Judith Anodea, The Wheels of Life

cf. The Sevenfold Journey: reclaiming mind, body and spirit through the
Chakras avec Selena Vega, 1993

et Eastern Body, Western Mind: psychology and the Chakras system as a path
to the Self

Chakras reveal a profound mapping of universal principles, intricately nested

within each other as progressively transcendent planes of reality

let the rainbow bridge of the soul unfold before you as you walk your path

7 wheel-like energy centers, swirling intersections of vital life forces, each one
reflects an aspect of consciousness, they form a profound formula for
wholeness that integrates mind, body and spirit
they are organizing centers for the reception, assimilation and transmission of
life energies
each chakra we encounter is a step on the continuum between matter and
consciousness

we, ourselves, are the Rainbow Bridge that connects Earth and Heaven once
again

cf. Kirlian photographies emanations of the subtle body in plants and animals
chakras are the physic generators of the auric field, the aura itself is the
meeting point between the core patterns generated by the chakras and the
influence of the external world

are also called lotuses, growing from mud to the path of development from
primitive to fully blooming, to the thousand petaled lotus (4> 6> 10> 12 > 60> 2>
1 000)
like flowers they can be closed, dying, open or budding

form sushumna - exist within the subtle body

in metaphysical terminology, chakra is a vortex: anything the chakra
encounters on its particular vibrational level gets drawn into the chakra,
processed, and passed out again
CH send energy out from the core of the body, and they assimilate energy from
outside that enters the core: an organizational center for reception,
assimilation,and transmission of life energy: WHAT WE GENERATE DETERMINES
MUCH OF WHAT WE RECEIVE

closed CH: chronic avoidance

excessively open CH: chronic fixation

lower CH the body in terms of survival, sexuality and action

higher CH bring us to more universal states of consciousness and work with
our deeper belief systems about spirituality and meaning

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solid earth loses its rigidity and becomes water, the energy of fire, the
expansion of air, the vibration of sound, the radiation of light, and the
abstraction of thought

each CH can be seen as “condensers” of cosmic energy

to manifest, we must limit; this requires creating boundaries, being specific,

defining structures and form:
the liberating current brings us excitement, energy and novelty, pull off mind
and spirit, moves toward freedom, expansion, abstraction, and universality
while the descending current brings peace, grace and stability, pull of soul
and body, moves toward form, density, boundaries, contraction, and
individuality
liberation without limitation leaves us vague, scattered and confused
limitation without liberation is dull and stifling
to be truly whole, both currents must be open and active

prakrti prima materia 3 gunas or qualities which create all that we experience:
matter, energy and consciousness
- tamas: matter, mass, prakrti in its densest form, the magnetic force, rules
the physical plane
- rajas, energy in the form of motion, force, prakrti in its changing form,
the kinetic force, ruling the subtle plane
- sattva: mind, intelligence, consciousness, prakrti in its abstract form, the
balancing force, ruling the casual plane
CH are comprised of varying proportions of the 3 gunas
matter (tamas) rules the lower CH, energy (rajas) the middle CH and
consciousness (sattva) rules the upper CH

K = “ It is She who maintains all the beings in the world by means of inspiration
and expiration, and shines in the cavity of the root lotus like a chain of brilliant
lights” (Sat CH Nirupana)
When Shakti resides in the base CH, she rests. Here she becomes the coiled
serpent, K-Shakti, wrapped three and one-half times around the Shiva lingam
in Muladhara
(“kundala” = coiled)
K sets up a wave-like movement of the cerebrospinal fluid, which triggers the
pleasure centers of the brain, giving us a “blissful state”
this Serpent Goddess is a healing force, though not always gentle: pain is felt
only when it encounters tension and impurities we are not quite ready to
release, it’s only from our own resistance
the serpent is an archetypal symbol representing enlightenment, immortality
and path to the Gods
the caduceus clearly imitates the winding of Ida and Pingala, like the double
helix pattern of our DNA

CH are not blocks, but stepping stones, and unresolved patterns within it may
block this life force

2
lower CH are of equal value and importance to the upper CH for human
beings at our actual level of development
The CH system describes a pattern of evolution, and the human race is
actually going from the third level to the fourth
The CH are in constant interplay and can only be separated intellectually

