CRYSTAL THERAPY

Crystal therapy (Crystal or Gem healing) is the use of crystal and stones for therapeutic and healing purposes.

The healing properties of crystals have been recognised and harnessed for thousands of years. The ancients, who perceived crystals as being sacred and magical, were experts in their use, employing crystals for such purposes as protection, adornment, healing and for seeing into the future. Crystals were abundant in Egyptian tombs and temples and were frequently worn and carried by ancient Egyptians as amulets and charms. Crystals are frequently referred to in Greek mythology, and have also been discovered in the tombs of Chinese rulers. Native Americans used crystals extensively in their ceremonies and initiations, as did the Mayans and Aztecs. Crystals are referred to more than two hundred times in the Bible. Among the numerous crystals listed are agate, amethyst, diamond, jasper, sapphire and topaz, while Exodus tells us that precious stones were used in the breastplate of the Jewish High Priest.

Crystal for Healing

Crystal has an important role in preventing disease and keeping you healthy, but if you do succumb to illness, they are a gentle but effective healing tool. Healing can be defined as bringing the body, emotions, mind and spirit back into harmony. It dose not necessarily imply a cure, although it frequently ameliorates conditions. Crystal healing is a gentle and non-invasive process that creates balance on all levels, and one that can provide support to the body’s own internal healing systems. The lore on which it is based has its roots in antiquity and the body of knowledge is, therefore, supported by thousands of years of practical experience.

Crystals interact with the human energy field to heal, calm, stimulate or adjust the energies within it and to bring the body back into balance. They are beneficial for children, animals, adults and the environment. Crystals also work on attitudes, emotions and the mind, instilling a feeling of well-being, neutralizing negativity, lifting depression and assisting coordination – both mental and physical. One of their most important roles in healing is in bringing the chakras and subtle energy around the physical body back into alignment, and another is in dealing with underlying factors in dis-ease – the psychosomatic effect of the mind and emotions on the body.

Exactly how they do this is still something of a mystery, despite their having been used for this purpose for thousands of years, but the major explanations centre around three things: vibration, colour and mineral constituents.

Vibration

Each crystal has its own unique vibration, which can be felt by sensitive people, and most have a small but measurable electrical charge together with an internal lattice-like structure that absorbs and transforms toxic energies.

Virtually all crystals were born deep in the earth, inside the earth’s magnetic field, so it’s not surprising that they absorbed its magnetic charge and stellar radiation. However, the unique way in which each type of crystal developed subtly altered its magnetic charge. Some were produced, or amended, by great heat or pressure; others were laid down gradually over aeons of time; one or two arrived from outer space. Each cell within the human body also has an electrical charge and when the charge of a crystal is brought close to a cell, or to the biomagnetic sheath that surrounds the physical body, it gently brings the energy of the cell or the biomagnetic sheath back into balance.

Mineral Constituents

Crystals are formed from specific minerals, or combinations of minerals, and the chemical constitution of the stones, and their healing effect, was recognized in ancient Egypt and underlies crystal healing lore. Peridot, for instance, known as poor-man’s Emerald because it shares its more expensive counterpart’s brilliant green colour, is formed from silicon, iron and magnesium; while Tourmaline contains iron, boron, aluminium, lithium, magnesium, potassium, silicon, sodium and trace elements that affect the colour; and Turquoise is mainly aluminium with copper andiron. These minerals, which are essential for body health and physiological processes, pass into the body in minute dilutions and subtly affect health.

Kunzite, with its high lithium content, mimics the taking of a conventional lithium prescription in homeopathic dosage to control the mood swings of bipolar disorder.

It is important that stones with significant mineral content are placed, or worn, touching the skin rather than outside clothing.

Colour

For thousands of years, energy centres, known as the chakras, have been identified on the human body and it has long been recognized that if a chakra is out of balance, it will cause dis-ease of a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual nature according to the chakra concerned. Each chakra resonates to a different colour – the base red, the sacral to orange, the solar plexus to yellow, the heart to pink, the throat to blue, the third eye to indigo, the crown to violet and the higher crown to white, and when the appropriate colour crystal is placed in the chakra, it brings it back into balance and alignment.

In addition, the colour of the stone also plays a part in its healing effect. Deep-purple Amethyst, for instance, bears a resemblance to wine, and the stone has been renowned that since ancient times for its sobering effect, counteracting the effects of over-indulgence and lifting the spirits. Red stones both energize and, paradoxically, calm, drawing off anger and disorder. Blood-coloured, they were traditionally associated with haemorrhage and inflammation. Blue was seen as the colour of heaven, having a tonic effect, and counteracting the effect of the spirits of darkness. Yellow stones were associated with bilious disorders, jaundice and the liver; while soothing green was seen to have a powerful effect on tired and disorder eyes.

