an unbiased insight into the world of crystals

In the last two years, I’ve seen a lot about the power of crystals, from finding them on people’s desks at work to them popping up in the Instagram stories of accounts I follow.

I’m not going to lie, I was totally sceptical about the whole thing, often wondering why someone thought holding a rock could solve all their problems in life, and turns out, I wasn’t alone in these sentiments. A recent Instagram poll I ran saw over 54% of respondents not believing in crystals as having any benefits of healing or otherwise.

More out of my own curiosity than anything else, I decided to investigate this phenomenon further, so I did a Google search and voila, I found Jess at Mineralsim. After a couple of email exchanges, I locked in some time to pay her a visit.

On a glorious Saturday morning, I jumped in the car and headed over to Glebe, where Mineralism is located on Glebe Point Road. When I found the store, I reminded myself to have an open mind about what I was about to hear, there was really no point heading into the interview with negative assumptions about it all, but I was still a little sceptical.

As I entered, two giant Amethysts standing tall on either side of the door, I was greeted with a warm embrace from store co-owner Jess. Hailing from a family in the opal industry, Jess and husband Jed opened their store three years ago, but have been in the industry for over seven years, originally selling from a stall at the Glebe Markets.

After chatting for only a few moments, I could really sense Jess’ passion for her work. Her genuine and authentic love for what she does was infectious as she guided me through the store and I felt incredibly reassured that I wasn’t going to be looking for an early exit from the interview.

Opening our chat I bashfully revealed I knew nothing about crystals, so Jess started by explaining a brief history about them. She shared with me that Crystals aren’t a new-age fad and date back to ancient times, “It’s not a new concept” she advised, “it’s a concept that has been going on for thousands and thousands of years and there’s evidence that the Egyptians used crystals for healing.” Jess continued to unfold the basis of the theories behind crystals by sharing her philosophy of how they work. Essentially it comes down to energy and vibrations “for me, the simplest way I can explain it is, everything is energy” she continued to unravel with “everything is vibrating with a frequency;” Likening the theories of sound and colour frequencies, Jess advised that each crystal has its own frequency and can correspond with a particular chakra.

The only time I think I’ve ever heard the word chakra is in Katy Perry’s song, legendary lovers, so when asked if I knew what it meant, I immediately admitted I had no idea. Jess explained that both Buddhist and Hindu cultures believe that the body is made up of seven different segments, or as she put it “think of them as the energy centres of your body” that govern the emotional and physical attributes of the body. The image below is a great representation of what this looks like.

Therefore simply put, we should aim to ensure that all our chakras are balanced and we are aware of the connection between our physical and emotional self.

Jess shared an instance where a customer returned to her store a few weeks after having bought a crystal and advised that ‘it didn’t work.’ Some people believe that crystals are magic and by buying one and putting it on their bookshelf, all their wildest dreams would come true, and honestly, I thought that’s what it was all about too.

Oh, how I had it wrong!

Jess revealed that the crystal doesn’t affect change if you don’t acknowledge what you’re using it for. “It’s all about intention” she explained, “you really have to surrender to the idea that everything is energy, even our thoughts.” So no, you can’t buy a crystal, say a magic spell and abracadabra you choose tonight’s lotto numbers. From what I took away from my chat with Jess is, crystals are really a physical manifestation of something within and simply put, you pair a thought with a crystal, and it’s not the crystal that affects change, it’s you.

It’s all about your outlook and attitude towards what you want from life and how you’ll get there. Jess supported this idea by highlighting how powerful our inner voice is, “be conscious that your thought forms are energy you’re putting out to the world.” If you continuously tell yourself you’re not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, you’ll begin to believe it.

Just the same as negative thoughts can impact you, and those around you, so can positive ones. Think about a time you’ve met someone who you’ve instantly shared a connection with, for me, I immediately think of Jess. I can’t explain it in any other way than I just felt her energy as if she was radiating a light from within and it was contagious. I felt happy to around her and what I thought would be a 20-minute interview quickly turned into over an hour.

The world of crystals is all about as Jess put it “connecting your energy and intention to the crystals and then amplifying it.” Think of the last time you had your phone in another room, the TV was off and you weren’t moments away from drifting into sleep. From the moment we wake up to the moment our head hits the pillow of a night, we’re inundated with pressures from our jobs, society and inevitably ourselves.

Rarely do we stop and sit, reflect on who we are, what our passions are, what’s important to us. We’re always hurrying through life, eyes glued to our phones, wishing we had skinnier legs, more money or a faster metabolism (or is that just me?)

Jess shared that in order for the crystals to have a positive impact in your life, you need to do three simple things, sit in meditation, set the intention of why you’re sitting, and visualise what you want to happen. Alternatively, you could carry your crystal around with you in your pockets or on a piece of jewellery and allow it to act as a reminder. Jess revealed that in doing this, it encourages self-reflection and to “take personal responsibility for what you want and how you’ve decided to embrace this.”

It’s all about shifting your focus onto what you think you want out of life to what it is you do. Are you yearning for stress relief, to give love more freely or freedom from anxiety. Your Rose Quartz isn’t going to lower your pulse in moments of uneasiness, but instead, it should act as a reminder to shift your perspective and rationalise with the situation, the situation is manageable and you’re going to be ok.

Disagree with everything I’ve said above? I recommend you go pay a visit to Jess.

Have you been nodding in agreement throughout? I recommend you go pay a visit to Jess.

Still unsure about it all? I strongly recommend you go pay a visit to Jess.

Personally, I don’t find sitting down each day, phone out of reach, a candle lit and reflecting on the day, silly at all. It’s hard to identify who we are in a world that is constantly telling us who we should be and crystals can be a physical reminder that you need to be happy and balanced within yourself to lead a truly fulfilling and abundant life.