I’m sick, and I’m well (the Lessons and Gifts of Illness).

Let me confess, I got a cold. Worse than that…a strep/flu…all wrapped up into one. It’s still making its way through my system. But it’s not as bad as all that. I mean – so what(?!) – I’ve had Cancer before (twice). How bad can this be…

Fenster, or Skeletal Quartz, is emblematic of “sickness in health” – where the interior has been compromised – but the shell and structure remain quite solid.

And yet, people belly ache about their seasonal illnesses all year long. The common cold – in spite of what people claim about vaccines being effective [I’m not convinced] – this complex of viruses (if that’s fair to call them) impacts just about everyone in the northern hemispher. And I think it’s emblematic of all diseases, though fortunately, it’s not a commonly fatal (or chronic) malady. 

I thought I’d transcended all that. With the parting of ways I’ve had with Sugar, and anything (chips or nuts) that come in a bag [the rancid oils are harmful]…it’s been literally years since I’ve really been hit by anything like this. What usually happens, is that the symptoms try to get a grip on me, but their effects are weak, and the real deal never fully takes hold. Just a few month ago, everyone in my family got some bad bugs, but I wasn’t touched at all (even though everyone was coughing all over me). Funny how immune we can be sometimes.

I’ve become smug in my healthiness. I might be in the best shape I’ve ever been in, not just physically, per se – in terms of musculature – but thoroughly, from the inside out. I listen much better than I used to, to my Body and Spirit. I mind what I’m eating, set aside time to exercise, and stay on top of my self care quite steadily. Basicly, I’m in a lifelong training to be “a Soul Wisperer.”

So it’s humbling to be “brought down” like this. It’s always a learning experience, though. Illness has much to teach us. The first questions for me become: “what have I done wrong? How could I have avoided this?” 

Chrysocolla – combines self forgiveness and emotional expressiveness

Self-blame is cruel, and worsens the cycle of the illness. Self reproach definitely makes it worse. At some point, some serious self-forgiveness is necessary to interrupt the cycle. You have to break that downward spiral…the chicken and egg of negatively overthinking your situation. 

When a stone breaks – it loses its original value – but energy is released, and we find ourselves adapting to the change as having been meant to be.

But let me sit with the badness, for a moment. When you get sick, your body – the rock on which you stand daily – falters. Of course it’s worse with a more serious (or chronic) illness…you lose faith and trust in you. That basic tableau – within which everything happens to and through: you – it’s no longer what you’ve come to expect, it’s not reliable, dependable. The rules of engagement have somehow changed, and it doesn’t seem very fair.

No, indeed – the Russian Roulette of illness and Death are not fair – our goal is to hedge our bets with prevention and treatment.

Taking this statement further – many of believe we live in a universe governed by a benevolent G*d, but whether jealous our merciful – G8D cannot give us our way 100% of the time. We are each the center of our own reality, but in fact, we are all peripheral to the greater REALITY (and thus, not particularly entitled to any special treatment). This is a bitter pill to swallow, but the sooner we make peace with it, the sooner we can have a more balanced and ultimately respectful view of The Creator.

So back to our compromised self. Being sick is a very damning state to be in – because as a body – if you can’t count on your own being, what can you count on? Your weakened state throws everything into question. You become alienated from a generally beautiful, provident world, and a mostly functional (and otherwise healthy) body. 

The co-mingling of opposites: is the dark in the light, or the light in the dark? Yin and Yang swirl around one another.

Don’t think for a minute that I look at the world with rose tinted glasses. I’ve seen some of the worst, and I do believe we live in Heaven and Hell simultaneously. But like the glass half full or half empty, I believe you can view the same situation in a more positive or pejorative light. 

For some – and I spent a decade like this (at least) – everything can seem worse, like you’re living in purgatory (at best). And being sick definitely throws you back, deeper into that dungeon. I do believe – especially when I listen to the news (about atrocities committed here and abroad) – that for many, life on this planet, is hell on earth.

Back to me, and my immediate answers about what might have contributed to my current situation. One theory, is that I left the fan blaring on me while I slept sweatily last week, and it destabilized my aura (wreaking havoc on my overall metabolism). More than half the people I spoke to agreed that this could well have been the culprit.

The symptoms also began the night after I had Chinese food from a restaurant I like, but don’t totally trust the cleanliness of. I do believe that germs from an unusual source can tip the scales. A variety of causes can conspire to make you sick.

A third theory is connected to the fact that I tend to overeat. Too much (of even healthy food) can backlog – with nutrients going bad, getting “caught in the filter” – which then require cleansing (or evacuation), through the illness. 

Amber & Jet are light density power stones – and because their weight is less than their size would suggest – they tend to wick away blockage and tightness.

Worst case scenario – if the raw material (of what you’re eating) is not that healthy – “the backlog” can result in the inexorable growth of pathological tissue – chronically (or fatally) complicating cellular function, a prime example being inflammation, and of course: Cancer.

Whatever the “real” cause of your situation – and, as stated, there can be several – and while disease can often be a fluke of chance (certainly it’s always an unwanted guest with destructive intent) – disease is also, and very often (to its credit) – a healthy response to an unhealthy situation.

Let me pause, and draw attention to “the fluke factor” – bad luck (remember?) – s**t happens. In as complicated a world as we live in, lightning bolts (and tornadoes) do strike. Yes, there can be “favorable” conditions and standing out in a field may be riskier than being in your car. But when that wind starts to blow, can’t nothing stop it.

Every natural disaster reminds us how little control we ultimately have. And disease, ultimately, is a natural disaster. So you have to “give unto Ceasar what is Caesar’s” – let go and hold on simultaneously – try that on a hang glider!

All and still, just as there are (seemingly incontrovertible) Laws of Physics, a great deal of what happens around, and to us…is logical.

What else is your body supposed to do, when you treat it so? We’re too busy to cook or make proper food. We’re too busy to take any time to stretch, or work out (as much as our body may want, or need to). It’s no wonder your physical person develops a grudge and wants to “get you back” for your neglect. All it’s looking for is some R-E-S-P-E-C-T (like the song).

Nirvana Quartz – like Elestials – represents the higher, deeper, more ancient self.

Every time you don’t listen to your Soul, you’re stacking the deck against you.

And we’re all willing to take the hit – whatever treatment or sick time (later) we need – that’s somehow “worth it” to get those things we need from our paycheck. Well guess what, your paycheck won’t always be there, but your body always will be – and once it’s gone – none of that other stuff will matter anyway. People need to start paying attention, doing everything they can before they get sick (not just after, when it’s often too late).

Work, our job, our “have to’s” excuse every mistreatment of our own primary (and personal) system. And yet, if we pause, and take care of ourselves – others, and we ourselves – tend to think we’re being selfish, self-indulgent…the worst…we can’t justify the down time! 

And also – by behaving like this (taking time out to take care of ourselves) – we’re likely/surely bound to become indigent…because there’s no money in self care. There’s only money in “other-care” – taking care of everyone else – that’s what pays (and has any moral currency). That “other” you’re servicing can be your boss or a client – heck, even (or especially?) “the man” – as you pay your taxes and comply with the prevailing laws of the land.

Would you still be doing what you do if there was no money coming in from it? If the answer is no, you have some serious answering to do to your inner self. We pay the price for our compromises.

And then there’s “the children” – the primary conservative force in our world (if you think about it) – why would we take risks or not tow the line…when we have to look out for, and provide for them…children first (remember?!). 

People even avoid Divorce on account of children. Not to say that they’re not (in addition to saving a primary relationship) worth it, but to demonstrate the fact that self denial (for many reasons) is woven into our own very individualistic and narcissistic (in other ways) culture. 

Nephrite Jade – particularly water worn by nature – is the ultimate emotional soother.

It’s like: we’re being goaded to take care of ourselves – in ways that make other people money (like through cosmetics, sports clubs, the clothing industry) – but not necessarily in ways that may cost nothing, but still achieve the desired effect of personal, lasting gratification, or satisfaction. 

They say the personal is political – it’s true – the world feels more holistic (to me) if you can see how you connect beyond your self, right out into the Universe (another benefit & practice of my Crystal Concentrics Meditation). 

Maybe there’s nothing you can do about it – your problem, or the world’s problems (or so you think) – but be honest about what you could really be doing (but maybe aren’t), the ways in which your hands feel tied, how you’re stuck, and how that may be impacting your health and well being (never mind that of the planet).

Why can’t it be simpler – you just “got a bug, got a disease” – it’s not your fault at all, and there’s nothing you can do but fight it. This is the medical, strictly physical perspective. And it has its place. Car’s shocks are gone…fix ‘em…don’t ask about the bumps you keep driving over (which caused the damage in the first place), or “why me,” or “what’s the bigger lesson here.” 

Foggy, or Girasol Quartz is a unique variety – it represents the unknown – and the unknowable…an important factor to consider…and be in the presence of.

Suit yourself – however shallow or deep you want to look – if everything happens for a reason (“the Fluke Factor” aside, though even that is an omnipresent reality to contend with) – I think it behooves us dig a little: explore the metaphysical context of your situation. I’m saying (on top of all the types of factors already explored): it could be evil spirits at work; it could be your own past lives catching up with you; the possibilities are limitless.

There’s also “the Fog Factor,” which is that it may not be for us to ever figure out what’s happening, exactly, and why.  

In any case – I’ve gone off on a few (relevant) tangents – I want to bring the conversation back to my own process…regarding the illness that’s come front and center…into my life. I’m banking on it’s being metaphorical for you and your own experience of illness, which could be more than informative…I’m hoping educational…in helping you think about (and hopefully improve) your own situation.

The purpose of this Blog is to be relevant, to apply, and to be of more general utility beyond my solo journey and meanderings.

What I realized – especially early on – is that the illness is not the only game in town. When it first was settling in, I saw it coexist, and in context, relative to the rest of me (which was not in duress). 

Herkimer Diamonds are the picture of health – impenetrable – allowing light, but nothing else, to pass through.

Holding a larger sense of healthiness and positive continuity, makes being sick more tolerable…gives one hope…and gives you a sense that even if not in the moment, you will overcome. Yes – your throat may be burning, or you may have a tumor – but there are another x-billion cells doing just fine…let their voice be heard. 

I’m remembering my Crystal Meditations, in which we take time to center into the body – that really helped me to acknowledge and get in touch with those other, healthy cells – and call them into play, see and acknowledge them for the good job they’re doing maintaining my overall health. 

My spiritual practice of being with Spirit-apart-from-Body also helped, because I could know that the Spirit was unscathed by what I was going through – damaged, hurt, concerned, for sure – but somehow (also) immune to it all. 

I had to have Faith that “this, too, shall pass.” Even now, a week in [which is how long it’s been taking me to finish this blog], while the unproductive cough has sunken deep into my lungs – my capacity to write an account of my experience is an act that will survive the pathology – and I like the way that demonstrates our eternal capacity to recover and/or transcend. Again, the Power of the Word.

Look at how much more Anne Frank has impacted people in death than she was able to in life. Not everyone can look forward to such a posthumous “reward,” but by being in the moment, doing the best she could with what she had (and grappling with the demons that presented themselves at the time)…she created something more valuable than she could know in the moment.

Basalt – one of the more ancient of stones – here shattered and was polished by the wind & sand over eons, to make a ventifact that is powerful in clearing and protecting.

I’ve never been one to painstakingly plan and strategize – I, too, put one foot in front of the other – try to make for the steadiest footing that makes sense (and feels right, in the moment). My vibration is very steady – though I see what a flash in the pan I am, on the grander scale – which is why I like the Stones…they go on forever. 

Indeed, while we are so very fragile – and can sometimes be challenged to find any part of us that is steady and sound – Power Stones are there, if we allow them to be…an extension of ourselves (and Creation)…that is solid and eternal. 

Some people use Religion for solace – and I do too – it surely has its place. And I’ve argued elsewhere that the two are not incompatible. But what I like about the mineral world, is that it both precedes our human experience, and it will outlast us…making it somehow more elemental than anything we could dream up (through our various cultures). By associating with the mineral world, we borrow some eternity, draw from its strength, and share in its capture of Life & Creation energy. 