Astrological Correspondences

Some crystals have Astrological correspondences that also go back thousands of years. The crystal is aligned to a planet, or to a zodiac sign, that ‘ rules’ the part of the body concerned and that is , therefore, beneficial to its proper functioning as it draws the celestial energy into the physical plane.  In the East, gemstones are still used to correct imbalances that are identified from the natal chart.

 

Choosing Colours for Specific Purposes

Ayurveda considers colour to be subtle form of nutrition for the body’s life force, the mind, and the impressions which nourish them. Our body and mind not only absorb colours, they also produce them. The actions of life forces in the body produce colours corresponding to their frequencies and how they are influenced by our mental and emotional states. The colours of the body’s aura can reveal prevailing physical and mental states and states of consciousness. Colours can be visualized and projected into one’s field of awareness and the physical body for specific purposes. If we feel that we need the influence of certain colours and they are not immediately available in our environment, we can visualize them as being present in the mind or body.

Disharmonious colours can derange mental activity and emotions, and harmonious colours can balance them. Bright colours are stimulating and energizing; dark colours are suppressive. For therapeutic purposes, exposure of the body to lights of prescribed colours can be helpful. Dark blue light, for instance, may be used to heal an infected skin lesion or wound. For general purposes, we can expose ourselves to colours by the clothing we choose to wear and how we choose to paint or decorate our living and work environment.

For overall well-being, we should use sattvic colours: white, gold, blue and other colours which affect us harmoniously. Colours can have elevating influences if they are pleasant to live with and make only a mild impression on the senses. Rajasic colours are bright, intense, artificial, clashing, and penetrating. Gentle stimulation of rajas guna can be provided when desired by the use of yellow, orange, red and purple. Their excessive use may over-stimulate the mind and senses. Dull, dark, and murky colours are tamasic and devoid of energy. They have a dulling effect on the mind and senses.

It is increasingly recognized that full-spectrum light in a work environment promotes cheerfulness and improves efficiency. Thoughtfully chosen decorator colours have similar effects.

White is cooling, moist, and nurturing. It has a mild cleansing effect, calms the mind and emotions, and imparts vitality. Excessive use of white can diminish energy and cause a person to become too passive.

Black can have suppressive influence, although when appropriately used with clothing or decorative objects in harmony with other colours it can reveal a sense of one’s dignity and demonstrate originality. Morbid preoccupation with black, or other dark or drab colours, can indicate moodiness, mental depression, or a psychological disorder. Certain shades of dark blue are referred to by some artists as “the blue of madness” because a few famous painters who were believed to be psychotic were fond of using them.

Grey, a combination of white and black, is neutral.

Green is neutral, calming, and moistening. It can be used to neutralizing excess mental and emotional “hotness” and balance metabolic processes.

Red stimulates. In milder shades, it can energize and strengthen. In excess, it can provoke anger and a tendency toward violence. It increases pitta influences and decreases vata and kapha influences.

Blue is calming and inspires detachment. It is said to nurture solitude and meditation. Dark or sky blue is cold and dry. Lighter blue, with white, is moistening. It can be used to neutralize hot mental and emotional states. Light blue, white, and gold are good colours for a meditation chapel or for one’s private meditation sanctuary. These colours strengthen sattvic influences.

Yellow is warm and moistening. It is energizing and nurtures happiness and creativity. If used excessively when vata is aggravated, it can nurture behaviours which are superficial and assertive.

Gold harmonizes mental activities and strengthens the heart, circulatory system, glands, and immune system. It nurtures spiritual aspiration.

Orange is warm, energizing, and nurtures intelligence and spiritual awareness.
 

Brown is stabilizing and neutral.

For strengthening, weakening, or balancing the influences of the three doshas as they relate to your basic mind-body constitution, the following recommendations for colour usage can be considered.

Warm, moist, soft, and calming colours are advised to balance vata dosha. These could be the warm colours of gold, red, orange, and yellow along with moist and calm colours such as white or light shades of blue or green. Bright colours may aggravate or strengthen vata characteristics; strong colours may be too stimulating; grey, black, and murky brown may be devitalizing, although in moderation they may have a stabilizing influence.

Cool, mild, and calming colours such as white, green, and blue are advised to balance pitta dosha. Colours that are hot and stimulating should be used only infrequently. Mild shades of colours are best, as bright colours of all kinds can be disturbing.

Warm, dry, and mildly stimulating colours such as red, orange, yellow, and gold are advised for balancing kapha dosha. Excessive use of white or pastel blues and greens should be avoided. Brighter colours are better.

Almost everyone has a mixture of dosha influences in their mind-body constitution and suitable colours can be chosen accordingly.

 For more information refers to “ The Inner World of Colours, Gemstones, Metals, and Mantras”, Appendix of the book An Easy Guide to Ayurveda, the Natural Way to Wholeness, Written by Roy Eugene Davis, Published by CSA PRESS.