In this hub, I will share my experiences investigating the healing benefits of crystals, herbs, acupuncture, and some alternative devices I have come across. My method will be to list the item in question, the supposed benefit, the tests I have tried, and the result I have either been able to measure or otherwise the conclusion I have arrived at.

Precious Serpentine from South Korea was being advertised with quite magnificant healing properties. Some claims were that it could purify bad chemicals in drinking water, stop pain, and give more qi, and so on. One claim I remember was that it had so much qi that it could over power a poisonus gas (ammonia) which came out of the ground and could split stone. Well, isn't that special! So a friend of mine introduced me to some of those products and told me more of those claims, hearing of this breathtakingly awesome stone I was intrigued and thanked him for giving me some. Later I went to a store that sold the stones shaped into various objects or embedded into massage beds, etc. Asking for a demonstration, the person showed me a sheet containing scientific data showing water contaminaton levels before and after placing the stone, and one nifty trick in particular, was he held a rod with handle in one hand and the stone in the other, when he moved the stone near the other hand, the rod swung away, "proving" there was an abundance of qi. He let me try it of course, but in the store I didn't say "I saw that trick before," however placing my arm on a level surface and then repeating the experiment, obviously the rod didn't swing. I knew it wouldn't because the rotating rod is sensitive to movement, and people's body adjusts slightly for balance when we move our arms, naturally causing a shift in alignment which causes the rod to move. This trick is used by magicians. He was using a cheap trick to peddle his product. A big no no, especially when the actual benefits are questionable to most people.

I know that there's some truth behind serpentine because people in the old days used it. Their belief was that it could detect and remove poisons. And also my friend was using it and he felt better wearing it. So I decided to research.

Test 1 -- Drinking Water

2 Glasses of water
1 Precious serpentine stone
I put the stone in one cup, and let the cups sit out for a few days. After tasting the water, the water with the stone did taste more paletable than the other cup.

Test 2 -- Banannas

3 Banannas
1 Bowl of small precious serpentine stones
1 String of cheap serpentine beads
I placed the banannas in a row on the table. 1 was laying directly on the table, 1 was wrapped with the cheap beads, and the last one sat on a bowl of precious Korean serpentine rocks.
About a week later, the bananna on the table was brown and over-ripe. The bananna with the cheap beads wrapped around it fared better, having some brown spots but still too ripe for my taste. The bananna with the Korean serpentine was better. The skin of the bananna was spotted brown, but inside the bananna was not brown. It tasted somewhat powdery and sugary but not so much over-ripe and not squishy and brown.

Test 3 -- Muscle Recovery
1 black serpentine stone
So, I had a headache one day and tried placing the stone on my head. I felt better fairly quick, not sure if it was because the stone was cool or not. Later I tried it when my shoulders were tired from computer work. I couldn't clearly say if it worked. I also tried wearing the necklace, but couldn't be sure that it helped my shoulders and neck muscles feel better.

Test 4 -- Accidental Discovery
Set of serpentine stones
One time a person I know had a meridian point collapse. Her body had edema all over and felt very weak, So we tried a few things to get the flow back, but something still wasn't right. Suddenly a thought came and she put a serpentine stone on the point. Where there once was normal looking skin suddenly looked like a deep black bruise, the area around was warm except that point which turned black deep inside, that area was very cold. After applying the serpentine more, from our point of view it seemed as if the old use of serpentine to expel poisons could possibly be accurate (the black in that point and how it collapsed we knew then it was "du qi" or poisoned energy which collapsed that meridian, especially since applying the serpentine on any other location on the body, even on bruises doesn't cause such an effect).

Conclusion

Serpentine can and does have some good effects on people. However, I wouldn't believe modern advertising, there's no miracle stone. I don't think it would nullify ammonia gas, I didn't try it though, because that's dangerous. Also, although it did make water taste better, I didn't see it remove sediment (that's obvious) or heavy metal as the person advertised. And all the effects on people will vary. Like my friend had noticeable reduced fatigue when trying the stone, whereas I didn't notice much difference.

How to pick: Serpentine used for healing isn't the same as jewelry. You will want to find one that is a darker shade of green, or black. Also not clear, but it should look like a stone. I didn't notice a difference in effect on the ones that are black and sold as korean serpentine or other quality serpentine. Don't buy the cheap stuff though, because that doesn't work as good.

Tiger's Eye has been used for centuries to help one be more courageous, lucky, more willpower, protection, etc. Great! That's what I need!!

Luckily, for this product there wasn't much grossly overstated advertisments like with serpentine, most people will wear this like a charm, not think too much of it. But does it work?

