What is a CHAKRA?
A CHAKRA is a concentration of energy.
Our bodies operate on energy that travels along our body's electrical lines - our nerves. Like a dense mesh of fabric made from threads of nerves, our nervous system sends energy along those nerve-threads to areas that need energy to do whatever needs to be done - move a muscle, fight infection, feel something, etc.
There are seven major areas of concentrated energetic activity in the body that are activated by bundles of nerves, called nerve ganglia, emanating from the spinal column. (See illustrations). These are the 7 Major CHAKRAS.
All 7 CHAKRAS observed as an integrated whole make up The CHAKRA System.
ENERGY . your energy body .
Look at your hand. what is it made of? Skin, bones, blood. All physical stuff that you can see, feel, dissect, if you're curious, and reassemble, with the right skills. This is your
physical body. The parts of your body, like skin and muscles, are made of cells which are made of molecules. And molecules are made of the smallest building block of matter...the atom.
What are atoms made of? Vortices of energy.
Looked at from one perspective, your body is made of matter. Looked at from another perspective, the sub-atomic level, you see that your body is actually made up of energy.
what is energy?
What do you think it is? Try to answer that before reading on. What is it exactly that comes out of the wall plug and into your appliances to make them run? What is it that your body gets from food to keep you alive? Where does energy ultimately come from? How is it made?
Some call energy chi or life force. Just like the wind blowing on our face and rustling leaves in a tree, we can't see energy, but we can feel and see its effects.
You can feel the heat from the stove when you turn it on and allow the energy from the plug in the wall to flow into the appliance. You can see a light bulb illuminate when you flick the switch. But we don't actually see the thing that causes the effect.
In our bodies, we can feel energy...butterflies in our bellies, our hearts expanding when we fall in love, our throats tighten when we want to cry, our scalp tingling when we get excited. We can also see the effects of energy in our bodies...blushing cheeks when we're a little embarrassed, hives when we're nervous, tears when we're happy or sad.
We can even measure our life force energy with an electroencephalograph machine
part of which you can see in the picture on the left.
your BodyTemple
You can think of yourself as both a physical body made up of cells, molecules
and atoms AND an energetic body that you can't see but you know is there because 1) you know that atoms are actually made of energy and 2) you can feel the effects of your energy body though sensations like tingling or tightness, and experience them as emotional feelings.
Your BodyTemple is your physical body and your energetic body seen as an integrated whole.
You effect your BodyTemple with purposeful thought through your conscious mind.
For example, you can make your mouth water (a physical change) by thinking about getting something yummy to eat like your favorite sandwich or a piece of cake. You can make yourself feel a positive emotion when you decide to get the yummy thing. You can move your body to where the yummy thing is after the thought to do so has occurred.
You effect the physical world, including the way your body feels and what it does, with your non-physical consciously directed thoughts.
Conscious/Sub-Conscious Mind
Your BodyTemple is also being effected by your subconscious mind which can be thought of as a layer of mind activity that you are not aware of. Your subconscious mind, for example, might trigger a response to a current event that is based on similar events from a long forgotten period in the past.
You can observe the shift information takes going from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind by remembering the process it takes to master a particular task like driving. When you first are learning to drive, every move you make with the car is consciously thought out...key, ignition, foot on brake, lights on, check rear view mirror, etc. After many hours of driving, the task is largely directed by the subconscious mind while your conscious mind is freed up to pursue other trains of thought.
Your conscious and subconscious minds are constantly thinking. Your thoughts, conscious & subconscious, physiologically effect your body. For example, thinking about relaxing in the sun on a beautiful beach can slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. Your thoughts, which don't have any form, have a direct effect on your body, which has form.
There is a link between your thoughts and the physical world.
The Link
Some bodily sensations we feel can be correlated with particular emotions. Falling in love might make your chest feel expanded and warm. Feeling sad might make your throat tight. What we think effects how our bodies feel. It follows then that we can focus our attention in such a way as to influence our lives towards thoughts that make us feel good.
Your life is made up of what you choose to do with your thoughts, meaning what you do with your physical body as a result of where you put your mental attention. If you have a life that is repetitive and boring or one that is stimulating and pleasant, either way, your life experience is a direct result of what you choose to put your attention on. If you continue to think about frustrating situations in your life, your life experience will be one of frustration. If you choose to channel your energy into productive and creative thoughts, you will have a life experience that includes those things.
What do you spend your time thinking about?
Things that make you feel good?
Or things that make you feel bad?
Is your life mostly good?
Is your life mostly bad?
Whichever one you give the most attention to is the one you will get.
