Working with Stones During Crisis

Working with Stones During Crisis
for Awakening and Transformation

by Robert Simmons, author of The Book of Stones and the forthcoming The Alchemy of Stones

As an investigator, writer, and teacher about the healing and spiritual qualities of crystals, minerals, and gemstones, I have come to view the stones as Beings rather than mere objects. I think of the energy currents we feel from stones as benevolent gestures of communication, like healing, loving, enlightening “songs” being sung to us by the Earth. I imagine the Stone Beings as the Earth’s angels, bringing us a multitude of messages from the Soul of the World.

Further, I believe that the best way to work with stones and the Earth is through co-creation. This co-creation operates by way of mutual feedback between ourselves and the Stone Beings. When I first hold a stone, I invite its image and energy into my heart as I inhale, and I offer my friendship and blessing as I exhale. After a few such breaths, I almost always notice a response from the stone, and I can feel its currents flowing into me. Or perhaps it is better to say that the energy is what we create together. Since the stones act as the angels of the spiritual Earth, when we co-create with them, we are co-creating with the Earth as well.

I agree with the philosophy of panpsychism, which asserts that all matter is ensouled and consciousness is everywhere. It is clear to me that phenomena such as synchronicity, telepathy, precognition, and our communion with the stones all support this idea. Oracles such as the Tarot and the I Ching offer powerful evidence that our world is permeated with intelligence and wisdom. Some years ago, I discovered that there was an old spiritual tradition that embraced this worldview and that aimed to work co-creatively with the Soul of the World for the fulfillment of our mutual destiny. That tradition was known as alchemy. Investigating more deeply, I became convinced that the work many of us have been doing with our stones is a powerful form of spiritual alchemy, although most of us were unaware of it.

Paracelsus, a famous alchemist and early physician of the 16th century, viewed all of nature as his medicine chest, and he spent a great deal of time investigating the beneficial qualities of various substances. He worked from the assumption that everything was available for communication, and his means of discovery was remarkably like the way we attune to stones to discern their spiritual qualities:

“The researcher should try to ‘overhear’ the knowledge of the star, the herb, or stone with respect to its activity and function. Science is already present as a virtue in the natural object, and it is the experience of the researcher which uncovers the astral sympathy between himself and the object. This identification with an object penetrates more deeply into the essence of the object than mere sensory perception.”

The spiritual alchemists aimed their endeavors at the fulfillment of the highest possible goal—the creation of the Philosophers’ Stone. The Philosophers’ Stone was described in myriad ways, but in essence it symbolized the awakening of a transcendent consciousness within matter, and within the alchemists themselves. To the alchemists, it was not enough to achieve personal enlightenment. The ultimate goal was planetary enlightenment, the healing of all disease, and the conscious incarnation of the Soul of the World in all matter.

It is remarkable to me how closely the aspirations of the alchemists parallel those of the spiritual community of our own time. I particularly like the fact that both we and they embraced the importance of worldwide awakening, and the idea that the spiritual gestures and intentions of individuals can reverberate in a way that affects all of reality. It was the alchemists who gave us the phrases, As above, so below and As below, so above. These phrases point to the essence of co-creation, and they offer us a helpful lens for viewing and discerning meaning in the realities we confront today.

The Covid-19 pandemic is an event with many faces. Viewed through the mass media, it is a medical, political, and economic crisis that has revealed shocking vulnerabilities in the structures of human civilization. To those who have become ill or lost loved ones, it is a bewildering tragedy. To caregivers and essential workers, it has been a call to duty and self-sacrifice, which many have answered nobly. To those of us in self-isolation, the crisis has led to introspection and to speculation on the meaning of what is happening.

In a multitude of ways, the pandemic has brought the world we knew to a screeching halt. Airplanes are not flying, people aren’t driving, factories are closed. This sudden stoppage has led to a cascade of reports about rapid (if temporary) recoveries in the Earth’s atmosphere, rivers, and ecosystems. We have been given a glimpse of how our world might look if we stopped stressing its living systems. Some commentators have estimated that Covid-19 has done more to slow climate change than all of our efforts up to now.

The Covid-19 virus, as bad as it is, could certainly have been worse. Its death rate is low compared to diseases such as SARS and Ebola, although Covid-19 is extremely contagious. And its contagious nature is what has brought about the worldwide shutdown. The shutdown is responsible for the financial anguish many are going through, even as it is literally giving the natural world a “breather.”

The meanings we ascribe to events are influenced by our worldview. A typical materialistic view would only focus on the physical phenomena of the virus—its source, transmission, symptoms, financial consequences, etc. But the alchemical worldview, or that of panpsychism, might question what the Earth is doing and how we can align ourselves with the Earth’s purposes.

In trying to look at the pandemic in this way, I am more in the mode of holding questions than of grasping definite “answers.” And in this context, I ask myself, what might the Earth be trying to do?

