Monday, April 26, 2010

ENERGY CENTRES IN THE BODY

In today’s complex and stressful life very few know how to maintain vitality and vigor. This vitality is more prominent then money, hormones, vitamins or for that matter more than anything else.
The spiritual cultures or ages have thought us about energizing body, mind and soul. ‘One who is master of himself is the master of the nature.’ This is true in case of those energized souls who radiate cosmic aura.

Renowned yogis say that there are 7 energy centers situated at etheric levels of our body along the spinal column. Whether we realize or not, every person will feel the flow of energy through these centers.

Each energy center is called as a “chakra” meaning ‘wheel or disc.’ Chakras are depicted as a lotus with different petals. The more petals the chakra posses, the higher would be its frequency or vibration.

The super conscious or life force known as ‘kundalini’ is responsible for activating the chakras and the potential release of energy. As each chakra rotates, it emanates its own vibration, color and the entangled nature or character.

Effects of blocking the chakra:

When a chakra or energy center is blocked one observes fatigue, mood swings, and lethargy. That’s why elders say do not sleep or take bath after having food.

Why chakras are blocked? What will be the result?

Over stimulating a chakra (by continuous stress), under stimulating it (by ignoring) or depleting its natural life (by expanding its energy without proper knowledge) can all create blockages in our chakras.

Each chakra externalizes the energy it receives through a gland, as a result these blockages effect our health, unbalancing the emotions and leading towards stress, depression or lethargy.

It is these chakras that result in the aura spectrum for great saints and yogis. The more we practice energization techniques the better the aura’s visualization and vitality.

Clare Prophet says that “one can think of the energy centers as receiving and sending stations for the energy that flows through you. Each center is like a step-down transformer that translates the powerful energy from spirit to a different level of our being, nourishing body, mind and soul.” How apt it is to understand the centers.

Now let’s proceed with the 7 chakras starting from the base of the spinal cord.

1] Base chakra, located at the base of the spinal column.

Sanskrit name: Muladhara

Part of the body: Adrenals

Assigned color: white

Petals: 4

Positive vibrations: hope, purity, joy, self-discipline, integration, perfection, nurturing, symmetry etc.

Negative vibrations: hopeless, impurity, chaos, discouragement etc.

Musical instrument: drum, table

This chakra imparts the foundation for the inner and outer development. At this chakra the kundalini enlivens us both physically and spiritually. This chakra connects us with physical world and nature. Therefore balancing this chakra is the fundamental step for our practicality and effectiveness.

One reason why we consider this base chakra as the foundational is that its vitality and health affect all other chakras. How we use the energy at the base center will determine whether the remaining chakras remain dormant or awakened.

The initiation at this level asks us to have care for beings and perform our duties.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) Is my spirituality physical?

b) Do I deny myself the things I need? Or do I indulge in things I don’t need?

c) How can I remind myself to look beyond outer trappings to the inner essence?

2] Soul chakra located between the navel and base of the spine.

Sanskrit name: Svadhishthana (=abode of the self).

Part of the body: organs and systems of elimination and reproduction.

Assigned color: Violet

Petals: 6

Positive vibrations: mercy, freedom, forgiveness, justice, diplomacy, revelation, intuition, prophecy, transmutation etc.

Negative vibrations: lack of forgiveness, intolerance, lack of tact, disregard to others, cruelty.

Musical instrument: woodwinds.

With this chakra we make contact with the soul and receive her impressions and guidance. To understand better consider this: - When you have a gut feeling on someone, you will receive soul impression giving you a warning, “it’s not safe to do this now or go for.”

Often these impressions and intuitions are accurate. According to Patricia R. Spadaro human beings challenge is to free their soul to recognize and then fully claim their spiritual inheritance and pattern.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) What is the unique mission I am called to fulfill in this life?

b) What parts of my personality do I feel reflect the real me?

c) What habit patterns have I developed that do not support my spiritual growth?

d) Is there someone I need to forgive- for my own liberation and their liberation?

