SUBTLE ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN BEING : THE CHAKRAS SYSTEM

It is first necessary to define what are the chakras, their function and how they work.

This knowledge dates back many thousands of years, however approaches can vary from country to country. My own personal approach to the Chakras results from many years of experience and is based on the esoteric knowledge of the sages of Ancient India. These great Masters were well aware of the presence of seven vital energy centres (chakras) in every human being.

The word "chakra" means "wheel" (or "spinning disk") in Sanskrit. The seven major chakras are found along a vertical axis corresponding to the spinal column.

A chakra is an energy centre situated in the "etheric aura" of the individual (i.e. in the electro-magnetic field which naturally surrounds the physical body). It is invisible to the naked eye (except for people who have the gift of clairvoyance), because it's not really of a physical nature.

In fact, the chakra is etheric; this means that it is made of an ethereal substance, which is more subtle than the physical body, because its atomic vibration is more rapid. This is why it remains invisible.

You could say that chakras are centres which transform and distribute the energies originating from the sky and the ground, that is to say cosmic and earth forces. To understand their fundamental role, you need to know that if a human being had no chakras and received cosmic energy directly, without it being transformed, then that person would instantly be "struck down" by the various natural energies that would be coursing straight through them.

The chakras are responsible for only letting in the energy you are capable of absorbing. The amount of energy corresponds to your level of consciousness (or evolution). And the more your chakras open and allow cosmic energy to penetrate inside you, the more you evolve, the more your consciousness expands.

The chakras actually transform the various energies that enter a person, and then redistribute them throughout the physical body through the endocrine glands, which release their secretions into the blood.

You can imagine the chakras as coloured wheels of light, as funnel-shaped energy vortexes, spinning round in a clock-wise direction. They have "blades" like a fan, or "petals" like a flower, which create the funnel shape as they turn. As these wheels rotate, universal cosmic energy is drawn into the chakras, and then distributed round the body.

Chakras therefore pick up the vibrations existing in the environment. Through their various functions, these energy centres link the individual to everything that is occurring around him, in nature and in the Universe, acting rather like an "antenna".

You can regard your own chakras as organs of the subtle senses. Our physical body with its five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) is a vehicle adapted to the vital laws of our planet, which enables us to find our way in everyday life. The chakras act as receptors for all the energy vibrations and all the information hovering "above" the physical plane: they are like gateways into the magical and boundless world of more subtle energies.

To live in harmony with yourself, others and the environment, combining both strength and creativity, knowledge and love, all chakras must be "open" and working in harmony with each other. Because the more the chakras "open up", the more the people evolve, and the more energy they have to achieve what they want to in life.

Conversely, if someone's chakras are "blocked" and not functioning harmoniously, not only do they capture very little universal cosmic energy, but they also accumulate negative waves. This accumulation of "bad" energies makes them prone to difficulties and gradually brings all kinds of problems into their lives.

Then they easily fall victim to secret manipulations, malign influences, emotional and professional disasters. They just don't have the strength to deal with it all. And in most cases, the energy centres are thrown out of harmony leading to pain and various disorders.

This creates a vicious circle that it's very difficult to get out of. Especially as the person in question is generally ignorant of the cause of this persistent "adversity".


How do the chakras get "blocked" ?

Our behaviour becomes ingrained in us, forming patterns that we repeat over and over. From our earliest childhood we start to build a "map of the world". It's as though we see the world through a filter, like tinted glasses putting things into perspective.

This personal map of the world incorporates a set of rules, according to which we believe the world functions. These are learned from a very young age, depending on the experiences we each undergo and the perceptions delivered by our senses.

But here is the most important point: our "map of the world" is built on three key elements: our need for security, our image of ourselves and the power we exert over our environment.

In fact, from the day we are born, we try to develop these three elements, or we are obliged to develop them in order to survive. The three are of course interlinked because it is often the case, for example, that we build our image in such a way as to establish our security, because it's through our image, how we present ourselves to others, that we will be able to influence the love and attention we receive from them.

It's in a baby's interest to know how to behave if he wants to obtain affection, tenderness or food from his parents. From his experiences, and his various attempts to adapt to his environment, the tiny child soon starts to gradually piece together his map of the world i.e. the rules he must obey to establish his security and his influence over his environment.

For example, the child will become convinced that it's by being very obedient and complying with his parents' wishes that he will gain their love. This kind of belief, which is very common, leads us to build a "false identity", which is not based on our true personality but on our impressions of other people's expectations.

As the years go by, we become identified with this mask, with this "double" who is not our real self. So we pass our true life by, unless we make an effort to recognise and accept what we are, deep down.

We lay down the essentials of our map of the world during the first three years of life. Even if the general "lie of the land" is hard or almost impossible to cope with, it's still not easy to escape from it when the opportunity presents itself, because this means stepping out of the known and abandoning our familiar viewpoints to venture into new and uncharted territory.

