| Seven Chakras of the Human Body |
What is a Chakra
Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel,
or vortex, and it refers to each of the seven energy centers
of which our
consciousness, our energy system, is composed.
These chakras, or energy centers, function
as pumps or valves, regulating the flow of energy through
our energy
system.
The functioning of the chakras reflects decisions we
make concerning how we choose to respond to conditions in
our
life. We open and close these valves when we decide what
to think, and what to feel, and through which perceptual
filter we choose to experience the world around us.
The chakras are not physical. They are
aspects of consciousness in the same way that the auras are
aspects of consciousness.
The chakras are more dense than the auras, but not as
dense as the physical body. They interact with the physical
body
through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and
the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated
with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with
a
group
of nerves called a plexus. Thus, each chakra can be associated
with particular parts of the body and particular functions
within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine
gland associated with that chakra.
All of your senses, all of your perceptions, all of your
possible states of awareness, everything it is possible
for you to experience, can be divided into seven categories.
Each category can be associated with a particular chakra.
Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts
of your physical body, but also particular parts of your
consciousness. When you feel tension in your consciousness,
you feel it in the chakra associated with that part of your
consciousness
experiencing the stress, and in the parts of the physical
body associated with that chakra. Where you feel the stress
depends upon why you feel the stress. The tension in the
chakra is detected by the nerves of the plexus associated
with that chakra, and transmitted to the parts of the body
controlled by that plexus. When the tension continues over
a period of time, or to a particular level of intensity,
the person creates a symptom on the physical level.
The symptom speaks a language that reflects
the idea that we each create our reality, and the metaphoric
significance
of the symptom becomes apparent when the symptom is
described from that point of view. Thus, rather than
saying, "I
can't see," the person would describe it as keeping
themselves from seeing something. "I can't walk," means
the person has been keeping themselves from walking
away from a situation in which they are unhappy. And
so on.
The symptom served to communicate to the
person through their body what they had been doing to themselves
in
their consciousness.
When the person changes something about their way
of being, getting the message communicated by the symptom,
the symptom
has no further reason for being, and it can be released,
according to whatever the person allows themselves
to believe is possible. We believe
everything is possible. We believe
that anything can be healed. It's just a question
of how to do it.
Understanding the chakras allows you to
understand the relationship between your consciousness and
your
body,
and to thus see
your body as a map of your consciousness. It gives
you a better understanding of yourself and those
around you.
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| Top |
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| Crown Chakra |
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Also known
as: Cosmic Consciousness Center, “I AM” Center,
Sahasrara
Location: Top of the head
Color: Violet
Parts of the body: This Chakra
is associated with the top of the head, the brain, and
the entire nervous system
Endocrine Gland: Pineal Gland
Sense: Sense of empathy, unity, experiencing
another person’s
experience as if you were inside them, being them.
Consciousness: The Crown Chakra represents
that part of our consciousness concerned with perceptions
of unity or
separation.
Just as the Root Chakra showed our connection with Mother
Earth, this chakra shows our relationship with Our Father
in Heaven.
It represents our connection with our biological father,
which becomes the model for our relationship with authority,
and
ultimately, with God. It’s the level of the soul.
When one experiences a sense of separation from their father,
they close the crown chakra, and experience a sense of
isolation and aloneness, as if they are in a shell, and
having difficulty
with feeling contact with those around them. Thought
processes tend to justify and maintain the sense of aloneness.
The view from this chakra includes
seeing one’s Self
as the single consciousness creating all, and paradoxically,
thus connected to all, like a dreamer dreaming a dream
and realizing that all that is perceived is just an extension
of their own consciousness.
Element: Inner Light, which is what
one experiences when they are in the deepest part of their
being,
as a point
of consciousness
glowing with intelligence. Also
called White Light. Metaphysically, this is considered
the most subtle element of which the entire physical
universe is created.
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| Brow Chakra |
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Also known as: Consciousness
Awareness Center, Third Eye, Ajna
Location: Center of the forehead
Color: Indigo, Midnight Blue
Parts of the
body: This chakra is associated
with the forehead and temples, with the cartoid plexus
Endocrine Gland: Pituitary Gland
Sense: Extra Sensory Perception, all of
the inner senses corresponding to the outer senses, which
together are
considered spirit-to-spirit communication. These
include, for example,
clairvoyance (inner sense of vision), clairaudience
(inner sense of hearing), clairsentience (inner
senses of touch),
etc.
Consciousness: This Chakra is associated
with the deep inner level of Being we call the Spirit,
and
with what
we consider spirituality and the spiritual
perspective, the point of view from the deeper part of
our
being that western traditions consider the
subconscious or unconscious.
It is the place where our true motivations
are found, and is the level of consciousness that
directs
our
actions and, in fact, our lives.
It is also from this point of view that
one sees events in the physical world as the manifestation
of co-creation
among the Beings involved in those events.
Element: Inner Sound,
the sound one hears inside that does not depend upon
events
outside. Often
considered a pathological
condition by traditional medicine, it is
also seen by eastern traditions as a necessary
prerequisite
to
further
spiritual
growth.
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| Throat Chakra |
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Also
known as: Cornucopia Center, Visuddha
Location: Base of the throat
Color: Sky blue
Parts of the body: This chakra controls the throat and
the neck, and the arms and the hands.
It is associated with the brachial or cervical plexus.
