The System of Chakras
A chakra is a spinning vortex of energy created within ourselves by the interpenetration of conciousness and the physical body. Through this combination, chakras become centres of activity for the reception, assimilation and transmission of life energies. Uniting the chakras is what we experience as the “self”. It is through our chakras that our self grows and changes and interacts with the world.
The
work chakra comes from the Sanskrit
word for “wheel” or “disk” and originated within the philosophy of the ancient
yoga systems of India, most specifically from the Tantric texts. In this system,
there are seven major chakras arranged vertically along the spine, starting
at the base of the spine and ending at the top of the head (see Figure 1).
In
the physical body, these seven chakras correspond to major nerve ganglia,
glands of the endocrine system, and various bodily processes, such as breathing,
digesting or procreating. While the chakras do exist within
the physical body, exhibiting strong influence on such things as body shape
or health, they are not made of any physical components themselves. A physician
could not operate on a chakra anymore than an emotion, yet both can and do
affect us physically. In the psychological realm (by which I include the mental,
emotional and spiritual), the chakras correspond to major areas of our lives,
such as survival, sex, power, love, communication, perception and understanding
(see Table of Correspondences, Figure 2).
(1)
Taking the
original meaning of the word chakra one step further, the chakras within us
can be seen as our internal “floppy disks” that store our programming
about how to function in life. The base chakra contains our survival program,
such as what we like to eat and when we need exercise; the second chakra - our
sexual program, such as ethics and preferences; the upper chakras - our modes
of perception and information storage. Our body is the computer hardware, and
each of us has a slightly different model, programmed in a distinct language
with unique operating systems.
Ideally, one work on the chakras is to examine the programming we have been given on each of these levels, eliminating destructive programming and consciously recreating something more beneficial.
(2)
Philosophically,
the chakras correspond to major archetypal concepts, such as the elements of
earth, water, fire, air, sound, light and thought. The elements describe the
essential nature of that chakra’s function, such as earth contains, water
that flows, or fire that transforms. Numerous other correspondences, such as
colours, sounds, herbs and gemstones, have also been correlated to the chakras
and can be used as tools for accessing and developing them.
There are many smaller chakras throughout our body, such as those in our hands and feet. These are functioning centres like any of the others but are not usually attributed to major philosophical areas. Yet those working with their hands are likely to have well developed hand chakras, and a runner might have well developed channels through their foot chakras.
As
a composite system, the seven chakras describe a set of patterns that are
evident through many aspects of life. In terms of cultural evolution they
describe the stages our race has been going through and where we are going,
from the first chakra survival consciousness of the Paleolithic era to the
power dominated (third chakra) consciousness of the present era.
In terms of individual development, the chakras describe the progression from infancy to early adulthood that repeats itself again from adulthood to old age as we establish our survival strategies, form sexual relationships, develop our personal power, communicate, vision and learn. As we understand the significance of these levels, we can better develop appropriate strategies for coping with our situations, whether personal or cultural.
Chakras
are sometimes referred to as lotuses, for they open and close like a flower,
and in the Tantric system they are shown with a varying number of petals. The
petals, ranging from four at the base chakra to 1000 or more at the crown,
express their vibratory rate (see Table of Correspondences, Figure 2). When a
chakra is closed, the life force energy cannot travel through that part of the
body, and one might say that the programming in that chakra is locked in a
restrictive pattern. If this is the case, we feel a lack in our lives in its
related area (such as the ability to communicate, chakra 5), and our physical
health in the chakra’s related functions may also be affected (sore throat,
tight neck)
A
chakra can also be “overblown” if it is out of balance with the other
chakras in the system. In this case that particular chakra uses so much of the
body’s energy and the mind’s attention that other areas become deficient.
An overblown third chakra causes an attachment to holding power over others
hindering the ability to find the love and balance associated with the heart
chakra directly above. As the chakras are discussed individually in the
following pages, the results of a chakra that is too closed or too open will
be examined more closely.
With
attention and understanding, we can control and influence our chakras. They
can be developed like muscles, programmed like a computer, nurtured like a
seed, or closed like a book Development of the chakras occurs through
understanding the system as a whole and then working directly on specific
areas. Techniques may include physical exercise, processing of old traumas
through therapy, visualisation and meditation, chanting of mantras, working
with the elements, herbs or gemstones and personal ritual, as well as the
general lessons that our brought to us through our daily lives.
The
body is a vehicle of conciousness.
The chakras can be seen as the wheels of life that carry this vehicle through
its evolutionary journey towards enlightenment. Within us these wheels are
like gears, each one appropriate for different activities or stages of life.
