llewen-complete-book-chakras_2.md

# Llewen's Complete Book of Chakras: Cynthia Dale - Part 2

> As powerful centers of subtle energy, the chakras have fascinated humanity for thousands of years. Llewellyn's Complete Book of Chakras is a unique and empowering resource that provides comprehensive insights into these foundational sources of vitality and strength. Discover what chakras and chakra systems are, how to work with them for personal growth and healing, and the ways our understanding of chakras has transformed throughout time and across cultures.
> 
> Lively and accessible, this definitive reference explores the science, history, practices, and structures of our subtle energy. With an abundance of illustrations and a wealth of practical exercises, Cyndi Dale shows you how to use chakras for improving wellness, attracting what you need, obtaining guidance, and expanding your consciousness. - [Llewellyn's Complete Book of Chakras: Your Definitive Source of Energy Center Knowledge for Health, Happiness, and Spiritual Evolution](https://www.amazon.com/Llewellyns-Complete-Book-Chakras-Definitive/dp/0738739626/?&tag=cognitivetech-20)

## Contents
- [SECTION 2: CHAKRAS IN DEPTH. HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS](#section-2-chakras-in-depth-historical-scientific-and-cross-cultural-understandings)
- [Part 4: Chakra Knowledge Through the Lens of Ancient India](#part-4-chakra-knowledge-through-the-lens-of-ancient-india)
- [16. ANCIENT VEDIC SCRIPTURES. THE FOUR CANNON](#16-ancient-vedic-scriptures-the-four-cannon)
- [17. CHAKRAS TAKING FORM: DIVINING THREE MOVEMENTS FROM THE UPANISHADS AND OTHER EARLY SACRED TEXTS](#17-chakras-taking-form-divining-three-movements-from-the-upanishads-and-other-early-sacred-texts)
- [18. FOLLOWING THE LIGHT OF TANTRA AND YOGA](#18-following-the-light-of-tantra-and-yoga)
- [19. YOUR ENERGY PRIMER: UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL AND SUBTLE ENERGY (AND A FEW MATTERS IN BETWEEN)](#19-your-energy-primer-understanding-physical-and-subtle-energy-and-a-few-matters-in-between)
- [20. CHAKRAS AS PART OF THE SUBTLE ENERGY ANATOMY](#20-chakras-as-part-of-the-subtle-energy-anatomy)
- [21. THE SCIENCE AND STRUCTURE OF CHAKRAS](#21-the-science-and-structure-of-chakras)
- [22. KUNDALINI RISES: THE CHAKRA SERPENT](#22-kundalini-rises-the-chakra-serpent)
- [23. CHAKRA SYSTEMS OF INDIA](#23-chakra-systems-of-india)
- [24. TIBET: INDIAN TANTRA MEETS BUDDHISM](#24-tibet-indian-tantra-meets-buddhism)
- [25. OTHER ASIAN CHAKRA SYSTEMS](#25-other-asian-chakra-systems)
- [26. THE AFRICAN CONTINENT](#26-the-african-continent)
- [27. CHAKRA SYSTEMS OF OLD EUROPE](#27-chakra-systems-of-old-europe)
- [28. THE MIDDLE EAST](#28-the-middle-east)
- [29. CHAKRA MEDICINE IN THE AMERICAS](#29-chakra-medicine-in-the-americas)
- [30. EARLY WESTERN MYSTICS AND ESOTERIC ORDERS](#30-early-western-mystics-and-esoteric-orders)
- [31. THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY](#31-the-theosophical-society)
- [32. CHAKRAS COME OF AGE IN THE WEST](#32-chakras-come-of-age-in-the-west)
- [33. CHAKRAS IN NATURE EARTH](#33-chakras-in-nature-earth)
- [34. NEW AND UNUSUAL CHAKRAS AND CHAKRA SYSTEMS](#34-new-and-unusual-chakras-and-chakra-systems)
- [CONCLUSION](#conclusion)

## SECTION 2: CHAKRAS IN DEPTH. HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS

* Recap of chakras as pulsing points of light and key to health, connection, and spiritual enlightenment
* Origin and history of chakra knowledge primarily from ancient India
* Chakras and their companions (subtle energies, body, energetic anatomies, kundalini) are explainable through scientific perspectives

## Part 4: Chakra Knowledge Through the Lens of Ancient India

* Chakras first mentioned in the earliest Vedic sacred scriptures
  * Vedas consist primarily of four main bodies of scripture called the Samhrita 
* **Contemporary chakra knowledge divided into three bodies**: Vedic, tantric, and yogic
  * Vedic tradition is orthodox and based on primary Vedic scriptures
  * Tantric tradition is shamanic and may incorporate Vedic scripture or other cultural beliefs
  * Yoga is a complete approach to life and ideals have become inseparable from chakra knowledge

## 16. ANCIENT VEDIC SCRIPTURES. THE FOUR CANNON
**Ancient Vedic Scriptures: The Four Canons of the Vedas**

* **Four main canons of the Vedas**: Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda
* Written in Sanskrit, oldest known written language
* Contain germ of Hindu philosophy, cosmology, and practices
* Considered shruti (revealed knowledge) or smriti (remembered knowledge)

**Rig Veda**

* "Royal knowledge"
* Collection of hymns and prose mantras
* Addresses nature and deities
* Contains Samhita, Brahmanas, Upanishads, and Aranyakas

**Sama Veda**

* "Knowledge of chants"
* Deals with musical notation and performance
* Includes the Sama-Vedic tradition of chanting hymns

**Yajur Veda**

* "Knowledge of ritual"
* Provides instructions for performing rituals
* Contains mantras, formulas, and procedures

**Atharva Veda**

* "Knowledge of incarnations"
* Offers protection from evil and disease
* Includes spells, charms, and curses

**Vedic Scriptures Organization**

* **Samhita**: Collection of mantras and hymns
* **Brahmanas**: Explanation of mantras and rituals
* **Upanishads**: Philosophical and metaphysical writings
* **Aranyakas**: Forest texts dealing with mysticism, philosophy, and symbolism

**Origin and Authorship**

* **Debate on originators**: indigenous to East Indian region or brought by poets from elsewhere
* Hindu-based chakra teachings originated in Indus Valley (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan)
* Thousands of Hindu sects with diverse beliefs and writings
* Four main Vedas are oldest known texts, written in Sanskrit

**Additional Context**

* Spiritual ideas and concepts percolating in other parts of the world during this time
* Hindu cosmology and deities introduction
* Foundation for understanding chakras and related systems from a Hindu perspective and others.

**The remembered texts, the smriti**

* The Smriti texts, including the Dharma Sutras and Puranas, provide explanations and instructions for the Shruti (revealed) writings.
* Dharma Sutras are manuals of laws dealing with human relations, composed as threads or strings of rules. 
* **Puranas are post-Vedic writings that narrate the history of the universe, gods, kings, and heroes, organized into three categories**: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.
* Bhagavad Gita, a "song of God" composed around 200 BCE, discusses the purpose of life between Krishna and Arjuna. 
* **Debate among scholars on the timeline of the four main Vedic texts**: Rig Veda (oldest), Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda.
* Rig Veda is the oldest compilation of wisdom in the world, origin of much Hindu culture, and difficult to date due to oral tradition and uncertain authorship.
* Scholarly suggestions place the writing or sharing of the Vedas between 12,000 BCE and 1000 BCE.
* Rig Veda is a complex collection of 1,028 hymns addressing various deities, arranged in ten mandalas (circles/universes). 
* **The other three main Vedic texts**: Yajur Veda (composed between 1400 and 1100 BCE), Sama Veda (composition date uncertain), Atharva Veda (between 1100 and 900 BCE).
* Not all content in these scriptures was complete by their accepted composition dates.
* The most vital early text is the Rig Veda, which serves as the source material for the other three Vedas.

### THE PEOPLE BEHIND VEDIC SCRIPTURE: WHO WAS THERE “IN THE BEGINNING”?

**Origins of Vedic Scripture**
 
* **Aryans**: Indo-European people from central Russia (4500-1500 bce)
  * Spread to Indus Valley around 2000 bce
  * Believed in an invisible force, the Creator
* Harappan Civilization (Indus Valley)
  * Peaked between 2300 and 2000 bce
 * **Two main cities**: Mahenjo-Daro and Harappa
  * Left behind mother goddess figures, lingams, and yoga pose
* Aryans and Harappans
  * Both believed in an invisible force
  * Differences in beliefs around 1500 bce
    * Aryans adopted Indra, god of war and agni (fire)
    * Harappans preferred Varuna, god of order 
* **Vedic scripture**: Amalgamation of various cultural sources
  * Absorbed Harappan philosophies
  * Local divinities became associated with Aryan gods
* Debate on the origin of Vedic scriptural knowledge
  * Some believe Aryans brought most information
    * Evidence of chariots and yoking in Vedas
  * Others argue for Harappan origins
    * Mathematical evidence from Sulbasutras
    * Geographical evidence: Sarasvati River mentioned in Rig Veda
* David Frawley's alternative view
  * Indus Valley continually occupied by Aryans before 2400 bce
  * Archeological and astronomical evidence supports this theory
* Importance of determining true authorship
  * Could challenge the timeline of ancient cultures
  * Vedic Scripture could be the most authentic view of the ancient world.

### A Key Philosophy of the Vedic Scriptures: The Yugas

* Vedic scriptures illustrate the concept of the Yugas, or ages, in Hindu philosophy 
* **Four major yugas**: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga
* Each yuga lasts between 4.1-8.2 billion years, representing one life cycle of Brahman
* We have been de-evolving throughout the ages, with truth, wisdom, knowledge, life span, and emotional/intellectual intelligence declining 
* **Satya Yuga**: golden age of truth, virtue, religion, long life, and self-realization through meditation (lasted longer than other yugas) 
* **Treta Yuga**: silver age of decline in morals and virtues, long life, and self-realization through great sacrifices 
* **Dvapara Yuga**: copper age of further consciousness reduction, living for a thousand years, and self-realization through temple worship 
* **Kali Yuga**: iron age of vice, strife, discord, argument, loss of spiritual awareness, identification with physical selves only, and shrinking wisdom (current epoch) 
* **Predictions in Vishnu Purana about the characteristics of Kali Yuga**: minds occupied with wealth, corruption as means of subsistence.

### IS THERE HOPE?

**Lord Vishnu and His Avatars**

- Lord Vishnu is the supreme god in Hinduism, responsible for preserving the universe
- Ten avatars of Vishnu appear in each epoch
- One avatar of this age is Lord Krishna
- Vedic scriptures compiled by Vyasedeva at the beginning of Kali Yuga to preserve wisdom

**Accessing Divine Light and Salvation**

- Understanding scripture and seeking salvation not dependent on teachers or religious leaders
- Embracing scriptural wisdom through darsan (seeing), immediate perception, and knowing
- Each individual must evolve and "fly" on their own

**The Concept of Chakras**

- First appearance of the term "chakra" in Rig Veda
- Originally used to refer to a cart wheel or technical knowledge
- Later spiritual symbolism ascribed to chakras in Upanishads
- Used as a symbol for dynamism and movement, including the rotation of Vishnu as a chakra

**The Meaning of Chakra in the Rig Veda**

- Technical term for a cart wheel
- Process for irrigation through an iron wheel called a cakra
- Symbol of dynamism and movement
- Label for the wheel of a chariot, often associated with the dawn or creation's axis
- Used to describe god Vishnu as a rotating chakra holding the three worlds together

chakras were considered spiritual organs even in the Rig Veda. 
 
* **Chakras mentioned in Rig Veda**:
  * **Seven symbols of seven in Rig Veda**
    * Seven worlds, rivers, sages, wisdoms, pranas
    * Gods have seven spears and seven lights (7.28.5)
  * **Connection to meditation and subtle body**
    * Ayasya Angirasa mentions meditation through seven chakras and four states of consciousness
    * Interpretation of sun symbolism and yoga practice
 
* **Chakras in Atharva Veda**:
  * City of god Ayodhya represented by eight "cakras" and nine gates
  * Achieving eternal peace through following tenets (yog)
 
* **Linguistic similarities between Vedic civilizations and other cultures**:
  * Use of term "garuda" for thunderbird eagles in Siberia and among Lakota Sioux
  * Ancient Indian migration to America and development of civilization
    * Similarities in deities, calendar concepts, and languages
 
* **Symbols important to Vedas and Hinduism found in other parts of the world**:
  * Omphalus (stone representing center of the world) in Greece
    * Shape resembles Shiva lingam with tantric symbols
    * Connection to navel and creator god Brahma emerging from Vishnu's navel
 * **Overall suggestion**: Ancient India as the cradle of civilization with a unified worldview.

### The Evolution of the Hindu Gods
**The Evolution of Hindu Gods and Their Relation to Chakras**

* The Hindu pantheon plays a significant role in understanding chakra symbolism.
* In this text, we'll outline some deities and their appearances throughout different eras.

**Early Vedic Deities (circa 1500 BCE)**

* Worshippers believed in one supreme god, Brahma.
* **Three main categories of gods**: terrestrial, atmospheric, and celestial.
* Selected deities with chakra connections:
 * **Indra (Male)**: Warrior god, rules air.
 * **Agni (Male)**: Intermediary between gods and man.
 * **Surya (Male)**: Sun god.
 * **Vishnu (Male)**: Preserver, embodiment of goodness.
 * **Sarasvati (Female)**: Goddess of knowledge, music, and creative arts.

**Deities in the Puranas (circa 500 BCE to 800 CE)**

* Deities more completely defined with distinct physical features and moral traits.
* **The Hindu triad**: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.
* Other important deities:
 * **Sarasvati (Female)**: Wife of Brahma, goddess of knowledge.
 * **Lakshmi (Female)**: Wife of Vishnu.
 * **Shakti (Female)**: Consort of Shiva, personification of material energy.

**Shakti as the Fourth Main Deity**

* Represents material energy and is the reason for special emphasis on her in chakra lore.
* **Holds many names**: Parvati, Kali, Durga, Devi, Mataji, etc.
* Replaces Brahma in some forms of Hindu worship.

**Shakti in Tantric Tradition**

* Seen in ten different forms or tantric mahavidya.
* Core form is Kali, representing primordial powers of life, death, and transcendence.
* Other aspects include Tara, Maha Tripura Sundari, Bhuvaneshvari, Chinnamasta, Bhairavi, Dhumavati, Bagalamukhi, Matangi, and Kamala.

**Additional Gods**

* **Ganesh**: Elephant god that grants protection and removes obstacles.
* **Garuda**: King of birds representing five breaths (vayus).
* **Hanuman**: Monkeylike god central to the Ramayana.

## 17. CHAKRAS TAKING FORM: DIVINING THREE MOVEMENTS FROM THE UPANISHADS AND OTHER EARLY SACRED TEXTS
 
* **Vedic scripture**: four primary Vedas, focus on liberating soul from body through mental training

**Orthodox Hindu philosophy:**
- Seeks to liberate soul from body
- Emerged from Vedas
- Tantra and yoga also emerged around same time

**Tantra:**
- Ritual practice with roots in Vedic population
- Embraces body, encourages unity with all
- Linked to various spiritualities including Buddhism
- Originated before or after orthodox philosophies is debated

**Yoga:**
- Way of looking at reality that integrates body, mind, and soul
- Originated as a worldview
- Tantric concepts influence many modern yoga practices
- Relationship to tantra and Vedic philosophy debated
 
* **Chakras**:
  - Emerged from Upanishads and other sacred literature around 800 bce
  - Includes concepts of nadis, kundalini, koshas, etc.
  - Developing knowledge of chakras and related ideas between 800 bce and 200 ce

**Upanishads:**
- Vedic writings showcasing terms and philosophies that became owned by each discipline
- **Two time periods**: 800 bce to about 200 bce and 200 bce to 200 ce
- Difficult to date accurately

**Two other ancient non-Vedic works:**
- Important to understanding yoga's development
- Not performing thorough analysis here
- Will examine a few important features of each text.

### ANCIENT TANTRIC AND YOGIC DEVELOPMENTS:

**Ancient Tantric and Yogic Developments:**

**Relation to Orthodox Hinduism**

- Chakras are interconnected with tantra, yoga, and Hinduism
- Tantra and yoga involve mental, physical, and spiritual cultivation
- **Misconceptions**: tantra = sexual practices, yoga = impossible poses, Hinduism = many gods

**Pre-Vedic Evidence of Tantric and Yogic Thought**

- **Discoveries in Indus Valley**: figures depicting deities in meditative poses (3000 BCE)
- Debate over gender and identity of figures
- **Contains basic tantric ideas**: divine figure, mandala, yogic practices

**Tantra in Ancient India**

- Coherent discipline emerged in 9th-10th centuries CE
- Depictions in Buddhist and Shaivist texts
- **Elements**: deity worship, visualization, mantras, initiation, positive body views, subtle anatomy (nadis and chakras), prana manipulation

**Shared Features of Tantra and Yoga**

- Evocation and worship of deities
- Use of visualization and mantras
- Initiation
- Positive views of the body
- Assumption of subtle anatomy (nadis and chakras)

**Distinctions from Orthodox Hinduism**

- **Tantra**: body is a pathway to bliss, sexual practices
- **Yoga**: shares many tantric features but fewer sexual elements
- **Vedic-related disciplines**: incorporate only a few tantric elements

### WHAT CAME FIRST: VEDIC OR TANTRIC (AND YOGIC) TRADITIONS?

- Controversy over the origin of tantra, yoga, and Vedic traditions
- Some believe tantra influenced Vedas (Vedanta), others believe yoga is a stepchild of one or the other
- Archeological theories suggest an earlier Aryan invasion around 5000 BCE, during which tantra was systematized and ayurveda initiated
- Main tantric god was Shiva, whose teachings influenced early Indian spirituality, art, and science

**Early Appearances of the Words Tantra and Yoga**

- First known written appearance of tantra in Vedas (Rig Veda) means "loom" or "to spread"
- Yoga derived from Sanskrit root yuj, meaning "to yoke or join together"
- Tantra appears as "loom" in Atharva Veda and Yajur Veda, "essence" in Sama Veda
- Yoga first appears in Taittiriya Upanishad (around 1000 BCE), meaning "withdrawal from physical senses"

**The Upanishads: Vedic Underpinnings of Chakra Magic**

- Upanishads are wisdom portion of Vedic scripture, consisting of over 200 texts written across thousands of years
- **Meaning of Upanishad**: "sitting down" or "close to," "shatter" or "destroy," or "containing meditation in the Mysterious One"
- Most important Upanishads written between 800 and 400 BCE, associated with four main Vedic texts
- Upanishads are considered shruti (revealed knowledge) and form basis of chakra systems and philosophies
- Concept of "re-death" emphasizes escaping cycle of birth and death through understanding cosmic connection and soul's connection to it.

### It is through the Upanishads that we find other fundamental teachings
 
* **Upanishads**: ancient Hindu texts with teachings on self-realization, yoga, meditation, and other concepts
* Introduced key ideas including karma, samsara, moksha, atman, Brahman, maya, koshas, pranas, yoga, meditation, three gunas, dharma, and kundalini
* Formulated doctrines of self-realization, yoga, and meditation
* Discussed concepts of chakras, maya, and five sheaths (koshas)
* Introduced the concept of kundalini energy and its activation through practices like yoga and meditation
* Parallels to ancient Greek philosophy with Plato's discussion of divine seed in brain and kundalini-like soul power embodied in semen, and the caduceus symbol
* Similarities to Egyptian mythology with Osiris ascending to heaven on mother's spinal column and amulet of life passing down spine
* Comparable practices in Chinese Taoism and Mexican followings of Quetzalcoatl 
* **Early Upanishads introduced chakra-related concepts**:
  + Chandogya Upanishad (8th century BCE)
    - First identifiable mention of heart as the seat of consciousness, described as a lotus
    - Heart is the palace of Brahman and contains all elements and aspects of self
    - Nadis related to heart center, one leading to immortality
  + Prashna Upanishad (date unknown)
    - **Formula for number of nadis in body**: 72,000
    - Nadis branch through the diffused breath.

### 101 PRINCIPAL NADIS

**Principal Nadis and Chakras**

- Our bodies contain approximately 727,200,000 nadis (subtle energy channels).
- The Shiva Samhita suggests there might be 3,500,000 nadis in the human body.
- The Yoga Kundalini Upanishad mentions six chakras plus the sahasrara (seventh chakra).

**Yoga Kundalini Upanishad**

- Part of Krishna Yajur Veda.
- Describes six chakras and their functions:
  * Chakras are centers of Shakti, the vital force.
  * Chakras are centers of prana, the fundamental energy of the universe.
  * Chakras are the ladder for Mother Kundalini to identify with the Supreme Brahman.
- Introduces the concept of kundalini as a serpent or mystic fire.
- **Labels seven chakras**: Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddha, Ajña, and Sahasrara.

**Mid-Range Upanishads**

Several Upanishads from 200 BCE to 200 CE provide further insights into chakra lore:

**Darsana Upanishad**

- Part of Sama Veda.
- Describes the chakras, their locations, mantras, bijas, elements, and meditation techniques.

**Yoga Sikha Upanishad**

- Part of Krishna Yajur Veda.
- Imparts the principle of monism (advaita).
- Refers to siddhi or magical powers awakening within chakras as kundalini rises.
- Emphasizes jnana and yoga for salvation.
- Introduces maha yoga, a combination of Mantra, Laya, Hatha, and Raja forms of yoga.

**Yoga-Tattva Upanishad**

- A minor Upanishad in the Advaita canon.
- Discusses seven basic chakras, postures, breathing techniques, foods, sexual practices, bija mantras, and the five elements.
- Introduces the concept of siddhi or occult powers stimulated within the chakras by kundalini.

### Exercise: A Self-Assessment—Which Siddhis Have You Already Activated?

**Exercise: Self-Assessment of Activated Siddhis**

* Assess the state of your siddhis using intuition
* Organized by chakras for simplicity
* Recall experiences with specific abilities related to each chakra
* Decide if you'd like to activate or develop these gifts further

**First Chakra (Hips)**

* Experienced intense physical strength or power
* Insights from five senses
* Ability to sense objects and people's needs
* Understanding the world through physical sensations

**Second Chakra (Abdomen)**

* Emerged with greater understanding about light in the world
* Sensed others' feelings and needs
* Created from emotional imagination
* Embrace these abilities as siddhis

**Third Chakra (Solar Plexus)**

* Recovered from illness through self-healing
* Knew something without knowing why
* Attuned to others' motivations
* Setting fire with your mind and using third chakra's siddhis

**Fourth Chakra (Heart)**

* Advanced knowledge of past, present, and future
* Intuitive abilities (hearing and seeing)
* Out-of-body travel
* Served as a healer through various means
* Embrace these powers of healing in service to love

**Fifth Chakra (Throat)**

* Spiritual knowing seems ancient and universal
* Intuitive sensing or hearing messages
* Good teacher, eloquent writer, persuasive communicator
* Indications of fifth chakra siddhis

**Sixth Chakra (Forehead)**

* Intuitively visual and sense what is true
* Sense the future through this capability
* Sense others' auras
* Use ancient means of divining knowledge or future
* You have sixth chakra siddhis

**Seventh Chakra (Top of Head)**

* Uncharacteristically wise
* Spiritual knowing
* Awareness of otherworldly spirits
* Sense what the Divine wants for yourself or others
* Resist using supernatural powers if it doesn't feel right
* You are gifted with seventh chakra siddhis

**Review and Develop**

* Review your findings
* Identify patterns in abilities
* Develop gifts further if desired
* Return to this exercise for continued growth

### DHYANA BINDU UPANISHAD

**Dhyana Bindu Upanishad**

- **Translation**: "secret teachings in support of meditation"
- **Meaning of bindu**: essence of life, elixir, representation between eyebrows
- Associated with Sama Veda
- Focuses on Brahman and six-fold yoga path
- Represents ultimate sound "om" (pranava)
- Three letters of om linked to elements, colors, places, gunas

**Key Concepts**

- Ultimate sound representing wholeness and Brahman
- Four physical postures, as many as living beings
- Focus on chakras, mantras, bija, etc.

**Brahma Upanishad**

- Part of Yajur Veda
- Mention of four states of consciousness and gods
- Soul occupies navel (waking consciousness - Brahma), heart (dreamless sleep - Vishnu), throat (dreaming - Rudra), head (transcendent state - Akshara)
- Brahma threads through all bodily areas and states as the transcendent state

**Exercise**

- Embrace peace within, outside, and operating upon you
- Generate peace and be a model for others

**Sanskrit Pronunciation**

- Oldest written language related to chakras
- Speaking Sanskrit words aloud connects to ancient wisdom
- Dhyana Bindu Upanishad focuses on ultimate sound "om" (pronounced as "aum")

### VOWELS
**Sanskrit Vowels:**

- Every Sanskrit vowel, except for l.i, has short and long forms.
- Long form is pronounced twice as long as the short form.
- Marked with a bar above it when presented phonetically.

**Vowels:**

- **a**: as in up
- **ā**: father
- **i**: give
- **ī**: see
- **u**: put
- **ū**: rule
- **ri**: written
- **rī**: written (held twice as long)
- **e**: they
- **ai**: aisle
- **o**: go
- **au**: cow
- **l.i**: able

**Consonants:**

- Generally pronounced like English, but with some differences.
- **ph**: as in haphazard (p + h)
- **bh**: as in abhor
- **Retroflex consonants**: touch the roof of the mouth.

**Sanskrit Chakras:**

- Seven primary chakras.
- Pronounce names aloud, lengthening vowels with lines above them.

**Chakras:**

- **First Chakra**: Mūlādhāra
- **Second Chakra**: Svādhisthāna
- **Third Chakra**: Manipūra
- **Fourth Chakra**: Ānāhata
- **Fifth Chakra**: Viśuddha (or "vishudda" in English)
- **Sixth Chakra**: Ājñā
- **Seventh Chakra**: Sahasrāra
        
### Non-Vedic Texts from Ancient Times 

* Non-Vedic Texts on Yoga and Chakras
* Mahabharata (9th-4th century BCE)
  + Longest epic in the world, consists of 100,000 verses
  + Transition between Upanishads and Patanjali's systematized traditions
  + Bhagavad Gita (circa 4th century BCE)
    - Devoted to yoga practices
    - Terms "yoga" and "yogi" occur frequently
    - Includes breathing and concentration techniques
* Yoga Sutra of Patanjali (2nd century BCE)
  + Non-Vedic Sanskrit text based on Vedas
  + Foundational text of Raja yoga
  + Prescribes eight limbs or steps for spiritual growth

**The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga**

1. **Yamas:**
   - Following specific resolutions to lead a truthful life
   - **Self-control**: refraining from harming others
2. **Niyamas:**
   - Cultivating positive virtues
   - Five methods for leading a truthful life
3. **Asanas:**
   - Postures and exercises
   - Refining mind and body for studying truth
4. **Pranayama:**
   - Control of prana (energy)
   - Expansion of individual energy into cosmic energy
5. **Pratyahara:**
   - Displacement of psychic energy from lower planes
   - Sublimation to higher purposes
6. **Dharana:**
   - Fixation of attention on a particular object or idea
   - **Concentration**: the first stage of meditation
7. **Dhyana:**
   - Focusing attention on a spiritual idea in continuous meditation
   - **Unbroken concentration**: contemplation
8. **Samadhi:**
   - Identification of mind with Supreme Consciousness
   - **Deep concentration**: self-realization

* Chakraology matured through Upanishads and Patanjali's Yoga Sutra
* Hindu orthodoxy, tantric philosophy, and yoga practices all influenced chakra knowledge
* Distinct categories of subtle energy structures emerged, including chakras, nadis, koshas, and kundalini.

## 18. FOLLOWING THE LIGHT OF TANTRA AND YOGA

**Tantra and Yoga: A Key Role in Chakra Knowledge**

- Tantra and yoga are spiritual practices with roots in the Indus Valley civilization (3300-1300 BCE)
- All three disciplines (Hinduism, tantra, and yoga) originated in this region and share chakra-related concepts
- Tantra is a style of rituals, attitudes, and meditations that evolved into a formal body of knowledge by the 5th century CE
- Tantra means "loom," representing a thread connecting various spiritual practices
- Tantra has influenced Hindu, Sikh, Bon, Buddhist, and Jain religions, spreading mainly through Buddhism to Asia and the Western Hemisphere
- Tantra's main goal is enabling enlightenment through self-awakening
- Chakras are an intrinsic part of most tantric practices

**What Is Tantra?**

- Tantra is a set of ideas, practices, and rituals that aim for spiritual growth and enlightenment
- Tantra stems from the Tantras, texts outlining divine teachings and practices
- A tantric text must contain great knowledge about the principles of reality (tattva) and sacred mantras, aiming for liberation (tra)
- Tantra is a way to connect with the divine godhead that creates and sustains the universe

**Common Tantric Practices**

- Initiation by a guru or wise teacher
- Mastering practices through sadhana (practice)
- Spiritual attainment called siddhi (perfection) or miraculous powers
- Techniques include yoga practices, mudras, mantras, mandalas, yantras, deity identification, visualization, and chakra/nadi clearing
- Tantra is considered a gospel to help deal with the Kali Yuga era

**History of Tantra**

- Ancient origins in India
- **Development through various periods**: Gupta (4th-6th centuries CE), Kalachuri and Pallava (7th-9th centuries CE), Pala and Sena (10th-12th centuries CE), and later periods (13th century CE onwards)
- Tantra's influence on Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and other religions

**Tantric Texts**

- Many tantric texts have contributed to the development of chakra wisdom
- **Some notable texts include**: Agama Tantras, Kalika Purana, Kularnava Tantra, and Vijnana Bhairava Tantra
- These texts outline specialized initiation and purification ceremonies, mantras, yantras, and other practices for spiritual growth

### Central to the all tantric ideology is Lord Shiva

**Tantric Ideology**
 
* **Central figure**: Lord Shiva, grantor of tantric knowledge 
* **Consort**: Shakti (Parvati), disseminator of truths to humankind 
* **Kundalini**: Shakti energy, awakened through chakras 
* **Merging of Shakti and Shiva in seventh chakra**: full awakening

**Tantric Practice**
 
* **Three stages**: purification, elevation, affirmation of true identity

**Purification**

* Cleansing blocks or toxins
* Involves diets, asanas, exercises, abstinence, chakra medicine

**Elevation**

* Right action, speech, attitude, breathing
* Access supernatural through mundane
* Direct prana for personal and spiritual goals

**Affirmation of True Self**

* Realize divine nature within
* Tantric rituals help access the divine
* Identify self with deities (Hindu or Buddhist)

**Deities**

* Hindu gods and goddesses emphasized, especially Shiva and Shakti 
* **Worshipped through various means**: dancing, singing, sexual practices, secret rituals

**Sexuality in Tantra**

* Divides tantric sects from modern perspective
* Used for spiritual growth and connection with the divine
* Can include ordinary rituals with added activities (defecation, feasting, sex)

### A History of Tantra

**A History of Tantra**

* Unique Hindu tradition with various associations and schools 
* **Origin stories**: dialogues between Shiva and Shakti, overheard by yogis
* Considered shruti or revealed scripture
* Oral transmission through symbols in arts
* Written tantras called Shastras, latest of Hindu sacred writings
* Tantric practices developed parallel to Hinduism based on Vedas
* Influenced Buddhism and other religions 
* **Three main tantric traditions**: Dakshina (sattva), Vama (rajas), Madhyama (tamas) 
* **Divided into three groups based on deity worship**: Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti

**Vishnu Tantra (left-handed)**

* Centered in Bengal, India
* Focuses on achieving spirituality through five senses, including sexual love
* Considered left-handed tantra

**Shaiva Tantra**

* Monistic, idealistic, and transcendental
* Goal is to merge into Shiva or universal consciousness
* Kashmir-based

**Shakta Tantra**

* Focuses on worship of Shakti, the Divine Mother
* Roots likely present 22,000 years ago

**Common Elements**

* Ritual matter and instruction in yoga and philosophy
* Sacred sex mentioned frequently (literal or allegorical)
* Tantric texts based on earlier works and occult studies
* Transmitted secretly from teacher to student until written down between 6th and 11th centuries CE.

### Our Subtle Body Emerges

**Tantra and the Chakras**

- Some tantric texts are lost or recently discovered, contributing to understanding of chakras
- Tantric yoga described in Puranas, Agamas, Samhitas, and Tantras
- Involves use of subtle body, including chakras and nadis
- Penetration through meditation brings enlightenment
- Intercourse encouraged for flow of substances through the body
- Chakras used as tools in internal or external alchemical processes
- Emerged as "tantric medicine" focusing on healing split between subtle and physical body

**Tantric Yoga and Subtle Bodies**

- Tantra describes a form of yoga called tantric yoga
- Distinction between physical, subtle, and causal bodies in trika school of tantra
- Siddha Siddhanta Paddhata highlights six chakras called pindas
- Tantric yogins and yoginis used chakras to intensify experiences

**Divisions of Tantra**

- **Two main paths**: left-hand (vamachara) and right-hand (dakshinachara)
- Left-hand path uses actual elemental sacraments, right-hand path uses symbolic alternatives
- Left-hand tantra sometimes called "black tantra" or "black magic," right-hand tantra "white tantra" or "white magic"
- Kaula, mishra, and samaya are three schools of tantra
  - **Kaula**: external rituals including sex, primarily left-handed
  - **Mishra**: external and internal techniques
  - **Samaya**: entirely internal
- Core aim of left-hand tantra practices is physical union of man and woman, representing Shiva and Shakti
- Neo-tantra focuses on raising chi or kundalini through chakras for personal growth and sexual experience enhancement.

### Avalon Spotlights Three Texts

- **Three key texts for Western chakra experts**:
  - The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe)
  - Sat Chakra Nirupana and Paduka Panchakra (Laya yoga texts)
- These texts are foundational resources for chakra and energetic information in the West.
- **The Serpent Power introduces seven chakras**: muladhara, svadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddha, ajña, and sahasrara.

**Vedic and Tantric Traditions**

- Vedic (Brahman) and tantric traditions are interrelated.
- Both emphasize the pursuit of enlightenment for all individuals.
- Tantra is a sramana tradition, which emerged as a renunciation movement against the strict regulations of the Vedic scripture.
- **Similarities between Vedic and tantric traditions**:
  - Emphasis on consciousness
  - Deities as powers of nature and human-like
  - Emphasis on Shiva and Shakti (Mother Goddess)
  - Use of Sanskrit mantras and seed sounds in chakras
  - Reflection of cosmic rhythms
- Both traditions teach the awakening of inner light and energy through the chakras.
- **Differences between Vedic and tantric paths**:
  - Vedic is often seen as patriarchal, structured, and associated with Aryans.
  - Tantra is often seen as personal, matriarchal, and associated with indigenous Dravidians.
- Both traditions have similar practices, including the use of intoxicants, meat, sacred sex, and rituals for gaining wealth, fertility, and victory over enemies.

### A Sketch of Yoga

**Yoga:**

- Emerged around 5000-7000 years ago in Indus civilization
- **Spiritual discipline asking essential questions**: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?

**Vedic Yoga (archaic times to 500 BCE):**

- Connected with ritual and sacrifice
- Practitioners focused on transcending limitations of ordinary mind for vision or experience of greater reality

**Pre-Classical Yoga (500 BCE to second century CE):**

- Linked with Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata
- Origin of Karma yoga (path of right action) and Jnana yoga (path of knowledge)
- Buddhism embraced meditation, physical activities, and tantric practices

**Classical Yoga (second century CE onward):**

- Introduced eightfold path in Yoga Sutra of Patanjali
- **Dualistic approach**: consciousness and matter as two different realities
- **Goal**: restore purity to spirit through dualistic practices
- Includes kriya yoga (path of transmutive action)

**Postclassical Yoga:**

- Great adepts explored body's potential for rejuvenation and longevity
- **Hatha yoga (ninth or tenth centuries CE)**: focuses on physicality, magical powers, and transformation through chakras
- **Tantra yoga (fourth century CE to present)**: rejects Vedas, emphasizes devotion to goddess, body as source of enlightenment, uniting dualistic selves, and celebrating the physical body

**Modern Yoga (1893 to present):**

- Swami Vivekananda introduced yoga to West at Parliament of Religions in Chicago
- **Numerous teachers emerged**: Paramahansa Yogananda, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indra Devi, Shrila Prabhupada, Swami Sivananda, Yogi Bhajan, and others
- **Various yoga styles**: Hatha, Tantra, Integral, Jnana, Mantra, Siddha, and more.

### The Science of Subtle Energy 

- We are made of "stardust" from a scientific perspective
- Chakras are lenses for sensing the world from a metaphysical viewpoint
- Understanding energy role in chakra medicine
- **Two forms of energy**: physical (Apple Physics) and subtle (Orange Physics)

**Physical Energy (Apple Physics)**

- Classical physics, governed by Newton's laws
- Chakras are physical organs anchored in the body
- **Interact with physiological systems**: neurotransmitters, hormones, central nervous system

**Subtle Energy (Orange Physics)**

- Best understood through quantum physics
- Luminous energy bodies around us
- Scientific knowledge built layer by layer
- **Concepts**: quarks, entanglement, electromagnetic fields, frequency

**Scientific Figures**

- Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein
- William Reich, Nikola Tesla, Grant McFetridge, Kim Bonghan

**Kundalini and Science**

- Kundalini Shakti's climb through chakras explained scientifically
- Complexity and fascination of this holy mission
- Uniting physical and subtle energies

**Importance of Poetry in Science**

- Scientists are poets, focusing on celestial qualities of chakras
- Remember the poetry of the chakras above all.

## 19. YOUR ENERGY PRIMER: UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL AND SUBTLE ENERGY (AND A FEW MATTERS IN BETWEEN)

- To understand chakras, we need to comprehend their energy source.
- Everything is made of energy, which explains physical reality and subtle structures like chakras.
- Energy definitions vary, with modern science continually updating our understanding.

**Generalized Definition of Energy:**

- Suitable for both physical and subtle perspectives.
- Energy is at work everywhere.

**Classical Newtonian Science (Apple Physics):**

- Based on observable phenomena.
- Focuses on macroscopic objects and their interactions.

**Quantum Physics (Orange Physics):**

- Describes the microscopic world.
- Fundamentally different from classical physics.

**Connection between Classical and Quantum Physics:**

- Two distinct approaches to reality.
- Blurred lines between them.

**Contemporary Thinker Dr. Michael Scroggins:**

- His ideas bridge physical and subtle energy.
- Could lead to significant advancements in medicine and science.

**Levels of Reality:**

- Emerged from mental giants' work.
- Contemporary scientists explore subtle energies.

**Invitation for Further Study:**

- Encouraged to review the fundamentals.
- Write in the margins or add pages for personal discoveries.

### CRITICAL DEFINITIONS

**Key Terms and Concepts**

- **Antiparticle/Antimatter**: Every particle with mass has an oppositely charged counterpart (same mass, opposite charge, equal spin). Particles and antiparticles can annihilate each other, producing photons.
  - **Electron**: Primary carrier of electricity in solids; negatively charged subatomic particle.
  - **Positron**: Antiparticle of an electron; positively charged.
  - **Proton**: Positively charged subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom.
  - **Antiproton**: Antiparticle of a proton.
  - **Neutron**: Neutral subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom.
  - **Antineutron**: Antiparticle of a neutron.

- **Atom**: Fundamental piece of matter that cannot be broken down using chemical means, composed of subatomic particles or fields.

- **Electromagnetic Field (EMF)**: A field with both magnetic and electrical properties surrounding objects with an electric charge; interacts with charged objects within the field.

- **Electromagnetic Radiation**: Self-propagating blend of electrical and magnetic fields.
  - **Electromagnetic Spectrum**: All wavelengths of light; range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

- **Energy**: Force required to create movement; information that moves in this chapter.

- **Field**: A function assigning a value to every point in space, exerting force in occupied areas.
  - **Electromagnetic Field**: Fluctuates rapidly and surrounds objects with an electric charge.
  - **Gravitational Field**: Produced by mass and exerts a force on other masses.

- **Force**: Push or pull on an object resulting from interaction between objects.

- **Frequency**: Repetition rate of a periodic vibration per unit time; often expressed as hertz (Hz) or cycles per second.

- **Light**: Wave of alternating electrical and magnetic fields, characterized by frequency and wavelength.
  - **Inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength**: higher frequency = shorter wavelength.

- **Magnetic Field**: Produced by moving electrical charges or a magnet and the quantum movement or spin of elementary particles.

- **Matter**: Anything that can be touched and has mass or weight; everything in the universe except energy.

- **Medium**: Substance carrying a wave; not the wave itself.