Sense: Sense of Hearing
Endrocrine Gland: Thyroid Gland
Consciousness: The aspects of expressing
and receiving. Expressing can be in the form of communicating
what
one wants and what
one feels, or it can be an artistic expression as
an artist painting, a dancer dancing, a musician playing
music, using
a form for expressing and bringing to the outside
what
was within. Expressing is related to receiving, as
in, “Ask,
and ye shall receive.”
This chakra is associated with listening to one’s intuition,
which guides one in an optimal flow, in which one sees one’s
goals manifest, and is seems that the Universe provides all
their needs with no effort on their part at all. It’s
a state of Grace. Abundance, therefore, is associated
with this chakra, as is the aspect of unconditional
receiving
necessary to accept the abundance of the Universe.
This is the first level of consciousness
in which one perceives directly another level of intelligence,
and
experiences
one’s
interaction with this other intelligence. Metaphysically, this
chakra is related to creativity, creating, manifesting in the
physical world the fulfillment of one’s goals.
Element: Ether, as the crossover between
the physical world and the world of Spirit. On the physical
level,
it corresponds
to deep space as the most subtle physical element.
From the point of view of the Spiritual, it represents
the
matrix on which physical reality manifests. Metaphorically,
it
represents
a person’s relationship with their space, the
movie that is playing around them.
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| Heart Chakra |
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Also know as:
Living Love Center, Anahata
Location: Center of the chest
Color: Emerald Green
Parts of the body: This Chakara is associated with the
heart and the blood circulatory system, and the cardiac
plexus, as
well as the lungs and the entire chest area.
Endocrine Gland: Thymus Gland, controlling the immune
system.
Sense: Sense of touch, in its aspect of relating to the
person inside the body, and distinct from the sensation
of the Orange
Chakra, which is more about the sensation one feels from
their own, body. Hugging, therefore, is a Heart Chakra
activity.
When one hugs, one is aware of what the person inside
the other body feels, and they are aware of what you
feel inside
your
body, and there is a sense of relating to the person
inside the body. Sensitivity about being touched indicates
heart
chakra sensitivity.
Consciousness: Perceptions of love, relationships (relating
with people close to your heart, e.g. partner, siblings,
parents, children. Difficulty with breathing, or with
the lungs, the
organs of air, indicates tension in the Heart Chakra.
A person’s
relationship with air reflects their relationship with
love.
AIDS is a problem with the person’s perceptions of
love, since it is the immune system which is affected.
The Person
feels that their lifestyle separates them from those
they love, often because of societal judgment.
Element: Air
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| Solar Chakra |
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Also
known as: Power Center, Manipura
Location: Solar plexus
Color: Yellow
Parts of the Body: The parts of the body associated with
this chakra include the muscular system, the skin as
a system, the
solar plexus, the large intestine, stomach, liver, and
other organs and glands in the region of the solar plexus.
Also the
eyes, as the organs of sight, and the face, representing
figuratively the face one shows the world.
Endocrine Gland: the pancreas
Sense: Eyesight
Consciousness: Parts of the consciousness associated
with this chakra include perceptions concerned with
power, control,
freedom,
the ease with which one is able to be themselves – ease
of being. Mental activity and the mental body is
also associated with this chakra. The solar plexus
chakra is also associated
with the level of being we call the personality,
or ego.
The relationship a person has with fire,
or the sun,
can be seen to have its parallels in the person’s
relationship with the parts of their consciousness
that this chakra represents.
Someone sensitive about the sun, then, can be seen
to have particular sensitivities about power, or
control, or freedom.
Element: Fire, the sun.
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| Spleen Chakra |
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Also know as:
Sensation Center, Spleen Chakra, Hara, Svadhisthana
Location: The center of the abdomen
Color: Orange
Parts of the body: Reproductive system, sexual organs,
lumbar plexus
Endocrine gland: Gonads
Sense: Sense of taste, appetite
Consciousness: This chakra is associated with the parts
of the consciousness concerned with food and sex.
It is about
the body’s communication to the Being inside, about what
the body wants and needs, and what it finds pleasurable. The
person’s ability to have children is also associated
with this chakra. If there is not a clear relationship with
the element of water, associated with this chakra, the person’s
relationship with water is a reflection of their
relationship with the parts of their consciousness
associated with this
chakra, i.e. food, sex, or having children.
This chakra is also associated with the emotional
body, and the persons’s willingness to feel
their emotions.
Element: Water
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| Root Chakra |
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Also know as:
Security Center, Muladhara
Location: The perineum, the point between the anus and
the sex organs
Color: Red
Parts of the body: Lymph system, skeleton system (teeth
and bones), the prostate gland in men, the sacral plexus,
the bladder
and elimination system, and the lower extremities (legs,
feet, ankles, etc.). Also the nose, since it is the organ
of the
sense of smell, and associated with survival.
Endocrine gland: Adrenal glands
Sense: Smell
Consciousness: Security, survival, trust, the relationship
with money, home, job. Ability to be grounded, to
be present in the here and now. Ability to allow one’s self to be
nourished. In the sense of allowing one’s connection
with their mother, and with Mother Earth. How the
person feels about being on the earth. Connection
with the physical
body.
Symptoms or tensions in the parts of the body controlled
by this chakra indicate tensions in the parts of
the person’s
consciousness related to this chakra. Tension here
is experienced as insecurity as a general perceptual
filter. More tension
is experienced as fear. More than that is experienced
as terror, or a threat to survival.
Element: Earth
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