Today, there are a variety of crystals available, each holding a different purpose behind it. Crystals are mainly used as healing methods to help revive of the body since they work with the human energy field to unlock certain energies. They heal by aligning our chakras to stabilize emotional and physical health. Not to mention, they are tangible items that connect us to the Earth that from the vibration they create. Crystals induce relaxation and can be found in many places including: spas, health clinics, and yoga studios. Crystals are at large in the New Age. Across English speaking countries, crystals hold the same value. Crystal healing falls under the category of alternative medicine. The people who practice crystal healing use the colors and shapes that a crystal has to determine its healing power and categorize them based on which chakra they belong in. Depending on the metaphysical properties that a certain crystal has, determines where on the human body it is placed. There are seven chakras in our body in which energy flows through, each holds a significant meaning within. From the bottom on the body to the top, they are: the root chakra, the sacral chakra, the solar plexus chakra, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third eye chakra, and the crown chakra. The most popular semiprecious stone today, is the amethyst. The amethyst brings calmness and clarity to the mind, while still maintaining a sharp awareness to the world. The amethyst is part of the crown chakra, which is on the top of the head.
Healing crystals are not scientifically proven to provide any type of medicinal benefit. After much research, the biggest overlap for the explanation about the “power” of a crystal was said to be in the eye of the beholder. Crystals fall into the complementary and alternative medicine industry. The Americans consumers spend approximately $30 billion a year supporting this industry. Americans, along with people around the world, are exposed to crystals through media. Many celebrities praise crystals and use them for good luck, love, or for the calming effect they hold. Katy Perry is one of the A-list celebrities that uses crystals. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Perry said- “I don’t stay single for long. I carry a lot of rose quartz, which attracts the male. Maybe I need to calm it down with amethyst.” The rose quartz increases self- worth and is known as the stone of relationships. Rose quartz is part of the heart chakra.
After researching the use of crystals in religion practices, there was some surprising realizations. The bible mentions crystals as being used in witchcraft and straying away from god. It was never said to be used for healing purposes. Millennials may not be as religiously driven as they were in the past, but they are just as driven spiritually. “According to some experts, younger generations are opting for spiritual practices like crystal healing because it allows them to mix elements from multiple faiths and ancient traditions into an individualized spiritual practice.”
Crystal healing has some skeptics since it is not scientifically proven to have any benefits or to cure any diseases. The people most likely to experiment with this method of alternative medicine, though it is not proven effective, are those patients with a chronic disease. According to a study done, “One-quarter of the people surveyed in a Pew Research survey said they believed in spiritual energy in physical things like crystals and trees.” So more than half of people recorded in this survey do not believe in the spiritual energy. Crystal healing is believed to the extent of being a placebo and falls into the category of pseudoscience according to many critics. There was a study done that started by giving 80 people a survey to test their level of belief in “paranormal” phenomena. Next, they asked the participants to hold a crystal or a counterfeit crystal, without their knowledge of which, while meditating for five minutes. After the participants did that, they were asked to answer questions about the sensations they experienced when holding their given crystal. The answers recorded showed similar sensations produced by both crystals. One of the psychologists, Christopher French, that conducted this study said, “We found that lots of people claimed that they could feel odd sensations while holding the crystals, such as tingling, heat and vibrations, if we’d told them in advance that this is what might happen.” This study is a great way to show the power of suggestion, mind over matter, and overall how powerful the placebo effect really can be.
Himalayan salt lamps are used more and more each day by people both young and old. The reason that this might be is because they claim extract positive ions from the air. Positive ions are in almost all electrically charged devices. Positive ions are also found in air pollution which can be formed from something like dust. Without these harmful items in the air, people can breathe freely in a sense, and it’s all thanks to the Himalayan salt lamp. The lamps attract water and with the salt
form the lamp evaporates off, it results in the production negative ions. Next, released into the air from the lamp. These lamps can help with allergies and cleaning the air. The lamps also help many people by boosting their mood. Though the lamps claim to extract positive ions, some of the health benefits that they claim to have are not proven my science. “Studies show that 75% of the population is noticeably and adversely affected by positive ion ratios.” Just like with crystals, there are studies done to show how all of the benefits from the Himalayan salt lamp can just be from the placebo effect. People tend to resort to these products for the health benefits that they claim to have and since there are no harmful side effects to trying them out.
Critics have many reasons for disproving the benefits of these lamps. It is said that in order for the lamps to release negative ions, the salt must be extremely heated which a light bulb just can’t do. The pink color on the salt is not considered to be pure and the salt mines are not sustainable. People are exposed to the Himalayan salt lamps through news. In the news, these lamps are either being praised or being talked about as being a hoax. These lamps have been used the same way for a number of years and will continue to be proven scientifically for years to come.
The use of sound for therapy is becoming a widespread trend because not only are they heard, but they are felt. The use of sound for therapeutic reasons is helping everyone from people who meditate to helping kids with autism. The sounds produced help improve both a person’s emotional and physical well-being. The vibrations made by the sound travels into the brain with its high frequency. These frequencies are said to improve brain waves and help entrain our brainwaves and lead to the opening of the gates into the unconscious mind. There are different instruments used by sound healers to help an individual achieve this state of mind. “Music has been shown to relieve a number of problems, including pain, loneliness and depression. Music therapy is now frequently offered in clinical settings such as hospitals, clinics, and hospice.” Some instruments that are used to reduce these problems include: the voice, drumming, gongs, tuning forks, and singing bowls.
Tuning forks are used to balance the chakras by bringing a concentration of energy the body. The vibration produced from tuning forks aids with altering the body’s biochemistry. These instruments are used orthopedics to detect stress fractures a patient might have in their bones. Overall, tuning forks balance the nervous system and bring a positive energy into the body. Another instrument used are gongs, they are used in a practice of gongs baths. Gong baths continues to be in use in Asia the same as they were used ancient times. The goal of a gong bath is to create a vibration of all the water throughout a person’s body. The scientific community believe that the gong bath does hold some power and can aid in treatment for a wide variety of health conditions. Sound therapy can have on the body is very powerful, it can do as much as prompting damaged DNA strands to fix themselves.
Furthermore, there have been many studies and observations done to test the effectiveness of sound therapy. Just like crystals and Himalayan salt lamps, there was an observation done that showed that sound healing could possibly be a placebo. But, in this case, the placebo would be enough to have a therapeutic effect on a patient. The observation was done by Dr. Vad, a sports medicine specialist. The findings were that if a patient feels a positive change from the sound healing that can distract from the stress cycle for as little as 15 minutes, it is considered healing. Sound therapies are used across the world for healing purposes and have gained their popularity by being present as an alternative medicine. Sound healing is the medicine of the future.