To test it, I wore it. The first day I wore it I didn't notice any difference. I wasn't sure if it worked. But I wore it another few days. Later I took it off for a few days. After taking it off, then I started to notice some difference, during the time I had it on, I indeed felt somewhat less of a pushover. So I tried it again, not sure whether it was in my imagination or real result. A few more days, then I really started to notice a difference. When I have it on, I become more aggressive, more energetic, less tired, and not fearful when driving difficult or new roads.

In conclusion, for me this was one that worked out very good. Tiger's Eye will take up to a few weeks to break in, after that you can really feel the change quickly after putting it on, and if you wear it for a day the effects can last maybe a day after you take it off.

How to pick good Tiger's Eye: I'm not sure really, just pick one that's real, feels good to you, and is bigger. I wear a tiger's eye bead bracelet, and that's what works for me. too small like the size of a ring and such and it seems there isn't much result.

The claim of rutile quartz is that it has the effects of quarts amplified by the threads of metal trapped inside of it. Quartz is claimed to be able to enhance one's energy, clarity of mind, protection, dreams, strength, etc. Sounds good, to me, but what can it really do?

Again with rutile quartz there isn't many cheap tricks people use to sell it, the only one I heard was that the more you wear it the more the metal inside will grow. I have a problem with that, in that I took pictures when I first bought it and some months later, I didn't see growth in the pictures. but my eyes were fooled because I thought I noticed more hairs, however it could just be my initial in attention... also where would the other material come from?

Only test I have for this was to wear it. After I bought it, we were on the way home and there was traffic, start and stop. I get motion sick pretty quick, so I was suffering, then accidentally the rutile quartz touched my skin, and i immediately was not car sick anymore, although everyone else in the car was. I though, well, does it mean it works? Later I touched the stone to the head of my wife who also got car sick during the ride back. Immediately she was no longer car sick. So I wore the rutile quarts for some time, always making sure it makes skin contact, and well my motion sickness was indeed taken care of as long as I wore it. Also I did feel much better while wearing it compared to when I didn't wear it. This was a result I could verify on myself again and again. This also seemed to help my driving skill and awareness, whereas the tiger's eye made me more of an agressive driver, the rutile quartz seems to help me be a sharper driver, also seems to help focus. But the key really seems that it needs to touch the skin.

Conclusion? I think this and tiger's eye works well and the results are constant. Once in a while, one will have to wash the crystals to make them clean and wash off the body oils. Use warm water but don't use soap. The person selling at the crystal shop may have some other tips, but follow it or not is a personal choice. Currently I do not wear the rutile quartz for motion sickness any more, as that was more or less cured by some qigong exercises (learn more about it at the end of this article). I only wear the rutile quartz as an enhancer when I'm doing an activity which requires special attention or extra concentration.

How to pick a good quartz: I picked one that looked good, also would be able to make skin contact, the size was good, also the metallic fibers were going in generally the same direction. It looked like metal grass growing up to the sun. Some crystals the fibers run in all directions or the fibers are too thin, those are not good from my understanding.

Now I know I already did rutile quartz, but this quartz crystal is different. Not for wearing but a natural crystal that's larger. It can be placed on a desk and such. People claim crystals can give you dreams or can protect you from radiation from computers, clear your mind, make water more healthy, etc. So how does it work? I'll give it a try.

Test 1 -- Dream a little dream
1 fine natural quartz crystal. Pointy at one end.
First night I put the crystal under my pillow with the point aiming down toward my feet. That night I have terrible nightmares. Not sure if that's the crystal or what, so I point it up, so the point is away from my feet. That night sleep was more peaceful. I switch this back and forth for the next few nights, and the results are when the point is aimed at me, I have nightmares, when it is pointed up, I sleep ok. I'm not sure why or what it means. One time I tried pointing it toward my wife without telling her to see how she sleeps. when it is pointed directly at her she also couldn't sleep well, nightmares.

Test 2 -- Computer Desk
So now I place it on my desk by the computer. Since I don't have equipment to measure radiation or such, I rely on my general sense and feeling. I put it there for a few days and see if I can notice any difference during the work day. It possibly acted more of a distraction for me, because I liked how it looks and sometimes just gaze into it. So in that sense, it did help my mind relax from stress, but I couldn't tell if it reduced stress from radiation or because I spent time to look at that which rested my eyes, and not looked at the computer monitor non stop as I normally would do. I think that the quartz, to have a good effect, should be touching the body, or perhaps put in a good feng shui location, and since I don't know feng shui, I can only guess on that aspect.

