By Bridgette Perrrott
Opinion writer

[email protected]
As the semester gets under way, students have their hands full — homework, classes, jobs, sports, clubs. It can be hard to stay sane! It is especially important to ground and center yourself at the beginning of the semester — to set the stage for the next four months. As someone who overloads myself and suffers from anxiety, I find it helpful to use crystal meditation at the beginning or end of my day. Crystal healing not only helps me relax, but helps me to center myself. Meditation helps me slow down, stay calm, focus and  become a better student.
Because the effectiveness of crystal healing is not easily proven through clinical trials and studies, I understand the effectiveness through more intuitive measures rather than a clinical test. Crystal healing, while having central themes to each practice such as counselling, crystal grids, and meditation, is not rule bound and it is up to the person to interpret the effectiveness as they will.
To most, a crystal is just a rock with nothing else to it. For me, crystals provide a much needed source of energy, whether it be higher energy or lower energy. Gauging crystal energy works a lot like gauging the heat of a far-away star. The purple or blue crystals hold higher vibrational energy in the same way blue stars are hotter. According to NASA, blue light has a higher frequency than red light. Red or orange crystals hold lower vibrational energy and, according to NASA, red or orange stars are cooler. When we open ourselves to these energies, or even just use the crystal as something to focus on while meditating, we can change our energy in line with  the crystal we have chosen.
Stacie Coller, manager at Enter the Earth, a popular crystal store in the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville, recommends blue, purple, black, yellow and white stones for college students.
She said her favorite stone for studying or mental activities is blue fluorite.
“Fluorite is extremely mentally organizing,” Coller said. “I would say because you’re specifically looking for mental body, it corresponds with the third eye chakra which is dark blue and also the crown chakra, so maybe also purple. So you’re going to be looking for something blue. You can wear it as a necklace or just breathe with it.”
Coller said fluorite puts you in the layer of consciousness you wish to be in whether it is sleep, meditation or studying, without ungrounding you like most crown and third eye chakras do. Personally, I love fluorite as an energy cleansing stone when I feel like my stress is gnawing at me.
“I like lepidolite for stress,” Coller said. “It’s good for sleep. It’s good for stress. So if someone has test anxiety, this is probably a really good stone to have to just play with in your hands or to stick in your pocket. There’s lithium in this and I think it’s the lithium that makes it feel so good for people who have anxiety.”
Lepidolite is a soothing lavender color associated with the heart, third eye and crown chakra. According to CrystalsandJewelry.com, lepidolite is a stone of transformation, helping those who are making grand life changes ease into the next phase of their life. Lepidolite is also known for being a protective stone for business and career. Overall, this seems like a  great stone for students to carry.
For incoming freshmen who may be particularly nervous, Coller suggests warmer colored stones like oranges or reds to give courage.
“Tiger’s Eye is all about the ‘big cat’ energy. Courage. Fortitude. A little bit of energy,” Coller said.
Tiger’s Eye fuels the fire of the solar plexus chakra, better known as your personal power. I have found it to be very stabilizing and grounding, enhancing a person’s willpower,  whether it’s to do homework or to go to class, and draws in success. What college student is going to turn that down?
Coller’s last bit of advice is how to protect against drama and how to cleanse energy after drama has occurred. She said sodalite, a blue stone that resembles lapis lazuli, is an “anti-drama” stone.
“It helps you to be more objective and less emotionally triggered or less likely to make a decision based off of emotional reactivity,” Coller said.
Coller suggests black stones, such as black tourmaline and obsidian, to shield oneself from negative energy and bad intentions and to stabilize and ground the person. The more stabilized a person is the more energy flow and less blockages there are in the chakras, according to Coller.
“Selenite is great for spaces like the dorm room or Himalayan salt lamps are great too,” Coller said.
This is a great alternative to burning herbs such as sage in order to cleanse living spaces.
“If all else fails, rose quartz is the go-to. That’s because it’s all about love and love does everything at some point,” Coller said. “Love heals. Love protects. Love grounds. Love expands. Love does everything.”