©2001 by Theresa Tyagi Kersten
Divinity expressing through nature has provided us grace through the
forms of flowers and gemstones. We can greatly aid our healing processes
by harmonizing with these universal energy patterns of nature.
The use
of crystals and gemstones for healing greatly predates written history,
though glimpses of their use can be seen in the traditional medicines in
China, India, Egypt, northern Europe, Hawaii and the Americas.
Their
application is universally associated with the understanding of humankind
as energetic beings and is considered to be of value in physical,
mental and emotional healing transformations.
In the twenty years that I have practiced, I have worked with many modes
of applying crystals and gemstones to the human system. I have used clear
quartz crystals in people's energy fields during massage, I have prescribed
gems to be worn according to the traditional Ayurvedic method to compensate
for planets that are challenged in the person's astrology chart, and I have used gem essences (single gem preparations)
and gem elixirs (combinations of single note essences).
I have finally arrived
at focusing on the use of gem elixirs both internally and externally. Though
this is the most subtle method, I have found it to be the most effacious. I
have clients take the flower essences and gem elixir (in combinations of 3 to 14
each) four times a day for a period of three weeks.
Gemstones are best understood in terms of their qualities and applications
through the study of their colors, growth patterns, and their mineral
components. They can be classified according to planetary affiliations,
chakra affiliations, or according to whatever numerological pattern that one
desires. Classification may help us to understand how to apply them and the
essences made from them, but also puts us at risk for limiting our understanding
and potentially missing unique applications.
From using them in my practice, I would say that gem elixirs differ from
flower essences in that their focus is on the bringing of stability and order
into the world while flower essences help us to expand and find new
possibilities. The combination of the two has been a great aid to the stable and grounded
growth that my clients have consistently experienced.
I've had many opportunities to work with a variety of cases that relate
to cognitive impairment: autistic children, the mentally ill, people with
dyslexia and people who were experiencing cognitive difficulties from the
aging process. My most amazing case is C., who started working with me
when he was two years old. He was severely autistic, sleeping only two
hours a night, and his parents had been advised to institutionize him
because he was totally uncontrollable.
I wasn't sure how much I could affect
his case but said that we'd try and see what could be done. I used my usual
integrated treatments (homeopathy, flower essences and gem elixirs) monthly
for two and a half years. I also regularly did cranial sacral work on him.
He had been working with an excellent occupational therapist for six
months before we started, and she used a variety of techniques with him,
including music therapy. We also hid powdered vitamins in his pancakes
as he was too young to take herbs in pill form and refused to take herbs
in liquid form because of the taste.
The first month he started sleeping eight hours a night. We have
gradually shifted his diagnoses until now he is starting kindergarten in the
fall and is being released from special upport at school (other than a small
amount of speech therapy). He has progressed from not communicating to using sign
language to speaking in English and Spanish (he lives in a bilingual
household).
He now looks from all outward appearances
like a normal 5-year-old child, except for the fact that he still makes oddly
narrow food choices. His case was most successful, I believe, because of
his age and the fact that we were able to start working with him soon after
he manifested the autism and before physiological damage was able to
completely settle.
Since there were so few gem essences available commercially when I
started this work, I have always made my own. Through the steady collecting
of minerological specimens, I currently have hundreds of essences to choose
from. I prepare my essences with very pure well water in a mountain valley
just south of Mt. Shasta.
I do not sell them commercially and greatly
appreciate that others are making the gem essences more available to
people. A number of companies offer these essences, but I especially reccommend those by
the Alaskan Flower Essence Project, the ones starred (*) in the list below.
I would like to recommend some of the gem essences that have proven their
value in improving cognitive function.
SAGENITE AGATE is a stone that aids one in being more direct and clear in
communications, and it also helps one to concentrate for longer periods of time
without fatigue. College professors and college students have greatly
appreciated this one.
DESAUTEKITE is helpful for anticipating future trends.
HALOTRICHITE helps to bring about a willingness to change and to evolve.
DATOLITE aids clarity of thought and helps to clear frustration and exhaustion
from struggling with communication.
QUETZALCOATLITE helps one to evaluate relationships and people accurately.
GREEN IDOCRASE helps to process information and helps maintain emotional
balance when exhausted.
AMBER, *CITRINE and GOLD TOPAZ aid clarity of thought and smooth functioning
of the intellect and promote emotional neutrality under stress.
WINSTANLEYITE promotes intellectual function and clears fatigue.
TAKOVITE aids one's understanding of how other people think and how they
make their choices.
GAUDEFROYITE helps to take us beyond ourselves and to connect with the
whole.
HAUYNITE helps to connect with spirit and with emotions.
YTTEROCERITE AND FLUORITE are very helpful for boundaries and for clearing
other energies from one's own field.
*BLOODSTONE can be most helpful for grounding and strengthening the lower
chakras so that emotional equilibrium may be maintained.
*CELESTITE is helpful in bringing about a sense of connection to the spiritual
realm and eases feelings of separation and loss.
*LARIMAR helps one to feel loved and loving even while under stress. It
is helpful for opening a person to receive nurturance.
*VESUVIANITE helps to open a person to relationships and loving connections
with others.
Gem essences and gem elixirs are a very precious old form of medicine that is
tremendously helpful for aiding us in grounding new expressions and energies
in our lives. They serve to help us to re-establish our psychological
and physical boundaries and are greatly stabilizing in times of increased
stress. Like the flower realm, the mineral kingdom is vast and is
well worth the time spent exploring its archetypal possibilities as we seek
to evolve.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For another example of
Theresa's work, see her article on Death, Dying, and the Essences in our
February, 2001 issue.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Theresa Tyagi Kersten is trained as a massage
therapist, yoga teacher, and astrologer, and has trained in Traditional
Chinese Medicine and in Ayurvedic Medicine. She served as the Director of
the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico for two years. She currently has a
private practice in Davis, CA where she continues her 23-year exploration
into vibrational healing. She can be reached by email.
CREDITS: The tile layers and ornaments are based on photos of gems at E-Gems
and a fine collection of gemstone photos by Professor Jill Banfield of the
University of Wisconsin Geology Department,
except for one seashell from the excellent exhibit at the University of Aquila in Italy.
The World Wide Essence Society does not mean to imply any recommendation of nor give certification to any individuals or companies above. This article is provided purely for informational purposes. We ask consumers to make their own determination as to quality of the services and products offered above. This article is not meant to be advice, and the information is not meant to replace medical or psychological treatment.