So have I used crystals to get well? I mean, isn’t that the point, to use them for our service? Yes, and no. Crystals are not tools, like guns and scalpels, created exclusively to do our bidding. That is a beef I have with “the literature,” which seems to suggest as much. It’s the whole Biblical thing about us having been given dominion over all things earthly. Yes, that may seem so – and is a power that we have – but it’s also a responsibility, which people don’t tend to grasp, or hold onto as well. 

Large, beautifully terminated Topaz – the intrabody neural communicator – facilitating your body talk and internal functioning.

Everybody wants the easy part, the quick fix, which is why I don’t give “crystal prescriptions” – “you have this problem, take/use that.” It’s more complicated than that. And also, I’ve had a major breakthrough, in terms of understanding how Crystal energy work is not, nor should it be compared with Medical work.

Indeed, this is also why I don’t believe in gem elixirs – because I don’t think they should be ingested – that is the role of other substances (herbs, medicines, food). An important distinction must be made between physical treatment and metaphysical treatment. They are not, nor should they be, compared or used in the same way (or for the same purposes). 

Crystal Energy is meant to be seen with the Eye – interpreted and working through the Mind, or Imagination – and looped through the Body via Touch (the cycle).

Science is the wonderful art of identifying and working with the recurrent, visible laws of Nature. But not all such laws (of the Natural World) are consistent, measurable, or tangible. The metaphysical world may never be quantifiable in the same way, which is why I have no agenda for bringing Crystal energy into the mainstream, through scientific justification…can’t be done…and shouldn’t be. 

In the metaphysical world, the law is often that there is no law – that we can see and perceive tendencies and subtleties – but that Reality is relative, subjective, untamed. We can coax it, shepherd it, but it goes its own way, in its own time. The myth of control has been debunked.

wet Sugilite – ‘the other purple stone’ – symbolizes the materialization (or concretization) of Spiritual vision

I take my remedies (and there are many): steams, elderberry, lomatium root, food grade vitamin C, echinacea, cranberry juice…the list goes on…and they all did their thing (heck, even aspirin helped!). But in the absence of a trusted Crystal Healer, I had to rely on all the previous work I’ve done with Spirit, to tide me over, and give me strength in my weakness. 

I feel too many (most?) people reject, or pass over the potential of working with a true energy healer – because they want the tried and true – and don’t want to take chances (or make changes). I notice they mostly don’t want to look at “their stuff,” or do the hard work of going through the valley to get to the other side.

My work ultimately has to be demonstrating why and how it’s worth it (to work with Crystals). Alas, I have not trained someone else to take my reins, or do what I do (yet). But I’ll keep on keeping on. Bit by bit, these blogs (and my eventual books and other publishing projects) – as well as the events I host (live and online) – as well as my showcasing at Expos, will together put my footprint on this important area of human endeavor. 

giant DT elestial closeup – these stones are Keepers of the Wisdom – you can always rely on them to know what is to be known

Were it a bigger, life threatening illness (this pesky cold/flu), I would have wanted to have some energy work, for sure. Being very independent, and untrusting of authority per se, there are very few folks I’d trust or want to work with (or “on” me). I’m leery of generalizers and “false prophets.” So my memory and source work with Crystals has had to carry me through, until such time as I can work the gears and have the Soul energy flow again, unfettered (and uncomplicated). 

It’s helpful to know – it flows here, right beside me, through me – even when I don’t see it, or feel it (cause I’m so busy feeling crummy). I’m reminded again of the response a spiritual leader gave my son, when he (my boy) confessed that he’s not sure he believes in G8D: “that’s okay” he was reassured: “G8D doesn’t mind” (the assumption being that G8D is always there, whether you see him/her, or not). 

Our role is not to question or even to seek the Universal Life Force (per se), but rather – to simply let it be (it’s all around, and within us)…to let it flow through us. Stop trying so hard. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t “have it” already. 

Independently from applying meaning or causality to your illness – to have it “make sense” – we often hear folks saying their illness (regardless of the cause or outcome) has taught them something, and for that they are grateful.

Malachite – “the emotive” – demonstrates the wending ways of Feeling – and helps allow you to access and express your inner knowing.

Had I not gotten those 2 bouts with Cancer, I would have never changed my diet or thought patterns, which I think would have done me in the third time around. Hitting a dead end forces you to make a turn, take a new path. Being sick now – and stuck somewhere without Internet – has enabled me to capture these words in a way that feels more relevant because I’m actually going through some real discomfort (and an extraction from my element) in the moment. My hope is that you’ll be able to make some sense from this collection of thoughts.

Our journey is laden with lessons and gifts. We just have to see them for what they are, or can become. Gloom and doom will never spawn life, for you or others. That is why I have to assert: “I am sick. And I am well.”

To review – I have explored some of the things that happened, which “put me at risk” – as well as the lessons to be learned, including a discouragement of self-blaming. It’s good to correct your course, and know where you’ve gone wrong, but beating yourself up about things will not fix them.

I’ve discussed the Fluke Factor (of chance) and the Fog Factor (of uncertainty), as well as the need to connect the microcosm with the macrocosm. Avoidance does not really serve you, nor do excuses, however good they may be at distracting you from your path. Try to see the good within and around you, and draw strength from both.

The world does not revolve around you, but you should certainly hold your place in the merry-go-round. Reach out and seek healing, from allopathic and alternative sources, they’re all here to serve you. Know that there are limits to control, and that ultimately, our fate is in the hands of forces much larger than we can imagine. 

Enjoy Life while you’ve got it!

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About the Author: Kyle Russell has been working with Crystals for over 25 years – inducted into working with them through a supernatural experience – but building on the knowledge and evolving it through sharing…via in-person and virtual offerings, including an extensive social media presence…and a growing, written record of his thoughts and observations. Feel free to reach out to him, and learn more about his Awareness, and how it can help you. Email Kyle@CrystalConcentrics.com.

The 3 Gateways – Mind, Heart, and Body

There are 3 gateways into ourselves: through the Mind, through the Heart, and through the Body. Crystals are experienced the same way – by touch (through the Body); how they make you feel (the Heart) – and via what you think about them (the Mind). I have identified 3 stones that (to me) embody each gateway.

Amethyst is one – for its power to represent Spirit – specifically in “point form.” I’m talking about a point as separated from a cluster.

Clusters have a different function, to act as Spiritual Cleansers.

Amethyst is the ultimate Higher Mind stone. This is true because it speaks to the connection between Self and Spirit (and how mentality bridges the physical self with the self-conscious, abstract “seer”).

What is your true mission in life? What is your Higher Purpose, or ‘true’ Destiny? These are the types of questions to contemplate in the presence of Amethyst.

These may seem like lofty (or irrelevant) – to those who are not inquiring deeply (and for whom mental considerations are not bound up in spiritual matters) – but folks for whom the Mind is two dimensional, are trapped in a more earthly consciousness. I don’t blame them, but theirs is not the place to judge those for whom these explorations are significant.

I don’t mean to insult the Earth by using “earthly” in a derogatory sense, but you get what I mean (I hope, and if not, read on). Earthly (with a small ‘e’) connotes petty, provincial, non-Global or unconnected awareness. Earthly (with a capital ‘E’) gets into the vast (and deeper) grasp of Terra, terrestrial reality, and it’s connectedness to the all other dimensions, elements, perspectives, and The Universe at large.

Our thoughts, even (and often?) about grander goals and meanings – are immaterial – that is to say, they’re not solid, physical, or tangible. Indeed much of our reality – far greater than most will admit – is virtual (hello: the Internet is not something we can touch).

wet Sugilite – ‘the other purple stone’ – symbolizes the concretization of Spiritual vision

Great in their influence are the unspoken, evocative, and symbolic…in all cultures. And yet these thoughts, symbols, and archetypes can – and do – manifest quite tangibly in our world, particularly when they result in actions and consequences, as they constantly do (all around us – in the news – in our lives).

If the universe was created from a word – and words are merely symbolic – then truly, it can be said that our co-creation of the present and future are bound up in our understandings of (even unconsciously) – and relationships with – abstract conceptions.

The metaphysical is intrinsic, it’s everything, or at least on par with everything you can take in with your 5 senses. Those who say otherwise, are living with their head in the sand. It’s time to come out and play. It’s time to have a more nuanced, and inclusive perspective on Reality.

unique Selenite cluster – representing our reach for the Eternal – indeed the mission of every Crystal(?)

Indeed our failure to think grandly manifests by default in our permission of the world to remain in chaos, or at the mercy of (mostly human) neglect and species-exclusive abuse of the planet.

The recognition and embrace of interconnectedness is essential to saving the world. This happens on an intellectual level, in the brain, but also on the other levels of heart and body (and of course through Charitable, and socially conscious activism). More on that a bit later…

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In the Healing realm, long distance healing is a good example of psychic action taken – on a higher (or different) plane, which can produce outcomes – or influences situations remotely.

Someone grappled recently – in public (at a conference I attended), and with humility – about “how does distance healing work?” She knew it did, but was unable to explain why (or how). In the interests of this Blog (and getting my thoughts out on it now, as opposed to later (when I could devote an entire Post to it), let me take a stab at delivering an answer to this beguiling question.

All things are happening simultaneously – connected by coincidence (if you’re atheistic) or by design (if you believe in a Higher Power) – but (even to a scientist), they are inarguably happening coterminously [look it up if you’re not familiar with the term…it means “in a way that is right up next to everything else”].

However you imagine what causes what, everything in the present is connected inextricably with everything in the past and future.

multi-directional Arkansas clear Quartz cluster, with angled (45-degree’ish) ‘transmitter’ crystal, ideal for shooting intention long distance

Therefore, it is not unreasonable to expect that my prayer and intention here – can effect your status and experience there – on a Spiritual and/or physical level.

I’m finding that the rules of engagement – or what one can expect – in the waking world, is quite different from what might apply in the Dream State (or while you’re asleep). And that’s just two important planes in our life. There are more (even how vastly different my reality and perspectives are from yours). So we cannot begin to claim that the rules of Physics (or Science), such as we may consider ourselves to know them, apply in the same way in all dimensions. “Everything is Relative” – right?

Enough [pertinent] digression! Back to Amethyst. It sits on the throne of Purple. Purple is a regal color of Spirit – and in the spectrum of colors – as they manifest up through our Chakra system…it’s towards the top. I consider it the gateway between the Conscious Mind and the Spirit (or oversoul) Mind.

I believe that Shape, Density, and Color (the 3 gateways into understanding Crystals) are each of paramount importance in identifying (and “riding”) the energetic wave, function, or offerings of any given Power Stone.

I’ve defined “Power Stones” in other places, including in my “What is Crystal Healing” webinar, but suffice it to say here…how a rock presents itself can make all the difference.

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Imagine all things (or situations) as complex manifestations of G8D.

How very different your lying down, nearly naked in one context – a beautiful thing – can be from the next situation (where threat and terror pervade).

How different the appearance – face to face – of a rabbit may be from the appearance of a Grizzly Bear on your path, hiking.

Rose Quartz sphere – the shape and polishing make its inner essence more accessible – than it would be were the chunk left rough

Appearances are everything – and sometimes nothing – just flimsy veneers over deeper truths.

So it is with stones. Are they are rough or polished? Are they in clusters or in points? Are they large or small? Heavy or light? The answers to these questions all matter.

To learn the language of Crystals, is to know how to interpret all this vital information…and how to factor it in to determining its potential impact on your life (or on the lives of others).

You also have to look deeper – be sensitive to the fact that the same piece might have different influence in the day than the night – or in the context of other Crystals. In short: “it’s complicated” would be its “relationship status,” which is why I abjure pat prescriptions of “this crystal for that situation” (way too simplistic).

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Now about Heart – we think of Love [Unconditional Love is the essence of Rose Quartz, pictured above] as being the ultimate expression of the Heart, and it is – but imagine Love as the gift…what is the wrapping, or better asked…what is the door (or gateway) through which Love travels?

Compassion is that sensation, the context – the realization that another’s feelings matter – or that another being is significant. Without that, it’s hard for true Love (or True Love) to be expressed. That is why I don’t identify one stone for “relationship problems” (or prosperity, for that matter)…some of our wishes and aspirations require further inquiry, and broader definition…to be tackled and addressed appropriately (and in a more sophisticated way). There are no silver bullets, easy solutions, or panaceas.

