ADAM BARRALET

My Story

As a teenager this is where I discovered my source of spirituality. I was blessed to grow up in the hills, east of Perth. This was an area still dominated by native bushland and wildlife. Here my friends and I would spend our days riding our bikes along bush paths, climbing up trees and down caves. In reflection I feel lucky that this was the environment I grew up in. For children growing up in suburbia they rode their bikes down busy streets and hung out in shopping centres. I feel sorry that everyone couldn’t grow up amongst the bush and the animals and learn to love them like I do.

This connection with nature continued through the turbulent years of teenage-hood. While other teens would lock themselves in their rooms and listen to music and ear bleeding levels, you’d find me deep in contemplation at the bottom of the garden, tucked in against a lilly pilly hedge, next to the weeping willow and surrounded by red rose bushes. It was here in my little sanctuary that I tackled the thousands of questions ricocheting around in my teenage mind.  I’d sit outside under the Moon and stars and process thoughts amongst the trees and crickets. Outside in nature was a peaceful place where I had time to think and make sense of the world. 

Discovering crystals when I was 17 was a turning point of my life. I've always been drawn to colours and still to this day I can't believe so many colours are created beneath the earth. I owe a lot to two lovely ladies who owned a local store called The Amethyst Tree. Patiently they would endure me as I spent hours and asked countless questions trying to pick the right tumbled stone to take home. I really made them work hard for my $5 back then!

It all started with an amethyst, as it seems to for most people. When I run my workshops I ask participants if they can remember their first crystal. If amethyst wasn’t their first, it was one they acquired early on. Getting your first amethyst is almost like a Rite of Passage. Amethyst has a sedative energy and encourages you to slow down, to pause and take a moment of stillness. When you buy your first amethyst it is as if you are declaring to yourself and the world, “Hey! I’m sick of this rat-race. I don’t want to spend my life rushing around because everyone else is and I feel I have to try and keep up!” When you get your first amethyst it’s as if your true self is acknowledging that there is more to life and you are ready to explore that. It marks the start of your spiritual path. 

Of course, I didn’t realise that at 17 as I took my tumbled Amethyst home. I loved its colour and the rainbows that caught the light as I rolled the crystal in my hand. I was fascinated with the legend of the crystal’s creation. How Dionysus cried drunken tears of wine over the white quartz statue of Amethystas, a beautiful girl he had lustfully pursued and had been saved by the other gods by being changed to stone. I learned its properties and got lost in the magic of the stone. I didn’t feel anything from the crystals at this point but had faith in what authors like Scott Cunningham expressed would develop with practice. So next week I was back at The Amethyst Tree to get another couple of crystals to learn about and work with. This collection has grown now to where I work with about 350 different crystals. 

As I approached the end of high school I was blessed to meet some great teachers. They taught me that my wonderment and connection with nature was shared by others. I studied the teachings of the old nature religions and was blessed to have the opportunity to access ancient writings handed down through generations through the tradition of re-writing from another’s books and journals. I resonated with the beliefs of people from times passed, when people communicated around fireplaces rather than cyber-conferences, they ate what was in season rather than what was on special, they celebrated the stages of life rather than savagely clinging to their youth and knew the movements of the animals, plants and seasons. It wanted to play a role of keeping this old knowledge alive and I saw how these old ways could still help in this new age. 

Growing up I wasn’t immune to the distractions of the modern world. I’d been domesticated like all children and aspired for material success. I "needed" the latest fashion, current technology, new car, large house and everything else I saw on the television. I found ways to use crystals, through programming and grids, to manifest these things with ease and overwhelming success. I pursued bigger and brighter things In Melbourne, then moved to live in Toronto, followed by New York City. I worked in banks, travel agents and juice bars and enjoyed every moment meeting different people and gaining their perspectives of the world. Throughout these years crystals and nature always played a role in my life and were my sanctuary whenever I needed solace. 

However five years ago, after a holiday visit back to Perth, something shifted, and I knew it was time to come home. It was as if the trees, the animals and the land were all singing to me in a chorus of pleas, begging me to expand on what had always simply been an innate way of living my life. So myself, my American partner and our two cats packed everything into a shipping container and relocated back to Perth. 

Here is when my involvement in what is coined as the “New Age industry” started to accelerate. I worked in a New Age shop, just like The Amethyst Tree and as a sales rep for different New Age product wholesalers. I was talking to others about crystals every day, answering similar questions for beginners like myself fifteen years ago. In fact, working in retail gave me the opportunity to talk to so many people interested in the New Age from beginners to advanced. I’ve heard everything from the insightful to the downright bizarre. 

As more of my time to was spent working and teaching others about crystals I started to pen some meditations and book ideas. Everything was flowing perfectly but then one day a customer walked into the shop and gifted me with one of my biggest “A-ha” moments. She was a young mother, like many others who came into the shop. She came in and asked if we had any guided meditation CDs. I pointed her in the right direction and then attended to another customer. A couple of minutes later I checked back in with her and she seemed a bit disappointed. “How’s the hunt going?,” I asked. “This may seem a bit silly but all these meditations are a bit too selfish,” she replied. “They are all about the individual,” she explained. If there was to be light bulbs appearing above my head or angels singing then this would have been the moment when I saw great clarity like never before about the industry I was a part of. Unfortunately at that moment her child started wailing and she had to dash away. She said she’d come back but I’ve never seen her again. If I did I’d like to thank her. 

Although I'd already started my book she pointed out to me one vital point that I’d never considered. The New Age, and Self-Help and Improvement, movement is all about self.  We are encouraged to work on ourselves, improve ourselves, and empower ourselves so we can have the job, riches, relationships and success we desire. But in an industry that seems to be all about love and hugs the focus seems all wrong. Everyone is worried about their lot in life but not their neighbours. Combine that with our increasing self-imposed isolation behind computer screens and we will end up with a world of people doing their own thing rather than everyone playing together to create the most beautiful orchestra of life. In nature everything plays a vital role and which affects the well-being of everything else in its environment. Why are humans acting differently? I could see this affecting peoples’ lifestyle choices and saw a world of individuals seeking instant fixes and immediate pleasures. As a result, the natural world, that which had given me the framework by which I lived my life, was being totally ignored and neglected. Thanks to that lady who visited the shop that day I altered the focus of my work. I was inspired to empower others to reconnect, with those around them and with Mother Earth, the greater provider who gifts us with everything we need and is getting to a point where she needs us to give back to her in return. 

It’s true what they say, that when you discover your life path, the universe will rearrange itself to support you and ensure it’s a smooth journey. In the last few years I have had the honour of working with amazing people. I have released 32 guided meditations on CD and iTunes, my first full colour book, CRYSTAL CONNECTIONS, with more on the way and am fortunate to travel sharing my knowledge from now 20 years of experience working with crystals and nature. 

So there are plenty of crystal books and courses out there, what makes mine different? Firstly, I grew up with many of the same crystal books, bibles and guides that may be possibly sitting on your bookshelves too. I found they were all great for telling you a rose quartz is good for love or a citrine is great from prosperity but I was left wondering what to do with them once I had them. Through experimentation and exploring other spiritual practices, I discovered ways to manifest change using crystals. I want you to get the crystals off your shelf and actively use them each day, develop your personal relationship with them and notice a difference. I teach not only what crystals do but simple, every day ways to use them in your life. 

Secondly, my teachings prod you to take your crystals outside. To get back in touch with nature. My favourite group meditations are held at the beach or in the bush as the sun sets. It’s so easy to sit inside in our beautifully decorated meditation rooms and forget that crystals are a vital element and gift from nature. Furthermore, the emergence of the New Age has been a marvellous event for allowing people to expand their spiritual awareness and exploration. However as people explore these higher realms of consciousness and frequency they risk losing touch with this physical plane upon which we live, the Earth. Nature has been the source of great strength, healing and wisdom for our ancestors but now in each individual’s pursuit for expansion they have neglected to discover this magic. Crystals can remind us that you can find much power in by stepping back into nature, by exploring a wild forest or a dark cave. When you take your crystals back to nature, they will wake up and sing for you like never before. 

Thirdly, I show how using crystal correspondences is a way to enhance your crystal workings. By combining crystals with other items that possess a similar and compatible energy, you generate a mass of energy where the sum of the whole is greater than all the parts used separately. When all these energies combine in harmony you raise a lot more energy to direct toward your intention. If you were creating a romantic dinner at home for a partner, you wouldn’t just light a red candle and expect that to create a romantic atmosphere or energy. You’d dim the lights, light candles, burn romantic scents like vanilla and ylang ylang, play sensual music and prepare a meal of delicious foods with loving intentions. By combining crystals with animal guides, plants, astrological influences and certain days of the week you align yourself with a vibration that matches your intention and all these elements work together to manifest it for you.

It is my hope that our paths will cross at some time and I will be able to work with you to deepen your relationship with crystals. Unfortunately with so many crystals to choose from we can end up flitting from one new favourite to the next. It’s easy to end up “crystal speed-dating” and this prevents us from getting to know each crystal intimately and to its full potential. Like a person, each crystal has a multitude of talents that will appear beyond the initial impression as you develop your relationship with the crystal. I hope I can show you how to not only manifest love, abundance and health in your life but to leave you with a more powerful gift, a reconnection with nature, as this is where you will find all the love, abundance and health you could ever need. May my light shine so bright that I can guide you on a path back from where you once came, a place where the trees and animals welcome you and your crystals rejoice. May one day we meet and I can take you on a journey where you too return back to home