Chakras: The Wealth Within Us

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by Erika Ginnis

sixth in a series of articles (Originally published in  Widdershins (vol4iss2))

There is already a great deal of information available on chakras, and most of it is extremely helpful. If you want to really delve into this subject, go to your local bookstore and start reading. My own preference is to keep it simple and work with the actual energy centers themselves, since some of the writings, in my opinion, can get so technical that you can lose the magick of the experience. There is the added problem that since this is such an ancient topic and so much has been written about it that you will find that not all the texts are in agreement. With that in mind, my intention here will be to give basic information and a
provide a guide for personal meditations so that you can begin to find out for yourself what kind of treasure is stored within you.

The word chakra I am told is Sanskrit for turning wheel or spinning wheel. A chakra is an energy and information center in the energy body. There are lines of energy that run through the body; anywhere these lines cross you will find a chakra. This means that there are lots and lots of chakras. There are chakras in your lips, the tips of the fingers, the knees, among some other interesting places. I am however only going to talk about some of the main chakras in this article. The main chakras are places where many energy lines come together and create a major vortex of energy and information.

You can think of a chakra as kind of a turning vortex of energy that is roughly funnel or "ice cream cone with the end cut off" shaped. When I teach someone about chakras I usually roll up a piece of paper to give them that very esoteric representation of these amazing centers of information. The iris of a camera is another good analogy to the chakra because chakras have the ability to open or close.

Over the years, there have been some inventions that I think parallel chakras very nicely. These didn't exist at all when I started teaching, but I almost always mention them in any chakra discussion I have these days. The inventions I refer to are music CDs and CD-ROMs. I didn't realize the connection until I saw that when you play a CD it spins in the player; the same is true, I have been told, for a CD-ROM in a computer. This is so much like a chakra it's amazing. Here are these little discs that you read with light that give you information when you spin them! Pretty cool.

As I mentioned before, chakras have the ability to open and close. I never recommend closing any chakra completely down. And unless you are very familiar with working with them and have had some training in the subject I generally recommend that you allow your chakras to automatically adjust to the openness they need to have at any given moment.

I have met some people that are of the opinion that more open a chakra is the better, as if that were the only way to get access to the information. I don't necessarily agree. My experience has been that you have your own information inside of you and you can get in touch with that quite well without blasting open your chakras. In fact, sometimes what can happen in that situation is that you end up so open to everything outside of yourself that you don't have a clue how you feel or what your own information might be on a given subject. My suggestion is to learn to work with the energies and really own them for yourself and get to know them. Become aware of what is happening and learn from that. It's too easy to get overwhelmed with the energy and then decide you want to close way down and not deal with it at all. I much prefer to take the time to go at a more relaxed pace and stay in harmony with the body.

There are seven main chakras in the body. The first six run horizontally through the body and the energy (as I teach it) runs through the chakra from the front (the large end of the ice cream cone) to the back (the smaller end of the ice cream cone). The seventh chakra runs vertically as does the energy. There is more exchange of energies within the chakra system, but for the sake of simplicity this is a good place to start.

Whenever you consciously run your energy (as I outlined in the last article) you begin to stimulate the chakra system. The front channels that run up the body actually run along side the chakras, the act of running your energy will begin to increase the rate your chakras spin and increase the movement of energy and information through them.

Many of you out there are very visually oriented and will want to associate color with the chakras. That's fine, of course but I will add my own take, (read soapbox), to the chakra/color correspondence. If you want to correspond the seven rainbow colors with the seven chakras, it can be a nice meditation. However, I do want to point out that this isn't the same as having it be the "ideal" or "standard" color for the various chakras.

Aura vibrations as well as chakra vibrations change all the time based on a great number of factors. I am of the opinion that it is limiting to think that the first chakra has to always be "red" for instance. It could be any color at all or some combination of colors. One of the colors I use a lot, a clear gold, isn't even in the main seven rainbow colors. The closest you can get is yellow, which is a completely different vibration altogether. My point here is to keep your options open and not get too restrictive when it comes to colors. I think that you'll get a lot more out of it that way (she says stepping off her soapbox).

You have a wealth of information within you. As you begin to own and work with your chakra system, you have the opportunity to get in touch with levels of yourself that you may not have even knew existed. In the chakra meditation that follows I recommend that you keep releasing energy down your grounding so that you can enjoy your exploration, and that you experience the energy of each chakras while still staying in that safe neutral place called the center of your head. Being grounded and centered will make it easier for you to experience the energies without becoming them. Let it be simple, and have fun.
 

With your eyes closed go through the following exercise. Don't worry if things aren't as clear as you think they should be, simply let yourself have the concept that you are doing the practice and have patience. The awareness will increase with time.

