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Where do the metaphysical properties of crystals and stones come from?
8:30 AM PST, 6/11/2008
It has become almost mainstream to talk about the metaphysical properties of crystals and gemstones. You can go to one website and read that blue opal is good for sleep and then visit another that tells you it will leave you bursting at the seams with energy! So what are we to think?
It helps to understand where the information regarding metaphysical properties is coming from. As a buyer, why would you just believe what people are writing in their advertising? Its an aggressive marketplace out there, and even in the spiritual/new age marketplace (actually a lot there suprisingly) some unethical sellers make things up in the name of marketing! Yes, I'm so sorry to tell you if you didn't know. I was sad when I understood this too. In any case, I'm pointing this out because the metaphysical properties of stones is a completely subjective thing that noone can prove or disprove. So its very important that whoever is listing them is getting them from a somewhat reasonable source.
The majority of authentic information (not just marketing) is channeled, meaning it is gained when people go into a meditative state and are spoken to or through by intelligence from different planes. Its not unlike what Sylvia Browne does when she can connect to a loved one who has crossed over to the Astral Plane. There are a few major sources out there that are considered hallmarks of this kind of work. The first major source that I know of is the "Michael Gemstone Dictionary" which came out in the 70's by JP Van Hulle. It is channeled material from the entity Michael, an energy I know very well, by the way. (I first came accross Michael books when I was 16 years old and have seen Michael channeled many times). This book was the most popular rescource for a long time. It was compiled by bringing a massive number of stones to the channel JP Van Hulle to examine while she was channeling Michael.
"Love is in the Earth" by Melody (commonly called the Melody Book) is what people have used since the mid 90's. She is a beautiful, spiritual woman who has spent her whole life living and working with crystals. The information she gets is both channeled and what she senses and experiences energetically from the stones. Her book is extremely detailed with a large amount of information provided for each stone. I really admire her work.
Another major rescource that has recently entered the scene is called "The Book of Stones" by Robert Simmons. The book has beautiful illustrations but a small selection of stones. This is such a new rescource that it is hard to know how tried and true it will turn out to be. The properties in some cases seem to match the other rescources that I trust, giving validity to the work.
So those are the major metaphysical property sources that people tend to use, but there are many smaller sources and many websites and lots of people doing their own channeling and energy work now too. Sometimes the properties seem to contradict each other. I have often wondered why that is, and have even asked Michael (and if you are interested in trying to visualize it, Micheal is a mid-Causal Plane entity composed of 1050 of what we think of as souls...think of it as a really evolved panel!). The answer I got is that the energy / frequency that crystals and stones carry and the way they interact with us is a very complicated thing. Generalizations can be made for out ulility, but the truth is that the way they effect us is changing all the time. This is why I adored malachite, pearl and agate when I was little and now am drawn to celestite, larimar and angel aura quartz. As we evolve, or needs evolve and how stones effect us and resonate with us also evolves. So someone trying to get a reading on a stone will get information regarding how that stone is vibrating with them at that moment in time. I thought it was a good answer. It explains the large body of information and some of the discrepencies out there.
Then what stones should we pick? I think it is best to use the metaphysical properties from trusted sources as a general guide...if you are looking to attract prosperity and abundance then citrine will always be a great choice. But also, you will naturally fall in love with stones that will inherently meet that need for you, especially if you are open. It may not even say it on the little card I give you with your pendant, but behind the scenes you can bet if you really love that crystal, then it is doing something for you that it was meant to!