So during our childhood, from the moment we are born, we tend to create a very limited set of rules for the functioning of the world because we don't feel the need to explore beyond our basic need for financial, physical, emotional and mental security.

As a result of negative conditioning suffered during the first three years of life, individuals form their map of the world based on three types of negative beliefs the strength of which will vary. These will have the effect of hindering the flow of life-energy through the first three chakras, thus preventing the person from finding inner peace and love, from being in contact with the Soul (which happens through the Heart Chakra).

In energy terms, this manifests itself through kinds of "filters" operating within the first chakras, which trap the energy in the first levels of consciousness, preventing an opening of the heart which is the gateway to the Soul.

As long as these energy "filters" are present, the human being remains more or less exclusively focused on the first levels of consciousness: he neurotically repeats the same type of experience over and over again, as he unconsciously tries to sort out the complexes that lie at the root of his negative conditioning.

So what are these three kinds of "negative" beliefs?

· Here are some illustrations of how the first negative belief might be expressed: "I don't have the right to exist", or "I have no place…", "I don't deserve to live…".

If, during his first year, a baby has had problems in terms of security (due to his relationship with his mother for example), this will have important repercussions on his adult life. To some degree, he will develop the idea that he does not deserve to exist, that he has no place on earth, etc.

This tends to cause various difficulties in life, such as: problems of a material nature, poor asset management, erratic and turbulent relationship with money (for example: inability to manage a bank account, perpetual money problems, spending more than you earn, etc.), problems managing time (often being late, forgetting appointments, etc.), professional instability (frequent job changes, etc.), physical instability (often moving home), not knowing how to dress, dietary problems (neglecting bodily needs, etc.), excretion problems (constipation), anxieties about death, phobias, disturbed sleep, dislike of being touched or touching others, etc.

· The second negative belief may be expressed as follows: "I don't deserve to be loved…"

When a young child often finds that he can't satisfy his need for love, affection, tenderness, he forms this kind of negative belief. Deep inside himself, he becomes convinced that he cannot be loved because he isn't "worth" it. This will have a huge impact on his existence. He will choose between several types of strategy. Either he will cut himself off emotionally, or adopt the kind of behaviour that will provoke rejection from the people around him, or assume a false character which is more pleasing to his parents and milieu, by stifling his own identity.

The emotional wounds suffered during childhood subsequently engender a variety of problems such as: abandonism (subconscious fear of being abandoned…), emotional dependence, attention-seeking, various addictions (nicotine, alcohol, drugs, etc.), jealousy and possessiveness, a desire to please at all costs, fear of solitude, suppression of emotions, sexual problems, dietary problems (gaining satisfaction from eating to substitute for emotional satisfaction), neuroses, unbalanced attitude to giving/receiving, etc.

Those in whom this kind of negative belief predominates erect an internal barrier which separates them from their emotional wound which is too painful to bear consciously. For example, they only live "in their head", cutting themselves off from their feelings and emotions, because they know that deep down there is great distress.

Others deliberately create antipathies with other people. They behave in this way in order to actually provoke rejection, which allows them to throw the responsibility onto others ("nobody loves me - it's their fault"). Deep down, the real belief is "nobody loves me because I'm not worthy of love", and this subconscious belief is countered by transferring the blame onto others. To effect this transferral, the individual does everything possible to make sure that others reject him and lose interest in him.

· The third negative believe may be expressed as follows: "I'm incompetent", with variations like: "I'm useless", "I'm worthless".

This kind of belief stems from the child's relationship with his father, and especially the interest the father has/hasn't shown in the child, by spending time with him and nurturing his abilities and talents in particular. The child who hasn't received enough paternal support regarding his value and competence develops the belief that he's not really a valuable or capable person. An element of doubt about his own worth is planted in his mind.

The "feedback" that the father gives him, through his presence and contact (or lack of it), will have a direct influence on the future social identity of the child. When he finds no mirror or example represented in his father, he cannot find the self-confidence he needs to develop. This results in a complex about his identity and value which will then be expressed in various ways, all relating to self-assertion: submission or domination (in inter-personal relations), desperate search for recognition, poor self-image, inability to be assertive or realise potential, suppressed anger and aggression, social effacement or conversely a great thirst for power, career problems, demanding or aggressive tone of voice, rejection or fear of authority, feeling of superiority or inferiority, neuroses, perfectionism, activism, etc.

One can therefore see that when these negative conditioning "filters" are hindering the proper functioning of the lower chakras (Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus), everything is thrown out of balance. Consequently, the other higher chakras can no longer capture universal cosmic energy either.

Fortunately, this chakra-blocking process which causes various problems in life is not irreversible: you simply need to re-balance and re-open the chakras to that life-energy, so that they are perfectly able once more to capture the cosmic forces emanating from the current of energy which flows through the Universe… and surrounds every living organism.

Then one can re-create what I call one’s own "cosmic circuits of personal luck", seize lucky opportunities once more, and become the creator of a full and happy life.