Georg Feurstein in the Shambhala Encyclopedia of Y

Swami Rama, The Awakening of Kundalini, 1979

CHAKRA ONE: EARTH

MULADHARA ROOT SUPPORT BASE OF SPINE PERINEUM

EARTH SURVIVAL GROUNDING STILLNESS STABILITY
RIGHT TO HAVE AND TO BE HERE
SOLID ADRENALS LEGS FEET BONES LARGE INTESTINE TEETH
RED SMELL LAM 4 PETALS SATURN AND EARTH
PROTEINS
I HAVE
HATHA YOGA
CEDAR RUBY
TAMAS
ELEPHANT OX OR BULL
CHILD BRAHMA AND SHAKTI DAKINI
BRAHMA DAKINI GANESHA LAKSHMI GAIA DEMETER PERSEPHONE
gravity as basic underlying force of the earth
minor CH in knees and feet
tamas at his essence: at rest, inert = density - the purpose is to solidify the
ground
fear is a demon of the 1st CH - facing it can help the CH wake up
sanctity and security that comes from substance and matter
GROUNDING ability to contain, have or hold - it is a harmonious acceptance of
natural limitation - need to plug before receive various frequencies
some unresolved conflicts is keeping their consciousness trapped at this level
what keeps you from wanting to be here? From whom do you need permission
to take care of yourself? Who is responsible for your survival? How was your
survival provided for in your childhood, by whom, and at what cost? Do you
have the right to be there?
to be and to have-these are the rights of the 1st CH
developing our ability to have things begins with increasing self worth : to see
the discrepancies between what we could have and what we allow ourselves to
have
we need to raise our ability “to have” high enough to fit our needs
“here in this body are sacred rivers, here are the sun and moon, as well as all
the pilgrimage places. I have not encountered another temple as blissful as my
own body” Sarah Doha
body is home for our spirit, as it interacts with the world, it becomes our
personal microcosm of that world

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the task of mastering the 1st CH is to understand and heal the body; the
language of 1st CH is form, and our body is the physical expression of our
personal form
WE HAVE TO BE THE BODY, TO BE ITS PAIN, ITS PLEASURE, FEAR, JOY
accepting the body is a key to taking care - eating is a 1st CH activity
1st CH meats and proteins
2 liquids
3 starches (amidon= whole grains)
4 vegetables
5 fruits
to validate the body is to identify with

downward movement of manifestation and upward movement of liberation, like

condensation and expansion
one is centripetal-moving inward, toward a center and toward itself and the
other centrifugal moving away from the center
gravitation is a basic 1st CH principle, matter is condensed energy

exercises:
- grounding meditation
- knee to chest apanasana
- bridge pose setu bandhasana
- locust salabhasana
- janu sirsasana
- jumping up and down, kicking, riding, resting, massage, eating, sleeping

CHAKRA 2: WATER

You are a wave of motion, every breath is an oscillation - water flow, nurture,
cleanse and heal - you are the flow
SWEETNESS
GENITALS, womb - between the navel and genitals
TAMAS, MOON, DESIRE, PLEASURE, SEXUALITY, PROCREATION
LIQUIDS
GONADS, KIDNEY, VESSIE, CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
ORANGE, TASTE, VAM, TO FEEL
TANTRA IRIS CORNALINE PIERRE DE LUNE
6 PETALS MAKARA
INDRA, VISHNU, RAKINI (name of Shakti at 2nd CH level)
DIANE, DIONYSOS, PAN
ATTRACTION OF OPPOSITES
from a feeling of unity in 1 to the realization of difference in 2 - awareness of
the other - 2nd CH induces change - movement and change
dance of polarities - duality becomes the motivating force for movement and
change - the opposite of the 1st CH stillness
where the 1st seeks to hold and create structure, the 2nd purpose is to let go
and create flow, and flow allows one thing to connect energetically to another;
it is the difference between a point and a line - 1st CH is Yang, 2nd is Yin
circulation of blood, urinary elimination, sexuality