As we open our chakras, we become more conscious and more fully alive. Our
journey becomes smoother, more productive, yet more exciting as we become more
fully who we are.
When
she has risen to the top or crown chakra, then all of the chakras have been
opened, and a person is said to experience enlightenment.
What
is this strange and mysterious Goddess force?
I
like to think of Kundalini with a metaphor or connecting gears. In an underdeveloped
person, the chakras are likely to be small. Each one is spinning in its relative
place, but the spinning of one does not necessarily affect the spinning of
another. As the chakras grow through the capacity to handle increased energy,
they are more likely to touch each other, and thereby stimulate the spinning
of the chakra above and below. (see Figure3). When this occurs, we feel an
increased rush of energy and awareness throughout our whole system. We experience
the Kundalini force.
Kundalini
is a strong and powerful force which can produce radical physical and mental
changes. Some find it hard to function in the day-to-day world when the
Kundalini force is strong. Others find it an exhilarating experience. Some say
it is sublimated sexual energy; others say it is vibrational rhythm
entrainment between brain waves and physiological subsystems. There are many
theories and none of them are conclusive. It can be triggered by yoga
practices, meditation, physical stimulation (such as a car accident or
strenuous exercise), mental excitement (scary movies sometimes do it to me) or
by a learned master in the art of Kundalini awakening. It is generally not
advisable to invoke Kundalini without a teacher or support system that can
help you process the changes it may bring. It is, however, a healing
force, and is most beneficial to us when we can surrender to it
gracefully.
To
experience what a chakra feels like, try the following exercise.
Sit
comfortably with your hands pushed straight out in front of you, elbows
straight. Turn one palm downward and one palm up. Quickly with repeated
motions, open and close your fists tightly, as fast and for as long as you
comfortably can. Switch the positions of your palms and repeat until your
hands are tired.
Drop
your arms, open your fists and bring your palms together slowly, moving them together and out again. Do you feel a ball of
energy between your hands? If you tune in closely, you can feel the spinning.
These are your hand chakras, a smaller version of your spinal chakras.
Element:
Earth
Colour:
Red
Verb:
I have
Attributes:
Survival, grounding, solidity, the body.
The
first chakra is found at the base of the spine, the point you are sitting on
right now. Its name, Muladhara,
means “root”, and the paths of energy in this chakra extend downward like
a root through the legs and feet to contact the solid Earth below (see Figure
4).
Its colour is a deep red, and
its symbol is a lotus of four petals within which is a downward-pointing triangle,
symbolising the root energy.
A
simple way to energise this chakra is to sit up straight in your chair with
your feet flat against the floor and push slightly into your feet. Your legs
will tighten a bit and there will be an increased flow into your base chakra.
As you relax your legs and feet, you will feel that flow recede, and as you
tighten them, you can feel your body become more solid.
It
is not necessary to push into our legs at all times for the first chakra to
function, but this is a simple way we can increase the flow of energy into our
lower body while doing such mental tasks as working at a desk, talking on the
phone, watching TV, or sitting in a job interview.
The
Muladhara chakra is the foundation
for the whole chakra system Its function is to respond to any issues
concerning survival; eating,
sleeping, exercising, recovering from illness, making a living, or simply
feeling safe and secure. If our survival needs are properly taken care of,
then we can sagely focus on other levels, such as learning, creativity, or
relationships. If there is some damage to the chakra, then we find ourselves
repeatedly coping with threats to our survival, which keeps us from
accomplishing other things. These threats might be changing jobs, having to
move, recurrent health problems, weight problems, and/or a general feeling of
fear for one’s safety.
These
are all issues that occur occasionally in the normal course of one’s life.
Anytime they occur they trigger our first chakra programming. Having to move
may make us feel insecure, bring on a cold or make us eat more. It is only
when such issues become a frequent
pattern, that a first chakra problem is indicated.
Survival
consciousness is the primary state of the infant, and if this phase of life is
properly taken care of, it should not be a recurrent issue later in life.
Children who are abandoned, separated from their mothers at birth (such as
incubator babies), physically abused, or suffering from severe childhood
illnesses will be more likely to have first chakra problems throughout their
lives.
The
result can be situational problems mentioned above, as well as psychological
problems having to do with lack of focus or discipline, dependency on others,
(unable to stand on one’s own two feet), possible eating disorders, feeling
vague and “spacy” and a general inability to “let down and relax”.
These are all signs that the first chakra is blocked in some way, generally
indicating that the chakra does not open properly and allow energy to flow
through freely.
