Crystals for Change
Up until this point, I have kept different parts of my identity in separate compartments, making Souled a space where I share my love for crystals. I realize that I do not speak about myself as the owner or say much about my story. I thought that if and when I did, it would be a pretty formatted video or text telling you about myself as a holistic doctor. However, I think the time has come full circle to introduce myself and tell how activism is integral to my journey as a crystal healer.
My name is Kris, a Florida native who, in the Summer of 2013- like many of you- was outraged after the acquittal of George Zimmerman after he MURDERED a young boy named Trayvon Martin.
I remember that summer vividly. I had just graduated from college and was going on a family road trip to New York. On the way, around Virginia or so, I remember looking out the passenger window up into the pitch-black sky to see a tall, luminous billboard, lonely and odd. It read, “WANTED by FBI” with a picture of Assata Shakur. I can’t explain in words the conviction and admiration I felt at that moment looking at her. I just knew I felt inspired and that her image- her work- sparked something inside me. I grinned as I told my mom about her- how she as a BOSS who was framed by the US government, wrongfully convicted, and how she was the first woman to ever be on the “Most Wanted” list. At that time, I hadn’t even read her autobiography, I just knew I felt great admiration and gratitude.
It’s funny how the Universe works because on the way back to Florida, I got a call from my sister-friend saying that a group of young people called the Dream Defenders are going to the Florida Capitol to protest. As soon as I got home, I packed my bags and left the next morning to join their sit-in. That sit-in became a sleep-in, or as we called it, a dream-in. We remained at the Capitol- living, sleeping, and planning for 31 days and 30 nights. We sang together, ate together, and “dreamed together.” Every day, we would occupy our time by planning, teaching movement history, or having classes on whatever we felt. I even taught a class on “the Politics of Black Hair.” My leadership skills were cultivating and my spiritual connection to “the All,” or oneness of all things, was growing tremendously.
I had just bought my first crystal at a farmer’s market about a month earlier. It was a clear quartz pendant wrapped in plated silver. It spoke to me. I know I sound like a crazy lady but I heard the crystal that was hanging on a twig, turned around in shock to find myself looking directly into it, seeing a huge ray of sunshine beam into it and cast a rainbow. From that moment on, I always wore this crystal. At that time, no one wore crystals or really knew about them so people would often ask me about crystals, spirituality and holistic health. I became known as, “Kris, the Healer from Dream Defenders.” That nickname carried on throughout the movement. For a while, I didn’t know that’s what people were calling me until I began meeting strangers who addressed me by it before they proceeded to tell me that so and so said I was the person they needed to talk to.
I can attribute a lot of my ability to pour myself into my work to crystal energy. Crystal energy kept me vibrating high and in alignment with the divine. I always felt protected and at peace. Wearing and carrying my crystals gave me the necessary courage and strength to risk my life and freedom. It was not a moment where I felt out of synch or like I was on the wrong path. The energy would shift as soon as I entered rooms and no negative forces could exist in the same space. I didn’t know exactly who I was becoming, but I was slowly learning to tap into my abilities and discovering my purpose.
Our organization grew and we expanded a lot, moving into branches of our respective regions once we left the Capitol. I created the Volusia County Dream Defender branch and worked with Bethune Cookman University, local churches, and residents from surrounding project homes. The Dream Defenders had created momentum and were at the forefront of a movement that would create changes like we never could’ve imagined. More organizations like Black Lives Matter sprang up and we got to forge relationships with much older ones. More alliances formed and the work continued. The injustices kept stacking and the world kept turning, slowly burning as more lives were senselessly taken.
Then there comes a point where you can’t keep going. You literally cannot. Your body starts to shut down. You lose parts of yourself. You stop mourning because you literally have no energy to give. You realize that righteous anger cannot fuel you. You have to learn to sustain yourself. Self-care becomes the answer. Love becomes your war cry.
If you have ever dedicated yourself to anything, you have more than likely experienced burnout. And if you have ever felt trauma, relived it, then tried to fix it, you have more than likely experienced what I consider to be spiritual exhaustion.
I dedicated my life to creating a world where Black and Brown folks can flourish and be free. That didn’t end when I decided to further my education and become a Chiropractor. Being off the frontlines gave me a chance to learn sustainability. Because I learned while sleeping on those floors, pews, cots, busses, backseats, and running on fumes that you cannot give from an empty, angry place. You must be full to serve. Your mind must be sound and your spirit must be fortified. Some activists and organizers are not here today because of this (Bless the lives of Sandra Bland and my dear friend Marshawn McCarrell.) So it is our duty to protect and love ourselves and one another.
It is for us to remember that this fight is a battle of cosmic ordainment in which everyone- YES EVERYONE- has a role. Not everyone is going to be acknowledged, on the news, in the streets or very vocal. Don’t assume you know everyone’s contributions (unless you are holding someone who’s silent, i.e. your co-worker or BFF accountable- that’s different.). The best thing that you can do is make sure that you choose your side wisely and do something to make a change for the betterment of humanity. No matter how big or small, your contribution matters. Your role may be making PBJs, babysitting during protests, creating art, providing blankets or milk, educating your loved ones who don’t understand the outrage, supporting financially, sending research materials, or whatever has been put on your heart to do. Just be sure to do it for the greatest good of all.
So tune and tap into your role and know that I am here, through Souled, to help you.
Here are some stones to support you as you stand for justice: