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My Story: Article from the Reconnect Magazine

Kate Does… Crystal Consultation with Dr C

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Neil (alias Dr C) of Dr C’s Crystal Healing Centre in Totnes is not your average crystal healer.

This quietly spoken man - who describes himself as a Mystical Philosopher - completed a PhD at the University of Reading, under Professor Galen Strawson, an analytic philosopher renowned for his ideas on panpsychism (the belief that that all physical reality is minded).

Dr C. has written several books, including ‘Mystical Environmental Philosophy: How to Save Life on Earth’, published in 2021 and ‘Our Feeling Universe: An Exploration of the Universal Feeling Body’, published in 2024.  The latter offers “a radical reconceptualization of the nature of the Universe, what it means to have a mind, and the nature of the relationship between a perceiving entity and the world that it inhabits”.

Like I said, not your average crystal healer.

I went to his Crystal Healing Centre on a cold day in March to try out his crystal consultation service. The centre, too, is not your average. There are no baskets of crystals with cards explaining their different qualities. Instead, there are crystals on tables, crystals in drawers, crystals on shelves and crystals in cupboards. Nothing tells you what the crystals are. The shop is dark and quiet and seems to hum with mystery and wonder.

We began by having a chat about him and what led him to open the Crystal Healing Centre last December. Neil described his upbringing as “unconventional” and “rather solitary” in the depths of the Cornish countryside. At one point, he moved to a small island in the Isles of Scilly and lived there for six years. It was here that he began to form his philosophies on the nature of the world and human existence.

After Neil finished his PhD, he began developing an interest in spirituality. He moved to Brighton and, while there, attended a talk on dowsing with a pendulum. This was to be a turning point. It was the first time he’d picked up a crystal pendulum and he was amazed when it began spinning of its own volition. He wasn’t sure then – and remains unsure to this day – what force causes the pendulum to spin, but he’s in no doubt that it’s a benign force, in service of a person’s highest good.

Neil’s ideas on evolution and the nature of reality led him to conclude that there are differences in terms of the energies and feelings of places on earth. He explained to me that, on the surface of the earth, nothing really endures whereas deep within it, are elements that have interacted with each other for millions of years. When humans – the most complex ‘feeling’ parts of the universe – interact with these ancient ‘feeling’ places – crystals from far below the earth’s surface -  there is mutual benefit. The crystals can help bring our bodies back into balance with the constant, repetitive beat of energy they emit. For the crystals themselves, Neil explained there is benefit in being close to the intensity of human feelings.

All a bit weird? Absolutely.

Interesting? Definitely.

We moved on to the reason why I was there – the Crystal Matching Service. Watching Neil was a bit like watching a detective at work. He moved around the shop with his goldstone pendulum asking for guidance on where the crystals I needed were situated. He picked out three – lapis, lepidolite and calcite. Next, he dowsed over a drawing of the human body to identify where the crystals needed to be placed and for how long.

Finally, he handed me the crystals and an instruction list that felt something like a prescription. I needed to lie with one crystal at the base of my skull, one on the third eye and one above the left eyebrow. The timings varied – one needed 40 minutes, one 20 and one 25. He told me that all of the crystals were focused on providing emotional support, rather than addressing any kind of physical issues.

So, do I feel more emotionally balanced since I began using them? It’s hard to say. I find the ritual of lying down each day with the crystals placed on my body to be calming and peaceful. Sometimes I feel my imagination soar and my creativity feels heightened. At other times I just want to go to sleep.

Neil says the crystals that are right for you start to vibrate at a different frequency when you enter the centre – and this is what the pendulum picks up on.

Staring at the lapis, lepidolite and calcite in my hand, I feel a sense of wonder. What if these ancient bits of the universe really did ‘feel’ me? What if they have the qualities I need to become more emotionally balanced? What if, as I lie with them on my body there’s a mutual exchange of energy that helps us both? What if….?