An Interview with Margaret Ann Lembo

1. Your new book is The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones. What inspired you to write on this topic?

Crystals and gemstones have been near and dear to my heart for over three decades. The world of gems is my business because I am a New Age retailer, spiritual entrepreneur, and a book seller. These stones are tools to awaken consciousness especially when paired with a positive thought or intention. Understanding color, chakras, and basic Universal Laws provides a key to creating a charmed life with the power of purpose and belief.

My customers taught me that gemstones are also oracles to know yourself better. Shoppers continue to ask me for a stone to find them a boyfriend; after we chuckle about it, I direct them to the shelves of tumbled stones. I say to them, "Pick some stones you are naturally drawn to and don't read the little tags that identify and describe them. Then show me what you've chosen."

Sure enough, the stones they chose were exactly what they needed. For example, an automatic response to the boyfriend question might be rose quartz and green aventurine. Yet, when leaving a customer to their own guidance and intuition, many chose an amazonite and citrine stone. The amazonite told me that they need know their own truth and then be able to live it and speak up for themselves, instead of becoming a follower. The citrine amplifies self-esteem and the ability to set boundaries. You bet the customer understood that these stones are better suited to aiding them in realigning to attract the right mate.

2. Your previous book is Chakra Awakening, which also mentions the use of various crystals and gemstones for healing. Besides chakra healing, what uses do crystals, minerals, and stones have?

The healing from working with crystals and rocks offers a focus tool to uncover unconscious programming that is running under all thoughts, feelings, and actions. These radiant treasures, when used with intention, guide us to know oneself on all levels—mentally, spiritual, emotionally, and physically. It is up to each one of us to "wake up" and realize that something someone said or how someone treated us at three or four years old no longer needs to have an effect today.

In Chakra Awakening, as well as in The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones readers will find tools, exercises, and spiritual resources to heal these previously installed programs and un-install them. Just like old versions of computer programs in no longer work in new computers, as we grow up and mature, old beliefs no longer apply.

3. The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones includes information about 160 stones along with 190 full-color photos. What information is provided for each stone? Why did you choose the 160 stones that you did?

The 160 crystals, minerals, and stones listed in this book are those that you can commonly find in metaphysical bookstores and rock shops and are typically used by spiritual practitioners. This book is a comprehensive metaphysical directory to these stones, and it is intended to help you achieve or maintain a more balanced existence. This guide provides you with the opportunity to open your mind, body, and spirit to accepting assistance from the vast mineral kingdom. Following helpful sections about how to select stones, clear them, and use them in your daily life, each gemstone entry in the guide contains the following information:

• Key Phrase: A phrase of a couple of words to capture the essential meaning of the stone.
• Affirmation: A positive statement of affirmation associated with the gemstone that helps to focus an intention.
• Color: The various colors in which the gemstone typically appears.
• Chakra(s): The energy center typically associated with the gemstone.
• About the stone: A short gemological summary of the type of stone.
• Astrological sign(s): The sign of the zodiac with which the stone is associated.
• Planet(s): The planetary body with which the stone is associated based on astrology.
• Number(s): The matching numerological vibration.
• Element(s): The associated element, derived from either how the stone grows or the energetic components provided by the stone.
• Mohs scale: The degree of hardness based on the Mohs scale. (A diamond, one of the hardest substances on earth, is 10 on this scale. Talc is 1.)
• Spiritual uses: Ideas on how to use the stone to further develop your spiritual connection.
• Mental uses: Ideas on how to use the stone for mental focus or clarity and situations in which it can be helpful.
• Emotional uses: Ideas on how to use the stone as a tool for dealing with feelings to unblock underlying challenges.
• Physical uses: Ideas on how to use the stone as a complementary tool to heal your physical body or to help you on a mundane level such as with your career. It is important to realize that the stone is an external tool to be used to overcome physical challenges. Do not use the stone internally in any way. The use of gemstones or energetic healing is not a substitute for traditional medicine. It is a complementary practice to enhance a plan of action established by a professional healthcare practitioner.
• Divine guidance: Guidance for uncovering self-knowledge and self-realization for the purpose of personal development and spiritual awakening.

While each entry under the gemstones provides valuable insight for personal growth, the key to getting the most out of this directory is focusing on the affirmations. Use the color, energy, and feel of the stone to complement the positive thoughts you have established regarding your goals and desires. Allow yourself to replace negative thoughts or fears connected with the goal with the positive statements that the affirmation provides. Repeat the affirmation again and again and soon you'll find that any negative thoughts and fears disintegrate. Where love and goodness reside there is no room for anything but love and goodness.

The majority of the stones in this book were chosen because of my personal experience of working with them, either as a reseller at my store, The Crystal Garden, or as a spiritual healer. I've been buying rocks from all over the world in large quantities since around 1985.

I've been working and playing with crystals for a very long time and got to know them personally; they are like old friends. I wanted to introduce them and their inherent power and wisdom to as many people as possible with one main intention. Remember, you are love. I open Chapter Five in Chakra Awakening with the following sentence:

"You are love. Your true essence is love. Be aware that you are love in all you do, say, think, feel, smell, taste, or know, and you will be happy and healthy all the days of your life."

4. What do you hope readers will take away from your new book?

This beautiful book is more than just a go-to reference guide. It is much more. The entries for each of the stones are beyond my conscious knowledge as I found that the entries were given to me through a higher source than myself. When I read the final proofs of this book, I realized that I will need to continuously refer to the information that flowed through me for my own betterment and personal development.

This book is filled with spiritual knowledge and wisdom. It is my intention that readers as well as metaphysical rock shops will use this guide for personal development—to aid in providing strong sense of self, as a tool for self-actualization, and as a guide for elevating their own consciousness. The results will be phenomenal.