Both chakras and lotuses are terms referring to seven basic energy centers within what is called the subtle body. The subtle body is the non physical psychic body that is superimposed upon our physical bodies. It's made of the more spiritual parts of ourselves. We experience it as thoughts and feelings. It can be measured as electromagnetic force fields that are found within and around all living creatures. Kirlian photography, for example, has actually photographed the emanations of the subtle body in both plants and animals. In the aura, which is the external manifestation of the subtle body, the energy field appears as a soft glow around the physical body, often made of spindle-like fibers. At the core of the body, the subtle field appears as spinning disks called chakras.

These centers are gateways between various dimensions-centers where activity of one dimension, such as emotional activity, connects and plays upon another dimension, such as our physical bodies. This interaction, in turn, plays upon our activities in the outside world and governs our interactions with others.

Take, for example, the emotional experience of fear: it affects our body in certain ways. We feel butterflies in our stomach, our breath is short, and our voice and hands may shake. These physical characteristics betray our lack of confidence in dealing with the world, and lead others to treat us in a negative way, perpetuating our fear. This fear may not even be grounded in present circumstances, but may be a carry over from childhood which is still buried in the chakra and ruling our behaviour. To work with the chakras is to heal ourselves of old constricting patterns.

Each chakra represents its own dimension, and the sum total of the chakras forms a vertical column in our bodies called sushumna. This column is a central integrating channel for connecting the chakras and their various dimensions. It can be thought of as a "super highway" upon which these energies travel, just as our asphalt highways are channels through which physical items travel from the manufacturer to the consumer. We could say that the sushumna brings psychic energy from the manufacturer, pure consciousness (God, Goddess, The Force, Divine Mind, Nature, etc.) to the consumer, which is the mental and physical individual here on the Earth plane. One could view the chakras as being major cities located along the highway, each responsible for producing their own kind of goods.

Travelling beside, around and through the highway there are also many back roads, such as the Chinese acupuncture meridians, and the thousand of other "nadis" which Hindus have found within the subtle body. These can be thought of as alternate channels, such as the telephone network, gas lines, or stream beds, where we have special channels for certain kinds of energy, all passing through the same vortex.

If you would like to experience what a chakra "feels" like, the following is a simple exercise for opening the hand chakras and experiencing their energy:

Extend both arms out in front of you, parallel to the floor with elbows straight. Turn one hand up and one hand down. Now quickly open and close your hands twenty times or so. Reverse your palms and repeat. This opens the hand chakras. To feel them, open your hands and slowly bring your palms together, starting at about two feet apart and moving slowly to a few inches. When your hands are about four inches apart you should be able to feel a subtle ball of energy, like a magnetic field, floating between your palms. If you tune in closely, you may even be able to feel the spinning quality. After a few moments the sensation will subside, but can be repeated by opening and closing the palms again, as above.

On a physical level, chakras correspond to nerve ganglia where there is a high degree of nervous activity, and to glands in the endocrine system. While chakras are interdependent with the nervous and endocrine system, they are not to be thought of as synonymous with any portion of the physical body. They are superimposed onto various parts of the body-just as the aura is superimposed upon our physical bodies.

Yet their effect upon the physical body is strong, for it is believed that the physical body shapes itself around the chakra. An overblown third chakra would show in a big, tight belly; a constricted fifth chakra results in tight shoulders or a sore throat; a poor connection through the first chakra may show up in skinny legs or bad knees. The shape of our physical body may even be determined by our development of chakras in former lives, to be picked up and continued again in this life.

In metaphysical terminology, a chakra is a vortex. The scientific definition of a vortex describes chakras as well: a mass of fluid with a whirling circular motion, forming a cavity or vacuum in the center which draws toward itself bodies subject to this action. Chakras work with consciousness the way a vortex works with fluid. They spin in a wheel-like manner, attracting or repelling activity on their particular plane by patterns analogous to a whirlpool. Anything the chakra encounters on its particular vibrational level gets drawn into the chakra, processed, and passed out again.

Instead of fluid, chakras are made of symbolic patterns of our own mental and physical programming. These symbols remain lodged in the chakras as part of our consciousness, governing our actions. The way we feel dictates the way we act. This in turn governs the type of experiences we are likely to have-governing the energy that the chakra is likely to draw in toward itself. The spinning is the vibratory pattern of the chakra. Each person's chakras are unique, yet there are basic similarities among us all-like the human face.

The shape and content of the chakras are formed largely by repeated patterns from our actions in day to day life, as we are always the center point of these actions. Repeated movements and habits create forms and actions in the world around us. However, programming from our parents and culture, physical body shape, situations we are born into, and information from previous lives are also important factors. These patterns can often be seen by clairvoyants when viewing the chakras. Their interpretations give us valuable insight into our behaviour. Like an astrological chart, they provide guidelines and tendencies of the personality, but denote nothing which is unchangeable. Knowing about them tells us what to watch out for and what to enhance.

Through involvement with the outside world, patterns within the chakras tend to perpetuate themselves; hence the idea of karma (patterns formed through action). In some of the Hindu myths, chakras are a kind of discuss, thrown out like a boomerang to come back again. This describes how our chakra behaviour dictates what returns to us. Because of this, it is common to become trapped in the self-perpetuating action of any one of the chakras. This is called being "stuck in a chakra. We are caught in a pattern that keeps us at a particular level. This could be a relationship, a job, a habit, but most often, simply a way of thinking. Being "stuck can be a function of either over-emphasis or under development of a chakra.

