On Crystals

I have gained quite a collection of Crystals recently, and have been discovering Ways to Use Them.  I spent the majority of my Life not even the slightest bit curious about Crystals, but the past Year or so quite by accident I have been discovering their Value and Helpfulness.

My first memory of being "drawn" to a Crystal was when I was a First Grader.  I accompanied my Dad to the Mall where there was a New Age kiosk that had a bunch of shiny rocks.  I was a kid and I liked shiny things, but I remember handling a quartz Crystal and feeling very much like I wanted to have it.  My Dad was inclined to buy it for me, however, his perusal of a few of the books at the New Age kiosk bothered him.  Some of the things printed, specifically about Crystals, did not sit well with his own religious beliefs (those of a Pentecostal minister).  He explained to me that he knew I liked the Crystal, but he was concerned that they were used by "the occult" and he did not wish to bring anything with an evil stamp upon it into our home.   Although I was only seven, I was accustomed to that type of logic and I accepted what he said, and put Crystals out of my mind.

I lived a great deal after that and had many, many experiences which served to break me out of the rigid Evangelical mold.  I have remained a Christian but as my creed has been re-invented and re-applied to my Life, and as I have befriended people of many religions and learned to see our differences as enlightening rather than threatening, I came to know a lot of great People who afforded Crystals a special reverence.  Still, their preoccupation with Crystals was a bit foreign to me until my friend Virginia gave me my very first Crystal.  Virginia is a farmer, and she turned over a magnificent quartz point in the soil as she was tilling.  She said she somehow felt it was special, and that it was for me.  She gave it to me and I began to carry it in my pocket.  Over time, it grew on my mind.  I came to love simply handling it or having it around.  I could not explain why, but when I left my house, if I did not have my Crystal, I had a feeling of being without it, similar to when one is without their wallet or their cell phone.

I was camping out in my tent in the back pasture of a biodynamic farm one night last Spring when I had my Crystal with me.  I intuitively felt that the right thing to do with it was to place it upon my Third Eye Chakra, which is the spot between the Eyes on the Forehead.  I laid down on the floor of my tent and placed the Crystal on my Third Eye and began to meditate, not knowing why I was doing it.   In less than a minute laying that way, I felt the Crystal "activate" and a pulsing Energy seemed to move through it and into my Body.  I felt it relieving minor aches and pains, I felt it recharging my mental faculties, and I felt a coldness from it that seemed cleansing and clarifying.  The sensation was so pleasurable I did not want to remove the Crystal, and ended up falling asleep in that position that night, and my dreams were also incredibly enjoyable.  Puzzled by this experience, I went to a computer that morning and looked up a bunch of New Agey pages on Crystals.  I discovered that a principal way they are used is, indeed, in laying them on one's chakras.  Quartz crystals, specifically, can be used on the Third Eye.  Other people described similar sensations when they used Crystals.  The fact that I had independently discovered this information before reading it on the Internet or hearing it from anyone was a convincing proof to me that I had indeed been led to perform this action by a Higher Intelligence, perhaps coming from the Cosmos, or perhaps coming from the Crystal itself.

Following that event I began to read a little of the philosophical works of Rudolph Steiner, the founder of biodynamic farming and of the Anthroposophical position on Life.  Steiner actually had a lot to say about Crystals, saying that they were charged with the forces of the Moon, Planets, and Stars, and that they helped charge and enliven the Soil, helped to grow plants, helped to correct Energy Fields, and that the Mineral Kingdom is what binds creatures of the Earth to the Heavenly Beings.   Steiner afforded the "influence" of Celestial Bodies, as conducted by Crystals and Minerals of the Soil, a very high place in Agriculture.