Sit comfortably in a straight back chair or on the couch (as long as you don't tend to nod off to sleep) have your hands and feet apart and feet flat on the floor. Start by grounding (the following section is from my article on grounding)

• Close your eyes (this helps you to focus inward).

• Take three nice deep breaths, breathe down into your belly and soften your belly as you breathe. It can be helpful (although not essential) to breathe through the nose, while keeping your tongue resting lightly on the roof of your mouth. This is from certain Yoga traditions and is said to help encourage the flow of energy through your system.

  Relax as you breathe, noticing how you feel, how your body feels.
   

• Be aware of your first chakra. This is simply an energy center (vortex) that is located in the general area near the base of the spine. For women the center is usually near the area between the ovaries (note: the chakra positioning doesn't change if you have had your ovaries removed for any reason). For men the location is slightly lower in the body because the chakra placement is associated with the testicles.
   
• Be aware of this area, and allow a cord of energy to flow downward from your body: Through the chair you are sitting in. Through the floor and down through the building you are in. Through the foundation and into the deep earth beneath. Allow your grounding to flow down into the earth past all the rocks and layers of the planet, past the water, deep deep into the earth, into the heart of the Mother. Until it reaches the center of the earth.

  Allow your grounding cord to connect securely into the center of the planet. Be aware of your grounding cord being securely connected also to your first chakra.

  Breathe and relax and experience your grounding, your spiritual connection to this beautiful planet.

  Notice how your body responds to you grounding and becoming more present in it. Release tension and discomfort down your grounding, allow it to simply drain away.

• Take a nice deep breath and bring your awareness into the center of your head. That safe neutral place behind your eyes and back a bit.
   
• Notice how your body responds. It might have a reaction to you being centered. Let that reaction simply be, notice it. If you experience any discomfort, release it down your grounding.
   
  Be aware of what the center of your head is like right now. Is it light? Is it dark? Is it crowded, or empty? Cold or warm, big or small? Are you aware of sensations, sounds, images, scents? Relax and breath yourself into the center of your head. Get comfortable and begin to own this safe neutral place.
   
  Continue to use your grounding to release energy from this space so that you can make more room for you to focus there in the present moment.
   
  Say hello silently to yourself as spirit in the center of your head.   You are spirit! Recognize and validate the essential you. You may be aware of yourself as a bright light, or you may notice your presence in some other way. Enjoy the experience. Be aware of your uniqueness and also your connection to all that is. 
• Say hello to your body, from the center of your head. Notice your body's response. Take a moment and simply allow yourself to be. Allow time to explore being grounded and centered, releasing energy and gaining awareness.

 
• Earth Energy
  While keeping your attention focused in the center of your head, be aware of your feet. Silently say hello to them. Allow the energy of the planet (earth energy) to begin to gently flow into the arches of your feet. Feel it as it flows up through your feet, and then moves slowly into your calves and thighs. Relax and feel this flow of energy; it may be warm or cool, or it may be simply an awareness.
   
• Let the energy flow into your hips and then move through that area called the first chakra (located near the base of your spine if you are male, or between the ovaries, if you are female) and then flow back down your grounding. This flow of energy will strengthen your grounding and cleanse it as it flows. These pathways from the arches of your feet through your legs into your first chakra, where it connects into your grounding, are called your leg channels or earth energy channels.

  Notice how the energy moves like a circuit, up through the feet, moving though your leg channels, flowing into the first chakra and then down your grounding. This is earth energy, the energy of the planet. It is the energy that our bodies are made from. It is a very powerful and validating energy for our bodies to experience. It can be very healing when we consciously move it through the leg channels in a gentle and cleansing manner.

  Take a moment and simply allow your experience to unfold. Breathe. Once you have this energy moving, simply let it be, and it will move on its own.
   

• Cosmic Energy (Sky Energy)
   
• Check your grounding, and refocus in the center of your head. Allow your earth energy to continue its flow. Be aware of the top of your head. Create a bright ball of cosmic (sky) energy above your head; allow it to be like bright, warm, golden sunlight. This is the energy that emanates from the cosmos; it is unlimited and always available. It has many vibrations; gold is one that I particularly enjoy and recommend working with.

  Allow this bright energy to gently flow into the top of your head and flow down either side of your spine to your first chakra. These pathways from the top of your head and down the sides of your spine to the first chakra are called your cosmic energy channels or back channels.

  Experience your cosmic energy; allow it to melt away tension or blocks. When you allow your cosmic energy to run, it will automatically begin to increase the vibration of the physical body. This is a process of "waking up" the body, and it in turn makes it easier to more fully experience your spiritual/psychic awareness. Breathe and relax.
   