If,
on the other hand, the chakra is too open, then we become overly attached at
this level. We may be obsessed with money and possessions or our health,
unable to allow change or to let go, and as a result we get stuck in the same
routines, same old job, same old patterns.
When
the chakra is closed, we lack stability. When it is too open, we are frozen
solid. The ideal state would be to stability and flexibility in balance. The element associated with the first
chakra is earth. Earth is solid, earth is heavy, earth is below us, and earth
supplies us with our survival needs: food, clothing and shelter.
The
universal force that flows downward, like roots, toward the Earth is gravity.
Gravity is created by mass – the more mass something has the stronger its
gravity.
The
force of gravity allows us to stay connected with the Earth. We need not do
anything but relax, and gravity is there. When we allow ourselves to flow
gracefully with gravity, we are in harmony with the downward flow of the first
chakra.
The
common term for this flow as it occurs in the human body is grounding.
Grounding is a process of dynamic contact with the Earth that occurs through
out legs and feet. When grounding is done appropriately, our whole body is
nourished and energised.
Grounding
is the building of a foundation. We ground ourselves in biology and chemistry
before practising medicine. We build a foundation before we build the walls of
a house. Without a good foundation, nothing that follows will be as durable.
Grounding
puts us in touch with our bodies. Uncovering truths buried within our bodies
brings us to a solid connection with our ground, manifesting in greater
health, prosperity, and well-being.
Eating
is a basic first chakra survival activity. Without food, we do not survive
very long. Eating disorders (too much or too little) often indicate first
chakra imbalance. Eating is a grounding activity – it helps to bring us
down, helps us to feel settled, calm, secure. Excess weight can be an attempt
to ground out high stress, to protect the body, or to replace proper grounding
techniques. Eating too little or being chronically underweight can be an
attempt to avoid grounding and physicality because it seems to frightening or
confining.
Stand
upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes slightly in. (Take your
shoes off, so you can feel the floor under you.) Press into your feet as if
you were trying to push the floor-boards apart between your feet. You will
feel a solidity come into your legs as you do this. This comes from pushing
down into your feet.
Once you can feel that solidity, you are ready to begin the exercise. Inhale deeply and bend your knees, letting your belly relax. Now exhale and push into your feel s-l-o-w-l-y, pushing as you did before and allowing your legs to slowly straighten. Do not let them straighten all the way, but bend them again and inhale as you go down into your legs. Push again against the floor as you exhale, pushing your energy downward through your body.
Do
not completely straighten your legs, keep breathing, and move slowly. If you
are doing this correctly you will start to feel a slow vibration in your legs
as you push against the floor. This vibration is the charge of energy moving
through your legs and into your first chakra. It can be used to push out
blocks, to increase your sense of contact with your body, or to simply make
you feel awake and refreshed.
Element: Water
Colour:
Orange
Verb:
I feel, I want
Attributes:
Polarity, movement, sexuality, pleasure, emotion
We
have come from the Earth, energy that is still, solid, dense. We have gained
an understanding of our bodies, our grounding, and things associated with one.
We are now ready to introduce a new dimension.
As
we enter the second chakra, we encounter change.
Our
singleness becomes duality; our point becomes a line; the solid, a liquid;
stillness becomes movement. We have gained a degree of freedom.
Through
change we create and discover difference. Difference, at its extremes, creates
polarities. Polarities create attraction and movement. Movement is essential
and characteristic of all life.
The
second chakra is in the lower abdomen, centred between the navel and the
genitals. It corresponds to the sacral vertebrae and the nerve ganglion called
the sacral plexus. This plexus hooks into the sciatic nerve and is a centre of
motion for the body. It is often called the “seat of life.”
Its
element is water. Therefore, the chakra corresponds with bodily functions
having to do with liquid: circulation, urinary elimination, sexuality and
reproduction.
Classically,
this chakra is the centre of sexuality, emotions, sensation, pleasure,
movement, and nurturance. Like water, it is ruled by the Moon, which
influences the tides and our emotions.
The
Sanskrit name for the second chakra is Svadhisthana, which means “sweetness.”
This is an apt name for the sweetness of desire, pleasure, and sexuality
associated with the life-giving waters of Svadhisthana. Its colour is orange,
and its lotus contains a crescent Moon surrounded by six petals.
The
second chakra embodies the nature of “two”
and runs on polarity, instigating the movement in the body and psyche that
begins the climbing process of coiled Kundalini as she rises through the
chakras. Encountering “other” creates desire, and desire gets us to move,
to reach out, to grow and change.
All
the chakras are connected by a non-physical channel running straight up the
spine called the sushumna. Two
alternate channels, ida and pingala,
twist in figure-eight like patters around each chakra, crossing the sushumna.
