“I adore wearing gems, but not because they are mine. You can't possess radiance, you can only admire it.” Elizabeth Taylor 

For better or for worse, humans are digging below the Earth's service  and unearthing well-known and new kinds of gemstones and crystals.  With these excavations come a renewed love for learning about gemstones (if there ever was a decline).  Maybe it's because people like to feel connected: connected to each other, to Earth, to the heavens, to Spirit. We are becoming more conscious of our actions in the world, how we effect and are affected by others, what we put into our bodies, and how to take charge of our health. We can choose stones and crystals to connect us in conscious and deliberate ways that can have lasting effects on us and the world around us.

As for me, I'm no expert in crystals or gemstones. Heck, geology was the class that I scored lowest in, in my entire life! I do, however, enjoy reading up on them. I am one of those who believe in their gifts. I love the way they shimmer and sparkle, and enjoy gazing at their unique beauty. I wear them in jewelry and use them in meditation and in dream work. I can say that on a personal level, they've helped me to raise my own consciousness, even if it's been simply through my choosing to open my own heart and mind about their gifts. A word of caution, gemstones and crystals are often gifted to release energies for the user. As with any release, sometimes the energies are strong, unexpected, and intense. This may happen,  but if proceeded with respect and understanding, you will probably encounter that which you need to encounter in the time you need it, too. However, you may like to consult crystal and gemstone experts to help you sort through some of what you may find on your journey.

With this, I want to share with you five crystals and gemstones that are believed to help raise consciousness. Perhaps this consciousness raising will help to bring about change on a personal and mass level that we are all inevitably looking for. 

The information about the crystal and gemstones is from, 'The Book of Stones', by Robert Simmons and Naisha Ahsian. I highly recommend the book if you're interested in reading detailed stories and meanings behind a variety of stones and crystals, and to see beautiful color photos of each.  Click here to learn more or to purchase this amazing book of stones. It's also available on Amazon.

1) Clear Quartz - It's quite amazing that quartz is the most abundant crystal on Earth and one of the most versatile. There are many different types of quartz and for the average crystal wearer, it's sometimes hard to distinguish between them. Clear quartz  is used by scientists and can transform mechanical energies, making it a useful component in radio parts, watches, transmitters, computers, etc. As for its esoteric properties, it aids in amplification of one's intentions, magnifies ambient energies, clears, cleanses and enhances one's memory. With continued and repeated meditation with clear quartz, one can visualize a desired outcome. In addition, clear quartz brings heightened spiritual awareness and can bring consciousness expansion, chakra opening, communication with spirit guides and polarity balancing. Be careful because negative energies, too, will be amplified if there is an intention, be it conscious or unconscious.

 
2) Lapis Lazuli - When I first learned about this stone, I had no idea about its royal history or its esoteric value.  I completely overlooked its highest essences; I just fell for its intense blue/purple color.  It's associated with truthful communication, royal virtues and inner vision. The finest Lapis Lazuli come from Afghanistan and carries the vibration of our inner 'kings' and 'queens'. It aids in connecting with the Gods and invokes Divine inspiration. As for consciousness expansion, it stimulates one's desire for knowledge and understanding. It's known for receiving information about one's past lives and helps to regain lost knowledge from ancient civilizations. Lapis Lazuli awakens the third eye and is a stone of self-reflection. You really want this stone if you are looking to raise your consciousness because it helps one to identify personal habits and patterns that may be overlooked on a conscious level. 

3) Moonstone- While moonstone is often associated with lovers and to maintain harmony between couples, it's also believed to cure sleeplessness and is a keeper of feminine mysteries. The reason I included it on my list of consciousness raising stones is because it is used to observe hidden truths that reside within ourselves. This stone helps to bring those underlying truths into the light of consciousness. It helps to complete wholeness and enhance intuition. Since it is attributed to the feminine, it helps women connect with goddesses and access their feminine power. For men, it aids them in expressing their feminine side. It serves both men and women in reaching this higher consciousness about themselves. Moonstone also helps to sort through one's emotions and gain a higher perspective on purpose and meaning. 

4) Aquamarine - Used in all types of cooling, from anger to hot flashes, it helps one to realize that not all power comes from force, and brings one to a calm yet alert and conscious state.  It assists in communicating one's highest self and truth. As a water element, it brings one in touch with the unconscious, and stimulates the flow of energy in the heart and throat chakras. It helps one let go of the past tendencies and frees one from attachments. It aids in identifying egotistical patterns and then helps to consciously release them, thereby bringing one to a Divine level of love and compassion. 