• Blending of Energies
   
• Making sure you are still grounded and centered, notice how your earth and cosmic energies, as they flow, meet in your first chakra. Allow this meeting of energies to be a dance, a blending or your own unique mixture of earth and sky -- your own divine union. Allow this blend of energies to begin to move gently up the front of your body and out the top of your head like a fountain. These pathways from the first chakra up both sides of the front of the body and out the top of your head are called your front channels.

  Experience this blend of energies; allow this flow to gently wash away any blocks or tension. Feel it as it fountains out the top of your head and flows all around your body, eventually flowing down your grounding.
   

• Healing and Creative Energy
   
• Finally, as you breathe and relax, allow some of the energy that is flowing up your front channels to branch at the cleft of your throat and flow down your arms and out your hands. These pathways from the cleft of the throat, down the arms and out the chakras in the palms of the hands are called your healing and creative channels. Feel this energy as it flows out your hands. This is the energy you use to make changes and heal yourself and others, as well as the energy you use manifest your spiritual creativity in physical reality. Tune into your healing and creative energy. Breathe, release energy down your grounding, relax and be in the center of your head.

  Let all your energies flow at once. You don't have to "try" to make any of them move; simply relax and notice them, and they will move on their own. Validate yourself. You are releasing, energizing and healing, simultaneously and effortlessly.If you want to enhance your work further you can add creating and destroying roses (creating each rose six to eight inches out in front of your forehead and then destroying it one after the other as a way to cleanse your energy).

  New technique: Chakra meditation 
   
• The Chakra Meditation: First Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your first chakra. It is near the base of the spine, somewhat in front of it. Since the first chakra is associated with the testicles or the ovaries, this chakra is located higher in the female body (between the ovaries) than it is in the male body. This chakra is the energy and information center associated with survival: being in physical reality, dealing with things like jobs and money and living in a body.

  Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   

• Second Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your second chakra. This is located a couple fingerwidths below your navel. It is the energy and information center associated with emotionality and sexuality, clairsentience and gut-level feeling.

  Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   

• Third Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your third chakra.

  This is located at the solar plexus. It is the energy and information center associated with power and energy distribution. It also has to do with out-of-body experience (dreaming and so on) and memory. Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   

• Fourth Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your fourth chakra. This is located at your sternum. This is your heart chakra. It is the energy and information center associated with affinity and feelings of oneness and universal connection. Let yourself have some of your own affinity for yourself.

  Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   
   

• Fifth Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your fifth chakra.

  This is called the throat chakra and is located at the cleft of your throat. It is the energy and information center associated with communication. It is a busy chakra. It has five aspects: Inner voice (that small still voice within), clairaudience (which means clear hearing but refers to hearing beings without bodies), broadband telepathy (telepathic communication over long distances or with large groups), narrow-band telepathy (communication over short distances or between a few people) and pragmatic intuition (things like knowing who is calling on the phone before you pick it up without having caller ID).

  Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   
   

• Sixth Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your sixth chakra.

  This is called the third eye and is located at your brow. It is the energy and information center associated with clairvoyance (which means clear seeing, and has to do with seeing energy). This chakra also has to do with abstract intuition (knowing the answer to a problem without going through the necessary steps) and neutrality. Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow through it from front to back. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   

• Seventh Chakra
   
• From the center of your head, be aware of your seventh chakra. This is called the crown chakra. It is located at the top of the head. It is located partially in and partially out of the body. This is the only chakra that runs vertically. It is the energy and information center associated with knowingness and having your own spiritual answers. It also has to do with bringing your spiritual information into the body. It also is associated with trance mediumship (channeling) as it is the chakra that is sometimes used to leave the body and bring another entity in (something I don't recommend unless it is really your life's work). This is also
  the only chakra that I recommend allowing to be more like a tube rather than a funnel. It will make it a lot easier to work with, and not to get overwhelmed by an influx of energy.

  Let yourself breathe and relax and tune into this chakra from the center of your head. Own it. Allow your own energy to flow up through it and out the top of your head, fountaining all around you. Notice what you experience. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   
   

• Hand Chakras

  You have chakras in the palms of your hands. They are the chakras that your creative and healing energy flows out of. Let that energy flow and notice it. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   

• Feet Chakras

  You also have chakras in the arches of your feet. They are the chakras that allow the energy of the planet to flow into your body. Allow them to relax. They are a set of chakras that it is totally okay to allow to be really open. Let that energy flow and notice it. Release any nonbeneficial energy down your grounding.
   
   

  When you are done, open your eyes, bend forward and touch your hands to the floor, as you relax your neck and release any built-up energy around the head and shoulders into the earth. Slowly sit back up. If you keep a journal, this would be a great time to record your experience. If not, then you're ready to go on to the rest of your day or evening. Blessed be.

Erika Ginnis offers Spiritual Counseling and Coaching, Psychic Reading, Healing , and Classes though her practice
"Inspiration is the Inbreath of Spirit"

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