As you most likely know, many people are turning to crystals for their supposed power to aid in various forms of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Because of the lack of hard scientific evidence that crystals can be beneficial for these purposes, it is easy to be skeptical of these claims. I do not have hard scientific data to present, and there are methodological constraints that would make doing research on the healing power of crystals difficult (such as measuring changes in the physical/mental/spiritual health of users of crystals, or using a proper “placebo” control). However, in this article, I will present a simple exercise that will allow you to experience first hand the energy of crystals (for the purpose of this exercise, amethyst will be used). While this exercise falls short of proving that crystals are useful for healing, it should allow even readers who are skeptical about crystals to experience for themselves the mysterious energy of crystals in the form of a distinct physical sensation. Because this experiment produces results in the form of a subjective physical sensation, the only people likely to be convinced by this exercise are those who try it for themselves. This exercise may be useful for people who would like some sort of confirmation that there is at least some validity to the claims that crystals can affect people, and also for those who would like to improve their sensitivity to subtle energies.
The reason we are working with amethyst today is because, for the purpose of the exercise in this post, it works. There may be many other crystals that can produce a similar effect, but I discovered this effect when handling my amethyst prism. For the purpose of this exercise, you will need an amethyst prism. Below is the a picture of the amethyst crystal that I used when I discovered this exercise. This exact product can be purchased through the Amazon affiliate link provided below (beagle not included).
Note: I am an Amazon affiliate and receive a commission when a visitor makes a purchase through the Amazon affiliate links that I provide.
Among the benefits reported by people who buy into the notion that crystals have healing properties, Amethyst is credited for being calming and spiritually protective, and also for helping people connect with their inner creativity and psychic and spiritual perceptions (Amethyst is traditionally connected with the third eye and crown chakras). Having an amethyst crystal in the form of a single-pointed prism is important for the purpose of this exercise, which involves feeling a physical sensation on your palms or fingertips when holding or moving the crystal near your skin but without touching it. This may be because the pointed form of an amethyst prism somehow directs energy in a more pointed fashion, but I don’t want to make any concrete claims without understanding the science behind it (the last thing I want to do is peddle pseudoscience, check out this blog post for more information about my distaste for pseudooccult claims that fly in the face of scientific evidence).
Anyway, to do this exercise, hold the crystal in one hand and point it at the palm of your other hand as depicted above. Do not quite touch the point of the prism to the palm of the other hand, rather, you will hold it between a millimeter and a centimeter from the palm of the other hand. Move the crystal around slowly, and you sill fill a distinct physical sensation on the palm of your hand where the crystal is pointed. It will feel sort of like a very slight pressure, and sort of like a static electricity-type feeling. The thing is, this is a very physical sensation that you will be able to perceive without any physical contact being made. If at first you have trouble perceiving this sensation, there are a couple things you can try. One palm is likely to be more sensitive than the others, energy healers speak of one hand being the “projective hand” and the other being the “receptive hand”. According to my understanding, the “projective hand” tends to be the dominant hand and the “receptive hand” tends to be the non-dominant hand, so your “receptive hand” may be more sensitive. According to Vedic tradition, there are minor chakras in the palms of the hands. If you are still having trouble perceiving the sensation, you can try rubbing your hands together to “stimulate” the palm chakras. Additionally, the tips of the fingers tend to have very high densities of sensory nerves in the finger tips, you can can also try moving the point of the crystal near your finger tips. When I first noticed this effect, despite being rather subtle, it was very noticeable. I had another friend test this out, and he was also able to perceive this effect. It is my belief that most reader will be able to perceive this effect. Just play around and pay close attention to the physical sensations while you are performing this exercise.
While this exercise does not “prove” that crystals have healing potential, it does demonstrate that crystals have energy fields that can, at least in principle, be perceived by humans. This at least forces you to consider the possibility that crystals could have the ability to affect the body in ways that we don’t fully understand. I tend to believe that crystals are able to interact with and affect human consciousness because of the physical sensations that can be perceived while handling crystals. Once you have perceived the effect demonstrated by this exercise, I would say this is at least a first step toward being able to tune into the energy of various gemstones.
If this has sparked your curiosity about crystals, I would like to suggest another exercise that will allow you to connect more deeply with crystals. This exercise is a big more subjective and difficult to articulate, but to me personally if feels like it involves connecting with the same sort of energies demonstrated in the excise described above. For this exercise, you will need a variety of different types of crystals. It doesn’t really matter what form the gemstones are in. The Amazon Affiliate links below are for a few crystals that I personally have had success with. In this exercise, you will simply hold different crystals in your hand, and you will pay close attention to how they feel in your hand and how they seem to affect your state of consciousness. Consider this both a meditation exercise and an exercise in perceiving subtle energies. In my case, each different crystal provides a distinct sensation (these sensations tend to be pleasurable, and I find that the energies that I perceive tend to correspond with the traditional healing attributions of the stones. By completing this exercise, you will further develop your abilities to perceive subtle energies, which is a significant step in the development of psychic abilities. If you believe that these claims are beginning to slip into the realms of pseudoscience, I would challenge you to try these exercises out for yourself and see what results you get. Consciousness is not well understood by science, but I believe we can say for a fact that it exists. If handling crystals allows your to alter your consciousness, I would say that is a valid result on its face.
At least in the case of the first exercise, which produces a result that is hard to deny, I would speculate that the effect is caused by a known scientific phenomenon (one that is not purely psychological). For any readers who know more about the physics of crystals than I do, if you can give a definitive answer as to what is happening in the comments I would be very interested.