4
center of sexuality as well as emotions, sensation, pleasure, movement and
nurturance
related to the moon, which rules unconscious, mysterious, unseen, dark and
feminine
limbic system and hypothalamus which controls hormonal levels and
regulation of the nervous system
if desire is the seed of movement, then pleasure is the root of desire, and
sensation the medium of pleasure
emotions (from “movere”, move) promote evolution of consciousness through
the body - they are tied in with movement
sexuality is a sacred ritual of union through the celebration of difference _ is a
profound rhythm pulsing through all biological life _ it’s a life force
linked to the 6th CH: increase sexual activity can affect the opening of the 3rd
eye CH, and too much activity on the higher centers can affect the sex drive
sacrum is the center of our emotional feelings
cf. W. Reich “sexuality and anxiety present 2 opposite directions of vegetative
excitation”

the CH system comes from Tantra, and Tantrism is a reaction to the YS : senses
can bring enlightenment, ecstasy and joy - sacred dance of reuniting duality
body is a temple, a place of worship
clairsentience is the psychic sense of the 2nd CH, ability to sense other people
emotions, empathy - awareness of the other should be balanced by awareness
of the self

exercises:
- movement in the hips and lower abdomen
- massage and sexual activity
- baths and swimming
- water meditation
- goddess pose
- pelvis rock upward and downward
- hip circles
- scissors kicks
- emotional release

CHAKRA 3: FIRE

LUSTROUS GEM
NAVEL TO SOLAR PLEXUS
FIRE PLASMA POWER ASSERTIVENESS LAUGHTER JOY ANGER
PANCREAS ADRENALS DIGESTIVE SYSTEM MUSCLES
YELLOW 10 PETALS MARS AND THE SUN
STARCHES I CAN SANDALWOOD MUSK CINNAMON GINGER
AMBER TOPAZ YELLOW CITRINE
RAM SIGHT
RAJAS
AGNI SURYA RUDRA APOLLO RA
COMBUSTION

5
we emerge from the unconscious, somatic levels to combination of psyche and
soma that creates action
realm of activity, transformation, transforms passive elements of earth and
water into dynamic energy, fires moves upward
the initial task of the 3rd CH is to overcome inertia, fire release energy
Yang and active - related to self esteem - integrate power as integration,
“power within”
power results from combining and integrating, rather than dominating - power
comes from unity and wholeness
to be in touch with our desires

exercises:
- breath of fire
- the woodchopper with a “ah” sound (anger release)
- bow pose
- upward plank
- pike pose navasana
- laughing circle
Starhawk Truth of Dare: encounters with power, authority and mystery, 1987
Sat Chakra Nirupana
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays, 1st series, 1841
Dion Fortune, the cosmic doctrine

CHAKRA 4: LOVE

“UNSTRUCK”
HEART AIR GASEOUS COMPASSION LOVE
THYMUS LUNGS, HEART, ARMS, HANDS
GREEN 12 PETALS VENUS COPPER I LOVE
TOUCH BHAKTI YOGA
LAVENDER JASMINE IRIS EMERALD TOURMALINE JADE ROSE QUARTZ
RAJAS OR SATTVA
ANTELOPE BIRDS DOVES
VISHNU LAKSHMI KRISHNA
APHRODITE FREYJA PAN ISIS
EQUILIBRIUM
from the realm of the body and manifestation, we move into the softer touch of
spirit; from the focus on the self and its desires and actions, we embrace a
larger pattern within the great web of relationships
central point of the CH system - the place that unites forces from above and
below
the task of the 4th CH is to integrate and balance - Shiva and Shakti are
united within the heart, in the form of Vishnu and Lakshmi, the Preservers
love is experienced here as a state of being, enduring quality, constant (vs
from the 2nd CH)
star of David at his center - interpenetration of feminine and masculine
air represents freedom, associated with knowledge, implies spaciousness,
achieved through letting go - air disperses - represents breath, prana (“pra”:
first and “na” unit) this vital energy

6
love is a unifying force - keep coherence - self perpetuating - the heart CH
perceives the world in its unity, not its separation
Yin - love is not a matter of getting connected; it is a matter of seeing that we
are already connected _ is a deep sense of spiritual connection
Isvara, the deity within the lotus, is the God of Unity, representing the
interdependence of the 3 gunas - relationship is the interface between matter
and information
exact center of the personal mandala: suffers the greatest loss, and causes the
greatest damage
Yin - self acceptance is our 1st chance to practice unconditional love

to heal is to make whole - love is the ultimate healing force

the healer is a catalyst in the subject’s own experience

exercises:
- make deep breathing a habit - +++ pranayamas
- chest opener
- cobra
- the windmill
- arm circles
- the fish

