As we ambled along the atlantic coast of Ipanema, we must have been a picture. A Japanese, a Peruvian, a Scott, an English, a Danish, a Sri Lankan and some coffee colured Brasilians just to make up the numbers. We were a living, walking, talking and dancing Global Tribe. We worked hard and played harder. They were heady days of sun, sea, work and endless parties all conducted to a soundtrack of spiritually uplifting house music. This was the birth of Global Tribe as we know it.
When we opened our little bit of paradise in Leeds it could only have one name as the spirit of those days continues to linger in my being. Carefree days that belong to no one, save the desire to make the world a better place one small action at a time. Global Tribe Crystals was born on that wave and continues through the hopes, dreams, aspirations and actions of the team.
There are an infinite number of ways to make the world a better place. Some people just get on with it. Dreams can become realities, they just need nurturing, patience and when the time is right, Action and lots of it.
We wanted to create a special space for open minded, heart felt people to belong. We’d already been doing that in Brasil and the UK, with the free party movement. Now it was time to create something that had longevity. A place you could go to every day of the week. A place of sanctuary that everyone can feel at home. If we want to see a great future for this world, then we have to build it one brick, one space, one building, one town one city and one country at a time.
We had no idea where this next step would take us, but boldly we strode out into the unknown. The shop began with a rustic and ecclectic selection from wacky hand carved furnuiture to beautiful crystals. We just collected some amazing pieces that we loved and took a punt. The one theme that ran through the whole space was and still is Love. The jewellery and artfacts from the Yanomami tribes of the Amazon to the Quartz clusters and Amethyst Geodes weaved a magic spell.
Places, people and things have vibrations that attract like vibrations. Day by day the nicest, coolest, kindest, open minded and heart felt people stopped by for a visit. Taking in the ambience and the good vibes. Slowly we began to discover the power, love and support that emanated from the crystals and some of the amazing products in the store. Our little place was developing its own identity. We listened to all our customers, sharing knowledge, wisdom and experiences. We beagn to grow too. Life is a great teacher, just ask the right questions and see what comes back.
We used to arrange the crystals every morning as we couldn’t afford a security shutter. Soon after our first Christmas we had some shutters installed and we began to create more elaborate and beautiful displays. Everyday we were handling a lot of crystals. Learning without realising. After a short period of time we started to arrange the crystals in chakras. We had 8 beautiful rosewood curio cabinets and so 7 cabinets began to reflect the 7 chakras.
From our till area we began to watch the clients come in and be pulled to different cabinets. After sometime we began to notice how the needs of the client were often matched by their choice of cabinet. We were open and aware, we listened and observed and more than anything we felt.
Those days there was only one real crystal book Melody’s Kaleidoscope of minerals. It was the original crystal bible. Our original copy has long since disintegrated. I have never known a more thumbed book. We read it vorasciously from cover to cover. We read it alone and with clients, discussing the writings and comparing them with our own experiences. Those days we couldn’t believe how amazing this book was and couldn’t imagine noticing so much from the crystal world. Thank you, Melody, for all your work in bringing the treasures of the crystal world back into the light from which they are born.
I remember, as if it was yesterday, receiving a package from the world famous Tuscon Crystal show. It contained a number of little treasures including a selection of beautiful Faden Quartz from Afghanistan. At the end of the day, after we had closed the shop, entranced by these strange flat, slender crystals I grabbed two and headed to the comfort of a beanbag.
I held them between my thumb and second finger on each hand and relaxed into the beanbag. My back straightened and my chin lifted. The energy was clean, uplifting and spacious. The awareness of my body dissolved and all my concentration was found in the space above head. My sense of self remained there for a few moments and then without warning I was launched upwards into the vast space above. As I looked down I saw a silver cord connecting this new centre of being to my physical body miles below. I stayed there, for how long I can’t remember and then returned to myself. This was the first time I had left my body and travelled using the energy of a crystal. I sat numbly in the beanbag recalling the experience. After somtime I reached for Melody’s book and read about Faden Quartz. It is a great crystal for astral projection freeing the user from their bodies and linking them through a silver cord. I knew then that I could directly listen to and explore the world of crystals.
In 2001, I returned to Brasil to purchase more crystals. These buying trips are always amazing. Back then I thought that the same types crystals were always available, but having returned many in times over the last 20 years, each visit is unique. One year there were thousands of mini sceptre quartzes. Another year saw the most amazing clear Lemurian laser Quartzes. One year we found a great batch of phenacites and herderites. This particular year had a wonderful selection and like any good Irishman I filled my boots.
The crystals arrived 12 weeks later in 28 oil drums. Each Oil drum had its own selection inside. From the manifest we slowly began the arduous task of unwrapping the thousands of crystals within each drum. They had all bee delivered to the shop and we placed them behind a big curtain made of bed spreads from Sri Lanka. It was early one afternoon, we opened one of the drums. We took it in turn to mind the store, whilst we unpacked each of the little presents wrapped in 3 month old Brasilian newspapers. We’d invite the clients to go behind the curtain and be part of the process.
This drum was packed with all kinds of multi coloured crystals, including tourmalines, pink,green and blue, calcites of varying colours and epidotes. The vibe in the shop was so chatty. Everyone was having so much fun, laughing and joyous sharing their liberated treasures with each other. Once that drum was completely emptied, we opened a different one. Literally on opening it, a cool breeze swept through the shop and a deep stillness pervade the whole space. This drum was filled solely with amethyst. People came into the shop whispering. Asking if we were open, as we clearly were. Walking very quietly and gently through the shop. The change in vibe was complete. There was a stillness and depth that continued until we finally closed up shop at 5.30pm. We both just looked at each other and laughed. We were realising how the different stones affect there environments and wondering just how much we must have been affected by the stones over the last couple of years. The shop is always changing, depending on the quantity and types of crystals we are currently holding.
We have been searching for Truth our whole lives. Our choices, actions and reactions have all reflected this need to find our true nature. I swapped an American, imported 5K sound system in Brasil for 850 kgs of Crystals in 1998. We opened a crystal store in 1999. We began to meditate in 2002 and our lives transited into a whole new dimension. I used to follow the Shaman’s Path and travelled accross South America with music and Shamanism. I met an Amazonian Tribal chief, who was so taken by my SriLankan appearance that he invited me to visit his tribe deep in the jungle and father a number of children. He hoped that I would bring a resistance to western diseases through the mingling of mt blood with that of his tribes. I would like to point out at this moment, before your imaginations get the better of you, that I turned him down. Meditation is the key to knowing ourselves. The first Law of Magic is Know Thyself.
We began to meditate regularly and with this our relationship with ourselves and our surroundings began to change. Bev gave up alcohol and became vegetarian. Soon after I also became a vegetarian and finally stopped smoking Cigarettes and Marijuana.
And so, the next chapter of our lives began. With the change of lifestyle came a deeper understanding and an increased sensitivity.
First posted by Mario, Feb 2018