23/04/2018
Why Are Young People So Into Healing Crystals? - Pacific Standard
MADELEINE THOMA · APR 6, 2017 Je ie Oatman wa uffering through a reak-up — he thought that he had ju t lo t the love of her life — when he fir t decided to give healing cr tal a tr . The 34- ear-old’ heart felt locked, he a , like it had cracked into a hundred thou and piece . Her houlder egan to hunch forward under what he elieved wa heartache’ heav load. And o Oatman’ friend, who wa tud ing hamani m at the time, placed a erie of tone along her chakra chakra chakra , a tring of even linear energ portal . The vi ration and healing propertie of cr tal , ome elieve, help to clean e the chakra of lingering negative energ and right oth od and mind again. The friend placed a pale pink piece of ro e quartz, the “love tone,” alleged to open and oothe an aching heart, upon Oatman’ che t. The experience wa tran formative. “I wa a le to move ome of the tuck energ that wa there,” Oatman a . “I remem er that weight that wa once on m heart eing lifted with a real focu on the heart chakra, u ing that ro e quartz.” While Oatman ha married ince her fir t chakra clean e, ro e quartz remain her favorite cr tal. Demand for cr tal ha urged in recent ear , fueled cele rit endor ement and a New Age re urgence in major citie and the fa hion and eaut indu trie . Cr tal have een a “mounting trend” on t over the la t decade, t merchandi er mil idwell told told told Refiner 29 la t Januar (the popularit of gem tone druz druz druz jewelr jewelr jewelr , eginning in 2007, “gave wa ” to con umer demand for quartz rock cr tal , pendant , and geode motif , idwell aid). La t Decem er, international trend foreca ter J. Walter Thomp on noted “m tic eaut ” — a categor that include piritualit -themed eaut product infu ed with cr tal — in the compan ’ 2016 Future 100 Trend 2016 Future 100 Trend 2016 Future 100 Trend Report Report. Report Though cr tal fir t ecame a hot item during the 1970 , the new target con umer for cr tal purve or are in their twentie and thirtie . rand are “repackaging the cue of m tici m and gem , connecting them to well- eing product for a hip Millennial audience,” Lucie Greene, worldwide director of trend foreca ter JWT Innovation, told told the Huffington Po told t la t ear. And the ’re reaching a hip, ur an, and diver e clientele along with oung cele oung cele oung cele ritie ritie ritie like K lie Jenner, Kat Perr , and Miranda Kerr. In 2016, L0 Angele ’ Cr tal Matrix hop owner, Patricia ankin , aid aid that her predominant demographic ha aid ecome “a lot of oung people” (30 ear ago, “middle-aged women and a few ga gu ” were the mo t likel patron to attend metaph ical cla e , ankin told the Lo Angele Time ). https://psmag.com/news/why-are-young-people-so-into-healing-crystals
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23/04/2018
Why Are Young People So Into Healing Crystals? - Pacific Standard
Though Millennial aren’t exactl known for eing religiou — ju t half orn etween 1981 and 1996 elieve with certaint that God exi t , while onl four in 10 a religion i ver important in their live , according to a 2015 Pew tud tud tud — cr tal aren’t purel a material trend. According to ome expert , ounger generation are opting for piritual practice like cr tal healing ecau e it allow them to mix element from multiple faith and ancient tradition into an individualized piritual practice. Healing cr tal date ack thou and of ear , according to cr tal folklore. The Ancient g ptian are elieved to have u ed lapi lazuli, turquoi e, quartz, and topaz to anoint the tom of the dead and to wear a jewelr and protective amulet . Ancient Greek oldier u ed hematite a protection efore attle and ameth t to fend off hangover , ome lore claim claim claim ; in other practice like A urveda, gem like apphire and ru ie are allegedl linked linkedto linked righteou ne and vitalit . The current market for cr tal , however, wa orn from marketing tactic orn nearl 40 ear ago: In the ’70 and late ’80 , the New Age movement — a collection of holi tic- a ed therapie and philo ophie that empha ized elf-healing — rought cr tal into the limelight. a oomer approaching middle age were almo t exclu ivel attracted to the New Age movement. New Ager ought to pre erve ’60 countercultural value in George u h- and Ronald Reagan-era America, and unite old mem er of the New Left (devotee of radical gra root politic ) and hippie (devotee of elf-exploration), a Carl Ra Carl Ra Carl Ra chke chke, a profe chke or in the department of religiou tudie at the Univer it of Denver. ut in tead of evolving into a purpo e-driven, political movement, New Agei m ecame more of a “clever packaging and marketing trateg ” for pre erving the fractured value of ’60 and ’70 counterculture, he a .
