You can easily access all the benefits there are many different ways like using colored clothing, glass, lights, flowers and sunglasses. You can add color to bathwater, wrap a drinking glass with colored tissue paper and expose it to sunlight, or drape a sunny window with a specific color fabric for automatic color treatment.

But the most powerful means of obtaining those color rays for your own use are through gemstones. In fact, gemstones and color healing go hand-in-hand.

You see, color is one of the gem's most important qualities. In general, the closer the gem is to the rainbow shade of that color, the more valuable and potent it is. Faceted and polished gems are considered more effective than rough samples because they posses greater luster and deeper color. Also since they don't have the imperfections of uncut stones they generally focus energy better.

Each gemstone comes with a long list of healing powers, and some of these powers lie in the gem's color rays. That makes its color crucial since every color emits a specific ray - and different effects.

In other words, it is the gemstone's color that releases its powers.

Gemstones are especially powerful in magnifying and focusing their energy because embodied in their crystal makeup are pure and highly concentrated vibrations of specific color rays.

Gemstones are not only intense concentrations of color energy, they are also constantly drawing currents of their specific color to themselves. Which simply means that a red stone attracts red rays, a blue stone attracts blue etc. So when you wear colored gemstones, you are automatically accessing these powerful currents.

And what do these currents have to do with you?

Take ruby for example. Its hot, red rays treat cold diseases. By cold diseases we mean ailments like low blood pressure, constipation and anemia. With the rays it emits, the ruby aids the body by raising body temperature, increasing circulation, metabolic rate and muscle tension.

Emeralds on the other hand emit cold, green rays that cure hot diseases such as burns, anorexia, stomach ulcers and eczema. How? Again, by doing the opposite. By lowering body temperature, body tension, heart rate, circulation and relaxing muscle tension.

When we talk about color and gemstone therapy we would be remiss if we didn't mention the chakras. Chakras are specific points of energy located throughout the body that correlate to certain nerve and endocrine centers. Seven is the most commonly used number, and each of these seven chakras connects to certain colors and character traits.

For example, the fourth chakra is the Heart Chakra. Its color is either green or pink and its characteristics are the ability to love yourself and others. It represents the heart, circulatory system, lungs, shoulder and upper back. To heal and balance this chakra, any pink or green gemstone can be used.

It is believed that when the chakras are not aligned properly, the body develops all kinds of disorders like physical illness and mental stress. Balance is restored by using gemstones that are the same color as the specific chakra that needs strengthening.