Mapping the Energy Body
Unit 2 - Master Your Energy E-course.
In this chapter we map the human energy system according to the main energy currents, vortex centres and channels of light in the body, and by looking at their essential symbolism we want to give a general outlook of the archetypal forces that move our personality and Soul.
Recording: Heart Centre Meditation
THE CENTRE OF THE ENERGY BODY
The energy body is a combination of different qualities of energy, which we need to embody and master as an integrated harmonious whole.
Everything is energy, as science states. Our energy body vibrates at different frequencies, with the energy of physical body vibrating at the slowest rate, whilst our emotions and thoughts vibrate increasingly faster. Ultimately, we are only one energy, Consciousness, taking different forms in the world of creation.
We have seen that energy flows in a two-way system with the Upward and the Downward currents running through the central channel of the body. We are in fact on a journey where the Personality Self ascends to merge with the Infinite Field of light, and Divine Consciousness descends to manifest as the Individual Self.
The chakra system is a map of the main 7 energy centres in the body. The system moves from the dense vibration of the first chakra (Root Chakra) at the base of the spine, to the light vibration of the seventh chakra at the top of the head (Crown chakra). All seven chakras need to be in harmony for our well-being, as they hold the basic elements of the universal energy. For example, balance and harmony needs to be achieved between the first four elemental Earth Chakras (earth, water, fire, air) and the three high vibrational Soul Chakras (ether, light, consciousness).
The centre of the energy body and of the chakra system is the Heart. The Heart is the place where all energies meet as One. The earthy ascending energy meets here with the light of the Soul streaming down into the body. From the heart all spectrum of energies radiates outwards. In the Heart, as the centre of our Being, we embrace Wholeness. Here the Lower chakras energies (Root, Sacral, Solar plexus) merge with the Upper chakras energies (Throat, Third eye, Crown) to become one core essence. In the heart our Personality Chakras (1-2-3) become One with our Soul Chakras (5-6-7) to anchor the Self in the centre of our Being.
Whilst moving through the chakra system energy takes on different frequencies and forms.
Imagine being a tree, your roots deeply grounded in the earth, you are drawing up water for your nourishment, your branches are soaking in sunlight, your leaves are literally breathing in oxygen. Earth, water, fire and air are creating your life. Similarly, the four elemental chakras represent the main building blocks of our chemistry. Earth in the first chakra (Root) transforms into Water in the second chakra (Sacral), into Fire in the third chakra (Solar plexus) and into Air in the fourth chakra (Heart).
The three upper chakras hold more refined frequencies of energy. Ether in the fifth chakra (Throat) represents the vibrational field holding everything together, Light is the frequency of the sixth chakra (Third eye) and Consciousness is the energy of the seventh chakra (Crown).
The first three chakras anchor us in the human dimension of life: the physical body in the Root chakra, the emotional body in the Sacral chakra and the active mental body in the Solar plexus chakra. The upper chakras are connected to the higher expressions of our Soul, with Words in the Throat, Symbols in the Third Eye and Abstract Thought in the Crown. The Heart is the balancing centre, with Air representing the Higher Mind or Awareness.
The chakras move as vortexes of energy and are positioned along the central axis of the body. Through these vortexes, energy is breathed in and out of the body, and moved along spine. Through the chakras we also link to the quantum field of energy all around.
CONNECT TO YOUR HEART CENTRE - MEDITATION
As a first step to develop awareness of the energy body we invite you to connect to your Heart Centre.
We are going to feel our heart centre by first anchoring in our lower belly. The practice of anchoring in the belly is called “Dropped Attention”, from the Reclaiming shamanic tradition. The belly is a power centre in the body, also called ‘Hara’.
Take a deep breath and drop your attention into the lower belly, below the navel. Breathe slow and deep, in and out from your belly. Breathe in and out from your belly and imagine releasing any tension upwards. Stay anchored in your belly and with your breath send the energy up your body, to discharge any tension from your chest upwards, like a fountain.
Empty yourself of any physical, emotional or mental tension from the upper body and notice how your heart naturally opens. Notice how the heart spontaneously opens whilst you sit relaxed in your belly, breathing slowly and releasing any tension upwards.
Now centre in your heart: breathe in and out from there. In the heart feel the stillness, feel the peace. Feel how all your energy becomes harmonious when your breathe from your heart, in silent awareness. Sit in your centre of light, in your sacred space and notice the stillness arising.
You may want to put one hand on your belly and one on the heart, to entrain the energies of the two centres, sacral chakra and heart.
