Kim Lawrence felt an immediate sense of calm the first time she wore a malachite crystal.

“I felt at peace and it helped me tap into my purpose,“ Ms Lawrence said. ”Malachite is a deep-green stone with a very strong energy. But it is also very protective.“

She was so intrigued by the healing powers of malachite and other healing crystals that she took a deep dive into them, trying to learn as much as she could. She began ordering other crystals for different needs in her life.

The end result was her own business, Zen Crystals Bermuda.

“I opened in 2017 full of fear as I had not come across many people that openly talked about crystals,” she said. ”But I wanted others to experience crystal energy and all of their benefits.“

Her business runs on the idea that different crystals have different energies that help with different issues. White quartz, for example, can help the wearer to achieve greater clarity and achieve their goals. Rose quartz is said to be good for fertility.

“The energies of the crystals support our natural energy to align with what it is we may require,” she said.

If clients require it, she will do a consultation to help them to find the right crystals for their needs.

“Zen Crystals Bermuda is a space for people to feel safe,” she said. “I do my best to make the space peaceful and light so that if someone wants assistance they don’t feel any energy of judgment.”

She is quick to say that she is not a therapist. If people have physical or mental health issues, she can provide crystals that will support them energetically while they seek professional help for their issues.

Three years ago, she became a certified crystal practitioner which allows her to correctly do energy work such as chakra balancing and other crystal therapies.

“Right now I probably have close to 80 different types of crystals available,” Ms Lawrence said. “I would say our most popular product at the moment is the rough and tumble crystals.”

These are small collections of crystals you can hold in your hand.

“People just getting into crystals tend to use them a bit more,” she said. “I am also getting a lot of requests to bring in larger crystals. But I do not bring in a lot of those because shipping is a factor with the weight.”

Ms Lawrence said that the prices of healing crystals have been going up in the past two years.

“A lot of the suppliers are saying they have lost a lot of people to Covid,” she said. “It is difficult to find people to mine the crystals. That is helping to increase the prices.”

She buys her stones from all over the world — the United States, India, China, Brazil and South Africa.

One of the rewards of running Zen Crystals Bermuda is seeing people become believers in the energy of crystals.

“Two weeks ago I had customers come in from the cruise ships,” she said. “The minute they walked in they said this is so great. People said they could feel it.”

Sometimes she battles negative perceptions of healing crystals. She has found that some Christians worry that crystals are a form of witchcraft. In fact, stones such as malachite are mentioned in the Bible.

“Crystals are just like plants,” Ms Lawrence said. “A plant does not grow and it is a bad plant. It is about how you use it. I invite sceptics to come and experience the energy they can get from crystals.”

One of her obstacles is the cost of shipping.

“It is difficult because I am trying to keep my prices as reasonable as possible,” Ms Lawrence said.

Ms Lawrence works full time as a compliance officer, a job that can be stressful. Selling healing crystals is her way of relaxing.

“When I come home, I am in my Zen space with my crystals,” she said.

She sells through a WhatsApp catalogue, and from her own backyard on Chaingate Hill, Devonshire on Saturdays.

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