- **Molecule**: Two or more atoms chemically bonded together; smallest unit of a chemical compound participating in a chemical reaction.

- **Neutron**: Neutral subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom.

- **Nucleus**: Center of an atom containing protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons.

- **Particle**: Small, localized object carrying properties like volume or mass; possibly just quantum excitations or movements of fields.

- **Photon**: Fundamental unit of light, carries a charge and has no mass; exhibits both wave and particle properties.

- **Proton**: Positively charged subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom.

- **Quantum**: Smallest amount of a physical property, such as energy or momentum.

- **Vacuum**: Space containing very little matter.

- **Vibration**: Oscillation or repetitive motion around an equilibrium position.

- **Wave**: Periodic disturbance moving through a medium from one location to another; transports energy, not matter.

- **Wavelength**: Distance from peak of one wave to the next.

### A PRIMER ON ENERGY: TOWARD A WORKING DEFINITION

**Energy as Information**

* Energy is a force that accomplishes work, but for this text, energy is defined as information that moves
* Information and energy are one and the same (Paul Pearsall's The Heart’s Code)
* Everything contains and emanates instructional and intentional information
* Chakras respond to and store this information

**Vibration and Frequency**

* Absolutely everything vibrates or moves, creating unique waves or frequencies
* Vibration is one full oscillation; frequency is the periodic speed at which something vibrates
* Our five senses detect gross vibrations, but chakras sense subtle ones
* Vibration may control bodily health and function at a molecular level (Dr. Colin W. F. McClare)

**Classical Physics (Macro Perspective)**

* Sir Isaac Newton's explanation of weighted physical objects and their properties
* Classical physics describes the universe from a macro perspective
* Energy with mass or physicality is still information in constant motion
* Chakras have been measured and found to fit within this framework

**Orange Physics (Micro Perspective)**

* Deals with the micro-universe and quanta, the smallest packets of energy
* Pure energy has a field around it; the more vibrating energy is compressed, the more intense the vibration
* In quantum land, we find chakras most comfortable due to their magical qualities
* Energy exists as potential but not "real" matter until it's measured or turns into matter in a unified field or subtle matrix.

### THE APPLE UNIVERSE: CLASSICAL PHYSICS

- **Materialistic view of reality**: "what you see is what you get"
- Within the confines of the apple universe, objects have definite properties and behave according to natural laws
- Sir Isaac Newton's influence on this way of thinking
  * Discoveries in science and mathematics
  * Associated with apples and discovery of gravity

**Key Concepts from the Apple Universe**
 
* **Materialistic View of Reality**: What is tangible and observable defines reality 
* **Natural Laws**: Energy is controlled by laws that determine where, what, and how to be 
* **Gravity**: Fundamental knowledge introduced by Newton's apple discovery

**Chakras in the Apple Universe**

- Chakras manage body parts, emotions, and everyday reality
- Incorporate tangible and ethereal aspects
- Intersect with heavenly spheres

**Understanding Chakras**

- Important to understand natural world as well as mystical spheres
- Chakras exist within the framework of classical physics principles

### Level One: Fundamental Concepts

**Level One: Fundamental Concepts**

* Universe is composed of particles and waves
* Particles communicate by transferring energy 
* **Waves**: disturbance in a medium, transfer energy, function under superposition principle
* Classical fields vs. quantum fields
* Fields are physical quantities that exert influence at each point in space and time
* Waves can form fields, vice versa
* Particles may be considered as vibrating fields
* Space-time is not fixed but responds to deeper levels of reality or subtle energies

**Particles**

* Essential units of the universe
* Vibrate in different directions, speeds, and intensities
* Communicate by transferring energy

**Waves**

* Disturbance in a medium through which energy is transferred
* Can be a snapshot or single cycle
* Function under superposition principle
* Waves can form fields, vice versa

**Fields**

* Physical quantity that exerts the same influence at each point in space and time
* Also called forces 
* **Classical fields**: extend throughout all of space, study large bodies 
* **Quantum fields**: exist in superposition states, examine minute affairs of the universe

**Particles vs. Fields**

* Many contemporary scientists believe particles are actually fields
* Fields can penetrate space-time
* Space-time responds to deeper levels of reality or subtle energies

**Chakras**

* Composed of particles that are extending waves and fields
* Stretch through space-time, serving us on every level

### Level Two: The “Charge” of Relationships 

- Physical reality is composed of particles, waves, and fields
- Atoms are the largest observable parts of matter, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons
- Protons and electrons have charge (positive and negative respectively), which creates bonding and electricity
- Neutrons are neutral and do not have charge
- Electrical charge is vital in energetics and can create electricity
- Our bodies and kundalini are electrical generators, and life comes down to electricity or charge
- Charge connects particles and creates bonding through attraction to oppositely charged mates
- **Ancient Hindu belief**: chakras are plugged into the spine and brain, our electrically charged central nervous system
- Electrons generate electrical charge by jumping from atom to atom due to an electrical field
- Magnetic fields are generated by the spin of electrons or conduction of electricity
- Every cell in the body generates electricity and produces magnetic fields
- Chakras are electromagnetic fields, producing magnetic, electrical, and electromagnetic fields

### Level Three: Light and Sound 

* **Make decisions based on two main factors**: light and sound 
* **Light**:
  * Radiant or electromagnetic energy produced by shifting electrons
  * Composed of spectrums of light, chakras operate on bands or frequencies of light
  * Physical body functions due to light, a form of electricity
  * Produced by oscillating disturbances in the electromagnetic field (EMF)
  * Electromagnetic spectrum features arrays of light at different frequencies
  * Core unit is the photon, a subatomic particle that holds no mass or charge and travels at the speed of light
  * Ions carry messages across bodily systems using electrical charges
  * Bodies emit light through ionizing radiation and biophotons 
* **Sound**:
  * Vibrations that travel through a medium (air, water, solid)
  * Frequency determines pitch, amplitude determines loudness
  * Can interact with matter and cause physical effects (e.g., resonance, standing waves)

**Light**

* Electrons produce radiant or electromagnetic energy (light) when shifting between shells
* Light is a form of electricity that functions in the body
* Light is produced by oscillating disturbances in the electromagnetic field (EMF)
* Electromagnetic spectrum features arrays of light at different frequencies
* Visible light is only a small section of the electromagnetic spectrum
* Core unit of light is the photon, a subatomic particle that holds no mass or charge and travels at the speed of light
* Bodies emit light through ionizing radiation and biophotons
* Ions convey information in electrical charges and carry messages across bodily systems
* Ionization is the shifting of electrons from one atomic shell to another, creating positive or negative ions
* Negative ions form when an electron attaches to a neutral molecule, emitting a photon (light)
* Human body emits relatively high-intensity radiation and extremely low-intensity light radiation (biophotons)
* Biophotons are coherent, laser-like light emissions sensitive to environmental changes and help regulate reactions to the environment
* Biophoton field around a living being and even emanating from its DNA
* Light is malleable and can be converted into other forms of energy

**Sound**

* Vibrations that travel through a medium (air, water, solid)
* Frequency determines pitch, amplitude determines loudness
* Can interact with matter and cause physical effects (e.g., resonance, standing waves)

### THE SOUND OF AN APPLE FALLING

* Subtle structures equate with light and sound
* Mechanical energy and Newtonian terms for sound
* Consists of waves that travel through air or other media
* Shorter wavelength = higher pitch, longer wavelength = lower pitch
* Amplitude determines volume (loudness)
* Frequency measured in hertz (Hz), loudness in decibels (dB)
* Humans can hear frequencies between 20-20,000 Hz, loud sounds above 120 dB can harm ears
* Atoms generate sound waves through motion and pressure changes
* Every object generates unique wave structures or fields (light or sound)
* Contemporary research records sounds from cells and uses them for analysis
* Chakra medicine uses sound to attune chakras
* DNA may involve sound and can be reprogrammed with language, sound, and intention
* Information is stored in the environment around DNA and can be transferred through quantum means and nonlocally
* Living tissue responds positively to a certain range of light and sound, other ranges can be harmful.

**Sound Waves and Frequency**

* Sound waves travel through air or other media
* Shorter wavelength = higher pitch, longer wavelength = lower pitch
* Amplitude determines volume (loudness)
* Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz), loudness in decibels (dB)
* Humans can hear frequencies between 20-20,000 Hz
* Sounds louder than 120 dB can harm ears

**Atoms and Sound Waves**

* Atoms generate sound waves through motion and pressure changes
* Every object generates unique wave structures or fields (light or sound)

**Contemporary Research on Sound**

* Researchers record sounds from cells, distinguish between normal and cancerous cells
* Chakra medicine uses sound to attune chakras

**DNA and Sound**

* DNA may involve sound and can be reprogrammed with language, sound, and intention
* Information is stored in the environment around DNA and can be transferred through quantum means and nonlocally.

**Effects of Light and Sound on Living Tissue**

* Living tissue responds positively to a certain range of light and sound
* Frequencies above 11 Hz create agitation, high-voltage power lines give off 50-60 Hz
* Extremely low-frequency (ELF) waves can shift consciousness downward and literally dumb people down.

### THE SOUND THAT CREATED LIFE ON EARTH

**Hindu Creation Stories and Sound**

- Emphasis on sound as the primal vibration creating life in the universe
- Om is considered the primal sound from which everything material manifested
- Each chakra resonates with its own specific tone or mantra
- Sounds are vital instruments in chakra medicine

**Scientific Perspective on Sound and Creation**

- Some scientists propose that sound, not light, was the first generative force behind creation
- **Cymatics**: scientific phenomenon where sound waves excite liquids and solids to create patterns and images
- Low frequency sounds, especially near hydrothermal vents, can hypothetically create "sonic scaffolding" for life

**Cymatics and Chakra Practices**

- Cymatics may explain the use of shapes or symbols in ancient and contemporary mystical and healing practices
- Broadband white noise penetrated water, filtering out high frequencies to leave low frequency sounds
- Low frequency sounds are mathematically imbued with the phi ratio and can create organized structures for life

**Discoveries Supporting Sound's Role in Creation**

- Discovery of pure tones in microscopic bubbles near hydrothermal vents in 1996
- Bubbles act as resonators that tune out all frequencies except those that resonate with them
- Low frequency sounds attract elements and create cymatic scaffolding necessary for life.

### LAWS OF CLASSICAL PHYSICS

- Substantiated by natural laws, despite being challenged by subtle energy
- **Newton's laws of motion and gravity**:
 * **Law of Gravity**: objects are attracted to each other or another mass
 * **Laws of Motion**:
    **First law**: objects resist changes in motion
    **Second law**: more force required for heavier objects
    **Third law**: every action has an equal and opposite reaction
- **Three laws of thermodynamics**:
 * **First law**: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or changed form
 * **Second law**: entropy (disorder) increases in a closed system
 * **Third law**: entropy approaches a constant value as temperature approaches absolute zero
- **Einstein's contributions**:
 * **Theory of relativity**: laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers
  * Speed of light is constant in a vacuum, regardless of observer's motion
  * Massive objects distort space-time and create gravity
- **Classical physics limitations**:
  * Space and time are malleable
  * Time can shift
  * Subtle energy can change the past, future, and perceptions of the present
  * Space-time isn't consistent (ex. black holes creating gravitational waves)

### THE ORANGE UNIVERSE: QUANTA AND MORE

* **The Orange Universe**: understanding through quantum physics and chakra medicine

**Quantum Physics:**
- Singular term for plural "quanta" meaning discrete amount
- Subatomic particles with wave qualities, challenging immutable laws of reality
- Discrete units that can behave as both particles and waves
- **Two types of subatomic particles**: elementary and composite
 * **Elementary**: electrons, quarks, no substructure
 * **Composite**: protons, neutrons, have substructure
- Thirty-six confirmed fundamental particles, including antiparticles
  * Twelve carry forces (photon, gluon)
  * Twenty-four matter particles (neutrinos, quarks)
- New discoveries and information added regularly

**Laws of the Orange Universe:**

**Quantum Mechanics:**
- **Copenhagen Interpretation**: particle is only real when observed
- Particles can jump from one state to another (wave to particle and vice versa)
- Reality becomes "fixed" when observed, creating wave functions or ghosts
- **Uncertainty Principle**: cannot know both position and momentum at the same time
  * Operate with possibilities, not exactitudes
- **Spin rule**: all particles spin, but can't determine both speed and spin direction upon measurement
- Electron can be in multiple places or spinning in multiple directions at once, observation selects placement

**Entanglement:**
- Two or more objects interrelate, affecting each other even when separated by great distances or dimensions.

### KEY FIGURES IN ENERGY HISTORY—WHO GOT US HERE? 

**Key Figures in Energy History**

- ***Wilhelm Reich* (1897-1957)**: Discovered orgone energy, a pulsating force in nature that penetrates matter and creates magnetism and electrostatic charges.
  - Orgone energy responds to and can create L-fields and T-fields.

**Late 19th Century to Mid-20th Century**

- ***Dr. Harold Burr***: Conducted research on "Life-fields" or "L-fields," which are subtle energy fields underlying measurable electromagnetic fields.
  - L-fields organize living tissue and can be altered by shamans and chakra workers.
  - Added the concept of T-fields, which might be more magnetic and convey thoughts.

**1930s**

- ***Dr. Royal Rife* and *Dr. Elmer Nemes***: Known for creating microscopes that interacted with subtle energy.
  - **Rife's Universal Microscope**: Discovered disease results from energetic fields surrounding bodies; identified "mortal oscillatory rate" to kill microbes.
  - **Nemescope**: Showed lines of energy force between nucleatic cores, revealing subtle energies linking living forms.

**Late 19th Century to Mid-20th Century**

- ***Nikola Tesla***: Inventor and futurist who discovered high-frequency electrical devices, including the Tesla coil.
  - **Tesla coil**: Unleashed subtle energy or ether through powerful electrical fields.
  - **Fouda's interpretation**: Subtle energy is a physical electrical interaction based on geometrical shapes and living beings.

**Mid-to Late 20th Century**

- ***Trevor J. Constable***: Named orgone energy "chemical ether" and related it to nature.
  - Orgone energy responds to geometric forms and structures, manifested according to the golden ratio.

**Late 20th Century**

- ***Marcel Vogel***: Devoted life to finding uses for crystals that store and amplify information.
  - Crystals respond to subtle energy and can transfer data.

**Early 21st Century**

- ***Dr. Bjorn Nordenström***: Discovered a secondary electrical circuit in the body, interacting with but separate from the central nervous system.
  - Believed this system includes meridians and acupoints, governs mental activity promoting healing, and interacts with subtle energy.

### EXPLAINING SUBTLE ENERGY

**Subtle Energy:**

- Form of energy that is less measurable than physical energy
- Information that moves and can shift physical reality
- Demonstrated through people like Mahendra Trivedi

**Mahendra Trivedi:**

- Administers "blessings" with significant effects on physical reality
- Increased seed germination and survival rates in crops
- Substantial yield increase in chickpeas
- Altered organic and inorganic materials, DNA

**Historical Figures:**

- Jesus Christ, Buddha, prophets, gurus, sages, J.R. Newton, Dr. Yan Xin, John of God, Dr. Ibrahim Kharim
- Performed "mini miracles" throughout history

**Subtle Energy's Effects:**

- Able to effect change in physical reality through quantum means

**Theories about Subtle Energy:**

1. **Information Theory:**
   - Subtle energy is a form of information that interacts with matter
2. **Quantum Physics:**
   - Subtle energy operates at the quantum level
3. **Chi/Prana:**
   - Subtle energy is life force or vital energy
4. **Akashic Records:**
   - Subtle energy is a field of consciousness that holds all knowledge
5. **Electromagnetic Fields:**
   - Subtle energy is an electromagnetic field

**Chakra Medicine Experts:**

- Should be familiar with various theories to explain their work

### THE MANY WORLDS THEORY

**Many Worlds Theory**

* Subtle energy is a product of many worlds theory
* Every choice creates a new reality with a collapsed wave function
* Entropy is shifted into alternative realities
* Innumerable branches of reality exist 
* **Personal level**: once we make a decision, another part of us continues in the nonselected reality
* Reality can be accessed by shifting perception through biofield or matrix

**Pilot Wave Theory and Supersonic Nature of Energy**

* Pilot wave theory suggests a pilot wave accompanies all physical waves
* Superluminal (faster than the speed of light)
* Determines where a particle or photon will appear
* Reality is nonlocal and interconnected at all levels
* Consciousness can shift the pilot wave
* Quantum entanglement supports this theory 
* **Caveat**: subtle energy must move faster than the speed of light
* Some studies suggest energy can move faster than the speed of light

**Chakras in a Universe of Entanglement**

* Chakras convert one form of energy to another
* Energy can move faster than the speed of light
* Subtle anatomy, including chakras, can read this energy

**Connective Tissue Theory**

* Connective tissue houses meridian system
* Made of fibers in crystalline arrays
* Generates electrical fields when compressed or stretched
* Subatomic particles move quickly through it, creating quantum waves
* Meridians are the most important connecting nodes
* Organisms are composites of electromagnetic fields
* Cells convey information electrically
* Blood vessels and meridians are major players in communication

### THE VIRTUAL NATURE OF THE VACUUM AND THE ROLE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

* The vacuum is not empty, but filled with virtual particles (paired electron-positron or quark-antiquark)
* Virtual particles are ephemeral and exist for a short time
* Vacuum fluctuations lead to the question of whether matter is made of vacuum fluctuations 
* **Energy from virtual particles can become material particles through various mechanisms**: Higgs field or zero-point energy
* The Higgs field creates mass out of quantum vacuum in the form of virtual Higgs bosons
* Zero-point energy carries infinite possibilities and assumes form when manifested
* Subtle energy, including zero-point energy, can be at least partially directed by human consciousness
* Consciousness is linked to perspective, subjective in nature
* Thousands of studies document the effects of consciousness on physical reality
* Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory (PEAR Lab) research shows that mind can alter objects, people, and events despite time and space separation.

**Virtual Particles:**
- Exist for a short time in pairs (electron-positron or quark-antiquark)
- Ephemeral particles filling the vacuum
- Fluctuations of vacuum energy
- Can transform into material particles through Higgs field or zero-point energy

**Vacuum:**
- Not empty, filled with virtual particles and their fluctuations
- Mass is linked to vacuum fluctuations

**Subtle Energy:**
- Linked to virtual particles and their properties
- Can be at least partially directed by human consciousness

**Consciousness:**
- Linked to perspective, subjective in nature
- Influences what appears from the vacuum or zero-point energy
- Thousands of studies document its effects on physical reality.

### MY PERSONAL “MANY SPEEDS THEORY” IN RELATION TO CHAKRAS
**Personal "Many Speeds Theory" in Relation to Chakras**

- Subtle energies move faster than the speed of light, while physical energies travel slower
- Chakras link consciousness to process and communicate various speeds of energy
- Lijun Wang's experiment at NEC Research Institute disproved Einstein's theory about matter moving faster than the speed of light in a vacuum
- Quantum logic explains that massless energy can't gain more mass as it "speeds up" and quantum entanglement proves timeless connection between energies
- Consciousness selects blueprints from nonphysical fields, which appear in physical reality, making subtle energy faster than the speed of light
- Chakras act as libraries containing blueprints for manifestation; Dr. Amit Goswami calls original blueprints morphogenetic field
- Chakras contain and connect with all planes of reality, including causal energy, which exists before conception and serves as a template for the subtle body system
- Reality and energy graduate from lowest to highest order within each chakra and in relation to the body

**Gross Level (Slow-moving Energy)**

- Associated with physical organs and activities
- Affects health of nerve plexus, endocrine gland, bodily area, thoughts, and feelings

**Subtle Level (Faster-than-the-speed-of-light Energy)**

- Interacts with psychic energies
- Spins what doesn't exist into existence and vice versa
- Highly interactive, operating through fields, channels, and energy centers
- Links us with everything and everyone in the universe

**Causal Level (Faster-than-the-speed-of-light Energy)**

- Reaches toward higher spiritual principles
- Elevates gross and subtle experiences to a more spiritual state
- Operates as an intermediary between gross, subtle, and causal bodies of intelligence
- Converts energy of one dimension into another

**Chakras as a "Family" with Gross, Subtle, and Causal Members**

- Three energies represent the function and potential of every chakra
- Our job is to evolve through these three stages in each chakra's arena
- Moves us toward an awareness of higher realms and our higher selves

### VARIOUS NAMES FOR SUBTLE ENERGY
 
* **Subtle energy**: various names for unified energy that underlies traditional electromagnetic vectors 
* **Zero-point energy**: particles appearing materially and then disappearing back into potential 
* **Scalar energy**: acts like a field, filling environment and transferring energy into objects 
* **Vector fields**: associate a vector to every region in space 
* **Magnetic vector fields**: mediate between subtle energy fields and electromagnetic world (William Tiller) 
* **Tensor and spinor fields**: mathematical objects related to mass and spin 
* **Torsion fields**: new force discovered by Nikolay Kozyrev, created by mass and spinning particles 
* **Torsion waves**: particle radiation resulting from sudden spin changes
* Direction of twist predicts entropy increase or decrease at origin
* Information disappears from one place and appears elsewhere due to torsion fields
* Torsion fields create patterns and encode information
* Subtle energy work uses shapes to produce change
* Particle shifts can create torsion fields, but patterns can also invoke shifts
* Physicists exploring idea that energies respond to bundles of properties (color, shape)
* One thought or feeling (or color or shape) could spin a new reality
* Average person can use this knowledge to make a difference by organizing energy towards desired reality.

### PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: A BRAVE NEW MODEL

**Unified Theory of Energy (Scroggins' Theories)**

- Dr. C. Michael Scroggins presented a theory connecting classical and quantum physics, focusing on subtle energy
- All molecules share a common radial size with energy and mass
- Radial size is the square of any item's p r (frequency)
- Matter is always an exact size and rides inside an exact frequency
- Frequency determines what appears in physical reality
- Universe began as compressed frequencies, matter formed from combining masses
- Reality becomes concrete when traveling frequencies "match" molecules
- Energy travels across and through frequencies
- Humans are a large compilation of varying structural masses bound by critical mass overlaps
- **Observer theory**: Perception is based on frequency activation
- **Dimensional phasing**: Objects can change appearance or properties based on activated frequencies

**Applications of Scroggins' Theories**

- Transform chakra and allopathic medicine
- Transportation
- Nutrition

**Molecules and Frequencies**

- All molecules share a common radial size with energy and mass
- Radial size is the square of any item's p r (frequency)
- Matter is always an exact size, riding inside an exact frequency
- Frequency determines what appears in physical reality

**Creation of the Universe**

- Universe began as compressed frequencies
- Matter formed from combining masses with similar properties
- Reality becomes concrete when traveling frequencies "match" molecules

**Frequencies and Perception**

- **Observer theory**: Perception is based on frequency activation
- **Dimensional phasing**: Objects can change appearance or properties based on activated frequencies

**Energy and Frequencies**

- Energy travels across and through frequencies
- Humans are a large compilation of varying structural masses bound by critical mass overlaps
- All matter in the universe interrelates, creating a "butterfly effect"

### Things in the physical universe don’t change as often as would be implied

* The physical universe doesn't change often due to everything being coded
* Molecules are just the surface of a vast ocean of movement
* Distorted codes create gaps where subtle energy tries to fill in
* Subtle energy interacts with frequencies to create material change
* Our bodies have frequency set points for various systems
* Frequency variations activate indicators at chromosomal and molecular levels
* Intention activates like-matter frequencies across the universe
* Gaps are open areas where frequency exists but no molecules are being vibrated into being
* Gaps allow interaction, creation, and love
* Subtle energy works to fill in gaps and rebalance systems
* Chakras and other energetic organs are interfaces for reading frequencies and activating physical reactions
* Dr. Scroggins' research enables assessment of imbalances and determination of solutions based on molecular patterns and frequencies.

**Important Concepts:**
- Coding in the physical universe
- Molecular structures and vibrations
- Distorted codes and gaps
- Subtle energy and frequency interaction
- Frequency set points and variations
- Intention and like-matter activation
- Gaps as points of interaction
- Chakras and energetic organs.

### THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL: SUBTLE LEVELS BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL AND HEAVENLY

- More layers of reality exist beyond physical and subtle ones
- Subtle energy is immeasurable and contains all other nonmeasurable energy
- Dozens of subtle energy experts and spiritual systems have postulated sublayers of invisible reality

**Important Ideas About Subtle Levels of Energy**

- We are multidimensional beings composed of a spectrum of energetic frequencies
- Concepts apply to all living beings, earth, objects in the cosmos, and the multiverse

**Historical Development of Subtle Reality Concepts**

*Koshas (Ancient Hindu Practices)*: Five sheaths of reality from most physical to most supreme: physical, energy, mental, wisdom, and bliss.

*Ancient Systems* (Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Hebrews): Structured model composed of energetic and spiritual bodies.

*Modern Systems* (Freemasons, Theosophists, Neo-Theosophists, Rudolf Steiner, Barbara Ann Brennan): Key chakra medicine concepts such as energetic anatomy, sacred geometry, and subtle levels of reality.

**Subtle Reality Levels Over Time**

*Paracelsus*: Material body made from earth elements and a sidereal body that accesses an illuminating light.

*Manly Hall*: Five bodies: physical, etheric and vital, emotional, vehicles of the concrete, and intuitive sheath.

*H.P. Blavatsky*: Seven planes of reality from densest to highest, four linked to cosmic consciousness.

*Max Heindel*: Seven worlds revealing chakras as seven red roses.

*Alice Bailey*: Planes as physical, emotional (astral), mental, intuitional, spiritual, monadic, and divine.

*Charles Leadbeater*: Seven planes of existence and related energetic bodies.

*Rudolf Steiner*: Several sheaths of energy interpenetrating the human body.

**Next Chapters**: More information about these levels of subtle reality.

### DID EARLIER PEOPLES HARNESS SUBTLE ENERGY?

- Many beliefs suggest that ancient knowledge of energy is being rediscovered
- Hindus had advanced understanding of science and physics

**Hindu Beliefs and Modern Physics**
 
* **Five elements**: space, light/fire, earth, water, air
* Subtle bodies composed of abstract qualities in non-physical space (chittakash)
* Cyclical universe with segments of time (kalpas)
* Multiple worlds and dimensions

**Similarities between Hinduism and Modern Science**

* Ancient Hindus mapped planets, observed spherical earth, proposed gravitational force
* Sumerians, Babylonians, Tahitians, Mayans had similar ideas of universal energy
* Hindus and Mayans shared cyclical universe theories
* Hindu cosmology includes fourteen parallel realities and multiple dimensions
* Advanced technologies described in ancient texts (airplanes, explosives)

**Vedic Understanding of Atoms and Consciousness**

* Kanada, originator of Indian Nyaya-Vaisheshika school, taught atom theory and vacuum 
* **Consciousness permeated the Vedic world**: subject cannot be aware of object without relation
* Universe is an expansion of the mind, put in our minds by God

**Possible Early Understanding of Modern Physics**

* Signs suggest even earlier culture may have laid groundwork for modern physics.

### WAS ATLANTIS THE SOURCE OF ENERGY KNOWLEDGE?

* Atlantis was an advanced civilization mentioned in myths and legends, described as harnessing energy (Plato, Edgar Cayce)
* Existed around 50,000 BCE, with early beings having no solid bodies but made of pure white energy 
* **Two groups evolved**: Law of One (enlightenment) and Sons of Belial (darkness and cruelty)
* Atlanteans used advanced technology, including a death ray, explosives, radioactive forces, and atomic energy
* First disaster caused continents to split; second disaster from misuse of a giant crystal
* Atlanteans could travel in elements, rejuvenate bodies, perform astral travel, and use crystals for energy
* Understanding of energy, physical or subtle, mirrored in various cultures (Hopi, Native American, Asian)
* Energy is information that moves; apple physics vs. orange physics 
 * **Apple physics**: controlled by rules like the three laws of thermodynamics 
 * **Orange physics**: reality is malleable, time and space are not fixed
* Chakras explained through various theories, including units of light, sound, fields, frequency, Many Worlds Theory, Connective Tissue Theory
* Energy is both physical and subtle, real and powerful, described our soul.

## 20. CHAKRAS AS PART OF THE SUBTLE ENERGY ANATOMY
**Chakras as Part of Subtle Energy Anatomy**

- Dr. Scroggins' email in November 2013 discussed the unity of snowflakes and dimensions.
- Chakras are unique energy centers, but part of a larger system.
- Three categories of subtle energy structures:
  - **Energy channels:**
    - Like rivers transporting subtle energy.
    - Connect energy bodies with energy fields.
    - Picture subtle energy as ships in channels.
  - **Energy fields:**
    - Vibrational sheaths surrounding living beings.
    - Protect, filter, and invite communication.
    - Human energy field paired with a chakra.
  - **Energy bodies:**
    - Chakras are part of this category.

**Meet the Family of Subtle Energy Structures**

- Chakras are individuated vortexes of energy.
- Part of a larger system: energy channels, fields, and bodies.
- Energy channels manage and direct subtle energy distribution.
- Energy fields surround living beings and serve multiple functions.
- Energy bodies include chakras.
- Many versions of these systems exist."

### THE SUBTLE CHANNELS

**Subtle Channels:**

- **Two types**: meridians (Eastern) and nadis (Indian philosophy)
- Both involve chakras

**Nadis:**

- Streams of energy, measurable and immeasurable
- **Gross nadis**: channels of subtle energy related to meridians, nerves, cardiovascular and lymph vessels
  - **Three main nadis**: sushumna, ida, pingala
- **Subtle nadis**: channels of mind or feeling self
  - **Pranavaha nadis**: carry prana (vital force)
  - **Manavaha nadis**: carry mental shakti (forces)
- Anchored in the body but considered pranic in nature
- Nourish the chakras and physical body

**Three Fundamental Nadis:**

- **Central nadi (sushumna)**: multilayered, located within the spine, bright red, associated with tamas guna, manifests parasympathetic nervous system, only activated during specific breathing patterns and at dawn/dusk, linked to Sarasvati River
- **Ida**: continuation of vajrini nadi, pale-moon colored, feminine, situated on left side of spine, terminates in left nostril, stimulates right side of brain, governs emotions, intelligence, related to tamas guna, considered core to left sympathetic nervous system, symbolized by left eye and hand, linked to Ganges River
- **Pingala**: masculine, situated at right side of spine, ends at right nostril, stimulates left side of brain, golden-red in color, contains deadly poison (visam), governs vitality, prana, temperament, action, willpower, artistry, linked to rajas guna, dominant during right nostril breathing, related to Yamuna River.

### ELEVEN SUPPORTIVE NADIS
**Eleven Supportive Nadis**

- **Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala** are the primary nadis, with eleven other nadis supporting a fully functioning energetic system.

**Left Channel (Ida, Gandhari, Hastajihva)**

- **Ida**: Stretches from the base of the spine to the left nostril.
- **Gandhari**: Runs alongside ida from the corner of the left eye to the left big toe. Supports ida.
- **Hastajihva**: From below the right eye to the big toe of the left foot. Complements ida.

**Right Channel (Pingala, Yashasvini, Pusha)**

- **Pingala**: Stretches from the base of the spine to the right nostril.
- **Yashasvini**: From the right big toe to the left ear. Complements pingala.
- **Pusha**: From the left big toe to the right ear. Supports pingala.

**Other Nadis**

- **Alambusha**: Starts at the anus and ends at the mouth.
- **Kuhu**: Originates in the throat and terminates at the genitals. Helps chitrini nadi cause ejaculation in men.
- **Shankhini**: Starts in the throat, between sarasvati and gandhari, ending in the anus.
- **Sarasvati**: Starts in the kanda (base of the spine) and ends in the tongue. Enables all that is said to come true. Complementary channel to sushumna.
- **Payasvini**: Flows between pusha and sarasvati, terminates in the right ear. Activated by pure metal earrings.
- **Varuni**: Between yashasvini and kuhu, ends at the anus. Purifies toxins in lower trunk of body.
- **Vishvodara**: Flows between kuhu and hastajihva, resides in the naval. Involved with digestive processes, adrenal glands, and pancreas. Distributes prana throughout the body.

**Ten Gates (Orifices) and Nadis**

- Associated nadis and gates: 
  - sushumna - fontanel (tenth gate)
  - ida - left nostril (ninth gate)
  - pingala - right nostril (eighth gate)
  - gandhari - left eye (seventh gate)
  - hastajihva - right eye (sixth gate)
  - yashasvini - left ear (fifth gate)
  - pusha - right ear (fourth gate)
  - alambusha - mouth (third gate)
  - kuhu - genitals (second gate)
  - shankhini - anus (first gate).
- At death, the soul or vital force exits from one of these ten gates.

**Opening Up the Sushumna**

- Inside sushumna:
  - **Vajrini or vajra nadi**: Gold-colored, linked to rajas guna, starts at sixth chakra and ends at gonads. Masculine energy works outside through pingala and inside as vajrini. Contains flowing nectar, sometimes believed poisonous.
  - **Chitrini or chitra nadi**: Silver-white, linked to sattva guna, starts in bindu chakra and ends in svayambhu lingam in first chakra. Illuminating, serves as channel for kundalini. Responsible for dreams, hallucinations, and visions. Conveyer of moon or feminine energy inside sushumna.
  - **Brahma nadi**: Entered through Brahma dvara (door of Brahma), leads directly to brahmarandhra. Hollow passage for the rise of kundalini energy. Not always thought of as a separate nadi but rather as a passage.

### CHAKRAS AND THE NADIS

**Chakras and Nadis**

- Chakras and nadis are interconnected, with nadis serving the chakras during a kundalini rising
- **Three most important nadis**: sushumna, ida, pingala
- Kundalini rises through these nadis after activation in the first chakra
- Ida and pingala cross five times, stimulating chakras and forming mukta triveni
- Kundalini continues into the crown chakra after passing through sushumna
- Other pathways for kundalini include vajra and sarasvati nadis

**Ida and Pingala in Everyday Life**

- Ida and pingala symbolize feminine and masculine nature
- Access assets of ida and pingala through respiration
- Most people breathe out through one nostril, accessing either right (creative/intuitive) or left (active/logical) brain hemisphere
- Every four hours, switch nostrils to access different brain abilities
- Ida originates in the kanda, linked with left testicle (males) and ovary (females), associated with relaxation and meditation
- Pingala initiates in the same chakra organ, connected to right testicle (males) and ovary (females), stimulates physical strength and virility
- Force change in breath between nostrils for different brain hemisphere access or to balance needs
- Most yogic breathing exercises encourage left nostril dominance for meditative state and intuitive openness
- Esoterics recommend pingala stimulation for physical strength, speed, and nighttime energy
- Close off ida when experiencing lethargy, self-pity, or extreme emotions; close off pingala when dealing with hyperactivity or fanaticism
- Breathe through both nostrils to activate sushumna and invite awareness of the present moment

### SUBTLE CHANNELS: THE MERIDIANS
 
* **Meridians**: energy channels described in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years
* Part of Eastern and Western medical systems
* Form a circulatory system carrying subtle energy (chi or ki) around the body
* Connect hundreds of acupuncture points (acupoints) on the skin 
* **Twelve major meridians**: Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney, Pericardium, Gallbladder, Stomach, Small Intestine, Urinary Bladder, Large Intestine, Triple Warmer
* Each meridian is yin or yang and connects to specific organs and body systems
* Meridians become imbalanced when congested or not receiving required sustenance, leading to health issues and emotional difficulties

**Liver Meridian:** power plant of the body

**Heart Meridian:** development of personality within cosmic order

**Spleen Meridian:** distributes energy for tasks

**Lung Meridian:** connects to rhythms of the surrounding world

**Kidney Meridian:** contains physical and spiritual inheritance

**Pericardium Meridian:** collection and release of joy

**Gallbladder Meridian:** enables decision making

**Small Intestine Meridian:** absorbs and transforms energies within the body

**Stomach Meridian:** processes energies received in the body

**Large Intestine Meridian:** transmits energies and releases wastes

**Urinary Bladder Meridian:** keeps body’s energy in motion

**Triple Warmer (or Burner) Meridian:** creates and dissolves energies; responsible for overall vitality
 
* **Two additional meridians**: Conception Vessel (yin) and Governor Vessel (yang) 
* **Research substantiating the existence of meridians**:
  + Tubular structures containing liquids, DNA granules, and adult stem cells (Kim Bonghan)
  + Light enters and exits body at acupuncture points along meridians (Russian researchers)
  + Meridians act as optical fibers transferring light throughout the body
  + Injection of radioactive isotopes into acupoints shows movement along meridians (French scientists)
* Needle insertion disrupts C fibers and Merkel cells, sending sensory information electrically (recent research)
* Possible link between nadis (Indian system) and meridians (some researchers believe so)

### SUBTLE CHANNELS: PARALLELS BETWEEN NADIS AND MERIDIANS

* Nadis and meridians may be the same according to some experts
* Correspondences between chakra system and meridian-based theories in Traditional Chinese Medicine
* Life force is carried through complex networks of pathways, designated as masculine (yang) or feminine (yin)
* Problems result from disturbances of energy flow 
* **Hiroshi Motoyama's assessment**:
  * Discredits traditional link between nadis and nervous system
  * Identifies many nadis with meridians, chakras with acupuncture points
  * Ida and pingala originate at first chakra and end at nostrils, not sympathetic nervous trunks
  * Sushumna identified with Governor Vessel meridian
  * Shoshuten practice raises energy from coccyx to top of head, same as raising kundalini 
* **Meridians and Chakras linkages**:
 * **Second chakra**: Conception vessel points associated with yin energy and kidney reserves in the second chakra region
 * **Third chakra**: Conception vessel points related to willpower, assertiveness, and digestive organs within the third chakra region
 * **Fourth chakra**: Conception vessel point on breastbone supports lungs and heart, similar to heart chakra
 * **Seventh chakra**: Energy enters crown through Governor Vessel 20 (Bai Hui) and seventh chakra (sahasrara) in the same area.

### THE ENERGETIC FIELDS

**Energetic Fields:**

- **Hundreds of measurable and immeasurable fields affect living organisms**, including:
  - morphological fields
  - geofields
  - universal light field
  - L-fields
  - T-fields
  - electrical
  - magnetic
  - electromagnetic
  - sound fields
- Human body generates various electrical, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields that interact with chakras and the auric field
- Auric fields exist around all living beings and can be visualized as seven layers in rainbow color progression, each related to a chakra
- Auric fields provide protection, filter information, and emit psychic messages
- Seven rays are forces or types of energy that intersect with or enter the chakras and influence our energetic bodies

**Auric Fields:**

- Exist around all living organisms, including humans
- Can be detected through Kirlian photography and other methods
- Associated with the chakras, each auric field operating on the same frequency band as its corresponding chakra
- **Seven layers, each delivering specific functions**: 
  - protection
  - screening emotions
  - filtering ideas
  - attracting/repelling relationships
  - receiving choices
  - visualizing decisions
  - connecting with spirits

**Seven Rays:**

- Rooted in various cultures and traditions, including India, Gnosticism, Mithraic mysteries, and Theosophical Society
- Each ray represents a certain quality or state of consciousness that interacts with the chakras and influences our energetic bodies
- Seven major rays are emanations of the Divine and governed by higher beings
- **Ray qualities**: 
  - Will or power (Red)
  - Love-wisdom (Blue)
  - Active intelligence (Yellow)
  - Harmony (Green)
  - Concrete knowledge (Orange)
  - Devotion or Idealism (Indigo)
  - Ceremonial magic (Violet)

**Zachary Landsdowne's Analysis of Theosophical Beliefs and Rig Veda:**

* Seven popular concepts in Rig Veda: seven mares or streams of consciousness, rays of the sun or beings, sisters, rivers, etc.
* Conclusion: many Theosophical beliefs mirror those in the Rig Veda
* Seven rays reflect these attributes:
  * Divine qualities "stepped down" to purify human beings
  * Sequences of ideas assisting mental well-being
  * Affect us on three different planes or worlds
  * Divide humanity into seven communities, each with an invisible guide

**Robert Ghost Wolf's Teachings:**

* Seven rays of rainbows influence consciousness and spin the dream called life
* At end times (fifth world), seven rays will be multiplied into twelve rays
* Each ray relates to a chakra:
  * **First Leadership (Red)** - holds vibration of earth
  * **Second Understanding and knowledge (Sky blue)** - unites knowledge of Father and wisdom of earth
  * **Third Healing (Green)** - vibrates all memories
  * **Fourth Sun radiation (Yellow)** - stimulates growth
  * **Fifth Scientific understanding (Cobalt blue)** - embraces order and cycles
  * **Sixth Devotion (Rose)** - invites oneness
  * **Seventh Transition (Violet)** - enables transformation

### ENERGY BODIES IN ADDITION TO THE CHAKRAS

**Energy Bodies Beyond Chakras**

- Chakras are not the only energy bodies; they interact with other types of energy bodies and realms of reality.
- Energy bodies serve multiple functions: as an energetic field, level of reality, and interface with physical chakras.
- These energy bodies surround the physical body and are linked to various spatial dimensions or layers of consciousness.

