I must admit I love working with stones most of all; next are tree spirits…and then everything else!
Of the stones, my favorites are the quartz family, a large group composed of clear quartz, rose quartz, amethyst, citrine, carnelian, smokey quartz and assorted other types. Quartz has a very complex tetrahedral, hexagonal molecular configuration. It is molecularly formed of very tiny pyramids, set at many angles and counter rotations to each other, which enables it to pick up and project information coming in from a multitude of frequencies. Quartz is the favored stone of most medicine people because it is such an amazing communicator. It can access 
many planes of consciousness for information and can be directed to perform many different functions, unifying its multiple molecular facets to carry thought waves powerfully, strengthened and stabilized. Science utilizes quartz as a conductor in many machines such as the early radios and today in many watches and computers.
Stones will often take the hit for their human compatriot; they are very self-giving, serving quietly, uncomplainingly and lovingly. I have had many customers purchase stones and come back to me with amazing stories. One friend was wearing a lapis lazuli and coral pendant when her husband angrily approached her, verbally attacking her; the pendant exploded, right on her, shattering out into the room. Both she and her husband were stunned into silence.
Many customers report similar stories with other stones. Stones can also protect themselves and when it is time for them to leave an owner they do so, in a variety of eerie ways. People have gone to sleep at night with a stone on their bedstand only to awaken in the morning and find it gone.
A Native American scrying technique is to use a stone for clarifying a situation. To do this, you can go out into nature, declare to the devic realm that you need help and to please send you a stone to explain the situation. Then you start walking. When a stone energetically “pops” up at you, stop, pick it up and examine it. Slowly, as you turn it about, a story will emerge, through actual markings on the stone you might not have noticed at first. That pictograph can offer you the solution to your question, if you have approached the stone with love.
When I am having trouble staying grounded or need help to cut through an energetic anomaly, I will often sit with some rocks. Rocks are thefirst form of solid matter on earth, they are the most ancient of beings and they hold great patient wisdom inside their energy field. They can help a person ground into the very bones of earth herself and can also help you cut through all intervening frequencies to reach this core. They talk slowly, gently and firmly and they can help you stabilize your own energy in a particular area as per their own stone quality (e.g. amethyst for wisdom, rose quartz for love).
Stones have many facets to their personality; they are very subtle and complex when you get to know them. Large stones will change their energy as you walk around them, showing different faces to you with different functions.
The stones in some areas are stronger than in others. Sedona, Arizona and the Colorado mountains are two exceptionally powerful areas to work with stone energies.
When I pass through Sedona, I always stop to visit with the energies at Bell Rock. This rock has wonderful warrior energy that I find both energizing and soothing and I have wonderful communications with its energies. It has gifted me with a number of photographs where I have been able to show the very distinctly different personalities of the cliff’s warriors. To me, this is even better than viewing the human-carved presidents on Mt. Rushmore.
Estes Park, Colorado also has very aware stones. I am especially fond of a stone clan that consists of very distinct personalities: Grandfather, Grandmother, playful grandchild, crotchety old curmudgeon and so on.