So here’s one hypothesis: Let’s imagine that the Earth (or Soul of the World) is conscious, and that her awareness is incredibly specific. Let’s consider that when we throw the I Ching or lay out the tarot cards, we are communicating our question to her, and she is answering us through these oracles. And what about synchronicity? The fact that an event in the outer world has a sharply meaningful connection to one’s inner state seems to indicate a vast yet intimate intelligence that can penetrate our very thoughts. The fact that the world makes these gestures to us indicates her loving intention, even when the “message” is challenging. And the pleasurable, healing, and comforting qualities of the stone energies reveal that the very “bedrock” of our world is aware and is ready to offer us blessings. All of these things seem to say that the Soul of the World knows us very well indeed.

If there is a planetary consciousness that knows us individually, then it is not too difficult to envision that she is aware of our collective activities as well. This would mean that the Earth knows about the climate crisis, and how we have created it.

Now lets consider Covid-19. The effects of this novel virus have been gentle enough not to wipe us out, but harsh enough, and widespread enough, to force humanity to stop much of the activity that has been hastening the Earth’s climate to a point of no return. Air travel and cruise lines may be severely curtailed for years to come. Other polluting activities such as meat production have been drastically cut back. It is yet to be seen how long the pandemic will last and how drastic or long-lasting the changes will be. But we have been given a chance to see how quickly the Earth can recover, if given a chance. And we have been shown that a change of incredible magnitude can happen very rapidly, for better or for worse. It has been left to us to decide what to do next, although our options have definitely changed.

On a symbolic level it is interesting to note that Covid-19 primarily affects the human respiratory system. Correspondingly, the climate crisis comes from the fact that human activities have damaged the Earth’s “lungs”—the atmosphere.

I am not proposing that the Earth is attacking us—not at all. If this imagination of the crisis is meaningful, its message is that the Earth is teaching us—communicating with us—just as she does when we ask a question of the I Ching, or try to “overhear” the qualities of a stone. The moment is dire, in terms of our survival of the climate crisis, so the Earth’s message must be emphatic. Yet, as I said, on the macro scale, the pandemic could have been far worse than this one currently appears to be.

And then there is another thing to consider. Many people I know have been commenting on a feeling of peace and spiritual presence that is pervading the world. It is a subtle undercurrent, but it is palpable, if we stop and pay attention. Or sometimes it just flows into us and takes our breath away. That happened to me this morning at dawn when I went outside and heard the birds beginning their daily conversations.

In spiritual alchemy, there are events called Conjunctions, in which powerful polarities converge, combining and magnifying their energies. Dr. Carl Jung, the father of psychoanalysis, and an alchemist in his own right, said that the human psyche can respond to the intensity of such times by activating the Transcendent Function. Both the ancient alchemists and Jung believed that true incidents of transcendence are frequently preceded by this build-up of tension between opposite polarities. One’s worldview and sense of security may be powerfully challenged by inner and/or outer events that appear to negate what one once believed. Or we may face times in which intense fear and intense love are evoked at the same time. When we hold the energy of such polarities within ourselves without trying to escape from the truth of what is happening, we can undergo transcendent leaps to new levels of awareness. These are the rare moments of metamorphosis, when a greater Self is called into being.

I am trying to suggest that we may be approaching such a moment collectively. This is something many of us have sensed as a possibility for years, although I imagine that very few of us would have guessed that such a profound global challenge to our familiar way of life would arise so suddenly.

There is a surreal vibe now, as so many patterns we took for granted are suddenly disrupted. Everything feels fluid, as old structures seem to dissolve. This is the sense of liminality—of being neither “here” nor “there”—that one experiences on the threshold of transcendence. The threshold of transcendence is a place of great uncertainty, and it’s not comfortable. Yet, an aspect of that surreal feeling is numinosity, which the dictionary defines as “filled with a sense of the presence of divinity.” I believe all major initiations have this quality, and that it is permeating the atmosphere of our world now.

One thing I think we must try not to do now is to “know” what’s going to happen. First of all, we don’t know. Second, the uncertainty of the threshold is a holy place, and when its grace comes to us, we should try to stay within it, until it brings us its unforeseeable gift.

So what do we do? Be kind, be silent, be grateful. Listen. Extend your feeling sense in all directions. Find a way to talk to the Soul of the World. Offer your intention, as the alchemists did, that She and we can awaken together.

The stones offer an open door to Her. I sleep with a favorite one cuddled up against my chest, and I sometimes wake up and notice that a silent conversation is occurring between the stone and my heart. The theme is always love.

Here is a suggestion for a meditation: Sit down in a quiet place and hold one of your stones. Maybe bring it close to your heart. As you inhale, invite the living Being of that stone into your heart. As you exhale, offer out your appreciation and love to the Stone Being, and to the Soul of the World. Keep going, and think about how vulnerable the Earth is right now, and how much it matters to you. Then as you continue breathing, remember that it is this air that we need to heal. Then remember that the word respiration has at its core the word for spirit. Our atmosphere is our breath, our life, and the life and breath of the Soul of the World. So, as you meditate, realize that the stone in your hand is Her, and the breath in your lungs is Her, and the love in your heart is what you have to offer Her, and that is what She needs. And keep breathing, and let the flow of love pour back and forth through the stone, and through you, like the tides of the sea.