Chakras

The Seven Major Chakras

Chakras are energy systems which do not have physical form.   Attempting to describe such a system is like trying to describe a sound; each person who hears it will explain it in different terms and use different analogies.  There  may be a variety of opinions about where the sound comes from, and disagreement about whether it is  pleasant or unpleasant.  Yet everyone is in agreement that it does exist,  energetically. 

Back in 1927, C.W. Leadbeater wrote in his classic book, The Chakras, “I know that there are still men in the world who are so far behind the times as to deny the existence of such powers, just as there are still villagers who have never seen a railway train.”

The chakras are non-physical energy centers which are located in the etheric body that surrounds the physical body.  They work as energy transforming stations, enabling us to absorb energy from the environment and from other people, and transmute it into a form of nourishment for our own body / emotions / mind /  spirit.  When we are out of balance due to fear, stress, guilt, or confusion, our ability to draw upon these energy centers diminishes.  As we clear away the blocks and become balanced and clear, we become direct conduits for ongoing streams of energies from various sources which can give us phenomenal powers.

The location of the seven major chakras on the physical body corresponds to the major nerve plexuses of the physical body.  There are 21 minor chakras in the body with two of them located in the palms, which are very important in healing.

Each major chakra in the front of the body is paired with its counterpart on the back.  The frontal aspects are related to the person’s feelings, the rear ones to her or his will, and the three on the head to a person’s mental processes.

First Chakra – Root (Red)      survival issues; tribal beliefs, abundance issues, physical vitality

Second Chakra – Sacral (Orange) – relates to sexuality, desires and goals, centre of physical strength

Third Chakra – Solar Plexus (Yellow) – power and wisdom, relates to self-esteem and self worth.

Fourth Chakra – Heart (Green) love, compassion, your ability to give and receive unconditional love and affection.

Fifth Chakra-  Throat – (Blue) – communication, creativity, self expression.

Sixth Chakra – Third Eye (Purple) – intuitive centre

Seventh Chakra – Crown – White – openness to spirit, connects us with our spiritual self.  When it is open you will experience a fullness in your meditation.

Each chakra looks like a vortex of a different colour and follows the colours of the rainbow.  The list below show chakras of the emotional body and their colours.

Energy can be seen flowing into all of these chakras from the Universal Energy Field ( UEF).  Each swirling vortex of energy appears to suck or entrain energy from the UEF.  They appear to function as do fluid vortexes we are familiar with in water or in air such as whirlpools, water spouts and hurricanes.

Each o f these vortices exchanges energy with the UEF.  All the chakra points are openings for energy to flow into and out of the aura.  Psychological material related to each chakra is brought into consciousness by increasing one’s energy flow through the chakras.  We there work in whatever growth process we are in to open each chakra slowly, so that we have time to process the personal material that is released and integrate the new information into our life.

It is important to open the chakras and increase our energy flow, because the more energy we let flow, the healthier we are.  Illness in the system is caused by an imbalance of energy or  a blocking of the flow of energy.

Each of the five senses is associated with a chakra.  Touching is associated with the first chakra; hearing; smelling and tasting with the fifth (throat) chakra; and seeing with the sixth (third eye) chakra.

Most of us react to unpleasant experiences by blocking our feeling and stopping a great deal of our natural energy flow.  This affects the development and maturation of the chakras.  For example, if a child is rejected many times when he tries to give love to another, he will probably stop trying to give love.  In order to do this, he will have to stop the energy flow through the heart chakra.  When the energy flow through the heart chakra is stopped or slowed down, the development of the heart chakra is affected.  Eventually, a physical problem will very likely result.

When the chakras are functioning normally, each will be “open”, spinning clockwise.  Most people are observed to have three or four chakras spinning counterclockwise at any one time.  Usually these become more and more open with therapy.

Information gathered from:

Pocket Guide to Chakras by Joy Gardner – Gordon

Hands of Light by Barbara Ann Brennan

Empowerment through Reiki by Paula Horan