Crystal healing is a gift to be born with.

Introduction: Many years ago, there used to be a little gem and crystals shop in the Lower High Street in Cheltenham. I felt distinctly drawn to it whenever passing by. Whatever the day may have brought, as soon as inside the shop and surrounded by the stones and gems Mr. Harvey kept on display, I started feeling peaceful and reassured. On one occasion of my visit I said to Mr. Harvey: "I wish I could find a good book or take a course to teach me about all these wonderful crystals". And I received a reply I did not expect: "All you need to know about crystals is inside you. When you start reading books, they only confuse you. The crystals will tell you what you need to know." That advice had been correct, for me.

I found that I worked with crystals best when I just experienced them in my own way. I realized that every person perceives crystals subjectively, and that accounts for the existing variation in the interpretations of their healing properties. People's degree of sensitivity to crystals also differs, substantially. I am grateful to Margot, a crystal healer, who further encouraged me to use crystals creatively and instinctively. I felt most comfortable with the description of the properties of crystals by Melody, as in her book "Love is in the Earth". I used crystals in healing since 1997.

A further development in my relationship with crystals occurred after I started working with Dhaxem. My own vibrations have changed, and this reflected on my preference for crystals. I became drawn only to crystals of high vibrations, but I continue working with the full range in treatments and workshops. As part of Dhaxem, my crystal work is guided by Lysseus.

What does my workshop entail?

Each participant will have allocated a set of 12 tumbled crystals, as a basic kit. From clear quartz (a light, clear stone) to hematite (a heavy, dark stone with high metal content) they represent a fairly comprehensive array of vibrations, also corresponding to the range that normally benefits the human body. Amongst them are crystals to enhance clarity, for balance and for comfort, and for grounding. By handling the crystals and by experimenting with them individually over two days, the participants get used to their vibrations and they learn to distinguish between the stones and their beneficial effects on different people.

In my workshops people are encouraged to bond with crystals in their own personal way which will best work for them. The workshops are easy to follow, and fun.

In order to show the participants the subjective nature of their relationship with the crystals, as the first exercise, I invite them to align the set of stones in personal order of preference. There have never been two people with an identical feedback. Looking at the specific feedback that each person presents, I then say what the choice tells me about the person who made it. Each selection made indicates a different person, with different needs. The crystals will have reflected the person's emotions, their strengths and weaknesses, and the type of challenges they face.

When working with crystals there are basic rules to observe, as is the need to harmonise the vibrations of the crystals with the vibrations of different parts of the body. But there is in my opinion, no finite right or wrong when it comes to the finer qualities of crystals of similar vibrations.

Within the main body of the workshop the fuller range of crystals is incorporated into different forms of healing. Participants already familiar with energy work of some kind experience how the crystals amplify energy fields, and act as catalysts. "Pure" crystal healing is practiced, whilst further crystals of different natural and man made shapes and sizes are tried as tools. The course incorporates dowsing. Participants learn how to treat a pendulum in order to get it to work correctly. There is advice on how to cleanse, protect, and look after crystals. The treatment of specific conditions with crystals is not considered.

Whilst crystals enhance people's lives and act as catalysts of healing, they are not presented as a tool for the elimination of pathological processes.

Crystal Programming: The workshop is concluded with the practice of crystal programming. It is a known scientific fact (also related to the development of the computer technology) that a crystal is capable of retaining thought patterns. It could be patterns that may have been simply within the vibrational field of the crystal. A crystal will absorb and transmit the vibrations it was "accidentally" exposed to. At the workshop participants learn to read a new crystal, and cleanse it prior to using it for healing or transmission. A crystal can also be made to hold patterns that are being purposefully directed into it.

I find programming to be the most fascinating aspect of crystal work. The experience has shown to be changing people's perception of the material world surrounding them. Over 90% of the people I taught crystal healing were able to program and read a crystal quite accurately, on the second day of the workshop. Crystals carrying a personal message make unusual and attractive presents.

I gave at the occasion of his initiation into the third level of Reiki a particularly gifted young man a smoky quartz into which I had programmed three personal messages, from me to him. When the young man took the stone out of the pouch to look at, I asked him to read from the stone what I had put in it. He immediately accurately read out two of the messages. In place of a "Thank you" card I sent to an acclaimed specialist veterinary surgeon a message inside a clear quartz. I put it into an ornamental pouch to make it nice to look at, as I did not expect the recipient to be too keen on the idea of reading crystals. The person promptly confirmed they read and received the message inside the crystal.

Crystal programming does not require a belief, only sensitivity and intelligence.

A crystal is capable of retaining thoughts, as well as emotions. Compared with a message put on paper, a message conveyed in a crystal is complete, and genuine. It would be difficult to program a lie, and a skilled and sensitive reader would still sense the deceit.

Science has not yet presented technology capable of reproducing crystals' ability to retain thoughts and emotions simultaneously. This very capability of the stones holds the key to why humans and animals bond with crystals so well at times of need. Love is in the Earth.

Crystals, as the most precious element of the Earth, developed naturally through mineralization. They are everywhere on the planet. As part of the workshop, suggestions are made on how to use crystals in the home, and in everyday life.

NB. The standard crystal kit contains: Clear Quartz, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Citrine, Aventurine, Carnelian, Red Jasper, Snow Flake Obsidian and, or Hematite. Included tend to be, according to availability: Smokey Quartz, Flourite, Brown or Red Tiger's Eye, and Sodalite. Any other varieties may be used for crystal healing. Participants who bond at the workshop with certain crystals or with pendulums, are enabled to purchase them. Anyone is very welcome to bring their own collection to work with, if preferred.