Back to Love. How authentically can we love the calf in the barn yard, knowing it will soon be slaughtered by our own hand? Is it not Compassion that leads us to send money around the world, to those less fortunate than we?

Compassion of the Heart – has much broader implications for the whole of Creation – just as Broadness of Mind (as discussed above).

Milky ‘glitter’ Quartz cluster often manifests perfectly the geological embodiment of our concept: Compassion (and/or Nurturance).

What stone manifests the energy of Compassion better than Milky Quartz? Wait, where’d I come up with that? It seems like an arbitrary association, or claim.

Not at all. Let me explain. As I’ve said, there is a language to understanding Crystals, it’s just a question of exploring and understanding it.

As mammals – we are nourished by mothers’ milk – and even if we never knew our mother (or she was not nurturing), that symbolism…of mothers’ milk as sustaining life-breath…remains imprinted in our DNA. Note: a visual/conceptual archetype ripples through our being.

I used the word “breath” – air is free, we breath without control [though some of us chronically under-inhale] – it’s not optional, and it’s everywhere. Mothers’ milk, however, is sometimes withheld (even not intentionally), due to will or circumstance. As babies, we cannot express ourselves precisely, our cry might be about a hundred different things…and yet the mothers’ breast (or milk, from whatever source) in generally soothing.

What is the connection between this soothing nurturance of mother’s milk and Compassion? Not everyone receives it, it is specifically for you. You have been singled out as both deserving and needing of this reward and life sustenance.

Mountain Aragonite, demonstrating that non-Quartz varieties can also manifest The Compassionate One energy.

A mother (more than just about anybody else) has a uniquely developed (or ought to) capacity for Compassion. This is why if mother’s ruled the world, they’d find other solutions than war. The notion of sending one’s offspring off into harm’s way is anathema to any child-loving mom.

You’ve heard it said that “there’s nothing like a mother’s love.” The gates of Compassion have been opened up – a mother’s love flows often unmitigated – and so, religions have deified women (just as men have been turned into G*ds, for other reasons). Fertility and the capacity for reproduction and care-giving are just important side effects of a much greater commodity – Love and its context – Compassion.

So what if a stone embodied this thing – more intrinsically and naturally than any picture, person – or idol could? What if there was a stone that simply was: Compassion. There is – and it shows up as more than just in the incarnation of Quartz – there are several other varieties of stone that carry the Compassionate vibration of Milky Quartz.

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Each of these three Gateways (to Mind, Heart, and Body) are ‘places’ – which we define through description – as best we can. They are also bridges. The Gateway, Bridge, or Cross Roads feature significantly in most traditions (you can research it, trust me).

If Thoughts and Emotions operate in mysterious ways, the Body does as well. Even doctors will tell you this. The same procedure can work seamlessly on 9 people, and then fail on the 10th. It could be a thousand things, including the impact of their Mind, Heart, and Spirit on the situation. But the flesh and blood, that thing and shell we inhabit, is its own world.

Citrine is the gateway to the Body. It’s clarity suggests that is not a simply base, massive material…that there is a higher, spiritual component and aspect to it…and we are blessed to have that in geological form. Here’s an interesting geological article all about Citrine.

nice ‘faux’ Citrine – occasionally extremely beautiful – is better for display than energy work

Heat-treated Amethyst, which is what most “Citrine” on the market really is – as with most artificially modified stones – has lost its umph, and is not ideally used on (or to represent) the person.

Treated stones – like Aqua Aura – sometimes take on their own unique energies, quite apart from their source material. That’s worth pursuing, but not in this conversation.

What we’re doing here – and a recurrent theme in my ‘teachings’ – is relating stones back to our own, personal energy systems. That is why I have developed a Crystal Energy Zones poster, which associates 29 Power Stones with our own body.

Without getting into all the subdivisions of the Foundation zone (Solar Plexus down through the Root Chakras) – a worthy topic, to be sure (for some future writing) – let me focus further on Citrine itself. If clear Quartz is a channel (and it’s not as impersonal – or even as effective – as Selenite, in this regard) – and Smoky Quartz is the Ultimate Forgiveness Stone – then Citrine is somehow in between…it represents Ego…in the best possible light.

large natural Citrine – perfect color – with 3 polished sides & 3 natural sides

Ego says “I am here” – in the way that our Body does, too – in the way that a superlative athlete can declare their physical prowess (at the finish line, or sometimes without even having to “say” anything). Ultimately, a healthy body walks hand in hand with a healthy Ego. You take up your space without hogging it, bragging, or belittling others.

This is the key and gateway to The Body. To understand the subtle and profound message and identity of Citrine, is to crack the code on true communication with one’s Self and physical being.

Many splendors lie deeper, in the Foundation – Carnelian, Ruby, Morion Smoky Quartz, even Petrified Wood (‘the animating factor’) is in its domain – but this Blog seeks only to show you the doors…the “3 big ones” (and how they have tangible import, as well as Spiritual significance, and “connections”)…as Gateways to the Mind, Heart, and Body.

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About the Author: Kyle Russell posts daily on Facebook – sends out Newsletters monthly (and emails sometimes more frequently) – and he leads Crystal Meditations and Workshops. See his Schedule of Events here on CrystalConcentrics.com, and his large variety of fine Crystal specimens for sale at http://www.PowerStoneCrystals.com. Email Kyle@CrystalConcentrics.com to learn more, or with any questions you may have regarding this Blog, or Crystals in general. 

Expo/Festival madness – the view from across the table

AnGee Lewis and Kyle Russell, on opposite sides of ‘the table’

What’s it like for a vendor at the shows you go to? I thought you might like to know, since the minority of us are standing on “this side of the table.”

Most of you (readers) are on the other side of the table… browsing like bees – going from flower to flower – exhibitor to exhibitor.

Yours is the choice. It’s a buyers’ market. If a vendor’s display (and selection) doesn’t suit you, you’re movin’ on!

I thought it would be enriching if you had a glimpse into what “we” go through. Hence, me writing this particular Blog. But a story is never just a story. It’s all about what we learn from it – or wish to convey (or “teach”) – through our experience.

rolling in to NYC at night

A few weekends ago was a textbook example (for me), of what it’s like to showcase at an Expo. Part of what made the experience particularly special – for me – was the fact that it was the first such show I’ve done in New York City.

I’d been there before, to wholesale to shops – 20 years ago – and also to perform, as a musician (more recently)…but this was different.

You can be sure it crowded my mind for weeks, leading up to the event. I bought new product – specifically to fill out my inventory for the occasion – I wanted to impress!

That entails selecting, buying, transporting, unpacking, pricing, photographing, and the uploading (to the web) dozens of specimens (cause that’s what I try to do with everything I get…put it through my inventory system). I also decided to overhaul my display M.O. as well – so I purchased velvet trays and pads – as well as a carrying case.

my entire display (including tables) on 2 dollies, packed into my hotel room

I laid out all my flats and boxes in advance, choosing only what would fit onto the two dollies I was bringing.

I had a 6-foot-wide by a 9-foot-deep space to fill. That’s an odd dimension, and took some advance planning.

The organizers had promised to provide a 4-foot table, which turned out to be a 6-foot table. That would have been good news for some folks, but not for me, ’cause I’d mapped out every square inch in advance.

I figured it out, though. It helped that I had gone to Costco, and purchased an actual 4-foot table, as well as a 6-footer – of which I’d already had two – but this newfangled one folds in half (which is nifty).

The goal is to streamline and to simplify, going forward – to make your life easier – because you can be sure challenges will come up, unforeseen. Like how was I gonna unload into the hotel from a busy downtown side street?

If registration as a vendor was required before I could even load in, who was going to watch all my stuff (or my car!)? And where, exactly, was I gonna fit an oversize vehicle (my full sized passenger/cargo van is about 7 feet tall) in a city than can barely accommodate “normal” driving machines?

the view from the 18th floor – where the Expo happened – looks the same as it did 70 years ago

Enter the brilliance – and generous response – which came from my asking my friend Nigel to come along. I’d reserved a 2-bedroom suite, on account of my family coming, but it turned out they couldn’t leave town. So I offered my bro from the music world the opportunity to have a weekend in the city – to do whatever he wanted – which he did(!)…so long as he could help me load in and out. He even drove us part of the way back (what a blessing)! We’d been meaning to catch up for months, so that was just fine by us, and it turns out he made some great connections of his own (at the Expo) that weekend.

I’ll only mention in passing that the hotel didn’t have my reservations (I’m finding this out at 11:15pm, after we’d just rolled in) – or that when Expedia lopped off my 4th night there, I ended up paying more (for the 3 nights that I did stay there) than I’d been on the hook for originally (for 4 nights!).

Snafus – things you can’t anticipate, and couldn’t begin to include in the price of your product – but they’re costs nonetheless…the cost of “bringing Crystals to market.” I hope buyers recognize that we vendors absorb these myriad tangible – and emotional costs – wishing (sometimes fruitlessly) to make them up on the “back end,” with some big sales. One of my fellow vendors reported more in sales to one big customer than all his others that weekend, combined!

8 main elevators, 1700 rooms(!)

As we were pushing my 10 large bins out of the freight elevators – on the 18th floor (a bellman had gruffly sent us ’round the back when we tried to load in to the main elevators) – a different group of exhibitors was loading in too. They asked us what we were selling.

“Crystals” we replied.

They were not pleased – since after having been told there were “only 2 Crystal vendors,” there turned out to be about 4 major vendors – and another handful of exhibitors with meaningful crystal displays.

It creates an atmosphere of competition for everyone (when there’s already lots of folks selling “the same thing”) – which can be healthy – and good for you buyers. But everyone selling sees their earning potential drop. It also hurts our (needed) margin when buyers get to pit us against each other for the lowest prices.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the end buyer’s benefit (hello: I’m a retailer) – but part of my mission in telling this story (can you tell?) – is to demonstrate the types of liabilities & costs we encounter at every turn (as vendors).

Fortunately, everyone was selling something a little different. And everybody had their unique strengths. But without an unlimited audience passing through, there’s only so many dollars to go around. If they don’t spend it with you, they’re spending somewhere else!

tasty (standing) Cobalto-Calcite & cubic Pyrite cluster I sold

I got one “insult” (that’s how I heard it) – “you’re the most expensive crystal seller in the place” – from someone who’d just walked away, after making a purchase (from me!).

He and his wife had come by and hammered me on pricing earlier, but then walked away – even after I dropped the total (on just 2 pieces) lopping off 20 bucks – which turned out to be a whopping 22% discount!

Most vendors are stretching it, to give you 5-10% off. I’ve seen it, cause I’m a buyer too (and they know I’m a dealer).

I enjoy giving breaks in general, but in particular when someone’s really enthusiastic, and buying multiple pieces.

I was actually rattled by that experience, though (and that doesn’t usually happen for me). A buyer from the previous day came by (very happy, with his new necklace, which he’d gotten from me ), and I confessed (after saying something nonsensical): “I’m a mess.” I drove 4 hours Thursday night, and then we loaded all my stuff up to the room, going to sleep way after midnight.

Friday, I set up from 10am till 3:30pm, just taking things out and organizing them. That’s over 5  hours on setup! You couldn’t tell me to set up any faster. Some things take the time to “do right.” I didn’t just lay bins out, or put out jewelry boxes…I took everything out…and put all into play with that new velvet-pad display-system I mentioned earlier.

Crystal Energy Zones poster

I was also excited to put out my new Crystal Energy Zones poster – which I’d created specifically in time for this particular Expo. It condenses the various Chakras down to 4 key areas, all all of which are pertinent to the human body. These are “populated” by the 29 varieties of power stones I find essential to working with our own energy system [email me at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com to get your copy].

The place was open to the public from then (3:30pm) till 10pm on Friday. That was another 6.5 hours on the floor – and I had just one meal throughout (and one bathroom break) – from start to finish! I’m a big eater, but you can be sure my stomach shrank to accommodate the long intervals between meals.

I wish I had photos of them all – there was the African sorghum meal – the Chinese Indian dish – and even raw coconut (which tided me over each afternoon).

me trying out the Coco-Jack coconut opener (with the inventor right there)

On Saturday, the hours were 10am till 9pm (count ’em: 11 hours); and Sunday was 11am till 7pm. With the long drive home to Boston looming ahead – after a 2 hour load out (that turned Sunday into a 16 hour day) – I had earned the right to reach the end of my tether.