3] Solar plexus located at the navel.

Sanskrit name: Manipura.

Part of the body: digestive system, liver and pancreas.

Assigned color: purple and gold with ruby flecks

Petals: 10

Positive vibrations: peace, brotherhood, selfless service, right desire, balance, harmlessness.

Negative vibrations: agitation, anger, fanaticism, aggression, egoism, fear, anxiety, overindulgence etc.

Musical instrument: organ.

At this stage soul learns to cultivate inner peace and brotherhood. She does this by ‘mastering the emotions’ and desires while dealing with the tests and trials of her karma. Can we identify or feel this chakra’s presence…? Yes. Sometimes most of us feel butterflies in our belly or a wallop of energy from someone who was upset with us, as though we were being punched in the stomach. We were feeling that emotions through this chakra’s energy center.

Feelings like fear, agitation, peace or devotion are filtered through this center. Mastering the emotions doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have any emotion. Emotion (e-motion) is simply the energy in motion. One can use this energy in motion to reflect and amplify the feelings of our soul like staying calm at times of chaos, to inspire or to provoke.

God wants us to master lesson to observe, practice and put the learning to tap life force powers. Remember god will not give us more energy than we can hold in the chalice of our chakras.

Have you ever thought why should we have reserve energy? It’s because when the necessity arises we can send this energy through aura to others or for self. My parents say it’s like taking a loan. If we use this energy for good purpose, god feels his investment is safe and our past karma (bad) is reduced. If we misuse energy through agitations, by misleading others or by evil deeds, then we are mounting up bad karma. Hence god will cut off the supply.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) Do I allow myself to indulge in off-balanced emotions?

b) What are my desires giving birth to, and am I happy with what I have created?

c) How can I give back to life the talents and gifts that life has given me?

4] Heart chakra located at the center of the chest.

Sanskrit name: anahata (=unbroken)

Part of the body: heart, thymus, circulatory system.

Color: pink, rose

Petals: 12

Positive vibrations: love, compassion, beauty, selflessness, sensitivity, appreciation, comfort, creativity, charity, generosity etc

Negative vibrations: dislike, hatred, selfish, self pity, negligence etc.

Music instrument: harp

This is the most important energy center in the body. It is the hub of life, physically and spiritually. The energy we receive from the god passes through our heart center before it moves on to nourish the other chakras and systems of our body. Hence as the energy passes from this heart chakra, so do its vibrations. Therefore he/ she should develop love, kindness and compassion to others. On the contrary, if one possesses tainted qualities, then the energy passing through this chakra will supply the vibrations of hatred, dislike to the rest of the chakras. So it is mandatory to start practicing meditation and clearing the imbalances in our behavior and balancing the heart. By doing so, not only will you gain the peace of mind but also abundant strength, vitality and mostly sound health.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) Am I able to let go when I need to and let others take their own steps forward?

b) What are the challenging situations in my life, and what am I supposed to learn from them?

c) The next time I find myself in a charged situation, how can I use softness to turn it around?

5] Throat center.

Sanskrit name: vishuddha (pure)

Part of the body: thyroid, lungs and respiratory system.

Color: blue

Petals: 16

Positive vibrations: power, will, faith, protection, direction, courage, obedience etc.

Negative vibrations: control, condemnation, chatter, gossip, human willfulness, impotence, cowardice, doubt etc.

Musical instrument: brass

This is center through which we speak that is in our mind and heart. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba says that the mastery of the throat chakra is central to our spiritual growth. This also includes not only what we say but how we say it- and what we choose not to say.

Question yourself: Are you practicing the right speech?

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) Do I allow myself to remain silent if I have nothing valuable to say at the moment?

b) Do I make assumptions and speak before I know the facts?

c) What are the negative beliefs I have about myself that undermine my success?