5) Turquoise - This gemstone is one of the most well-known throughout the world. Its uses dates back to 5000 BC in Iraq when turquoise beads were used. It's a stone for finding wholeness and truth, and aids in communication and manifestation of those properties. It teaches wisdom of compassion and forgiveness for others and ourselves, and it reminds us that wisdom comes from all of life's experiences. "Mistakes" are other experiences that add to our wisdom and learning. Turquoise is a stone for self acceptance and the release of regrets. It tells us to honor ourselves as creations and tools of the Divine. I included turquoise on my list as an important stone for consciousness and awareness raising because it gives us the belief that as we find our truth and speak from that truth, we are making important contributions to the collective whole, which is our connection to outside of ourselves. Change within, change without.

May you wear and use your stones in good health of mind, body and spirit, and may you find all that you need on your spiritual and life journey. 

If you are interested in having a bracelet or ring made with gemstones, contact us with your ideas.  You may also like our prosperity, abundance, and chakra-balancing jewelry.

How does one find her (or in Pedro's case, HIS) way into the colorful and enchanting world of beading?  Does she rekindle her passion for making beaded friendship bracelets or pins that she once had in childhood?  Maybe he sees a beaded bracelet, bag, or trinket in a store and decides to create a similar piece for his loved one. (Point of caution: Once a beader starts buying beads and beading accessories, there is no turning back. An addition to the house should be added immediately. Best to factor the extra room as a material cost. Trust me!  It could be worth your sanity. Just so you know, we don't have an extra room.....but having fun and finding one's creative self IS what it's all about. And this I believe!)  Anyway, however you wind up on your beading path, whether you are doing it professionally or as a hobby, I bet you one thing is shared by all beadists: your call into the beading world could not be avoided, nor should be. YOU MUST BEAD!!! HE MUST BEAD!!!  All roads lead to beads!!  (Yes, I've been dying to say that!)  The Sirens play their seductive tunes and any true beader at heart who happens to be passing by at time of the Siren call is lured into the beading world, forever changed and transformed by this unstoppable, creative passion!

Okay, it's a bit dramatic, but it's our first blog, so I figure, why not!  It's my story, and I am a "non-beader", so I'll tell it like it this. Okay, that's not completely true. I have beaded, too, and I've enjoyed it, but for all purposes, I'll say I'm a "non-beader". Anyway, I wanted to show you how Pedro happened upon on his beading path, so here it goes....

Pedro, Beadist and Designer of Pachamama Native Art, was called into the beautiful world of beading like this... or at least this is how I remember it...or at least this is one version of how I remember it. Pedro's creativity predates this story I tell, but I needed to start somewhere and this is the most relevant place in relation to the work you see on our site.... 

Many years ago, on a drizzly late autumn (or was it spring?) day, while we were still living in the Boston area, Pedro and I had just finished eating brunch in Coolidge Corner. We headed out of the restaurant, kind of bored, not having any particular plans for the rest of our day. We stumbled upon the store, Ten Thousand Villages, which sells beautiful fair-trade handmade items from all over the world.  High upon a shelf was a gorgeous life-size Huichol style beaded deer. Did I say GORGEOUS? Absolutely incredible, amazing, to die-for bead-work!   Anyway, the Sirens were singing to Pedro. He was mesmerized. The beading bug bit him; no cure needed. We left the store and went directly to a craft store to buy seed beads and then home to investigate as much as possible about Huichol art and culture.  (He investigated, I wondered about this new, kind of expensive hobby that he was getting into. But, just so you know, I've always been truly supportive of Pedro's creative projects...not just because I benefit from them - our wedding rings, my engagement ring, lots of jewelry and cool things, but because I think he's talented and I can honestly see how it's transformed his/our lives for the good. Now, back to the story....) So, that very day, Pedro started beading on objects, following in the Huichol style, but also creating his own designs and patterns. Here are some of his earlier works. You can see how much his work has evolved and transformed.

Currently, Pedro mostly beads on the loom, although he definitely still does a lot of beading on objects and gives workshops to help people get started with their beading passions, too. (He's become a Siren himself, calling others to come forth to the beading world).  I'll leave the story of how he got started beading on the loom for another day.  It was definitely destiny how that happened, too. Isn't funny how life leads you to your destiny?

For now, I'll leave you with this. As a non-beader, I am truly amazed that beaders have patience and ability to put seed beads one-by-one or string-by-string to create scenes and pictures on objects, or to put each seed bead on a loom, or to do all sorts of stitches to create beading masterpieces. Pedro's "mandala" loom work pieces are created by him without a pattern. For me, that is really inspiring. All that counting and concentration. All those similar colors.  He says it's meditative. I can definitely see how working with beads IS meditative. That will be the topic of our next blog. Beading as Meditation. But in the meantime, I would like to know: Are you a beader?  If so, how did you heed to the Sirens' call? Are you a non-beader who lives with a beader? I'd like to know, do you pick up the seed beads or sweep them away?  Comments are welcome!