Now for a very important question. Is any of this real and how do we evaluate that? Well, lucky for us, I have a background in science and I have been asking myself those questions on and off ever since I got into crystals. There is some concrete scientific data that illustrates that there is indeed something different going on energetically between crystals and living things. There have been very well done studies with solid statistically signifigant results demonstrating that plants grow much fuller and taller in the presence of a simple quartz crystal compared to their non-quartz control plants. The "aura", energy field, colors or whatever you want to call it that you can see surrounding a person in Kirlian photography grows drastically when they hold a crystal. And crystals are used all the time in electronics because they actually deliver a tiny electric pulse whey placed under pressure. Actually they do many amazing things in the electronics world that I'm not qualified to explain. So from a true science perspective, there is clearly something going on with crystals. Now, can they truly help attract your soulmate like it says on the little card I give you with rhodochrosite (I didn't make that up...its from the Melody Book)? I have to be honest and say that I have gone through periods in my life when I believed that the crystals carried their own inherent vibration or energy that I could start to resonate with that would tend to affect things in my life. To say that in more simple terms, the crystal's vibe was contagious and would affect things. Then there were other times when I thought it was the power of my own mind using the crystal as a symbol or focal point, to change things. In other words, if I had a concrete symbol now of attracting my soul mate, and one that was good at carrying and holding energy, then that became the catalyst for me to manifest that with my own will. I went in circles trying to figure this out for awhile....do crystals affect us or do we affect crystals. I finally put it to rest. It doesn't matter. Probably both are happening at the same time and the end result is the same. But I did want to clarify this. Many people think they can buy a rock or crystal and its metaphysical properties will magically fix their life. That would be nice, but unfortanately it doesn't quite work that way. You are a big part of the equation. The stronger and more in tune with the universe you are, the stronger the application of the stone and its properties will be! If you would like to see what crystals and gemstones you feel drawn to, browse through my handmade wire wrap jewelry store!
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What is a reconstructed stone?
8:21 AM PST, 6/11/2008
What does it mean when you go to buy gemstone beads or other items online and in small writing is says "reconstructed"? What is a reconstructed gemstone? Has it had plastic surgery? The first time I came accross this term, I has just started my little business and I was looking to buy larimar beads on ebay. I didn't have a lot of starting money and larimar goes for a very high price. There were some lovely ones indeed, but at the time I couldn't afford them. Then I found all these pretty candy blue strands of larimar beads that were $2.99 and seemed too good to be true! When my strand arrived, I quickly understood that it wasn't larimar, at least not the way I understand larimar. Reconstructed is a term they use when they have taken ground up dust of a gemstone (really, the stuff that is left over when they are shaping/polishing beads and cabochons) and add it to some sort of polymer base along with color and anything else they can add to make it look like the original gemstone. There is no regulation saying that it needs to be certain percentage of the gemstone dust either....the way I understand it technically they could take a pinch of the stuff, throw it in a 100 gallon vat of polymer and still call it reconstructed stone. The industry has gotten quite good at replicating mother nature. I have the joy of shopping at the Tucson gem show every year, which is the largestest gem and mineral show in the world. You will see vendor after vendor with walls of beads dangling...every stone imaginable! Sparkling faceted amethyst for $20 a strand, pink tourmaline for $80 a strand, and then you see the whole wall of $1 a strand beads. These are fake, or reconstructed if you will. It takes some time to learn the difference and hands on is the best way. I have had the benefit of touching, tapping and comparing millions of beads and stones at years of these gem shows and that is how I learned. So how does someone who can't do all that tell the difference between a reconstructed stone and a real one? 1.) Read the details if you are buying it online. Ebay is good about enforcing this for larimar, but it won't be listed for any of the other stones. Many of the people selling the other stones don't even understand that they are reconstructed. 2.) If buying online, buy from someone who does know. The only way to tell this is to ask them. You will be able to tell from their answer, if they know their stuff or not. I have to surf the net to look at whats out there in the crystal and gemstone world and let me tell you that you have many beautiful fabulous options to by from people who respect, cherish and know stones well. There are beautiful peices being sold at affordable prices from people you can trust, but you have to look. A favorite way of finding cool crystal jewelry vendors is to google "metaphysical properties of"...insert your favorite stone or crystal. 3.) Be realistic. If you are buying a "genuine fire opal" pendant on ebay for 1 cent, its either fake opal, something reconstructed or a terrible dull grade that no one wants. The Marjority of manufactured jewelry that people buy very cheaply and resell on ebay for less than $20 has reconstructed or entirely synthetic stones. Yes, this is my opinion, I haven't done a formal study of ALL the merchandise out there, but it is based on the inventory I saw going through one ebay vendors shop when I was working at his brick and mortor store and also the thousand of listings I have seen. Its a safe assumption for me at least and since I love my stones, better safe than sorry. 4.) Look at the shape of the object? Does it look as though it has been polished out of stone of does it have some bizarre complicated shape and appear as though it has come out of a mold. A great example of this is the "gemstone" merkabas that are so hot on ebay right now. The merkaba is this complicated 3D star shape with multiple points protruding out. It is not impossible to carve out of a stone block but certainly labor intensive and complicated even for machinery in a factory. These are selling for 99 cents sometimes. I would bet they are reconstructed, popped right out of a mold, 99% polymer for your 99 cents and hopefully a pinch of the real gemstone dust if you're lucky! I hope this was helpful to you. Even with all of the beautiful stones that I am around, I still have to really examine beads sometimes to know that they are the real thing. It is amazing how much fakery there is out there! Consumer awareness will only improve what sellers are offering to us! -
Starbucks the guinea pig is quite displeased!