These channels are among thousands of psychic channels called nadis
(from nad meaning “motion”). Ida
and pingala represent the lunar and solar aspects, respectively. They
are responsible for the “charging” of the chakras, causing them to spin.
(see
Figure 5)
We
have added a degree of consciousness to our bodily awareness. Our
psychic sense at this level is experienced in the form of emotions. We
may “feel”” something is wrong, but the information is not yet
conscious.
If
the chakra is too open, there is a tendency to feel everyone else’s emotions
or to be overly ruled by one’s own emotions with frequent and dramatic
emotional episodes. If the chakra is closed down, then are flat, dull,
lifeless, dry. We are out of touch with our emotions, have very little desire
or passion, and little or no interest in sexuality.
Ideally,
we should be able to embrace polarities, feel our emotions, and express
ourselves sexually without losing the connection with our own centre.
The
main aspect of the second chakra, however, is sexuality. Sexuality is a life force. It is the water that softens
the hard Earth and readies it for change. It is a force too often denied or
perverted, and being robbed of our pleasure, we are robbed of our power. When
we lose our desire, we lose our will. Power and will are attributes of the
next chakra, and pleasure and desire are their seed. Sexuality is the flower
of that seed. Power and will are its fruits.
Lie flat on your back with your knees bent so that the soles of your feel are planted firmly on the floor. Breathe into your chest fully and exhale completely, pushing your feet at the end of the exhale and tipping your pelvis upward. Imagine you are pushing breath out between your legs.
When
the exhale is spent, relax your legs and hips, returning them to the floor,
and inhale fully into your chest again. Then repeat. Keep this going for a
minimum of five minutes to feel the effects.
If the first one stirs up a great deal of energy, or if there is too much stiffness to perform it smoothly, try repeating the same sequence much faster. In this exercise the pelvis is snapped up and back quickly with as much force as possible. Let yourself make any sounds that are natural. This helps to release blocked energy. (Make sure you do this on something soft like a mat or bed.)
Colour:
Yellow
Verb:
I can
Atributes:
Power, will, energy, transformation
Earth,
water, fire. With our bodies grounded and our emotions flowing, we now move on
to power, energy and will.
This
is our third chakra, a yellow lotus of ten petals, located at the solar plexus
– the place where we get those butterfly feelings when we feel scared or
powerless. Its element is fire – fire – that radiates and transforms
matter into energy, giving light and warmth. This chakra represents our “get
up and go”, our action, our will, our vitality and our sense of personal
power. Its name, Manipura, means “lustrous
gem.” WE can think of it as a glowing yellow Sun, radiating through the
centre of our body.
On
the physical plane, the third chakra rules metabolism, the process whereby we
turn food (matter) into energy and action.
Digestion
troubles, stomach troubles, hypoglycemia, diabetes, ulcers or addictions to
stimulants, such as caffeine, are all related to malfunctioning of the third
chakra. Weight problems may also be an indication that the body is not
properly turning its matter into energy.
We
can also assess the health of this chakra by examining our body structure at
this level: tight, hard stomachs, sunken diaphragms, or large potbellies are
all indications of third chakra excess or deficiency.
Examining
your relationship to the properties of fire can give further clues to the
nature of your third chakra. Are you frequently cold, physically or
emotionally? Do you get over-heated, hot-tempered? Is your style quick and
energetic, or slow and lethargic?
When
the third chakra is closed down, one may feel tired, afraid, shaky, quiet, or
withdrawn. There is a fear of taking risks, confronting people or issues,
taking charge, and with all this, a lack of energy. There may be too much
seriousness and not enough laughter, ease or fun, all of which help the third
chakra open and relax. Pleasure, from the chakra below, helps to make the fire
warm and easy; without it our fires are cold and hard.
If
the chakra is too open, then we have a kind of bully archetype – someone who
also needs to be in control, to dominate, to seek after power, prestige,
ambition. As the lower chakras in general are more ego-oriented, third chakra
excess an make a person narcissistically self-centred.
An
appropriate concept for a healthy balance in this chakra is the archetype of
the warrior – standing strong, staying in touch with feelings, confronting
only when appropriate and maintaining a sense of power. A healthy third chakra
can take on a task and complete it, take on a risk and not be bound by
perfectionism, or act in the role of leadership without domination or
self-aggrandisement.
In
the second chakra, we encountered desire. Desire is the fuel for the will, the
passion within our body giving strength to decisions made by the mind. Fire is
the spark of life that ignites will to action. Fire is the spark that lies
between the poles, and the third chakra creates power by combining the
polarity introduced by the second chakra, just as electricity is made by the
combination of polarities. Having made yet another step toward consciousness
we now temper our desires and instincts with knowledge, making decisions that
are then put into action, again combining the poles of mind and body.