Drop your attention in the belly many times during the day and entrain your heart into openness and aware stillness.
In the audio-recording ‘Heart Centre Meditation’ we are going to add another dimension of working with the Heart centre. The heart open and nourished with the energy of the Earth and of the Soul star, will reveal itself as a Well of Light. A well of outpouring energy able to harmonise the whole of our energy body. Heart radiating out energy to soothe, fill and heal any tension in our Body and Being.
THE CHAKRA SYSTEM AS A MAP FOR AWAKENING
We will look at different interpretations of the chakra system, however, more than understanding with the mind, we invite you to have a direct experience of these energy frequencies. Furthermore, keep in mind that there is no hierarchy of importance in the way Source energy manifests itself, and that as human beings we are offered the possibility to be aware and embody the whole spectrum of universal consciousness.
We will refer to a simple process to work with energy and the chakra system.
The process has 3 steps = EMPTY + RECEIVE + TRANSMIT
We empty energy, to release blocks to the flow of energy in the body.
We receive energy, to embody those qualities of energy we need in the moment.
We transmit energy, to send out certain qualities of energy in the environment.
We have the conscious power to empty-receive-transmit and we are able to direct the process. At the same time, we are spontaneously moved by the power of the universal force in a continuous flow.
But what are the chakras exactly and do they really exist?
There are many traditions and models which describe the chakra system, offering a variety of symbols, images and myths to understand the different qualities and frequencies of energy. Each chakra corresponds to an element, a stage of life, a psychological challenge, a deity, an animal, an archetype, a crystal, a yoga position and more.
The chakras are connected to the body and in all traditions are positioned along the spine at the main nervous ganglia. This is not a coincidence; through the nervous system all information is transmitted from the brain to the body and viceversa. There are more correspondences of the chakras with other body systems, which we will explore further on in the course.
Ultimately the chakras do not exist in the strictly physical reality. They are intangible, like thoughts are intangible whilst the brain has a physical reality. However, we can say that chakras exist in a subtle realm, because we can feel them as physical tensions or emotions in our body; for example, we may feel grief or joy in the heart, anxiety or warm vitality in our belly, mental tension or clarity in our head, and more.
The chakras can be defined as the interface between the body and more subtle dimensions of consciousness, and ultimately are a useful map to develop Awareness and Well-Being.
As A. Judith explains in her book ‘Charge and the energy body’, chakras also exist as a storage system for programs, like software uploaded in the hard drive of a computer. The body is the hardware, the chakras are the software and energy is the electricity.
According to many traditions and scientific research, we hold the imprints of all our experiences in our energy body. These energy imprints are derived from memories, beliefs and emotions which get encoded at a cellular level (see Bruce Lipton, Candice Pert). The thoughts and emotions stored in the body and their related energy imprints, are like programs that when activated, cause us to behave in a reactive way rather than from a conscious state.
A negative software alters the flow of energy in our body and disrupts the connection to our true Self. We are the Light of Consciousness and we can clear any negative programming through awareness, in order to allow this Light to flow untainted through our Body and Being.
One day, whilst I was in the process of buying a property, I woke up in a state of fear and anxiety. It was big decision, raising many emotions and doubts. My chest was contracted, I was feeling tearful and vulnerable. No breathing technique or attempt to relax would work. But suddenly a thought hit me: “Fear is just a program, IT IS NOT REAL”. A program is not who I am. I am light. In an instant all my anxiety and physical contraction was gone! A sense of Trust had arisen instead, and the right decision became very clear.
In the knowing that thoughts and experiences get encoded in the body, we need to add one more step to the process of working with energy and the chakras.
From:
EMPTY + RECEIVE + TRANSMIT
To:
EMPTY + RECEIVE + STORE + TRANSMIT
We store programs in our body and in our chakras, derived from our life experiences and belief system. These programs influence the way we perceive the world and receive and transmit energy. With awareness and choice, we can consciously transform these negative energy imprints and awaken to our natural state of Presence, Wisdom and Harmony.
THE PRINCIPLE OF WHOLENESS: BALANCING ALL ENERGIES IN THE BODY
The world of archetypal energies is indeed vast, as much complex as we can imagine qualities of being.
For the purpose of mapping the energy body we have classified a few basic types of energies, such as the Upward and Downward Currents and the 5 Elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. We have also distinguished between the Lower Earth chakras (root, sacral and solar plexus) and the Upper Soul chakras (throat, third eye and crown), in consideration of the energy moving from lower density to higher vibration. We have then experienced our still centre in the Heart Chakra.