Fortunately, this guy’s friend – whose sweater I’d complimented – offered (and delivered) a 5 minute Chi Gung massage session right there, with us standing in the aisle. It was heavenly, actually, and revitalized me…mostly to receive positive energy from someone who wasn’t trying to undercut the value of my hard work and display efforts.

I take this thing quite seriously – I’m gonna share with you a blog soon about the life cycle of a crystal: how it gets into my possession, as well as what it goes through before it gets into your possession. You’d be surprised by the number of hours (and dollars) that goes into developing a selection the likes of which I’ve been showcasing at events lately.

I was vindicated that after having frequented all of those other vendors, those prickly buyers returned to me because guess what – they didn’t find what I had elsewhere – and they ultimately came to appreciate the value of my pieces (though they wouldn’t admit that).

Quasi – with his new pieces – for embedding in a pendant

At other shows, my average sale is $30-50, but this time it was $50-100. That’s not because people are buying a dozen $5 stones – or three dozen dollar pieces – I don’t carry those. My pieces start at about twenty bucks because too much less isn’t really worth the time I put into them. My niche is to shoot for a cut up – just over the average – including both the stones I acquire & the collectors I’m aiming to attract.

I’m catering to folks who’ve been around, who’ve seen most of what’s out there, and are searching for more – for special – for unique. And that doesn’t have to be big and pricey. Take for example, my new friend Quasi’s purchases: a small Polar Jade piece (with its own type of texture) & a family of DT’s floating together like Herkimer Diamonds (which came from Morocco). He makes pendant breast plates, and these were just right for him.

“galactic mountain range” prase Quartz

Alternatively, I also sold some very special, more expensive pieces. Take for example this rare, crystallized, green Prase Quartz I called “Galactic Mountain Range.” Coincidentally (and happily), I sold another, single “point” of this material online that weekend.

But that was about as expensive as I expected to go. Most people – except those in the know, who were really curious – didn’t even notice my Ethiopian Opals (which run even higher in price range).

I barely have any Crystals that can fetch over a G. And that’s on purpose. Yet I saw some items pushing over $1000 mark – even stretching into the several thousands – at other booths.

One visitor even complained (regarding another vendor) – about an item that seemed way out of proportion in price – relative to smaller pieces of that same material. To the vendor’s defense, I’d have to say that larger pieces are sometimes more rare, and cost more than their aggregate weight in smaller stones, because it’s hard to find that variety in larger dimensions. All and still, it was oddly reassuring to notice that “fault” can be found with every vendor. Nobody’s perfect.

I do have a pet peeve – though – about strange, incongruous pricing. I try to have an internal logic behind the price of every single piece I carry. If you care to know, I can explain it to you (for any and every item I carry).

Smoky Quartz and other, darker items

I don’t price based on a blanket markup – as I imagine most people do – particularly wholesalers, who can’t be bothered with sorting through their lot (that’s our job, as retailers).

I price each piece based on a variety of factors. There’s size, color, texture, rarity (even within its type). Purchase price, replaceability, and personal “wow” factor all matter.

All these variables come into play…but this internalized list (the “axes of analysis,” as I call it) goes on and on! It would be hard to capture in words. There’s ultimately no substitute for the years of experience I bring to my pricing (and selection!).

The competitive vibe among sellers is actually something a lot of us have been overcoming (especially at the bigger shows). It’s so petty when venues block healers from reaching their audience, or sharing what it is they have to offer.

For all intents and purposes – if they did “open the gates” – the new arrangement would have every promise of creating a win win situation (for all of us). But no, we all want to be gatekeepers. “If you want to buy or be well, you have to come through my portal.” Sounds like Religion (but I won’t go there).

Papaya Quartz

I find that it breaks the ice – with all but the most negatively minded people – when I buy from them, even at retail (though I certainly prefer – and merit – wholesale pricing). I’m an omnivorous buyer, I go for the good stones, wherever they may be (and whatever they cost).

I love the light hearted comradery that happens “on the floor.” There’s a sense that we’re all in this together – and that when we’re travelling from afar – we’re at the mercy of the organizers (who are ultimately “responsible” for bringing people through the door).

Indeed, there’s a little bit of an “us vs. them” feeling amongst the vendors, relative to organizers. It shows up in how we react towards the space we’re given; or even down to how the electricity is served up.

Our electricity kept getting unplugged…and had to be taped to the wall. It was a little annoying to have paid nearly $200 for access to a socket that was already there in my own booth space. And it wasn’t even that professionally set up (the wall plate wiggled). Three different sellers were being fed off of one outlet. Shimmying it tighter to the wall was the only method by which we could “stay juiced.”

Hospitality matters too – and shows up in areas such as making a special food line for us vendors – vs. relegating us to fending for ourselves (as if we were in the wild), amidst the throngs of festival goers.

Jewelry show display bins

Back (a bit) to my pricing philosophy and perspective. Some people think that because one person’s selling a bunch of tumblers in grab-bag-baskets for a couple of bucks each, that they’re not making a good margin of profit. Think again – they’re making as good a margin as anybody – and those nic nac accessories and non-rock, “shiny objects” that fly off the shelves…they’re there because they’re easy markup items. I was offered a few, to carry, but I declined…saying “I’m just a rock guy.”

Please don’t think that because some rocks sell for $1 to $3, that all rocks cost – or should cost – that amount. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on purchases I have no guarantee will ever sell. That’s what you do when you’re really into it.

Be driven by the product, not the cost. There are more important things to life (and Crystals) than the numbers. It annoys me to no end when people just look for the price tag, and then drop the piece, as if it has no other intrinsic worth than the dollar sign sticker which is stuck to it.

blues and greens – from Turquoise and Amazonite – to Chrysoprase, Jade, and Chrysocolla

Another pet peeve I have is when people come up out of nowhere – as they did specifically at this show, searching for Shungite – and ask “do you have such-and-such?” Just ’cause somebody’s written a book about it recently – extolling its virtues – doesn’t make it the best thing since sliced bread!

When it’s revealed that I don’t have it (whatever it may be…”Natural-ite” was another favorite…that made me laugh), they disappear again. Never mind that I have some of the best specimens of the key, classic varieties (and some hard to find rarities too) right there for the viewing, which they’ve completely overlooked. That just shows me they’re into the trends, and have no real depth to their interest in Crystals.

As I was packing up, after the close of the show, a woman walked up and asked casually “can you explain about Crystals, and what they do for you?” lackadaisically. I’m like (in my head): “really, you can’t seriously care about the truth of the matter, never mind what I have to say about it.”

pendulums galore

Back to pricing – I have a pricing paradigm that I’ll share with you sometime too – it’s a way for you to understand better what you should expect to get for under $10 (as a retail buyer) – between $20 and $40; $50 and 90; over $100 – and over $200.

Another insider tip on my M.O. – if I don’t believe in it, or even get it – I don’t carry it (which I suggested above).

Take pendulums, for example. I don’t use them, but I know many who do. And I appreciate their aesthetic, as well as how helpful they can be (if you are into it). So I buy the best I can find – but not an overabundance of them – and I do display them.

Aqua Aura point(s)

Another variety I don’t use personally – but recognize the power of – is the treated Aura Quartzes. Precious metals are powdered, and fused to the surface of Quartz in a vacuum, at high temperatures. I’ve noticed they can become quite brittle – but they’re oh so pretty – and have a special, different, and larger than life aura.

My mainstay are real specimens  – including polished pieces – which I don’t necessarily consider “worse” than rough minerals.

I had a couple of people call me “hard” because I couldn’t go down indefinitely on the price of a standing Amethyst mini-cathedral. I’d rather hold onto something – wait for someone who appreciates it – than give it away beneath cost (or at a price that really doesn’t respect the piece).

Having been in the business 25 years, I know what will and won’t come around again.

Enough of my bellyaching! I don’t want to lose your ear – you’ve indulged me this far – but to get what we go through, you really have to understand this psychological tug of war that’s going on between us and folks who really don’t get it.

I had this same experience in the music business, where folks think you’re just “playing.” They don’t see your doing years of rehearsal, schlepping, late nights, driving tired behind the wheel, banging on doors for gigs. It ain’t easy work, but (somehow) we keep at it – we actually love it no matter what!

milky white Aragonite cluster lit from beneath by a light box

To tell you the truth – it’s self sourcing – energetically. I could be around Crystals (and all of what that entails) every single day, all day. Some of my best stretches have been spent exactly that way!

But you know the other reason we do it (and put up with all the BS)? It’s the folks who do get it, who recognize what you’re doing (and what it takes to deliver what you’re delivering). They make it worthwhile.

When I thought all was lost (that Saturday), and that I had no hope of recouping my expenses (never mind my product cost, or the worth of my time), I had a handful of good people come through. I’d just met them – for the first time(!) – and that carried me through.

Take also, for example, these encouraging words from a colleague afterwards: “You had a terrific display (and at least three attendees remarked to me that your crystals were of much higher quality than anything else at the show)! I think you really brought something special to the floor.” Feels good!

Or, from an elder, old time friend and fellow Crystal energy worker, based in NYC: “So good to see you again, I’m so proud of you. You have a great collection. And I like that you honor Earth Mother’s gifts.”

What else can I say?

What’s Love got to do with it? Crystals and the Heart.

jasper heart – broken – and repaired (in appearance)

Crystal & Healing are two words that tend to go together all the time. And surely most of us carry around a broken heart, or at least a wounded heart – from failed & troubled relationships – including messed up childhoods. This creates all kind of mixed emotions, and the Heart Chakra (energy center located right there in your rib cage), can be a complicated place.

One color – Green – is often associated with that place we call our Heart (according to the preponderance of chakra charts). I’ve added Pink as its logical companion. Isn’t that the color we most often associate with things lovey-dovey (in the West).

gemmy Rose Quartz egg, unparallelled in color

The distinction I make between Green & Pink is represented by two stones: Rose Quartz & Green Fluorite (which, in its rough, chunk form, looks just like a green version of pink Quartz). Rose Quartz represents Unconditional Love, the opening of the heart – that vulnerable “first love” vibration – also experienced by the lucky few who’ve had a first hand experience of The Divine…and feel that way towards G8D. It is innocent – not judging – and infinite.

large cluster of perfectly colored green Fluorite

Unfortunately, most of us lose touch with that Being Love feeling, and are caught up more in its unavoidable companion (at least for humans): Relational Love – how we connect with those around us, with our Self, and with our Spiritual guides and cohorts. Money, at least in the U.S. – is green – and represents our commercial relationship to the world. So as you can imagine, Green Fluorite is a complex stone, given the variety of connections it ‘watches over.’ I think of it mostly in terms of its spiritual role, which is enhanced by its clarity, translucency, or “gemminess.”

trio of matching, high grade octahedral blue Fluorite

Some people are just not green people, they relate far more to blue, and for them – although this aspect of the heart chakra remains green in color – they’d connect more easily with Blue Fluorite, a rarer, and wonderful form. So you can choose your Blue Spirit world or your Green Spirit World, but blue generally belongs higher, in the throat chakra and beyond.

naturally heart shaped, river worn Nephrite Jade

There are a number of other Aspects to what I call “the Heart Complex” – which are fortunately reflected in other, related stones – which ‘reside’ around “the big two.” Jade is directly beneath – and interestingly, appears not only in shades of green, but also in blue and gray. Jade is the great Emotional Soother – it’s surface is most like human skin (especially when naturally worn) – and it somehow “makes everything okay.”

attached, twin pair of giant Candle Quartz

Above “the big two” one could place Milky stones, particularly Milky Quartz (though there are other varieties – specifically some Calcites and Verengita – which is like a white Onyx or Alabaster). These represent most bluntly: a mother’s milk…compassionate…nurturing (which is a bit different from soothing).

pair of matching Malachite spheres

Next, beneath the Jade, come Smoky Quartz and Malachite.

Malachite can be a mixed blessing, because it’s an Emotive. The black represents opening, and the green represents the heart, so it’s an opening of the heart…helps feelings come up…not always an easy prospect.