Power,
then, is seen as an act of combination, of joining together parts to make a
greater whole. When we embrace and combine all the parts within us – our
bodies, our emotions, our visions, our knowledge – then we emerge whole and
powerful.
A
good rule of thumb for stimulating the third chakra is to get your energy
moving. Jogging, yelling, or pounding a pillow can help you loosen up. Or you
might try the following exercise.
Woodchopper
Stand with feet planted firmly on the ground, knees slightly bent, heels about two feet apart. Raise arms together over the head with hands joined. Arch back slightly. Make an “ah” sound as you descend, swing the whole upper portion of the body downward bringing your hands between your legs and through. The motion should be smooth and rapid, emitting as much force and power as possible. Let the sound be full and loud. Repeat five to ten times in a session, and feel the energy break through into your upper body. This exercise is also an excellent anger release.
Colour:
Green
Verb:
I love
Attributes:
Love, balance, relationship, compassion
We
are now halfway through our seven-levelled chakra system. Below us are the
first three chakras which relate to things and activities in the external
physical world. Above us are the top three chakras which relate to internal
representations of the physical world that are experienced mentally. The
fourth chakra, located over the heart, is the balance point between these two
extremes: the integrator of mind and body, believed to be the central home of
the spirit.
The
12-petaled lotus symbol of the heart chakra contains within it two
intersecting triangles forming a six-pointed star. These triangles represent
the force of matter moving upward toward liberation and the force of spirit
moving into manifestation. It is at this chakra that they are evenly combined,
creating a centre of peace and balance. Its seed sound is “yam” and its
animal is an antelope, running free.
The
heart chakra is related to the element air and the quality of love. Air is
formless, largely invisible, absolutely necessary, and the least dense of our
first four elements. Air is expansive as it will expand to fit any space it is
put into, yet it is soft and gentle.
So
too is love. Love is the expansion of the heart, the transcendence of
boundaries, the interconnectedness of spirit. Love is balance, ease, softness,
forgiveness. And love at the heart chakra is felt as a state of being,
existing independently of any object or person, unlike the passion-oriented
love of the second chakra.
The
Sanskrit name for this chakra is Anahata, which means “sound that is made
withoutout any two things striking”. This describes a state where we are no
longer fighting or confronting what we love but moving with it in graceful
harmony. The fight of the third chakra gives way to graceful acceptance in the
fourth.
Because
Anahata is related to the element air, it is accessible through the breath.
The Hindus call the breath prana, which means “first unit,” and they
believe it contains the essence of all vitality and nourishment, being the
point of commonality between the mental and physical worlds. Opening up the
breath, unloosening whatever tensions are constricting it, is a way of
accessing the heart chakra.
If
the heart chakrs is closed down, the very core of us suffers. Our breathing is
shallow, slowing down our metabolism and our physical energy. Blocked at the
centre, we feel divided between mind and body. We pull in to ourselves,
withdraw, and become a close system.
When
the heart chakra is too open, there is a tendency to give all our time and
energy away, to be so focused on “other” that we lose our own centre.
Ideally,
the heart chakra should radiate love from a strong, solid centre of
self-acceptance and reach out with supportive care, love and compassion toward
others. With its essential message of balance, our self-love and love for
others need to be balanced and interconnected. Directly below the heart chakra
is another small lotus that is seldom talked about but significant to the
heart chakra. Called the Anandakanda
lotus, it has eight petals and contains the Kalpataru,
or the Celestial Wishing Tree. In front of the tree is an altar for worship,
and it is believed that the tree contains the deeper wishes of the heart
chakra – those things we hardly dare name but are most integral to our
deepest hopes. It is believed that when one worships at this altar by wishing
from the heart, the tree bestows even more than is desired.
The
operating force in this chakra is the force of equilibrium. That which stays in balance has longevity and lives in
harmony. Enter the peaceful balance of the heart within yourself and others,
and you will experience the mysteries of Anahata.
The
Arch
Form the grounding position of chakra one and begin breathing into your legs, building up some “charge”. Then bring the charge into your pelvis by moving your hips back and forth until your second chakra feels some of this same energy.
When
your hips and belly feel connected, begin to form an arch with your body,
keeping your knees bent, thrusting your pelvis forward, then your stomach and
chest, and finally reaching upward with your arms, head back. (Be gentle with
your spine, and do not hold this
position if you start to feel any discomfort.
