The biggest obstacle to achieving a meditative state, for those who are beginners, is to learn how to shift gears from an external focus to an internal focus, and to change the direction of the mind from being actively engaged in thought and logic, to being still and calm with clear awareness. In order to allow the intuition to turn on, and one’s pure spirit and conscious awareness to jump back into the driver’s seat, this is essential. For the one whose main mode of life, has been immersed in a constant chain of thought for many years, it could be quite difficult to achieve calm stillness and engage in meditation upon first sitting down. This where crystals and gemstones can be a useful tool as a means to that end.

For anyone experiencing difficulty getting into a calm, still, meditative state, the first thing to do is, to identify the type of problem you may be having which is preventing you from turning off the outside world, and lighting up your internal world. Common problems include, anxiety or nervous energy which prevents you from achieving calmness, a strong chain of thought that dominates and overshadows the subtle internal experience you are trying to open up to, physical discomfort from not being used to staying still in seated postures, emotional issues which overpower you once you try to sit still, strong lethargy or being sucked into sleep every time you try to meditate, and a strong sense of boredom for those that need constant external stimulation.

In general, for situations of achieving calmness and bringing oneself into a state of relaxation, one may try Turquoise, Howlite, Selenite or Moonstone to name a few.  In this situation you would want a crystal or gemstone which has a calming effect and try to avoid crystals that stimulate your personal energies and wind up making it even more difficult to achieve calmness. Clear quartz for example, may have an amplification effect that could make it even harder for some people. But in the case where lethargy or a strong sense of being sucked into sleep is present, different quartz varieties which multiply the amount and quality of one’s energies could be excellent for such purposes.

The simplest distinction of energetic properties is to stimulate or sedate. It is best to find out which does which for you based on where you are as a person at this time, and then experiment with crystals of the right category when trying to achieve the desired results. This is crystal alchemy at its most basic.

There are various crystals conducive for overcoming each of these issues, and a quick search will yield many suggestions for you. However, it is always recommended to find out firsthand which crystal(s) work best for you personally in these situations as there really isn’t a one size fits all answer. By owning a selection of various crystals and experimenting with them one by one in meditation, it will become obvious which ones are the biggest helpers for you personally in a certain situation. Develop patience and gentleness in all areas of life, and the answers will naturally become obvious.