**Energy Bodies and Their Functions**

*Each energy body performs three key roles:*

1. **Functions as an energetic field:** Interacts with the physical body and other energetic systems (nadis, meridians, chakras).
2. **Operates as a level of reality:** Each layer instructs the one beneath it, enabling us to reach higher states of consciousness.
3. **Interfaces with body-based chakras:** Often through chakras specific to each energy body.

**Basic Energy Bodies and Their Characteristics**

*The following are some common energy bodies:*

**Etheric Body:**

- Operates outside the physical body.
- Interrelates with it and all energetic systems.
- Frequently affiliated with two auric layers and three spatial dimensions.
- Responds to the physical body and programs it.
- Has seven energy centers, twenty-one minor energy centers, and several smaller ones.

**Emotional Body:**

- Also called the astral body.
- Relates to emotional or astral planes.
- Runs individual's desires, imagination, and psychic abilities.
- Linked with four spatial dimensions.
- Organized into seven energy centers, twenty-one minor energy centers, and several smaller ones.

**Mental Body:**

- Also called the intellectual body.
- Facilitates thinking, intelligence, and discernment.
- Covers five spatial dimensions.
- Includes seven major energy centers, twenty-one minor energy centers, and several small ones.
- Has several layers extending from individual thoughts to abstract truths.

**Causal Body:**

- Also called the soul body.
- Originates our true personality.
- Absorbs essence back into itself after death.
- Exists for millions of years and individuates as the soul.
- Occupies five spatial dimensions.
- Looks like a flower with twelve petals.

**Buddhic Body:**

- Also called the intuitional body.
- Enables us to transcend mind functions.
- Comprehends essence of thoughts rather than just thoughts themselves.
- Gains related state of consciousness once significant spiritual progress is made.
- Has its own five senses and six spatial dimensions.
- Is elastic in nature, expanding for interdimensional travel.

*Additional energy bodies include the atmic body (seven spatial dimensions) and monadic body (nine spatial dimensions).*

### HOW THE ETHERIC BODY OPERATES

**Etheric Body and Its Interrelation with Other Energy Bodies**

* The etheric body interacts with other energy bodies, each layer having higher frequencies and sustaining the one beneath it
* Serves as interface between physical body and subtle forces
* Powers the body and links it to the world through chakras, meridians, nadis, and auric layers
* Holographic in nature, with interference patterns around the body mirroring its structure
* Etheric field discovered to be holographic by Dr. Marina Shaduri and Dr. George Tshitshinadze using gas discharge visualization (GDV) photography
* Hologram serves as a blueprint for the physical body, with illnesses potentially preexisting in the etheric body
* Subtle bodies may instruct the physical body, as shown by research on meridians and the developing embryo

**Subtle Bodies Instructing the Physical Body**

* Meridians develop before other systems in a fetus and might determine cell specialization
* Fertilized egg consolidates into a primary cell, which merges biological and spiritual functions
* Epigenetic damage in the primary cell can cause traumas or illnesses later in life, influenced by ancestral memories and occurrences
* Meridians are primary cell microtubules that attach to both the cell membrane and chakras at the embryonic level
* Chakras exist but are not fully understood in connection to the triune brain 
* **McFetridge's understanding of in-utero chakric development**: different chakra configurations for egg and sperm, mature chakra system fuses into a single disk-like shape in solar plexus area.

### ENERGY BODIES: THE LIGHT BODY
 
* **Light Body** or **"Body of Light"**: a subtle energy system believed to be a layer of the aura and an entire system operating at a soul level 
* **Function**: enables holding more light or energy for higher consciousness 
* **Historical background**:
  + Pythagoreans wrote about the "Luminous Light Body" in pre-Christian times
  + Greek Neoplatonist philosopher Proclus discussed a luminous body mediating between soul and body
  + Gnostic literature mentions it in the first century
  + Found in Chinese, Indian, Mongolian, and Tibetan literature 
* **Esoteric proponents**: Aleister Crowley described the human journey as creating a subtle body called the Body of Light 
* **Three levels of light body**:
  + Spirit-body: aligned with physical body, similar to the nephesch or vegetative-animal soul in Kabbalah
  + Radiant body: allows experiencing higher states while still physical, leading to resurrection body
* Achievement involves purification rituals using altars, symbols, and ceremony
* Modern systems describe light body as composed of chakras, interdimensional column of light, and Merkabah
* Light body linked to astral body but larger and located around and above it
* Astral body matures and blocks the light body due to past life issues and ego
* Chakras operate as gateways to the light body, spinning freely between lifetimes but becoming blocked in physical bodies
* Higher Self can access lower self through chakras and direct consciousness towards higher things
* Eventually, chakras become drawn into astral body and incarnate through etheric body
* New chakras may develop as the light body becomes more active.

### ENERGY BODIES: THE DANTIANS

**Energy Bodies: The Dantians**

- Three-part energetic structure also known as elixir fields, seas of chi, or energy centers
- Located in Eastern traditions, similar to chakras and hara
  - **Lower dantian**: located in lower abdomen, center of gravity, associated with sexuality
  - **Middle dantian**: level with heart, stores chi, regulates respiration and internal organs
  - **Upper dantian**: between eyebrows, holds shen (energy of consciousness), relates to the brain
- Important energy centers in Qigong literature
- Taoist energetic storage centers, while chakras store energy for nadis and act as intake/export valves
- Microcosmic orbit practice circulates energy through both dantians and chakras
- Similar procedures in kundalini-based modalities and Eastern approaches, such as t'ai chi

**Subtle Energy Anatomy Snapshot**

- **According to Dr. Motoyama**: three energetic bodies each with its own mind
  - **Physical body** and physical mind (controls body consciousness)
  - Astral or **subtle body** and its mind (controls emotions and feelings)
  - **Causal body** and its mind (expressed through intelligence)
- Each body-mind holds energy centers and channels that manage the flow of prana
- Chakras are control centers that run the exchange between dimensions and interact with physical body via nadis/meridians
- **Bodies in the physical realm**: cardiovascular, lymphatic, meridian systems
- **Channels**: nadis (same as meridians)
- **Centers**: brain, nervous plexuses, acupuncture points
- Each chakra is a control center that runs the exchange between dimensions and koshas (sheaths of consciousness)
- Interacts with physical body via nadis
- Additional energetic structures include seven rays, dantians, and other cultures' energy bodies
- All major energetic structures present at conception, assisting in the design of the body.

## 21. THE SCIENCE AND STRUCTURE OF CHAKRAS

**Chakras**

- Each chakra is a unique energy body with its own relationship to physical and subtle energy.
- **Depicted as a column of energy bodies nourished by three interweaving energy channels**: ida, pingala, and sushumna.
- Chakras represent nerve plexuses and specific vertebrae in the central nervous system.
- Associated with various organs and endocrine glands.
- Psychologically influential gateways to consciousness.

**Chakras as Psychophysiological Organs**

- Depicted as a column of energy bodies in the yogic chakra system.
- Each chakra represents a nerve plexus and specific vertebrae.
- Interact with nerves linked to various organs, including endocrine glands.
- Popularized through the work of John Woodroffe and Charles Leadbeater.
- Enhanced understanding through scientific knowledge about the neurological system, brain, and endocrine glands.

**Nervous System**

- Composed of nerve tissue that transmits electrical and chemical messages to run all aspects of the body.
- **Central nervous system**: spinal cord and brain.
 * **Spine**: twenty-six bones including sacrum, coccyx, and twenty-four vertebrae.
  * Each part associated with a nerve plexus.
- **Brain**: three main parts.
 * **Brain stem**: connects brain to spinal cord, controls basic life activities.
 * **Cerebellum**: manages muscle coordination, balance, and voluntary movements.
 * **Cerebral cortex**: deals with thinking and higher awareness, divided into two hemispheres.
- **Peripheral nervous system**: nerves outside of the central nervous system.
  * Sensory-based part receives stimuli.
  * Motor-based part initiates response.
  * Somatic nervous system manages functions under conscious control.
  * Autonomic nervous system governs involuntary functions.
    + Sympathetic: prepares body for activity, stress, and emergencies.
    + Parasympathetic: lowers activity and allows digestion and conservation of energy.
- Primary constituent of the nervous system is the neuron or nerve cell.
  * Passes information through electrical charges called impulses.
  * Grouped in circuits to convey information efficiently.
  * Neurological deliveries are electricity conveyed along cell membranes via ions.
- The brain triggers six trillion electrical signals through neurons every second.

### THE CHEMICAL SIGNALS OF LIFE: NEUROTRANSMITTERS

**Neurotransmitters:** small molecules carrying chemical signals between cells for communication

- Outnumber stars in Milky Way, carry various messages (e.g., pain, hunger, emotions)
- Reach destination through receptor sites on neural and bodily cells
- Over 100 types in brain alone; excitatory, inhibitory, or both stimulate/inhibit neurons
- Produced inside nerve through electrical process using ions
- **Excitatory**: epinephrine, norephenylamine
- **Inhibitory**: serotonin, GABA
- **Both stimulatory and inhibitory**: acetylcholine, dopamine

**Neurotransmitter Functions:**

- Regulate heartbeat, breathing, movement, mood, learning, weight, sleep
- Neuropeptides run emotions; monoamines react to stress
- Imbalances linked to disorders (addictions, obesity, depression, etc.)

**Types of Neurotransmitters:**

- **Acetylcholine**: integral to attention and arousal in CNS and PNS, activates muscles

- **Amino Acids**:
  - **GABA**: blocks neurological transmissions, relieves pain and anxiety
  - **Glutamate**: involved in cognition, memory, learning
  - **Aspartate**: similar to glutamate
  - **Glycine**: enables movement, vision, hearing

- **Neuropeptides**:
  - **Oxytocin**: increases sexual arousal, bonding, trust
  - **Endorphins**: reduces perception of pain, increases euphoria, modulates appetite, releases sex hormones, enhances immune system
  - **Vasopressin**: facilitates learning and memory

- **Monoamines**:
  - **Epinephrine (adrenaline)**: activates stress reaction
  - **Norepinephrine**: triggers reactions to stress
  - **Histamine**: triggers inflammatory response
  - **Dopamine**: secreted when something good happens, linked with addiction
  - **Serotonin**: reduces appetite and sexual behavior, suppresses pain perception (80% produced in the gut)

- **Purines**:
  - **Adenosine**: suppresses arousal, promotes sleep, performs important activities in different parts of the body
  - Part of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which provides energy to cells

- **Lipids and Gases**:
  - **Nitric oxide**: reduces inflammation, increases endurance, activates senses, assists immune system, improves memory
  - **Cannabinoids**: activate same receptors as marijuana, initially creating relaxation before decreasing concentration and increasing paranoia.

### THE “SECOND BRAIN”

**The Enteric Nervous System (Second Brain)**

- Located between anus and esophagus
- Contains 100 million neurons, more than head brain and peripheral nervous system combined
- Made of neural tissue filled with neurotransmitters and neuropeptides
- Influences mental and physical health
- Communicates with head brain through vagus nerve
- Determines 80% of immunity and emotional health
- Operates autonomously from central nervous system

**Properties of the Second Brain**

- Contains neurotransmitters and neuropeptides
- Neurotransmitters respond to stimuli in brain and second brain
- Neuropeptide synthesis occurs in enteric nerves and gut-associated lymph system
- 95% of serotonin, a dual-operating neurotransmitter and hormone, lies in the bowels
- Important for various diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome, osteoporosis, and mental illnesses

**Neuropeptides**

- Part of larger group of chemical signals called peptide hormones
- Send and relay information to neighboring cells, creating electrical activity
- Bind to cell surface, more powerful than other neurotransmitters
- Found in both head brain and second brain
- Operate throughout body, proving mind is not only located in the brain but also spread throughout body

**Discoveries of Dr. Candace Pert**

- Cellular receptors for emotions and states of mind found on every cell in the body
- Vibrating cellular receptors create and join electrical vibrations (EMF or frequencies)
- Cells send and receive vibrations, establishing empathy and even ESP.

### CHAKRAS AND OUR NEUROLOGY: THE SCIENTIFIC PICTURE

- Chakras discovered to be linked to nerve bundles and peptides processing emotions
- Revealed as mini brains with electrical and chemical activity
- Related to nerve plexus, vertebrae areas, and left/right brain hemispheres

**Chakra-Brain Correlation**
 
* **Right brain**: Intuitive, creative, controls left side of body (ida nadi, yin) 
* **Left brain**: Logical, action-oriented, manages right side of body (pingala nadi, yang)
* Chakras linked to network of cells affected by neuropeptides and neurotransmitters

**Chakra Functions and Second Brain**
 
* **First chakra (genital/hip area)**: Primal concerns, "flight, fight, or freeze" reactions 
* **Second chakra (abdomen)**: Center of feelings, governs intestines 
* **Third chakra (solar plexus)**: Processes thoughts, manages remaining digestive organs
* Lower three chakras operate as a unit, top chakras as a unit, heart mitigates between

**Chakras and Brain Regions**

- **Brainstem**: First chakra
- **Cerebellum**: Second chakra
- **Parietal, occipital, temporal lobes**: Third chakra
- **Thalamus region (hypothalamus)**: Fourth chakra
- **Broca's area**: Fifth chakra
- **Frontal brain (minus prefrontal cortex)**: Sixth chakra
- **Prefrontal cortex**: Seventh chakra

**Chakras and Endocrine System**

- Interdependent systems using chemical signals for communication
- Nervous system controls endocrine glands, hormones produced by other glands
- Hormones act on target cells throughout the body via circulatory system
- Hormones can be water or lipid soluble, regulated by hypothalamus and nutrition.

### chakras are hormonal 

* Chakras have a relationship with both the neurological and endocrine systems

**Chakra-Endocrine System Connection:**
- Serena Roney-Dougal, a parapsychologist, believes the main aspect of the chakric system is the endocrine system
- **She connects specific chakras to particular endocrine glands**: pineal (6th & 7th), pituitary (7th), gonads (1st & 2nd), adrenals (3rd), breasts (4th), thyroid (5th)
- Hormonal activity explains rare chakric functions

**Pineal Gland:**
- Connected to the sixth and seventh chakras by Roney-Dougal
- Produces hormones like melatonin, serotonin, MAO inhibitors, and pinoline
 * **Melatonin**: regulates activity at other traditional chakra sites, improves gland function, increases longevity
 * **Pinoline**: stimulates psi experiences during sleep

**Other Theories:**
- **Dr. Earlynne Cheney**: glands are physical counterparts to the chakras
- **Adelaide Gardner**: chakras influence the glands
- **Alice Bailey**: glands interconnect the chakras and dense physical body

* Chakras interact with both the neurological and endocrine systems, benefiting their effectiveness
- Nervous system enables quick responses, endocrine system allows consistent change

### CHAKRAS AND FIELDS AND FREQUENCIES

**Chakras and Fields and Frequencies**

- Chakras are multidimensional energy centers, not just nodes and glands
- Human body generates various fields of energy, including electromagnetic fields (EMF) and harmonic frequencies
- Every part of the body transmits energy, which can be perceived as fields and frequencies
- Biological activities, emotions, thoughts also generate fields and frequencies
- Frequencies have specific formulas and energies connected to them
- Vibrating the correct frequency can create a response without energy exchange or transfer
- Resonance occurs when frequencies match, causing amplification of vibrations
- Connection to others is based on resonance and feeling "in tune"
- Disturbances in charge can lead to illness, reducing power available for normal functions
- Microbes emit frequencies that can distort body's fields for diagnostic purposes
- Electromagnetic spectrum includes various measurable fields, only a small fraction of which is visible light
- Research focuses on electromagnetic aspects due to extensive research in this area

**Backgrounder on Fields and Frequencies**

- Every part of the body generates fields and frequencies
- Fields help keep us organized
- Weak fields can add up to stronger ones, sometimes measurable
- Biological state indicated by generated fields and frequencies
- Emotions, thoughts also generate fields and frequencies
- Chemical reactions involve energy pulse and dielectric effect in the form of frequencies
- Frequencies have specific formulas and energies connected to them
- Vibrating correct frequency creates response without energy exchange or transfer
- Resonance occurs when frequencies match, causing amplification of vibrations
- Disturbances in charge lead to illness, reducing power available for normal functions
- Microbes emit frequencies that can distort body's fields for diagnostic purposes

**Electromagnetic Spectrum and Chakras**

- Electromagnetic spectrum includes various measurable fields
- Only a small fraction of the spectrum is visible light
- Chakras reflect higher vibration of visible light, but effects spread throughout all known and unknown radiations
- Scientific research focuses on electromagnetic aspects due to extensive research in this area
- Tools used for measurement include ECG, EEG, MCG, SQIDs, and detection of infrared radiation and biophotons.

### MEASURING CHAKRAS’ FIELDS AND FREQUENCIES
 
* **GDV Camera**: High-voltage electrophotography process developed by Konstantin Korotkov in Russia for detecting photons emitted from fingertips, revealing biofield effects from chakras and meridians. 
* **Hunt Studies (1970s)**: University of California research on electromagnetic radiation from the body during rolfing massage, revealing high-frequency oscillations from seven basic chakra areas.
	+ Chakra frequencies: 100-1,600 cps, higher than other body parts.
	+ Auric field study: Discovered colors and wave patterns associated with each auric layer and corresponding chakras.
	+ Highest frequencies generated by psychics, healers, or spiritually advanced individuals. 
* **Bioenergy Fields Monitor**: Instrument developed by Valerie Hunt to measure auric fields up to 750,000 cps, revealing different disease patterns and emotional/physical health states. 
* **Chakra Causes of Diseases**: According to Hunt, diseases caused by factors beyond traditional medicine, including viruses, oxygen deprivation, inflammation, and imbalanced energy fields. 
* **Scalar Waves (Bioscalar Waves)**: Energy that occupies space and can expand outward in circles, influencing the blood and lymphatic systems, improving fluid flow and healing.
	+ Healers believe scalar waves are vital force animating chakras.
	+ Some people fear destructive nature of scalar waves. 
* **Healing with Scalar Waves**: Correct chakra imbalance or dysfunction by generating scalar waves from the heart's scalar field, linking all chakra centers together (Stephen Linsteadt).

### MOTOYAMA TESTS FOR CHAKRA FUNCTIONS

**Motoyama's Research on Chakra Functions and Connections:**

* Hiroshi Motoyama studied the existence and functions of chakras and their connections to bodily systems. 
* **His findings align closely with standard Hindu theory, but with some differences**:
 * **First Chakra**: Sacral and coccygeal plexuses, urogenital system
 * **Second Chakra**: Sacral plexus, urogenital system, respiratory system
 * **Third Chakra**: Solar plexus, digestive system
 * **Fourth Chakra**: Cardiac plexus, circulatory systems, respiratory system
 * **Fifth Chakra**: Superior, middle, and interior cervical ganglia
 * **Sixth Chakra**: Pituitary body, interbrain, autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, entire nervous system
 * **Seventh Chakra**: Cerebral cortex, entire nervous system, organs and tissues of the entire body 
* **Motoyama's tests showed that chakra activity affects disease susceptibility**:
 * **Group A**: Advanced chakra activity - highest susceptibility to disease and functional troubles in linked organs
 * **Group B**: Beginning chakra activity - middle susceptibility
 * **Group C**: Dormant chakras - lowest susceptibility
* Motoyama also discovered a link between the cardiovascular system and the fourth (heart-based) chakra.
  * Yogis and long-term spiritual practitioners exhibit large rhythmic fluctuations in basal blood flow, indicating autonomic nerve control. 
* **Motoyama classified psi abilities into two categories**:
  * Powers of reception - linked to lower chakras
  * Powers of generation - linked to higher chakras
* Some individuals have naturally stronger chakras due to past experiences (karma).
* Motoyama's studies showed that concentrating on the chakras can activate them and produce measurable physical changes, such as creating light.

### A COMPLETE PICTURE OF CHAKRAS AS BANDS OF FREQUENCY

**Chakras as Bands of Frequency**

- Each chakra associated with a band of vibrational frequencies.
- Includes color and sound.
- Connects stars to smallest atom movements in the body.
- No limit to interactions between chakras and other frequencies.

**Frequencies in the Universe**

- Infinite combinations of frequencies.
- Some intersect matter, most are open.
- Matter and energy operate on unique vibrational levels.
- Everything rides on a pi radial string of numerical sequences.
- Interacting frequencies form information storage bins.
- Particles, molecules, and bundles of molecules are multidimensional.

**Interconnectedness and Memory**

- Traveling through and along universal frequencies.
- Humans are storage systems with encoded memories.
- Epigenes contain ancestors' memories and determine gene expression.
- Bodies are memory units containing thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
- Brain involved in chemical, electrical, and neurological activity.
- Linked to past contacts and future possibilities.
- Access to universal frequencies and knowledge.

**Chakras as Multidimensional Portals**

- Exist on all levels of being.
- Operate at measurable color and sound frequencies.
- Harmonically interact with other frequencies.
- Interaction points for sympathetic resonance.
- Need matching frequencies to allow shifts in neurological and endocrine capabilities.
- Practitioners perceive interaction points intuitively.

**Measuring Frequencies**

- Wavelengths presented in nanometers (nm).
- Frequencies presented in gigahertz (GHz).
- Color wavelengths and frequencies calculated using the speed of light.

**Color Spectrum**

- Each color is a frequency range.
- Perception of color shifts when enough particles change.

**Chakras and Colors**

- Chakras can be associated with colors and their corresponding tones
- Tones have frequencies, like colors
- No universal agreement on which note or pitch matches each chakra
- **Typical association**: C for first chakra, D for second, etc. (Chapter 15)

**Scientific Approach**

- Speed of light in a vacuum as constant
- Audible frequencies range between 20 and 25,000 Hz
- Use wavelength to find frequency associated with each color and chakra
- **Formula**: Frequency = (constant speed in a vacuum) / (wavelength)
- Octaves result from doubling or halving frequency
- Chakra Hertz Tone
 * **First**: 757.53 G♭ (Hz)
 * **Second**: 845.89 A♭ (Hz)
 * **Third**: 472.27 A♯ (Hz)
 * **Fourth**: 527.35 C (Hz)
 * **Fifth**: 588.86 D (Hz) (as blue)
 * **Sixth**: 657.54 E (Hz) (as violet)

**Body's Signature Sound**

- Body has its own unique sound according to John Evans
- Sacral nerves are parasympathetic, upper thoracic and lumbar sympathetic
- Endocrine positions correlate with chakra resonances and colors of each gland
- Acupuncture points link spinal positions to internal organs
- Meridians can be perceived as tones in a chromatic sequence
- All parts of the body vibrate at their own rates, creating individual instrumentation in the "orchestra" of self
- Chakras are doorways to access other parts of being
- Each set of frequencies needs to operate within a range of vibration for health and balance
- We emanate our own healthy sound, or the sound of the "true self," through chakra medicine.

### CHAKRAS IN MULTIPLEX: LADDERS OF LIGHT

**Chakras in Multiple Reality:**

- Chakras exist in multiple levels of reality, acting as organs for converting energy between different planes.
- **Several layers of reality and their dimensions**:
 * **Etheric layer**: Three dimensions
 * **Astral layer**: Four dimensions
 * **Mental layer**: Five dimensions
 * **Causal layer**: Five dimensions
 * **Buddhic layer**: Six dimensions
- All living beings can access these dimensions through major chakras.
- **Graduated access to layers**: Humans have evolved from physical to astral plane.
- Layers differ in frequency and other properties.
- Physical dimension is primarily mitigated by electromagnetism.
- Higher planes are more complex, often described with geometrical images.

**Functioning of Seven Basic Chakras:**

- Lower chakras process denser energy and draw from lower layers of reality.
- Higher chakras are more complex and reach into higher frames of reality.

**Etheric Layer (Three Dimensions):**

- Lower chakras operate here, focusing on physical health and vitality.

**Astral Plane:**

- Accessible through the heart chakra (fourth chakra).
- Chakras unique to this layer help us connect with emotions and desires.

**Mental Layer (Five Dimensions):**

- Throat chakra (fifth chakra) operates here, facilitating communication and self-expression.
- Third Eye chakra (sixth chakra) helps in intuition and perception.

**Causal Layer (Five Dimensions):**

- Crown chakra (seventh chakra) connects us to higher consciousness and spiritual growth.

**Buddhic Layer (Six Dimensions):**

- Chakras specific to this layer help in cosmic consciousness and enlightenment.

**Etheric Chakras:**

- Extends beyond skin, governs physical functions and energy exchange
- Partially composed of electromagnetic field and torsion field
- Interacts with DNA, directs growth and healing
- Template for physical body, sends commands through acupuncture meridians
- Enables cell specialization in embryonic stage
- Looks like a net of energy lines, colors range from blue to gray
- Establishes matrixes for cells and organs
- All seven major chakras operate at this level

**Astral Chakras:**

- Linked with feelings, emotions, and desires
- Located one to two feet beyond physical body
- Penetrates entire physical body, expands during strong emotional states
- Often called "rainbow body" or "seven in-body chakras"
- **Three levels**: high, middle, lower astral plane
- High astral plane for enlightened beings, middle for souls of living and deceased, lower for entities with challenging issues
- Absorbs soul and memories after physical death
- Astral body looks like a vortex of rainbow colors

**Mental Chakras:**

- Five-dimensional reality focusing on intellect and consciousness
- Memory and imagination dominate
- Information is shared through waves not subject to time or distance
- Lower mental body part of personality, higher mental body spiritual in nature
- Higher mental body concerned with abstract thinking and principles
- Often perceived as yellow and structured
- Every major chakra can receive both lower and higher mental ideas

**Causal Chakras:**

- Equated with higher mental body, deals with formless thoughts
- Carries memories and karma from lifetime to lifetime
- Allows us to manifest experiences
- Not well defined as chakras, called the karana sharira in Sanskrit
- Causes both gross and subtle bodies to exist as illusions

**Buddhic Chakras:**

- Overlap with other beings at highest levels
- Separateness falls away, perceive others' consciousness as our own
- Gain wisdom from others' experiences without participating in harmful activities
- Links to fifth chakra by some experts, communication center for Buddha's teachings. Others affiliate it with different chakras.

### CHAKRAS AND EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT
**Chakras and Embryonic Development**

- Grant McFetridge's theory: chakras exist in embryonic state, fully developed chakra system is a fused disk in solar plexus area for "flow awareness"
  - Chakras anchor into meridians, problems can cause depletion or hyperactivity
  - Chakras are devices run by aspects of consciousness, not mini brains
- Precellular brains contain chakras, egg has seven major chakras, sperm has heart-brain with chakra balls
  - Ideal fusion results in single smooth-edged chakra in solar plexus area
  - Trauma during fusion can cause imperfections, resulting in typical seven-chakra pattern
- Chakras visible as physical structures attached to nuclear membrane after fertilization, fetus copies mother's chakras
- Dr. Scroggins' theory: initial code sequence is accessible throughout life, affects genes, attitudes, and behaviors
  - Science might analyze first code for development prediction

**Gap Junctions Theory of Chakras**

- Gap junctions explain how chakras could operate physically
- Formed by proteins arranged in hexagonal shapes, involved in electrical conduction
- Synchronize hormone secretions, help neurons fire, relate neurons to glial cells, coordinate activity in embryological development
- Chakras related to gap junctions that link autonomic cells and central nervous system
  - Three main activities: physical base, concentration point, influence over glandular secretions
- Higher chakras not directly linked to neural cells but could remain connected through bones and cartilage formed from neural crest cells
- Affiliated with hormone systems, affecting endocrine functions
- Yoga training provides access to subtle electrical circuits related to chakras and kundalini
- High concentration of gap junction–linked cells at end of spinal column associated with coccyx and first chakra mechanisms.

**Chakra Structure:**
 
* **Yin-yang balance**: flow energy to left and right sides, share information with the world
* Front and back process different information (everyday vs. supernatural)
* Inner wheel manages spiritual function, outer wheels help adapt to external world
* Spin created by magnetic resonance, bilateral symmetry, and electrical currents near spine 
* **Torus shape**: donut-like energy flow through and around body
* Two-ended trumpet depiction of chakra as two connected spherical tori
* Chakras can be pictured as a torus with a vacuum or zero-point field inside
* Electrical currents near spine cause spin directions (right side has positively charged current, left side has negatively charged current)
* Odd-numbered chakras usually spin counterclockwise, even-numbered chakras spin clockwise.

**Chakras and electrical flow**:
* Logic suggests disturbances change chakra directions to torsion waves (spin waves)
* Torsion waves explain preservation of entropy (disorder and information in universe)
* Entropy increases = information disappears = right-handed torsion = clockwise spin
* Entropy decreases = information appears = left-handed torsion = counterclockwise spin
* Counterclockwise spins add energy, clockwise spins subtract energy, but this may be influenced by inner/outer chakra wheels and identification with them.
* Inner wheel: reflects spiritual essence, clockwise brings in energy, counterclockwise exits energy
* Outer wheel: holds programming, reflects wounded self, clockwise loses energy, counterclockwise gains energy
* Mirror experiments reverse torsion polarity, causing opposite effects on energy gain/loss
* Chakra medicine practitioners can shift time and space, producing miraculous results
* Torsion waves may alter time and frequency, creating antigravity effect or easier ESP based on left-handed or right-handed spins.

### WHICH WAY IS THE CHAKRA SPINNING?

**Chakras and Their Spin**

- Chakras can be seen as toroid fields based on the distribution of density or capacity ratio and gravitational field at the center
- **Positive gravitational field**: clockwise spin
- **Negative gravitational field**: counterclockwise spin
- Similar to planetary rotation

**Chakras Depicted as Lotuses**

- Two rotating propellers creating a lotus pattern when frequencies are not equal
- Distinct divisions of a circle when rotation rates are inconsistent
- High numbers of petals indicate little difference, lower numbers can occur due to resonance
- Frequency ratios in near unity cause vectors to spiral inward and outward, forming a vortex

**Chakras as Multifaceted Organs**

- Intertwined with neurological and biochemical systems
- Psychophysiological, electromagnetic, sonic, and part of embryonic development
- Etheric organs, members of a greater subtle energy body family
- Each level of reality has its own chakric system (etheric, astral, mental, causal, buddhic planes)
- Structurally established on a band of frequency with energy flow, spin, and shape

**Chakras as Divine Vehicles**

- Reinforce belief that we are divine beings in human bodies
- **Require special activation for functioning**: kundalini, the divine flame (subject of next chapter)

## 22. KUNDALINI RISES: THE CHAKRA SERPENT

**Kundalini:**

- Cosmic energy with various names across cultures
- Depicted as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine
- Rises through chakras, provoking enlightenment
- Key to chakra medicine and merging human and spiritual qualities

**Traditional Hindu Storyline:**

- **Kundalini**: Sanskrit word meaning "spiral" or "coil"
- Feminine goddess Shakti, depicted as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine
- References in Indian texts dating back to 3000 BCE
- Described as an aspect of supreme consciousness with and without form or attribute
- Personified as the Divine Mother or great goddess
- **Three manifestations**: purna-kundalini, prana-kundalini, urdhva kundalini
- Each level relates to one of three realms of existence (radiant emptiness, energy, appearance of form)
- Complexities include blocks, locks, detours, and intricacies

**Awakening Kundalini:**

- **Aim**: To become true selves
- Awakens from repose and travels up the spine through sushumna nadi
- Stimulates chakras, clearing path toward enlightenment
- Unites with Shiva in the crown chakra (Shakti and Shiva are dualistic aspects of Brahman)

**Science:**

- Neurological, hormonal, electromagnetic aspects to be explored later in the text.

### A HOMEWARD JOURNEY

**A Homeward Journey (Shakti's Ascension)**

- Shakti's ascension is a homeward journey to regain wholeness and freedom from illusion.
- During Creation (uppercase C) and individual creation (lowercase c), Shakti descends from the crown chakra to lower chakras as jagan mohini.
  * Forgets natural power and subtlety, causing maya (delusion).
  * Becomes physical and loses connection to higher awareness.
- Upon reawakening, Shakti transforms back into the subtle and undergoes laya-absorption.
  * Veils of maya disintegrate, revealing our true nature.
  * Descent causes ignorance and bondage; ascent leads to freedom and wisdom.
- Kundalini Shakti is our connection to higher awareness even in a dormant state.
- Kundalini manages biological functions and psychology during manifestation.
- Kundalini transcends form when united with Shiva, becoming unlimited consciousness.
- Revealer of our soul songs that become clearer as we mature in kundalini awakening.

**The Stages of the Kundalini Climb**

- **Purification**: Preparation for the upward climb.
  * Cleansing body, mind, and emotions.
- **Activation**: Kundalini arousal or awakening.
 * **Physical symptoms**: heat, vibrations, emotional release.
- **Rising**: Kundalini's journey through nadis and chakras.
  * Each chakra presents unique challenges and opportunities for growth.
- **Integration**: Living in—and as—light.
  * Embracing the transformative effects of kundalini awakening.
  * Continuous process of spiritual evolution.

### THE FIRST KUNDALINI STAGE: PURIFICATION

**Kundalini Stage 1: Purification**

- Preparation for kundalini awakening can be conscious or unconscious
- Groundwork laid through daily activities, spiritual paths, or personal growth
- **Techniques for intentional awakening**: prayer, meditation, compassionate living, yoga practices
- **Seven sadhanas in traditional yoga theory**: Sat-karma, Asanas, Mudras, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana, Samadhi
- Eight-limbed yoga adds yamas, niyamas, and dharana
- **Three main philosophies of kundalini cultivation**: strict and intense practices, inner bliss approach, shaktipat initiation

**Sadhanas (Daily Spiritual Practices)**

**Bodily cleansing (Sat-karma)**
- Asanas (Postures)
- Mudras (Hand gestures)
- Pranayama (Breath control)
- Pratyahara (Withdrawal of senses)
- Dhyana (Meditation)
- Samadhi (Ecstasy)
  *Two types: savikalpa and nirvikalpa*

**Yoga Traditions**

- Jnana, Raja, Laya, Hatha, Mantra yoga
- Seven basic sadhanas in various traditions

**Philosophies of Kundalini Cultivation**

1. Strict and intense practices
   - Aim at a kundalini awakening
   - "Arouse the sleeping serpent by seizing its tail" (Pradipika)
2. Inner bliss approach
   - Experience inner bliss of self decreases attachment to bodily pleasures and temptations (Abhinava Gupta, Tantraloka)
3. Shaktipat initiation
   - Transfer of awakening energy from teacher to student

### THE SECOND KUNDALINI STAGE: ACTIVATION

- **Kundalini can be activated in various ways**: deliberate cultivation, spontaneously, traumatic events, dreams, sexual experiences, spiritual eureka moments, or in utero influences.
  * Individuals may be born partially aroused or fully awakened due to parental influences, past life accomplishments, intense loving circumstances, or severe abuse.
  * Epigenetic memories can trigger kundalini activation.

**Energetic Activation Process**

- **Prerequisites**: smooth energy flow in the three nadis (ida, pingala, sushumna) and balanced prana distribution.
- Kundalini pierces chakras if energies are uneven.
- Kundalini sleeps in the first chakra, wrapped in coils in the sacrum bone.
  * Compared to the Holy Grail or Vishnu's steps.
 * **Coils represent qualities**: sattva, rajas, tamas, and human capacity for transcendence.
- Kundalini sleeps facing downward with her mouth at the Brahma hole.
- Kundalini can be poison or nectar; when awakened, it leads to expansion toward divinity.
- Kundalini is woven around a lingam, a symbol of ascending force and unification of male and female energies.

### THE THIRD KUNDALINI STAGE: RISING

**The Third Kundalini Stage: Rising**

- The rising process is challenging due to two sets of energetic blocks.

**Energetic Blocks (Lingas)**

- Three lingas act as caps that kundalini must break through.
- Represent forms of Shiva within the sushumna.
- Each linga associated with a chakra and its challenges.

**Svayambhu Linga**

- Occupies space where sushumna attaches to kanda.
- Related to first chakra.
- Physically situated between anus and root of reproductive organ.
- Beautiful, molten gold color and shape.
- Head points downward in small triangle or faces west with split head.
- Blocked by sleeping kundalini.
- Roused by contact with fire, mind, and vital force.

**Bhana Linga and Itara Linga**

- Associated with fourth and sixth chakras, respectively.
- Encourage working through challenges of mind and self-perception.

**Granthi (Locks)**

- Prevent kundalini's ascension after arousal.
- Lingas and granthi may be the same or interrelated.

**Three Granthis**

**Brahma Granthi**

- First grantha at base of spine.
- Represents Brahma, god of creation.
- Kundalini cannot pass until beyond senses' desires and manifestation.

**Vishnu Granthi**

- Second grantha at fourth chakra.
- Associated with Vishnu, god of preservation.
- Initiate must use compassion to serve others instead of self.

**Rudra Granthi**

- Third grantha at sixth chakra.
- Linked to Rudra, Shiva as god of destruction.
- Person must embrace higher truths to ascend to seventh chakra.

**Kundalini can collapse back into elements through Laya yoga, dissolving tattvas (templates of form)**

* **Tattvas include five elements, each associated with chakras**: earth (smell), water (taste), fire (sight), air (touch), ether (sound)
* In sixth chakra, lower mind (manas) dissolves into higher mind (buddhi), then into matrix of nature (sukshma-prakriti)
* Kundalini ascends through sushumna, piercing six chakras and reaching triveni in sixth chakra
* Triveni is located at medulla oblongata, where it merges with divine masculine energy in crown chakra
* Kundalini passes through lingas and granthis at each chakra, affecting metabolism and triggering emotional issues
* Fifth chakra stores nectar (amrita) which can be poisonous or healthful, depending on awakening of throat chakra
* Sixth chakra combines three gunas and bindus to create higher virtues
* Kundalini passes through visarga bridge before entering seventh chakra
* Visarga bridge is also called bindu visarga, source of bindu fluid (nectar or poison)
* Once kundalini reaches brahmarandhra, enlightenment is confirmed and bindu fluid may be released
* Kundalini ascension purifies neurological, hormonal, and other systems related to each chakra.

### THE SYMPTOMS OF A KUNDALINI RISING

**Kundalini Rising Symptoms**

**Motor Symptoms**

- Jerks, spasms, vibrations
- Abnormal breathing
- Paralysis

**Sensory Symptoms**

- **Inner reactions**: lights and sounds
- Tingling, tickles, orgasmic sensations
- Heat or cold
- Inner lights and visions
- **Sounds**: whistling, hissing, voices
- **Pain**: headaches

**Interpretive Symptoms**

- **Extreme emotions**: positive or negative
- Distorted thoughts
- Detachment (witness consciousness)
- Dissociation
- Hysteria
- "Single seeing" (both eyes see as one)

**Non-Physiological Symptoms**

- Out-of-body experiences
- Psychic perceptions

**Emotions and Bodily Reactions**

- Modern research shows statistically discrete areas of the body where various emotions appear, regardless of nationalities tested.
- Illustration 56 shows bodily areas and reactions to emotions based on chakra knowledge.

**Bodily Areas Where Emotions Appear in Kundalini Situations:**

| Emotion | Bodily Area |
| --- | --- |
| Love | Heart |
| Anger | Heart, hands, throat area, feet |
| Happiness | Head and heart |
| Depression | All chakras (lack of brightness) |
| Shame | Sixth chakra (eyes) |

**Kundalini Stages and Symptoms**

- Symptoms dependent on person's process and type of rising
- Understanding the scope and breadth of potential risings is helpful. (Details not provided in text.)