CHAKRA 5: SOUND

BRAHMA IS THE 1ST VIBRATION, SARASVATI IS THE FLOW

“PURIFICATION”
THROAT SOUND COMMUNICATION CREATIVITY
SYNTHESIS OF IDEAS INTO SYMBOLS
VIBRATION
THYROID PARATHYROID NECK SHOULDERS ARMS HANDS
BRIGHT BLUE HEARING 16 PETALS
SARASVATI HERMES BRIGIT
RESONANCE
communication is the coordinating principle of all life - crucial within the body
our communication networks are a cultural nervous system
DNA communicates genetic information
CH 5 realm of consciousness that controls, creates, transmits and receives
communication, within ourselves and between each others = listening,
speaking, writing, chanting, telepathy…
communication is the 1st level of physical transcendence - lower CH are
individual, here boundaries become less defined
communication is an act of connection, one of the uniting principles of the
upper CH - is a way of extending ourselves beyond ordinary limitations
16 petals contain all sanskrit vowels (represent spirit, while consonants
represent matter)
to open the 5th CH, the body must attain a certain level of purification
sound has a purifying nature, can affect the cellular structure of matter - has
the ability to harmonize frequencies

7
ether Akasha - etheric plane when we perceive subtle vibrations - vibrating fiel
of subtle matter as both as cause and result of our thoughts, emotions and
physical states
cf. Kirlian photography - Richard Gerber “Vibrational Medicine”
Capra “each atom perpetually sings its song” (in The Tao of Physics)
Hans Jenny Cymatics
Ram Dass “the only dance there is” - from the core of our being to the
heartbeat of the universe
tune our consciousness into the vibrational field around us - vibration exists
throughout all forms of matter, energy and consciousness
all vibrations are characterized by rhythm (seasons, diurnal, moon, breath,
hearts…)
resonance: brain-waves rhythms created by mantras meditation can positively
influence the world of non-meditators - choose to contribute good or bad
vibrations
LAM VAM RAM YAM HAM OM
the M maternal and material aspect
A the father, nonmaterial
L is heavy, while H is airy and R energetic
OM is the sound of zll sounds together

exercises:
- playing charades (1h with someone in silence, then engage an active
communication)
- vow of silence (few hours to a whole day)
- voice recording
- neck rolls
- head lift (stimulates the thyroid gland)
- shoulders stand (chandelle)
- charrue
- fish pose until the head touches the floor

Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Sufi Message

CHAKRA 6: LIGHT

“TO PERCEIVE, TO COMMAND”

IMAGE SEEING INTUITION PINEAL GLAND EYES INDIGO
2 PETALS
JUP, NEPTUNE SILVER
I SEE YANTRA YOGA
ANISE SAFFRON
LAPIS QUARTZ
OWL
SATTVA
SHAKTI HAKINI KRISHNA HECATE ISIS
the 3rd eye, the psychic organ of the 6th CH Ida et Pingala meet at this point
take images through perception but also form inner images, creative
visualization

8
more mental than any of the previous CH - has a transpersonal dimension
pineal: over 100 body functions have daily rhythms influenced by exposure to
light - creates melatonin
light is a finer vibrational energy (than sound) produced by emission from
atomic and molecular systems - light is the voice of atoms whereas sound is
the voice of larger structures - Vishudda transcends distance, Ajna time
color is the form through which we perceive light - color therapy: when people
were unreceptive to a particular color, it correlated nearly 100% of the time to
stress, disease, injury in the part of the body related to the CH of that color
it’s not really our eyes that see, but our minds

exercises:
- yogic eyes exercises and palming the eyes
- color meditation
- photo blink

