History-Crystals through Time

If you are new to the world of crystals and gems, then you might not know that they are considered among the healing wonders of the world. And in fact, knowledge of the healing powers of crystals is far from new. Crystals have been used for their mystical, beneficial properties since the ancient world. And we don't have to look far to find evidence for that. Crystals are mentioned in the Bible over ten times. And it's clear that the ancient people of Biblical times were aware of the power of crystals and stones.

Just take, for example, how the book of Revelation describes the properties of New Jerusalem, God's heavenly city. New Jerusalem, the Bible says, "shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."

Clearly, the power of these stones and crystals is held very close to God. Indeed, the book of Exodus described a breastplate worn by a Levitical high priest as containing twelve stones, each engraved with one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. "The first row was carnelian, chrysolite and beryl," it said. "The second row was turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; the third row was jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row was topaz, onyx and jasper."

Crystals or gemstones have been used throughout history not just by common people, but by kings and queens. Egyptian queens such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra were historically known to add them to their attire and makeup. In their society, crystals were used by ancient astrologers, diviners and priests, and were revered for their power and beauty. Stones were used in ancient Egypt at least as early as 3000 B.C.E. Amulets and talismans were cut from agate, lapis lazuli, carnelian and turquoise. It has been speculated that the pyramids were capped with crystals to channel cosmic forces into the center of the geometric structures.

The Egyptians pulverized gems and mixed them with liquid to drink as a healing elixir. These remedies were prescribed by matching colors to maladies that ancient patients might suffer. For instance, a jaundiced Egyptian might drink yellow beryl. Bloodstones helped those who were bleeding, and lapis those with blue joints from poor circulation.

But the ancient Egyptian sages also used crystals in ways more familiar to us. A papyrus from 1600 B.C.E. shows how to use beads of lapis lazuli, malachite, and red jasper for healing. Worn as a necklace, they caused diseases to vanish when they passed through the stones.

But the wisdom of the ancients was not restricted only to Egypt -- and neither was the restorative power of crystal healing. Almost everyone has heard of crystal skulls, but many people think of them as a purely fictional invention, perhaps created for Indiana Jones movies. What you might not realize is that crystal skulls are real artifacts, and that many incredible and even miraculous powers have been attributed to them. Crystal skulls are often beautiful and immaculately-carved objects that many claim originated with the ancient Aztec or Maya civilizations. Some have speculated that the skulls may even have been created with the help of ancient extraterrestrial visitors. If that is true, could it mean that aliens thousands of years ago wanted to gift us with the power of crystal healing? There is certainly something otherworldly about the feeling of well-being that can come from their use.

Whether extraterrestrials deserve the credit or not, it's certainly true that the use of crystals and gemstones for their healing and magical powers spread far and wide across the ancient world.

I want to share with you an excerpt from an article I found about the history of lapidary (the shaping of crystals and gemstones) written by Gerald Wykoff, CSM GG for the International Gem Society:

Gem cutting, or lapidary, most certainly got its start as an offshoot of mundane everyday activities. A stone may have fallen into a fire where the heat caused it to break or flake. Perhaps a sharp edge resulted. Certainly, flint and other hard stones possess sharp edges, but a blade-like cutting edge on a newly flaked piece of rock suggested some very interesting possibilities.

In prehistoric times, man hammered tools from stone, presumably smacking one stone against another. He scratched and chiseled out symbols and primitive writings on hard rock and cave walls – and gradually learned the great secret: some stones are harder than others and therefore they are more capable of inflicting scratches on other less hard stones.

From this very basic understanding, drilling and bruting became possible.

Drilling, one of the first of the lapidary arts, traces its roots back almost 1,000,000 years ago. Primitive peoples learned that rocks could be broken or fractured. The breakage provided random fragments, but ultimately experimentation demonstrated that breakage could also be achieved with some semblance of control.

This same knowledge of relative hardness led to bruting, the shaping of a gem specimen by rubbing one mineral against another harder mineral. The slow and tedious practice of bruting was used for centuries until more refined techniques were introduced.

Given the early date, historians are reluctant to attribute anything quite so intellectual as an understanding of cleavages. It was satisfactory that the breaking, chipping, or flaking of a stone could be disciplined ... made to occur in desired directions and depth.

