Since ancient times, crystals and stones have been used by many cultures such as Egyptians, Greeks and Chinese as sources of healing power. Crystals are still being used in this modern-day, such as in Feng Shui beliefs, to bring forth wealth, prosperity and healing.
In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in crystal healing as alternative medicine – there has been a 50% increase in Google searches for crystal healing in the last 5 years. However, as I research into this topic, I find that there are many more articles that address the ‘what’ of crystal properties and less of the ‘why’ (the reason they seem to work so well as alternative healing.
As such, the purpose of this post is not to give you a list of crystals and their properties (we go into this in later articles) but to first equip you with an understanding of why they work and how you can use them to your advantage using this knowledge.
Please note that I am not a doctor, and I do not personally use crystals for any personal healing. What I do promise is to state the facts that I know about the topic so that you can make your own judgement and decisions.
So, with this disclaimer out of the way, if you are willing to approach the topic of healing crystals with an open mind, read on. Take what you need from this post and leave what doesn’t work for you.
As always, drop me a note if you have any questions at all. I’m on the same journey of self-discovery and would be very happy to participate in yours.
Innate Healing VS Placebo-Induced Healing
It is important to note that there is technically no peer-reviewed scientific study of such healing benefits of crystals. However, healing crystal treatments do work – mostly a result of a powerful placebo effect as the simple act of doing something that helps you control your destiny can usually change your personal ‘vibes’ which in turn, helps positively enhance psychological and physical health.
“There is no scientific evidence to support the medical effectiveness of any of these remedies. But there is the possibility that they might have an indirect psychological benefit.”
Stuart Vyse, author of “Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition”
Many (including myself) are attracted to both the beauty and promise of healing crystals. This is because even though healing crystals in and of themselves do not possess magical healing properties, the human mind is powerful – I strongly believe that even the placebo-induced healing benefits of crystals can help many live better and happier lives.
This placebo-induced benefit should not be discounted from the value and efficacy of healing crystals.
Mind you, I used to think that this alternative medicine ‘stuff’ was hokey-pokey. However, as I grew older, my perspectives changed and I am starting to believe that science is only just starting to catch up with the energetic realm. I believe that the human mind is capable of changing the material world (including our bodies) and that crystals are a means to facilitate and amplify this process (read on below to see the science behind this).
Discoveries from Lab Science
Research into quantum physics has revealed increasing evidence that everything in our whole universe is made up of energy and not matter; At its fundamental levels, material things are just vibrations of energy. Healing crystals and the cells in the human body are made up of the same kind of energy.
Crystals can Store and Amplify Data
“The crystal works much the same way that a laser does: it takes scattered rays of energy and makes the energy field so coherent and unidirectional that a tremendous force is generated – one that is much stronger than if the energies were allowed to be emitted without having come into coherence.”
Marcel Vogel
In one of the first scientific evidence related to the power of crystals was by IBM scientist Marcel Vogel, who discovered that energies of the mind could affect mater. He found that crystals took the shape and form of what he was thinking. He also tested the metaphysical power of the quartz crystal and proved that stones can store thoughts just as tapes can record sound using magnetic energies.
Effect of Our Thoughts on Crystal Formation
Additionally, Dr. Masaru Emoto, the first water researcher who found that our thoughts are able to affect whether water crystals will be “beautiful” or “ugly”, depending on whether thoughts were positive or negative.
What is most interesting is that Marcel Vogel further found that crystals programmed with intentions eg. unconditional love, can in turn program water with specific information based on the information programmed into the crystal.
Marcel Vogel further claims that “If, for example, the crystal was programmed with a sedative, the water would take on this characteristic or vibration. Drinking the water would induce sleep or deep relaxation.”
This has significant implications for our health as 75% of the human body is made of water. Imagine what can happen if you program your crystals with positive thoughts and how this positive energy can be transmitted to your body and influence its biological functions positively?
To sum it up, crystals aren’t a magic pill. They enhance what you are already working on –if you believe or think in a certain way, crystals help you to amplify the effects and help you with your goals.
Types of Healing Benefits from Crystals
Crystals can be used to heal a myriad of chronic conditions – from headaches to stress to pains. Each crystal has a unique property that lends to its ‘healing powers’.
