Crystal Meditations

Many crystals live on my desk, and I often, almost without realizing it, pick one up when I want to get inspiration, calm down, cheer up, or just take a break from mental activity.

Sometimes I take a longer crystal break, one that evolves into a meditative experience. I decided to create a series of (very) brief meditations for particular emotional states, each designed for a special crystal.

Amazonite: Courage in Communication

Life is full of opportunities to feel fearful, either because we feel that we're faced with unsolvable crises or because we contemplate doing something risky. To gaze at the tranquil blue-green of amazonite can help provide the mental and emotional calm that can lead to courage.

Hold this stone and focus on the white that threads through it. Realize that when we're connected to the pure essence of our deeper, universal spirit, all things are possible. Say to yourself, "I am brave enough to do what I want to accomplish."

Amber: Grounding, Depression Relief

Golden amber is actually fossilized tree resin. Whether you are feeling ungrounded or too deeply mired in the weight of physical existence, amber can help.

Hold your amber and imagine a tree, its roots sinking deep into the earth, its branches and trunk rising into the sky. Feel how your being, too, bridges heaven and earth, matter and spirit. Remember that a tree is nourished by both light and darkness. Say to yourself, "Light and darkness feed my spirit."

Amethyst: Overstressed, Overworked, Overwhelmed

You want to go forward, but mental agitation, but mental and emotional burdens seem to be pulling you back.

Hold an amethyst and contemplate its purple hue, the color of twilight, the time when the world becomes quiet, and peace softly spreads across the sky. Envision the color violet spreading through you and feel the flow of peaceful energy. Say to yourself, "Peace is coming, and I allow myself to feel it."

Angelite: Anger, Disharmony, Difficulty in Communication

Blue is always the color of communication, and angelite's blue is soft, tranquil, and ethereal. It's often used for communication with angels and spirit animals.

If the physical world doesn't seem to be giving you what you want, you can hold angelite and ask for some spiritual help. Also hold it if your anger feels unhealable. Say to yourself, "The universe is full of loving beings waiting to assist me."

Aqua Aura: Self-expression, Purpose.

To live our lives with joy and purpose is probably the highest human aspiration. We come into the world wanting to express our unique gifts, wanting to share them with the world, but sometimes feel frustrated in this effort.

Hold your aqua aura. The gold that coats this quartz crystal, known as the mirror of the soul, creates a rich blue-green hue that facilitates your ability to share the richness of who you are. Say to yourself, "I share my gifts with joy."

Aquamarine: Feeling disconnected from one's source, stuck in rigid patterns, overly focused on details.

If you feel that you've lost your connection to the flow of life or to your creative source, reach for aquamarine. This crystal, the color of a tropical sea, can restore your sense of connection to the flow of infinite wisdom and the constant motion and change that is life. Say to yourself, "I am unlimited in my ability to imagine and create."

Aventurine: Emotional Balance, Softening of Intense Emotions

If intense, fiery emotions sear your heart, if you feel torn between conflicting feelings, the soft green of aventurine can help to quiet the storm.

Hold this crystal and feel its calming energy. Say to yourself, "My life is naturally one of balance and well-being."

Azurite: For Limiting Beliefs.

Sometimes we feel deeply frustrated, as if hidden obstacles keep us from moving forward. Most often, these obstacles consist of beliefs that are limiting our ability to connect to inner guidance. Azurite is helpful whenever you feel that some invisible belief is keeping you from forward. You can strongly benefit from the effects of this mental house cleaning.

Hold an azurite, breathing slowly, and allow yourself to go into the darkness where unrecognized beliefs live. Visualize the crystal's energy penetrating through layers of consciousness and finding those beliefs you would most like to have surfaced. Say to yourself, "I easily discover and release those beliefs that no longer serve me."

Bloodstone: Conflict, Tension, Threat

The contrast of green and red in this stone helps us to see that desires we may consider conflicting can blend.

Look at this stone and begin to see your life as a pattern of discovery and growth. Breathe deeply and feel bloodstone's grounding, relaxing energy. Imagine that it's flowing through your blood, traveling to all parts of your body and spirit. Say to yourself, "All my desires exist in harmony, according to my personal pattern."

Blue Lace Agate: Communicating with Gentleness and Calmness.

Hold this crystal and look at its soft blue, streaked with white. Its colors and patterns are calming and gentle. As you hold it, imagine speaking calmly and peacefully. (It will also help if you have this crystal on your person when you have the actual conversation. Say to yourself, "I can communicate more than words; I can communicate my peaceful intentions."

Blue Topaz: For Creative Blockages and Procrastination

All topaz has the quality of balancing energy levels, soothing the hyper, energizing the lethargic.

Hold a blue topaz and take in its soft, blue-green color. Feel it soothe your anxieties about beginning or completing a project. Imagine its energy as cool, clear water sweeping away your resistance and replacing it with the certainty that you can creatively communicate your personal truths.

Calcite

In general, calcite gives us the ability to infuse spiritual understanding into physical reality, helps us to have an expanded awareness of the challenges we face, especially the challenges we've more or less given up on, the patterns of thought and behavior which are so seamless that we don't know how to unravel them.

Clear Calcite: When Spirit Feels Far Away

Clear calcite commonly grows in rhomboid form (a solid parallelogram). This represents the interconnection and interaction of parallel planes of reality.

Whether you're holding an actual rhomboid or a calcite sphere or other form, imagine how planes of reality intersect. The world of spirit isn't "up there" and separate from physical existence. Say to yourself, "I am a multi-dimensional being with limitless access to new ways of thinking and problem solving."

Green Calcite: For Dissolving Old, Fear-Based Ideas or Rigidities

Does your mind feel stuffed with old ideas? Do you feel rigid and tense about change?

Pick up a green calcite. The softness of this stone is calming and reassuring; rub it in your hand. Move it around; you may see rainbows shining through its soft, healing green. Say to yourself, "The world is a soft and comfortable place."

Golden Calcite: for Transitions in Physical Reality, i.e., Daily Life, Relationships, Business

Are transitions challenging you? A number of crystals can help with this issue (tabular quartz, laser wands, etc.). Golden calcite has the particular ability to focus the lemon light of empowerment on issues of daily life.

Hold this crystal and study its lemony glow. Look for rainbows. Realize that, if you will allow it, the changes in your life can go down as smoothly as a lemon souffle. Say to yourself, "I allow the changes I desire."

Pink Calcite: When Love is Missing

The problem isn't so much that you don't love them or that they don't love you, but that love is missing from your life.

The soft hue of pink calcite can help to infuse your spirit with love, releasing old and hurtful emotional