The idea of having not just one but Seven Crystals to lay across all of my chakras began to make me curious.  I asked the Universe to start letting more Crystals flow into my Life if indeed I was supposed to be learning about them.  One night, staying in my cottage on the biodynamic farm, I felt compelled to look through a chest of personal treasures that I keep with me.  It contains many things I have found in the Woods on meditative walks, and also things that like-minded friends have brought me back on travels all around the World.  There is mud from the hot springs of California in a case in this treasure chest, and many other interesting things.  I had not remembered placing them there, but on that night I discovered 13 smaller quartz points.  Their appearance, to me, seemed a bit miraculous, as I had no memory of ever collecting crystals before.

My girlfriend also gave me a number of Crystals for Christmas this Year.  And recently, I bought a few more at an antique store.  I now have around 30 crystals, all different types, and I have discovered even more ways to use them.  I have indeed tried the exercise of laying seven different crystals on my seven chakras.  I have also done so while lying on a grid of larger crystals.  Whenever I perform such an action, I get a very lively sensation of energy pulsating through me, from each of my chakras all connecting to one another and to the root of the Earth energy itself.

I mention these experiences on this blog because I would like to encourage others to experiment with the uses of Crystals.  I have read all sorts of crazy things about what crystals could potentially do, if we understood them better.  I think it is misguided to characterize the use of crystals as pertaining to "the occult" or to any kind of dark "spirits."  I do believe that the basis of all existence is supernatural: I do have what is called a "supernaturalist" bias, and I do agree that Crystals can be a vehicle for spirits of the Earth.  However, I do not believe that Crystals, which grow like plants deep in the heart of the Earth, subject to great pressures and transformations, in any way stand for something evil or malignant.  Crystals are Creations of God, quite beautiful ones, in fact, and even the book of Revelation describes their usage in the New Jerusalem as gateway stones.  It is also known to science that stressed pieces of quartz create small voltages of electricity.  This is known as the piezoelectric effect.  Rudolph Steiner was convinced that the use of crystals would benefit plant growth and today there is a recognized usage of quartz, malachite, and moss agate, among others, in gardening.  Finally I have read about ancient societies that used crystal technology to do things far beyond what we are normally ready to attribute to our ancients.  The ancient capstones to the pyramids may have been powerful crystals, and according to one writer (Carlos Barrios) these may have formed an energy grid across the world's surface that would be far superior to our own, were we to resurrect it.  Certainly, a lot of things about Crystals are highly speculative; however, I cannot deny the things which I myself have experienced, and I have experienced a definitive positive effect when I use Crystals on my Chakras.  I believe that with proper organic diet and ample outdoor exercise, the regular use of Crystals on a person's chakras will keep that person balanced and healthy, and radiating Light to all those around him or her.

Why do they work?  I believe that housed in every bit of matter on this planet, especially such matter as manifests itself in rock or crystalline form, is a bit of the essence of Mother Earth.  And yes, I believe that the Earth is a living, breathing Person of the Female Sex, a Mother to us all, but not equal to Her Creator, Jehovah.  Mother Earth is a groaning Creation that looks to Her Human Children for proper stewardship and renewal, but alas, She is a Mother who is neglected, abused, and displeased.  Listening to Her and tuning to Her Energies is beneficial for all People in this Time so that they can wake up and be part of the solution to ease Her afflictions.  Perhaps through Crystal Meditations you will learn to also feel Her Heart.  (Earth and Heart have the same letters, by the way).

SOME MORE THOUGHTS ON CRYSTALS:
If you choose to start using Crystals for yourself, here are a few further observations I have found to be true.  First, setting your Crystals out in the light of the Moon to charge on a regular basis will work wonders on their effectiveness.  My quartz point and I are rather in tune to each other, and I know that there are times when it is too "zapped" to be of much good to me.  It is at those times that I am careful to put it somewhere dark and let it rest undisturbed, until a night of good Moonlight when I can set it out on the porch to soak in the beams.  The ideal thing to do is to leave Crystals out at sunset on the night of a Full Moon, then recollect them at Dawn.  But it is not necessary to keep them out all night, nor is it even necessary that the phase of the Moon be full.  It is optimum, but not necessary.  Any moonlight will partially charge a Crystal.

