What Are the Chakras?

LEARNING ABOUT THE ENERGY CENTERS
Chakra is a Sanskrit word which means wheel, or vortex, and it refers to the energy centers of which our consciousness, or our energy system, is composed.

The body contains hundreds of locations where energy is focused and concentrated. There are however, 7 main chakras, or energy centers within our energy system. These centers function as pumps or valves, regulating the flow of energy through us. This energy penetrates the body and our body’s aura. The energy is received by the body, transformed, and then distributed. The functioning of the chakras reflects the decisions we make concerning how we choose to react to the conditions in our life. The response of the charkas is dependent on what we are thinking, what we are feeling, and through which perceptual filter we are choosing to experience the world around us.

The chakras are not physical. They are doorways for our consciousness. They are the doorways through which the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of our being flow into physical expression. They are openings through which our attitudes and belief systems enter into and create our mind/body structure. The energy created from our emotional and mental attitudes runs though the chakras and is distributed to our cells, tissues and organs. Realizing this brings tremendous insight into how we ourselves affect our bodies, minds, and circumstances for better or for worse.

The chakras are more dense than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body. They interact with the physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with a group of nerves called a plexus. Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine gland associated with that chakra.

All of ours senses, all of our perceptions, all of our possible states of awareness, everything it is possible for us to experience, can be divided into seven categories. Each category can be associated with a particular chakra. Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts of our physical body, but also particular parts of our consciousness.

When we feel tension in our consciousness, we feel it in the chakra associated with that part of our consciousness experiencing the stress, and in the parts of the physical body associated with that chakra. Where we feel the stress depends upon why we feel the stress. The tension in the chakra is detected by the nerves of the plexus associated with that chakra, and then transmitted to the parts of the body controlled by that plexus. When the tension continues over a period of time, or to a particular level of intensity, we create a symptom on the physical level.

The symptom speaks a language that reflects the idea that we each create our own reality, and the metaphoric significance of the symptom becomes apparent when the symptom is described from this point of view. Rather than saying “My shoulders are really killing me”, I can look at that area and say “What am I carrying around on my shoulders that is creating such a burden?” If I am experiencing pain in my feet, I might start to look at where I am heading and why it feels so uncomfortable.

The symptom or symptoms serves to communicate to us through our body what we have been doing to ourselves in our consciousness. When we make changes in the way we respond, we are understanding the message being communicated by the symptom. The symptom will then have no further reason for being, and it can be released, according to whatever we allow ourselves to believe is possible.

Understanding the chakras allows us to understand the relationship between our consciousness and our body, and to thus see our body as the map of our consciousness. It gives us a better understanding of who we are and of others around us. The main purpose in working with and understanding the chakras is to create integration and wholeness within ourselves. In this way we bring the various aspects of our consciousness from the physical to the spiritual, into a harmonious relationship. Ultimately, we begin to recognize that the various aspects of ourselves all work together, and that each aspect is as much a part of the whole as the others. We must be able to acknowledge, integrate, and accept all levels of our being.. Understanding ourselves enables us to make better choices and decisions because we are coming from a place of balance and awareness.


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