“We had entered an era of limitlessness, or the illusion thereof, and this in itself is a sort of wonder. My grandfather lived a life of limits, both suffered and strictly observed, in a world of limits. I learned much of that world from him and others, and then I changed; I entered the world of labor-saving machines and of limitless cheap fossil fuel. It would take me years of reading, thought, and experience to learn again that in this world limits are not only inescapable but indispensable.”
~ Wendell Berry
Crystals are wonderful healing tools and metaphysical companions. There are two things I find admirable about crystals. They will take on enormous energetic burdens on our behalf, and they know their limits.
Sometimes when a crystal has worked hard it will reach breaking point – the place where it literally cannot take any more.
I have had crystals explode in my hand (or not long after putting them down) while doing energetic work for myself or others. Some of my stones have developed internal fractures and cracks so that the stone remains whole but the inner crystal shows flaws. When they heal they often develop a rainbow in that spot.
Whenever working stones crack or have had enough, I return them to the earth for a while. Or sometimes, forever. Some crystals will rehabilitate over time and be ready for more work, some will be done for good.
It has been a while since I’ve had a stone break, but one broke yesterday while I was using it.
As I held my meditation mala in my hands, working on my retreat students, one bead snapped in half between my fingers. It had absorbed a trauma on a student’s behalf, creating a big energetic shift for that person. But that stone had no more to give, and it told me so. A rose quartz butterfly – one wing simply sheared off, with absolutely no pressure from me.
Fortunately I’d added an extra bead to the mala, in case such an event occurred. I transferred the intent and positive energy from the broken stone into the spare bead.
When I break down the mala at the end of our retreat I shall bury this stone in the beautiful gardens at Sangsurya – our retreat venue. I will thank it for its hard work and sacrifice. I will bless it and let it go back into the earth.
Be gentle with yourself right now. Be kind. Choose loving words. Nurture yourself, especially if you’re working hard. Treat yourself as a precious object and fill yourself up with love. We all have limits. It’s important to honour them.
Bless <3 xx
I worked in a cafe where we also sold crystals. We had a rose quartz on a top counter and as I served someone the rose quartz exploded. My boss insisted (because it had exploded in my oresence) I had the remnants and told me to keep them near to me. Is this the right thing to do?
Sarah, I would take that poor hard-working crystal and place it back on the earth or in a pot-plant at your home or anywhere else feels right. I feel that it was protecting you, and has now done its job. It must have been an interesting day. Much love to you, Nicole xx
I was preforming a cleansing on our home after some negative energy came to our home. I had a piece of turquoise in my room at the time. I should note it was among many other stones and crystals. I heard a pop while I was doing the cleansing. I found that the turquoise had fractured into several pieces. I gave the pieces back to the earth. I had never had anything like this happen in the past.
I cannot find the words that express my feelings of awe regarding what was shared with us today. Nicole…thank you.
I learned a great deal here today. Thank you.
Hi Nicole, thanks for taking me along with you, I learn so much!
I get very attached to my crystals and feel great sadness when one fractures, always burying them close by. I too feel like they are my colourful companions, and I use them intuitively to raise the vibration of messages I receive for myself and others. Although I’ve read a lot about cleansing crystals and I give mine lots of sun and moon time, your explanation has just given me an “ah ha” moment. I’d never really given them enough credit for the enormous load they absorb on our behalf, and so next time one has reached its limit, instead of feeling sad I will applaud its innate wisdom and timely lesson. Thank you Nicole. <3 🙂
Years ago my daughter was given a crystal angel by a healer. The angel stone had a wing that had broken off and the previous owner had tried to repair it with glue. My daughter, Luci, would place the crystal in a bowl of water in the moonlight to let it heal and tried to care for it. And for a while it seemed to heal, however, one day it fell only a short distance from her dressing table but it just exploded beyond what the fall should have caused. Your post explains this now – maybe it had just taken on board all it could. It had broken a little the first time but then could take no more in and was ready to return to the earth. Thank you – I’ll let Luci read your post – I’m sure it will all makes sense to her now.
Thanks Nicole – beautifully timed – I have chosen not to attend a large family event at a theme park today. I felt torn between missing the family event and the reality that a weekend at this theme park was going to over stretch my limits. I chose this time not to go and am now feeling a real sense of liberation and relief. I often feel guilty that my limits are not the same as others and I strive to keep up at great expense to myself. I tell myself that it should be a case of mind over matter and that I should keep up – but in doing so I am not gently accepting my limits and working with that, to the benefit to myself and others.
Thanks again Nicole.
Once again totally floored by your astute observations. Just sorry that I live so far away from your retreats, bless.