But then, there is the Ultimate Forgiveness stone: Smoky Quartz, here to make everything okay – not by soothing – but by whisking away the negativity, transmuting it into some other place and time. It’s hard to get angry with Smoky Quartz around – I have a large beaded necklace of it – simply can’t get upset while I’m wearing it!

broken tip, but perfectly colored Smoky

So there you have it – the overarching duo of Unconditional & Relational Love – surrounded by other Heart Aspects: the expression of Feelings; Soothing; Compassion & Nurturance; and the power of Forgiveness…all important nuances coexisting in the Heart Chakra…and given voice and language through Crystals.

How they are configured, and ‘used’ to treat and enhance people’s experience, is the field of the ‘Crystal Healer,’ of which I am one. This arrangement is of my own ‘making’ – the choice of stones that participate in this important energy sector (of the human body) – have been selected and inter-related by me.

If you would like to learn more about how to dwell and explore the Heart Complex – through Meditation, Personal Sessions, or Live & Virtual Learning Opportunities – please contact Kyle Russell via email, at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com.

 

twin, or ‘couple stone’

PS. what about Romantic Love? It exists within the personal experience of these various energetic “pulls,’ but can be represented by “couple stones,” or twins…which do not pertain (or reside) directly in the Heart Chakra…but may be meditated on, or worked on, with Crystals that fit this description (as pictured here). Similarly, multi-point conglomerations (not necessarily clusters) can represent families, children, etc.

different heart-shaped stones will evoke different experiences of Love…this one is Tiger Iron…and is all about grounding your love, having a strong center of gravity, to not stray or be swayed wrongly

What stone can be used to attract love? That’s an interesting question, and not an easy one to answer. I believe that working with the other stones, and all that they “conjure” in the human breast, as well as approaching your life holistically, with an eye to balancing your energies, and more importantly…letting Universal Energy flow maximally through your being, and without snags…THAT is the way to open yourself up most easrily to receive Love into your life.

A good variety of these mentioned stones are also accessible at the For Sale items page at www.Facebook.com/PowerStoneCrystals, or by request, with interest, to the email above.

Crystal Healing Portal – “say a prayer for me!”

Crystal Concentrics business card

You’re either gonna like this idea – or you’re gonna hate it – but I’m opening up a new well in my practice…that of hearing people’s prayers, and magnifying them through Crystal layouts and supplication…to try to have them answered, one way or another. I will charge for this, but what you spend will be less than it will take (on my side) to cover the effort I put into it. You’re basically helping me to try to help you. That extra portion (of time and effort), which I volunteer for you, will be my contribution, or donation to your cause. Basically, I’ll be opening up a healing portal, for you and your wishes to be a part of…to partake of. You’re welcome to get on board – just contact me, read this blog – and visit my Services page for more information.

A lot of times I see people post (on Facebook) – asking people to pray for their loved one – who’s in crisis. I found myself doing this when my kids were in a car accident. There was an outpouring of concern (and prayer)…for which I was grateful. I felt buoyed, supported…even loved. Nothing wrong with that!

Independently, some other folks have contacted me, to pray for someone special in their life…themselves, a daughter, a parent. It’s strange, because I don’t know them. Why would they ask that of me? They know I’m in the ethers, dealing with metaphysical things on the regular. Naturally, they figure I’m capable of putting in a good word for them, as I’m in contact with Spirit kinda steady. Yet something was holding me back.

First of all, getting into the supplication “business “- with or without money exchanged – is not something to be trifled with. If you are asking G8D to make a special dispensation – to bend the waters of fate, to favor one individual (or a group of us) – are you not taking good fortune from others? Is it selfish…a kind of “robbing from Peter to pay Paul”? Not necessarily…it oughtn’t be..

giant DT elestial closeup

It’s only natural to want to better your situation, and it’s not like anyone wants to hurt someone else in the process. That would be what they call “black magic.” I do not go there, absolutely refuse to (and I’ve been asked for that, too). Most definitely not in my job description.

Most of us believe in a fair and benevolent G8D – but also feel that misfortune can be blind, and is not intrinsically kind or just. Remember “when bad things happen to good people?” We see that happen every day (just watch the news).

But suppose the Almighty – assuming you believe in there being one – was ultimately in charge. I know not all of you feel that way, and it’s unverifiable, particularly to the Atheist and Agnostic. But to the Believer, G8D is a force to contend with, to come to terms with, accept the actions of. Some feel, and surely the Bible demonstrates this – that G8D is jealous – He can be wrathful, even vengeful.

Etheric Goddess

I chose the word He, because the Abrahamic monotheistic traditions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – have traditionally been sexist, patriarchal, and non-embracing of the Feminine. Fortunately, newer understandings and experiences of religion have become more inclusive, and just as the Virgin Mary has long been representative of the loving, maternal Divine, people are increasingly ascribing or choosing to see in G8D a more generous, nurturing light.

Is there enough to go around? Well, if Life is Love manifest, then yes – surely – life (and love) abounds! It’s all around us – booming population – and even wildlife (and insects) thrive in their bastions.

Life is almost cheap, with how frivolous we have (most of us) become with it. Mistreating the environment, wars, competition, heedlessness to the plight of others…it’s not a flattering picture of humanity.

woman praying

Yet surely, acts of kindness do exist. Charity and good will are not dead.

But when you ask me personally, to get involved, I have to take that request most seriously. First, there is the “getting next to G8D” – if I can be so presumptuous to assert that as even being possible for me!

What does it take? Calming down my own inner storm; bringing Mind, Body, and Spirit together. I must raise my voice and open my ear to the Will of the Divine – whose intention may not be to grant clemency – we cannot know.

Those who claim to know the Will of G8D are either lying, or fooling themselves.

Ametrine Cathedral in sunlight

I recently joked, when describing the power of an enormous Amethyst cluster I have: “if that don’t cure you, you ain’t meant to be cured.” Reminds me of my “Can you Heal Me?” blog, which you may wish to check out, for reference. It’ll fill out some of these concepts – the most important one being that, basically – there are no guarantees that your prayers will be heard or answered.

This reminds me too, of the music promotion business, in which I worked tirelessly for many years. Artists would approach me: “make me famous” was their wish, indeed their expectation. Would that I could, that I should have that kind of power! “No,” I’d set them straight – “what you’re paying me for is my knowledge, expertise, and resources to do what I say I’ll do…you’re paying me for a service (for my time and my actions)…not for a guaranteed outcome. As long as you’re cool with that, we’re all good. Then everybody is doing their part.”

But truly: it is up to G8D to determine who gets helped. That is “giving unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” We have to know our place – our own sacred role to play – and mine is expanding – I want to help!

Kyle Russell at the Natural Living Expo

It’s true, I deal with Crystals on the daily, and sit in the presence of the Spirit as consistently as I can. I have 25 years doing it, some years more than others, but now more than ever.

I’ve survived Cancer by personal (human, and yes, medical) effort. Good will, and of course, the grace of G8D helped too. I eat well, better than ever, and am more consistently thinking about how my life can be a vessel for the betterment of the world, given my specific talents and predilections.

I lead Meditations, Classes, and Workshops – all of them focused on working with Spirit and Crystals – at the same time.

Twister

I have a healthy respect for the earth-crushing and creative power of Nature (and the Supernatural). I recognize the challenges posed by the offensive forces of Evil, Chaos, Decay, and the effects of both Greed and its less recognized aspect: the Benign Competition among people for Resources (in which wildlife and ‘the poor’ fare badly).

Classism, Racism, religious intolerance…these all contribute to the uphill battle we face…even in trying to get well on a personal level. Any energy worker has to do battle with these essences, which will necessarily be taxing and dangerous. Working and weaving “in the light” sometimes seems to ignore this underside of reality.

Mandela

There is also the Pandora’s Box that can be unleashed when you meddle with G8D’s plan. At the same time, if we passively accept predestination (“que sera sera”), we abdicate our own power, and our extraordinary capacity to influence the situation.

Choice is one of G8D’s greatest gifts to us. “Well behaved women never make history” Eleanor Roosevelt said.

What would it have been like had Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and Mandela “held their corner,” and kept their mouths shut?

‘midnight grade’ sliver of Lapis

So to speak up – to take action, make our requests from the Universe – is our right and our responsibility. This is “your mission, should you choose to accept it” (remember Mission Impossible?).

There is an African proverb: “when you pray, move your feet.”

Don’t be powerless – do what you can do – take any and all action within (and beyond) reach, to get your goals.

That being said (that you have more internal resources than you give yourself credit for) – and with all the support available through the conventional world – why bother working with me to try to advance your cause?

What can I, and Crystals do that the rest of our modern resources (and your own religious belief) not do?

Well – if you’ve ever felt powerless, like you just don’t get it: “why me” – and if you’ve ever felt like all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t seem to put Humpty back together again…you’ll know it’s worth a try.

I know what that’s like. I’ve been terminally ill. I’ve had dogged maladies that wouldn’t go away. The doctors had no idea what to do. And they didn’t (really) care. Other alternative modalities failed to satisfy, too.

Even if things seem to being going well – you have it all “pretty much under control” – I find that it’s that much better when you take a pause and partake of this wonderful resource.

large Citrine semi-sceptered Elestial

I truly believe that bringing Crystals into the picture – given my experience, the breadth of my understanding about the complexities of Reality (as hopefully demonstrated above), and the amazing energies of the Power Stones I bring to bear – can only help you, deepen your own awareness, and introduce new and powerful elements into your appreciation (and grasp!) of Life.

Crystal Concentrics is all about full attention on YOU!

In my consultations, your perception of Spirit (in your life) matters – what you feel, what you want – and rallying the forces of Metaphysical Healing to your service…each is taken into account.

If you’re ready to explore this possibility and the opportunities is presents, please contact me at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com.

Crystal Healing Layout

Once we talk – and review your situation – a specific action plan will be put into place – whether it be individual, in-person – or long distance sessions. And if it’s right, your supplication will be brought right into the Crystal Vortex of Healing Portal soon! Please Follow me through my Contact Links, to see more about how this, and my other efforts progress!

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About the author: Kyle Russell has been working with Crystals for 25 years, and has founded Crystal Concentrics (the ‘modality arm’) and Power Stone Crystals (the ‘sales arm’) to bring Crystal knowledge, use, and appreciation to a broader audience. Working on several books, he also leads Workshops, Meditations, and does Individual Healing work. Please contact him at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com for more information, and to follow up in finding out how Crystals can be a bigger part of your Life. 

Crystal Meditation vs. Crystal Workshop (why, and what’s the difference?)

What’s the point of a Crystal Meditation (or a Workshop)? You might say: “I can do this all on my own, and I have everything I need – I know how to read – I bought the books!” Sure – have at it – but two things make doing an actual Crystal Meditation (or Workshop) with me, well worth it.

mystic light, emanating from a crystal point

First of all, I have my own approach – I’ve sourced all my information intrinsically, “from on high” (no, not channelled, per se) – and from experience. I have actually been working with Crystals for 25 years! I don’t read “the books,” so you’re not likely to hear what you’ve heard before.

In fact, I take issue with a lot of what’s been written. It’s too generalized, simplistic, and fantastic (in the literal sense of that word). If I can’t feel it myself, or understand it – because it’s seemingly arbitrary, contrived, and poorly explained – then I don’t want to go there.

I have something unique to share. Whichever way you connect with me – including online – which is a major priority for me…to deliver some virtual content & value…but more on that developing saga (of reaching out to a bigger audience through the Internet) another time.

Whether on the Web, or in person, the key is interaction. That’s the second thing that makes taking either a Class/Workshop, or doing a Meditation worthwhile…the people!

My knowledge doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it comes out more with others (than on my own) – and everyone attending has a lot to contribute, too. I’m always amazed by people’s observations – what they’re going through – and what they’re learning. We all have a lot to teach one another!

Those are two strong “why’s.” Now let me tell you more about the “how” of what’s involved…

In a Crystal Meditation, I begin without any stones: for us to remember we’re biological beings – with minerals “inside” us – but we’re impermanent, mostly liquid (water…blood…bodily fluids).

We’re floating, here only for a time. And filled with our own concerns – “busy mind” – which we want to calm and center, ground and “space out” (ie. make receptive to new and deeper experiences).

Perhaps we introduce an intention, or a question, for you to go in and research, or cultivate the answer to, and maybe bring forth into your consciousness. We invite your Soul into the common space of the group, for this out-of-the-ordinary opportunity. Sacred safe-space is key – no judgements – no criticism.

