Spirituality can be expressed in a myriad of ways. For junior Halle Meissner, crystals have helped her express and embody her spiritual beliefs. 

“Crystals and spirituality was something that was sort of introduced to me by my friends, but also just doing my own research on what sort of stuff I believe in and how I want to enjoy my spirituality,” Meissner said.

Meissner finds that using crystals have helped her attract her desires into reality. 

“I enjoy using crystals because they help me believe the universe has what’s in store for me,” she said. “It knows what’s best for me and it helps me manifest my intentions into the universe.”

Meissner enjoys the varying benefits she observes while using crystals.

“Crystals have a lot of different purposes — healing, protection, or bringing in good energy,” she said. “There’s different benefits and it’s something that you really do have to think about and research before you buy because it’s good to know what they do and how they’ll benefit you.”

Personally, Meissner has found certain steps that aid in optimizing her use and increase the benefits she receives.

“Sometimes I’ll cleanse them to help their energy stay strong and new,” Meissner said. “A lot of crystals can be cleansed by the moon, water, or salt.”

These manifestation-enhancers can be easily incorporated into daily practices. 

“Sometimes you can hold them in your hand or have them near you while you’re studying, meditating — just anything, and it brings in a good energy,” Meissner said. 

Trusting that the intentions from using crystals will occur is a key detail that Meissner emphasizes.

“It really helps if you believe it, so believing is kind of the number one special thing you have to do,” she said. “For optimized use, you really need to believe or it won’t show many results — it’s really a manifesting thing.”

Although crystals can be used for deeper spiritual practices, Meissner prefers to keep her use fairly casual.

“[There are] benefits like opening your third eye, which I don’t work with,” Meissner said. “I don’t really do a lot of stuff like that — I’m more into simple spirituality stuff like incense and crystals.”

There is a plethora of information regarding crystal practices, which is why Meissner encourages others to study up before diving in. 

“My advice for beginners is definitely do your research,” Meissner said. “Figure out what type of spirituality you want to partake in and just know what you’re doing before you try anything too big.”