Our subconscious mind is like a recording machine. It records all the events we learned across the life time, good and bad from the past lives. Surprisingly it plays back all the past like a tape recorder. Hence it is mandatory for one to fill their mind with positive affirmations and vibrations.

6] Third eye located eyebrows.

Sanskrit name: Ajna chakra (to command)

Part of the body: pituitary, portions of the brain.

Color: Emerald green

Petals: 96

Positive vibrations: vision, truth, healing, wholeness, abundance, clarity, constancy, focus, music, science etc.

Negative vibrations: false hood, lack of vision and clarity, mental criticism, inconsistency, spiritual impoverishment etc.

Musical instrument: piano

Through this chakra we can access the power of inner vision to perceive the reality of a situation. Our insights and intuitions are the interior revelations that come to us through this third eye.

When we access the pure power this third eye, we have a clear perception and a clear perspective on life. To master the power of the third eye we must analyze and judge the flashes of genius that come through vision.

It is our duty to lay importance on both sides of our brain to have their say- creative and logic. If someone says about a brilliant idea or thought you feel so excited and refreshing that you can’t resist sharing that feeling to everyone. In that situation instead of just listening and sharing “have you ever given a thought how this happened or given a due consideration.” Why should we take strain to consider this question- because this is the guide for the next step?

Trust yourself and in your intuition. Write down all the ideas and vision that you had in the imagination without analyzing in the first hand.

Attention is the human beings key. “Where one’s attention goes, there goes their energy.” Dr. Wayne Dyte says that what we really, really want, we will get. And what we really, really don’t want, we will get too.

If we want to develop mastery in a certain skill or virtue, we must put our attention on it and we must with draw our attention, our vision, from what does not contribute to our success.

It is a good idea to actively use the power of your inner vision in your spiritual practices. Whenever you meditate or pray, you will get greater results if you visualize the outcome of what you are praying for. See it taking place before your eyes. See the details of those goals as if you were already at the finish line- A new job or home, a loving relationship, the healing of a loved one etc.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) What mind sets or stereotypes am I holding onto about myself? About others?

b) Do I try to see others as god sees them?

c) Do I jump into conclusion when dealing with certain people or situations?

7] Crown chakra.

Sanskrit name: Sahasrara (thousand fold)

Part of the body: pituitary or pineal, cerebral cortex, nervous system.

Color: yellow, gold

Petals: 972

Positive vibrations: illumination, wisdom, self-knowledge, understanding, humility, cosmic consciousness, open-mind.

Negative vibrations: intellectual and spiritual pride, vanity, ego-centered, narrow-mind, ignorance.

Musical instrument: strings.

Through this chakra we receive wisdom and enlightenment. The wisdom of the crown, inextricably linked with compassion, impels us to share what we have received with those who need it most.

It is understood that when you wake up in the middle of the night looking for a solution, then remember that you have unlimited access to the knowledge and creativity you need (but only if you are prepared to receive it).

One way we can balance our crown chakra and receive the impulses of the divine intelligence is to slow down and keep the outer mind still. Another way to balance our mind is to invest time in meditation, communicating with god, reading the scriptures and visualizing our imagination.

Self check about this chakra: - question yourself….

a) Do I spend enough time in solitude?

b) Do I honor diversity and try to learn from it?

c) Do I seek to find the common bond that can bring me and others together, or do I dwell on our differences?

Conclusion:

 The more our soul is in touch with her true, spiritual nature, the more positive and accurate the intuitive readings will be.

 The road to self mastery is a continual process of self-examination. We must have the courage to explore how much of our identity is invested in our true, divine nature and how much is invested in our lower nature, our human ego.

 As some 14th century mystic said, “man knows many things; he does not know himself.” Let’s wipe out this statement for ever and dive deep into the love of god.

 Consider all the self check questions. If you sincerely put the effort to get the genuine response from self, then observe the flow of energy in that particular chakra. You will be astonished to sense that you are able to tap the vibrations.