People may share what they’ve come up with, or what’s come up for them…

diamantina laser polarity

Then comes 1 (or more) guided meditations including Crystals, because they’re what makes this a Crystal Meditation, after all!

The fact that I’m leading, makes it a Crystal Concentrics (my brand of) Meditation, as well.

We explore themes, in the context of the chosen Power Stones, which serve to focalize our thoughts and energies. Some may be held – or you can hold your own Crystals – and we go through that (and share again).

Topics have included Grounding, Sickness, Reconnecting with Spirit, and more. The list could go on and on. What we’re not doing here – is a prescribed program – going from a A to Z in a set curriculum. We don’t offer certifications or grant titles – making you a Master of this – or that.

This is another distinction of the Crystal Concentrics way. It’s not linear – so, in keeping with the name – it has to do with circles: moving outward, cross referencing, interconnecting. Most of all, it’s a process, a process which does not end. It evolves, like a ripple in a pond…spreading out, dissipating…and then starting again elsewhere – just like the movement of our Souls, through this – and other lives, planes, times, and places.

a sample presentation of the Cosmology of Crystals

 

Finally, and this does not happen every time, we might create a layout, or even a portal, to galvanize several energies at once, including the power of our collective presence and consciousness.

We have evoked “The River of Life,” “The Cosmology of Crystals,” and “The Pillar of Light” (an energy source for healing, and a passageway into the sublime).

All of this in an hour and half!

More or less time could be taken – depending on the circumstances.

Online, for example, may be more of a “get-down-to-business” scenario…since there’s less time for meet-and-greet. But it could end up similarly – as I’m new to it – and haven’t explored all the possibilities yet.

In person certainly has its advantages, but because of our efforts, and the Crystals themselves – which work so powerfully with the archetypes of our minds – it is actually possible to have every bit as powerful experiences virtually, as you can live. The imagination is a powerful landscape, and you can travel there easily, with or without your body.

grounding, superior specimen of Hematite

I do not advocate for an “out-of-body” lifestyle, though. To the contrary, most illnesses of mind and body are worsened (or even brought on) by dissociation with the physical. And I totally understand that trauma can leave you wanting to leave your body (or be anywhere else).

Ultimately, you have to take care of, and be in your body. Otherwise, what’s the point of being here(?), when there are other levels of existence (and non-existence) to get to.

Important, life-changing choices have to be made, and individual, one-on-one sessions, are where I explore that work (and any particular challenges you may be facing in that area). The beauty of private work is that you get all of the attention: the entire time is spent on your process. Nobody else shares. Nobody else’s needs matter (in that period).

Group meditation and the workshop environment may not be for you if you’re grappling with your own issues consumingly. They may be clouding your capacity to be in community. At the same time, it can be liberating to be in the company of others, and to levitate from your own well – see a fuller landscape – and appreciate anothers’ perspective.

Moving on, you might also ask: “Now the Crystal Concentrics Workshop – how is that different from – and why would I want to participate in one of those, instead of (or additionally to) the Crystal Meditation experience?”

The Workshop definitely incorporates Meditation, and all of the elements discussed above. It takes twice as long, though, because there’s a whole different aspect, that is unique to it. The educational, instructional piece, is what makes it stand out.

the Chakras as I-statements

People want to know about the bigger picture, not just the specific energies employed during one Meditation (valuable as that may be). They want to understand how all (or most) of the major varieties (or one specific variety) of Power Stones “works,” and is interrelated with the others. For that reason, I introduce paradigms: frameworks that quantify, or organize our ways of thinking (and feeling) about the full spectrum of Crystals.

Which concept can (loosely) hold, or allow for the interpretation of the whole of the mineral “kingdom,” as it relates to the human bodily (and ethereal) energies?

Another question we might ask is “How, with thousands of varieties out there – can we (without getting all Scientific about it) – group into a smaller number of categories, the astonishing multiplicity of Crystals in existence?”

Even a single stone has so many attributes – by what means can we judge, or place it – on a variety of continuums for description, simultaneously?

All these are the types of queries we address in my Workshops.

To find out more, really, you should simply attend. Rest assured, that no two events – be they Meditations or Workshops (I call them Workshops, and not Classes, because they’re more participatory than “just a class”) – no two meetings will be identical.

There’s no “I heard that before,” or “there he goes again,” because I strive to approach every happening freshly. Even repeat guests cannot have been to every event – as I have – so if I can not be repetitious in myself, I’ll always move forward. That way, I can be sure to keep our experiences new and different.

As always – to get these updates & more (’cause my work is not only my Blog – I have newsletters, and numerous other Links for you to check out) – please email me at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com.

To see my actual Calendar / Schedule of Events, click here. I hope to see or meet you soon! I’m happy to share with you the adventure of this work!

Regards,

Kyle Russell

Founder of Crystal Concentrics

and Power Stone Crystals

Protection (and Crystals)

Protection. You want it. I want it!

Who doesn’t? But what is it…what does it really mean? That word – and the actions required to achieve that thing called “protection” – what’s it all about?

I hear a steady hum of requests and claims from people who are seeking, using, even needing Crystals for this purpose. “Do this” or “carry that” – I’ve heard – and (essentially…people claim): “you’re all set.”

Egyptian Amulets

As with most complex, Spiritually co-creative processes – the actual mechanics of how “protection” works – is only loosely understood (by most people). There is a pervasive (and very old school) “amulet mentality” – stemming from the notion that possessing (or holding, even in your pocket) a certain stone (or trinket) – will necessarily ward off evil.

Could it really be that easy? I wish it were so. And there are times, no doubt, when it is (or can be).

I just don’t think it’s (always) so easy – which is why I don’t like to give people quick – pat answers. The circumstances, nuances, particulars, and specifics all matter.

There is a LOT of grey area in the Spiritual realm – as there is in our own “grey matter” – the human brain and psyche…both are infinitely complex.

Also, you can have all the “protection” in the world – but if you stand out on a railroad track , and the train is coming towards you late at night – there’s nothing you can do to keep from being mowed down.

Tempting fate is a losing prospect. Ultimately, what you’re trying to do, is to get on the safe side of reality. Reduce your risk to a minimum. That means “don’t trouble Trouble.”

Stay the hell out of the way, unless you’re trying to be a hero, a martyr, or a fool. In any of those cases – you’re courting disaster, saying “bring it on” because your cause is just (or you think it is) – and feel the risks are worth taking. In other words – for you – “the ends justify the means.”

If you’re seeking Protection, it’s because you want to be safe along the way. You may not actually want to endanger yourself in the first place. You’re first line of defense should always be: don’t to put yourself into harm’s way.

Many people (sometimes instead) are looking for “quick fixes,” an age old panacea…something easy!

Aztec human sacrifice

Let me be clear: I don’t idolize past traditions – there were (and are) many closed-minded and hurtful superstitions in place – not just issuing from Europe, but from many of the latest and “greatest” belief systems, all around the world. Nobody has – or should claim – to have all the answers.

I don’t want to say that protective objects don’t exist (like the Kuba nail fetishes of West Africa, and so many more) – but in the case of Crystals – we have the opportunity of gaining a much broader understanding of how this tricky dynamic can work, and be empowered (more than just in awe) of our own capacity to defend ourselves against “the dark arts.”

Not that evil is the only thing we need defense from. Often, our woes are not from malicious malefactors (or supernatural demons), per se. Who we’re in need of real protection from – in the day-to-day – are (in the grand scheme of things): ill-willed politicians, imperial and genocidal cultures, climate change, disease and old age. More mundanely (but no less threateningly): vindictive ex’es, negative co-workers, or a car accident can all creep up on you.

“The enemy” can be great or small. Or faceless. “Bad luck” – having been dealt a poor set of cards – that’s a very common thing we all need protection from.

You have to work a bit, to determine exactly what you’re trying to be spared, so that you can mount your counter attack, or build your defenses intelligently.

particularly sweet Black Tourmaline

In the “Crystal World,” Black Tourmaline is often reached for -reflexively – but why?  What is the mechanism by which its protection is effected? What is the crystal DOING to keep you safe? And why should you choose that one over any other?

These are prickly questions – ones we don’t get answers to often – because the purveyors of crystal lore often repeat by rote what’s been “handed down” to them, without attempting any substantive explanation for why one set of assertions should be considered more truthful than any others.

Now I don’t expect you to do a science experiment to identify what methods will work best against invisible forces. I don’t know if such a thing is even possible (or desirable). You’re using etheric energy to fight etheric energy…there’s no place for that in the scientific method arena (or vice versa). True to the playing field of “grey area,” there are no easy answers, or solutions to the quandary.

There is, however, a way of understanding what’s happening – or what needs to happen – which might make sense, and feel like it’s involved in the physical cause-and-effect progression 0f that which you’re seeking.

Basically, self-defense consists of four parts: avoidance of dangerous situations (stay out of the way); bolstering of internal strength (to gird against attack); the clearing of negative energies (to ensure that that your vibes go unfettered); and going on the offensive (beating back your enemy).

Avoidance can be active, and literal – or “passive” – as in stealth, “cloaking,” being unseen…shapeshifting. It combines common sense, practical “street savvy,” and advanced knowledge of esoteric arts. So I won’t be getting into that one right now, from a metaphysical perspective. It’s a bit premature, and not really necessary, with all this other advice I’m dishing out. Just mind your P’s and Q’s, and you should be alright with what I’m presenting here. This is a solid foundation for understanding how Crystals can be used for Protection.

Herkimer Diamond with lots of internal fracturing

Next. How about bolstering your internal strength? Take a page from our friend, the Herkimer Diamond (a variety of Quartz that forms solo, or in groups, and is generally double terminated). I can’t “use” this material for much, like Quartz points, wands, and tabulars. Those all permit the use or projection of energy flow through them. Herkimers hold their own, however: they’re pretty much energetically impermeable.

Am I repeating this because I’ve read it somewhere? No! What I’m saying here comes from my own personal experience. You can take it with a grain of salt – “find out” for yourself – and/or trust me, based on my 25 years’ experience with Crystals.

Herkimers can be rather expensive, for their size, but they’re kind of  unique (though I’ve seen similar formations coming from Mexico and elsewhere). Dynamically, though, nothing from anywhere else does what a Herkimer Diamond can do. Bigger is indeed better here, and by merely having, or reflecting on it, you can cultivate your own inner resources, “thicken your skin,” strengthen your immunity. This is a useful tip, even beyond the topic of Protection…it feeds right into Health and Wellness in general. That’s one thing (among many!) that I like about Crystals…they’re useful in so many ways, and for so many purposes.

The suggestions I make here are by no means the only methods for getting at any given ends. I (and you) might have other stones or techniques (including many that don’t even involve Crystals), which may be perfectly useful. But I’m touching on these particular pieces to give you guidelines about how to use these specifically appropriate stones, and how different stones can affect different ends (or sub-priorities) – even if you have one overarching “goal” (in this case, it’s Protection). A multi-tiered approach is always better than a one dimensional fix-it.

sheen Obsidian wand

Clearing of negative energies – I use light percussion or sage too (to achieve this) – but in the mineral world, Obsidian (specifically in wand form) is a really good way of shoo’ing away unwanted vibrations. It’s like clearing cobwebs. The idea is to scare off “bad spirits” – to make an open, fresh space – for new (and “better”) energies to come through. Imagine it’s like erasing a blackboard, zeroing out a calculator, or wiping a slate clean. As a result, you can work with “what’s left,” and build something new in “the vacuum.”

A corollary to clearing, is the subsequent (or co-incidental) creation and maintenance of Sacred Space. That can be effected through layouts, with energetically neutral objects (or stones), and is an important prerequisite for doing serious energy work.  You don’t want negative vibes slapping back once a person’s aura has been opened. It’s not fair to them, as they’ve put their trust in you. Another form of Obsidian – specifically “Apache tears” – is great for this…it’s like those circular bubble-generators that keep sharks away.