Test 3 -- Pulsed Electromagnetic Waves!
1 Quartz Crystal, pointy one end
1 Device that creates pulsed electromagnetic waves
1 compass
So, I was building a pulsed electromagnetic wave device used to heal, much like some commercially available units. Then I got the idea of placing the quartz crystal and seeing how it interacts with the magnetic waves. Amazingly quartz does have some unusual reactions with magnetic waves, especially when they are pulsed. I used a compass to measure the changes, no oscilloscope or other high tech tools, just a compass to see difference in magnetic fields. I know since I'm saying this now, some one else will make a machine and get all the credit. Oh well, I don't have the resources to research and patent it anyway.

Test 4 -- Water ionization
So I've heard that some healing springs have a quartz bed and people believe that quartz can make water more healthy by adding negative ions. (At least that sounds more reasonable than the serpentine which was claimed to make heavy metals and sediment disappear.) I put the quartz crystal in the water, let it sit, and then drink. It does taste better. I can't measure the difference, but it may keep water fresh and taste more natural, just like the serpentine stone did. Anyway since I like the taste of it, I kept on doing it, I suppose more than a year now.

Conclusion. Yes, quartz really can make one have dreams. Be careful! Some people say they can control the dreams, but I had some pretty bad nightmares playing around with it. Use at your own risk. On the other hand, quartz may have a good effect on health when let running water go over it, and let it sit in the water, any way the water will taste more fresh.

So I've been studying acupuncture lately. I really find many alternative techniques work well for me, especially during the experiences I had where western medicines had failed or produced worse results.

A recent gadget I've tried is a portable laser acupuncture device. Reported that the green wavelength was found to have the best healing results. So, since it is safer and much easier to do than normal acupucture I decided to give it a try.

I tried it on many things, bruises, joint pain, muscle pain, and even improperly healed pimples where a dark clot was left under the skin. Treatment was for around 5 min per point. I tried it on the exact location of the pain or distress, and also treated the nearby acupoint. The results were fantastic. Bruises healed quicker (especially when laser was administered with a topical herbal medicine), joint pains decreased, and even the dark clotted spot under the skin of my face rose to the surface and the pus came out. (Yes that sounds gross, but it wasn't that bad.) I am now trying it on various acupuncture points to treat myself. I even tried it on a person with a cold sore, it reduced the swelling and pain almost immediately and healed faster than normal.

In conclusion, laser acupuncture is fairly easy to do, the product even give some guidlines. You should follow the guidlines exactly unless you are knowledgable in acupuncture or chinese medicine. The portable device I have has disposable applicator tips, that is very useful to keep the device clean and not spread things to other people. The only down side is that the batteries are eaten up quick.

In this section, I will just briefly talk about my experience with herbal remedies. I have found that often they work very well, however it is important to find an experienced doctor who has extensive knowledge and testimonials of patients. Testimonials is not a list of people on a paper that says the doctor was great, but talking to his other patients, finding out how long they have seen the doctor and what result they have, if some of them have previously been cured, how they found out about him, etc.

Over the counter herbal remedies should be take with caution. Do the research first, to know what you are getting in to and if you know someone with experience, it is even better if they help you out.

Well I hope you have found this article useful and informative. This is my first hub page, so I hope to learn more to make better hub pages in the future.

In case you are wondering about me, I've recently written a book on health and well being, from some of my experiences. The book contains some exercises that I found very helpful for me to regain an optimal condition as well as some tips for difficulties people would have in their daily life, such as difficult bowel movement or menstrual cramps, etc. In this book I also tell some of the benefits I have found one can gain by doing the exercise. If you are interested you can check out my blog at http://www.miliquan.com or you can buy it at amazon: Qigong Exercises for Daily Health and Wellness

About the items discussed in this page, the Tiger's Eye, is the crystal I use most often. Even when taking pictures for my book, I was wearing it. The rutile quartz I wear on certain occasions, and the serpentine is rarely used. I have other crystals which I tried, but their effects are either not as good as the serpentine or quartz, or they are too similar in effect and didn't have as noticeable or repeatable effect in my tests. After quartz, tourmaline would be the next best thing in my opinion and testing. If you are interested in the electromagnetic pulse machine I mentioned, I can sell you the parts and plans to make your own unit (the custom pcb make it easy) or I can build it for you.

If you want to know more about stones and their properties this website has reasonable information and doesn't seem to overstate the capabilities of the stone or crystal. http://www.peacefulmind.com/stones.htm I have no affiliation with this website and have not bought any products from them.

Thank you.