### THE WINDING ROUTES OF KUNDALINI

**Kundalini Rising: Six Main Routes**

- **Six main routes for kundalini ascension**: sushumna, vajra, chitrini, brahma, saraswati, and lakshmi nadis
- Most common risings occur on sushumna, vajra, and saraswati paths

**Stages of Kundalini Rising**

- **No Rising**: Kundalini remains in the first chakra

- **Kundalini Stirring**: Kundalini shaken but doesn't ascend

- **Kundalini Arousal**: Kundalini uncoils and withdraws, may pull subject into darker aspects of first chakra

- **Kundalini Release**: Kundalini exits the first chakra, elevates to achievable chakra level

- **Partial Rising**: Kundalini reaches heart but gets stuck under bhana linga

- **Intermediate Rising**: Kundalini rises through sushumna, breaks through bhana linga, remains at throat or lower brow

- **Deflected Rising**: Kundalini deflected to vajra or saraswati nadi, results in instability

- **Faux Full Rising**: Kundalini pierces itara linga but remains at lower point of sixth chakra

- **Full Rising**: Kundalini rises through sushumna, breaks through itara linga, reaches sixth chakra's highest point and bindu

**Routes After Full Rising**

- **Upper Vajra Nadi**: Causes chakra-by-chakra purge from the highest part of the sixth chakra

- **Upper Chitrini Nadi**: Causes spontaneous bodily and breath patterns via brahmarandhra

- **Upper Brahma Nadi**: Stimulates increased awareness through granthi, triveni, and hrit

**Completion of Rising**

- **Blossoming of chitrini nadi**: Kundalini enters spiritual communion with visarga and merges with pure consciousness at bindu

**Other Possible Routes**

- Direct rising through chitrini or Brahma nadi to bindu
- Left-hand tantric practices between vowed partners, resulting in profound ecstasy and elevated mind capacity

**Plateau Phase**

- **Shuddha Beha**: Purification of the body
- **Pranava Beha**: Improvement of the mind and brain
- **Jnana Beha**: Refinement of higher intelligence
- **Liberation**: Union of the soul with the One
- **Realized Being**: Jivanmukti, able to maintain presence on celestial planes while merging with pure consciousness.

### THE FOURTH KUNDALINI STAGE: INTEGRATION

**Fourth Kundalini Stage: Integration**

- Integrating kundalini is a lifelong process after Shakti and Shiva merge.
- Learn to live again ethically incorporating new siddhis and awarenesses.
- Relate to people differently, grieve lost relationships, open to new ones.
- Reexamine purpose, needs, self-identity.
- Kundalini remains a guide throughout the journey.

**Health Benefits of Liberated Kundalini Energy**

- 2011 studies by Rao and Smiths-Hegde, Dusck (2008) at Harvard Medical School.
- Physical impacts:
  * Maximum 40% increase in cellular energy.
  * Healing of physical ailments and immune system.
    + Significant weight loss, recovery from eating disorders and chronic fatigue.
    + Over 70% alleviation of arthritis, asthma, headache symptoms.
  * Enhanced psychological health: decreased dependency on medication, enhanced sense of well-being.
  * Neurological shifts in the brain: higher incidence of delta waves.
  * Genetic transformation: increased immunity to cancer, improvement in immune modulation, extraordinary psychic abilities.

**Additional Benefits from Yoga Disciplines and Chakra Medicine Exercises**

- Relieve pain, improve stress-related disorders, aid recovery from addictions.
- Decrease blood pressure, heart and breathing rates, depression, anger.
- Heal heart irregularities.
- Profound anti-aging benefits, relieve dyslexia, grief, insomnia, phobias.
- Muscle stress decreases 58%.

**Scientific Perspective of Kundalini**

- Physical process:
  * Increased production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate).
  * Release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters.
  * Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system.
  * Changes in brain chemistry and structure.
  * DNA transformation.

### THE UNIVERSAL NATURE OF KUNDALINI

**Kundalini: A Universal Concept**

- Kundalini transcends religion and ethnicity, present in various cultures and spiritual practices
- Present in scriptures of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity as a fire or serpent
- Ancient Middle Eastern communities worshipped the serpent image with healing and transformational associations

**Religions and Spiritual Practices**
 
* **Islam**: Salaat system acknowledges divine female counterpart Al-at, associated with kundalini 
* **Judaism**: Shekkina, feminine energy; Hebrew letters considered holy, representing male and female aspects of the Divine 
* **Christianity**: Kundalini compared to Holy Spirit 
* **Taoism**: Lao Tze describes kundalini as spirit of the valley, linked to the Divine 
* **Buddhism**: Lord Buddha speaks about middle path for achieving nirvana, possibly describing sushumna and kundalini

**Other Cultures**
 
* **!Kung people (Africa)**: Practice involves heating up n/um energy through dance and achieving a state equivalent to kundalini rising 
* **Modern African esoteric school**: Uroboros practice involves generating heat in lower abdomen and directing energy upward

**Symbolism of the Serpent**

- Found worldwide as symbolic signature of kundalini energy
- Can represent supportive or detrimental forces, depending on culture
- Allusion to caduceus, staff of Hermes, Greek messenger god, associated with healing and medicine
- Symbolizes DNA, double helix governing life, health, and emotions
- Ancient Mesopotamian creator god EA or ENKI depicted as serpent, believed to encode wisdom into humans' genes.

### KUNDALINI AND THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION

**Kundalini and Christianity**

- Kundalini and the Holy Spirit have similarities in both Hindu and Christian traditions
- Kundalini is portrayed as a feminine Divine Mother in Hinduism
- The Holy Spirit in Old Testament and Jewish Torah is also referred to as feminine or neutral
- The term ruah, meaning Holy Spirit in Semitic languages, is feminine
- The Holy Spirit was originally perceived as feminine in early Christian texts
  - Gospels of Thomas and Philip, Acts of Thomas refer to the Holy Spirit as feminine
  - Prayers invoke the Holy Spirit as "mother of all creation" and "compassionate mother"
- Kundalini is a complex mother figure
  - Kind and benevolent, but also explosive and flammable
  - Her purpose is to ignite, purify, and leave us renewed with spiritual gifts
- Kundalini is related to fire in Hinduism
  - Instructions for kindling the fire of kundalini in ancient texts
  - Kundalini is a personal mother who leads to self-realization and heaven on earth
- The Holy Spirit is also related to fire in Christianity
  - God is related to fire in Old Testament
  - Tongues of fire descend on the disciples at Pentecost, bringing rebirth and spiritual gifts
- Both kundalini and the Holy Spirit lead to self-realization and the awakening of spiritual gifts
- Kundalini is not just for personal gain or extrasensory benefits, but for self-knowledge and compassion for others.

### KUNDALINI IN THE BODY: THE SCIENCE OF THE SHAKTI

* Kundalini is a physical and subtle energy that affects the entire body
* Distinction between prana and kundalini:
  * Prana is life energy, exists where there is life, serves as a medium for physical energy
  * Kundalini is more defined and purposeful, experienced as internal heat, involved in activating chakras

**Prana:**

* Exists everywhere, sum of all hidden and manifested energies in the universe
* Five forms: prana, apana, samana, udana, vyana
* Flows through nadis, serves as life energy pulsing through channels
* Some believe chakras are formed from nadis

**Kundalini:**

* More limited and defined than prana
* Experienced as internal heat, involved in activating chakras
* Biologically related to microcurrents in the body
* Activation begins with a shift in the aorta, results in magnetic fields and hormonal shifts
* Increases intuitive awareness, telepathy, social functioning, relaxation, and spiritual growth

**Prana vs. Kundalini:**

* Some argue prana and kundalini are the same, we perceive them differently
* Others propose aiming for a "pranic awakening" to clear kundalini blockages
* Atman is the universal source of all energy, both prana and kundalini originate from it.

### The Neurology and Hormonal Activity of Kundalini

**Kundalini Transformation:**

- Autonomic system involved, regulates bodily functions without conscious control
- **Ideal outcome**: self-control and spiritual gifts
- Physical metamorphosis similar to caterpillar becoming a butterfly
- Radical transformation can be painful and frightening
- **Kundalini awakening in nested cycles**: alarm and recovery states

**Neurological Complexities:**

- Occurs at base of spine, first chakra
- Rich in gap junctions and nerve excitation
- Sushumna is a column of gap junction–linked cells
- Practices like meditation and yoga increase prevalence of gap junctions
- Sympathetic and parasympathetic systems involved

**Alarm State:**

- Sympathetic nervous system dominates
- Peak experiences, heightened adrenal function
- Production of "flight, fight, or freeze" neurochemicals and hormones
- Immune system activation, body begins building new version of itself
- Increased heat, tingling, electrical flow in spine
- Glutamate overstimulation, hyperactivity in cells
- Potential for prolonged hypothyroidism, inhibited T4 to T3 conversion, thyroid issues, cholesterol increase, stress-related conditions, emotional instability

**Recovery State:**

- Parasympathetic nervous system dominates
- **Hormonal release**: vasopressin and oxytocin
- Brings peace and calm after sympathetic burnout
- Preparation for next kundalini cycle

### THE RECOVERY STATE—THE KUNDALINI SHAKEDOWN

**Recovery State**

- Balancing state after alarm state
- Triggered by opiate receptors and nitric oxide
- Creates a sense of bliss and pause
- Repair of cellular damage by lysosomes

**Cellular Repair**

- Lysosomes degrade unwanted material
- Ignore neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, and amino acids
- Flood of inhibitory neurotransmitters to stop excitement

**Parasympathetic Response**

- Brainstem stimulates parasympathetic response
- Turns on dorsal vagus complex (DVC)
- Heart expands and supports DVC activity
- Increased cell division during parasympathetic periods
- Individuals report feeling like they are glowing

**Heart Dominance**

- Love rules when heart assumes dominance
- Sympathetic nervous system kicks in between parasympathetic periods
- Nesting cycles continue until kundalini climbs into higher spiritual chakras

**Enlightening State**

- Shakti merges with Shiva in the pineal gland
- **Physiological changes**: increased blood flow, biophotons, and inhibitory neurotransmitters
- Increased spiritual activity in higher chakra areas
- Transcendental visions and psychic insights
- Stimulation of occipital lobe and pituitary hormones

**Kundalini and EMF (Electromagnetic Field)**

- To be discussed further in next topic.

### KUNDALINI’S ELECTROMAGNETIC CAPACITIES

* The body functions electromagnetically with bioelectrical processing and powerful electrostasis fields in nearly every tissue
* Presence of neuropeptides, ions, and other biochemicals responsible for bioelectrical functioning
* Body is a dipole magnet with north pole in the center of the brain (crown chakra or Shiva) and south pole at genitals (first chakra or Shakti)
* Polarity exists even at conception, established in cells and body systems
* Spine is the connecting channel for bioelectrical power transmitted from the brain to organs
* Upper end of spinal cord positively charged, lower end negatively charged
* Chakras related to pineal, pituitary, hypothalamus, brahmarandhra, and crown are part of north or upper pole
* During kundalini process, negative and positive polarities become more pronounced, increasing ion exchanges and electrical charges
* Increased enzymatic action and oxygen use lead to production of ATP and boost glucose metabolism
* Spine becomes more ionized during a kundalini awakening, fluid within it supercharges with ions and neurotransmitters
* Fluid circulates through spine into organs and brain, "electrifying" the bloodstream
* Increased electrical state enhances vortex energies in body
* Two poles of EMF in body find shortest distance between them and unite through sushumna
* Lines of force emanate from bodily north poles, enter opposite side, and form spinning vortexes along positive-negative axis of spine
* Kundalini intensifies all these movements and amplifies EMF emanating from and surrounding the body
* Greater kundalini activity, stronger EMF; stronger EMF, more intense kundalini experience
* Body's EMF affected by various factors including solar and lunar impacts on atmosphere
* Individuals with thin EMF fields can be more susceptible to external stimulation and intensify kundalini activation
* Goal of kundalini experience is to direct own energy toward positive end.

### A SUMMATIVE EMF THEORY

**A. Summative EMF Theory (Bentov's "Progressive Sensory-Motor Cortex Syndrome" or "Physio-Kundalini Cycles")**

* Oscillation of microcurrents increases during meditation
* Formation of a standing wave in the aorta
* Heart rate, respiratory rate, and diaphragm descent interrelate with aortic motion
* Entrainment of heart-aorta system with body
* "Lighting up" of sensory and motor cortex points corresponding to kundalini path
* Vibrations in cerebral ventricles caused by acoustical standing waves in the heart
* Polarization of cortex and activation of pleasure centers
* Entire body moves in rhythm, causing kundalini reflex and sensations (tingling, electrical discharges, bliss)
* Formation of two pulsating magnetic fields around head
* Both sides of brain become equally available after completion of kundalini circuit
* Enlightened person tuned in to world around them and other energies in the solar system and universe

**B. EMF and Kundalini (Motoyama's Research)**

* Increased amplitude around head during meditation
* Micromotions on left greater than right before meditation
* Equal micromotions on left and right during meditation, indicating transcendent state
* Cultivation of kundalini through chakra medicine techniques recommended for gradual process
* Spontaneous awakening potentially difficult and traumatic

**C. Key Concepts**
 
* **Standing wave**: a wave confined by boundaries or formed when two waves meet 
* **Entrainment**: synchronization of two oscillating systems 
* **Sensory-motor cortex**: the part of the brain responsible for processing sensory information and initiating motor responses 
* **Cerebral ventricles**: fluid-filled cavities in the brain 
* **Chakra medicine techniques**: practices used to balance and open the energy centers in the body, also known as chakras.

### BEYOND THE SCIENCE: THE SNAKE AS TRANSCENDENT

- Kundalini invites transcendence, a return to an earlier state without losing wisdom
- We inhabit multiple layers of reality simultaneously
- Chakras act as elevator shafts between realities and allow transformation
- Kundalini ties us to all layers of reality, including the divine consciousness
- Quantum universe and virtual reality enable kundalini to work quickly
- Chakras serve as vertical funnels for energy crossover and transformation
- Kundalini kindles our true selves by activating physical and subtle energetic structures
- Chakras lose importance as we become pure prana flowing through a kundalini vortex
- Science and spirituality are interconnected in the study of chakras

**Science of Kundalini**

- Kundalini is a bodily agent affecting neurological, hormonal, and electromagnetic levels
- It brings chakras up to speed spiritually and biologically
- Kundalini affects us psychologically and leads to higher wisdom
- Kundalini rises through the nadi system in various ways
- **Common stages of kundalini journey**: purification, activation, rising, integration

### Exploring Chakra Systems

- Parts 6-9 will feature chakra philosophies and systems from different cultures
- Many ways to explain and explore the same reality
- Contemplative approach to science and spirituality is still alive and well.

**Chakras in Asia:**

- Asia is considered the origin of chakra knowledge, with India being the most well-known source
- Chakras have roots in Vedic and tantric origins, yoga, and subdivided and spread throughout Asia
- Chakras were easily anchored in areas devoted to ancient mysteries or alchemy

**India:**

- Start of exploration in chapter 23
- Overview of various chakra systems, including those with different numbers of chakras
- Kriya yoga and its chakra-like bodies (kshetras)
- Ayurveda and marma points
- **Shaivism**: history and teachings of Guru Gorakshanath

**Tibet:**

- Chapter 24: exploration of Tibetan system of tantra, Tibetan medicine, and Himalayan Bon
- Backgrounder on Buddhism and its influence on chakraology
- Integration of Hinduism and Buddhism in Tibet
- Spread of chakra wisdom through Buddhism
- Adaptation and enhancement of local or folk knowledge
- Transformation into existing concepts (e.g., "chakra" in China, Japan)

**China, Korea, Thailand, and Japan:**

- **Chapter 25**: exploration of Taoism, Zen, Nakai Kubota system, and other systems
- Underlying truths are the same despite different names for chakras, subtle energies, and nadis.

## 23. CHAKRA SYSTEMS OF INDIA

* **The Bhagavata Purana**, an early Hindu text, lists six chakras: navel (nabhi), heart (hrt), breast (uras), root of the palate (svatalumula), between the eyebrows (bhruvorantara), and cranium (murdha)
* **Kaulajñana-Nirnaya**, an esoteric text from around 1100 BCE, outlines eight chakras for acquiring magical powers
* **Kubjikamata-Tantra**, written in the eleventh century CE, documents six chakras: muladhara (anus), anahata (heart), and ajña (between the eyebrows), plus the "extra" center of the crown
* **Netra-Tantra**, possibly before the tenth century CE, presents six chakras called adhara without svadhisthana or sahasrara, along with twelve knots and six spaces
* Kundalini is not mentioned in early texts but can be visualized at the central aspect of udana breath
* Shakti rises through these six chakras: organ of generation (janmadhara), navel, heart, throat, palate, and center between the eyebrows
* Laksmi-Tantra cites three centers of visualization and thirty-two additional centers
* Saiddhantika Sardhatrisatikalottara devotes a chapter to a circle of channels for accessing supernatural powers
* Some chakra systems have evolved to incorporate various early ideas, such as the thirteen-chakra system shown in illustration 57.

**Early Chakra Systems:**

* Bhagavata Purana: six chakras - navel (nabhi), heart (hrt), breast (uras), root of the palate (svatalumula), between the eyebrows (bhruvorantara), and cranium (murdha)
* Kaulajñana-Nirnaya: eight chakras for magical powers
* Kubjikamata-Tantra: six chakras - muladhara (anus), anahata (heart), ajña (between the eyebrows), and the "extra" center of the crown
* Netra-Tantra: six chakras called adhara, twelve knots, and six spaces

**Later Chakra Systems:**

* Laksmi-Tantra: three centers of visualization and thirty-two additional centers
* Saiddhantika Sardhatrisatikalottara: a circle of channels for supernatural powers
* Thirteen-chakra system (illustration 57)

### THE KRIYA YOGA SYSTEM: OF CHAKRAS AND KSHETRAS

**Kriya Yoga:**

- Ancient Indian practice resurrected by Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi
- Focuses on internal energy associated with the spine and six primal chakras
 * **Muladhara**: Coccyx
 * **Svadhisthana**: Sacrum
 * **Manipura**: Below the navel
 * **Anahata**: Dorsal region, near heart
 * **Vishuddha**: Neck-shoulder junction
 * **Medulla Point**: Occipital lobe, behind eyebrows
- **Two additional spiritual centers in brain**: Roudri (left above ear) and Bama (right above ear)
- Seven chakras include Sahasrara at the top of the head
- Important to perceive chakra's approximate location for astral energy attunement
- Kshetram points are trigger centers located at body's front, focusing on them sends sensations to chakras

**Kriya Breath:**

- Deep inhalation through nose with unvoiced sound in throat
- Raises prana from first chakra to medulla oblongata and bindu
- Exhalation follows prana back down the spine, pausing at navel area for peace

**Marma Yoga:**

- Specialized branch of Ayurvedic medicine with 107-117 marmani points
- Control mechanisms for prana flow, regulating organs, systems, senses, nadis, and chakras
- Pratyahara is a practice within marma yoga, using external and internal activities to connect inner and outer yoga
- Marmas are junctions of tissue types with heavy prana presence
- Knowledgeable practitioner can treat physical and mental conditions by manipulating correct marmani points
- Lethal points due to potential trauma or death if pierced too hard.

### AYURVEDA: THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

- 5000-year-old medical system from India
- Based on Sankhya philosophy
- **Foundation**: Avyakta (unmanifest), Purusha (pure consciousness), Prakruti (creative potential), Mahad (supreme cosmic intelligence)
- **Five elements (pancha mahabhuta)**: ether, air, fire, water, earth
  * **Ether**: consciousness, space between cells, maintains cellular existence
  * **Air**: electrical, invites movement
  * **Fire**: radiant energy, governs body temperature
  * **Water**: chemical, governs secretions and excretions
  * **Earth**: mechanical, responsible for physical embodiment
- **Three doshas**: vata (space and air), pitta (fire and water), kapha (water and earth)
  * Each dosha includes all elements but in different proportions
    * **Vatas**: movement oriented, dry, light, mobile
    * **Pittas**: hot, sharp, penetrating
    * **Kaphas**: substantial, earthy, heavy, slow
- Marma Points (marmani)
  * Vital energy points on the body's surface
  * Located at veins, arteries, tendons, or bones intersections
  * Infused with prana
  * Can be fatal if injured
  * Developed during Vedic times for healing and martial arts
- Marma Points and Ayurveda
  * Linked to elements, koshas, chakras, acupuncture points
 * **Five types of marmani**: earth, water, fire, air, ether
  * Each set related to an element and a region of the body
  * Chakras fold into the marmani as each is a marma
  * Illustration 60-62 show the relationship between elements, koshas, chakras, and marmani.

**Marma Therapy:**

* Each marma point has specific functions and indications of imbalance. 
* **Marma 79 (trik Muldahara)** is located at the tip of coccyx, functionally related to prostate, cervix, and pelvic floor. 
  - **Indications**: low back pain, sacroiliac joint pain, sciatica, low libido, urinary and reproductive issues. No completely corresponding acupoint. 
  - **Kosha**: Annamaya Vayu, Apana. 
* **Marma 61 (nabhi Svadhisthana)** is located at the navel or bellybutton, regulates digestion and absorption, and relates to Japanese hara and Chinese lower dantian. 
  - **Indications**: abdominal problems, digestive issues, immune system challenges. Corresponding acupoint: Conception vessel 8 (spirit gateway). 
  - **Kosha**: Pranayama Vayu, Apana. 
* **Marma 60 (surya Manipura)** regulates stomach and pancreas, harmonizes emotions, and is located on the midline of the abdomen. 
  - **Indications**: ulcers, reflux, constipation, poor appetite, emotional imbalance. 
  - **Corresponding acupoint**: Conception vessel 11. 
  - **Kosha**: Manomaya Vayu, Samana. 
* **Marma 52 (hridayam Anahata)** regulates cardiac functions and lungs, benefits the stomach and circulation, and calms the mind. 
  - **Indications**: heart dysfunctions, pericardium issues, asthma, coughs, emotional disturbances. 
  - **Corresponding acupoint**: Conception vessel 18. 
  - **Kosha**: Jnanamaya Vayu, Vyana. 
* **Marma 42 (jatru Vishuddhi)** benefits immunity, respiration, lymphatic system, spleen, and thyroid/parathyroid functions. Enhances communication and releases suppressed emotions. 
  - **Indications**: low immunity, fatigue, asthma, hypo-and hyperthyroidism, speech disorders, emotional complaints. 
  - **Corresponding acupoint**: Conception vessel 21. 
  - **Kosha**: Vijanamaya Vayu, Udana. 
* **Marma 5 (ajña)** enhances cerebral circulation, functioning of pituitary and pineal glands, concentration, intuition, calms the mind, and helps eyes and nose. Indications: migraines, hormone imbalances, ADHD, poor memory, stress, insomnia, sinus conditions, emotional disturbances. 
  - **Corresponding acupoint**: None (close to Yintang or M-HN-3). 
  - **Kosha**: Anandamaya Vayu, Prana. 
* **Seventh Chakra (murdhni or adhipati Sahasrara)** synchronizes prana and apana vayus, enhances cerebral circulation, regulates coordination, frontal lobe activity, calms the mind, stimulates memory, and works with pituitary and pineal glands.
  - **Indications**: various physical and emotional challenges. 
  - **Corresponding acupoint**: Governing Vessel 20. 
  - **Kosha**: Beyond the koshas, Prana.

**Marma Touch Therapy:**

* Settle breath with meditation techniques.
* Select a marma point and use each finger (ether, air, fire, water, earth) to apply steady pressure for one minute or more.
* Use gentle pressure and increase it over time if comfortable.
* Rotate the finger clockwise or counterclockwise at the site.
* Cup hand a few inches over the marma point and take deep breaths to integrate the work.

**Shaivism:**

* One of four major Hindu sects, deeply rooted in tantric ideas and practices.
* Emerged from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and parts of southeast Asia. 
* **Kashmir Shaivism**: monotheistic and transcendental philosophy based on tantras revealed by Lord Sh

### Kashmir Shaivism and the Energetic World 

**Kashmir Shaivism and the Energetic World**

* Seven planes of creation in Kashmir Shaivism
  * **Paramishiva**: Top plane of creation, Pure Consciousness
  * **End point**: Fixed matter, humans
* Everything made of spiritual light (prakasa) and elemental layers (tattvas)
* Thirty-six tattvas describe everything from the Absolute to physical reality
* Humans need to evolve by flowing "top down" and dissolving into Shiva

**The Thirty-Six Tattvas**

* **Five growth elements (mahabuhutas)**: Prithvi, Jala, Tejas, Vayu, Akasa
  * Final points of manifestation, basis for material world and sensations/perceptions
* **Five tanmatras or bands of information**: Gandhh, Rasa, Rupa, Sparsa, Sabda
  * Source of energy composing mahabuhutas, govern senses as their "abodes"
* **Five karmendriyas (organs of actions)**: Upastha, Payu, Pada, Pani, Vak
* **Five jnanendriyas (cognition organs)**: Ghrana, Rasana, Caksu, Tvak, Srotra
* **Three internal organs**: Antahkaranas, Manas, Buddhi, Amarikara, Prakriti, Purusa
* **Six kancukas**: Niyati, Kala, Raga, Vidya, Maya, Suddha tattvas
  * Limitations keeping us in dualistic world
* **Five suddha tattvas**: Suddha vidya, Isvara, Sadasiva, Sakti, Siva
  * Divine aspects of Shiva

**Chakras in Kashmir Shaivism**

* Five main chakras and their duties
  * **Muladhara**: Perineum
  * **Nabhi**: Navel
  * **Hrit**: Heart
  * **Kantha**: Pit of throat
  * **Bhurmadhya**: Between eyebrows
* Participate in the rising of kundalini, activated through breath and promptings
* Some systems include solar plexus and crown chakras
* Upon achieving true bliss, pierce the crown chakra to release attachment to worldly pleasures
* In "trance of ghosts," bhurmadhya chakra vibrates and muladhara does not move, unable to achieve anything.

### THE MATRIKA CHAKRA AND SOUNDS

**Matrika Chakra and Sanskrit Sounds in Kashmir Shaivism**

- **Matrikashakti**: system of chakras associated with root vibration and Sanskrit letters
- **Matrika**: sum total of all Sanskrit letters and hidden goddess
- Enlightenment comes from understanding matrikacakra, the core vibration expanding universe
- Feminine creative energy generating physical world, hidden due to unconsciousness
- Consonants associated with tattvas, vowels or semi-vowels linked to Shiva's awareness
- **Matrika chakra**: depiction of 51 matrikas or letters of Sanskrit alphabet
- **Malini**: aspects of unmanifested consciousness in contrast to manifested consciousness

**Shakti Chakra and Life's Tests in Kashmir Shaivism**

- World is a tremor or spanda of the divine, out-breath followed by in-breath of enlightenment
- **Spanda Karikas**: text on meditation to realize self by focusing on Shakti chakra
- Shiva as a throb or vibration transcending time and space
- Basic tool for illumination is the Shakti chakra, an assemblage of Shaktis
- Each Shakti has her own characteristic, encouraging positive or negative manifestation
- **Chief Shaktis organized into groups**: Vameshvari, Khechari, Gochari, Dikchari, Bluchari
- Focusing on Shakti as the center of universe keeps union with Shakti entities and self
- **Exercise**: meditation on Shakti Chakra by reflecting on being at the center of all Shaktis.

### GURU GORAKSHANATH: A NINE-CHAKRA SYSTEM

**Guru Gorakshanath and the Nine-Chakra System**

- **Guru Gorakshanath**: Hindu yogi linked to Shaivism, one of Matsyandranath's disciples
- Born around 8th century, traveled across Indian subcontinent
- Wrote first books on Laya yoga and associated with Hatha yoga
- Believed in nine chakras based on earlier literature

**Background**

- Asked how yogis can attain perfection without knowing their body's nine doors (chakras)
- First mention of chakras in contemporary ideas about the seven Indian chakras
- Considered an essential figure in chakra medicine

**Muladhara (First Chakra)**

- Door of anus and sushumna, seat of psycho-physical energy
- Four-leaved lotus with red petals and yellow square
- Yoni called Kamarupa, triangular center of fire where kundalini sleeps
- Located at the base of the spine

**Svadhisthana (Second Chakra)**

- Six-leaved lotus near generating organ
- Relationship with water and creativity
- Located near the lower abdomen

**Yonisthana or Kamarupa (Between First and Second Chakras)**

- Four-fingered space between anus and sexual organ
- Represents body's creative power
- Partially identified with Muladhara's triangle

**Manipura (Third Chakra)**

- Ten-leaved lotus in the navel
- Linked to kanda, origin of 72,000 nadis
- Located above the navel and below the heart

**Anahata (Fourth Chakra)**

- Twelve-leaved lotus near the heart
- Invites freedom from merit and demerit
- Small eight-petalled red lotus below it called anandakanda or wishing-tree

**Vishuddha (Fifth Chakra)**

- Sixteen-leaved lotus at the root of the palate
- Helps link lower and higher chakras

**Ajña Chakra (Sixth Chakra)**

- Two-leaved lotus between eyebrows
- Also called uddiyana, jinna-lotus, or eye of enlightenment

**Nirvana Chakra (Eighth Chakra)**

- Found within Sahasrara
- Helps realize individual consciousness
- Circle where release is achieved

**Brahmarandhra (Ninth Chakra)**

- Above Nirvana Chakra
- Official place of bliss, space for moksha or freedom
- Located at the highest point of Sahasrara
- Identified with Sahasrara itself

**Additional Teachings**

- Guru Gorakshanath also taught about ten vital breaths (mentioned throughout the book)

## 24. TIBET: INDIAN TANTRA MEETS BUDDHISM

- Tibet, located northeast of India, dominant religion is Tibetan Buddhism
- Arrival of Buddhism in 7th century CE, blended with Indian tantra and local Himalayan Bon practices
- Tantric connection reflected in names like Tibetan Tantra Buddhism
- **Overview of Buddhism**:
  - Religion or way of life
  - **Threefold path**: moral life, mindfulness, wisdom
  - Founded by Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal (563 BCE)
  - Spread mainly in China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia
  - **Primary texts**: Pali canon (Tripitaka), Mahayana sutras
  - **Three main types**:
    **Theravada Buddhism**
      - Surviving school from earliest years
      - Focus on meditation to free mind from suffering
    **Mahayana Buddhism**
      - Inclusive of Theravada beliefs
      - Seek bodhisattva enlightenment, universal compassion
      - Highly mystical path
    **Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana Buddhism)**
      - Draws upon Mahayana and Theravada scriptures
      - **Subtle body concept**: diamond body
- **Chakra medicine concepts in relation to Buddhist practices**:
  - Tibetan Buddhism incorporates chakras and chakra philosophies
  - Tantric practices involve energy channels (nadis) and chakras for spiritual growth.

### Theravada Buddhism

- Represented by monks in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma
- Encompasses Pali canon with 28 volumes (Tripitaka)
- Originally included tantric practices like chakras, amulets, mantras, and meditation methods
- **Emphasizes balance of four elements**: earth, water, wind, fire for bodily health

**Chanting in Theravada Buddhism**

- Vital part of practice with various types and reasons
- Ancient mantra for blessings and thanksgiving
- **Homage to Triple Gems**: Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
- **AUM represents the three letters of Triple Gems**: Arahato, Uttamadhammassa, Mahasanghassa
- Clear mind before chanting, focus on meaning and cadence, take deep breaths after completion.

### Mahayana Buddhism

- Developed about 300 years after Buddha's death
- Called the "Great Vehicle" or "Northern Buddhism"
- Extends throughout East Asia, supplementing earlier scriptures with new texts
- **Key Mahayana texts**: Diamond Sutra, Prajñaparamita, Heart Sutra, Pure Land Sutras, Madhyamika, Yogacara
- **Zen (meditation) schools**: Rinzai (koans), Soto (sitting meditation)

**Mahayana Concepts**

- **Eternal Buddha**: takes on different forms historically and celestially
- **Arhats vs. Bodhisattvas**: seek own enlightenment instead of compassion for all beings
- **No-Self/Anatma & Emptiness**: extend the concept of no-self

**Mahayana Schools**

- **Pure Land Buddhism**: argues humans can only hope for rebirth into a pure land
 * **Jodo Shu**: devotion to Buddha Amitabha
- **Nichiren Buddhism**: encourages devotion to the White Lotus Sutra and sutra chanting

**Mahayana Influence on Chakras**

- Mahayana texts do not emphasize chakras but are inclusive of main chakra ideals
- Tantric practices, yoga, meditation for attaining Bodhi (highest truth)

**Buddha's Three Bodies**

- **Dharma body**: eternal Buddha, identified with emptiness
- **Bliss body**: celestial Buddhas guiding beings in their lands
- **Transformation body**: manifestations of the Buddha in this world, including historical Buddhas like Gautama.

### Vajrayana Buddhism

- Developed in India around 5th century CE
- Also known as Tibetan or Tantric Buddhism
- Esoteric extension of Buddhist thought, dominant form in Tibet
- Originated from Mahayana and yogic traditions in India
- Retained tantric practices, marriage of Buddhism and Hindu yoga/tantra

**Origins and Schools**

- Emerged from Mahayana around 6th-7th centuries CE
- Spread to Tibet, became dominant form
- **Two main schools**: Nyingma ("ancient") and Kagyu ("whispered" or Red Hat)
  - Karma Kagyu (Black Hats)
  - Sakya ("pale earth")
  - Gelug ("yellow hat")
  - Shingon (Japan)
- Current Dalai Lama is a lama in the Kadampa tradition, Mahayanic
- Indigenous Bon religion in Tibet adopted Vajrayana traits

**Mahayana Influences**

- Embraces role of gods and bodhisattvas
- Helps escape samsara (cycle of death and rebirth)

**Yogic Traditions Inheritance**

- **Chakra medicine practices**: mantras, mandalas, chakras
- Differences in use among Vajrayana schools

### TIBETAN BUDDHISM AND THE CHANNEL WHEELS

* Tibetan Buddhism draws from Indian Buddhism and tantric ideas, including chakras for accessing wisdom and achieving emptiness.
* Chakras, or channel wheels, are part of our physical embodiment in Tibetan practices. 
* **Tibetan Buddhism acknowledges four main chakras**: navel (manipura), heart (anahata), throat (vishuddha), and top of the head (sahasrara or ajña). 
* **Differences from Hindu version**: Tibetan Buddhism may have 5, 7, or 10 channel wheels with varying spokes.
* Key to Tibetan Buddhist practice is vital energy and a structured subtle body called the vajra body.
* Vajra body relies on red and white subtle drops, channels, and winds for transformation and spiritual development.
* Channels are equated with nadis; wheels, or doors, with chakras.
* Red drops linked to blood, energy of fire, and navel center (manipura).
* White drops linked to inherited substances, sperm, higher subtle energies, and top head center (sahasrara or ajña).
* Winds are power fields that awaken movement and resist chaos; they produce transformation and spiritual development.
* Goal is to open the doors of the channel wheels and enable the winds' entrance into the central channel.
* In typical person, winds wander in subtle channels, activating lower concepts and behaviors.
* Channels described as operating both vertically and horizontally, leading to differences in petal count between Tibetan and other tantric systems. 
* Each channel has a special drop, with an indestructible drop in the heart wheel carrying a subtle life-bearing wind.
* Petals in each center are red or white, with triangles in the centers of the two main wheels.
* Number of petals doubles from heart chakra upward; heart chakra has eight petals, throat sixteen, etc.
* Each petal associated with a geographic direction and primary elements, with three channels flowing from each.
* Channels subdivide into 72,000 channels.

### THE TIBETAN CHANNELS AND CHANNEL WHEELS

* Network of riverways in Tibetan tantra
* Central channel: pale blue, runs through center of each channel wheel
	+ Begins between eyebrows, ascends to crown, descends to sex organ
	+ Contains oily red color, transparent, flexible, midway between right and left halves of body
	+ Also known as "two abandonments" or "mind channel (rahu)"
* Right and left channels: red and white, run alongside central channel
	+ Begin at tips of nostrils, ascend to crown, descend to navel
	+ Hold and release sperm, blood, urine; curve below navel and join in sex organ
	+ Form 72,000 channels that formulate consciousness
* Inside channels are six types of consciousness (sems or shespa)
	+ Subtle mind below navel, subtle mind in heart, gross mind in head
	+ Clear and luminous, produce six different consciousnesses for perception and analysis
* Subtle winds produce ten gross physical winds
	+ Sustain body-mind system, flow inside and outside physical body
	+ Perform physical functions and maintain health
* Among 72,000 channels flow 72,000 winds, impose 72,000 emotions
* Four main chakras:
	+ Mahasukha or Svabhavika Wheel (Great Bliss Chakra)
		- Location: Head
		- Spokes: 32
		- Shape: Triangular
		- Color: White
		- Activity: Physical, waking
		- Deities: Wrathful
	+ Sambhoga Wheel (Enjoyment Chakra)
		- Location: Throat
		- Spokes: 16
		- Shape: Circular
		- Color: Red
		- Activity: Talking, dreaming
		- Deities: Wise Dharma
	+ Dharma Chakra (Dharma Chakra)
		- Location: Heart
		- Spokes: 8
		- Shape: Circular
		- Color: White
		- Activity: Mental, sleeping
		- Deities: Peaceful
	+ Nirmana Wheel (Transformation or Manifesting Chakra)
		- Location: Navel
		- Spokes: 64
		- Shape: Triangular
		- Color: Red
		- Activity: Procreation and creative power; easiest door to bring in energy winds
		- Deities: Varies by system.

### MEETING THE MEDICINE BUDDHA: THE TIBETAN BUDDHIST MEDICAL SYSTEM

- Medicine Buddha: azure blue body, holds a begging bowl and myrobalan plant, represents holistic healing system in Tibetan Buddhism
- Based on 17 Sanskrit Indian ayurvedic texts, preserved in Tibet since 7th century bce
- Incorporates shamanic traditions, Chinese, Greek, Persian medicine, and tantric practices
- Holistic system: addresses physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of health
- Importance of subtle body and chakras

**Chakras in Tibetan Medicine**

- Six main chakras identified: between eyebrows (ignorance), throat (desire), heart (anger), navel (ego), genital center (jealousy), top of skull (transcendence)
- Three to four most important for healing purposes
- Visualizations often focus on Buddha body, speech, and mind chakras
- Lama works with deities related to these energy centers
- Healing mandala: Western Mt. Malaya (vital organs), Eastern Mt. Ponadan (cures every disease), Northern Mt. Gangchen (neutralizes cold), Southern Mt. Begche (neutralizes heat)

**Healing in Tibetan Medicine**

- Identification with a Buddha for healing: receiving blessings from a lama or self-healing
- Spiritual medicine called ambrosia (dutsi) and subtle vital essence called thigle used
- Transmission of energies through blessings, pill, water, touch, sound, or meditation.

### CHANNEL WHEELS VERSUS CHAKRAS: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SYSTEMS

* Tibetan Buddhism incorporates channel wheels, similar to chakras 
* **Differences include**:
 * **Number of channel wheels**: 4-10 in Tibetan Buddhism vs. 7 major chakras in Hindu-based systems
 * **Location of third chakra**: solar plexus in Hindu yogic tradition, below navel in Tibetan Buddhism
  * Energy channels and nadis differ slightly
  * Meditation techniques are passed down in Tibetan Buddhism, not usually in classical Indian systems
  * Emphasis on opening channel wheels as doorways to move wind into central channel

**Vajra Body**

* Vajra body is a concept found in Hinduism and Buddhism
* Indicates the entire subtle body or gateway to clear light mind
* Equated to light/rainbow body, immortal body, wujud al-aqdas, and diamond body
* Consists of energy channels, winds, and drops within Tibetan Buddhistic framework
* Interacts with six chakras linked to body's elemental constituents 
* **Practices vary between traditions**: meditation, generating inner flame (Tummo), or sophisticated practices involving energy winds

**Heruka Tantra**

* High yoga tantra practice in Kadampa Buddhism
* Invites development of truth body through concentrating on wrathful aspect of Heruka, a form of Buddha and Indian god
* Helps gain oneness with Heruka's compassionate mind

**Inner Alchemy in Taoism**

* Teaching that everyone can find their own truth
* Transforms three treasures into diamond or vajra body through practices
* Indestructible essence opens the gate to immortality and composed of sacred emptiness

**Exercise: Meditating on the Vajra Body**

- Connect with your vajra body by meditating on compassionate nature and bliss of Heruka.

