Healing Kaua‘i One Crystal at a Time

Crystals & Gems Gallery owner Tanize Weck Kotsol uses crystals while conducting psychotherapy sessions.

Coming from a family of doctors, it was only natural for Tanize Weck Kotsol to become one. But after a few years working as a psychiatrist, a chain of events led her career to a more enlightened path.

Today, Tanize owns what she jokingly calls “my own crystal palace.” Her Hanalei store, Crystals & Gems Gallery, opened in 2001 offering more than 100 different types of stones, including the rare Kaua‘i calcite found on the island’s South Shore.

But what is really special about Tanize’s store — and what makes it a point of reference in Hawai‘i — is not just the incredible variety of stones in all shapes, sizes and colors, most of them handpicked from multiple trips around the world.

It’s how Tanize uses the crystals to heal.

Crystals & Gems Gallery in Hanalei has more than 100 different kinds of stones.

“It’s really spreading light one crystal at a time,” she said.

Tanize got her medical license in the south of Brazil, specializing in psychiatry. In the early 90s, she visited Kaua‘i a few times and fell in love with the island.

Soon, she would moved here and land a job as a psychiatrist assistant in Lihu‘e, helping people who suffered from substance abuse. Then, she took up studying to obtain a Hawai‘i psychiatrist license. In order to support herself, she sold crystals on the side.

As her business grew, she found herself taking classes, traveling abroad to acquire more crystals and to other islands to sell them. The workload became too much, so she took a “little break” from her studies to take care of the business.

The more she learned about crystals, the more she changed her mind about conventional treatment.

If someone told her back in the day, about crystal resonance — which is what she does today — she would’ve tossed the idea out the window. But after learning more and using crystals during therapy sessions, she was amazed to see how people would open up faster and she would reach results a lot easier.

“I was always interested more on the mind aspect — mind and emotion — and how that could affect people’s health,” she said. “When I incorporate the crystals, you sit down, relax, hold the crystal, the things that come up are deeper than just talking, you remember things easier, faster.”

She never got around to get her psychiatry certification in Hawai‘i. But that’s OK; she still uses her professional knowledge and her crystals to operate as a psychotherapist, and that’s all she needs.

Every day, someone will walk into the store, and either ask for a gift or an advice on what they should get to help healing some sort of ailment.

“Broken heart is a normal one,” she said. “But there’s always something happening; phobias, stress, insomnia. Even living in paradise, you have the other side.”

After many years in business, Tanize said she has returning customers from all over the world.

Even those who are not initially interested in the metaphysical aspect of stones, she said, come back year after year to acquire more of them, developing their own crystal collection and eventually believing in the power of crystals.

Such power over the human mind and emotions is explained in a somewhat simple way through quantum jump.

Within an atom, electrons change from one quantum state to another, in an effort to stabilize the atom. This jump from one energy level to another, in a few nanoseconds, emits or absorbs electromagnetic radiation.

It just so happens that the electromagnetic energy of the crystal is very strong and stable, whereas the human body, full of emotions, is more volatile.

“So when you place that molecule bond that is the crystal next to your body, the atoms in your body try to resonate the energy of the crystal,” said Tanize, explaining how crystal resonance works.

And it’s the energy her store emanates that might explain why so many people stumble there for no apparent reason. She said it’s common for visitors to tell her they felt compelled to turn right on Aku Road from Kuhio Highway, only to come across her store and realize why they took an unplanned detour.

And they always leave with a smile on their faces.

“Every time someone comes here and leaves with a crystal, I know that will make a difference in that person’s life someway, and it’s going all around the planet,” Tanize said. “I think in the end, I reach more people than if I was just a regular doctor.”

Crystals & Gems is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 4489 Aku Road. Besides stones and healing sessions, the store also offers healing classes, esoteric items, jewelry, books, tarot cards and original artwork — including Tanize’s own paintings.

Visit www.crystals-gems.com or call 826-9304 for more information.