Lastly, there is the notion of actively fighting back opposition (or malevolent intentions). For this, you do need a heavy hitter. It’s a bit like fighting fire with fire – the reason people like to have guns – for self defense (or offense towards others). People like to think that their weapon would never “fall into the wrong hands,” or be misused by an innocent (like a child). For “2nd amendment’ers,” there’s also the expectation that their weapon would never be used against them, and that only “good” people’s rights are defended by allowing unbridled access to firearms. It’s a tricky game that can backfire, and should not to be trifled with.

large irradiated Arkansas Quartz

I digress though – but only sort of – because it surprises me to see some folks in the crystal business (usually the non metaphysically-oriented ones) glorifying gun ownership. And yet, here I am, advocating something similar.

Evil exists in the world – mostly because of people – it’s a force we’ve generated by our own human hand since “the fall” (or the expulsion from Eden). Even in the natural world – where the construct of malevolence does not apply – predators and other natural forces beset the individual as soon as they’re born.

We all need tools for defense – and tools are a uniquely human problem solver. Specifically, I present to you this giant, irradiated “generator” point. Notice: it points away from you, and off the page.

Usually, I reserve the term “generator” for wide points that stand straight up. In this case, the piece does push out energy spontaneously. And you don’t want it pointed at you – or anyone, really – it’s more generally for protection, to ward off any evil intentions (which may be out there). I can’t tell you the perils I’ve avoided…which at least, in part…I owe to having this power piece.

I realize not everyone has access to something of this magnitude – I haven’t seen another since the late 80’s – and not all irradiated Quarz will manifest the same qualities (as this one does). However, you may wish to seek out something similar to it. The look may not be the identical. You may find a completely different stone – or some other power object to use – but the function should be comparable. Like an attack dog, it safeguards  your scene…and that’s a very important role (for it) to play.

Thus, and in conclusion, it is possible to effect Protection through Crystals. It’s not as simple as putting a bandaid on – or one rock in your pocket – my prescriptions are multi-layered. In this, as with any other ambitions you may have, it behooves you to look at the problem from several angles. Then, understanding the intrinsic energies of Crystals, it becomes possible to put together a creative, and 3-dimensional approach to whatever challenges face you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Crystal Concentrics’ founder Kyle Russell has been working with Crystals for over 25 years. He is available for individual session work (in person, and long-distance), as well as group instruction: Classes & Meditations. His For-Sale pieces may be seen at http://www.Facebook.com/PowerStoneCrystals, and you can contact him directly at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com with any questions you may have.

Thought-Provoking Gem Show Conversation

quality (and lower quality) beads by the thousands

I found my favorite retailer at the Marlborough gem show this weekend – and of course went through all their cardboard ‘flats’ – the name of the industry standard 1.5 foot by 2 foot cardboard boxes replete with minerals. These folks are generally the only ones selling specimens in the whole show (of maybe 150 vendors). It’s really 98% jewelry, not even cut stones that much…and a lot of trinketry too.

I overheard Rick [even my son remembered him when I got home (and he didn’t even come with me this time), as having the build of a wrestler, and – my edit – the spirit of a Viking]…I’m changing his name because this isn’t an official interview. I’m editorializing, and I don’t know that he cares to share all these perspectives publicly. I do, however, because they’re edifying (and interesting).

At the moment I came up, Rick was disabusing a picky customer regarding her predilection for American mined stones, basically telling her to get over it. But I didn’t hear the whole conversation. So there’s not much more I can say about that…my conversation with him was grist enough for my own mill.

class flier for Crystals Demystified, register at http://www.bit.ly/KRCDHEC

First, I handed him the info sheet to my upcoming Crystals Demystified class (being held Sunday, 12/2/12, from 1-3pm). He had an opinion (of course). My sense was that he was invested in sharing some of his own ideas with these ready listeners – through me – and I guess that’s what’s happening.

We sparred over polished vs. natural stone. Specifically, I was saying that I’m seeking rough Sugilite, and polished pieces won’t do. The same is true – for me – with Lapis. He took umbrage at the notion that one (rough, he assumed was my favorite) is superior to the other.

tumbled (polished, but not glossy) chunk of Jet, with interesting creases

Rick argued that polishing is merely the rubbing of finer stones against others (what could be more natural?) – and that it’s not an adulteration or diminution of their value, energetically. I couldn’t agree more, actually – and as usual (‘in my book’) – it depends on the piece. Certain stones, you can ‘access’ their energy better if they’re polished…others less so. I know which is which, for me, but time didn’t allow – and it wasn’t called for – to have me enumerate which was which.

He said: “to all those people who want to be snobby about their ‘natural’ pieces” [and I paraphrase here, as I have been throughout], “I want to empty a wheelbarrow of muddy, silty mine-fodder in front of them and say ‘how’s that for natural’?” Many of us want our stones washed and tidy, which is a form of processing in itself.

I myself would rather wait and sift through gem show collections than go sling a hammer in the field. I’ve done it – a little – at the public Herkimer diamond mines. I admire (and of course respect) those who do…who get and convey all the stones I’ve ever seen ‘to the table. But that’s not my role or specialty in this ‘business.’ I put quotes around ‘business’ because it isn’t really a business, only…it’s a passion, and a mission (for some of us).

collection of pieces I purchased this last weekend

I’m a selector, collector, and conveyer of information, teaching, and process…that’s by ‘job.’ I quote ‘job’ because it’s not a J.O.B. – it’s a calling.

Now back to my account. Rick admitted that as someone who buys and sells rocks full time, he’s got a vested interest in getting his head around the metaphysical piece. But before he got into that, he had some more schooling for me.

We talked about the various techniques by which balls are polished out of chunks (and cubes)…including by hand (where electricity is less reliable than person power). The 3 Jet balls I purchased – nowhere have I seen any, but small examples of them before – these were clearly hand wrought (and from Poland, which is unusual, as I haven’t heard of Poland being a source for Jet, previously).

I learned that most of the Afghan Lapis comes from three mine shafts into the ‘blue mountain’ – apparently visible as such, from miles away – during Biblical times. These mines date back to before the Egyptians. Each delivers a different grade of Lapis. I bought a sliver of ‘midnight grade’ Lapis Lazuli – the only one he had on display (or maybe the only one left, as I arrived on the afternoon of day 3). I haven’t decided whether or not to sell it. For now it’ll accompany my own, similar piece…but check it out (in the picture here, to the right)!

Going back to his diatribe about ‘rough’ vs. polished – Rick made a couple of references to his analogy that turning someone on to a raw fish & vegetable diet that they hadn’t ever tried before – would surely result in upsetting their stomach and turning them off to the whole idea, healthful as it may be. He said basically: you have to crawl before you can walk, and small, cheaper, easier to hold tumbled rocks do just fine as ‘gateway’ crystals.

Then we got into something really quite interesting. He said “if I put a chunk of Plutonium in your bed, you’d start losing hair and bleeding from your gums in a few days. Yet you can’t see it’s energy, or even feel it. I’d like to try that on someone who says they don’t believe rocks have any energies. If one element can do that much harm, there’s got to be other rocks that can have the opposite effect on your well being. Problem is, how can I prove the well being piece? It’s easy to show that something killed you – but you can’t easily show that something healed you” – or reproduce the results handily, from one person to the next.

Funny (sad, really) how much easier (or reliable) it is to destroy than to create. And yet, I’m astonished how some homeless people – who I know are living the hard life – survive year in and year out. We are a resilient race – some of us survive even the worst tribulations – while others succumb so easily to them.

Another example of how/why rock power is a force to contend with: Rick said “during the Great Depression, some women in Appalachia were called crazy for eating dirt…yet their diet was devoid of iron. They needed it for their metabolism, even though they didn’t know the real reason they were drawn to eat dirt.” Rick said: “we’re eating dirt ourselves, only in the form of the plants and animals that are able to transform its various elements into digestible, assimilable nutrients. Our bodies are filled with elements, metals, and minerals” – they’re called mineral supplements, aren’t they?

yellow Calcite votive candle burner

Yet people feel a disconnect. They’re like – yeah, but that’s food – these are just rocks. Some of them are – with no perceptible energetic ‘value.’ And Rick said as much. But to not recognize the unbroken continuum between us and the very material that makes up our planet (and our bodies) – which preceeds us by millions (and billions!) of years, is kind of like living with a huge blind spot in front of us – don’t you think?

I watched the Lincoln movie last night, and there was dispute on the floor of the Congress about whether full equality under the law, for African Americans, would lead to full voting rights, representation, and intermarriage…or even votes for women (still 50+ years away from that discussion in 1865). Those attitudes now seem embarrassingly outdated – but that’s what some people thought (and truly believed) – just like the folks 500 years ago, who scoffed at the notion of the world being round, or its revolving around the sun.

I used to – and still kind of do, physiologically – think the human being stopped evolving some time ago. Sure, there are modern pathogens, GMO’s, and electromagnetic bombardment. Those must be having their effect, changing us in ways we don’t know.

optical Calcite, cut to resemble a Quartz generator, with phenomenal and layered rainbow action

There doesn’t seem to be any ‘survival of the fittest’ dynamic at work any more – everyone lives long enough to reproduce – whether they choose to or not, is another story. Our bodies are essentially as they were 100,000 years ago. But after watching the movie “Happy” – which showed the radically different brainwaves and cortical activity of someone in a meditative state – I’m starting to think it’s possible that our brains can evolve, even in our lifetimes, as we pursue discipline,training our capacity to apply our mental abilities in new and different ways.

This is promising, and encouraging to us, as a race. We have the power to adopt new mindsets, make whole different outcomes unfold in the world (and our lives!). There’s a reason it’s said that G*d created the world out of sound, or ‘The Word.’ That is the power of our imagination, and intention.

Flight was impossible till someone thought about it seriously, and put mind to machine, making it happen.

We’ve realized that our body is made up of billions of organisms – not just one – because of the important role of co-habitating bacteria in our gut (and all the outcomes beyond genetics, that impact our health, as a result of that). We are not in this alone – not just inside of us – but outside, above, and all around us. What I’m saying is that we are inextricably bound up with the world around us – not just an island, cut off – and our willpower can move mountains.

But I digress – though the above is important – and certainly part of my own, ‘unfoldment’ recently. Our consciousness is like a flower, first a tight and impermeable bud, but then developing into a beautiful flower, before withering away, and leaving only the memory of its splendor, in the words, works, and impressions we’ve made around us.

Ours is a powerful instinct to seek out what we need. People often say “you teach what you need to learn.” I have a powerful desire to connect and be grounded to earthly things (and vitality). That is because I’ve had the tendency (and constitution) to be airy and slothful at once. You might not believe it – and I have to remind myself: I can go that way – but it was my original constitution, which I’ve taken years to transform (over the past 30 years).

I’m still working out my process, fighting certain battles, trying to improve my self.

Rick’s point, in addition to all the above, is that you really have to tune into yourself, find out what it is that you’re craving (or need), and pursue it open mindedly. Don’t be dogmatic or limited. Say you need vegetables in your diet – but you only eat broccoli – and there’s no broccoli around – what do you do…starve yourself of vegetables, holding out for that broccoli, which simply isn’t available?

As the 60’s tune goes: “if you can’t be, with the one you love – honey – love the one you’re with.” Not that I’m advocating for infidelity. You have to take the sentiment with a grain of salt. Seriously: take advantage of what is, don’t get hung up on what isn’t, because the here and now is all we really have.

Yes, there’s memory, longing, and wishful thinking – but hear me out – there’s a specific point we’re making here.

Smoky oval…beautiful color & energy

It’s a pet peeve to Rick (and to me too) when people say – “I’ve heard this is ‘good for’ such and such, and ‘that’s all I’m really looking for” – to the exclusion of all the other stones before them.

Rocks come in and out of ‘season’ (ie. vogue, or availability) or simply aren’t in stock at any given time. Different stones can ‘do’ the same things for you –  or close enough. It’s not wise to be limited by what’s written in the books. Experiment – get in touch with the energy (or ‘nutrient,’ to use the dietary model) that you’re seeking – and latch on to whatever matches that, feeds that, serves that desire. It may be a totally different variety, size, shape, or color than you expected. And connect. Take advantage of it. Use and savor what it has to offer!

To find out more – please email me at, Kyle Russell – at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com.

If you’re Metro-Boston, please Register to take my class “Crystals Demystified:” Sunday, December 2nd, from 1-3pm (in West Concord, at the Healing Essence Center)…here’s the info link for the class.