For instance, Amethyst is believed to be calming as it works with the third eye chakra to balance the mind and soothes anxiety. Clear Quartz, one of the most popular crystals, is considered a ‘master healer’ and is said to bring clarity, aid concentration and manifest intentions more effectively than other crystals.
There are three common ways crystals help with healing:
- Energizing – Healing crystals absorb data, conduct and transfer information from one object to another (as discovered by Dr Vogel and Dr Emoto. Program your crystal with the right thoughts and it can transfer these into the energy fields to help your body, mind and spirit accordingly.
- Clarity – Crystals are able to absorb and remove negative energy from your body, like a magnet picking up metal pieces.
- Balancing – Energy can sometimes get misaligned or out of balance. Healing crystals bring balance through attracting/repelling energies to balance out energy patterns.
Ways to Use Healing Crystals
There are thousands of types of healing crystals and stones in the world! That’s a huge amount of potential healing power awaiting people to use them.
There are several ways you can use crystals to maximize their benefits for your life.
1. Wear healing crystals to manifest your intentions and what you want in your life
If you are a beginner to using healing crystals, one of the most effective ways to harness their healing properties is to wear them close to your skin. Because these crystals pick up on your own vibrational energy, they amp up your positive vibes that you are creating.
You can think of the crystals you wear like your daily supplement. When you use them for your intentions and wear them daily, it is like taking your energy supplements to power you up for the day.
Personally, I like wearing healing crystal necklaces or bracelets both for their aesthetic and energetic benefits. Crystal necklaces in the form of 108 mala beads are particularly useful in my experience. When I use them for mantra meditation, I literally feel my intentions and energies being captured in these beads. By wearing the same crystal mala beads throughout the day, there is an inexplicable sense of empowerment and I am better able to live out my intentions or pursue a goal I have.
Read my post on “Mala Beads 101: Meanings, Benefits and How to Use Them for Meditation” if you would like to better understand how you can use wearable mala beads to manifest your intentions.
Check out the latest crystal or gemstone jewellery from The YogaMad Store.
2. Place healing crystals in your pocket
Perhaps you are just starting out in your gemstone journey and do not fancy wearing crystals on your body. You can simply bring the crystal around in your bag or pocket and feel it throughout the day whenever you need help with grounding or with your intentions.
This was how I started my journey personally, and I still keep the rose quartz stone that my tutor gave me when I was in primary school.
3. Meditate with crystals
One of the most common ways to use crystals is to meditate WITH them. Note that you are not praying TO crystals but using them as a tool to keep you focused and help you get connected within yourself.
A quartz crystal can hold as much data as 22,500 basic iPhones. As mentioned above, you can program your crystal with information through your meditation, and it will amplify what you program it with.
4. Place healing crystals on a specific part of your body
Similar to a crystal healing session, you can place various stones or crystals on your body aligned with its chakra points (ie. on the head, throat, chest, stomach, gut, genital areas). This is a very direct application of crystals with the specific positions selected based on the symptoms you wish to address.
5. Place crystals in your home, office or car
Growing up in Asia, the use of healing crystals in spaces is very common, especially for those who believe in Feng Shui and the ability of crystals to bring good energy. This is most typical in a Chinese office setting where large Amethyst stones are seen placed in strategic floor spaces to attract prosperity, tiger eye stones used as table décor to bring wealth, or jade figurines to attract success with money.
The topic of crystal healing is intriguing and can get complex if you are serious about the specificities of using these stones to help you in life.
In my next few posts, I will be explaining the meanings behind healing crystals for various intentions and needs.
Until then, let me leave you with a few resources to get you going on your journey:
- 8 Forgiveness Healing Crystals for Letting Go
- Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition – Book by Stuart A. Vyse
- NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health – Resource for those who want to learn more about the science of alternative medicine
- Understand the controversy behind alternative medicine – Article from The Atlantic that explores why alternative medicine is winning
- Mala Beads 101: Meanings, Benefits and How to Use Them for Meditation
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The YogaMad is founded by Mila, an avid yogini who is passionate about inspiring others to live their best lives while finding mind-body-soul balance. She has a background in business consulting but has left the corporate world in her quest to live out her dreams as a yoga nomad.
