the hermit

cj--
Cleansing stones and crystals serves 2 purposes.
First—one never knows what energies they may have picked up before they came into your hands. Mining methods can be brutal to the earth and therefore to any object taken that way.
And people along the way have their own energies, both good and bad, that can interfere with your use of the stone. Cleansing them removes all of these energies. Cleansing is also used when you feel that your own use of the stone has built up undesirable energies that again might interfere with the continued use of the stone.

Second—cleansing removes undesirable energy and prepares any new stone for bonding to you and your particular energies.

As for which hand to hold it... one hand is normally considered “projective” while the other is considered “receptive”. Most authors state that the projective hand is normally the right hand in a right-handed person or the left hand in a left-handed person. The other hand is then considered the receptive hand. There are exceptions to this (I’m one of them)... which hand projects energy the best and which receives it best?

I’m right handed in life, but I consider it my more receptive hand—I can feel the energies that are emitted by stones (and by people when I touch them) best in my right hand. My left hand works best when I’m projecting energy through it to a stone for direction and amplification.

But for me the final answer to any such metaphysical question is what works best for me.

In spite of what some will try to tell you, there are no hard and fast rules.

For cleansing and using stones and crystals or any other tools of life, follow your own heart and I think you find that what works best will be what feels best in your heart.