Other ways to connect…
Like my page Crystal Concentric page on Facebook.                                                          Pinterest profile Crystals Power
Twitter: @CrystalsPower

A Time to Give Back

Kyle, with the Ponte Veccio in the background (Florence, Italy)

QUICK UPDATE:

I just got back from Italy and Canada – see more photos below – and I’m raring to go with a BUNCH of new plans and projects for the season. Stay tuned and/or be in touch at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com.

INTRO:

My Blogs can be lengthy. I have things to say. My Tweets are brief – I like them too – you should check them out as well (@CrystalsPower). In Blogs, I stretch out, pursue my thoughts to their conclusions. In Twitter, my thoughts are conclusions themselves.

In any case, this Fall is a turning point (as it always is, for most of us). The new season – academic semester, and Hebrew new year (which always begins in September or October) – together provide the perfect opportunity to refocus and prioritize. I will at once be working more on Results and on Process – and I hope to engage you in both, because our connection could accelerate our individual and collective progress (if we let it!).

Specifically, I’m going to make my knowledge & services more available, and I’m going to market them in new ways – to groups and individuals – through social networking, presentations, and direct contact.

The “ad” or banner graphic I’ll be placing here – is meant to represent that process – check it out (I’ll share it with you in due time), and contact me if interested, at CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com. Also, this site’s Contact (and Services) section has useful information you may wish to read over.

Basically, I’m identifying the What (which is: in person or remote sessions); the Why (benefits to you: groundedness, connection with Spirit, etc.); and the How (by contacting me!) of my work.

Most of my other work involves my collaboration with teams – this is more directly expressive – for me and for you.

…now for my MAIN BLOG content

A Time to “Give Back”

When I see self-satisfied celebrities thank their fans as they received awards – or publicly donate to charity – I wince at the whole concept of ‘giving back.’ For what, I ask myself. All they have was freely given them. They’ve delivered some benefit, simply by their being. Maybe their beauty provides light, or their acting is of particular interest. If not on stage, maybe they offer some other gift or talent. Ultimately, they’ve touched people with their work. If the exchange is complete – and everybody’s happy with what they got out of the deal – then where comes the surplus or motivation to return anything? Is it just vanity reflecting vanity…a kind of kickback to the audience for their hard work in lifting a star?

I have recently ‘gotten’ it, why they do that (at least some of them). I myself feel like I’m at a crossroads, and similarly inclined. It doesn’t have to be a pointless, showy transaction. The calculus – I imagine – is that the ‘successful’ person has gotten what they feel is more than enough benefit from the world – their cup runneth over – and they have something extra to share with others.

It’s not about money or fame (though again, it certainly can be). It certainly isn’t for me – having lost as much as I’ve gained – and having fought for whatever recognition I’ve earned. I’ve been lucky in my life, though – in more ways than I can count, and with some consistency – though I continue to have my fair share of tribulations.

Extraordinary Papal resting place, above a door way, with Death plunging through marble fabric, holding an hourglass of time, and passing easily through the veil between worlds! (at St. Peter’s, Vatican City, Italy)

I stand – even as I perceive the extreme fragility of life and circumstance – at a mid-life OASIS (as opposed to a mid-life crisis). At least according to the averages – I have lived half my life – and am looking ‘over the hill,’ but I’d like to think: from its top! Rather than lamenting what I haven’t done (or achieved), I’m relishing the opportunity to use my remaining time to reflect myself even more fully into the world…sharing more aspects of myself – hoping to reach a place of expression I can feel great about later – when all is said and done.

I’ve been around – literally – to 3 continents and probably 100+ cities…and have walked amongst many different types of people. I constantly feel like my work is never done – like I could always do (or have) – more…most of us solopreneurs do suffer from this angst. Yet I do have the basic attributes of an American Dream fulfilled: home, spouse, children. I don’t have a lot of material possessions (maybe stones, I do have lots of them), but I’ve pretty much been able to get by and have what I need to get through. My immediate and extended family have been generous, and I’m not lacking for connections there.

For someone who had cancer, as a young man (and thought living past 30 was unlikely), I’ve had a full life. I’m grateful to be approaching my 25th year of self-employment, still pursuing my Muse, and daily unearthing new and fulfilling revelations about Life, Body, Mind, and Spirit.

To that end, I’ve always collected amazing stones, whenever I could: at gem shows, hikes, gift shops. My collection is substantial – and rivals, for my own practical purposes – what I’ve seen for sale at any given display ‘out there.’ It may not be worth – on the open market – what some minerologists have going, but energetically, it can do more for the world than I have it doing for me alone…and it ought to!

That’s why now – and stretching back into earlier 2012 (which makes it 25 years since I was turned on to crystal power) – I’m writing a book to capture the philosophy of my belief system. In it, I explore how this work is not about Science, or even Health, per se – but per my graphic above (to show a cycle of Earth, Body, and Spirit) – it’s about bringing in Spirit from the Earth, and allowing both to more fully participate in our daily life experience.

In addition to my main site: www.CrystalConcentrics.com, I have the Twitter account mentioned above (@CrystalsPower), and both a Profile (Crystal Concentrics on Facebook – using the name Crystal Powers – at http://www.facebook.com/CrystalConcentrics) and a Page on Facebook (Crystal Concentrics Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crystal-Concentrics/149848836492). I flood these with semi-daily pithy insights, as well as with posts from my new Crystal Concentrics Pinterest profile there: http://pinterest.com/crystalspower/.

Outstanding Argentine Rhodocrosite, from my Pink Stones board on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/crystalspower/pink-stones/

I like Twitter for its simplicity – and how it forces us to convey only the basic – most important things about how we feel.

I like Facebook because I think I can reach more people that way, and more substantively (because it integrates Shared links really well).

And Pinterest is unrivaled for image sharing…I’ve even created a not-just-stone oriented KRucialArts profile on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/krucialarts/.

Now quickly, I’d like to share with you the What‘s and Why‘s of Crystal Concentrics.

The What is Sessions – individual or with groups (live or long distance) – meditative, instructional, and/or intentional. The Why are the list of Benefits you can expect from this work: increased Awareness, groundedness, connection with Earth and Spirit; a way to think about the condition of your body and health, as well as methods for interfacing with illness; release of untapped energies and the elevation of your imagination, to experience a natural high without medication. The How is ME – this modality – just give me a call or email CrystalConcentrics@gmail.com, so we can set something up and explore these possibilities together.

North African marble, on felled column (Pallatine Hill, Rome, Italy)

Lastly, I’d like to share with you some pertinent Boards I set up on Pinterest, since my return. First there’s ‘Archi-Texture in Stone’ (http://pinterest.com/crystalspower/archi-texture-in-stone/) where I share the MANY different ways in which stone shows up fascinatingly, not just visually, but in shape and contour…providing you a sense of the energy of rock in daily life (through the ages). I found a particularly large number of examples of this in Italy, where the use of stone has (also) preserved ancient civilizations for millenia. From tall and ruined structures to steps and bridges, even hand railings were made of stone…and all had such an amazing look and feel, possible only in such a well traveled nation(?).

Worked Stone is another Board I’ve just begun to build up: http://pinterest.com/crystalspower/worked-stone/. It’s more about the interesting and functional things people have done with rock through construction and ornamentation.

Stone of organic source and appearance, Creemore center (Ontario, Canada).

In closing, I’d like to share with you this image taken in Canada – where (north of Toronto) – there is what is called ‘the escarpement:’ an area that was once covered by seas, and has a lot of organically sourced stone. I like it because it’s not only clear that it was made up of living material at one point (you can sometimes find fossils), but the stone itself takes on organic shape, like a sponge, or some other living thing, here contrasted with some living succulents.

It isn’t about the Stones alone, though. They’re pretty and interesting – whole industries have arisen out of their aesthetics (gems & jewelry) and functionality (Architecture, construction) – but it’s the energy of particular pieces…the Power Stones, that are of interest to me…and I will endeavor to have them become increasingly of interest to you!

Return to Dust(?!)” or “back to the rock”

So after a year of having it on my list (of things to do), I’ve posted my ‘availability’ in the www.SpiritOfChange.org (a New Age magazine’s site) Alternative Health Directory.

Availability to do what (you may ask)?

Here’s how it reads (about Crystal Concentrics):

“Whether you’re intrigued by what you’ve read in books, or are curious to get some direct experience — you feel drawn to the stones and would like some direction — I have years of experience (and an extraordinary collection of power stones) to help you benefit from Layouts, Placements, the creation of Sacred Safe-Space, and Therapeutic Percussion. This work is ideal for life changes or Spiritual rebooting, Renewal and focus Meditation, as well an unusual support for healers to re-energize. Give a call or shoot me an email. I’d be glad to discuss the opportunity with you.”

It always feels like a stretch, to put myself out there in this way: “what if people ‘find out’ – what will they think?” In myself, I don’t care – it is what it is – and I know what I know. If it can’t hang with it, move on.

I’m doing this not for the naysayers, but for the yay sayers, and I know there’s more (of ‘you’) out there than I think. I’ve built a musical database of 15,000 contacts+, ’cause that’s where I’ve put my energy. Where you water, that part of the garden grows.

I may be nurturing this ‘plant’ inside, and that’s great – to be in connection that way – but what about my legacy. Is it really fair for me to ‘go to my reward’ without having made every effort to ‘share my brownies’ (as says my business mentor Fabienne Fredrickson would say).

Some ‘brownies’ are for the Belly; some for the Mind; and some for the Soul. They’re not all gonna look the same. You can’t put them all on a shelf in a storefront, or even make them available Online.

Everyone reaches a point in their life where they’ve got to take a leap of Faith. For some it’s by Choice; for others, by Necessity; and still others are sought out: ‘Chosen’ if you will (as I was…it’s a long story). Something I read in the Prayer Book at High Holidays about “the chosen are those who choose,” a weird tautology by which you cannot be selected unless you self-select…you opt-in (like you would for a Newsletter list).

“The Universe cannot hear your call if you do not open your lips and make that call aloud – and clearly – for whatever it is that you want” (another paraphrase of Fabienne’s). These “truths” are self-evident, written mostly in self-help books (and was it the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence?). Indeed these sentiments are sourced in Scripture and Religion. But we need to hear them over and over again for it to sink in – the truth of it – never mind converting that intrinsic knowledge into action.

That’s the hard part, taking even the first step, taking a stand! Like the people conducting Occupy Wall Street (G*d bless them for putting themselves out there, at the risk of putting themselves in jail…I did that years ago: got rounded up for protesting Apartheid). But someone has to (or ought to) do it, and the more of us take Personal Responsibility for making happen what we know is right, the more likely the world will be to be “set right.”

Some think Revelation can only happen once we set things ‘right’ – here on Earth – currying favor with ‘The Father’ (and I mean that in the least Patriarchal way possible), and bringing closer the ‘Return of the Messiah’ (if that’s even a belief – or motivation – for you).

The more Existential among you – even if Religious – may feel we have no control over Judgment – the Apocalypse (if that’s what we’re in for) – will happen when it happens. In either case, we’ve got to mind our knitting, ‘do what we have to do’ – not in the lowest sense of the phrase – but in the highest, loftiest sense of it.

All that being said, as we approach the thinly veiled time of Halloween; All Saints Day; the anniversary of my own mother’s passing, I invoke the phrase “ashes to ashes…”

We all return to the Earth, whether as a lifeless body, or up in smoke (if we’re cremated). Our component elements are returned to the ground or the ethers, and that unique thing called our Spirit, or Soul, either dissipates forever; is transmuted into something else; or lives on, retaining some semblance of the identity exhibited while lodged in our person.

Enter my argument regarding the original and eternal nature of stone – it was here before us (though not in the same way as the Creator, who supersedes – and includes – all physical manifestation) – and stone will be here after us. There’s something reassuring in this knowledge. We “come back to the rock” – like a home base – or that place in the game “tag,” where you’re safe (if you’re touching it).

I had some rocks I wanted to show you – but they’ll have to wait – I’ve realized this Blog post is free standing, and that’s how it should be out there. I’d hoped to write less this time around, but it’s been some time since the last Post, so maybe I’m making up for lost time. I’d also hoped this Blog process would be The Book I’m going to write this year (ie. over the next 11 months anyway), but I realize – and so it should be – that this process is different, and should have its own identity…I can work out the book and bring you other updates independently…hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and I welcome your positive feedback.