Let’s add now a few more variables to the mapping.
According to the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of Hinduism, there are three main channels of energy in our body, running from the base of the spine to the crown: the Sushumna Nadi flows in the central axis, and the Ida and the Pingala Nadi run along the sides in a spiral dance. The Ida and Pingala currents represent the Feminine and Masculine principles. The Ida Nadi, the Moon feminine channel, influences the left side of the body, whilst the Pingala Nadi, the masculine channel, is connected to the right part of the body. In a balanced energy body female and male energies are balanced and integrated.
Many traditions also map our mind-body system looking at Three Selves, core archetypes of our Psyche. In Huna shamanism these are called the Basic Self, the Conscious Self and the Higher Self, whose energies can be correlated to the Lower chakras (Basic Self), Upper chakras (Conscious Self) and Heart (Higher Self). Psychologists search the integration of Subconscious, Conscious and Superconscious. Metaphysical teacher D.J. Stone speaks about the Subconscious Power, the Personal Power and God Power. In Reclaiming Wicca, the same archetypes are called Younger Self, Talking Self and the Deep Self.
In the psychological model of A. Judith, in each chakra we can individuate developmental archetypes, like the Inner Child from birth to puberty, the Adolescent Self and the Adult Self. These are real energy forms, that exist as memories and emotions imprinted in our mind and body and that influence our perception of the world.
We will go deeper in understanding the main archetypal energies of the chakras by adding further symbology from mythology, shamanism and other metaphysical system, such as the map of the 12 Rays of Light and more. The way Spirit manifests itself in the world of dense and subtle creation is limitless, and vast is the number of ancient and modern traditions that map our Psyche and Energy Body. However, without losing complexity we want to create a simple map, that gives us major signposts to direct our personal journey towards awakening and well-being.
To summarize we are going to explore the following energies:
2 currents: Upward and Downward current
5 elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether
Male/Female Archetypes
3 Selves: Body Self/Conscious Self/Higher Self
Lower Earth chakras 1-2-3
Heart chakra, as the balancing centre
Upper Soul chakras 5-6-7
The primary purpose of mapping the energy body is to experience an overall state of balance, where we embody all energies as a harmonious whole. From a more spiritual point of view, we are looking to be guided in a process of Self-realization, to live in Presence and Awareness.
Although Wholeness is our natural state, we often disown certain archetypes because of conditioning and trauma, therefore blocking the access to their energy and power. When this happens, these energies remain unexpressed in the shadow of our Psyche.
For example, some people are too earthy, too grounded and attached to material possessions and cannot open to new ideas and a more expanded or spiritual vision of life. In this case there will be an overload of energy in the lower chakras. Other people instead are polarized in their upper chakras, either too much in their mind or too open psychically and find it difficult to make things happen in a grounded way. In this case there will be an overload of energy in the upper chakras.
Another energy imbalance happens when the Feminine and Masculine principles are over-played or under-played in our psyche and life. My journey has been one of reclaiming my feminine self, in her magical, intuitive, emotionally open and loving aspect, in a society that values more the masculine qualities of logic and focused action. In the process however, I had to re-integrate my masculine energy as well, which I disowned because I judged it as being aggressive and dominant. Ultimately, we need to embody both archetypes: the feminine for her perception and openness and the masculine for his determination and focused ability to manifest.
Some thought-behavioural patterns connected to the giving and receiving of energy can also lead to disharmony. My habitual pattern is that I love too much, in part as I need to be loved and validated. I am generous with my energy towards others, and I end up being depleted as I am not recharging in self-love and self-care. Other people do the same when they overdo power and action, by working hard and controlling everything, often out of low self-value, only to dissipate a lot of energy and end up feeling burnt-out.
We will go deeper in observing our shadow patterns when experiencing the energies of the different elements. For example: are you grounded and rooted in your life? Are you watery enough to flow and yield in the face of challenges? Are you expressing your fire and passion? Are your spreading your wings and following your dreams?
We will also observe how we balance the relationships between our inner selves, for example in the parenting style of the Adult Self versus our Inner child or in the alignment of the Basic Self, Conscious self and Higher self.
The essential purpose of mastering our energy is to realize our wholeness, by embracing all our unloved parts, and by releasing suffering from our energy body, so that the universal Consciousness can express itself freely through us and accordingly to what is needed in every moment.
The Inka shamans say: ‘I am the Wind and the Fire, I am the Mountains, the Rivers and the Stars’.
We are both physical and light beings, we are human and divine, we are Source Energy enjoying the creation of life in infinite forms.
