Crystal healing is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine technique that employs stones and crystals. Adherents of the technique claim that these have healing powers, although there is no scientific basis for this claim.
In one method, the practitioner places crystals on different parts of the body, often corresponding to chakras; or else the practitioner places crystals around the body in an attempt to construct an energy grid, which is purported to surround the client with healing energy. Despite this, scientific investigations have not validated claims that chakras or energy grids actually exist, nor is there any evidence that crystal healing has any greater effect upon the body than any other placebo; for these reasons it is considered a pseudoscience.
Video Crystal healing
Ethnography
Precious stones have been thought of as healing objects by a variety of cultures worldwide.
Anglosphere
Crystal healing is heavily associated with the New Age spiritual movement: "the middle-class New Age healing activity par excellence". In contrast with other forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), participants in crystal healing view the practice as "individuated", i.e., dependent on extreme personalization and creative expression.
Practitioners of crystal healing purport that certain physical properties--e.g., shape, color, and markings--determine the ailments that a stone can heal; lists of such links are published in commonly distributed texts. Paradoxically, practitioners also "hold the view that crystals have no intrinsic qualities but that, instead, their quality changes according to both" participants. After selecting the stones by color or their believed metaphysical qualities, they place them on parts of the body. Color selection and placement of stones are done according to concepts of grounding, chakras, or energy grids.
Other cultures
Many other cultures have developed traditions of crystal healing over time, including the Hopi Native Americans of Arizona and Hawaiian islanders, some of whom continued to use it as of 1997. The Chinese have traditionally attributed healing powers to microcrystalline jade.
Maps Crystal healing
Criticism
There is no peer reviewed scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect; it is considered a pseudoscience. Alleged successes of crystal healing can be attributed to the placebo effect. Furthermore, there is no scientific basis for the concepts of chakras, being "blocked", energy grids requiring grounding, or other such terms; they are widely understood to be nothing more than terms used by adherents to lend credibility to their practices. Energy, as a scientific term, is a very well-defined concept that is readily measurable and bears little resemblance to the esoteric concept of energy used by proponents of crystal healing.
In 1999, researchers French and Williams conducted a study to investigate the power of crystals compared with a placebo. Eighty volunteers were asked to meditate with either a quartz crystal, or a placebo stone which was indistinguishable from quartz. Many of the participants reported feeling typical "crystal effects", however this was irrespective of whether the crystals were real or placebo. The study was repeated in 2001 by French, O'Donnell, and Williams in order to add a double-blind component to the study design. Similar results were produced.
Crystal healing effects could also be attributed to cognitive bias (which occurs when the believers want the practice to be true and see only things that back up that desire).
Crystal healing techniques are also practiced on animals, although some veterinary organizations, such as the British Veterinary Association, have warned that these methods are not scientifically proven and state that people should seek the advice of a vet before using alternative techniques.
As with other non-scientific methods the practice of crystal healing can be actively dangerous or possibly even fatal if it causes people with illnesses that are treatable by scientifically-based medicine to avoid or delay seeking effective treatment.
Notable proponents
- William A. Tiller
- Marcel Vogel
See also
- Color healing
- Energy medicine
- Magnet therapy
- List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
References
Further reading
- Lawrence E. Jerome. (1989). Crystal Power: The Ultimate Placebo Effect. Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-0-87975-514-0
External links
- Crystal Healing: Stone-cold Facts About Gemstone Treatments - LiveScience
- James Randi debunks Crystal Power
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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