. Whatever you receive is the gift of that crystal to you in that moment.

Suggestions:

Wearing or carrying a stone for a week or more can help you tune into the energy of that stone. Notice your thoughts, emotions and physical self while carrying it. Then notice how you feel when you are no longer wearing it. Take some time off before exploring another stone.

Placing a stone under your pillow at night allows the energies of the stone to go to a deeper level of your unconscious during your dreamtime. Another way is to lay them under your bed or mattress directly below your body. If you want a heart experience of the stone, place it directly under your heart. Or lay several stones in a vertical line, one under each chakra, including the Soul Star chakra about 12" above your head and the Earth Star chakra 6" below your feet.

Gem elixirs are another way to bring the knowledge of crystals into you and are easy to make. Place a stone in purified water in the sun and/or moon for at least 3 days, or place water and stone(s) in a quartz crystal bowl and tone the bowl. Then you can add 1 or 2 drops of the gem elixir to a glass of drinking water. Caution: Some minerals are toxic and are best made by placing the stone next to the water source. If in doubt, use this method. I highly recommend you get a reputable book, such as Volumes I and II of Gem Elixirs and Vibrational Healing by Gurudas, as well as a good field guide to rocks and minerals, such as those by the Audubon Society.

For 7 years, my favorite way to use the stones is to create grids - sacred geometric structures that create an opening for an exchange of life-force energy. My land and my house are gridded, and I often grid my clients and myself. Grids create an open conduit, a Pillar of Light, a Jacob's Ladder, allowing one to connect with and receive the higher dimensions of light.

Anne is a facilitator and practitioner of Vibrational/Energy Therapies. Email anne@luminanti.com. For detailed information and to purchase products, visit www.luminanti.com.