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Crystals look pretty and colorful. But can they heal fear? Back on October 4, 2009 I blogged about Crystal Therapy for stage fright? In that post I mentioned a suggestion that you hold a crystal (like Golden Topaz) in your hand, wear it as a pendant, or drink water it had soaked in (gem water or gem essence). Of course there also is crystal massage (the art of rubbing people with pebbles).
On January 15, 2017 a blog post by Edzard Ernst
titled Crystal healing “empowers us to lead a more meaningful life “ quoted a
web site called Beliefnet which mentioned that turquoise could calm public
speaking nerves. A web page there by Wesley Baines titled 9 Powerful Healing
Stones and What They Can Do For You had said:
“As a healer, turquoise is powerful,
giving peace to the spirit and well-being to the body. This stone induces a
sense of serenity, keeping physically harmful stress and inflammation at bay.
Holding turquoise can bring back focus and restore vitality.
Turquoise is also a stabilizer, and can
calm the nerves when working on a difficult problem, or when performing or
speaking in public. It is known for its effectiveness in alleviating the fear
of flying.”
I searched Google to find where this claim first appeared. A
tourist attraction called The Turquoise Museum in Albuquerque,
New Mexico had a web page about The Healing Powers of Turquoise
that said:
“In the world of crystal healing,
Turquoise is supposed to be a stone of communication. New Age healers recommend
it for people who have a fear of public speaking. They believe it has the
ability to make a speaker more eloquent, loving, creative and honest. But it is
also improves the mental state overall by increasing all of the following
positive mental characteristics: serenity, creativity, empathy, positive
thinking, sensitivity, intuition, happiness wisdom all of which result in a
calmer state that leads to greater self-realization. It is also considered a
stone of friendship. As a communication stone, the New Age believers say that
it opens up the connections between friends and allowing love to flow in those
communications, which strengthens the friendship bond. Further, they believe it
has the power to strengthen convictions, courage and personal power.”
What other crystals have been claimed
to help?
Blue lace agate is one. New Moon
Beginnings sells an Anger and Stress Relief Gemstone Set where it is described:
“As a support crystal, Blue Lace Agate
assists those who fear speaking in public or sharing thoughts and ideas with
strangers. It is a great stone for those who communicate for a living, such as
workshop directors, lecturers, teachers, or anyone who must connect in a clear,
intelligent manner. Blue Lace Agate also tranquilizes and relaxes the mind of
executives, and calms stress in postal workers.”
The Natural Healing Shop web page on The properties of
Crystals discusses Celestite Blue and Tiger Eye Blue:
“Celestite is a powerful healing
crystal. Bringing mental calm and clarity in the midst of any chaotic
circumstance. Celestite can relieve stress, anxiety and obsessive behaviours.
Its energy will alleviate any type of stage fright or nervousness. Celestite
gives courage to those who suffer from agoraphobia (fear of crowds) or public
speaking.”
“If you
are nervous about giving a presentation or speaking in public, keeping a piece
of Tumbled Blue Tiger Eye in your pocket can help relax your Throat Chakra, clear
any blockages, and form a strong connection with the Brow Chakra, allowing for
easier access to the intuition. It enables one to expand their horizons, often
leading to better opportunities.”
Hibiscus Moon has a web page on 4 Totally Rockin’ Ways to use
Crystals for Fear and Anxiety which mentions Chrysocolla:
“Chrysocolla
– this stone has a very feminine & soothing vibration. It gently calms your
heart chakra when its beating with fear. It will also give you more confidence
when you’re gripped with fear when having to communicate to others your needs
or when you simply need some security in social situations of any sort. It’s a
great one to keep in your pocket when doing any public speaking.”
Goop has a web page on The 8 Essential
Crystals which mentions lapis lazuli:
How about arranging several types of crystals
to form a grid?
Crystal Vaults sells a Conquer Fear Grid Kit - a set that has three types of crystals to be arranged in a hexagonal pattern as shown above:
“THE FOCUS STONE: Before
you can conquer your fear, you must accept it. By owning your thoughts and
feelings, you have taken the first step in gaining control. Your Focus Stone
will be a Blue Chalcedony Crystal. Its soothing light blue rays will surround
you with energies of acceptance, faith, and belief.
THE WAY STONES: You must
take the action to defeat your fear, but also have confidence and strength in
doing so. Your Way Stones will be Crystal Ruby. Their deep red colors will
motivate you to take action and have dedication.
THE DESIRE STONES: Your Desire
Stones will be Aventurine. Green Aventurine is a Seeker Transformer. Seeker
Transformers are talismans used when the desire is to find a way to transform a
part of ones life to a more desirable state. Its dark green rays will aid
you in conquering your fear, and will bring the energies of healing, and
growth. “
But they don’t take that concept to the next level, which would be arranging those hexagons in an array to tile a surface (as shown above), an idea you can find discussed on Wikipedia under tessellation. (Squares or equilateral triangles also would work).
Does healing with crystals work, or are
we just fooling ourselves?
Unfortunately it is likely that we are
fooling ourselves. On May 28, 2006
Jeffrey Shallit posted about Debunking Crystal Healing at his Recursivity blog.
He discussed some experiments done by a psychologist, Christopher French
reported in 2001.
Kyle Hill also blogged about those experiment on September
11, 2011 in a post at Science-Based Life titled Crystal Healing: Magical Cure
or Just a Rock?
More recently on January 20, 2015
Elizabeth Palermo wrote about Crystal Healing: Stone-Cold Facts About Gemstone Treatments
at LiveScience. She described how:
“In 2001, French and his
colleagues at Goldsmiths College at the University of London presented a paper
at the British Psychological Society Centenary Annual Conference in Glasgow, in
which they outlined their study of the efficacy of crystal healing.
For the study, 80 participants
were asked to meditate for five minutes while holding either a real quartz
crystal or a fake crystal that they believed was real. Before meditating, half
of the participants were primed to notice any effects that the crystals might
have on them, like tingling in the body or warmth in the hand holding the
crystal.
After meditating, participants
answered questions about whether they felt any effects from the crystal healing
session. The researchers found that the effects reported by those who held fake
crystals while meditating were no different than the effects reported by those
who held real crystals during the study.
Many participants in both groups
reported feeling a warm sensation in the hand holding the crystal or fake
crystal, as well as an increased feeling of overall well being. Those who had
been primed to feel these effects reported stronger effects than those who had
not been primed. However, the strength of these effects did not correlate with
whether the person in question was holding a real crystal or a fake one. Those
who believed in the power of crystals (as measured by a questionnaire) were
twice as likely as non-believers to report feeling effects from the crystal.
‘There is no evidence that crystal
healing works over and above a placebo effect,’ French told Live Science. ‘That
is the appropriate standard to judge any form of treatment. But whether or not
you judge crystal healing, or any other form of [complementary and alternative
medicine], to be totally worthless depends upon your attitude to placebo
effects.’ "
Wikipedia and the Rational Wiki have
articles on Crystal Healing that mention some other references.
An image of gem pebbles came from Wikimedia Commons.
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