A Course in Crystals:
Why Am I Sleeping with a Rock?
Discovering the Personal Meanings and Purposes of Crystals and Minerals

By Joysprite - The Crystal Lady

When I first moved to San Diego I was in full-blown midlife crisis, had been disowned by the many of my family and friends and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was unable to eat or sleep well and had lost a great deal of weight. It seemed like I had reached the lowest point in my life. I had left behind a long-term marriage and my children were halfway across the country. Though they were safe in their house by their school and friends I missed them terribly. I was sleeping on the floor of my cousin's business office and I was really miserable and scared. I felt alone, cast off, and homeless.

What I did have with me, and what became an important solace to me, were my crystals. After I moved to San Diego I began to sleep with three particular stones, a fat layered slab of clear selenite about the size of a hardback book, a barrel shaped double terminated palm sized Arkansas quartz, and a short thick selenite sword that was dark gray and had a water bubble in it. I slept on my back with the selenite slab over my heart, the quartz point and the selenite sword clutched tightly in each hand, arms crossed over each other. As I lay there, I probably looked like a relief from a sarcophagus cover! What I discovered about sleeping with those stones is that I tended to wake up refreshed and recharged with a bit of new hope each day.

Though I didn't really know or care at the time why I was so attached to those particular crystals, the choices I made in minerals make perfect sense to me now. The selenite pieces helped to disburse the negativity I carried with me and helped me to protect myself from picking up more discordant energy. The quartz amplified the effects of the selenite. It also opened me even more to my abilities to communicate on other planes, so I was able to communicate with my children on another level at a time when daily phone calls were not always possible. Another benefit of sleeping with the selenite was that it helped me to keep my spine aligned well even though I was sleeping on a carpeted concrete floor. Over time, as I began to feel better and better, I slept with the stones less and less. Eventually those crystals found new places in my world. The slab has become part of my altar, the quartz is one that energizes my main room, and the selenite sword is now kept in my healing box and is used to smooth and clear auric fields. All of them still participate in my life in important ways even though I no longer require them clanking around in bed with me at night.

Over the past few years I have been assisted in my spiritual growth by many wonderful minerals some that were there for only a few days or weeks, others that have been active in one or more ways for several years now. Many have been sleep stones, pocket/purse stones, or personal healing stones. All have had their special purposes in my life. Perhaps you are wondering about a stone that has come into your life, one that you are especially fond of having around in a certain spot, or that you find yourself wanting to sleep with or carry everywhere. If this is so, you are working with crystal energy on a very personal level, intuitively and instinctively choosing energetic associations that are most beneficial to your personal growth and healing. If you desire to find out the reasons why you have an affinity for certain stones there are some things you can do to learn these things for yourself.

One of the first ways to get some idea about a crystal's purpose for you is to get some good books and read about the meaning of that particular stone. There are many very well written books on the qualities and uses of crystals and stones, from the mundane to the mystical. As you read such information, certain words or sentences may jump out at you or stick in your thoughts. While some information may not appear to apply to you, if you read with a mind open to the possibilities, you may find some portion that does feel applicable. Some of what you read may surprise you as you learn how perfectly matched a certain stone is to your current physical, emotional and spiritual journey.

Don't discount the regular "rock-hound" mineralogical guides, either, as they sometimes provide information, such as mining locations and hardness factors and information about how the mineral was formed, that may trigger your intuition and help you deepen your understanding of your personal stones. For example, if you require healing that is centered around an incident in a state like Utah, finding that the crystal you are attracted to was mined in Utah could be significant in your understanding of the crystal's purpose, for it would carry the energy of the state and the mine it came from. So, even some of the information that may not seem very mystical or spiritual may turn out to be quite important to your understanding of a personal crystal.

Something else you can do to learn more about a crystal or stone is a freeform stream-of-consciousness style of writing. Sit with your crystal, your pen and your paper, declare your intent to discover the personal purpose of the crystal you are holding in the other hand, and then allow what ever comes to you to flow onto the paper. No matter what it is, write it down, even if it is a reminder to you to stop by the cleaners for those shirts that are ready, or that you really can't stand Auntie Mabel's breath when she is chatting with you. What will happen is that you will pass through the mind clutter and you will begin to write things that are associated with the declared intent. Maybe it will be scattered words you have used, a fragment of a sentence, a description of an experience, or a sudden bit of unexpected poetry that will trigger your intuition and deepen your understanding as to why you are choosing to associate closely with a particular mineral.

Another good way to learn about the personal purpose of your own stones is to meditate with them and see what they tell you. You don't have to be a famous psychic or crystal sensitive to gain personalized crystal information that won't be found in any book. Even if you don't think you are good at meditation, you might be surprised at what happens when you try this with a crystal or some other mineral. Consider creating a short ritual around your meditation to help you focus your intent, and don't forget the pen and paper for those bits of information that seem to disappear from memory when you most desire to remember them. My little ritual included lighting a candle and wearing headphones with soothing music (the headphones proved to be quite helpful in cutting down the sounds of the boys pretending to be karate champions or my daughter loudly scolding her "classroom" of dolls for not being quiet). Once you have found a way to achieve a bit of quiet and some special ritual to put you in the right frame of mind, you can declare your intent to communicate with and deepen your relationship with the particular crystal or mineral you are working with, then sit quietly, and listen. Listen with your heart and your mind. Is there a thought, word, color, or remembered experience that comes to mind as you listen?

Keep an open mind about what you are receiving. While there are some who channel easily and get loads of information, not all of us get information in that way. We tend to receive in a way that fits our personality and belief system. The information doesn't have to be complicated or hard to understand in order for it to be valid. So as you have those thoughts, colors, memories, etc., leave judgment out of the picture. Take that thought, color, remembered experience and allow your mind to expand on it. For example: if you were working with a crystal and had a feeling or thought or inner vision of the color blue, the next thing that you might desire to do is to explore what blue means to you. What words or feelings does this color bring up? What other thoughts or memories come up for you when you think about and visualize the color blue, and how might they be appropriate to your personal life at the moment? As you get these bits of information, write them down. Later you can look for even more clues in your meditation writings. Soon you will have a more clear understanding of why you and a crystal have chosen each other. Voila, you have just succeeded in crystal communication! Yes, it's as simple as that!

The more you practice at this the more comfortable you will become with your own special method of "rock talk," and the deeper your relationship with your stones will be. Just as with a human support system, your rocks/crystals will move in and out of your "inner circle of friends." You can always check in with any of them at any time to learn how they are supporting you on your personal path.

Now that we have chosen our crystals and stones and have learned to communicate more clearly with them, it is time to learn about the care and feeding of crystals and minerals. Next month will be all about cleansing, clearing, charging and caring for your favorite mineral friends.

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Joysprite - otherwise known as The Crystal Lady - is a Reiki Master, Crystal Healing Facilitator, NLP Practitioner and Mom of three beautiful children. Her own personal crystal path began in West Texas and is continuing in Ocean Beach, California, where she is the owner of Wisdom Crystals.

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