If
you are holding the position correctly, you should feel a vibration in your
chest. Breathe into this and relax as much as you can in this difficult
position, imagining a green light filling and opening your heart.
Return
slowly to your upright position,
keeping the knees slightly bent, and slowly return your arms to your sides,
eyes closed. Stand at rest a few moments to feel the effects of this exercise.
Repeat when ready.
Element:
Sound
Colour:
Bright Blue
Verb:
I speak
Attributes:
Sound, vibration, communication, creativy
Chakra
5 us located in the region of the neck and shoulders and is the centre of communication
and creativity. Its colour is a bright turqoise blue, mixing the deep
indigo of the sixth chakra with the green of the heart. Its lotus has 16
petals, upon which are inscribed all the vowels of the Sanskrit language.
Vowels are generally though to represent spirit while consonants give the
edges and definitions which define matter. As we enter chakra 5, we are
crossing deeper into the realms of mind and spirit.
This
lotus is called Visuddha, which
means “purification”. To successfully reach and open the fifth chakra, the
body must attain a certain level of purification, which helps to achieve the
sensitivity needed for the subtler levels of the upper chakra.
Classically,
the element associated with this level is ether, or akasha, meaning “spirit”,
as well as the element of sound. Sound is a rhythmic vibration of air
molecules as they are impacted by matter in movement. If I clap my hands, the
sound that reaches you is from the air I have displaced. All sound is a
vibration, and all things, living and nonliving, have a unique vibration. At
this level, we do not see the world as individual things or their activities
but as a complex interwoven net of energies with characteristic vibrational
rhythms.
The
Hindus believe that the universe itself is made of sound. Mother Kali, the
destroyer, is said to have the power to remove letters of the alphabet from
the petals of the chakras when she chooses to destroy the world. Without sound
and language, there is no form.
Sound
waves are subject to a principle called resonance,
also known as “rhythm entrainment” or “sympathetic vibration.”
Resonance is what occurs when sound waves of similar frequency meet – they
lock into phase, with their vibrations oscillating at the same time. That
which is in phase tends to remain in phase; hence, the interlocking of
vibrational waves creates the ongoing harmony and substance that we experience
in the world. Our breathing, heart rate, brain waves, and sleeping and eating
patterns are all rhythmic activities that “entrain” or connect us with the
world around us. When we are feeling harmonious with our surroundings, then
our internal rhythms are resonating within ourselves. This resonance will, in
turn, call other wave forms into harmony with it, bringing strength and
integrity to the organism.
From
sound we get communication. Communication is the activity and function of the
fifth chakra. Here we have language, a complex pattern of sound and rhythm,
through which we symbolise the physical world around us. Through symbol, we
have a more efficient way of dealing with the world. I can describe my car,
but I can’t bring it into the room with me. I can call New York without
actually going there. Our minds work with symbols. We think in words, as well
as image and sensory memory. The world of the upper chakras is symbolic of the
world below.
Communication
is rhythmic activity. The more resonant our own internal rhythms, the more
easily and pleasantly we will communicate. Studies have shown that regardless
of the content of words used, listeners and speakers enter into a rhythm
entrainment as they converse. It is believed that understanding occurs only
when entrainment can take place.
Communication
involves both listening and speaking. If one’s fifth chakra is closed down,
then there is a fear of expressing oneself, fear of speaking one’s truth, or
excessive shyness. The voice itself is timid and the words are few. If the
chakra is too open, we are so busy expressing that we forget to listen or our
voice is dissonant, and we are unable to enter into resonance with those
around us.
Ideally,
the fifth chakra should be connected to the self – to all the other chakras
above and below – to visions of the mind and feelings from the body with
equal ease.
Chanting
is an activity that increases the overall resonance of our being, allowing all
our internal systems to enter into a rhythmic harmony. When chanting is
practised as a group activity, it enhances resonance and communication with
the group as a whole. From Zen monasteries to rock concerts, this is a
powerful tool for enhancing collective consciousness.
The
fifth chakra is also a centre of creativity, another form of symbolic
communication. As we open up this centre, we open up our creative potential.
The greater our resonance within, the greater the power within our creations.
Experiment
with the resonant frequency of your chakras by chanting the following tones
with each chakra, varying the pitch from low to higher as you climb up the
chakras. Try to find the pitch that resonates with your body. Work on letting
your sound be full-bodied and resonant.