CHAKRA 7: THOUGHT

THE KINGDOM IS BEFORE YOU, WITHIN YOU, AROUND YOU

WE ARE THE THOUGHTS THAT MAKE THE PATTERN,
AND WE ARE THE PATTER THAT MAKES THE THOUGHTS
“THOUSANDFOLD” metaphor 4 infinity
THOUGHT INFORMATION UNDERSTANDING
BLISSSSSS
PITUITARY GLAND CEREBRAL CORTEX CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
VIOLET TO WHITE
URANUS GOLD
JNANA YOGA OR MEDITATION
SATTVA
AMETHYST, DIAMOND
SHIVA, VARUNA, AMA-KALA (upward moving Shakti)

this CH connect us to divine intelligence and the source of manifestation -

place of ultimate liberation
PRATYAHARA to achieve the mental stillness necessary to perceive this ultimate
state
but tantric philosophy regards the senses as a gateway to awakening
consciousness
Sahasrara function is knowing
pattern from pater, father, mother comes from matter: SHIVA provides the form
of pattern, while SHAKTI provides the raw energy that materializes the form
perception of meta-patterns can only be experienced
meaning is the pattern that connects, its brings us closer to unity
meaning links the individual to the universal, the true meaning of yoga: this
search for meaning is the basic drive of the crown CH
consciousness is a force, related to the sattva guna - this force is one of unity,
order and organization
existence itself is but a vortex of conscious organization
so the nature of consciousness is to both manifest and liberate

9
the consciousness of the crown CH can be divided into 2 types, depending
upon where our attention goes: that which descends and becomes concrete
information and that which expands and travels outward toward more
abstract planes. The 1st is oriented toward the world of things, relationships
and concrete self. It's Our Cognitive Consciousness
The 2nd is Transcendent Consciousness, to a realm beyond the world of things
and relationships, it’s consciousness without an object, a meta-awareness,
encompassing all things simultaneously without focusing on any object
Cognitive Consciousness is focused on the finite and particular, sortes and
assembles in logical order
Transcendent Consciousness requires opening awareness beyond cognition,
greater distancing from the particular
paradoxically, this opening beyond cognition has the result of increasing the
scope of our focused attention
experiences builds a personal matrix of information - our belief systems
derived from our experience
enlightenment is a progressive understanding of ever greater wholeness
meditation opens the awareness without getting overwhelmed or lost in the
infinite, helps us retain our center, the primary organizing matrix of the Self
there is some informations field existing independently of its perceiver - the
morphogenetic field of the body wants to maintain its familiar form
when beliefs are held by a large number of people, their field is stronger,
lessening the chance for the survival of opposing beliefs. The field created by
the belief in male supremacy example
thoughts are structures, just like bodies or buildings
the crown CH is a meeting point between finite and infinite, mortal and divine,
temporal and timeless, it’s the gateway through which we expand beyond our
personal self, beyond the limits of space time and experience primordial unity
and transcendent bliss
it is also the point at which divine consciousness enters the body and
descends, bringing awareness to all the CH

the 2 currents ( cognitive and transcendent) produce 2 different and

complementary spiritual states: the transcendent and the immanent , the
ascending that brings liberation and the descenting brings us manifestation

attachment is the primary demon of the crown CH

the most characteristic quality of Transcendent Consciousness is emptiness,
letting go of attachment: THE OBSERVER IS PARTICIPANT
the ego forms these attachments to maintain its sense of selfhood
the descending current brings immanence, the awareness of the divine without
liberating current brings us liberation or MUKTI, the descending brings
enjoyment, or BHUKTI
Transcendence and immanence are not mutually exclusive, they represent the
basic oscillations of consciousness, the inhale and the exhale of the crown CH

develop it = meditation, both an end and a means, dimension of withiness

cf. T M Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 20 mn 2x/ day = alpha waves > theta waves
(deeper)

10
separation of self and thoughts helps to achieve the Transcendent state
enlightenment is not a thong, is a process and a process is something to be;
the questions are the process

