The cacao bean is the source of perhaps the most magical and beloved foods on Earth because it is the source of chocolate. Even the cacao tree's official name, Theobroma cacao, recognizes the long-standing love most of us have for the fruit of this tree. Theobroma comes from the Greek language for "food of the gods." And while chocolate is the most popular and favorite of these foods from the cacao bean, an even healthier choice is raw cacao powder. How Is Cacao Powder Made? To produce raw cacao powder, raw cacao beans are simply cold pressed to remove the fat, and the remaining solids are ground into a fine powder. Cacao vs. Cocoa: What's the Difference? Cacao powder contains all the beneficial nutrients and beneficial compounds of the raw cacao bean minus the fat. In contrast, cocoa powder is made from roasted cacao beans. And even if they look alike, the two are different. In making cocoa powder, up to 90% of the nutrients and beneficial compounds in raw c
Crystals have been used for healing purposes for generations. Some crystals can aid your mental health, helping you achieve all around mental balance. Here are three crystals perfect for clearing and calming your mind (and they're really pretty too!).
How To Use Crystals
Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to clarify how crystals should be used. In general, after purchasing a crystal, you should always do two things in this order: cleanse and program. Cleansing a crystal is important because crystals naturally pick up energy from the environments they live in. Before using a crystal for your own purposes, it’s important to ensure it’s rid of any negativity it may have absorbed. You can cleanse a crystal in many ways.
Cleansing Methods for Crystals
- Running water: Hold your crystal under running water for a few minutes. It may need longer if it’s been working hard or hasn’t been cleansed in a long time.
- Sunlight: Leave your crystal in sunlight. You can also dry your crystals in sunlight after washing them. However, certain crystals should never be exposed to direct sunlight (quartz crystal can become a fire hazard if left in the sun too long, so do not leave it unattended).
- Moonlight: Leave your crystal under the light of a full or new moon to cleanse it of negative energy. Great for quartz crystals as an alternative to sunlight cleansing.
- Incense: Let some sage smoke waft over your crystal. You can use a smudge stick (a small bundle of herbs you burn during cleansing rituals) to do this.
How to Program Crystals
After you’ve chosen a way to cleanse your crystals, you need to program them. This will help them do their job better and heal you more accurately. All you have to do is hold the crystal in your hand, close your eyes, and notice exactly how it feels. Really connect to its energy and become aware of how this crystal makes you feel. Then, follow the next two steps to program it properly.
Programming Method:
- Holding your crystal in your hand, focus your mind on whatever it is you want your crystal to do. For example, if you want it to help quell a restless mind, think about that intention. Sit quietly and imagine that the thought in your mind is going deep into your crystal, becoming submerged. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes. Congratulations—you just programmed your crystal! But you’re not done just yet…
- Ideally, you’ll want to repeat this programming process daily for two weeks. It will take less time each day to connect with the same crystal. Ask your crystal to help you with whatever you have programmed it for. Between programming sessions, you can carry your crystal with you, or leave it where it won’t be disturbed.
- After programming your crystal, it’s finally ready for use! Now, let's dive in to the different kinds of crystals you can use to promote mental health.
Amethyst
First up is amethyst: This beautiful variety of quartz is loved by many for its vibrant purple color (caused by manganese and iron inclusions) and its calming energy. Common places amethyst is found are Brazil, Uruguay, South Africa, Madagascar, and India. Amethyst has an amazing ability to amplify the power and energy of other crystals. It works well in conjunction with others—so you can use it with the two other crystals on this list for double the benefits. It’s great for overall protection, as well as physical, emotional, and mental balance. It helps with decision making, moving forward in life, and coping with responsibility and change.
As far as mental health goes, amethyst can really help with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and with anger or violent tendencies. It calms nerves, passion, oversensitivity, grief, tension, and emotional energy. This makes it ideal for people who have unbalanced emotions, tempers, or are going through a rough time.
To use amethyst, you can simply carry it around in your pocket, wear it as a piece of jewelry, or place it in a room you want more peace and tranquility in. Amethyst clusters are great for placing in your living room or any communal area, as they make everyone feel more relaxed and at home. You can also make a calming crystal elixir using amethyst, as this crystal is safe to put in water. Just place the crystal in a cup, pour fresh water over it, and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. The water will become infused with the crystal’s healing abilities, and drinking it will help calm, center, and relax you. You can also meditate with your crystal to help center your emotions—just hold it in your palm or keep it near you as you meditate.
Aquamarine
A beautiful blue/green variety of beryl, aquamarine is another calming and healing stone perfect for mental health. This stone is usually found and sourced from Afghanistan, Brazil, Namibia, Pakistan, and the USA. It’s actually very good for your brain and intellect, aiding in studies, communication, and courage. This is an ideal stone for travelers—especially if you’re traveling abroad for school work studies, as it protects travelers and is helpful for aiding your studies. If you find you cannot seem to focus on your work, have a restless mind, or are constantly judging yourself, this is the stone for you.
As far as mental health goes, aquamarine brings calm, compassion, spiritual awareness, development, and reveals truth about yourself. It can be a very eye-opening stone, helping with a judgmental attitude. It brings you in contact with your inner and higher self. Aquamarine is good for centering and meditation, since it gently washes away any blocked chakras.
To use aquamarine, hold it in your palm as you meditate to let it help you clear your head. If you find yourself judging yourself (or others) during the day, reach out for this stone. You can wear it as jewelry or just keep a small tumbled stone in your pocket. For promoting overall clear thoughts and balanced emotions while studying, keep it near you while working—especially when studying for school. School work can cause a lot of anxiety, so taking a break to reach out and touch your aquamarine can help give you some courage and reassurance. It will clear your head of any worries and let you stay balanced as you power through the day.
Alexandrite
This beautiful green variety of chrysoberyl looks red under artificial light. It usually can be found in small masses and rarely crystals in Brazil and Russia. Still, it is wonderful and can promote so much healing. It brings good fortune, mental balance, youthfulness, and creativity everywhere it goes. Just holding it will revitalize you.
As far as mental health goes, alexandrite is great for emotional balance, self-esteem, and rebirth, and it helps resolve past issues. If you have suffered from any type of trauma, or have PTSD, this crystal may be a good match for you, as it can help you cope with those memories. If you have low self-esteem and feel worthless (which you’re not!), this crystal is also an excellent choice, since it restores emotional balance and will help make you feel good about yourself.
To use alexandrite, try holding it in the palm of your hand, simply letting its good energy absorb into you. See if you can feel it pulsating in your palm—that is its energy, transferring into you. Placing it on your heart while lying down is also a great idea, as it is correlated to the heart chakra and can soothe an aching heart. Carry it around with you throughout the day for the best results, and reach for it whenever you need to take a breather and re-center yourself. Utilize this crystal whenever you start to think negative thoughts or something triggers you to think back to previous traumas. Take a few deep breaths with it in your hands, letting it calm you and revitalize you. You should always keep this somewhere handy so you can grab hold of it, whenever the need arises.
http://basmati.com/2019/11/07/3-healing-crystals-mental-health-amethyst-aquamarine-alexandrite
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