Chakra
One:
Ooo as in home
Chakra
Two:
U as in rule
Chakra
Three:
Ah as in father
Chakra
Four:
Ay as in play
Chakra
Five:
Ee as in free
Chakra
Six:
Mm and in hum
Chakra
Seven:
Ng as in sing
Colour:
Indigo
Verb:
I see
Attributes:
Clairvoyance, memory, dreams, vision, colour
Chakra
6, located at the level of the forehead, is also known as the third eye. A
lotus with only two petals, it is visualised as a deep indigo blue. This is
the centre of visual, psychic and intuitive perception – the place where we
store our memories, perceive our dreams, and imagine our future.
Its
name, Ajna, means both “to
perceive” and to command. Just as words are used to shape out world, so do
the images we hold in our minds influence the events of our lives. What we
perceive and remember is also what we command. A visualisation held strongly
is the first step in bringing an ethereal thought-form into manifestation.
Its
element is light, a higher, faster vibration than that of sound, the least
dense and most versatile of any element we have encountered thus far.
Travelling at speeds beyond comprehension, communicating across distances
events that may have ceased to exist millenia ago, light in all its splendor
allows us to perceive the world in an infinite display of pattern. And when we
view the world, we must remember that it is not objects we see but reflected
light.
An
Ajna chakra relates to the pineal gland,
a vestigial light sensitive organ located in the exact geometric centre of the
head. In the embryo, the pineal begins as an actual third eye and later
degenerates. It has been demonstrated that the pineal gland is sensitive to
light, even when optical nerves have been cut. However, the functioning of the
pineal in the mature adult is still a mystery. It is believed by some to play
a part in producing the internal visions that sometimes come with meditative
states.
Chakra
6 is our intuitive level, bringing
us information through internally experienced visual imagery. Dreams are the
clearest example of this. Clairvoyant sight is the ultimate example – the
product of an open and functioning Ajna chakra. The purpose of this centre is
to become aware of the images inside our minds – the ones we perceive and
the ones we create – so that this vast visual screen can be used consciously
to call images at will and bring us information unavailable through other
means.
Those
who are open on this level are aware of their perceptions and can interpret
them usefully. If the chakra is closed down, we may experience eye trouble,
headache, or troubling dreams. If the chakra is too open without solid ground
to back it up, one may experience hallucinations, confusion from too much
input, or over-interpretation of everyday occurrences.
It
is my firm belief that psychic perception is something that everyone has and
uses profusely, whether or not they are aware of it. It is important to
validate these subtle psychic perceptions that float through our minds each
day.
Opening
psychic perception is largely a function of learning to recognise patterns and
creating an internal visual language with which to interpret them. If you see
someone has done something in the past, chances are likely it will happen
again. As we climb higher into the upper chakras, we approach a sense of
divine order, and perception of that order allows us easily and accurately to
“fill in the blanks” and perceive, like light waves, what which is
actually at a distance, spatially and temporally.
Outside
of our own imaginations, the images that surround and rule us are a major
factor in mass consciousness. Television, billboards, clothing trends,
cinematography and other visual media feed into our consciousness on an
immediate and whole brain level. To clear the chakra, we must get away from
the images of what we expect to see and begin to experience the world with the
freshness of a child. Only then can our organ of psychic perception begin to
see accurately. And when we do, we discover an exciting world of patterns and
colours unlike anything in the physical realm.
Each
of the chakras is related to a colour, and though the system has changed from
the ancient Tantrics to modern associations, the most popular pattern is the rainbow
spectrum. Red light has the longest and slowest wave-length, so it is
associated with chakra 1, and the chakra proceed in rainbow order to the
violet at the crown.
A
good exercise to develop the visualisation capacity of your third eye, while
simultaneously helping to balance all your chakras, is to focus on each one of
your chakras, filling that part of your body with the appropriate colour of
light. Begin at the top or the bottom, but proceed in order, and take time
with each chakra to fully feel the effects.
Chakra
One:
Red
Chakra
Two:
Orange
Chakra
Three:
Yellow
Chakra
Four
Green
Chakra
Five:
Bright Blue
Chakras
Six
Ïndigo
Chakras
Seven:
Violet
Colour:
Violet
Verb:
I know
Attributes:
Information, understanding, awareness, consciousness, pattern,
meditation
At
last we come to the end of our journey, climbing to the nectar blossom of our
flower – the thousand-petaled lotus sitting at the crown of the head. This
is the chakra of thought, consciousness,
and information, our most abstract
and versatile level of all the chakras. Like the Muladhara, which has its
roots in matter, the Sahasrara chakra, which means “thousand-fold” has its
thousand petals of spirit reaching into the infinite cosmos. To the Hindus,
thousand is a way of expressing infinity, and indeed, this chakra has no
limits in its scope.