### KALACHAKRA TANTRA: STARS ACROSS TIME

**Kalachakra Tantra:**

* Important tradition within Tibetan Buddhism, embraces tantric deity of Vajrayana and shared philosophies
* Incorporates astrology, energy cycles, and subtle body
* Taught by Buddha 2,800 years ago in southern India to rulers of Shambhala
* Three main cycles: External, Internal, Alternative

**External Kalachakra:**

* Refers to the outer world
* Composed of six elements and objects of senses
* Mt. Meru at center, surrounded by continents and solar system
* Dictated by time cycles

**Internal Kalachakra:**

* Our inner world: body and mind, psychophysical capacities
* Six types of living beings, six chakras, ten vital energies, energy channels, eight drops
* Four main drops transform into empty body, unconfused sound, non-conceptual wisdom, unchanging bliss
* Deals with astrological relationships between internal energies and beliefs, emotions, organs

**Alternative Kalachakra:**

* Spiritual methods leading to enlightenment through initiations and yoga stages
* Ten practical and one transcendental initiation
* Purifies other cycles

**Subtle Body:**

* Made of invisible particles: energy channels, subtle vibrations, creative drops
* Energy channels contain chakra wheels
* Subtle vibrations are "speech"
* Creative drops are red or white

**Tibetan Subtle Energy System (Kalachakra)**

- **energy channels**: tsa, meaning "roots"
  - **gross level**: breath winds in respiratory system
  - **subtle level**: energy winds providing motion, digestion, and sensory functions
  - spiritual practices dissolve mind at six chakras of central channel
    * located at crown, forehead, throat, heart, navel, and pubic region
    * clear light mind brings higher awareness

**Subtle Speech**

- internal and external speech
- represented by drop of sleep in throat and pubic chakras
- vibrational or uses breath and respiratory channels
- subtle speech occurs inside central energy channel
- visualize and utter seed syllables related to chakras or intentions

**Subtle Creative Drops**

- eight stationary drops in subtle body
- **four drops**: waking, dreaming, sleep, sexual ecstasy
- winds of karma carry karmic potentials to chakras
- eliminate winds of karma through clear light mind to purify drops

**Kalachakra Subtle System**

- mirrors earth's pilgrimage sites and twelve zodiac signs
- six bodily and six cosmic chakras
- cosmic chakras related to elemental mandalas of gnosis/wisdom, earth, water, fire, air/wind, and space
- tantric adept purifies bodily chakras with six-phase yoga practice
- forty-eight pilgrimage sites linked to twelve joints in the body

**Buddha Families**

- ancient Buddhist explanation of enlightened mind and its aspects
- vital component of Buddhist tantra
- **Kalachakra system portrays six Buddha families in each chakra**:
  * Varocana (wheel family) representing body
  * Ratnasambhava (jewel family) for action and good qualities
  * Amitabha (lotus family) for speech
  * Amoghasiddhi (karma family) for action and ability to influence self and others
  * Aksobhya (vajra family) for mind
  * Vajrasattva (cleaver or curved knife family) representing clear mental activity.

### DIGGING DEEPER: DETAILS ABOUT THE SUBTLE KALACHAKRA STRUCTURES
* Three main channels: central (dhuti), right (rasana), left (lalana)
  * Central channel: black, carries wind
  * Right channel: red, carries blood and menstrual blood (feminine)
  * Left channel: white, carries seminal fluid (masculine)
* Six major upper and lower channels
  * Higher three carry life-sustaining wind
  * Lower three carry downward-expelling wind
* Twelve main channels at the navel
* Eight channel petals at the heart further divide into channels, totaling 72,000 channels
* Chakras and their petals are innate but not awakened
* Six basic chakras: Crown (green, four petals), Forehead (white, 16 petals), Throat (red, 32 petals), Heart (black, eight petals), Navel (yellow, sixteen petals), and Secret Place (blue, thirty-two petals)
* Ten main winds: life-sustaining wind, downwardly expelling wind, coexisting wind, upwardly moving wind, pervading wind, naga wind, turtle wind, lizard wind, devadatta wind, dhanamjaya wind
* Twelve great winds change direction every breath from different petals in the body
* Winds flow 1,800 times in each channel every day
* Bon: Tibetan Energy System
  * Religious tradition of Tibet, arose in the eleventh century
  * Recognized as its own school by Dalai Lama in 1978
  * Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches wheels (khorlos) as pranic or life-energy centers.

### THE SUBTLE WORLD OF HIMALAYAN BON

**Himalayan Bon and Nine Categories of Teachings:**

* Bon outlines nine categories of teachings, or Nine Ways/Vehicles
* Each category has unique characteristics, practices, and results
* Lower levels include medicine and astrology, highest is Great Perfection
* Goal: attain rainbow body at death, transforming five gross elements into clear light

**Five Gross Elements:**

* Space (white or colorless)
* Air (green)
* Fire (red)
* Water (blue)
* Earth (yellow)

**Healing and Balancing the Elements:**

* Achieve healing by balancing elements
* Negative emotions create imbalance, leading to diseases
* Shift perceptions from negative to positive for improved health and spiritual maturity

**Six Realms of Existences (Lokas):**

* Dimensions and planes as well as classes of sentient beings
* Each loka related to a specific chakra, indwelling in the body
* Six major centers: root, navel, heart, throat, third eye, crown
* Work on issues within each chakra to transform oneself

**Chakras:**

* Energetic crossroads of gross, subtle, or extremely subtle channels
* Three main channels: central and two side channels
* Carry prana (life energy)

**Tsa Lung Exercise:**

* Clear subtle energy channels for clear mind and body
* Five exercises to clear chakras and channels between them
* First exercise: clear crown chakra, hold breath, turn head, release breath

**Buddhism in Tibetan Subtle Systems:**

* Dominant presence of Buddhism in Tibetan subtle systems
* Tantra interweaving concepts
* Major forms of Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, Himalayan Bon explored
* Chakras, channels, winds, wheels, drops, vajra body discussed.

## 25. OTHER ASIAN CHAKRA SYSTEMS

**Asian Chakra Systems**
 
* **Chakra medicine has spread across Asia and shares core concepts with various systems**: energy channel, points, channels, vital life energy
* Taoism (China) and reflexology are examples of Asian systems incorporating chakra concepts 
* **Taoism**: collection of practices for living in harmony with nature, includes diet, breathing, exercise, use of herbs, and philosophies
* Goal is to bring us closer to natural order
* Originated in China during Confucius' time, influenced by tantra 
* **Key concepts**: yin and yang, five elements, use of divination, exorcism, practices for ecstasy 
* **Taoist alchemy**: transformation process similar to kundalini rising, involves internal and external practices
	+ External: using tools like mercury, lead, crystals, herbs
	+ Internal: combining body's energies with earth and cosmos 
* **Microcosmic orbit**: pathway for distilled inner energy to run up spine and down front of body
* Taoist system includes five elements, meridians, six healing sounds, and chakra-like energy bodies (dantian)

**Taoist Alchemy and the Microcosmic Orbit**

* Emphasizes transformation process similar to kundalini rising
* Involves internal and external alchemy
	+ External: using tools for longevity and mystical goals
	+ Internal: combining body's energies with earth and cosmos 
* **Microcosmic orbit**: pathway for inner energy to run up spine and down front of body
* Taoist system includes five elements, meridians, six healing sounds, and chakra-like energy bodies (dantian)

### THE TAOIST TRADITION

**Taoism**

- Religion originated in China over 2500 years ago, incorporating shamanic practices from as early as 6000 years ago
- Meaning "way" or "path," Taoism is a journey to the heart of the sublime and a road to bodily rejuvenation
- Harmony with the flux is key, but emperors sought to harness yogis for magical abilities
- Yogis protected their knowledge, resulting in piecemeal practices and secrecy
- Communism suppressed Taoism in the 1950s and 1960s, leading to limited information on alchemy

**Lessons from a Taoist Monk (Robert Piper)**

- Try until you get it right
- Answer to a question lies within
- Real wisdom comes from doing and failing
- Meditation helps recognize egotistical mind
- Compassion and resilience necessary for growth
- Patience is a virtue
- Detach from ego
- No self, no enemy
- Happiness comes from internal and external sources

**Taoist Grand Master Chang San-feng**

- Taoist priest born in 1247 CE, believed to be an immortal or xian
- Founder of Wudang Mountain culture associated with Taoist studies and practices
- Immune to elements, could fly, live on dew and air, and age slowly

**Taoist Subtle World**

- Three treasures: jing (essence), chi (vitality), shen (spirit)
- Three dantian: lower (jing), middle (chi), upper (shen)
- Lower dantian: seat of jing, located below navel, circulates essence
- Middle dantian: seat of chi, refines breath into spirit
- Upper dantian: seat of shen, divided into nine palaces or chambers, marks last state of neidan (internal alchemy)
- Neidan: physical, mental, and spiritual practices aimed at increasing longevity and creating an immortal spiritual body

**The Four Taoist Forces**

- Born with prenatal force, which can be recharged by accessing other forces: heavenly, cosmic, earth
- Dantian establish a three-part division of inner space and are linked with the three treasures

**Within this backdrop, our chi circulates through the physical and subtle body...**

* The microscopic circulation of chi in the body mirrors the macroscopic orbit of universal force in the galaxy
* Chi is essential for health and energy; lack of chi leads to sickness and aging
* Earth, heavenly, cosmic, and original chi are required for a healthy life
* Microcosmic orbit involves circulating energy through governing and conception channels 
* **Governing channel**: main yang channel, begins in perineum, runs up spinal column, ends at base of nose and upper lip 
* **Conception vessel**: main yin channel, starts at lower abdomen, connects with governing channel and microcosmic orbit
* Performing microcosmic and macrocosmic orbits fills meridians and enhances energy flow
* Earth force is red, sexual energy is pink, universal energy is violet, etc.
* Specific points important for circulation and access to external vibrations
* Circulation of energy results in golden elixir and bright light, key to higher consciousness
* Microcosmic orbit balances and integrates all chakras into one chakra
* Orbit regulates positively and negatively charged points opposite chakras, causing them to spin
* Increasing chi flow in the orbit amplifies and balances energy flowing through chakras
* Central channel (Thrusting Channel) serves as birth canal for spiritual rebirth as an immortal
* Expanding consciousness attracts higher frequencies of light, filling orbit with chi and creating human auric field
* Energy pulses into five gates in feet, perineum, heart/palms, third eye, and crown, linking personal microcosmic orbit to macrocosmic energies.

### Apples, Oranges, and Taoist Energy 
Elizabeth Reninger's article connects classical and quantum physics with Taoist practice

**Lower Dantian:**
- Located in the abdomen
- Home of jing (creative energy)
- Associated with emotional and intuitive reactions
- Contains enteric nervous system, "belly brain"

**Middle Dantian:**
- Located in physical heart or solar plexus
- Generates strongest electromagnetic frequencies
- Home of chi (life force)

**Upper Dantian:**
- Located in middle of head
- Comparable to morphogenetic fields
- Home of shen (spirit or consciousness)
- Existence of Higgs boson supports Taoist concept of universal energy

* Negativity and Positivity:
  - Not only external but internal as well
  - Avoiding being God, expecting intervention moves us away from our "God self"
  - We are equal to the matter in the universe

**Navel (Lower Dantian):**
- First connection to mother through umbilical cord
- Physical center of body
- Related to element of earth
- Perfect place to work on clearing negative emotions

**Negative Emotions and Navel Massage:**
- Anxiety: upper intestine
- Anger: right side of abdomen
- Fear: deeper and lower sides of intestines
- Sadness: lower and lateral sides of intestines
- Worry: upper left side of intestines
- Massaging the navel area can help clear negative emotions
  - Lie on back, use one finger to find tender spot around navel
  - Massage lumps or nodes until they dissipate
  - Repeat until lump disappears.

### Reflexology and the Chakras 
 
* **Reflexology**: relieving tension and treating illness by working on reflex points linked to other parts of the body

**Chakras:** energy centers in Asian healing systems, located in feet and hands

**Seven Chakra Points:**
- **On Foot**: Illustration 67, ask for release of negative energies and opening to supportive ones at each point, starting from first (base) chakra and moving up to seventh (crown) chakra
- **In Hand**: Illustration 66, same process as foot, starting from first (root) chakra and ending with seventh (crown) chakra

**Exercise:** Chakra Hand and Feet Reflexology
1. Locate imbalanced chakra point
2. Address specific issue by examining hand or foot reflexology charts
3. Determine related chakra based on symptoms
4. Apply pressure to point for release or addition of energy
5. Concentrate on releasing negativity and bringing in positive energies during the process
6. Hold steady pressure for up to three minutes

### Zen: Meditation Buddhism 

**Zen:**

- Sect of Mahayana Buddhism focusing on enlightenment through intuition gained from meditation
- Originated in China as Chan (meditation) around 6th century CE
- Spread to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan
- Emphasizes transmission of dharma (truth) from teacher to student
- Not an intellectual discipline; focuses on self-discovery through zazen (meditation)
- Rooting in hara line for energetic balance

**Zen History:**

- Developed in China as Chan, meaning "meditation"
- Japanese version is Zen
- Spread to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan
- Many versions, considered forms of Taoist Buddhism

**Zen Practice:**

- **Main tool**: meditation (zazen) for self-discovery
- Focus on hara line for balance and connection to original oneness
- **Simple Zazen exercise**:
  - Sit upright in lotus or chair position
  - Imagine spine as lotus stem, head as water lily flower
  - Rest left hand in right palm with thumb tips touching
  - Let breath be natural, centered at hara point below navel
  - Gently bring mind back to hara point and be present.

### The Korean Chakra System 

* Ilchi Lee's spiritual quest led to the development of Brain Education System Training (BEST) based on the conclusion that the brain is the center of change.
* Inspired by the ancient Korean text, Chun Bu Kyung, which explains the laws of the cosmos and the concept of heaven, earth, and humanity. 
* **The universe is made up of three aspects**: heaven (spiritual), earth (material), and humans (energy).
* Humans have an energy circulation system with three internal dahnjons and four external centers.
* Three internal dahnjons enable physical health and spiritual growth through a triple-stage process.
* Each dahnjon produces its own energy capsule for protection.
* The Korean system has seven dahnjons or basic energy centers, similar to but not identical as chakras. 
* **Seven chakras are located in traditional sites**: root, sacrum, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and top of the head.
* Sixth and seventh chakras are particularly important for connecting with universal or divine energy.
* Exercise to strengthen chakras involves focusing on the sixth (in-dang) and seventh (baek-hwe) chakra points to create a solid column of energy connecting all chakras.

**Chun Bu Kyung**

* Ancient Korean text, predating Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.
* Explains the sage's enlightenment experience and the laws of the cosmos.
* Provides details for Shinsundo training in body, mind, spirit, and character.

**Dahnjons**
 
* **Three internal dahnjons**: lower (vital energy), middle (heart opening), and upper (full awakening).
* Each dahnjon produces its own energy capsule for protection.
* Seven chakras in the Korean system, located at traditional sites.
* Sixth and seventh chakras are particularly important for connecting with universal or divine energy.

**Exercise**

* Focus on the baek-hwe point (top of the head) to awaken the sixth chakra and then the seventh chakra.
* Clear energy lines from the sixth chakra, allowing energy to flow to the baek-hwe point.
* Lightly press down on the crown and expand the seventh chakra sensations.
* Feel the vibration radiating outward and create a vortex of energy at the baek-hwe point.

### Thai Massage and Energy Lines

- **Thai massage**: ancient practice using energy lines and chakras
- Ten energy lines called sen in Thai massage (differing locations from Chinese meridians)
  - **Three types**: main, extension, brain
  - Equivalent to Hindu nadis and TCM meridians
    * Sen Sumana: sushumna nadi, Ren Mai, Du Mai
    * Sen Ittha and Sen Pingkhala: ida and pingala nadis, Bladder Meridian
    * Sen Sahatsarangsi and Sen Thawari: Stomag Meridian
  - Seven major chakras along Sen Sumana, minor ones around body
- **Shiatsu**
  - Japanese therapy based on TCM principles
  - "Finger pressure" on meridians using fingers, thumbs, palms, etc.
  - Diagnosis and treatment through tsubo points
    * Basic shiatsu points (BSP): unnamed, effect change throughout body (660)
    * Keiketsu shiatsu points (KSP): relate to specific concerns, correspond to TCM points
  - Modern approach includes subtle bodies and chakras
    * Etheric, astral, mental, causal bodies
    * Meridian and organ systems in etheric body
    * Seven chakras located in classical Indian areas, labeled accordingly
      * Etheric component nourishes organs and glands
      * Astral aspect nurtures emotions
      - **Twelve main meridians**: six zang (energy storage), six fu (transform food into energy)
        * Energy flows from chakras, organs, tsubo points, and meridian endings
- **Quick Shiatsu Energy Boost**
  - Swivel hips in clockwise and counterclockwise motion for energy boost
- **Kubota Healing System**
  - Chakra and meridian interconnectivity system by acupuncturist Naoki Kubota
  - Reveals ways to increase bodily and subtle energy
- **Pranic Healing**
  - Energy medicine developed by Master Choa Kok Sui
  - Unification of science and spirituality, uses prana for healing
  - Indian tantra, Chinese Taoism, Tibetan tantra influences
  - Obtain prana from air, sun, ground, trees, or transfer it from one person to another
  - Connect Conception and Governing Meridian channels through tongue for higher energy flow

**The chakras are considered energetic transformers that enable the exchange of information** 

- **Master Choa's version**: 11 main chakras and minor ones
- **Important chakras and their functions**:
  - **Crown Chakra**: Top of the head, center for higher intuition
  - **Forehead Chakra**: Center of forehead, lower intuitive intelligence
  - **Ajña Chakra**: Between eyebrows, directs will and abstract mind
  - **Throat Chakra**: Center of throat, governs lower mental faculty
  - **Heart Chakra**: Center of chest, emotional heart
  - **Solar Plexus Chakra**: Hollow area between ribs, serves positive and negative emotions (two chakras)
  - **Spleen Chakra**: Left part of abdomen, controls and energizes spleen
  - **Navel Chakra**: Navel, produces synthetic golden chi for prana circulation
  - **Meng Mein Chakra**: Backside of navel, controls and energizes kidneys and adrenal glands
  - **Sex Chakra**: Pubic area, center of sexual instinct and procreation
  - **Basic Chakra**: Coccyx, root chakra, governs survival instinct and produces energy for action

**Clearing a Space with Crown Chakra Energy**

- Technique to clear negative energy from a room using visualization
- Involves focusing on the crown chakra and drawing down violet pranic energy
- Send this energy into the room for at least 5 minutes or until subtle light appears
- Do not call on any other energy but pranic energy during exercise

**Asian Traditions**

- Covered reflexology, acupoints, and modern pranic healing
- Discussed Chinese dantians, Taoist orbits, Zen hara line, Korean dahnjons, Thai energy lines, Japanese shiatsu points, and Dr. Kubota's system
- Each tradition incorporates chakras and their ideas in various ways
- **Invitation to honor Asian traditions before moving on to other continents**: Africa, Old Europe, Middle East, and the Americas.

### ANCIENT CHAKRA SYSTEMS ACROSS AFRICA, EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND THE AMERICAS

* Chakras existed beyond India and Asia
* Depictions found in Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Americas
* "As above, so below" - Divine energy within physical form

**Chapter 26: African Continent**
 
* **Egypt**: cosmos, divinity, soul, Tree of Life 
* **Zulu**: chakra-like ideas similar to modern Western occult systems 
* **Yoruba**: deeply mystical system

**Chapter 27: Chakra Systems of Old Europe**

* Rich and diverse cultures
* Scandinavians and Teutonic worlds
* British Islands

**Chapter 28: The Middle East**
 
* **Oldest religions**: Zoroastrianism, Islamic Sufism, Jewish Kabbalah
* Ancient spiritual studies
* Indians arrived from Africa around 60,000 BCE
* Diasporas, visitations, and migrations
* Ties between Greece, Egypt, and India

**Chapter 29: The Americas**
 
* **Earth-based tribes**: Hopis, Cherokees 
* **Mesoamerican cultures**: Mayans 
* **Complex societies**: Aztec, Incan civilizations
* Chakra ideologies present throughout Western Hemisphere
* Possible birthplace of chakra knowledge in Americas
* Legends of Lemuria and Atlantis.

## 26. THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

* Africa as a rich continent in chakra medicine traditions 
* **Possible origin of chakra knowledge**: Dravidians from Ethiopia to India and back 
* **Ancient Egypt**:
  + Founded by Africans called Kamitans or Kemetics
  + Black-skinned people with orderly energy cosmology
  + Similarities to African Zulus and Yoruba in energy bodies and chakras
  + Kamitic Tree of Life, comparable to Jewish Kabbalah
* Ancient Egyptians influenced Greek, Jewish, Islamic, and Christian philosophies
* Moses, a Hebrew, may have been an Egyptian priest with knowledge of chakra medicine 
* **Kamitic Tree of Life**:
  + Shows spheres relating to creation of the world
  + Pathways from heavens and return from earth 
* **Zulu and Yoruba people**:
  + Share similar cosmology and understanding of energy bodies
  + Common presentation of energy bodies called orishas
  + Tree of Life comparable to Jewish Kabbalah
* Early Greeks may have spread chakra medicine to the West from Egypt and Africa.

### THE KAMITIC TREE OF LIFE

**Kamitic Tree of Life**

- Diagram of God's process in creating the world and humankind's journey
- Eleven spheres, numbered 0 to 10
- **Sphere 0**: Amen (God, hidden god) in undifferentiated potential
  - **Two principles**: mind (consciousness and will) and matter and energy
  - God as still and unmoving
- Creation requires vibration; mind rules creation
- Invitation to allow mind to rule matter and bring both under spirit
- Spheres 1-9 represent functional stages of creation, spiritual nature
- **Downward path**: creation
- **Upward path**: return to initial state

**The Meanings of the Spheres**

**Sphere 0:** Amen (God)

- Hidden god
- Undifferentiated potential
- **Two principles**: mind and matter/energy

**Sphere 1:** Ausar (God manifest in the world)

**Sphere 2:** Tehuti or Djehuti (Omniscience of God)

**Sphere 3:** Seker (Words of power, creation's power)

**Sphere 4:** Maat (Divine law, truth, harmony)

**Sphere 5:** Herukhuti (Enforcement of divine law)

**Sphere 6:** Heru (Human will)

**Sphere 7:** Het-Heru (Joy, imagination, libido, beauty)

**Sphere 8:** Sebek (Logic, intellect, belief, communication)

**Sphere 9:** Auset (Soul, memory, learning, receptivity, devotion, nurturing; personality)

**Sphere 10:** Geb (Body, flesh, animal senses, motion, emotion)

- Correlations with seven traditional Hindu chakras to be found further along.

### EARLY EGYPTIAN ENERGETICS

**Egyptian Energy Bodies and Chakras**

* Egyptian culture has concepts similar to chakras, leading to the development of chakra-like systems based on Egyptian ideas 
* **One such energy body is the ka**:
  + Believed to be a spiritual double or shadow figure inside the body
  + Similar to the Sumerian word kar and Proto-Dravidian word kar, meaning "knot" and "to whirl, spin, turn around"
  + Ka serves as a binding and looks like a knot, and it whirls 
* **Another Egyptian energy concept is sekhem**:
  + Life energy running through the body's channels
  + Can be harmonized through breathwork
  + Similar to prana or kundalini in Hinduism
* Ancient Egyptian alchemy also employed concepts similar to chakraology
* Hermetic tradition originated in Egypt and emphasizes spiritual activation
  + Symbolized by the caduceus: a winged staff entwined by two serpents
    * Staff represents the spine (sushumna)
    * Snake, kundalini
    * Wings, sixth or seventh chakra 
* **Several Egyptian energy bodies and aspects of spirit can be related to the seven classical Hindu chakras**:
  + Khab (physical body): First Chakra
  + Khaibit (sensual nature): Second Chakra
  + Sahu (transporting spiritual body): Third, Fourth, and Fifth Chakras
  + Ab (heart or seat of conscience and intellect): Fourth Chakra
  + Shekem (divine powers and life energy): Fifth Chakra
  + Khu (oracular faculty of the Spirit): Sixth Chakra
  + Ba (everything in the supernatural and divine realm): Seventh Chakra 
* **Ancient Egyptian idea of seven vortexes of energy in the subtle spine, called the Sephek Ba Ra or Seven Souls of Ra, can be compared to chakras. These vortexes are**:
  + Sefekht (manifesting): First Chakra
  + Tekh (creation through absorption): Second Chakra
  + Ab (power and will): Third Chakra
  + Kheper (becoming and transformation): Fourth Chakra
  + Sekhem (divine speech and communication): Fifth Chakra
  + Mer (intuitive vision and attraction): Sixth Chakra
  + Ikh (unification of primary energies into one whole): Seventh Chakra

### ZULU ENERGY BODIES

**Zulu Energy Bodies**

- Traditional healing practiced by Zulu people using sangomas and belief in ancestral guidance
- Holistic approach including use of sacred healing hut, dancing, chanting, drumming, psychic channeling, bone throwing, dream interpretation
- Belief in seven energy bodies related to Spirit levels

**Zulu Energy Bodies Description**

* Physical body (umzimba)
* Etheric body (isltunzi) - etheric counterpart to physical body
* Lower mind (amandhla) - holds life force and energy
* Animal mind (utiwesilo) - passions, emotions, instincts
* Human mind (utiwomuntu) - consciousness, intellect, higher feelings
* Spiritual mind (utiwetongo) - higher planes creating spiritual awareness
* The ray (itongo) or spark of universal spirit

**Yoruba Cosmology and Chakra System**

- Belief in reincarnation as second chance
- Olodumare is the single source of all, humans turn to orishas for intercession between worlds
- Universal energy called ashe has power to cause change and is held within everything
- Yoruba medicine includes chakras and ancient practices from Egypt

**Yoruba Chakra System Description**

* Seven major orishas, each internalized in a specific area of the body
* Primary goal: free person from ajoguns (negative forces) and open body to Olodumare and ashe flow
* Each orisha's area relates to one standard Hindu chakra

**Orishas and Chakras**

| Orisha | Chakra | Attributes | Physical Correspondences | Beneficial Herbs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Obatala | First | Cures illness, manages brain, bones, white fluids | Skullcap, sage, hyssop, white willow, valerian |
| Elegba | Second | Negotiates between negative and positive forces, governs nervous systems | All herbs | - |
| Ogun | Third | Clears paths, runs heart, kidney, adrenal glands, tendons, sinews | Eucalyptus, alfalfa, hawthorn, parsley, garlic | - |
| Yemoja | Fourth | Represents sexuality and nurturing, manages womb, liver, breasts, buttocks | Kelp, cohosh, dandelion, aloe, yarrow, mints | - |
| Oshun | Fifth | Heals with cool water, assists childbearing, fertility | Yellow dock, burdock, cinnamon, anise, raspberry, chamomile | - |
| Shango | Sixth | Represents fire and lightning of a warrior, transforms base substances | Plantain, saw palmetto, hibiscus, cayenne | - |
| Oya | Seventh | Guardian of cemetery, winds of change, progression | Mullein, comfrey, horehound, chickweed | - |

### Exercise: Clearing Your Orishas 

* Yoruba method for clearing orishas (spiritual maladies) involves a spiritual intercessor called a babalawo or iyalawo

**Healers:**

* Assess circumstances through divination, not told about the ailment by patient
* Read situation based on examination of patient's ori (spiritual soul) and emi (linked with breath) 
* **Address cause of disease**: physical, mental, or spiritual
* Complete recovery includes change of consciousness

**Self-practice:**

1. Close eyes and breathe deeply
2. Ask Divine for a babalawo/iyalawo to assess your ori
3. Identify affected orisha and broken natural law
4. Shift consciousness, ask for revealing poem
5. Thank being and the Divine for help

* African traditions discovered chakra-like energy bodies (Tree of Life, Egyptian energy bodies) 
* **Depictions of higher selves**: blueprint of physical selves 
* **Next exploration**: European chakra-like systems

## 27. CHAKRA SYSTEMS OF OLD EUROPE
 
* **Europe's role in chakra concepts**:
  * Some theories suggest chakras originated in Europe, not the East
  * Evidence from Magdalenian cave paintings in Western Europe (17,000-12,000 BCE)
  * Chakra medicine concepts present in these images
  * Could have been carried eastward to Russia and adopted by Aryans
  * Introduced chakra system when invaded Indus Valley during early second millennium BCE
 
* **Europe's influence on chakra concepts**:
  * Scandinavian and Teutonic cultures:
    * Cosmological view based on the Tree of Life
    * Chakra-related understandings
    * Norse and German legends present magical versions of chakras and kundalini
  * Greece:
    * Clear indications of chakras similar to Hindu concepts
    * Omphalos in Delphi resembles Indian lingam
    * Dozens of other chakra-like ideas
    * Greek philosophies important in the West
 
* **Norse and Teutonic mythology**:
  * Yggdrasil, the world tree
  * Nine worlds within Yggdrasil, each a potential chakra
  * Formed from the slain body of Ymir, the first living creature
  * Comparable to Purusha in Hinduism
 
* **Greek influences**:
  * Hesychasm, a Christian practice with chakra medicine processes
  * Chakras mentioned in the last book of the Christian Bible.

### CHAKRAS AND THE SCANDINAVIAN WORLD

**Chakras and Scandinavian World**

- Chakras described based on Norse mythology
- Nine worlds of Yggdrasil linked to seven classical Hindu chakras

**Yggdrasil and Chakras**

- **Yggdrasil**: Spinal column and Eternal Tree of Life
- **Hel (lower right side)**: Coiled serpent Nidhoegg, kundalini

**First and Second Chakras**

- **Swartalfheim**: Root chakra, self-preservation, ego, materialism (Norse black elves)
- **Muspelheim**: Second chakra, burning sensual passion, Land of Fire

**Third to Seventh Chakras**

- **Jotunheim**: Third chakra, power, headquarters of giants
- **Midgard**: Heart chakra, love, human realm
- **Vanaheim**: Fifth chakra, creativity, dwelling place of Kvasir
- **Lightalfheim**: Sixth chakra, awareness, home of light elves, renowned for foresight
- **Asgard**: Seventh chakra, spiritual connection, home of gods

**Additional Realms**

- **Niflheim**: Possible root chakra variant, realm of ice and cold (Swartalfheim alternative)
- **Hel**: Kundalini serpent location

**Borrowing from Taoist and Buddhist Constructs**

- **Hel**: Kundalini serpent
- **Niflheim**: Root chakra alternative
- **Rainbow bridge**: Connection between Midgard (human realm) and Asgard (gods' abode), seven colors of the rainbow in Hindu chakra system.

### CELTIC CHAKRAS

* Arianrhod, a Celtic goddess, means "silver wheel" in Sanskrit
* Three caers (castles) mentioned in Celtic mythology may represent chakras
* Caer y n'Arfon: possibly first and seventh chakras, enabling us to connect with other worlds
* Caer Leon: third and fourth chakras, located at the site of flowing waters, representing vocation or life path
* Caer Myrddin: fifth and sixth chakras, storing wisdom and invoking brilliance
* Celtic chakras travel a spiral path from heart center to brow, meeting in an infinity sign symbolizing unity of feminine and masculine energies

**Greek Chakras:**

* Ancient Greeks had similar concepts to Hindu chakras
* Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras, and Alcmaeon discussed the soul, light, and wind or air
* Plato's interior fire or light in the eye unites with a "kindred fire\" from luminous bodies
* Greek authors described the spine as a holy tube or channel for energy, similar to the sushumna
* Orphic poet Pindar associated spinal marrow with life or life-span and Greek philosopher Heraclitus connected it with testicles
* Aristotle mentioned two veins extending through the belly along the backbone, passing through the spinal marrow to the testicles.

**Commonalities:**

* Both Celtic and Greek mythologies suggest a deep understanding of energy centers or chakras
* Concepts of light, fire, wind, and water are present in both traditions
* Spiral path of chakra energies is mentioned in Celtic mythology
* Divine feminine and masculine energies are represented in both traditions.

### PLATO’S PART OF SOUL PART OF BODY
 
* **Plato's soul parts and their corresponding areas in the body, as described by John Opsopaus and Greek writings**:

**Soul Parts:**
  * Epithymia (desire)
  * Thymos (righteous anger)
  * Nous or logos (mind)

**Bodily Areas:**
 * **First and second**: Stomach and Gonads
    * Desire and Procreation
 * **Third, fourth, fifth**: Belly, Heart and Lungs, Brain
    * Appetite, Affection, Intellect
 * **Sixth and seventh**: Diaphragm, Crown
    * Spirit and desire, Illumination

* Connection to Hindu chakras 
* **Plato's beliefs**:
  * Humans stand upright due to brain connecting soul and heavens
  * Brain contains immortal part of the soul (intellect)
  * Neck (purification) is the isthmus between superior and mortal souls
  * Heart and Lungs (affection) house higher part of mortal soul 
* **Greek philosophers' influence on Western chakra philosophies**:
 * **Hippocrates**: suggested healing involves managing spiritual essence called vis medicatrix naturae, believed in an ever-present force (prana)
 * **Pythagoras**: explored Chaldean teachings, believed in a vital essence (pneuma), presented an early version of subtle anatomy with three divisions of soul
 * **Plato**: taught that there is only one universal soul, influenced Neoplatonism and tantra in the West.

### TRADITIONS RELATED TO GREEK AND OTHER WESTERN THOUGHT

**Hermetic Traditions and Chakras in Western Thought**
 
* **Hermeticism**: collection of beliefs acknowledging heavenly forces influencing physical world
* Originated from Eastern and Greek ideas, with unknown origins and authors 
* **Embraces chakra-related philosophies**: invisible energies, human consciousness, subtle anatomy, mystery traditions 
* **The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus**: intertwines alchemy, astrology, theurgy; contains concepts linked to chakras and Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism
* One Prime Creator with dual aspects; humans aim for self-realization and unity
* Spawned or related to various movements in Middle Ages and Renaissance

**Hermetic Movements and Chakra Systems**
 
* **Manly Hall**: many movements following ancient Greek and Egyptian eras shared "secret teachings" 
* **Essenes**: pious group embracing Hermetic viewpoints, taught Jesus about immortality of the soul and Eastern studies 
* **Christianity**: Asian and Hermetic influences 
* **Rosicrucian Order**: philosophical secret society teaching access to seven psychic centers 
* **Knights Templar**: acknowledged chakra system according to Rudolf Steiner 
* **Freemasonry**: secret society employing seven basic Hindu chakras, coaching members in kundalini and enlightenment 
* **Golden Dawn**: late 19th-century order combining theurgy, Neoplatonism, and occult influences; one order encompasses chakras

**Gnosticism**

* Emerged from Middle East during early Christian church
* Preached salvation through direct experience rather than God or Christ
* Encouraged unity beyond duality, employed serpent imagery, hierarchical system of powers
* Potentially linked to Judaic sects and mystery cults of Greece and Persia
* Contributed to Theosophy and other modern mystical traditions
* Emphasizes birthright as sophia or wisdom

### HESYCHASM: CHAKRAS IN EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

**Hesychasm in Eastern Orthodox Christianity:**

- Comparable to Hindu-based yogic traditions and Islamic Sufi traditions
- Focuses on the interior realm of the spirit, answering the question of "Glorifying God in your body"
- **Begins with directing entire focus to God, leading to**:
  - Confronting sin (amartia) for repentance (metanoia)
  - Present moment awareness (nepsis)
  - Use of intuitive or mystical mind (nous)
  - Union with the Divine (theosis)
- **Aligned with Patanjali's teachings, using**:
  - Single-word prayers and rhythmic breathing
  - Longer prayers coordinated with rhythmic breathing (Jesus Prayer)
  - Bodily postures for attentiveness
  - Inner exploration through entering the heart
- **Comparison to chakra system**:
  - Focusing on body parts while repeating Jesus Prayer
    - **Cerebrofrontal Center**: Between the brows
    - **Buccolaryngeal Center**: Place of common thought, intelligence, and prayer conversation
    - **Pectoral Center**: Upper region of heart, stabilizing thought and providing emotional coloring
    - **Cardiac Center**: Upper part of heart, near left breast, for perfect attention
  - **Variant**: Focus on heart or navel while saying Jesus Prayer without final words
- **Theophane the Monk's reminder**: "Experience teaches one, not words"
- Use body to better understand spirit.

### CHRISTIAN CHAKRAS

**Christianity and Chakras**

- Zachary F. Lansdowne, former president of Theosophical Society in Boston, believes Christianity contains a chakra path based on the Revelation of St. John.
- **According to Lansdowne and Theosophical beliefs, there are four parts to the personality**: physical, vital (causal), emotional, and mental bodies.
- The causal body holds our most laudable thoughts, and the soul operates as an intermediary between God's energy and the physical self.
- Seven rays of color represent the seven streams of living energy transformed by archangels during meditation.
- Chakra exploration begins with the sacral chakra, which represents deep-seated personal desires and motives.

**Chakras in the Revelation of St. John**

**Sacral Chakra (second)**
- **Church of Ephesus**: desirable or appealing
- Represents deep-seated personal desires and motives
- Enables cultivating higher ideals like charity, love, and mercy
- Highlights sensual state of consciousness

**Solar Plexus Chakra (third)**
- **Church of Smyrna**: gall, sorrow, bitterness
- Allows observing illusions of emotions with detachment
- Invites insight through the crown chakra
- Invokes aesthetic state of consciousness

**Heart Chakra (fourth)**
- **Church of Pergamos**: elevated, closely knit
- Embraces spiritual love and overcomes separateness
- Calls forth compassionate state of consciousness

**Thyatira Church (fifth)**
- White castle
- Transformative space for purifying motives and feelings
- Allows objectivity toward concrete thoughts
- Increases creative state of consciousness

**Brow Chakra (sixth)**
- **Sardis church**: precious stone, prince of joy
- Understanding principles of wisdom and accessing intuition
- Achieving intuitive state of consciousness

**Crown Chakra (seventh)**
- **Philadelphia**: brotherly love
- Becoming untainted by selfishness
- Realizing spiritual love is key to self-observation
- Attaining self-consciousness

**Base Chakra**
- **Laodicea**: lukewarm, justice of the people
- Shift from self-centeredness to spiritual will
- Achieving objective consciousness
- Resulting awareness of truth about the world and soul

## 28. THE MIDDLE EAST

**Middle East and Chakras**

- Diverse religious history with connections to Vedas, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity
- **Common roots between Vedas and Abrahamic religions**:
  - Both feature a Supreme Being who is the One
  - Emphasis on joining with the Divine (moksha/bittu ha yesh)
  - Ritualized recitation of sacred texts and use of meditation, song, and dance

**Judaism and Vedas**

- Judaism originated from Vedic traditions
- **Similarities**:
  - God defined as formless, infinite, and eternal (Brahman in Hinduism)
  - Emphasis on leaving the self behind to cleave to the Creator
- **Differences**:
  - Monotheistic vs. polytheistic beliefs
  - Rejection of abundant symbolism

**Vocabulary Connections**

- Adam derived from Hebrew word "Adamah" (earth) and Vedic term "Adityam"
- Shukla's research suggests Rig Veda is the "Veda of the Hebrews"

**Egyptian Connection**

- Some argue that Hebrew traditions were absorbed from Egyptian culture
- Similarities in temple worship, sacrifices, and priestly duties

**Islam and Chakras**

- **Zoroastrianism**: monotheistic religion with chakra-like system of "Holy Immortals"
- **Sufism**: Islamic mystical practice with chakra bodies called lata'f

**Judaism and Chakras**

- **Kabbalah**: ancient Jewish mystical reflection of creation with energy bodies called sephiroth (similar to chakras)

### ZOROASTRIAN CHAKRAS: THE HOLY IMMORTALS

* Zoroastrianism founded by Zarathustra in Iranian plateau region around 600 bce or earlier
* Believed to be the first monotheistic religion with a dualistic moral system
* Ahura Mazda: supreme god, creator and wisest being
* Universe based on moral dualism: Spenta Mainyu (progressive) vs Angra Mainyu (evil)
* Six amesha spentas as divine emanations or aspects of Creator
	+ Asha: spirit of truth and right
	+ Vohu Mano: good mind, universal blueprint
	+ Khshatra: holy sovereignty, enforces action
	+ Spenta Armaiti: benevolent devotion and love
	+ Haurvatat: perfection and well-being
	+ Ameratat: immortality and timelessness
* Each amesha spenta corresponds to a chakra:
	+ Asha = root (first)
	+ Vohu Mano = sacral (second)
	+ Khshatra = solar plexus (third)
	+ Spenta Armaiti = heart (fourth)
	+ Haurvatat = throat (fifth)
	+ Ameratat = third eye (sixth)
* Zoroastrian places of worship are called "fire temples"
* Seven fires in ancient temples, each activating an amesha spenta and chakra as you pass by.

### Sufi Chakras: The Lata’f 

- **Similarities between tantra and Islam**: Both emphasize God's accessibility and use bodily postures for spiritual practices.
- Lata'f are subtle bodies described as sensitive or subtle, representing the nonmaterial part that can be awakened through spiritual practices.
- The concept of lata'f originated in the 9th century CE and became more defined in the Kubrawiyya Sufi lineage.
- **Sevenfold Latifa System**:
  - Originated from the teachings of Najmuddin Kubra and Alauddawla Simnani.
  - **Seven subtle fields**: heart (qalb), spirit (ruh), mystery (sirr), arcanum (akhfa), super-arcanum, physical frame (qalab), and egoistic lata'f (nafs).
  - Nafs represent our base elements and are associated with the most carnal parts of our soul.
  - Five advanced lata'f are located above the throne and are perceived as lights that pervade the body.
- Lata'f are not merely energy centers; they are subtle fields that spread beyond the body.
- Relationships between seven lata'f and colors, spiritual types, ways of interpreting the Koran, and levels of the cosmos.
- Variations in locations and colors of lata'f according to different Sufi systems.
- Lata'f help humans open to higher knowledge and closeness to Allah or God.