11:32 AM PST, 6/8/2008
Starbucks is not a happy camper. We are out of organic spring mix this morning. He is quite accustomed to getting it every morning and evening. Can we say "spoiled"? He's seriously pissed. I'm going to Costco this afternoon, or I fear I will be gnawed to death in my sleep! -
Starbucks the guinea pig was quite hungry all day!
1:23 AM PST, 6/8/2008
I hope you are not getting bored with the saga of my little Starbucks here. Remember, I am conducting an experiment. And of course, its easy to write about him because I love him so much. He was hungry as usual today, wheeking at me every time I walked into the kitchen, getting madder and madder each time I didn't deliver him fresh greens. You see, I thing I overfeed them greens, mostly because of giving into Starbucks pressuring me. So now I am trying really hard to give them a more balanced diet. Its hard being a Piggie mommy. I hate this discipline thing! -
Starbucks the guinea pig was quite active yesterday!
11:14 AM PST, 6/7/2008
Starbucks had a busy day yesterday! Did you know that some guinea pigs can chirp like a bird? Its true! Its rare, not all of them do it. I found out yesterday that Starbucks is a chirper. He chirped for over two hours. Guinea pigs use this sound as a form of communication. It is a sort of alert call to the herd. I tried to figure out what he was alerting the others to, but had no luck. The little one eventually settled down. It was adorable to watch! -
How I discovered Starbucks the Guinea Pig!
7:53 AM PST, 6/6/2008
I was living in Bisbee, Arizona. Its a small little mining town that is famous for its turquoise, considered the second most valuable in the world (landers being the first). It is a very small town indeed. The population is about the size of my small liberal arts college (5-6,0000). I called it Mayberry, like in the Andy Griffith Show! There was a lady there who bred guinea pigs and I went to look at this one baby that she had. He wasn't old enough to be seperated from his mother yet. His name was Percival. I fell in love with Percival and agreed to be his mommy, but I had to leave him there until he got older. She mentioned that she had another young male pig that she "didn't really need" (this is how people who breed animals think I guess.....beyond me!). She pulled out this adorable deep rich brown creature who had fur going every which way. He just looked at me. When I held him he was quite calm, which she said was unusual for him. I could tell he wanted a home, and so Starbucks Pembleton, as he later came to be known, came home with me that night. His squirminess and feistiness quickly became apparent! But it is endearing. And he has his moments when he will close his eyes and cuddle against me when I pet him....just for a second, letting his tough guy image slip away. So many people name their brown pets "Hershey" or "Cocoa" and I wanted to be different but still honor his beautiful brown coat, thus his first name "Starbucks". And his second name "Pembleton" is after my favorite character from an old TV series called Homicide: Life on The Street. And Pembleton also was a lovely shade of brown. So there you have it. That is how me and my little Starbuck Pembleton the guinea pig came to be together! -
Starbucks Pembleton the Guinea Pig
11:25 PM PST, 6/4/2008
Well, I hope everyone won't think that I'm silly, but the beginning of my blog has to be a little experiment. I'm trying to understand if writing in this blog will really effect how I rank in search engines (its just boring stuff that people who sell online frequently have to do...part of our homework) so for the first few days I will just be writing about one topic. But its such a wonderful topic! Starbucks Pembleton the Guinea Pig! Let me see if I can get a picture in here for you.
As you might have guessed from the picture, Starbucks is in charge of marketing at Puppy Love Jewelry as he is a naturally born Marketing Genius. He is currently working on digesting Hammertap research charts. I mean literally digesting them. Starbucks Pembleton likes to nibble on my papers when I'm not looking. He is quite character, squirmy and feisty...full of spirit and quite intelligent. I am lucky to have him in my life. I'll tell you more about him tomorrow. I have been working too late and I'm getting a little sleepy now. As for Starbucks, well he is in a deep sleep himself until the next time I walk into the kitchen at which time he will begin his wheeeek wheeeek alert to beg for veggies! 'Night!