Later perhaps, someone viewed these same stone fragments from a more abstract perspective. They viewed the unusual configuration, texture, or coloring of a piece of stone or mineral crystal, and began to contemplate the possible alterations of a stone for artistic or adornment purposes.

The existence of these ancient artifacts proves how old the art of lapidary is. The artifacts demonstrate that lapidaries had conquered the challenges of sawing, chipping, drilling, polishing and faceting before the time of Christ. The work was rudimentary by today's standards but the principles upon which this work was performed are still with us.

Given this history, it's impossible not to see that crystals have been an integral part of the human experience since the beginning of our history as a species. And crystals and gems could not have lasted so long if they had not been of great benefit to human health and wellness.

In a world that is ever changing, crystals are still a way to heal the energy of billions of people worldwide. If placed in a bra, a purse, a pocket, a car, or a room, crystals can create new energy that heals and is here to stay. In this book, we will talk about how these sexy, sophisticated and powerful gems help us create "the Good Life".

Healing ... One Moment Please

I was born into a family that loved good food and good times ... all the time. As a result, at a young age I saw most of my family members battle depression, angry outbursts, and other difficult health conditions. By the time I was twenty-one, five of my family members had died of different types of cancer within five years of each other. It was at that point in my life that I realized I was at an important crossroad. I could continue the same life path of my family members who eventually died with poor health due to unhealthy eating, lack of adequate exercise and high stress -- all of the things that I knew led to unhappy outcomes -- or I change my eating habits by taking a nutrition class. That would help me to learn how to eat healthier meals, exercise regularly and properly, and allow myself to be around positive situations to create conditions in my life that align with being happy and healthy.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I needed to choose the latter and that is exactly what I did. Nearly 20 years later, I have no regrets. I look sexier and feel stronger than ever and I link all of my rewards to having the discipline and the love of my body to make those changes. Basically, I had to give myself authorization to heal my body and reprogram my mind to seek happiness with the foods I ate and the exercise that my body sought, and to align them with the emotional feeling that I felt after all of those experiences.

The first thing that I did was to start reading labels and eat less sugar, less salt and red meat. Most days I would eat more white-meat, low fat meats like turkey, chicken and fish. I also cut my intake of dairy products. I honestly felt that I had an addiction to them! And last but not least, I drank more water and added more leafy green vegetables to each meal. I began to go on an hour-long walk or hike three-to-five times a week. This process wasn't easy in the beginning, but within six months of making these changes, I felt the difference. I had more clarity, more energy to do things that I loved, and my past symptoms of depression and asthma completely disappeared. I finally felt healthier and happier than ever before. And my body looked good in all the right areas.

That allowed me to be open to other changes to come ... like dealing with my anger and stress issues. Having been born in the United States of America, I was, of course, a television viewer. But I noticed that television was upsetting me. After watching TV, I would be more stressed out. I felt envy, because I didn't have the new car or the new guy with the new ring, etc.

I decided one day to discard the TV. And from that day forward my life become much more peaceful and purposeful. I am no longer living the way that society thinks I should -- but I am living the way that I feel I should and can. To others, this change made me an instant weirdo. Strangely enough, the one thing I noticed was that even without a TV, I still knew what happened on the news, the popular shows, and in other parts of the world because that was all other people talked about. So, I got to cut the stress and save the expense of a cable TV bill, and instead of watching others live their lives on a TV screen, I created my own life story.

Shortly after this decision, my life blossomed. I met an amazing man with whom I had a great long-distance relationship. He treated me like a queen and I treated him like my king. There was only one problem. Anger and stress started to create distance between us on my part. I asked a friend what to do because I was about to mess up everything that I had created. My life story -- the ultimate TV show -- had poor ratings and was about to get canceled. She gave me great advice. See a therapist for help.

"Great!" I said, "So I live in LA, and like most people in LA, I am now in the secret-yet-cool society of going to see my therapist." Here's the kicker: I saw the therapist for six months and my anger and stress didn't go away. So I asked him what else I could do.

He replied, "Go to a meditation guru."

"Where do I find one?" I asked

"Here is the number for the guy who taught me," he said.

I tracked down the meditation guru, a person named Christian at Green Tree Meditation Center. He conducted small four-day meditation classes. I signed up for them, hoping for more inner peace. Maybe I would even become enlightened and win a Buddha or something. The classes started, and believe me when I say that this guy was the happiest meditation guru that I had ever encountered in my life.