PUTTING ALL TOGETHER

Pure consciousness condenses through the CH as it falls downward to the

plane of manifestation. Having climbed up to the top to embrace SHIVA,
SHAKTI descends through the CH by 1st entering the mind and senses, then
the 5 elements of finite matter. When she reaches the final plane of earth, there
is nothing left for her to do, and she rests, becoming the coiled and dormant
form of KUNDALINI-SHAKTI
In the downward current the CH become condensers of the force of
consciousness
CH are chambers in the subtle body that allow the divine consciousness to
collect and condense into progressively denser planes of manifestation
each step downward creates something larger, yet moves toward simplicity and
singularity
From CH 1, we began with an initial unity and moved that unity into difference
From CH 7, we began with an initial unity as undifferentiated consciousness
the Tantra describes the lines of force permeating all of space and time as the
“HAIRS OF SHIVA”, they are the organizing principle in the Akasha, the world of
non material spirit; as SHIVA is the male principle of consciousness, SHAKTI,
the other, the female
With her world the world is made. The dance is begun, but never concluded
the end is the beginning, not a linear path, but an interpenetrating one, no
destination, only the journey
SHAKTI rests in the 1st CH
the downward current is made from repeated patterns
the upward current liberates us from the boredom of this repetition
the journey upward expands our horizons
SHAKTI brings us vital energy as she reaches for SHIVA, her lover, she is wild
and fierce
The journey downward is marked by the presence of grace, the intelligent
order that is the province of SHIVA.

HOW CH INTERACT

CH do not function by themselves, but as wheels in a larger machine being,

human body-mind
the system must be considered as a whole - any blocks that affects one part
will affect others - they need to be in balance with each other, neither favoring
nor avoiding any particular one
each person has their own energy system with its particular flavor and
quantity of flow
a blockage can be due to a CH that is closed, unable or afraid to handle
energy at this level; or it can be due to a too open, all attention and activity is
drawn to that level

11
TEST, MAI 21: STRONGEST CH ANAHATA, VISHUDDHA, SAHASRARA
WEAKEST: MULADHARA, MANIPURA then SWADISTHANA

vertical channel is a polaric flow between earth and heavens - horizontal one is
interfacing with the world outside

3 TO 5 2 TO 6 1 TO 7

CH AND RELATIONSHIPS

opposites attract
energy patterns tend to perpetuate themselves
interactions opposite balance and same perpetuate

western culture oriented toward lower 3 CH focus on money, sex, power but the
sacredness of them is denied, and this promotes a fixation on their shadow
aspects - when there is a undue fixation on a particular level, there is
something basic that has not been fulfilled = lack of energetic grounding and
reverence for Nature
western materialism can be seen as a cultural compensation for the loss of the
Goddess as Mother Nature

we can affect our surroundings; each time we raise or expand our

consciousness, we are making a cultural contribution

Gareth Hill, the Static Feminine : a circle with a dot in the middle
in Masculine and Feminine, the natural flow of elements in Psyche, 1982
the peaceful Earth Goddess were replaced by Thunderous Sky Gods, miracle of
birth supplanted by the fear of death, sacredness of sexuality repressed, and
cooperative partnership replaced by hierarchical control
The Dynamic Maculine, whose symbol is a circle with an arrow; stabilized by
Christianity, turned to the Static Masculine, whose symbol is a cross

CH 4, on original Tantric diagrams, is a intersection of 2 triangles the

downward pointing of spirit descending into matter, and the upward the
dissolution of matter into spirit

from this Sacred Marriage emerges the archetype of the divine Child

the emerging age is characterized by the Dynamic Feminine, the final piece in
the quaternity of static and dynamic feminine and masculine; it is symbolized
by a spiral, which moves from the center of the Static Masculine Cross -
characterized by creativity, chaos and passion - imbalances that have been
imposed by the heavenly Father God over the last 3 000 to 5 000 years
we are approaching the balanced characteristics of the 4th CH - balance does
not require a denial of anything, but an integration of everything

Jungian theory, the Return Home - age of Aquarius, age of the 4th CH
since 60’s, turning point of evolution, the beginning of the Return Home

12
James Lovelock and Gaia hypothesis - quantum physics - yoga became
popular
we must anchor the Aquarian Age

MAHASHAKTI: “mother power” - great primordial energy field of constantly

vibrating forces
SHAKTI: divine power or energy, female goddess, counterpart to SHIVA (Dakini,
Rakini, Lakini, Kakini in the lowest CH)
SHIVA: abstract and formless aspects of thoughts and spirit - mean
“auspicious”

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