INTRODUCTION

This book will take you on a journey. You will discover not only what you truly seek and how to manifest your true desires, but also how to engage in a unique relationship with the magical stones which light up these pages.

My own journey befriending crystals began many years ago, when I was in my twenties. After a series of disastrous love affairs, I thoroughly immersed myself in esoterica, in an attempt to understand and work with my own psychological issues. I knew there was more to the concept of “love” than just physical desire, emotional need, and idealistic fantasies. So, I learned to be mindful and compassionate yet engage fully with life; to conjure spells and divine the moment’s energy, and to experience the moment as it is—the eternal now of universal oneness. But where was human love in all this, I wondered. As I sat one day on a cold, English pebbly beach watching the tide come in, the surf flung a few stones close to my hands. One smooth, shining, dark pebble stood out from the other gray ones. Less than two inches (5 cm) long, black and oval, it had a narrow etched line around its circumference, and another line encircling one end. To me it was a sign from the universe, as if this small stone, which had been washed along many shores, raised from the Earth’s crust and seen millions of years of evolution, held all of eternity in its matrix. I picked up my new friend and held it in my hand. In those moments I understood the magic of unconditional human love.

Whether in the ocean, a pebble, a gemstone, or yourself, the energy of the universe permeates all.

However each of us describes it, this kind of feeling can only ever be experienced by oneself to fully understand it, but it felt as if I was truly in touch with the energy of the universe and how it moves through all things, including pebbles, rocks, the swishing tide, and human beings. And so began my relationship with my new friends. Throughout the years, many other crystals have guided me to know not only my true intentions and how to follow my heart, but they have also helped me to manifest goals.

This little black stone still sits on my desk, reminding me that love is all around and that we only need to truly seek it to find it. But doing so with a positive engagement with the universe takes a little wisdom and practice. This book will point you down the right pathway to manifest what you seek and to know what truly matters to you—whether you want to find new love tomorrow, discover career success in just a few months, or simply feel enriched by life everyday. It’s time to start the journey and make friends with these very precious stones.