“The phra e New Age wa deli eratel indetermina le, and it own te timon did not have a et of core elief or doctrine ,” Ra chke a . “ roadl peaking, omething could e called ‘New Age’ if it encompa ed ome kind of non-We tern piritual practice, or called into que tion all form of materiali m, con umeri m, or indu trial technologie .” A trolog , pagani m, meditation, and oga all ecame iconic feature of the movement. A New Agei m grew, it didn’t take long for cr tal to urge in popularit , either. In a 1986 New York Time article “New Zeal for Gem New Zeal for Gem New Zeal for Gem tone tone tone : Real : Real : Real earch for the Unreal earch for the Unreal,” the Time earch for the Unreal report that the price of a volume of quartz worth $1 had urged to $10 or $12. ‘’It’ hot tuff,’’ Dr. George . Harlow, curator of gem and mineral at the American Mu eum of Natural Hi tor , told the paper. “The healie feelie are making for a great market in quartz, and mineral dealer are having a hard time keeping quartz cr tal in tock.’’ the ’90 and earl aught , tho e eeking out cr tal were likel to find them atop velvet ta lecloth in patchouli-drenched hop . ut toda , the commercial pro pect for gem are again main tream, if a it price . La radorite gem tone tower are t eee ttt eller eller eller , a are quartz earring quartz earring quartz earring ; Allure Allure, Allure N N N lon lon, and lon Vogue Vogue have all touted the metaph Vogue ical merit of eaut product that include $58 frequenc -rai ing mi t infu ed with moon tone, ro e quartz, and ameth t, $44 tourmaline-charged h drating creme , and emerald-gem tone face oil ju t h of $90, which are de igned to timulate the heart chakra (while convenientl fighting acne). Mem er of ounger generation are till charging their quartz in the light of the full moon — ut man are al o turning to the tone to help make their kin look flawle . Are Millennial reall intere ted in piritual nouri hment when the u quartz product — or ju t hopping onto the late t trend? xpert a the two aren’t mutuall exclu ive.
https://psmag.com/news/why-are-young-people-so-into-healing-crystals
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23/04/2018
Why Are Young People So Into Healing Crystals? - Pacific Standard
Toda , hopping ha ecome it own piritual practice, according to Matthew Hed Matthew Hed Matthew Hed trom trom, an trom a ociate profe or of religiou tudie at the Univer it of Virginia. A ounger generation increa ingl identif with multiple faith , “Religion ecome another one of tho e thing ou con ume ecau e ou find it enjo a le or u eful in ome wa , rather than feeling like religion i omething ou help make,” Hed trom a . He note that, in an organized religiou communit , “ ver od ha to how up ever week.” In a 2014 tud tud tud of New Age retail tore in The ervice Indu trie Journal, two re earcher from the Univer it of tirling wrote that u er of New Age good hop in what the called a “ piritual upermarket” — the handpick piritual and religiou element to form their own elief , rather than u cri e to a ingle faith. Toda ’ market-driven econom , unprecedented acce to piritual guidance online, and a undance of piritual ook , podca t , retreat center , and work hop , have all li erated the “pur uit of a cu tomized piritual pathwa ,” according to the tud ’ author . Thi ri e in do-it- our elf (DIY) piritualit i part of a larger “individuali tic culture” among oung people overall, according to Jean Twenge Jean Twenge, a profe Jean Twenge or of p cholog at an Diego tate Univer it and author of Generation Me: Wh Generation Me: Wh Generation Me: Wh Toda Toda Toda ’’’ Young American Young American Young American Are More Confident, A Are More Confident, A Are More Confident, A ertive, ertive, ertive, Entitled Entitled Entitled — — — a a and More Mi nd More Mi nd More Mi era era era le Than Ever le Than Ever le Than Ever efore efore. “Individuali efore m a icall a that ou don’t need to hang out with a unch of other people and go to religiou ervice . You don’t reall need to elieve in omething igger than our elf like God,” Twenge a . “At an extreme, individuali m i reall incompati le with religion.” ut ounger generation aren’t nece aril o elf-involved that the don’t elieve in force larger than them elve : Millennial ma e le religiou , ut the are ju t a likel to e a piritual a their elder . More than 40 percent “feel a deep en e of wonder a out the univer e at lea t once a week,” according to Pew Pew. Pew
At the ame time, adult are increa ingl deriving piritual wonder from activitie taking place out ide the wall of traditional religiou in titution . A 2009 Pew Pew Pew tud of nearl 4,000 adult over the age of 18 found that almo t a quarter viewed oga a a piritual practice, and over a quarter elieved in the piritual energ of entitie like mountain or fore t . A out 30 percent of the 2009 urve participant who identified a religiou l unaffiliated reported experiencing a “moment of udden religiou in ight or awakening,” a figure that wa “much higher” than a urve conducted in 1976 and nearl twice that recorded in a 1962 Gallup urve . Thi uptick in the population’ elief in piritualit i altering how ome religiou cholar define eculari m, Hed trom a , e peciall a ounger generation continue eeking piritual nouri hment out ide of, or paired with, larger religiou in titution , like the Catholic Church. “What more and more people in religiou tudie are tarting to think a out i not the a ence of religion, ut that there i n’t a dominant mode of religion an longer,” Hed trom a . “All of the udden, in tead of five option of religion, or 10 option , ou’ve got ever mix-and-match variet ou could think of, including one ou invented on our own.” It’ the jo of hamanic practitioner Julie Ann Travi to offer client a piritual practice that can work for their need . The 34- ear-old offer hamanic healing energ e ion , tone treatment , and tone-elixir pre cription at her Atlanta- a ed practice, toneflower Healing.* “I would a I am oth [religiou and piritual],” a Travi , who follow an ancient Taoi t interpretation of tone medicine in her practice. “Reall , for me, what thi journe i a out i di covering m true nature again and again, and upporting other to do the ame.”
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23/04/2018
Why Are Young People So Into Healing Crystals? - Pacific Standard
Travi wa fir t drawn to cr tal while earning an MFA in ceramic — her work explored the idea of “ u terranean acred pace ,” he a . he ha ince pent the la t decade integrating tone into her own piritual practice and her work with her client . “I place the cr tal on the acupuncture point , o it’ the perfect modalit for tho e who are not a fan of needle ,” Travi a . In the ear ince Oatman’ own hamanic experience, he a he ha come to realize that the ro e quartz did le to conjure new love than affirm the open-heartedne and empowerment he had po e ed all along. Latel , he a he ha een practicing with citrine, a pale- ellow or golden- rown tone repre enting a undance. Oatman, al o a rea t-cancer urvivor, meditate with thi variet of quartz ecau e of it a ociation with the Hindu godde Lak hmi — her open and out tretched hand m olize a con tant tate of giving and receiving. The tone i a reminder, Oatman a , to e open to new opportunitie throughout her life’ journe and to erve other along the wa . “For me, piritualit i a out going within, to a elief in omething igger,” Oatman a . “The cr tal reall ecame more, for me, a out pulling out, drawing out what wa alread there.” *Update — April 9, 2017: Thi article previou l ugge ted Travi elieve in DIY piritualit . he in fact adhere to a tradition of hamani m taught to her the Q’ero haman of the Ande .
https://psmag.com/news/why-are-young-people-so-into-healing-crystals
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23/04/2018
Why Are Young People So Into Healing Crystals? - PaciďŹ c Standard
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