### THE NAQSHBANDI SUFI COSMOLOGY

**Naqshbandi Sufi Cosmology:**

* Naqshbandi is a Sunni Islam Sufi order with roots in Muhammad.
* God's essence is the Absolute, hidden treasure waiting to be known.
* Creation originated from God's breath and dwells within it.
* Primary manifestation:
  * Source of energy for super-arcanum, arcanum, mystery, and spirit lata'f.
  * Bridge between Absolute and creation: quality of comprehensive synthesis.
  * Includes Muhammadan reality, attributes of negation, essential qualities, and eight immutable divine attributes.
* Second manifestation:
  * Contains God's names and attributes, active attributes.
  * Directs divine energy to the heart latifa related to Adam.
* Third manifestation:
  * Divine command, shapes, world of angels.
  * Five lata'f in this realm.
  * Lower range: additional forms or archetypes.
  * Upper limit: throne, nafs, elements, natural world.
* Third and fourth manifestations within a cycle of contingent existence.

**Practice of Sufism:**

* Use rituals (chanting, breathing, prayer, meditation) for remembrance.
* Recognize we were once one with Allah but have forgotten this connection.
* Invoke one of ninety-nine names of Allah to improve ourselves and become more like God.
* Mature three aspects of self: nafs (ego/carnal soul and latifa), heart, soul.
* Walk the seven stations of spiritual growth: Al-Amarra, Al-Lawamma, Al-Amina, Al-Mutma'inna, Ar-Ridiyya, Al-Mardiyya, Al-Kamilla.
* Inner transformation is a "holy war" against the shaitan (dark force).

**Naqshbandi Sufi Cosmology - Hriday Chakra:**

* Naqshbandi order emphasizes heart (hriday chakra) as center of love.
* Activating and purifying hriday chakra opens and accesses all other chakras.
* Five subtle energy centers located within hriday chakra: heart, spirit, secret, hidden, most hidden.
* Focus on qalb or heart latifa for concentration.
* All is possible through love.

### THE JEWISH KABBALAH AND SEPHIROTH

**The Jewish Kabbalah and Sephiroth**

- Mystical system involving chakra-like centers called spheres of consciousness
- **Root meaning**: "to receive" or "receiving tradition"
- Believed to have divine authorship, revealed to angels before creation
- **Revealed to humans three times**: to Adam, Abraham, and Moses
- Originated from various cultures and influences, including Egyptian, Chaldean, Hermetic, African, Hindu, and Asian systems
- Many Kabbalist schools exist, with Lurianic school emphasizing hope and repairing the world

**Lurianic School**

- **God created two universes**: this one and a previous one
- Divine energy too intense for vessels in first universe, causing shattering and implosion
- Sparks of earlier light embedded in current universe, waiting to be repaired by humans
- Repairing the world involves uncovering and releasing these holy sparks

**The Tree of Life and Sephiroth**

- Symbolizes top-down creation of the universe
- Ten spheres of consciousness (sephiroth) representing God's presence on every level
- Twenty-two paths connecting sephiroth as gateways to spiritual attunement
- Similar to Hindu energy system, but sephiroth are symbolic and not anchored in the body
- Process of enlightenment involves working through issues illuminated on the paths between sephiroth (awakening the God-spark)

### THE TEN SEPHIROTH

**The Sephiroth** (sephiroth, sefirot, sephirot) are ten consciousness centers in Kabbalah:

* Each has a title, God name, archangel or order of angels, placement in the body, vice, learning, celestial body, and color. 
* **Malkuth**: Connect with the Natural World (10th sphere)
	+ Mirrors daily consciousness
	+ Incarnates last of Divine Spark
	+ Enables embracing Divine within natural world 
* **Yesod**: Form Your Foundation (9th sphere)
	+ Shapes thoughts and ideas
	+ Holds subconscious, biological, and psychic identities
	+ Sculpts visualizations for energy from other spheres 
* **Hod**: Open to Empathy (8th sphere)
	+ Advanced thoughts and ideas
	+ Communication and wisdom
	+ Rules travel, movement, thinking 
* **Netzach**: Reveal the Meaning of Feelings (7th sphere)
	+ Cleanses emotions for beautiful perception
	+ Inspires passions for good 
* **Tiphareth**: Unlock the Wise Heart (6th sphere)
	+ Center of tree, asks for self-giving love 
* **Geburah**: Summon Inner Strength (5th sphere)
	+ Invites forth strength and power
	+ Service to change and decision making 
* **Chesed**: Flow with Love (4th sphere)
	+ Compassion and grace
	+ Quenches needs of others 
* **Binah**: Own Your Higher Thoughts (3rd sphere)
	+ Shifts from mundane thinking to higher thoughts 
* **Daath**: The Void (non-sphere)
	+ Unlimited potential, space for decisions
	+ Accesses creative energy and manifests dreams
	+ Located in upper heart area 
* **Chokmah**: See Through Illusion (2nd sphere)
	+ Psychic and inner gifts to see purely 
* **Kether**: Meet the Crowning Glory (1st sphere)
	+ First manifestation of reality, beaming love of Ein Sof

**Relationship between Sephiroth and other Esoteric Systems:**

* Chakras and Kabbalistic Sephiroth have a relationship (Illustration 77)
* Other esoteric orders relate to Kabbalah, including Taoism, Rosicrucian and Golden Dawn orders, African spiritual sects, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
* Comparisons between Kabbalistic Tree of Life and I Ching (Illustration 78).
* Discovered chakra-like systems in Zoroastrianism, Islamic Sufi path, Jewish Kabbalah, and Americas' tribes and civilizations.

## 29. CHAKRA MEDICINE IN THE AMERICAS

**Chakra Medicine in the Americas**

- Americas divided into North, South, and Central or Mesoamerica
- Belief in a single Creator, degrading ages of human existence, levels of reality, subtle energy, ladder to enlightenment, chakra-like concepts
- Three regions share similar chakra principles

**Common Themes among Indigenous Peoples**

- Belief in a single Creator
- Degrading ages of human existence
- Levels of reality (cosmos and human body)
- Subtle energy
- Ladder to enlightenment
- Chakra-like concepts

**Questions Addressed in this Chapter**

- Where did chakra knowledge come from?

**Origins of Chakra Knowledge**

- Settlement by Mongols from Northeast Asia and Europeans
- Theory of Atlantis as origin

**North American Chakra Medicine Concepts**

- Strong focus on caring for the earth
- Prophecies of great changes and potential peace
- Secrets revealed by Sioux, Cheyenne, Hopi, and Cherokee tribes
- **Main messages**: subtle energies and structures

**South and Central American Chakra Medicine Concepts (to be covered in later chapters)**

- Beliefs from Mesoamerica suggesting chakra concepts came from the stars (Chapter 33)

### HOPI CHAKRAS

**Hopi Chakras**

- The Hopi Native Americans' story includes energy centers equivalent to chakras.
- Important information from Hopi culture comes from Frank Waters' "Book of the Hopi."

**Creation Story and Energy Centers**

- **Three previous worlds on Earth**: Tokpela (endless space), colored dark purple (mystery).
- Creator, Taiowa, conceived finite universe, creating first man, Sotuknang.
- Spider Woman added joy, created earth, humans from clay and her saliva.
- Humans are citizens of the universe, made of good and evil principles.
- Earth and human bodies have axes and vibratory centers.

**Vibratory Centers in Hopi Mythology**

- **Top of the Head (kopavi)**: Open door to life, communicates with Creator.
- **Above the Eyes**: Thinking organ, enables humanity to conform to Creator's plan.
- **Throat**: Ties together openings, attunes to primordial sound, returns praises.
- **Chest**: Vibratory organ of heart, asks for unity, two-hearted people permit evil feelings.
- **Belly (Creator's throne)**: Controls functions, medicine man uses hands to sense life energy.

**Misuse of Energy Centers and Worlds' End**

- Humans misused vibratory centers in previous worlds, causing their end.
- First world ended because humans didn't follow Creator's plan.
- **Second world**: animals separated from humans.
- **Third world**: people preoccupied with earthly plans.
- **Fourth world**: given stone tablets to remember truth.

**Symbolism of Snake and Antelope**

- Snake symbolizes earth mother, lowest vibratory centers, sex organs.
- Antelope symbolizes highest center.
- **Hopi eventually developed symbols representing polar opposites**: gross physical and high spiritual.
- Earlier ages didn't emphasize first two chakras or snake symbol.

### PRAYER FROM FATHER SUN AND MOTHER EARTH

**Hopi Prayer:**

- Father Sun expresses concern for humanity's destructive actions
- Humanity receives nourishment from Earth, which is ill
- Call to action for humans to heal the world and themselves
- Peace will be achieved if the world is saved

**Tsalagi (Cherokee) Energy System:**

**Knowledge passed down for thousands of years**
- Amalgam of spiritual principles, naturalism, mysticism, and physics
- Depicts Earth as a web of meridians, matrixes, and interconnections
- White pine tree important in transferring earth's frequencies to humans
- Material world spun from Galunlati through Star Woman
- Linked to higher forms through five principles, tones, and rivers
- Five sounds connect left and right hemispheres for healing
- Harmonies received through top of head and flow to base of spine
- **Earth has two shells**: outer solar, inner lunar
- Wind shields or energetic forces within the shells form earth's magnetic field
- Layers of energy surround the earth, including EMF and a "lightning gridwork"
- Greater universe perceived as a crystalline plate suspended by four spiraling cords
- Humans live in a field of mind interconnecting Earth and stars
- Call to consciously appreciate elements for resonance
- **Spine is a ladder to heaven with three fires**: Blue Fire of Will, Compassion Fire, and Unity Fire.

**Tsalagi Beliefs:**

**Human potential can be reached by activating entire self through the spine**
*Three fires occupy the spine: Blue Fire of Will, Compassion Fire, and Unity Fire*
- Blue Fire of Will establishes decisiveness for action
- Compassion Fire enables understanding and manifestation of purpose
- Unity Fire brings about higher change in the form of energetic transformation.

### Fire of Active Intelligence
- Supports harmonic action
- Three fires penetrate five doorways in the body (indicative of basic chakras)
- **Solar Plexus**: Transforms negative feelings and thoughts, achieves higher action
- **Heart**: Source of intellect, surrounded by electrical fields; forms purpose, manifests dreams
- **Throat**: Power of voice helps us say "yes" and make things so
- **Medulla**: Holds past issues, including past lives; helps us live in the present
- **Crown**: Secrets fluid after completing lessons on nonattachment; creates full connection to higher consciousness

**Additional Centers:**

- One at reproductive system
- One at navel (receives five subtle airs and rivers)
- One at thymus
- One at hands and feet, connected by single energy

**The Sioux Nation:**

- **Three divisions**: Lakota, Dakota, Nakota
- Honors Wakan Tanka, the grandfather spirit
- Employs circular symbols representing elements of chakra medicine
- **Medicine wheel**: circle with four medicine arrows, each representing a direction and state of mind
- **Goal**: enlightenment (merging all directions of thought)
- Seven stones in middle represent human qualities
- Each direction indicates a different path in life

**The Iroquois:**

- Believed in "mystic potence" or personal energy (orenda)
- Contrasts to universal prana
- **Originally five peoples in the League**: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora
- Orenda is a power that can be used for good or evil

**Exercise:**

- **In Times of Trouble**: enveloped in a great woods, surrender orenda to Grandfather Tree for help; birds sing to share their orenda, chorus orchestrates solution.

### INTERTRIBAL CENTERS OF HIGHER KNOWING

**Intertribal Centers of Higher Knowing - Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society**

- Collects knowledge from various Native American traditions
- Refer to North, Central, and South America as Turtle Island
- Focuses on Twisted Hairs or warriors of power

**Warriors**

- Become self-reliant and self-actualizing
- Conquer inner and outer tyrants
- Remain centered amid chaos
- Follow sacred laws

**Ten Chakras or Wheel Centers**
* **Soul Wheel**  - Universal life force
* **Great Light Wheel**  - Aura-energy design
* **Chuluama Wheel**  - Karma and physical body
* **Dream Wheel**  - Sacred mind
* **Ancestor Wheel**  - Spirit
* **Human Wheel**  - Communication
* **Animal Wheel**  - Emotions
* **Plant Wheel**  - Change
* **Earth Wheel**  - Life path
* **Sun Wheel**  - Creation

**Assemblage Points**  
- **Static**: governs perception of reality, ideally in central chakra line
- **Moving**: synonymous with chi, circulates through meridians
- **Great Light**: links to truth of the universe

**Ten Eyes**
* **Left Eye**  - Sees objects in relationship to ourselves
* **Right Eye**  - Perceives our relationship to an object
* **Psychic Eye**  - Views spirit world
* **Animal/Heart Eye**  - Sees reality of dangers, truth, and untruth
* **Shadow Dream Eye**  - Sees in dreams and memory
* **Spirit Eye**  - Perceives spirit of what it touches
* **Mirror Dream Eye**  - Sees dreams of what it touches, as if a hand extends from the mind
* **Karma Eye**  - Perceives images we hold in the body
* **Soul Vine Eye**  - Perceives interconnection to all things within everything

**Five Ears**
* **Left Ear**  - Hears sounds in relationship to ourselves
* **Right Eear**  - Hears our relationship to sound, feel the sounds instead of their meaning
* **Middle Ear**  - Hears inner dialogue or communication between lower and higher selves
* **Heart Ear**  - Hears truth and untruth, separates truth from untruth
* **Soul Vine Ear**  - Hears interconnection to all things within everything

**Exercise: Listening with Your Five Ears**

- Pray to Spirit to open one ear each day for five days upon awakening
- Listen intuitively to sounds and communication related to that ear throughout the day.

### MESOAMERICAN CHAKRA SYSTEMS

**Mesoamerican Chakra Systems**

* Huichol (central Mexico)
  * Ancient indigenous tribe with sacred colors and magical doorways
  * Beliefs hint at subtle energy expertise
* Kuna Indians (Panama)
  * Short exercise to experience spirits in body at chakra locations
* Mayans (Mesoamerica)
  * First fully developed Mesoamerican civilization, around 2500 BCE
  * Adopted Toltec god Quetzalcoatl as Kukulcan
  * Built cities between 250 and 900 CE
  * Influenced by Olmecs, Zapotec and Mixtec, Teotihuacan and Tula
  * Complete subtle body system with chakras
* Olmecs (Mesoamerica)
  * Older civilization than Mayans, around 1400-400 BCE
  * Known for pyramids and carved heads
  * Depicted human heads with V-shaped cleft, symbolizing crown chakra
  * Ocean voyages suggested as source of knowledge
* Aztecs (Mesoamerica)
  * Nahuatl-speaking people, around 500 CE
  * Reached height in early 1500s
  * Huitzilopochtli, god of war, born as adult serpent with seven spheres, comparable to kundalini and chakras
* Timeline
  * Mayans learned from Olmecs
  * Aztecs followed about 400 years after Mayan civilization began to shrink
  * Incas lived in different region and lasted less than 300 years before being wiped out (around 1200 CE)

### HUICHOL INDIANS AND THE LIGHT OF THE GODS
**Huichol Indians**

- Ancient tribe living in Sierra Madres, Mexico for at least 15,000 years
- Called Wixarika or "the people" in their Uto-Aztecan language
- Pantheon consists of four main deities and a sun god
- Importance of numbers five and seven
- Land visualized as a rhombus with five regions, each represented by a color
  - Blue (south): Yuawime
  - White (north): Tuxame
  - Purple (west): Ta+lawime
  - Yellow (east): Taxawime
  - Multicolor (center): Ysayule
- Huichol art includes yarn crosses called "God's eyes" or "Ojo de Dios"
- Two subtle energy concepts: uxa and nierika
  **Uxa**
    - Means root, paint, or color
    - Colors used by gods to communicate
    - Arrives from sacred places and temples
    - Shamans use for healing and determining spiritual development
  **Nierika**
    - Multidimensional concept meaning "in which one can see"
    - Represents power of supernatural vision
    - Object and concept
    - Doorway to the worlds beyond
    - Perceived as a glint or sheen around people

**Kuna Indians**

- Native tribe in Panama speaking their own language, Tule
- Belief in creator/god dwelling far away
- Malevolent spirits called poni cause sickness and disease
- Eight selves, each associated with a different body part
  - Personality determined by governing body part
- Eight realms above and below the earth
- Human being has eight souls
- Access good spirits for healing
- "Way of cooling off" process involves incantations to call spirits to help cool a fever
- Parallels with higher spiritual and chakra bodies of many cultures

### THE ANCIENT MAYAN CHAKRA SYSTEM

**Ancient Mayan Chakra System**

- The Mayan religion is a spiritual science encompassing geometry, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and cosmology
- Originated in Mexico and Central America around 2600 BCE, reached peak between 250 and 900 CE
- **Similarities to Hindu chakra system**:
  - Chakra centers
  - Kundalini
  - Symbology
  - Equations
  - Principles
- **Debate over origin of chakra medicine knowledge**: Mayans brought it to India or vice versa
- **Naga Maya people**:
  - Two principal groups in ancient India, possibly related to the Nagas and Mayas
  - Believed to have magical powers
  - Delivered culture to India according to some sources
- **Mayan beliefs**:
  - Sky divided into thirteen areas with gods
  - Nine underworlds
  - Four primary forces creating four manifested worlds
  - Each world associated with a divinity, color, direction, cycle of time, and element
  - Identified with a living tree for enlightenment
- **Mayan initiates**:
  - Manage physical and mental energy
  - Achieve Quetzalcoatl status by transforming sacred energy
  - Seven powers or forces (chacla) related to the Milky Way and its movement
  - Depicted as twenty-one thousand sacred sites
  - First chakra called k’u, meaning "sacred" or "God," located in coccygeal area
  - **Similarities to Hindu chakras**: symbols of flowers (lotuses), vibration, colors, and elements
- Awakening dormant powers through words, tones, geometry, breathing.

### MAYAN ELEMENTS

**Mayan Elements and the Four Elements**

- **Mayans had their own elemental classification**: Visible, Ethereal, Mental, Vital or Pure
- **Visible**: Physical body, detectable with five senses
- **Ethereal**: Invisible under normal circumstances, compared to body heat
- **Mental**: Spirit or personality, nourished by psychological factors, similar to the ego
- **Vital or Pure**: Essence of all, everything is made of energy
- Rituals involved these elements and their principles

**José Argüelles and the Mayan Calendar**

- Spent 24 years speaking about fourth-dimensional science
- Perceived Mayans as "intergalactic navigators"
- Saw Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan as a site for connecting with the One Creator
- Believed individuals need to reawaken deep powers and connect with the universe
- **Interpretation of chakras**: Made of bioelectromagnetic circuitry, connected to galactic fibers (Kuxan Suum)
- Chakras receive subtle energy from fifth through seventh dimensions
- Solar plexus chakra holds "galactic umbilical cord"
- Fifty-two energy points connect us with the universe

**South American Chakras: Andean Chakra Systems**

- **Longest mountain range in the world**: Andes
- Evidence of first settlement around 11,000 bce
- Cosmology includes knowledge about energy and energy bodies
- Focus on Incan civilization for two main energy systems
- Believed themselves exiled from their true homeland in the "world above"
- Origins in stars or a more heavenly sphere
- **Two main Andean energy systems**: Incan and Qollahuaya
- Incan civilization ruled a significant part of the Andes until Spanish conquest (approximately 1400 bce)
- Shared belief in exile from their true homeland, knowledge from stars or a more heavenly sphere
- Continued sharing of Incan knowledge by Quechua or Kichwa speakers
- Nazca culture not discussed due to lack of evidence of chakra-based knowledge linked with Nazca lines

**Basic Andean Shamanic Beliefs (before diving into specific cultures)**

- **Cosmology**: Organic, beautiful, and inclusive of energy and energy bodies
- Belief in exile from true homeland in the "world above"
- Origins in stars or a more heavenly sphere
- Connection to earth through ley lines (earth grid) and chakras
- **Shamanic practices**: Use of hallucinogenic plants, spiritual flight or out-of-body journeying
- **Healing rituals**: Cleansing, protection, and transformation
- Respect for nature and the natural world
- Connection to ancestors and the spirit world
- Balance between masculine and feminine energies

### ATLANTIS AND THE AMERICAN CONTINENT
 
* **Andean culture**: inclines towards mystical understandings, no separation between physical and spiritual life 
* **Celestial thinking**: Southern Cross as bridge between lifetimes, similar to shamanic and tantric traditions 
* **Lemuria and Atlantis**: last parts of great continents that existed in Pacific, destruction around 30,000 bce and 11,500 years ago respectively
* Atlanteans dispersed before final sinking, became source of ancient Mayan, Incan, and Aztec esoteric knowledge 
* **Shared ancestry suggestions**: common cosmological knowledge, similar temple names and beliefs, contact between Tibetan Himalayas and Andes 
* **Andean shamanism**: merge powers of heart (condor) and mind (eagle), cosmos as infinite nested eggs, ultimate reality is Jatun or Great Force of Life 
* **Core principles**: Munay (loving with open heart), Yachay (knowledge), Llanka (right action), Kawsay (respect for life), Ayni (reciprocity) 
* **Andean spiritual practices**: connect with Ashpamama (Earth Mother) and elements, three accessible worlds linked by central axis.

### THE QOLLAHUAYAS: ENERGIES IN THE MOUNTAINS

- Ancient Andean tribe living in Bolivia and Peru
- Belief system centered around mountains and nature spirits
- Inhabit nine ayllus (mountains) with distinct strata representing human body parts
- Known for advanced sacred medicine and shamanic practices

**Beliefs:**

- **Two principles**: blood (life) and fat (energy)
- Mountains have physical and subtle energy bodies, represented by different parts of the mountain
- Imbalance in mountain areas can cause disease in humans

**Shamanic Practices:**

- Curers and diviners live on specific mountains
- Rituals to restore balance between all aspects of a problem
- Establishing tables with animal and plant products to feed the earth

**Chumpi Incan Teachings:**

- Andean shamanism incorporates energetic anatomy
- Nawis (chakra eyes) and chumpis (energetic belts)
- Similarities to classical East Indian chakra system
- Concept of Kundalini Shakti and pacha (unified space and time)
- Determining the flow of life is anyni (karma or reciprocity)

**according to the Andean Incan system**

**Andean Incan System: Nawis**

* Nawi Location and Color
  + Siqi (Root): Black
  + Qosqo (Solar plexus/navel): Passion/kuyay, Red
  + Sonqo (Heart): Love/munay, Gold
  + Kunkan (Neck): Knowledge/yach’ay, Silver
  + Uma (Eyebrow): Intuition, Indigo
  + Lloque Nawi (Left eye): Feminine, lunar, mental
  + Phanya Nawi (Right eye): Masculine, solar, active
* Nawis in the Eye
  + Lloque Nawi: Left eye, lunar, mental
  + Phanya Nawi: Right eye, solar, active

**Andean Incan Initiation Paths and Exercises**

* Three paths of initiation
  + Cleansing (Saminchakuy)
    * Saturate energy body with divine energy
    * Offer dense energy to Pachamama
  + Strengthening (Saywachakuy)
    * Link with Pachamama and accept ascending flow of sacred energy
  + Transformation (Hucha Mujuy)
    * Focus on third chakra and digest unneeded dense energy
    * Let resulting energy form two streams: ascending (sami) and descending (cleansed hucha)
* Incan Terms: The “Eyes” Have It
  + Nawis or naira: Quechuan term for energy centers, translates to "eyes\" or "whirlpools"
  + Chumpis: Energy belts surrounding the body, linked to seven nawis
* Activating Your Own Chumpis Exercise
  + Stand outside in sunlight, near water if possible
  + Breathe deeply and ask for Pachamama's and Creator's energy
  + Connect each nawi with an element and its related chumpi
    * First (Siqi): Water, black fluid for self-control
    * Second (Qosqo): Earth, emotional receptivity
    * Third (Sonqo): Sun, unconditional love
    * Fourth (Kunkan): Moon, higher truths of emotions and creative perceptions
    * Fifth (Uma): Ether, spiritual connections and magical abilities
  + Activate the fifth chumpi belt
  + Give gratitude to the natural world

### The Incan Pukios Model

**Incan Pukios Model**

- Alberto Villoldo's system based on the Inca's subtle energy, rooted in Spirit and light
- **Luminous energy field (popo) surrounds body with four layers**: causal, psychic or soul, mental-emotional, physical
- Each layer holds personal and ancestral memories and traverses information
- Shaped like a donut, mirrors Earth's magnetic field, extends about a foot into the ground
- Chakras (pukios) are "light wells" or "eyes of light," organs of the luminous energy field
  - **Nine chakras**: seven in-body, one above, one at the source, and one outside the field
  - **Eighth chakra (wiracocha)**: link to Creator, located within the luminous energy field
  - **Ninth chakra (causay)**: constant, sacred link to the Creator, outside the luminous energy field

**Luminous Energy Field and Chakras**

- Pathway to connect with aspects of the divine being
- Each pukio linked to the outside world through luminous threads
- Clearest when young, lose color and clarity as we age
- **Huaskas (luminous threads) connect us to the natural world and five sources of energy**:
  - Plants, animals, water, air, sunlight, biomagnetic energy (causay)

**Characteristics of Each Chakra**

| Chakra | Color | Element | Instinct | Bodily Correspondences | Psychological Correspondences | Seeds | Negative Aspects |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| First (Red) | Earth | Survival, procreation | Elimination of wastes | Rectum, legs, feet | Food, shelter, safety | Ovaries, testes | Hoarding, chronic fatigue, predatory inclinations, abandonment issues |
| Second (Orange) | Water | Sexuality |  | Digestion, kidneys, adrenals, urinary tract, menstruation, appetite | Power, money, sex, control, fear, passion, self-esteem | Adrenals | Fear, fighting |
| Third (Yellow) | Fire | Power |  | Stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, storing and releasing energy | Courage, power | Pancreas | Gastrointestinal disorders, anorexia, sorrow, pride, ego, low energy, victim mentality, shame |
| Fourth (Green) | Air | Love |  | Circulatory system, lungs, breast, heart, asthma, immune issues | Love, hope, compassion, intimacy | Thymus | Resentment, betrayal, grief, loneliness, abandonment |
| Fifth (Blue) | Light | Psychic expression |  | Throat, mouth, neck, esophagus | Manifesting dreams, creativity, communication | Thyroid, parathyroid | Betrayal, addictions, sleep disorders, fear of speaking out, toxicity |
| Sixth (Indigo) | Pure light | Truth |  | Brain, eyes, nervous system | Reason, logic, intelligence, empathy, depression | Pituitary | Delusion, inadequacy |
| Seventh (Violet) | Pure energy | Universal ethics |  | Skin, brain, hormonal imbalances | Selflessness, integrity, wisdom | Pineal | Psychoses, regression, cynicism |
| Eighth (Gold) | Soul | Transcendence |  | Architecture of the body | Timelessness | None | Templates of disease |
| Ninth (Translucent white light) | Spirit | Liberation |  | None | None | None | None |

### EXERCISE: AN INCAN CHAKRA HARMONY RITE
**Incan Chakra Harmony Rite**

- Seven in-body Incan chakras related to specific Andean archetypes
- Each archetype associated with a goal and a spirit helper

**First Chakra: Serpent (red)**
- Shed the past, provide healing
- Archetype: Serpent

**Second Chakra: Jaguar (orange)**
- Connect with earth, ensure no enemies
- Archetype: Jaguar

**Third Chakra: Hummingbird (yellow)**
- Note soul's journey, drink deep of life
- Archetype: Hummingbird

**Fourth Chakra: Condor (green)**
- Link with God and divine energy
- Spread wings, gain vision and clarity
- Archetype: Condor

**Fifth Chakra: Huascar (light blue)**
- Keeper of lower world, opening harmony and order
- Archetype: Huascar

**Sixth Chakra: Quetzalcoatl (indigo)**
- Keeper of middle world, assisting with day-to-day life
- Archetype: Quetzalcoatl

**Seventh Chakra: Pachakuti (violet)**
- Keeper of time to come, helping us become who we will be in ten thousand years
- Reach divine potential
- Archetype: Pachakuti

**Harmony Rite**
- Conduct on another person to help open archetypal qualities within each chakra
- Place hands on specific chakras while concentrating on the related archetype
- Linger on seventh chakra and help partner visualize future self

**Andean Chakras: The Nawis in the Feminine Quilagos Tradition**

- Thirteen nawis in this Andean system, some similar to classical Hindu chakras

**First through Seventh Nawis**
- Same as classical Hindu chakras

**Eighth Nawi: The nawi of light**
- Links us to upper world (Hanan Pacha)
- Solar nawi above crown chakra
- Formally links us to central sun, cosmos, and stars

**Ninth through Twelfth Nawis**
- Right hand: masculine, memories about life path and experiences with men
- Left hand: feminine, memories about life and experiences with women
- Right foot: masculine, energy center representing our masculine self and men around us
- Left foot: feminine, energy center representing our feminine self and women around us

**Thirteenth Nawi: Hidden nawi**
- Lunar in orientation
- Sensitive eye, able to concentrate vast amounts of energy
- Works with ancestral memory and power of healing
- Forms divine triangle with fifth, sixth, and seventh chakras

**Exercise: Walking This Good Earth: The Nawis of the Feet**

- Each foot represents its own energy center or nawi
- Right foot: memories about life path and experiences with men
- Left foot: memories about life and experiences with women
- Sit, hold feet in hands, soothe painful remembrances, caress each foot, set feet on ground and let them move as they desire, thank Pachamama for reminding us we walk upon love.

### MODERN WESTERN CHAKRA SYSTEMS
 
* Modern Western culture's acceptance of chakra knowledge: ubiquitous in spirituality, healthcare, and self-help
* Two paths leading to integration of ancient Eastern and Western chakra wisdom
  + Resurrection of existing Western chakra traces
    - Pre-Columbian North and South American philosophies
    - Mystical Christianity
    - Roots of Hermeticism
  + Embracing new Eastern thought
* Early practitioners faced ridicule and lacked support
* Prominent figures in modern Western chakra knowledge:
  Chapter 30: Paracelsus, Christian Rosencreutz, Franz Mesmer, etc. (15th-19th centuries)
    - Added mathematical, spiritual, and healing knowledge to chakra medicine kit
  Chapter 31: Theosophical Society (late 1800s)
    - Influential Western movement blending Eastern and Western philosophies
    - Unified whole considered "God's wisdom"
      - Madame Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, Charles Leadbeater
  Chapter 32: Sir Arthur Avalon, Carl Jung, Anodea Judith, Carolyn Myss (late 19th century to present)
    - Chakras coming of age and maturing in the West
* Millions of people throughout the West have received and handed forward chakra knowledge
* Key individuals and esoteric orders:
  - Prominent figures in Western chakraology
  - Mystical and magical orders (Persia, India, Egypt, Hermetic influences)
    - Review earlier chapters for basis of these orders
    - Still exist today.

## 30. EARLY WESTERN MYSTICS AND ESOTERIC ORDERS
**Early Western Mystics and Esoteric Orders**

- Individuals carry a stellar message with potential to become a masterpiece
- Early mystics like Paracelsus influenced esoteric movements with chakra-related principles

**Profile of Paracelsus**

- Swiss physician, alchemist, and occultist (1493–1541)
- Known as Paracelsus, bridge between East and West for chakra-related ideas
- Authored 106 books on esoteric subjects
- Beliefs aligned with Eastern mysticism, but claimed intuition and observation as sources
- Main ideas related to our journey:
  - **Everything is animate**
    - All comes from one divine source
    - Stones, plants, animals, people are expressions of consciousness
  - **Two bodies: visible and invisible**
    - Material and subtle bodies present in Vedic philosophy
  - **Magnetic body or vital envelope (Archaeus)**
    - Surrounds physical body
    - Attracts/repels forces, influences health
    - Similar to electromagnetic and auric fields
  - **Inner parts of the body**
    - Unseen through normal perception
    - Ability to send thoughts and healing at a distance
    - Beliefs comparable to tantric, Hindu, and yogic beliefs in siddhi and chakras
  - **Macrocosm-microcosm similarity**
    - Universe is a microcosm/macrocosm
    - Man is a microcosm of the solar system
    - We are all one constellation, harmony, and breath
  - **Planetary body and organs**
    - Influence from planets on specific organs (e.g., moon influences brain)
    - Similar viewpoints in Traditional Chinese Medicine and other Eastern medical practices
    - Chakras often called "mini universes" that mirror the entire person and external world

### A FOUNDATIONAL ESOTERIC ORDER: THE ROSICRUCIANS

**The Rosicrucian Order:**

- Mysterious organization with esoteric teachings on chakras, psychic activity, and planes of reality
- Founded by Christian Rosencreutz in the 1400s after studying in the Middle East
- Influenced arts, sciences, religion, and politics
- Tenets likely derived from Egyptian Hermeticism and Kabbalah
- **Rosicrucian Cosmos**:
  - Seven interpenetrating worlds for humans
  - Created in a hierarchical order, with higher worlds evolving lower ones
  - God dwells in the highest division of the seventh cosmic plane

**Rosicrucian Symbols:**

- **The Rose**:
  - Dualistic symbol representing earthly passion and heavenly perfection
  - Five-petaled red rose with a magical pentagram
  - Enables transformation, symbolizes soul's journey
- **The Cross**:
  - Union of polarities, transcending mortal to immortal state
  - Represents descent and ascent of spirit

**Rosicrucian Beliefs:**

- Humans can graduate from physical state by detaching from material world
- Initiates use three alchemical rites to draw out nails and invite in divine nature
- Rosicrucian symbols also used by other esoteric circles, including Knights Templar, Golden Dawn, and Freemasons

**Rosicrucian Influence:**

- Leonardo da Vinci employed Rose Cross and geometric concepts in his work
- The Knights Templar likely acknowledged chakra system
- Rosicrucian ideas about the chakras brought to the West by Johann Georg Gichtel in Theosophia Practica

**Rosicrucian Symbolism:**

- Rose and cross represent open chakras
- Golden Dawn's Rose Cross Lamen depicts merging of positive and masculine, rainbow scale of color, and twenty-two paths of the Kabbalah
- Fraternity of the Rose Cross blends Rosicrucian Rose with Kabbalistic philosophy and kundalini concepts.

### Chakras as Psychic Lamps

**Chakras as Psychic Lamps**

- Rosicrucian legend: Chakras as lamps guiding psychic activity (Rosicrucian vault)
  * Seven sides, seven corners
  * Seven burning lamps = chakras
  * Each linked to a planet, angel, and metal

**Chakras as Psychic Centers**

- Defined as places for exchange of energy and information between the subtle psychic consciousness and rational mind
- Four main psychic centers: heart, throat, pineal, pituitary (4th-7th chakras)
- Cultivating psychic centers vital for spiritual growth
  * Most individuals disengaged from their psychic sensitivities
  * Sensitive individuals have looser connection between physical and etheric bodies
  * Must actively nurture gifts for positive experiences

**Rosicrucian Guidelines for Amping Up Psychic Centers**

- Live as a Rosicrucian for a week to improve energy levels and mental state
  * Rise with gratitude, inhale fresh air, pray before meals, respect all, etc.
- Meditation for chakra healing and prayer
  * Breathe into each chakra, visualize color, hold breath, release, repeat for each chakra
  * Petition the Divine for a need after meditation

**Chakras and Their Corresponding Angels**

| Planet | Angel   | Metal  | Chakra |
|--------|---------|--------|--------|
| Venus  | Anael   | Copper | Throat (5th) |
| Mercury| Raphael | Quicksilver | Cerebrum and pineal (7th) |
| Moon   | Gabriel | Silver | Pituitary (6th) |
| Saturn | Tsaphkiel | Lead  | Base of spine (1st) |
| Jupiter | Tzadkiel | Tin    | Solar plexus (3rd) |
| Sun    | Michael | Gold   | Heart (4th)      |
| Mars   | Kamael  | Iron   | Below navel (2nd) |

### THE PSYCHIC CENTERS AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN

- **Two trees in the Garden of Eden**: Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge
- Define lives according to fruits of Tree of Knowledge (dualities, good vs evil)
- Birthright is from Tree of Life (divinity, no shame or fear)
- Spiritual paths lead to Tree of Life for enlightenment
- Intuitive senses and chakras unlock Tree of Life

**Rosicrucian Philosophy**

- Psychic centers are key to enlightenment
- Located in cerebrospinal, sympathetic, parasympathetic nervous systems
- Subconscious is essential mind of psychic body
- Chakras must be cleansed for evolution
- **Differences between Hindu and Rosicrucian approaches**:
  - **Hindu approach**: strengthen Tree of Knowledge (kundalini energy, external guidance)
  - **Rosicrucian approach**: cosmic knowledge within (harmony between individual and cosmic consciousness)

**Enlightenment Process**

- Follow one's heart (Rosicrucian Cross)
- Initiate experiences rebirth, seeing new beauty.

### THE ORDER OF THE FREEMASONS

**Freemasons and Their History**

- Largest fraternal organization in the world
- Originated from guild of stonemasons in Middle Ages
- Some believe started in 1717 for religious reasons
- Others trace back to King Solomon and Temple of Jerusalem
- Possible connection to Hermetic tradition and alchemy
- **Three primary degrees**: body, mind, soul (self-development)
- Thirty-three degrees in some sects, not necessarily higher
- Teachings linked to Atlantis and various religions

**Origins of Freemasonry**

- **Middle Ages**: Originally a guild of stonemasons
- **1717**: Formal start for religious reasons
- **King Solomon**: Temple of Jerusalem and secret society
- **Hermetic tradition**: Alchemy, chakras, Kabbalah, etc.

**Symbolism in Freemasonry**

- **Geometry**: Skeleton for self-development process
- **Chakras**: Represent master energies, officers, and devas
- **Ida, pingala, kundalini**: Raised in first, second, third degrees
- **Ceremony of admission**: Correlated chakra opens at third step
- **Scottish Rite Lodge**: Alchemical symbols, chakras in twelfth degree
- **Chakras and planets**: Linked to specific metals (Saturn-Lead, Mars-Iron, etc.)

### THE EARLY “EASTERNER”: JOHANN GEORG GICHTEL

**Johann Georg Gichtel**

- Student of Jacob Boehme, affiliated with Rosicrucian movement
- Had clairvoyance, saw seven chakras (force centers)
- Linked sun to heart center, other planets to other chakras
- Adopted by Theosophists, including Charles Leadbeater

**Boehme's Teachings**

- Basis of reality is the Abyss, containing everything and nothing
- Will or God desires to express and manifest
- **Three principles**: Supreme (unity of contradictory elements), Fire (unmanifested potential), Light (love and order)
- **Seven qualities**: contraction, friction, sensibility, fire, love/light, vital sound, supreme bliss

**Gichtel's Adaptations**

- Added God as Sophia or Wisdom to Boehme's three principles
- Focused on natural state of darkness in man
- Labeled third chakra as related to anger
- Embraced alchemy, saw chakras as vehicles of transmutation
- Chakras affected by planetary rays (Sal, Sulphur, Mercury) and phases (Nigredo, Albedo, Rubedo)

**Planets and Vices**

- **Each chakra affiliated with a different vice at lowest level**: First Chakra - Sal from moon, Second/Splenic Chakra - Mercury, Third Chakra - Venus, Fourth Chakra - Sal from sun, Fifth Chakra - Mars, Sixth Chakra - Jupiter, Seventh Chakra - Saturn

**Paths of Transformation**

- **Path of the Heart**: First Chakra - Saturn, Second Chakra - Moon, Third Chakra - Jupiter, Fourth Chakra - Mercury, Fifth Chakra - Mars, Sixth Chakra - Venus, Seventh Chakra - Sun
- **Path of the Mystic**: First Chakra - Sun, Second Chakra - Venus, Third Chakra - Mars, Fourth Chakra - Mercury, Fifth Chakra - Jupiter, Sixth Chakra - Moon, Seventh Chakra - Saturn

**Highest Level of Transformation (Rubedo)**

- Symbolized by a seven-pointed star and Latin phrase "Visita Interiora Terra Rectificando Inuenies Occultum Lapidem"
- Stones supportive of altering chakras and affecting transformation
- **Planets and chakras, as well as stones, associated with Rubedo level**: First Chakra - Sun, Ruby; Second Chakra - Moon, Pearl; Third Chakra - Mars, Yellow Topaz; Fourth Chakra - Mercury, Emerald; Fifth Chakra - Jupiter, Sapphire; Sixth Chakra - Venus, Diamond; Seventh Chakra - Saturn, Amethyst.