If these patterns are beneficial, then this self-perpetuation may enhance our growth, but if not, then the pattern represents a personal block. The object is to clean the chakras of old, non-beneficial patterns so that their self-perpetuating actions have a positive influence, and the life energy can travel along to higher planes.

Chakras are associated with seven basic levels of consciousness. As we experience the opening of a chakra, we also experience a deeper understanding of the state of consciousness associated with that level. These states can be summarized with the following keywords, though it must be remembered that these words are a gross oversimplification of the complexity of each level. Their associated elements are given because I feel that they are of crucial significance to understanding the quality of the chakra.

1. The ROOT CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'MULADHARA')
is associated with: The base of the spine, gonads, sexual organs -The colour red -The metal lead -The planet Saturn. The element earth. Garnet, bloodstone, ruby - Physical energy, being grounded, survival issues, sexuality - Toning: UH sound as mantra.

2. The SACRAL CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'SVADHISHTHANA')
is associated with: The adrenals - The colour orange - The metal tin - The planet Jupiter - The element water - Carnelian, coral, agate, tiger's eye - Feelings, creativity, vitality - Toning: 000 sound as mantra.

3. The SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'MANIPURA')
is associated with: The liver, pancreas and solar plexus area -The colour yellow - The metal iron - The planet Mars -The element fire - Topaz, amber, citrine - Power centre, mental powers, will power, gut reaction -Toning: OH sound as mantra.

4. The HEART CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'ANAHATA')
is associated with: The heart and lungs, thymus - The colour green (t-insmitting rose pink) - The metal copper - Th.2 planet Venus - The element air - Emerald, rose quartz, pink and green tourmaline - Compassion, universal love, centering - Toning: AH sound as mantra.

5. The THROAT CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'VISHUDDI')
is associated with: The throat and thyroid area - The colour aqua or sky blue -The metal mercury - The planet Mercury - The element ether - Aquamarine, turquoise, blue quartz, sapphire - Creative selfexpression, communication - Toning: EYE sound as mantra.

6. The BROW CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'AJNA')
is associated with: The Brow, third eye, pituitary -The colour indigo - The metal silver - The Moon - Sodalite, lapis lazuli, moonstone - Psychic perception, intuition, devotion - Toning: AYE sound as mantra.

7. The CROWN CHAKRA (Sanskrit 'SAHASRARA')
is associated with: The crown of the head, pineal gland -The colour violet - The metal gold -The Sun - Diamond, clear quartz, amethyst - The oneness of the universal energies of the cosmos and divine bliss -Toning: EEE sound as mantra.

Together, these seven chakras form the major components of our
consciousness. Few people go through life without dealing with each of these levels. There are also minor chakras above or below the body, or smaller chakras in the shoulders, knees, elbows. Because we are interested in the aspects of chakras that model consciousness, this book will deal primarily with the seven "master chakras" listed above.

Chakras can be open, closed, or any of the various stages in between. These states may be basic aspects of someone's personality throughout most of their life, or something that changes from moment to moment, in response to a situation. An ailing chakra may be unable to change its state easily, being "stuck in either an open or a closed state. Then the chakra needs healing, by uncovering and removing whatever is blocking it.

The quality and quantity of energy that one encounters on a particular plane has to do with how open or closed their respective chakra is, or how able they are to control this opening and closing at appropriate times. This governs the amount of activity and complexity we can effectively handle at any given level.

For example: Someone with a very closed third chakra (personal power) would be terrified of making a public speech, while another may thrive on it. Someone with an open second chakra (sexuality) may juggle many sexual partners, while someone who is closed may have difficulty maintaining even one relationship. Someone very open on a heart level may give all his time away, and then have trouble grounding.

There are specific exercises that are designed to facilitate the opening of each center, but one must first be able to understand the system as a whole, knowing how the chakras work and what they represent before they can control and understand them. Once the system is understood, individual levels can be approached in various ways. One can (a) focus attention on that area of the body, taking careful note of how it feels and behaves, (b) examine the interactions in their day to day life that occur on the level corresponding to that chakra, and (c) understand the theoretical working of that particular level and apply it. Any of the correlations to a particular chakra can be used as handles to access and change the energy within.

For example, you can understand what condition your second chakra (sexuality) is in by first tuning in to the area of the body (abdominal, genital). Is it fluid, alive, painful, tense, relaxed? The physical state gives us many clues about the internal processes. The next step is to examine the quality and quantity of emotional and sexual interaction in our lives. Is it what we want it to be? Is it balanced between give and take? Is it an effortless flow of energy or a subject of fear and anxiety?

You can then work on improving the health of that chakra by a) working with its element Water, such as meditating on water qualities, such as its constant movement and flow, its cleansing properties, by drinking lots of water, visiting a river; or b) doing physical exercises that pertain to relaxing, opening, or stimulating that part of the body; or c) working with its associated colors and sounds. Changes in the emotional or sexual nature then ensue naturally. One could also approach the problem by changing one's external habits, and this may naturally bring about changes in the body. The body and mind are inseparably interrelated. Each governs and affects the other, and each is accessible through the other. The chakras are located where the body and mind meet.

However, the seven major chakras are all inseparably interrelated. A block in the functioning of one chakra may affect the activity of the one above or below it. For example, one may have trouble with their personal power (third chakra) because of a block in communication (fifth chakra) or vice versa. Or perhaps the real problem may lie in their heart (fourth chakra) and only manifests in these other areas because it is buried so deeply. In examining the theoretical System as a whole (which will henceforth be capitalized) and applying it to your system (lower case) as it uniquely occurs within you, one learns to sort out these subtleties and patterns and make self-improvements according to their goals. This process will be explained in greater detail as we explore each chakra in depth.