CRYSTAL CHILDREN by Doreen Virtue THE first thing most people notice about Crystal Children is their eyes �?large, penetrating and wise beyond their years. Their eyes lock on and hypnotise you, while you realise your soul is being laid bare for the child to see. Perhaps you've noticed this special new breed of children rapidly populating our planet. They are happy, delightful and forgiving. This generation of new lightworkers, roughly aged zero through seven, are like no previous generation. Ideal in many ways, they are the pointers for where humanity is headed�?and it's in a good direction! The older children (approximately aged seven through 25), called 'Indigo Children', share some characteristics with the Crystal Children. Both generations are highly sensitive and psychic, and have important life purposes. The main difference is their temperament. Indigos have a warrior spirit, because their collective purpose is to mash down old systems that no longer serve us. They are here to quash governmental, educational and legal systems that lack integrity. To accomplish this end, they need tempers and fiery determination. Those adults who resist change and who value conformity may misunderstand the Indigos. They are often misdiagnosed with the psychiatric condition known as Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Sadly, when they are medicated, the Indigos often lose their exquisite sensitivity, spiritual gifts and warrior energy. I wrote about the Indigos at length in my book, The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children, and in The Indigo Children, written by Lee Carroll and Jan Tober (both published by Hay House). In contrast, the Crystal Children are blissful and even-tempered. Sure, they may have tantrums occasionally, but these children are largely forgiving and easygoing. The Crystals are the generation who will benefit from the Indigos' trailblazing. First, the Indigo Children lead with a machete, cutting down anything that lacks integrity. Then the Crystal Children follow the cleared path, into a safer and more secure world. The terms 'Indigo' and 'Crystal' were given to these two generations because they most accurately describe their aura colours and energy patterns. Indigo Children have a lot of indigo blue in their auras. This is the colour of the third eye chakra, which is an energy centre inside the head located between the two eyebrows. This chakra regulates clairvoyance, or the ability to see energy, visions and spirits, so many of the Indigo Children are clairvoyant. The Crystal Children have opalescent auras, beautifully multi-coloured in pastel hues. This generation also shows a fascination for crystals and rocks, as you'll read in this book. Indigo Children can sense dishonesty, like a dog can sense fear. Indigos know when they're being lied to, patronised or manipulated. Since their collective purpose is to usher us into a new world of integrity, the Indigos' inner lie detectors are integral. As mentioned before, this warrior spirit is threatening to some adults. The Indigos are unable to conform to dysfunctional situations at home, work or school. They don't have the ability to dissociate from their feelings and pretend everything's okay unless they are medicated or sedated. Crystal Children's innate spiritual gifts are also misunderstood, specifically their telepathic abilities. In the new world that the Indigos are ushering in, we will all be much more aware of our intuitive thoughts and feelings. We won't rely so much upon the spoken or written word. Communication will be faster, more direct and more honest, because it will be mind-to-mind. Already, increasing numbers of us are getting in touch with our psychic abilities. Our interest in the paranormal is at an all-time high, with many books, television shows, and films on the topic emerging. So, it's not surprising that the generation following the Indigos are incredibly telepathic. Many of the Crystal Children have delayed speech patterns, and it's not uncommon for them to wait until they're three or four years old to begin speaking. However, parents tell me they have no trouble communicating with their silent children �?far from it! The parents engage in mind-to-mind communication with their Crystal Children. And the Crystals use a combination of telepathy, self-fashioned sign language and sounds (including song), to get their point across. Trouble arises when Crystal Children are judged by medical and educational personnel as having 'abnormal' speaking patterns. It's no coincidence that the diagnoses for autism is at a record high. It's true that the Crystal Children are different from other generations. But why do we need to pathologise these differences? If the children are successfully communicating at home, and the parents aren't reporting any problems, why try to make a problem? The diagnostic criteria for autism are quite clear: the autistic person lives in his or her own world, and is disconnected from other people. The autistic person doesn't talk because of an indifference to communicating with others. Crystal Children are quite the opposite. They are among the most connected, communicative, caring and cuddly of any generation. They are also quite philosophical and spiritually gifted, and they display an unprecedented level of kindness and sensitivity to this world. Crystal Children spontaneously hug and care for people in need. In my book, The Care and Feeding of Indigo Children, I wrote that ADHD should stand for Attention Dialed into a Higher Dimension. This would more accurately describe that generation. In the same vein, Crystal Children don't warrant a label of autism; they aren't autistic they're AWE-tistic! These children are worthy of awe, not labels of dysfunction. If anyone is dysfunctional, it's the systems that aren't accommodating the continuing evolution of the human species. If we shame the children with labels, or medicate them into submission, we will have undermined a heaven-sent gift. We will crush a civilisation before it has time to take roots. Fortunately, there are many positive solutions and alternatives. And the same heaven that sent us the Crystal Children can assist those of us who are advocates for the children.