### SWEDENBORGIANISM: REPRESENTING THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
- Founded by Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century
- Blend of science and mystical traditions
- All things have spiritual counterparts in the world of spirits
- Humans are a "Grand Man," with different parts of heaven corresponding to body parts
- After death, there is a spiritual body that communicates with other spiritual bodies

**Swedenborg's Philosophies:**

- Existence of seen and unseen forces joining to unfold God's plan
- Vital force tremulating between soul and body (similar to prana)
- Infinite point containing latent energy of the universe (idea of bindu)
- Latent energy emanates in a circular or spiral fashion, creating four aspects: gravitation, magnetism, ether, and air
- Similarities with chakra theory and quantum theory
- Use of controlled breathing (pranayama) for higher awareness
- Importance of the forehead, representing "good love" and linked to sixth and seventh chakras

**Mesmerism:**

- German physician who left us the term "mesmerism" and a movement of the same name
- Invoked hypnotic or trance states for healing
- Belief in universal force called "animal magnetism," enabling access to higher reality and inner abilities
- Used hypnotic techniques, including magnets and hand passes, for health changes

**Homeopathy:**

- Founded by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century
- Disease is an imbalance in life force (dynamis)
- Homeopathic remedies made of vibration of diseases or maladies themselves
- Many homeopathic methods use chakras for diagnosis and treatment

**Odic Force:**

- Conceived by Baron Karl von Reichenbach
- Cosmic influence affecting plants, animals, and humans
- Produces an energetic, wave-like field and a fluid, particulate force
- Achieve health by balancing polarities of this force
- Still referenced in some yogic communities and Jain practices

**The Golden Dawn:**

- Emerged from the Hermetic tradition in late 19th century
- Combines various esoteric disciplines, including theurgy, Neoplatonism, Egyptian philosophy, tarot, alchemy, and more
- Influenced celebrities like William Butler Yeats and Aleister Crowley
- Offers a path of self-initiation through seven grades based on chakras, planets, and metals.

### MANLY HALL INTEGRATES CHAKRAS ACROSS TIME

**Manly Hall's Integration of Chakras Across Time**

- **Manly Hall**: expert in Western mysteries, recognized integration of great teachings and role of chakras (1901-1990)
- Human body imprints functions of nature and consciousness
- **Ancient world divided into three parts**: heavens, middle world (Midgard), and lower world (hell)
 * **Top**: heavens, skull, lotus, upper room, temples, pineal gland
 * **Middle**: Nature, spine, chakras, seven centers of consciousness, planets
 * **Bottom**: reproductive system, base fire, dangerous solar plexus, womb, heart, rainbow bridge
- **Pineal gland**: all-seeing eye, turn it on for insight into true reality
- **Spine**: serpent of kundalini fame, three canals (ida, pingala, sushumna), caduceus, seven chakras
- Lower world formed from Logos or God, return fire to brain for higher state
- Connecting with the dead through Spiritism (1857)
  * Humans are immortal spirits, evolve morally
  * Communicate with spirits through mediums, trance states, aura reading, gemstones, etc.
- **Esoteric professionals and orders discussed**: Paracelsus, Rosicrucians, Golden Dawn, Freemasons, Odinism, Mesmerism, Spiritism
- Theosophy (next chapter) contributed significantly to chakra medicine understanding

## 31. THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

**The Theosophical Society**

- Founded in late 1875 by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and William Quan Judge in New York City
- Influential group in the history of esoteric studies
- Combined Eastern and Western philosophies, including Hinduism, Buddhism, astrology, Zoroaster, Greek philosophy, tantra, yoga, Gnosticism, Spiritism, etc.
- Belief in a supreme deity that is continually evolving, linked to reincarnation and seeking truth

**Helena Blavatsky**

- Russian noblewoman (1831-1891) with seemingly supernatural powers
- Trained by Tibetan lama from 1868
- Moved to America, worked as a spiritual medium
- Presented a cosmological system based on the universe as an organism
- Belief in compassion and one single, omnipresent life
- **Contributions include**:
  - Universal wisdom
  - Seven planes of existence
  - Subtle bodies
  - Hierarchy of spiritual masters
  - Cyclical universe
  - Law of karma and reincarnation
  - Seven creations, planets, elements, races, rays, chakras, etc.

**Theosophy's Basic Assumptions**

- All made of the same essence, linked within a supreme deity
- Universe is continually evolving
- Seek truth and become students of divine wisdom

**Blavatsky's Teachings**

- Belief in one single and omnipresent life (Logos)
- Universe appears and disappears on a cyclical basis
- Ruled by the law of karma and reincarnation
- Seven cosmic planes, seven prakritic planes, seven terrestrial planes, and seven objective planes
- Seven constitutions or principles of man (Atmic, Buddhic, Kama Manas, Pranic Kama, Pranic Kama/psychic level, Astral Body, Objective)
- Seven bodily chakras correlate with seven rays and colors
- **Three sets of chakras**: life, conscious will, spirit
- Master chakras related to seven cranial centers and forty-two minor chakras
- Auric egg reflects thoughts and qualities with corresponding colors, sounds, or feelings.

### THE “SOUL” THEOSOPHIST: ALICE BAILEY

**Alice Bailey's Theosophy:**

* Alice Bailey (1880-1949): Early Theosophist, wrote on soul's development with a Tibetan spirit, Djwhal Khul.
* Energetic Universe:
  * Everything is energy.
  * Positive and negative charges galvanize energy.
  * Three aspects of form: positive energy (Father), equalized energy (Son/Love), and negative energy (Spirit).
* Human Beings:
  * Three aspects: monad or spirit, ego or soul, personality or body-self.
  * Seven centers of force (chakras) in human etheric body.
* Planes and Subplanes:
  * Seven planes from highest to lowest: divine, monadic, spiritual, intuitional, mental, emotional, physical.
  * Each plane has unique energy.
* Aspirant's Goals:
  * Transmute threefold lower nature.
  * Develop self-knowledge.
  * Equip mental body.
  * Build mental body through good deeds.
  * Serve species.
* Planes and Bodies:
  * Dense Physical Body/Etheric Body: instrument of spirituality, master physical body.
  * Etheric Body: vitalizes and energizes the physical body, part of a network of energies.
  * Astral Body: result of desires and senses, known through emotion, pain, pleasure.
  * Mental Body: made of chitta, manipulate matter, employ laws of creative thought.
  * Buddhic Plane: place of soul's union, direct activities of cosmic beings.
  * Atmic Plane: surrender to spiritual will, third subplane of etheric.
  * Monadic Plane: second subplane of etheric, relates to atman or unity.
  * Divine Plane: first subplane of etheric, unity without distinctions.
* Factors of Seven:
  * Seven rays shape human evolution on cosmic and micro levels.
  * Each ray embodied in a rishi, focuses energy through groups of humans, cities, nations, chakras.
  * Seven initiations or wisdom teachings for soul's evolution.

### EXERCISE: HEALING TECHNIQUES USING THE RAYS

**Bailey's Healing Techniques using Rays and Chakras**

**Healing Statements for Each Ray:**

* First Ray (Will or Power): Let dynamic force descend into third, fifth, and seventh chakras, creating a vortex.
* Second Ray (Love or Wisdom): Let healing energy carry dual lines of life and magnetic force supplement seventh, fourth, and sixth chakras.
* Third Ray (Active Intelligence): Gather energy from third, fifth, and seventh chakras to serve heart of life, creating a vortex.
* Fourth Ray (Harmony): Bring forth sound for healing.
* Fifth Ray (Knowledge): Let hidden be seen to bring about cure.
* Sixth Ray (Devotion): May power descend into every channel and confront enemies.
* Seventh Ray (Organization): Bring energy and force together, bringing all work into fruition.

**Bailey's View on Chakras:**

* Seven centers of forces within the etheric body.
* Locations where etheric lines of force cross.
* Deal with fire aspect of divine spirit.
* Points of contact for soul in physical body.
* Transmit life force, act as agents for soul's needs, maintain bodily existence, and enable physical activity.
* Connect us to monad or spirit self and God.
* Charged with helping soul express and develop.
* Energetically originates from cosmic mental levels.
* Descent through cosmic astral and fourth cosmic etheric level.
* Hope is that chakras materialize as brilliant bodies of fire at enlightenment.

**Chakra Locations:**

1. **Sahasrara Chakra (Seventh):** Pineal gland, monadic origin, responsible for distribution of monadic energy or the will of God.
2. **Ajña Chakra (Sixth):** Pituitary gland, seventh ray, atmic origin. Helps express integrated personality.
3. **Vishuddha Chakra (Fifth):** Thyroid gland, fifth ray, mental origin. Empowers creative world and brings energies of humanity into consciousness.
4. **Anahata Chakra (Fourth):** Thymus gland, second ray, buddhic origin. Spiritual source of light and love, deals with mastery of emotional body and control of desire.
5. **Manipura Chakra (Third):** Pancreas, sixth ray, astral origin. Organ of integration and synthesis with higher ideas.
6. **Svadhisthana Chakra (Second):** Gonads, third ray, etheric origin. Source of antakarana as creative agent, connected to sexual impulse.
7. **Muladhara Chakra (First):** Adrenal glands, fourth ray, physical origin. Supports all other chakras as meeting ground of Spirit and matter. Holds life thread and serpent of God or kundalini.

### OF TRIADS AND KUNDALINI AFIRE

**Kundalini and Fires in the Body**

- Kundalini is one type of fire among many in various bodies or sheaths
- Bailey's perspective: Kundalini activation connects 4th and 1st chakras through vagus nerves
- Result: Raising of kundalini, controlling vagus nerve, purifying body, opening chakra doors

**Kundalini's Purposes**

- Animates the body
- Increases vibratory rate of each center and atom
- Eliminates toxins and coarse matter
- Radiates physical fire between shoulder blades
- Blends three triads or channels of energy

**Three Triads or Channels of Energy**

- Head triad: Pineal gland, pituitary body, alta major center
- Triangle of prana: Between shoulders, above diaphragm, and spleen
- Base of spine: Between bottom of spinal column and sex organs

**Alta Major Center**

- Associated with throat center and autonomic nervous system
- Disturbance results from imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic parts
- Three physical centers of the head subdivide into four lesser centers in alta major

**Chakra Evolution**

- Circle: Saucerlike depression of dimly glowing light (least developed)
- Circle with a Point in the Center: Glowing fire in the middle, rapid rotation (mind becoming active)
- Divided Circle: Split vortex, bright flame casting off rays of fire (higher mental development)
- Circle Divided in Four: Active center and rotating cross within periphery (spiritual development)

**Extra Chakras According to Alice Bailey**

- Twenty-one auxiliary or minor chakras located all over the body
  - Ten bilateral minor chakras corresponding to different body parts
  - About three inches in diameter and one inch away from the body
- Forty-nine even smaller chakras where energy strands cross seven times (potentially correspond to acupuncture points)
- Bailey's secondary chakras located at specific points on the body.

### CHARLES LEADBEATER: THEOSOPHICAL GIANT

**Charles Leadbeater**

- Influential Theosophist, known for his work on chakras (similar to Hindu system but with unique interpretations)
- Joined Theosophical Society in 1883, worked until death in 1934
- Wrote about paranormal aspects of life, planes of existence, clairvoyance, and seven-chakra system
- Differed from original Theosophy founders, labeled Neo-Theosophists or Pseudo-Theosophists

**Leadbeater's Cosmos**

- **Universe composed of three forces**: vitality, primary force, kundalini
- Soul has several bodies and exists on many planes
- **Seven planes**: 1. Physical, 2. Astral, 3. Mental (rupa and arupa), 4. Buddhic, 5. Nirvanic, 6. Paranirvanic, 7. Mahaparanirvanic
- Planes can be categorized as personality, self, and monad

**God in Leadbeater's Teachings**

- **Universe created by a supreme deity**: three aspects of the Logos
 * **First aspect**: Father (represented by a dot)
 * **Second aspect**: Son (Christ) or divine wisdom (symbolized by a circle divided by its diameter)
 * **Third aspect**: Holy Spirit (circle within a Greek cross)
- Three aspects dwell in top three planes, each with unique qualities and functions

**Creation of the Universe**

- Three outpourings from God
 * **First Outpouring**: Holy Spirit to upper part of Nirvanic plane, formed solar system
 * **Second Outpouring**: Son (Christ) to sixth plane, created matter and various planes/kingdoms
 * **Third Outpouring**: Father doesn't manifest beyond highest planes, waits for humans to rise to meet it

### LEADBEATER’S ETHERIC CHAKRAS

**Leadbeater's Etheric Chakras**
 
* **Etheric body**: a luminous violet-gray mist between physical and astral bodies (controversial among Theosophists) 
* **Chakras**: force centers within etheric body, appearing as saucer-like depressions
* Undeveloped chakras are about 2 inches in diameter and glow dully; developed ones are blazing whirlpools 
* **Primary function**: act as points of connection for energy flow 
* **Three primary forces**: kundalini, primary force, and vitality

**Primary Force**

* Sevenfold expression of second outpouring and second aspect of Logos or Christ
* Streams through different chakras
* Octahedron shape
* Sets up right angles within chakras, creating secondary forces and electricity flow
* Radiates like spokes from a central hub
* Binds astral and etheric bodies together
* Not convertible into kundalini or vitality force

**Kundalini**

* Separate force on outside veil of etheric body
* Enters through astral body and chakras when activated
* Part of first outpouring, originated from third aspect (Holy Spirit)
* Flat sphere of seven atoms
* Not convertible into primary force or vitality force

**Vitality Force**

* Emanates from the sun
* Closely related to spleen chakra
* Formed into a vitality globule with seven atoms
* Enters physical atoms and animates them, depending on light for power
* Mixes with will force of Logos within physical atom

**Chakras**
 
* **First Chakra (Muladhara)**: located at base of spine, four spokes, red and orange quadrants, symbolized by a flaming cross 
* **Second Chakra (Spleen or Splenic)**: found at spleen, six horizontal streams, various colors 
* **Third Chakra (Manipura, navel, or umbilical)**: receives primary force, ten radiations, associated with emotions, several shades of red with green 
* **Fourth Chakra (Anahata, heart, or cardiac)**: found at heart, twelve spokes/petals, golden color, allows us to sympathize with other astral beings 
* **Fifth Chakra (Vishuddha, throat, or laryngeal)**: sixteen spokes, mainly blue but also silvery and gleaming, sometimes featuring green 
* **Sixth Chakra (Ajña, brow, and front)**: located between eyebrows, divided into halves, rose and purplish-blue, ninety-six spokes in total 
* **Seventh Chakra (Sahasrara, crown, or coronal)**: contains prismatic hues of all colors but mainly violet, twelve main spokes with hundreds of other spokes emanating from petals

**Chakra Categories**
 
* **Physiological**: chakras one and two, bring in kundalini from earth and sun's energy 
* **Personal**: chakras three through five, support individuated personality (lower astral, higher astral, lower mind) 
* **Spiritual**: chakras six and seven, activate only with spiritual development.

### THE CHAKRAS AND PRANA: THE VITALITY GLOBULE

**The Chakras and Prana: Vitality Globules**

- Vitality globules are a manifestation of prana, the second major force affecting chakras
- Made of seven physical atoms charged with prana, organized as hexagrams
- Dependent on light and more animated in the presence of the sun
- Each globule decomposed and broken into streams at the spleen
- Six spokes of the splenic chakra seize upon one color-coded vitality stream each
- **Seven pranic streams, but only five run through the body**:
  - **Violet-Blue Ray**
    - Proceeds to the throat and divides
    - Light blue in fifth chakra, dark blue and violet upward
    - Represents atma principles and udana vayu
  - **Yellow Ray**
    - Travels to heart then brain, nourishes twelve petals in seventh chakra
    - Serves buddhic principle and prana vayu
  - **Green Ray**
    - Floods abdomen, enlivens liver, kidneys, intestines, and digestive system
    - Represents kama manas and samana vayu
  - **Rose Ray**
    - Runs throughout body along nerves, related to splenic chakra
    - Supports kama rupa and vyana vayu
  - **Orange-Red Ray**
    - Flows to base of spine and reproductive organs
    - Includes dark purple color
    - Rises to seventh chakra for initiates, enhancing intellectual powers, unselfish affection, and spiritual nature
    - After triplicate shift, passes into spine from base and travels through vertebral column
    - Violet part represents principles of etheric double and apana vayu.

### CHAKRAS AND THE KUNDALINI FORCE

**Chakras and the Kundalini Force**

- Kundalini, or serpent fire, is the lowest embodiment of divine energy entering through the three outpourings
- Located in the first chakra but surrounded by etheric matter and found on the etheric part of the physical body
- Energy emanates from the astral body to enter chakras upon arousal
- Manifestation of the first outpouring of divine energy, exists on all planes, and reflects our connection to the earth

**Structure of Kundalini**

- Coils in the root chakra near the coccyx
- Surrounded by hollow concentric spheres of astral and etheric matter
- Seven such spheres in the root chakra
- Rouses when energy latent in inner layers starts to heat up

**Chakra Structure**

- Mouth of flowerlike bell on the surface of the etheric body
- Stem of blossom springs from the center of the spinal cord
- Etheric stem links root with external chakra
- Force from spine is naturally sucked through the stem and into the chakras
- Divine energy meets kundalini, causing spokes to revolve and creating pressure (marriage of divine energy and kundalini)
- Plexuses stimulated and bodily nerves awakened
- Atoms transformed into things of great beauty and goodness

**After Kundalini Awakening**

- Major changes in etheric and astral bodies
- Each etheric chakra relates to an astral center, which are fourth-dimensional vortexes
- Astral centers extend in different directions inside the astral vehicle
- Etheric centers bring qualities inherent in astral centers into the physical body
- **After awakening, astral centers can**:
  - Activate serpent fire for movement to next center (First Astral Center)
  - Vitalize entire astral vehicle for conscious astral travel (Second Astral Center)
  - Awaken sensitivity to feeling and external influences (Third Astral Center)
  - Comprehend and sympathize with the vibrations of other astral beings (Fourth Astral Center)
  - Gain the power of hearing on the astral plane (Fifth Astral Center)
  - Perceive the shape and nature of astral objects (Sixth Astral Center)
  - Endow initiate with all astral faculties (Seventh Astral Center)

### THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS: FORCES IN THE CHAKRAS AND MENTAL AND ASTRAL PLANES

* Chakras are not only associated with bodily well-being but also mental and emotional life through psychic and spiritual forces
* Thoughts and emotions affect higher chakras, especially the ability to pick up thoughts and feelings from others 
* **Thoughts**:
  * Radiate as energetic masses occupying space
  * Congregate on mental plane creating thought centers
  * Influence individuals through chakras
  * Appear as living creatures or elementals
  * Simple thoughts produce single vibrations, complex thoughts multiple vibrations 
* **Emotions**:
  * Affect astral body and attract corresponding emotional congestion
  * Higher emotions (love) play out through heart chakra
  * Lower emotions (hate) play out through navel chakra
  * Subdivide into benevolence, desire for mutual assistance, reverence, scorn, desire for mutual injury, and fear 
* **Colors of thoughts and emotions in astral body**:
 * **Black**: hatred and malice
 * **Red**: selfish anger, noble indignation, sensuality, love
 * **Brown**: avarice, selfishness, jealousy
 * **Gray**: depression, fear
 * **Orange**: pride or ambition
 * **Yellow**: intellectuality
 * **Green**: evil and deceitful to kind and sympathetic
 * **Blue**: religious feelings, noble spiritual idealism, higher spirituality.

### TWO KRISHNAMURTIS AWAKEN 

**Two Accounts of Enlightenment and Chakra Awakening**

- Two Krishnamurtis: Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) and U. G. Krishnamurti (1918-2007)

**Jiddu Krishnamurti:**

- Born in India, met Charles Leadbeater at Theosophical Society in India in 1909
- Educated as "new Christ\" in England from 1911
- Encountered spiritual awakening in Ojai, California, in 1922
  * Delirium and pain
  * Sense of oneness with everything
- Core teaching: Truth is a pathless land
- Labeled as traditional Hindu awakening with kundalini rising through chakras

**U. G. Krishnamurti:**

- Indian thinker who questioned enlightenment
- Sought enlightenment but realized it's not bestowed by others
- Transformation at age 49
  * Sudden internal explosion
  * Disintegration of "I"
  * Physical changes: soft skin, clear mind, heightened senses
  * Dying process with energy outburst and pain
  * Swellings at chakra sites (images of gods or cobra)
  * Ajña chakra took control
- Believed in purification of consciousness
- No divisions; return to primordial state

**Theosophical Society:**

- Complex understanding of chakras
- Entered professional arenas: psychology, education, etc.
- Influenced by Arthur Avalon and Theosophists
- Heated discussions among thinkers on chakra workings and appearances

## 32. CHAKRAS COME OF AGE IN THE WEST

**Chakras Come of Age in the West**

- The Theosophists gathered various chakra concepts from around the world and integrated them into a cohesive Western understanding.
- Chakraology grew from a single philosophy to a spirituality and science, with diverse ideas and approaches.

**Early 20th Century Pioneers**

- Theosophy allowed for new thoughts and perspectives on chakras.
- **Individuals and movements contributed unique insights**:
  * Sir Arthur Avalon (Major Walter Evans-Wentz)
  * Rudolf Steiner
  * Edgar Cayce
  * Carl Jung

**Sir Arthur Avalon's Contributions**

- Introduced chakra concepts to the West through translations of Tibetan texts.
- Emphasized spiritual transformation and healing through chakras.

**Later 20th Century: The New Age Movement**

- Chakra medicine expanded, reaching various aspects of Western culture.
- Characterized by inclusiveness and a sense of endless possibilities.

**Sir Arthur Avalon's Continued Influence**

- Met earlier in the exploration of modern Western thought.
- Integrated Eastern spirituality into Western understanding.

### THE LATER “EASTERNER”: SIR ARTHUR AVALON

**Sir Arthur Avalon (John George Woodroffe)**

- Pen name for British scholar who brought tantric and shakti yoga to the West through "The Serpent Power" (1919)
- Chakras are points of consciousness, doorways to Spirit
- Ancient tantric texts describe five distinct vibrations of tattvic matter emanating from celestial objects
- **Sun's rays interact with humans through chakra system, categorized into three groups**: earth/fire (1st & 2nd), sun (3rd & 4th), and moon (5th & 6th)
- Tattvic rays help slow prana in chakras to formulate karma, outlining soul's lessons
- **Chakras are six**: Muladhara (Root), Svadhisthana (Sacral), Manipura (Navel), Anahata (Heart), Vishuddha (Throat), and Ajña (Third Eye)
- Sahasrara (Crown) is not technically a chakra but the summation of the energetic system

**Rudolf Steiner**

- Austrian philosopher, esotericist, architect, social reformer, and originator of anthroposophy
- Believed in sevenfold manifestations of life, including chakras
- Evil exists to promote human ascent towards spirit
- **Four developmental eras**: Old Saturn (physical), Old Sun (etheric), Old Moon (astral), and Earth (ego)
- **Subtle bodies evolved during each era**: humans were physical in Old Saturn, etheric in Old Sun, astral in Old Moon, and ego in recent times
- Humans are below archai and angelic hierarchies, above natural kingdoms in terms of development
- **Described evolutionary stages of the universe**: Polarian (differentiated heat), Hyperborean (matter condensed to air), Lemurian (land and seas became distinct but matter was still flexible), Atlantean (solid form), and post-Atlantean (current age)
- **Fallen beings from each era attempt to interfere through different energetic bodies**: Asuric (physical), Athrimanic (etheric), and Luciferic (astral)

### STEINER’S THEORY OF OUR THREEFOLD NATURE
**Steiner's Theory of Our Threefold Nature**

* Human essence: body, soul, spirit
* Body: material structure
* Soul: complex component
	+ Soul body: boundary for the soul
	+ Sentient soul: processes perceptions from physical world
	+ Intellectual or mind soul: processes ideas and thoughts
	+ Consciousness soul: links with Divine
	+ Spirit self: intuition and self
	+ Life spirit: enduring spirit-soul content
	+ Spirit body: fully individuated spirit
* Astral body: combination of soul body and sentient soul
* Ego: self-awareness, implanted by spirits
	+ Faculty of self-awareness
	+ Unconscious elements: consciousness, life, physicality
* Physical body: subject to natural laws, biochemical
* Functional areas in the physical body: nerves (thinking and perception), rhythmic system (feeling), metabolic system (will)
* Etheric body: united with physical body, separates at death, vital aspect of human existence
	+ Life body or glandular body
	+ Molds the physical body
	+ Can only be seen through "eyes of the spirit"
	+ Links us with community of fellow humans
* Astral body: determines individuality, carries emotions and desires
	+ Feeling or nerve body
	+ Combination of soul body and sentient soul

**Steiner and the Chakras**

* Chakras: sense organs of the soul, vehicles for unlocking deeper truths
* Critical role in choice between good and evil, raising consciousness, escaping Kali Yuga (ends in 2025)
* Unusual form of yoga: Gayatri-Sadhana
* Chakras described from top to bottom of the body
* Crown chakra: links with supersensible sphere, adds logic and practicality to life
* Eight-petalled lotus in heart area: helps overcome dependence on thinking and brain, opens paranormal senses
* Eventually replaces traditional heart chakra
* Chakras and lotuses: sense organs of the soul, vehicles for deeper truths
* Number and location of petals:
	+ Between eyes: two petals (third eye chakra)
	+ Larynx: sixteen petals (throat chakra)
	+ Heart: twelve petals (heart chakra)
	+ Navel (pit of stomach): ten petals
	+ Abdomen: six petals (sex chakra)
	+ Sexual or perineum region: four petals (root chakra)

### EXERCISE: STEINER’S ADVICE FOR THE FIFTH CHAKRA

**Steiner's Advice for the Fifth Chakra**

* Steiner developed exercises to access attributes and complete expansion of chakras
* Focus on opened petals to encourage others to blossom
* Larynx chakra has 16 petals, can be unlocked through 8 steps

**Unlocking the Fifteenth Chakra Petals (Larynx Chakra)**

* Breathe into fifth chakra and visualize sixteen lotus petals
* Focus on two petals at a time
* Ask a question and wait for intuitive guidance or advice
* Decide if you can follow the insight received
* Repeat process with two more petals and continue until through all petals
* Can ask questions to open to higher wisdom after exercise is finished

**Steps for Unlocking Petals (General)**

* Focus on how you receive ideas: perceive each idea as significant
* Control your resolutions: select nothing meaningless
* Speak only what is sensible and purposeful
* Select actions with care
* Live a harmonious daily life
* Fulfill obligations, conduct yourself with self-knowledge
* Learn as much from life as possible
* Self-reflect

### THE ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND ENLIGHTENMENT (A.R.E.) AND THE SLEEPING PROPHET

**The Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) and Edgar Cayce**

- Founded in 1931 to explore spirituality, holistic health, and mysticism.
- Based on the work of Edgar Cayce, a psychic known as "the sleeping prophet."
- Channeled information on various topics including meditation, auras, soul mates, chakras, etc.
- Believed in seven chakras as spirits of God and vehicles for the will of the greater spirit.

**Edgar Cayce's Interpretation of Chakras**

- Depiction of chakras related to his interpretation of the book of Revelation.
- Linked each chakra to a phrase from the Lord's Prayer and a church described in Revelation.
- Associated chakras with classical components (color, sound, planets, etc.).

**Characteristics of the Seven Chakras according to Cayce**

_First Chakra: Root_
- **Location**: Base of spine
- **Endocrine Gland**: Ovaries and testes; pelvic plexus (L4)
- **Descriptors**: Red, Earth
- **Note**: "Give us this day our daily bread"
- **Planet**: Saturn
- **Church**: Church of Ephesus
- **Purpose**: Survival

_Second Chakra: Navel_
- **Location**: Hypogastric or pelvic plexus (L4)
- **Endocrine Gland**: Leydig cells; pituitary gland
- **Descriptors**: Orange, Water
- **Note**: "Lead us not into temptation"
- **Planet**: Neptune
- **Church**: Church of Smyrna
- **Purpose**: Male/female balance

_Third Chakra: Solar Plexus_
- **Location**: Epigastric plexus (T9)
- **Endocrine Gland**: Adrenal glands
- **Descriptors**: Yellow, Fire
- **Note**: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"
- **Planet**: Mars
- **Church**: Church of Pergamos
- **Purpose**: Self-preservation

_Fourth Chakra: Heart_
- **Location**: Cardiac plexus (T4)
- **Endocrine Gland**: Thymus
- **Descriptors**: Green, Air
- **Note**: "In earth as it is in heaven"
- **Planet**: Venus
- **Church**: Church of Thyratira
- **Purpose**: Self-gratification

_Fifth Chakra: Throat_
- **Location**: Thyroid, pharyngeal or cervical plexus (C3)
- **Descriptors**: Gray or blue, Ether
- **Note**: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done"
- **Planet**: Uranus
- **Church**: Church of Sardis
- **Purpose**: Divine will over self will

_Sixth Chakra: Pineal_
- **Location**: Pineal, brain region
- **Descriptors**: Indigo or purple, Cloud
- **Note**: "Hallowed be thy name"
- **Planet**: Mercury
- **Church**: Church of Philadelphia
- **Purpose**: Spiritual perfection

_Seventh Chakra: Forehead_
- **Location**: Pituitary, brain region
- **Descriptors**: None
- **Notes**: "Our Father which art in heaven" and "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever"
- **Planet**: Jupiter
- **Church**: Church of Laodicea
- **Purpose**: Oneness

_Common Characteristics_
- Each chakra serves as a waystation in the Lord's Prayer.
- Each chakra is associated with a planet, church, and phrase from the Lord's Prayer.
- Chakras are believed to be related to endocrine glands and colors.

### EXERCISE: MEDITATING THE CAYCE WAY

**Meditation Technique from Edgar Cayce:**

* Three-stage meditation technique for calming effect during readings and chakra work 
* **Access imaginative forces**: sense, see, feel, know 
* **Stage One**: Remove earthly personality from character 
* **Stage Two**: Allow subconscious mind and soul to run physical body 
* **Stage Three**: Connect with Spirit and experience higher consciousness

**The Fourth Way by George Gurdjieff:**

* Blend of mysticism, Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism
* Not a fixed or permanent path to higher consciousness 
* **Belief in subtle anatomy**: physical, natural, spiritual, and divine energy bodies 
* **Reduced five koshas to three subtle bodies**: physical, psychic, and causal
* Cultivate higher bodies through inner development and transcending the body

**Carl Jung:**

* Swiss psychotherapist and psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology
* Developed concepts of introverted and extroverted personality types, collective unconscious, archetypes
* Explored Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, occult, religion, and esoteric fields
* Related yoga practices to psychology, including chakras
* Belief in ongoing process of realization through individuation
* Unconscious is empirically real, need to view individuality free of societal opinions
* Chakras as symbols for developing individuality and awareness of the unconscious 
* **Kundalini**: descent into the unconscious, each chakra presents a distinct worldview.

**Modern Chakra Beliefs:**
 
* **New Age movement**: embraces all aspects of being human and divine
* Psychology introduced into chakraology
* Modern mystics and masters of the chakra system have detailed and colorful explanations of the energetic world.

### THE NEW AGE: THE CULMINATING MOVEMENT

- Developed in the second half of the 20th century and continues today
- Western spiritual movement integrating Eastern traditions (yoga, tantra, Buddhism, etc.) and Western philosophies (New Thought)
- Originated from New Thought philosophy promoting "believing makes it so"
- Merges various religious denominations, secular groups, and beliefs
- Coined in reference to the astrological Age of Aquarius
- Predicted transition from Piscean Age to Aquarian Age, symbolizing love, unity, fellowship, and integrity

**Origins and Influences**

* New Thought philosophy (God as "Infinite Intelligence," "thinking makes it so")
* Christian Science, Transcendental Meditation, Theosophy, Unity Church, Church of Divine Science 
* **Eastern traditions**: yoga, tantra, Buddhism, ayurveda, alchemy, ancient religions, TCM, Zen 
* **Secular groups and beliefs**: naturopathy, UFO-ology
* New Age opened gateway to chakra knowledge in mainstream society

**Age of Aquarius**

- Astrological concept based on precession of equinoxes
- Each precession lasts 25,800 years and causes Earth's poles to shift
- New Age followers believe we are leaving Piscean Age (dark, violent) and entering Aquarian Age (love, unity, fellowship, integrity)
- Transition expected to be turbulent but ultimately peaceful

**Characteristics of the New Age Movement**

* Fuses Eastern and Western spiritual and mystical traditions
* Incorporates psychology, shamanism, self-help thinking, quantum physics, holistic ideology
* Embraces astrology, alchemy, animal magnetism
* Monotheistic and pluralistic
* Chakras seen as mechanisms for achieving peace (inside and out)

**Bright Lights of the New Age Movement**

- Individuals who have initiated and furthered the movement
- To be continued...

### CHAKRA PSYCHOLOGY: CHRISTOPHER HILLS

**Chakra Psychology:**

- Christopher Hills linked chakras with personality traits based on most prominently active chakra.
- **Acronym ROY G. BIV tracks chakra colors**: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

**Chakra Personalities:**
 
* **Sacral or Root Chakra**: Deals with the immediate "now" and physical sensations. Individuals are mainly concerned with physical inputs and responses. 
* **Spleen or Second Chakra**: Manages the future, concerned with present actions affecting tomorrow. People can defer gratification for community good. 
* **Solar or Third Chakra**: Linear time perception, logical and intellectual, linked to joy and knowledge. 
* **Heart or Fourth Chakra**: Time moves back and forth based on emotional attachments or personal security. Consciousness attaches to material objects and love. 
* **Throat or Fifth Chakra**: Core is the past, associates present affairs with works of the past, conservative and traditional. 
* **Brow or Sixth Chakra**: Future possibilities grab these individuals, intuitive faculties, hard to grasp logic but sense extrasensory. 
* **Crown or Seventh Chakra**: All time exists simultaneously, imagination enables knowing patterns, symbols, and celestial matters.

**Anodea Judith:**

- Contemporary expert on chakras, blends Eastern and Western concepts, Jungian psychology, body-based therapy, childhood development theory, and metaphysics into chakra medicine.
- Chakras as organizing centers for receiving, assimilating, and using life energies.
- Each develops in a unique order and influences activities with the outside world.
- Can work with chakras to free ourselves of old patterns.

**Chakra System:**
 
* **Location, Color, Element, Purpose**:
	+ First (Base of spine, Red, Earth, Survival)
	+ Second (Lower abdomen, Orange, Water, Emotions/sexuality)
	+ Third (Solar plexus, Yellow, Fire, Personal power/self-esteem/will)
	+ Fourth (Over the sternum, Green, Air, Love)
	+ Fifth (Throat, Blue, Sound Communication/creativity)
	+ Sixth (Center of forehead, Indigo, Light, Clairvoyance/intuition/imagination)
	+ Seventh (Top of head, Violet, Thought, Transcendent consciousness) 
* **Chakra Development**:
	+ Can be too open or blocked, locking in issues.
	+ Each chakra tied to a particular right: survival, feeling, acting, loving and being loved, speaking and hearing truth, seeing, knowing.
	+ Embracing these rights enables fluidity and healing. 
* **Chakra Activation**:
	+ Can embrace birthrights in any order throughout life for fluidity and loving life.

### SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS FRONT AND CENTER: CAROLYN MYSS

**Dr. Carolyn Myss's Spiritual Traditions:**

**Chakras:**

* Human mind encodes thought into matter, stored in chakras 
* **Seven traditional locations**: base, sacral area, solar plexus, heart, throat, brow, and crown 
* **Colors**: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet

**First Chakra:**

* Represents physical life, connection to tribe, loyalty, unity 
* **Grace**: Reverence invites unity, recognizing source of life 
* **Power**: "All is one," merging with baptism and Malkuth sephira

**Second Chakra:**

* Governs sexuality, finances, relationships, power, creativity 
* **Grace**: Piety enables kindness, mercy for self and others 
* **Power**: "Honor one another," enabled by communion and Yesod sephira

**Third Chakra:**

* Center of personal identity, self-esteem, self-respect 
* **Grace**: Understanding allows comprehension, transcending personal matters 
* **Power**: "Honor oneself," blending with confirmation and Hod, Netzach sephiroth

**Fourth Chakra:**

* Center of emotion, love, hopes, dreams, anger, depression 
* **Grace**: Fortitude actualizes potential in service, courage for emotional choices 
* **Power**: "Love is divine power," merging with marriage and Tiphareth sephira

**Fifth Chakra:**

* Center of choice, receiving and sharing counsel 
* **Grace**: Counsel seeks truth, prayerful request for divine assistance 
* **Power**: Surrender personal will to divine will, employing willpower through confession and Chesed, Geburah sephiroth

**Sixth Chakra:**

* Mental center, home to open mind and intuition 
* **Grace**: Knowledge is pure form of revelation about the Divine 
* **Power**: Seek only truth, empowered by ordination and Binah, Chokmah sephiroth

**Seventh Chakra:**

* Spiritual center, discerns fiction from nonfiction, follows true spiritual path 
* **Grace**: Wisdom calls for deep thinking about choices 
* **Power**: Live in present moment, opened through extreme unction and Kether sephira

### EXERCISE: THE SEVEN CATHOLIC SACRAMENTS 

**The Seven Catholic Sacraments**
 
* **Special ceremonies evoking God's grace**: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Confession, Ordination, Extreme Unction

**Baptism**

* Blessing of a child or adult by God
* Embrace union with self, world, and Divine

**Communion**

* Evoke presence of Jesus for spiritual nourishment
* Absorb care and compassion

**Confirmation**

* Mature commitment to Christ
* Deepen baptismal gifts
* Awaken spiritual gifts

**Marriage**

* Public sign of union with another
* Enjoy all love in life
* Healthy and uplifting bonds

**Confession (Reconciliation)**

* Receive God's unconditional forgiveness
* Surrender will to divine will
* Grant forgiveness to others

**Ordination**

* Ceremony for new priests
* Provide sacraments to others
* Proclaim good news
* Serve in holy manners
* Accept fact as a holy messenger of the Divine

**Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick)**

* Ritual for physical, mental, and spiritual healing
* Allow healing on all levels

**Exercise:**

* Focus on each chakra
* Breathe into it
* Concentrate on sacrament ideas
* Union with self, world, Divine (First Chakra)
* Nourishment by Christ (Second Chakra)
* Awaken spiritual gifts (Third Chakra)
* Enjoy love in life (Fourth Chakra)
* Surrender will to divine will (Fifth Chakra)
* Accept fact as holy messenger (Sixth Chakra)
* Healing on all levels (Seventh Chakra)
* Prayerful continuation in life (End)

### A NASA SCIENTIST DESCRIBES ENERGY: BARBARA ANN BRENNAN
 
* **Barbara Ann Brennan**: former NASA scientist, author, and teacher
* Studied human energy field, focusing on chakras, auric field, and energetic planes 
* **Chakras**: etheric, astral, and mental vortexes for receiving and processing cosmic energy 
* **Two rows of chakras**: frontal (feeling) and rear (will), upper three relate to intellect 
* **Three main planes of reality**: spiritual, celestial, and physical
* Planes linked by aura, medium for creative impulses into physical reality
* Consciousness can ascend through auric field 
  * **Spiritual (Ketheric Template Level)**: expresses higher concepts
  * **Celestial Level**: expresses higher feelings
  * **Physical plane**:
    * Etheric Template Level: mitigates higher will
    * Mental Level: enables thinking
    * Emotional Level: guides personal emotions
    * Etheric Level: runs physical sensation
    * Physical Level: manages physical functioning
* Auric fields made of plasma, tiny particles operating like a fifth type of matter.

### BRENNAN’S CHAKRAS

**Brennan's Chakra System**

* Seven major chakras, each linked to an auric layer 
* **Six primary categories**: receive energy, disseminate secondary energies, interact with nadis, nervous system, endocrine system, and blood
* Major chakras accessible for energy exchange with the outside world

**Major Chakras**

* Seventh (Crown/pineal) - violet-white, upper brain, right eye
* Sixth (Forehead/pituitary) - indigo, lower brain, left eye, ears, nose, nervous system
* Fifth (Throat/thyroid) - blue, bronchial and vocal, mechanics, lungs, alimentary canal
* Fourth (Heart/thymus) - green, heart, blood, vagus nerve, circulatory system
* Third (Solar plexus/pancreas) - yellow, digestive organs, nervous system
* Second (Sacral area/gonads) - orange, reproductive system
* First (Base/adrenals) - red, spinal column, kidneys

**Cosmic Chakras**

* Eighth and ninth chakras located above the head
* Eighth deals with substance
* Ninth operates as a crystalline template for everything below it

**Minor Chakras**

* Twenty-one minor chakras located where energy strands cross 
* **Found at**: front of each ear, above each breast, clavicles, palms, soles, behind each ear, gonads, liver, stomach, spleen, behind each knee, thymus gland, and solar plexus
* Three inches in diameter, one inch away from the body.