Also, if your Crystal has a point it is best to be mindful of how you place that point when you are drawing Energy from it.  Points should point up, and the "roots" should point down.  This has the effect of bringing up Earth energy and bringing down heavenly.  Reversing it tends to complicate the flow.

Lying with your head facing magnetic North is the best way to lie.
Adding two small crystals in the palm of each hand further enhances the experience of lying with crystals on your seven chakras.
When you place your crystals on your chakras, you should pay more attention to your own body and your intuitive sense of it than you should any diagram of the seven chakras.  The seven chakras may be slightly differently placed on each person.  I prefer to lie on top of the crystals for my first and second chakras, but lay the ones for chakras 3-7 on top of me.

I believe that the best crystal meditations are on bare ground with bare skin.  However, that may not appeal to all people.  I simply suggest limiting distracting sounds, especially from TVs or radios.  Play some very soft instrumental music or listen to birdsong coming in from outside.  Meditate on the coolness you feel around each crystal and enjoy the pulsing energy sensation you will get when you perform the action correctly. Also, please, if indeed these ideas are new to you, and you choose to try them out, write back to me and let me know how your experiment went.

Love,
KiJjiT

The Epiphany

January 6th is a date on the Christian Calendar known as "The Epiphany" and it commemorates two different episodes in the life of Jesus Christ.  If you are a member of a Western Church (such as the Roman Catholics or the Anglicans) the Epiphany commemorates the adoration of baby Jesus by the Magi.  If you are a member of an Eastern Church like the Greek or Russian Orthodox, the Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.  In either case, the Epiphany commemorates an event which clearly showed to onlookers that Jesus was the Divine Lover that He is.  It is not everyday, for example, that Kings from the East bring costly gifts to a Jewish infant because they "followed His star."  Nor is it everyday that the sky splits open and the Holy Dove is sent down to alight on the shoulder of a peasant preacher as a booming Voice proclaims, "This is My Son, in Whom I am well pleased."  The word "Epiphany" means Manifestation and it is above all, a day for making clear the fact that Jesus is the Darling of the Universe.

I did not always celebrate the Epiphany.  Although I was raised Christian, I was raised in a church that did not observe a liturgical calendar.  I did not even hear about the Epiphany until 2009, and I chose to celebrate it on my own that Year, in an individualized fashion that probably would not have made sense to other Christians.  I reasoned that since the day commemorated the baptism of Christ, all the waters of the Earth would be charged on that day, as Holy Water -- how could they not be if the precious Body of the Lord had descended into the Jordan on that day?  When a woman merely brushed against Him in the crowd He felt virtue come out of Him to heal her... it seems to me that a similar process would have remarkably cleansed and transformed the Planet's Waters when He took His sacramental dip.  So on January 6th, 2009, and on every January 6th since, I have gone to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and drawn out a jar of water.  I have kept this Holy Water of the Epiphany in my closet all Year long until I change it out for new water on the following Epiphany.  When I have needed to specially anoint a place of prayer I have sprinkled a little holy water on the ground and then knelt in it as a symbol of partaking with Christ's baptism, as a boost to my prayer or an inspiration to my faith.  Last year, January 6th, 2012, I introduced this practice to two friends of mine who live on the Pacific coast.  I was touched to see that one of the applications of their holy water was a sprinkling upon the ground they stood on to get married that Summer.

These days I also set an intention with the drawing of the Holy Water that all the Planet's Oceans can be healed from the pollution and the overfishing that is crippling them.  I discovered a wonderful blog called "Destiny of Nations" which is run by a Native American Christian.  In his blog post called "Healing the Land Part 2" he describes having communion with a polluted body of water and then casting salt into it to ask for its healing.  Check it out by clicking here!   This is also part of what gave me the idea that physical actions could be coupled with our prayerful intentions to let a bit of Magic into the Good Work of Healing the World with Christ's Power.