I had never met anyone who was so happy that he just laughed between breaths. Christian scared me a bit because at first I thought that he was joking, but I then concluded he was just jollier than Santa Claus delivering presents on Christmas day. He was the ideal role model for me, and I noticed that he was happy and completely at peace even when challenged -- and that is what I wanted for myself.

During our sessions each day, Christian would teach us the history of Vedic meditation and its various techniques. He connected us with this thing called a mantra which I had never heard of. All of this was exciting and scary at the same time. My ego, the fear, and the anger started disappearing after Christian taught me how to use these tools. After the four days, I felt hopeful and I continued practicing meditation as he instructed me to.

After about six months, I started to notice a difference in myself. My anger started to dissolve. I wasn't as reactive to each and everything that my partner mentioned which I didn't understand or like. I slept and had happy dreams as opposed to the nightmares I previously had about TVs chasing me, or me dying of poor health. I started to have the ability to self-reflect and figure out what my problems were, so that I could adjust and work on resolving the conflicts inside of me and my conflicts with others. All the challenges that I thought I had no control over seemed easier when I meditated and began to receive the answers within me.

Nearly ten years later, I have learned not only the first level of Vedic meditation but also the second level, which deepens my meditation state on a more consistent basis. The decision to let my ego go in order to be more connected to my light, happiness, and inner peace by seeking help and following through on the therapy and meditation changed my life for the better. I knew that it wasn't helpful just for me, but for others as well when my friends began to acknowledge the changes in me. They saw that now I was easier to get along with, and my then-husband decided to also take the meditation class with Christian. I knew that I had made the right decision not only to win that Buddha but to become the Buddha.

First the Buddha, then the Gems

After my awakening to spirituality through meditation I noticed that deeper emotional issues were coming up for me at a rapid rate. I worked hard to accept inner guidance to resolve these issues. The harder I worked, the more I felt resistance against fully letting them go.

At this point, I mentioned to a friend that I was having difficulty overcoming some deep anger and anxiety. He was a thoughtful person who had worked his way up in the entertainment world and I was anxious to hear what he would suggest.

He said, "Go to a metaphysical store to find something that can help you."

I had no idea what he had just said to me. It was as if he was speaking a whole other language. I had to write down what he said on a piece of paper. I went online to find out what a "metaphysical store" meant. I wanted to make sure it wasn't, something dangerous. Once I found it wasn't I was on my way to buy myself something special.

The store was a small shop that had a selection of colored rocks in containers tagged with their names.

There were works of art, and all kinds of items I had never seen before. This was the beginning of a new world for me. Although it was a new experience, something about it felt like déjà vu. I felt comfortable and drawn to exploring it. I clearly looked nervous and confused as I browsed around, obviously not knowing what I was looking at, and a young man came up to me and asked, "Can I help you find something?"

Nervously, I prayed that I could come up with an answer that sounded correct. I replied, "I have some problems, and a friend of mine said I could get help with them here. But I don't know where to start."

He asked, "What are your issues?"

"Anger and anxiety," I whispered.

"I know exactly what you mean. Most people come in here with the same issues. Let's go over to this area, I have a crystal that can help you," he replied.

"Crystal?" I thought. "I've never heard of that before. Sounds cool."

As we walked to them, I was mystified by all the different types of these beautiful items that I'd never seen before. I hoped he would explain how they could help me and how I should use them.

"Rose quartz," he indicated. "It helps resolve anger and anxiety. Put it in your bra and under your pillow at night. It should do the trick."

"How does it do it?" I asked.

"Well, let me look it up for you. Here you go. Read this to get more in-depth information," he said, handing me a book.

"OK, I said.

The first line of the description of what a rose quartz is let me know that this was the crystal that I was meant to seek: "rose quartz is the stone of unconditional love and infinite peace."

It was at that point that I realized that anger cannot exist at the same time as unconditional love. I immediately grabbed the beautiful pink crystal, kissed it, and bought it. When I left the store, I added it to my bra cup over my heart. I felt uncomfortable for a little bit, but after a short while I no longer felt it. It was as if the crystal had become a part of me. I slept with my rose quartz the first night, and I fell in love with it. The crystal brought me more inner peace. My deep anger changed to inner peace -- just as I had hoped it would when I walked into that mysterious store ready for a new experience.