### EAST IS WEST: DONNA EDEN AND DAVID FEINSTEIN

**Eden and Feinstein's Energy Systems**
 
* **Nine interconnected systems affecting body and mind**: meridians, auric field, basic grid, Celtic Weave, Five Rhythms, Triple Warmer, radiant circuits, electrics, chakras

**Meridians**

* Carry vital energy, regulate physiological systems

**Auric Field**

* Multilayered shell emanating from body
* Seven nested fields interacting with seven chakras
* Operates as a two-way antenna for energy exchange

**Basic Grid**

* Foundational system, looks like a matrix

**Celtic Weave**

* Interwoven pattern of body's energies
* Represents the crossing-over of ida, pingala, and sushumna
* Single unit of interwoven, spiraling figure-eight patterns within and around the body

**Five Rhythms**

* Overarching cyclical energy system
* Linked to five elements and seasons
* Influences all essential energies, including chakras and auric field

**Triple Warmer**

* Meridian linking immune system components

**Radiant Circuits**

* Primitive energy distribution system
* Distributes energy to where it's most needed

**Electrics**

* Energy emanating from electrical dimensions of energetic systems
* Connects all energetic systems via body's electricity

**Chakras**

* Seven-chakra system linked to organs and personality aspects 
* **Determine universal principles**: survival, creativity, identity, love, expression, comprehension, transcendence
* Memory banks for emotionally significant events
* Each chakra emanates energy through seven nested auric fields
* Spinning directions vary depending on occurrences
* Colors associated with each chakra can differ based on Eden's perceptions (e.g., gold instead of red in the first chakra)

**Chakras Around the Body**

* Additional chakras located outside the body proper, as described in some systems
* Barbara Brennan's system and others include these chakras
* Modern presentation of external chakras

**My Twelve-Chakra System**

* Expanded twelve-chakra model based on classical Hindu chakra system
* Includes five additional chakras outside the physical body
* Higher five chakras located above the head, below the feet, and around the body 
* **Description of each external chakra**: eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth

**Energy Egg**

* Three-layer sheath regulating linkage between spiritual realms and physical body
* Outermost layer opens to divine energy
* Middle layer transfers energy between parallel realities
* Inner layer monitors the physical body

### ADDITIONAL POINTS, CHAKRAS, AND THE SPINE

**Twelve-Chakra System**

* Consists of twenty spiritual points, equal to etheric chakras
* Linked to specific points in the spine and manage certain ideals
* Can be worked on with same practices as main chakras

**Chakras and Spine**

* Chakras 1-12 associated with vertebrae 
* **Thirty-two points**: Chakra points 1-13 and principle of love (33) 
* **Principle of love**: Overriding spiritual principle, located on a spinal point

**Spiritual Chakras and Their Locations**

| Point | Spinal Area | Vertebra |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 13 (Yin Lumbar) | Second lumbar | - |
| 14 (Yang First) | First lumbar | - |
| ... | ... | ... |
| 26 (Alignment) | First cervical | C1 |
| 27 (Peace) | Second cervical | C2 |
| 28 (Wisdom) | Third cervical | C3 |
| 29 (Enjoyment) | Fourth cervical | C4 |
| 30 (Forgiveness) | Fifth cervical | C5 |
| 31 (Faith) | Sixth cervical | C6 |
| 32 (Grace) | Seventh cervical | C7 |
| 33 (Principle of love) | First thoracic | T1 |

**Additional Chakras**
 
* **David Furlong**: Adds an eighth chakra, the Earth Chakra or Root Chakra
  * Located under the feet
  * Connects us to the earth and our ancestry
  * Colored green
 
* **Katrina Raphaell**: Transpersonal Chakras
  * Adds five additional chakras

**Transpersonal Chakras and Their Locations**

| Chakra | Location |
| --- | --- |
| Earth Star | Sole of the feet |
| Hara/Navel | Navel |
| Causal | Four inches behind the head |
| Soul Star | Six inches above the head |
| Stellar Gateway | Twelve inches above the head |

### THE SUBTRANSPERSONAL CHAKRAS

**Subtranspersonal Chakras**

- Additional chakras proposed by some esoteric professionals below the transpersonal chakras
- Five subtranspersonal chakras described by Noeli Naimi between feet and Earth Star Chakra

**Subtranspersonal Chakras (Naimi's System)**
 
* **Incarnation Point Chakra**: A few inches below the feet, connects to soul's journey 
* **Incarnator Chakra**: 16 inches below the feet, connects to ancestry, tribe, and clan 
* **Subpersonal Leadership Chakra**: An arm's length below the feet, represents anima or female archetype 
* **Earth-Centering Chakra**: Beyond an arm's length below the feet, ties us to archaic earth energy 
* **Earth Star Chakra**: Two arm's lengths below the feet, exchanges energy with earth goddess

**Hara Line**

- Energy pathway or line of light expanding into a pillar of light
- Located in astral body and centered in dantian (spark of chi)
- **Structurally, it splits at the dantian into three lines**: grounding, identity, and central axis
- Hara line is linked with its own set of transpersonal or subpersonal chakras

**Hara Line Example 1**
 
* **Individuation Point (Ninth Chakra)**: Transpersonal chakra, links us with energy of unity above and physical reality below 
* **Soul Seat**: Near hollow of throat, desire for connection, silver cord connects soul to body 
* **Hara Center/Dantian**: Already described 
* **Earth Chakra**: Subpersonal chakra below feet, roots us to earth's core and its EMFs

**Hara Line Example 2 (Microcosmic Orbit Version)**
 
* **Four components**: microcosmic orbit chakras, Governing Vessel, Conception Vessel, and Earth Links 
* **Microcosmic orbit chakras**: thirteen chakras along the pathway of the hara line 
* **Governing Vessel**: runs up the back of the body 
* **Conception Vessel**: rises up the front of the body 
* **Earth Links**: grounding and umbilical functions of the hara passing through left leg, identity and creation functions traveling down right leg.

### HARA LINE CHAKRAS

**Hara Line Chakras**

- **Hara line has thirteen microcosmic orbit chakras**:
  - **Earth Chakra**: Below feet, black, anchors us to earth
  - **Grounding Chakra**: Soles of feet, brown, grounds life purpose
  - **Movement Chakras**: Behind knees, tan and dark green
  - **Perineum Chakra**: Between vagina and anus, ruddy brown
  - **Hara Center/Dantian**: Two-and-a-half inches below navel, amber, connects will to live with earth energy
  - **Diaphragm Chakra**: Above solar plexus at diaphragm, olive green, clears obstructions to life purpose
  - **Thymus Chakra**: Between high heart and thymus, aqua, links hara line and emotional body
  - **Causal Body Chakra**: Base of skull, silver-blue and blue-violet, transforms nonphysical light into consciousness
  - **Vision Chakras**: Pupils of eyes, gray and silver, enable visualization of needs
  - **Individuation Point/Ninth Chakra**: Above head, gold and white, connects us to universe while maintaining self

**Governing and Conception Vessels**

- Work in conjunction with hara line chakras
- **Governing Vessel**: Starts at perineum chakra, travels up spinal column and back of body, ending at upper lip
- **Conception Vessel**: Starts at lower lip, journeys down front of body, cuts through hara chakra, ends at perineum
- Activate circular flow when linked through the hara line, creating microcosmic orbit

**Earth Channels**

- Four earth channels run through legs
  - **Grounding (Left Leg)**: Provides confidence, strength, security
  - **Umbilical (Left Leg)**: Gives nourishment; weak can lead to suicidal thoughts
  - **Creation (Right Leg)**: Ensures self-empowerment, ability to make things happen
  - **Identity (Right Leg)**: Reflects sense of self and ability to relate to others

**Strengthening Hara Line**

- Use antakarana symbol for smoother energy flow in microcosmic orbit
- Meditate on or visualize symbol, print it out, sketch it, focus on healing/manifesting goals

**Chakra Changes Over Time**

- Chakra perceptions have continually changed throughout history
- Upanishads described four main chakras related to dreaming and wakefulness
- Tibetan tantra recognized four to nine chakras with specific meanings and colors
- Sir Arthur Avalon set number at seven, discussed relationship to nerve plexuses
- Leadbeater added spleen chakra, used artistic blends of colors
- Judith's system is more basic but invites use of all chakras for communication and imagination.

### CHAKRAS ET CETERA 

**Chakra Journey:** Overview of exploring various sources of chakra knowledge.

**Natural Chakras:**

* Focus on energies of nature in chakra medicine.
* Humans are part of nature, and vice versa.
* Planet Earth and animals have distinctive subtle energy characteristics. 
* **Chapter 33**: Chakras in Nature.
  * Planetary energy lines and Earth's chakras.

**Animals:**

* Animals also have unique chakra systems.
* Final section of the book.

**Future of Chakra Medicine:**
 
* **Chapter 24**: New and unusual chakras for next century.
* Time-traveling expedition into future concepts.
* Keep imagination afire, yearning for more knowledge.
* Chakra medicine is a never-ending storyline.
* We are "star stuff."

## 33. CHAKRAS IN NATURE EARTH

**Chakras in Nature:**

- Many metaphysicians believe the earth is a living being with its own spirit, soul, and mind
- Earth interacts with us through food, water, and weather
- Ancient cultures saw earth as our mother and all living beings as her children
- Earth exhibits subtle energy anatomy comparable to humans
- Earth chakras developed at grid intersections
- Dozens of earth-based chakra systems exist
- Earth chakras can be blocked, cleared, and used for medicine work
- Explore earth chakras, planetary connections, and animal chakras

**Earth as a Living Being:**

- Believed to have spirit, soul, and mind
- Interacts with us through food, water, weather
- Ancient cultures saw earth as mother, all living beings as children

**Earth's Energy Anatomy:**

- Exhibits subtle energy anatomy
- Chakras develop at grid intersections
- Everything is made of energy

**Earth-Based Chakra Systems:**

- Dozens of systems exist
- Developed based on earth being conscious or energy centers
- Often found near intersecting lines in the earth's energy grids

**Questions and Explorations:**

- Meaning of potential existence of earth chakras
- Accomplishments from recognizing earth chakras
- Blockages, clearing, and medicine work
- Earth chakra exercises
- Planetary connections through Rudolf Steiner's insights
- Animal chakras

**Exploring Further:**

- Look for chakras in your area or travel to famous sites
- Examine skies for chakra openings
- Perform chakra medicine work for companion animals.

### CHAKRAS AND THE EARTH’S SONGLINES 

* Ancestors referred to invisible lines of energy or matrixes as dragon lines, songlines, ley lines, vortexes, fairy paths, spirit lines, or dragon currents 
* **Indigenous Australians**: songlines, traced creators' journeys, connected to rainbow serpent 
* **Irish**: fairy paths, terminated at holy mountains 
* **Incans**: spirit lines, terminated at tops of holy mountains 
* **Ancient Germany**: holy lines, marked by sacred sites and natural objects 
* **Japan, China, India, Tibet**: dragon lines, honorable art among Chinese to determine flow of dragon currents 
* **North and South America**: energy lines or electromagnetic lines, vortexes 
* **Most common label**: ley lines, first conceived by Alfred Watkins in 1929
* Invisible straight and geometric alignments linked with places of geographical interest
* Ley markers often show location of a ley line, must start or finish on a hill 
* **Types of ley lines**: astronomy, funerary usage, magnetic, geometric alignments
* Use of ley lines in creation of pre-pagan and pagan sites started between 7000 and 6000 BCE 
* **Other earth-based lines**: Hartmann Grid, Benker Cubical System, Curry Grid, Black Lines 
* **Hartmann Grid**: network of charged lines that can send energy upward to six hundred feet, harmful radiation intensified at intersections 
* **Benker Cubical System**: composed of polarized energy tracks, negatively affects immune system 
* **Curry Grid**: mystical force field composed of crisscrossing lines, beneficial or harmful radiation at intersections 
* **Black Lines**: natural earth energies that don't run in lines but are localized and dangerous, increase negative effects during solar and lightning storms.

### HOW EARTH GRIDS ARE FORMED

**Earth Grids:**

- Formed through interaction between solar wind and earth's magnetic field
- Solar wind interacts with earth's magnetic field, creating an enormous generator
- Power emanates from the planet's core, creating currents called telluric currents
- Telluric currents produce magnetic or electromagnetic waves that cycle in one direction for 12 hours and opposite for another 12 hours
- Grids of low frequency longitudinal electrical waves form over millions of years
- Different types of grids, such as Hartmann and Curry grids or Benker Cubical System
- Conductors within gridlines produce more powerful emanations

**Earth Chakras:**

- Formed at intersections of grid lines
- Not every intersection forms a chakra, but hundreds or thousands exist
- **Major and minor chakras located in various places**: seas and oceans, mountains, caves, ancient sites
- Vortexes or spiraling energies found at earth's energetic intersections might be electrical, magnetic, or electromagnetic
- Formed due to non-dipole effect or universal matrix imbedded within the earth
- Sacred sites built at chakra or vortex points for tapping into universal consciousness
- Earth energy travels from one chakra to another, forming energetic pathways
- Structures built on negative natural lines or incoherently drain subtle energies and create undesirable effects.

### DO EARTH CHAKRAS SIGNIFY THAT WE CAME FROM OR HAVE BEEN VISITED BY THE STARS?
**Earth Chakras and Extraterrestrial Origins**

* Ancestors chose sacred sites for communication with stars and gods
* Many cultures believe in extraplanetary origin or visits from ancient astronauts

**Americas**

* Hopis: Pleiades as home, descendants of Pleiadians (Chuhukon)
* Navajos: Delyahey, home of Black God in Pleiades
* Cree: Originally came from stars in spirit form
* Tsalgi: Ultimate origin in Pleiades
* Dakota: Ancestral home in Pleiades
* Aphibones: Stars as ancestral home
* Shipibo-Conibo: Create star maps on cloth, homeland in stars
* Pre-Incan societies: Taught by star people (fire, agriculture, mathematics)
* Mayans, Incas, Cherokee: Galactic origins
* Star Nations: Descendants from stars, saving earth
* Some prophets believed to be star people

**Africa**

* Dogon: Knowledge of Sirius B from Nommo, star beings

**Worldwide**

* Ancient civilizations built massive structures (Giza pyramids, Machu Picchu, Moai statues, Stonehenge, Baalbek)
* Old Testament references to Nephilim, giants, Ezekiel's chariot, and the book of Enoch
* Hindu scripture: Gods travel in flying vehicles, descriptions of spaceships
* Chinese documents on interstellar spaceships using laghima power
* Dropas: Ancient race of extraterrestrials
* Popol Vuh: Men from stars, Mayan writing
* Petroglyphs and artifacts with images of visitors
* Shipibo Indians: Origin story of seven children from the stars
* Hopis: Blue Kachina, Messiah-like being, fifth age of man
* Multiple creations or ages, question of on-earth or "offsite" beginnings
* Earth chakras as communication stations for higher beings

### WHAT DO EARTH CHAKRAS LOOK LIKE?

**Earth Chakras**

- **Defined appearance**: spherical or saucerlike, expand three-dimensionally, transmit energy in spiraling motion
- Radius extends for hundreds of miles, some operate at 777 miles radius
- Located on every continent except Antarctica, major sacred sites at their centers
- Energy passed from one chakra to another through gateways
- Not all have been mapped, can be supportive, harmful, or neutral

**Appearance and Reach of Earth Chakras**

- **Shapes**: spherical or saucerlike
- Depth, width, and three-dimensional expansion in spiraling motion
- Radius extends for hundreds of miles, some up to 777 miles

**Location and Number of Earth Chakras**

- Found on every continent except Antarctica
- Major sacred sites at their centers
- At least one major chakra per continent

**Functioning of Earth Chakras**

- Energy passed from one chakra to another through gateways
- Some intersections along the earth's energetic field assert positive impact, others negative
- Can be blocked or holding dysfunctional energy

**Effects of Earth Chakras**

- **Positive**: Himalayas, Peru, Findhorn, Scotland, Lake Baikal in Siberia, Kiev, Ukraine
- **Negative**: Bermuda Triangle, Devil's Sea (east of Japan), vile vortexes

**Clearing Earth Chakras**

- Can be cleared through intention, prayer, and crystals or other instruments
- Affected by distant chakras due to nonlocal beings and energetic attachments

**Finding Vortexes in Your Area**

- Shift in emotions, thoughts, physical energy, spiritual well-being
- Easiest to spot at dusk or dawn
- Use a pendulum to detect spiraling electromagnetic energy

**Exercise: Is There a Vortex in Your Area?**

- Identify areas that consistently affect emotions, thoughts, physical energy, or spiritual well-being
- Test for vortexes using a pendulum and sensing distinct differences in energy.

### EARTH CHAKRA SYSTEMS

**Earth Chakra Systems**

* Contemporary systems featuring chakras on the Earth 
* **Three systems discussed for an overview**: Erickson's and Coon's systems

**Erickson's Contemporary Earth System**

* Synthesis of various earth chakra systems
* Major continents represented, excluding Antarctica

**Chakras in Erickson's System**
 
* **Chakra One**: Grand Canyon (North America)
  * Located in northern Arizona and southern Utah
  * Ancient lands of the Hopi mesas
  * Represents self-definition, personal power 
* **Chakra Two**: Machu Picchu (South America)
  * Lost city of the Incas
  * Emotive and sensual beauty 
* **Chakra Three**: Uluru (Australia)
  * Large red rock formation in central Australia
  * Sacred to Aborigines
  * Self-definition, personal power 
* **Chakra Four**: Glastonbury Tor (Europe)
  * England, conical hill
  * Linked to Celts, Druids, Arthurian legends
  * Mystical isle of Avalon, Holy Grail 
* **Chakra Five**: Giza (Africa)
  * Egypt, revered area
  * Dreaming, expression, language, science, religion 
* **Chakra Six**: Mount Fuji (Asia)
  * Japanese mountain
  * Clarity and insight of the third eye 
* **Chakra Seven**: Mount Kailash (Asia)
  * Himalayan peak
  * Sacred among various religions
  * Meditative, mystical experiences

**Coon's Earth Chakra System**

* Earth as a living being with earth-based chakras
* Each plays a role in supporting the planet and life upon it

**Chakras in Coon's System**
 
* **Chakra One**: Mount Shasta (North America)
  * Introduces biological life energy into the world 
* **Chakra Two**: Lake Titicaca (South America)
  * Advances new species, enables advances within existing ones 
* **Chakra Three**: Uluru and Kata Tjuta (Australia)
  * Solar plexus chakra
  * Ensures health and vigor of all living species
  * Holds energy of Dreamtime 
* **Chakra Four**: Glastonbury and Shaftesbury (Europe)
  * Merge legend of the Holy Grail and willpower 
* **Chakra Five**: The Great Pyramid, Mount Sinai, and the Mount of Olives (Middle East)
  * Intermingling of fifth chakra energies with four vortexes regulating elements 
* **Chakra Six**: Aeon Activation Center (Mobile)
  * Moves one-twelfth of the way around the world, always to the west
  * Labeled according to the zodiac age 
* **Chakra Seven**: Mount Kailash (Asia)
  * Reflects earth's purpose or will
  * Related to legend about the Lost Chord of Creation

### LEGENDS LINKED TO EARTH CHAKRAS

**Legends linked to Earth Chakras**
* **The Lost Chord of Creation**
  + Considered the first melody of creation
  + Originally three families: Elohim, Seraphim, Braharama
  + Their sounds constituted the music of the spheres
  + Lost Chord is a mistranslation for "three lost notes"
  + Finding and sounding together restores unity and love
* **Dreamtime (Australian Aboriginal culture)**
  + Era of creation from which all life appeared
  + Laws of existence and supernatural beings originated
  + Totem ancestors turned into rocks or trees as sacred sites
  + Chakras or vortexes might be located at these sites
* **King Arthur and the Holy Grail**
  + Fictionalized military leader in 5th century CE
  + Associated with magical objects: Holy Grail, Spear of Purpose
  + Linked to Avalon, a mystical and pagan site
  + Glastonbury Tor seen as gateway between worlds
  + Connected to zodiac and chakras through "Glastonbury zodiac"
* **The Lost Chord of Creation (continued)**
  + Idea of sound originating the universe
  + Comparable to tantric belief in om, biblical belief in "the Word," and general philosophy that chakras reflect sacred sounds.

*Dreamtime (continued)*
+ Sacred sites recognizable only by initiated
+ Totem ancestors turned into rocks or trees
+ Chakras or vortexes might be located at these sites

**King Arthur and the Holy Grail (continued)**
+ Linked to Avalon, a mystical and pagan site
+ Glastonbury Tor seen as gateway between worlds
+ Connected to zodiac and chakras through "Glastonbury zodiac"
+ Joseph of Arimathea brought the grail and spear to Glastonbury in the first century.

### THE KEYS OF ENOCH: CHAKRAS AND THE EGYPTIAN MYSTERIES

**The Keys of Enoch: Chakras and the Egyptian Mysteries**

- J. J. Hurtak's book synthesizes Eastern and Western religions, spirituality, and metaphysics.
- Claims to have received information through revelation from Enoch.
- Links the Great Pyramid with the Belt of Orion and chakras.
- Chakras are tools for connecting with higher universal consciousness.
- Transform chakras through intonation, visualization, and getting beyond locked memories.
- Connects to a cosmic "Tree of Life\" and "One."
- Living flames of color and sound found within "Keys\" that unlock the Divine Mind.
- Experience enlightenment on all levels to open to the Shekinah (feminine aspects of God).

**Hurtak's Chakra System and the Nile**

- Eight human chakras linked to eight pyramidal temple areas along the Nile.
- First chakra—Abu Dis: human blueprint of primal energy.
- Second chakra—Abu Simbel: ensures fertility.
- Third chakra—Thebes: processes functions of life and death.
- Fourth chakra—Karnak: links us to heaven's heartbeat.
- Fifth chakra—Abydos: opens our true voice.
- Sixth chakra—Memphis: awakens third eye vision.
- Seventh chakra—Great Pyramid at Giza and the Sphinx: enables evolution.
- Eighth chakra—Academy of On: links us to our oversoul and accesses a ninth chakra field that admits living light.

**Crop Circles and Metaphysical Earth Art**

- Crop circles are geometrical patterns appearing in farm fields overnight.
- Not simply circular images; composed of many shapes, sizes, and directions.
- Theories include UFOs/aliens, winds, aircraft, earth energy, and humans.
- Some crop circles resemble chakras, yantras, swastikas, and the kali yuga symbol.
- Metaphysical earth art includes Nazca lines in Peru, which are communiqués with gods or paths for spiritual purposes.

**Creating Your Own Songline in Your Environment**

- Re-create a special, uplifting place in nature as a personal songline or earth chakra area.
- Recall feelings and sensations from the original location.
- Put experience into words and sing them in your new environment.
- Ask that the energy be established in this new location.

### OF EARTH AND SKY: RUDOLF STEINER’S ASTROGEOGRAPHIA SYSTEM
 
* **Astrogeographia**: system connecting earth and heavens, studying stars' projection onto the earth
* Rudolf Steiner believed in earth chakras associated with planets 
* **Chakra-Continent-Site-Planet correlation**:
 * **First (Moon)**: Mount Shasta, North America
 * **Second (Venus)**: Island of the Sun, Lake Titicaca, South America
 * **Third (Mercury)**: Uluru and Kata Tjuta, Australia
 * **Fourth (Sun)**: Glastonbury, Europe
 * **Fifth**: Great Pyramid, Asia/Africa
 * **Sixth (Mars)**: Aeon Activation Center, Europe
 * **Seventh (Jupiter-Saturn)**: Mount Kailash, Asia 
* **Planetary energies and their influences**:
  **Moon**: reflects back, connected to hidden selves
  **Venus**: lovingly transforms earthly life into dream images
  **Mercury**: increases intellect and reason
  **Sun**: imbues us with warmth for destiny success
  **Mars**: encourages statements about universe mysteries
  **Jupiter**: sends creative thoughts from the universe
  **Saturn**: receives impulses, stores earth's history 
* **Guided meditation to connect chakras with planetary energies**:
 * **First (Mount Shasta)**: Moon, accept hidden truths
 * **Second (Island of the Sun)**: Venus, transform goals into reality
 * **Third (Uluru and Kata Tjuta)**: Mercury, clear mental confusion, inspire ideas
 * **Fourth (Glastonbury)**: Sun, discover destiny
 * **Fifth (Great Pyramid)**: Mars, gain insights about universe mysteries
 * **Sixth (mobile)**: Jupiter, enhance creativity
 * **Seventh (Mount Kailash)**: Saturn, awaken to history.

### ANIMAL CHAKRAS: THE ENERGY OF OUR EARTH FRIENDS

**Animal Chakras:**

- Living beings, including animals, have chakras that function similarly to humans, interfacing with auras and nadis/meridians.
- Animals are sensitive to their caregivers' moods and needs, requiring healing when they pick up on our illnesses and concerns.
- Margrit Coates, an animal healer and communicator, explains the importance of animal chakras and recommends techniques for evaluation and healing.

**Unique Animal Chakras:**

- In addition to the major seven chakras, animals have a unique eighth or brachial chakra.
- The brachial chakra is located on either side of the body in the shoulder area and relates to animal-human interaction.
- Animals also have six "bud" chakras and twenty-one minor chakras.

**Bud Chakras:**

- Found on each foot (pad, paw, hoof, or claw), and one is found at the base opening of each ear.
- Serve as subtle energy receptors, especially receptive to changes in weather and ground vibrations.

**Minor Chakras:**

- Twenty-one minor chakras are sensory centers located on various parts of the body like the nose, tail, and ears.
- Smaller than major chakras but vital for functionality.
- For example, the nose chakra is important for animals' sense of smell.

**Major Chakras:**

- Each major chakra has a location, color, purpose, and signs of imbalance.
- The eighth animal chakra (brachial) enables bonding and is black in color.
- The fifth animal chakra (throat) is blue and relates to communication.
- The green heart chakra (breast) deals with herd mentality.

**Connection to Nature:**

- Humans and animals share similarities in terms of chakras and their tasks.
- We are part of the earth and skies, and they are part of us.
- Living with our feet on the ground and our head in the skies affirms our connection to nature.

## 34. NEW AND UNUSUAL CHAKRAS AND CHAKRA SYSTEMS

**Chakras and New Developments in Chakra Medicine**

- Chakras have played a key role in various systems and cultures, helping us connect with the stars and bring them into everyday life
- This chapter highlights emerging forms and applications of chakras and energetic systems

**New Chakras**

- Some new chakras are not previously described
- Others are incipient, being activated now
- Belief that we're shifting from third to fourth and fifth dimensions
  - **Third dimension**: physical
  - **Fourth dimension**: truth or astral plane
  - **Fifth dimension**: place of light
  - Necessary for humanity to ascend to higher consciousness
- Ancients believed in de-evolution but also potential for ascension
- Chakras are like stars, continually shifting and changing

**Unusual Chakras**

- **Emergent chakras**: brand new or being activated
- Shift from third dimension to fourth and fifth dimensions may be causing emergence of new chakras
- Transforming darkness into light, bringing heaven to earth

**Exploring New Energetic Stars on Earth**

- Discussion of specific new chakras and systems will follow
- Including author's twelve-chakra system and reflexology models related to hands, feet, and face
- **Conclusion**: there will always be more chakra knowledge to come as humans continue to grow and evolve.

### New Chakras Broadcast in the Energetic Media
 
* **New Chakras**: Overview of new chakras emerging in popular circles, including the Internet and social media

**Earth Star Chakra:** Connection to the Earth, discussed in chapter 32

**Emergent Ajña Chakras:** Split of brow or ajña chakra into two separate gland-based chakras: pituitary and pineal gland chakras. Co-create intuitive abilities and access higher light frequencies.

**Etheric Mirror:** Integrated energy body part, located inside the tenth auric field next to the first auric field. Reflects past issues and reveals what we present to the world.

**Galactic Female Chakra:** Controls left side of the body, contains raw feminine material forming personality. Comparable to thirteenth point in thirty-two chakra system or yin point.

**Galactic Gateway or Transpersonal Point:** Connection to universal energy and higher light grid. Twelve inches above the crown. Comparable to transpersonal or solar chakras.

**Galactic Male Chakra:** Manages right side of the body, contains masculine traits. Six inches above the crown. Comparable to fourteenth point or yang center in thirty-two chakra system.

**Gray Body:** Links us with beings from various dimensions. Emerged from author's own work. Can be cleared to release negative attachments and cords, especially extraterrestrial problems.

**Halo Chakra or Soul Star Chakra:** Associated with a newly forming diaphragm center. Stores negative emotions and dissolves fear and doubt. Frequently considered yellow sapphire or gold in color. Comparable to ninth chakra in thirty-two chakra system.

**Pain Body:** Accumulation of old emotional pain carried in our energy field. Introduced by Eckhart Tolle. Seeks more suffering and leads to addiction or unhappiness. Collective pain body contains the pain of all human beings throughout history.

**Silver Cord:** Connects soul to the body while alive. Mentioned in many traditions.

**Silver Body:** Attaches to Akashic Records, other eighth chakra records, and silver cord. Located around thymus. Can be intuitively read to determine soul issues.

**Star Seed of Destiny:** Born from star body and moves to seventh chakra. Transforms intuitive abilities into higher-order spiritual gifts. Part of author's own work.

**Star Body:** Contains codes of spiritual purpose and destiny, as well as the star seed of destiny. Located in tenth chakra. Releasing star seed of destiny for spiritual evolution.

**Technology Chakra:** Adaptive vehicle for information exchange similar to the Internet. Enables us to adapt to technological world and gain access to information within it. Original to author's own work.

**Thymus Chakra:** Many practitioners believe it is a newly emerging chakra or governs fourth chakra in thymus instead of heart. Governs immune system, helps us adapt to the world, and creates instant karma. Often described as blue-green. Related to eighth chakra above the head in thirty-two chakra system.

**Victim Chakra:** Developed as a mature chakra that attaches to emotional chakras and soul. Contains all lifetime experiences of being victimized. Causes further victimization patterns for some people. Part of author's own work.

**Zeal Chakra or Ascension Chakra:** Located at the base of the skull. Governs interdimensional communication, astral travel, and influences limbic system. Leads to multidimensional telepathic communication and shift from third to fourth and fifth dimensions. Can be seen as magenta. Relates to brahmarandhra, a Hindu chakra at the back of the skull.

### Exercise: Disembodying the Pain Body

**Exercise: Disembodying the Pain Body**

* Eliminate pain body by cutting its link to negative thoughts
* Negative thoughts fueled by fear, especially about future
* Centering in present moment disengages from worries and reduces pain body
* Depressed feelings result from being stuck in past, related chakras spin too slowly
* Anxious feelings reveal worry about future, related chakras spin too fast 
* **When feeling pain**:
  * Identify distressed chakra
  * Determine if it's spinning too slowly or quickly
  * Breathe deeply into the chakra and even out its speed
  * Request healing message
  * Release perceived need to feel pain

**The Etheric Mirror Exercise**

* Lies within tenth auric field, reflects causes, optimum possibilities, and external reasons for challenges
* Focus on an issue creating disharmony
* Intuitively peer into inner layer for problem's nature
* Look into outer layer to see external reasons
* Center on middle layer for answers and energy for change
* Ask higher guidance for activation of needed energy and mechanisms

**Expanded Twelve-Chakra System**
 
* **Twelfth chakra**: collection of 32 secondary chakras in body or auric field
* Integrate all aspects of self, serve endocrine function associated with chakra twelve 
* **Thirty-two points**: legs, buttocks, coccyx, sacral vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, cervical vertebrae, cranium, silver cord to the soul, bubbling springs in feet and hands, wrists, elbows, clavicle, throat, upper brain, center of the earth
* Can be worked with like chakras using practices in Part 3 
* **Higher twenty points**: Spiritual Energy Points - Yin, Yang, Balance of Polarities, Balance of Similarities, Harmony, Free Will and Freedom, Kundalini, Mastery, Abundance, Clarity, Knowledge of Good and Bad, Creation, Manifestation, Highest Purpose, Peace, Wisdom, Enjoyment, Forgiveness, Faith, Grace.

### THE OUTER BOUNDS OF THE TWELVE CHAKRAS: THE ENERGY EGG

* The energy egg, located outside of the twelfth auric field in a twelve-chakra system, regulates what enters and exits our energy field. 
* **Three layers in the energy egg**:
 * **Innermost Layer**: affects physical self and everyday reality, regulates tenth to third auric fields.
 * **Middle Layer**: runs thoughtforms and consciousness patterns, regulates fourth to sixth auric fields.
 * **Outer Layer**: connects us to the cosmos, operates through seventh to eleventh auric fields. 
* **Chakra seals**: protective lenses that connect with chakras, offer protection and serve as focus points for higher spiritual forces.
* Each front side and back side chakra has a seal, which can be convex (unset) or concave (set).
* Convex seals hold negative energies in our chakras, causing recurring patterns or inherited destructive forces. 
* **Setting your seals**:
  * Can be done with intention during meditation.
  * Decide which spiritual energies to attract, release, or hold in chakras using intention or will.
  * Seals act as consciously controlled receptacles for these energies.

### THE BACK SIDES OF THE CHAKRAS

**The Back Sides of the Chakras**

- Important to understand back sides for unconscious, subconscious, soul issues and spiritual powers
- Accessed using same techniques as front sides (Part 3)

**Back Sides of In-Body Chakras**

**Chakra One:**
- Beliefs, experiences about manifesting, creating, flourishing physically

**Chakra Two:**
- Feeling about self in relation to holistic universe
- Energy enters for complete feeling processing

**Chakra Three:**
- Intellectual template for effective life decisions based on belief systems

**Chakra Four:**
- Portal to soul, divine energy stimulates heart's desires

**Chakra Five:**
- Receive celestial or channeled guidance from other beings, dimensions, aspects of self

**Chakra Six:**
- "Sight chakra," receives paths forward, pituitary gland evaluates according to highest purpose

**Chakra Seven:**
- Realize divine spark of consciousness, access point for connecting with all divine beings

**Back Sides of Out-of-Body Chakras (non-technical)**

**Chakra Eight:**
- **Accesses bodies of knowledge**: past experiences, creation history, own creation
- Channels all powers and forces through any time-space continuum

**Chakra Nine:**
- Illuminates spiritual aspect of soul heritage, story, genes
- Contains history of material universe and its effects

**Chakra Ten:**
- Stores history of earth, ancestry
- Accesses all elemental, natural, supernatural forces and consciousness streams

**Chakra Eleven:**
- Open to all supernatural and natural forces from any source

**Chakra Twelve:**
- Open to energies, beings, support from all spiritual realms, known and unknown.

### AMAZING ENERGETIC BODIES
 
* **The Silver Cord**: a metaphysical concept described as the link between the soul and the body

**Biblical References:**
- **Mentioned in Ecclesiastes 12**:6
- Described as connecting life and soul, body and etheric or astral body

**Description:**
- Elastic string, coil of light, silvery light, current of influence, silver chain, smoky string, shaft of sunlight
- Forms when the spirit self exits the body (sleeping, shock, daydreaming)
- Strengthens into a single cord at death or dissolves

**Location:**
- Most often on the front of the body, breast, back of the head, or abdomen
- Attaches to the soul's etheric body or covering

**Function:**
- Transfers experiences, emotions, and memories into the soul's etheric body before death
- Connects the physical body to any subtle bodies through the soul
- Guides the soul to the body before conception
- Locks in at the fifth chakra or high heart area

**Additional Etheric Cords:**
- **Vivaxis**: umbilical cord to the earth
- **Mother-child umbilical cord**: remains attached between mother and child until the child is about 4 years old, enables energy and information exchange

**Implications:**
- Soul might exit through injury site at death
- Difficult births can cause imprints on the next child's body
- Intuitives often perceive silver cord as linked with the abdomen due to additional etheric cords
- Enables soul travel during sleep, daydreaming, and out-of-body experiences.

### The Vivaxis

**Vivaxis**

- Energy sphere linked to our place of birth
- Described by Judy Jacka in "The Vivaxis Connection"
- Two-way magnetic wave connection between us and birthplace
- Major shifts in land can cause effects on our bodies
- Ideal energy body for assessing symptoms like fatigue, inflammation, autoimmune disorders, allergies
- Can be ungrounded or locked into past-life sites
- Clients encouraged to find ideal location for Vivaxis

**Soul Records**

- Metaphysical records for the soul
- Housed in the eighth chakra above the head
- **Three major recording energy bodies**: Akashic Records, Shadow Records, and Book of Life

**Akashic Records**

- Metaphysical library containing all knowledge of human experience
- Factual history of individual lives and cosmos
- Accessed through the eighth chakra
- Used for past-life work, inner-child work, decision-making processes

**Shadow Records**

- Contains knowledge of unfinished business and regrets
- Holds information on what wasn't done, said, thought, or felt
- Accessed by focusing mind's eye on the energy around Akashic Records or chakras
- Transforms negative emotions into completion and healing

**Book of Life**

- Contains knowledge of the gifts of the paths taken
- Provides transformational viewpoint when combined with Akashic and Shadow Records
- Accessed through the eighth chakra or shamanic self
- Helps us see the positives in our experiences and release negatives.

### EMERGING SYSTEMS OF KUNDALINI

**Kundalini Systems:**

- Emerging concepts have evolved from ancient principles
- **Three forms of kundalini in author's system**: Red, Golden, Radiant

**Red or Serpent Kundalini:**

- Equivalent to the first chakra's Kundalini Shakti
- Activation requires drawing elemental energy from earth
- **Ten-element system**: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Stone, Wood, Metal, Light, Ether, Star

**Golden Kundalini:**

- Stirs amrita or nectar from the seventh chakra
- Colors heavenly energy with gold
- Accesses godly power and spiritual law

**Radiant Kundalini:**

- Inhabits every chakra, cell, aspect of being
- Pure light ensuring intimacy with the Divine
- **Opening order**: Radiant, Golden, Red

**Black Kundalini:**

- Feminine form associated with Kali, goddess of darkness
- Ultimately a creative force
- Used for deep grief or life-threatening situations
- Jet black but contains a guiding light

**Blue Light (Blue Pearl of Consciousness):**

- True essence and guidance back "home"
- Perceived as blue by some individuals

**Personal Experience:**

- Important to remain open to individual experiences of kundalini colors.

### A FINAL NOTE: AN EMERGING PARADIGM OF UNIFIED ENERGETICS

**Unified Energetics: A Simple Explanation of Meridians, Chakras, and Auric Fields**

- This explanation summarizes the science behind meridians, chakras, and auric fields from a bodily perspective.
- Many people dismiss these concepts as "woo woo" or weirdness.
- Morphogenetic Singularity Theory explains the existence of meridians and chakras.
  * Refers to first cellular development after conception.
  * Acupuncture points have high electrical conductivity and density of gap junctions.
  * Bioelectrical fields control growth and formation of cells, especially in areas with high electrical conductivity and gap junction density.
- Meridians and acupuncture points are responsive to bioelectrical fields during embryonic development and throughout life.
- Chakras are "organizing centers of growth" made of germ cells.
  * Found in reproductive organs and seven areas of the body where chakras are located.
  * Responsive to bioelectrical fields.
- Chakras maintain the body's regulatory function through high levels of intercellular communication.
- Anomalies can be detected and corrected by manipulating these centers.
- Energetic structures are bodily cells that respond to the needs generated by our bodily fields.
  * Determine growth and development of embryonic bodies.
  * Respond to injuries and emotions.

## CONCLUSION

**Conclusion:**

- Embracing chakra medicine may lead to personal growth and the realization of dreams.
- Chakras affect various aspects of life, including health, relationships, creativity, and wealth.
- Section I introduced fundamentals of chakra medicine and kundalini.
- Seven basic Hindu chakras were discussed in detail.
- Dozens of chakra medicine practices were presented.
- Section II explored the history and cultural insights of chakras.
- Chakra knowledge expanded through examinations of various cultures.
- Science section provided a comprehensive understanding of chakras.
- Natural, new, and unusual chakras were examined in the final section.
- Chakras have played a significant role in human development throughout history.
- Continuous seeking and learning can lead to personal growth and self-realization.