When I went to occupy a biodynamic farm last Year, I was surprised to find that the Epiphany is of pretty big importance to biodynamic practitioners as well.  Sometimes on biodynamic farms, the Epiphany is marked by a spraying of ground up gold, frankincense, and myrrh over the farm in a "preparation" that at once commemorates the gifts of the Magi to Jesus and also puts a powerful blessing on the farm.  This "Three Kings spray" had dramatic effect, according to the Lady of the Garden, when she sprayed it the first Epiphany after her husband passed on.  She said that the wind became suddenly fierce after it was sprayed, as if in response to the Gift, or as if there was some desire to whisk its effects out into the ever wider World.

I believe in the underlying Mysterious nature of Nature; I advocate for a sacramental attitude toward the elements and products of the Earth.  I believe in joining prayer to farm work, prayer to environmentalism, prayer to community building and prayer to just about everything.  I agree that Jesus is Alive, and Powerful, and that He (Love) can Transform our Planet if we just give Him the slightest Participation.  Furthermore, I believe that His Purposes can be Manifested in Our World by the subtlest influence of microcosm over macrocosm.  I invite You to think on these things as You set out into the New World of 2013, and begin to seek links of your own between Nature and Spirituality, between faith and practice.  We are all of us agents of Salvation and Healing and it should not matter if we are not in charge of vast tracts of land or sums of money or political will.  God has given to Individuals the Power to Transform the World around us.... The Planet is a Garden programmed to respond to a certain kind of Human.  Become that certain kind of Human.  Begin to believe in forces larger than the Cause & Effect relationship you can see.... Begin to account for the Spiritual Variable that is present and with us... Make your Plans with God.... Consider His Ability to be the actual Source for all your activity.  In Christ one can do "all things," can affect the Destinies of Nations, can stand against spiritual wickedness in high places.   Do you see yourself as a Spiritual Warrior?  What you bind can be bound and what you loose can be loosed.  Do not sit idly by and do nothing when you can Change the entire World in the course of one prayerful afternoon (I know, I have done it).  This is the Secret of Sages.

This Epiphany I also attended my Church, which follows the liturgical Calendar (I am so blessed to have found a home Church that expresses Christianity in the way I have always longed to see it expressed).  Our minister pointed out in her sermon that the Magi were "outsiders" to the Judaeo-Christian tradition.  This is something I have pointed out to Christian friends in years past, as evidence that perhaps God's covenant is wider than they think.  The very term "Magi" is connected to Mage, or Magic, and specifically to Zoroastrianism.  They were astrologers, they were occultists.  And yet they found the Current of Truth behind their own ancient religion which pointed them to the Hope of Every Race and Faith.  They followed Secret Signs and were acquainted with dark sayings, extra-canonical prophecies. They spoke to spirits and received messages in dreams.  And this tradition as well is alive and well, and capable of unleashing great goodness into the World.  Wherever you find yourself in relation to Christianity, please at least glean this fact: the Stars point the way to PLACES ON EARTH, and it is THERE that Man must look, IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB... the Eternal Child is born and we are born into Him and partake of His Nature.  When this mystic event occurs, it will not matter what denominational stripe you wear... Rumi the Muslim was alike to Francis of Assissi the Catholic when he felt the rejuvenating Power of Jesus raising Plants like Martyrs from their Shrouds every newly beginning Spring... I pray that you learn to hear the Name of Christ and feel the Character and Promise of Jesus the Christ as you romp the Fields and Forests which give Him praise this coming Year.  In both 2011 and in 2012 I counseled my Readers to TAKE PART IN THE COMING OF THE SPRING.  This Year, as Earth slumbers in Her spiritual Sleep, ready to take off into the Fifth Dimension when She opens Her Eyes for 2013.... I counsel You not only to Take Part in the Coming of the Spring, but to Take Part in the Coming of the Christ... Let your Nature be wed to His Being as is the Nature of the Earth Herself.
-KiJjiT