The
element of Sahasrara is thought, a fundamentally distinct and unmeasurable
entity that is the first and barest manifestation of the greater field of
consciousness around us. Correspondingly, the function of the chakra is knowing,
just as other chakras relate to seeing, doing, or feeling. It is through the
crown chakra that we store and retrieve information and run it through our
lower chakras to bring things into manifestation.
The
crown chakra is most significantly characterised by a quality of “withinness,”
contrasting the external manifestation in time and space of the lower chakras.
A single human brain contains some 13 billion interconnected nerve cells,
capable of making more connections among themselves than the number of atoms
in the universe. This staggering comparison leaves us with a pretty remarkable
instrument. As there are 100 million sensory receptors in the body, with 10
trillion synapses in the nervous system, we find that the mind is 100 000
times more sensitive to the organism’s internal environment than the
external. It is truly from a place within that we acquire and process our
knowledge.
Withinness
is a way of accessing a dimension that has no locality in time and space. If
we postulate that each chakra represents a dimension of smaller and faster
vibration, we theoretically reach a place in the crown chakra where we have a
wave of infinite speed and no wavelength, allowing it to be everywhere at once
and yet having no perceivable location. Ultimate states of consciousness are
described as omnipresent. By reducing the world to a pattern system, occupying
no physical dimension, we have infinite storage capacity for its symbols. In
other words, we carry the whole world inside our heads.
Pattern
implies order. To the Hindus, order is the one underlying universal reality,
and that order is considered synonymous with consciousness. Consciousness,
then, is a field of ordered patterns.
Chakra 7 is our gateway to “cosmic consciousness” or “higher
consciousness”. These terms merely refer to awareness of a deeper, more
encompassing order. It is the perception of meta-patterns, deep central truths
about our cosmic ordering system. Manifesting our thought-forms into reality
is a matter of following the lines of order we perceive.
The
crown chakra is the place where we study consciousness itself, even though
each chakra reflects a state of consciousness. It must be remembered in this
study that what we are looking for is the very thing that is doing the
looking. Intelligence is less a matter of finding the answers than of
realising who and what are asking the questions.
Thought
is comprised of bits of information that we spend time organising. Through our
experiences, each one of us builds a personal matrix of information within our
mind. From the first glimpses of our mother’s face to our doctoral
dissertation, we spend our time trying to put information about our world into
some semblance of order. The very act of thinking is the process of following
lines of order. Our matrix structures become our personal belief systems and
the ordering of principles of our lives. Nor only do we organise new
information into our personal structure, but we also order the events of our
lives that bring us that information.
Kundalini
is the “force” of consciousness. As she rises and descends, she changes
the internal order of the greater personal matrix, each time allowing a
greater perception of the whole. Each of the chakras represents a level of
organisation, valid for the work on its particular level. Each time Kundalini
rises, we find ourselves needing to reorganise our lives to match the higher
order She brings us.
While
each chakra is a disk, programmed with information relating to its particular
function, the seventh chakra can be seen as the overall operating system for
the whole biocomputer. It represents our belief systems, the way we categorise
our information, and even our ability to be aware at all. Thoughts are things,
and they are the seeds from which all manifestation grows. Like all seeds,
they contain the pattern that shapes the flower as it grows.
Lie or sit in a comfortable meditation position. Allow your mind to become relatively calm and quiet, using whatever technique is most effective for you.
Gradually
let yourself pay attention to the thoughts that pass through your mind. Pick
one and ask yourself where it came from – what thoughts preceded it. Then
follow to the origin of that thought. It may be something that occurred years
ago or something that is pressing on you right now. Then again follow that
thought to its source and on to each thought’s origin. Eventually, we come
to a kind of infinite source that has no objective origin.
Return
and pick another thought that passes through. Repeat the same sequence, going
farther and further back. See how many of your thoughts emanate from a similar
source – either an issue you’re working with in your life right now, a
past teaching, or your own place of connection with the infinite.
Together, the seven chakras form a connecting ladder between matter and consciousness, body and mind, Earth and Heaven. Each of us forms this ladder as the steps are found within us.
In
order for us to be whole, the ladder must be complete. Therefore, each chakra
is of equal importance, and the blocking of one chakra can make an excess or
deficiency in another part of the system.
Individually,
the chakras can give us important clues about our strengths and weaknesses,
outlining areas in which we need to work on ourselves. It must be remembered,
however, that the chakras form a complete
system, and diagnosis or attention to any one area should always be seen
in relation to the whole.
With
our chakras opened and fully functioning, we ourselves form the rainbow bridge
between Heaven and Earth, ever evolving towards realisation and integration.