March 5 -Class Summary -Chakra Series-

We just finished up our opening 8 week series on the basics of starting a meditation practice.

Tonight we are going to begin a study of the CHAKRAS. After doing some research though, I decided this is going to take more than one week to cover in reasonable depths. So I am going to begin with an overview tonight. There is no point in covering the chakras without also covering the channels that connect them, the energy that flows through these channels, and the purpose of it all.

I used to refer to all of this as spiritual plumbing. The deeper purpose of the physical hatha yoga system is to clear out these channels, and prepare them for the energy flow that happens when you raise your consciousness. Unfortunately, we can't use drano to clear out these pipes.

Lets start with a definition, and a little bit of history. It seems that almost all new age systems have adopted the chakras as a part of their teachings. But the original teachings come from the Vedic traditions in ancient India.

Chakra means wheel. They are spinning vortices of energy. Situated along the psychic channels that roughly correspond to the spinal column, they act as interdimentional portals. To fully cover this we have to look at the whole picture, the entire metaphysical teaching that goes along with the understanding of the chakras.

In the ancient tradition it is taught that there are seven (7) primary dimensions of existence, and a human exists on all seven (7) at once. On each dimension we have a body that vibrates at the rate that allows it to see and relate to that dimension. Each chakra corresponds to one of these bodies. Energy passes between these dimensions at these points.

Lets look at the first three (3) chakras and bodies just as an example. The first three bodies are physical, astral, and mental.

BASE or ROOT CHAKRA

The first chakra is said to control basic survival, need for shelter, food, etc. This is basically a physical consideration. This is the Root Chakra at the base of the spine. (We'll do a nifty grid for you and post it on the site this week.)

NAVAL or SACRAL CHAKRA

The second chakra, corresponding to the astral body, is said to have the aspects of procreation, family, and emotion. The astral body is the emotional body. This one is located a couple of inches below the naval. This is the Sacral Chakra

SOLAR PLEXIS CHAKRA

The third chakra, located at the solar plexus, near the naval, corresponds to the mental body, and has the aspects of ego, control, power.. seeking wealth and fame, etc.. The mental body is where the ego resides. Ego is a function of mind. The mental body is where we get pride and separateness from.

In effect, this system of chakras following the pathway of the spine, acts as an elevator of consciousness. Take the expression, "rise above" something. You can shift your awareness to a higher vantage point, choose a higher floor on the elevator. See things from there. And as we work our way up, we are looking at things less from a physical, emotional, and mental framework and start seeing them from a spiritual one.

Human beings think of themselves as one thing, but because we have all these vehicles, we are a composite of many things, and many voices. Our bodies have their own sets of desires. And in our consciousness we have to sort them all out, and provide direction to the whole.

Meditation has a tendency to bring this to light by creating the spaciousness to show us that there are all these different things going on. We are the witness. We are not our thoughts, or emotions, or mental concepts. And thats just the beginning.

When we get to the 4th chakra we touch on the beginning of spiritual awareness. We are running out of time for tonight, so I am going to stop here. At the Heart Chakra We'll get a grid of the 7 chakras and their corresponding aspects up on the site during the week.We will begin with the heart next week. I figure its going to take 3 weeks to cover this. Two moreafter this one.

Brief Discussion:

Jamesxxxxx: Having a daily spiritual practice is key to being actively on a spiritual path. I cannot stress this enough.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: I've noticed when i miss meditating I don't feel as balanced

Jamesxxxxx: Sunset.. This is very common. When you start feeling the effects of being centered, you miss it a lot. The process of walking this path involves falling and getting back up. Momentum gets lost for things out of our control. As you get a feel for it, you can start arranging your life to be more supportive of higher consciousness, but learning to sustain that focus in the face of normal difficulties is what makes you stronger.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: I have..even if it is way early in the morning

Jamesxxxxxx: In the beginning you have to protect it.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: Makes all the difference in my whole day i have more sanity!

Jamesxxxxxx: A common analogy is planting a small tree. You have to put a fence around it to protect it from being some small animals breakfast. But once its a tall tree, it does not require such protection, and can in fact provide shelter and shade to many.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: I find I still have some moments where I can't clear my mind

Jamesxxxxxx: Sunset... and you have been at this how long?

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: If you have that problem are you supposed to just embrace the thoughts until they subside? Three weeks lol

Alitexxxxxx: Then allow those moments Sunset and be happy that you have other times clearing the mind comes quickly.

Jamesxxxxx: I would not embrace them. I would let them go.. like leaves on a stream... don't pick them up don't try to sink them with a brick just let them go

Sunsetxxxxxx: woo that's a good analogy..I'll have to try that tonight the first like ten minutes is always chatter..then i get into the good stuff

Jamesxxxx: How long do you usually meditate?

Alitexxxxxx: Ah then with you its just a matter of patience for the peace to begin to flow

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: well I have been shooting for a half hour twice a day

Silverxxxxxx: Maybe you could focus on one thing....like an object with symbolic power. And if you can hold that one thing in your mind, you are getting somewhere I learned that from a yogi

Jamesxxxxx: One pointed concentration is a common yogic method.

Alitexxxxxx: Excellent suggestion

Silverxxxxxxxxxxx: That is why Hindi gods have so many arms with so many objects

Flowxxxx: I had a situation weighing on my mind this week (still do actually)..

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: lol I didn't know that was why it was like that

Flowxxxx: And I felt I had no choice but to let it go..the thoughts anyway cause to dwell can increase the problem

Silverxxxxx: Yeah...each object sybolizes something different you need like sword for wisdom

Jamesxxxxxx: One pointed concentration takes some practice and persistence

Silverxxxxx: And if you meditate on the objects, if you can hold them in your mind, you can call on those strengths when you need them

Jamesxxxxx: In our next series we will be covering specific techniques, including the yogic ones.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: You know i have yet to do the candle one you taught james..perhaps i will do that one tonight

Jamesxxxxx: And also some methods that do not require controlling thoughts at all. The candle exercise is a good one to practice concentration.

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: You know I did that before I started meditation...and I didn't even know it was a form of mediation but it always made me fall asleep lol

Flowxxxxx: Don't fall asleep with candles burning!

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: I would concentrate on everything I could hear..and things I wasn't paying attention to I mean paying attention to everything and concentrating on nothing

Silverxxxxxx: Native meditation is like, that I mean Native American. You listen to everything. Try to hear every sound, like become hypersensitive to the world around you

Sunsetxxxxxxxxxx: But I can tell you.. when I mediate like that..my body immediately relaxes as I feel the silence you know someone said to me once that when you are in the present moment focusing on what is going on around you..your body expends less energy..it doesn't need so much

Group Meditation

As always I would like to end with a meditation...assume the position. Head neck and trunk aligned.. When you find that comfortable balanced position, relax, and breathe deeply and smoothly.

Let the tension drain away. Relax forehead, jaw, neck, shoulders, arms. Breathing in warm peaceful energy, breathing out all tension.. relax back, hips, legs

Breathe deeply and smoothly, with no jerks or pauses. Try to make the transition from inhalation and exhalation be without any pause.... Like breathing in a circle.

Let your body and mind become still, like a pond becoming a mirror pool. Let the breath move though the heart space like a warm summer breeze in the trees, not rippling the pond.

Breathe peace... let go of any heaviness in your heart that is blocking that feeling. Let it go. close your eyes for a minutes and sense what is in your heart space.. try to see what is blocking the deep feeling of peace that naturally resides there.

Using the peaceful energy of the breath, try to get this area to open like a flower Open your heart to peace. Breathe through whatever is blocking it.

Taking one final deep breath and releasing, let us bring this meditation gently to a close.