Theresa Cheung – The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World: The Ultimate A–Z of Spirits, Mysteries and the Paranormal (страница 31)

There isn’t any accepted scientific and medical evidence that chakras exist, but recently they have begun to be acknowledged in the West in alternative medicine. Clairvoyants say that they can diagnose the health of chakras by energy scans with the hands and that health problems often show up in chakras months or even years before they manifest in the body. When the chakras are balanced and healthy, their colours are clear and their rotation smooth, but in poor health they become cloudy and irregular in rotation. Blocked chakras are thought to cause health problems, and in alternative healing therapies there are various techniques for clearing chakra blockages, including visualization, colour therapy, acupuncture and energy healing.

The seven major chakras

Each chakra involves a different part of the body and also different concerns, so you can focus directly on one specific chakra. The seven chakra centres are the following:

1 The base or root chakra (muladara). The lowest of the seven chakras, the root chakra is located at the base of the spine and is the simplest of the seven. Orange-red in colour, it relates to physical strength as well as the senses of taste and smell. You can summon this chakra when you need courage and physical strength. It is in the base chakra that kundalini energy is stored in a coiled state of readiness.

2 The sacral or belly chakra (svadishana) is red or pink in colour and is located just below the navel. It controls sexual energy and reproduction. It influences the release of adrenaline in your body and can keep it on a high state of alert. You can summon this chakra not only when you need to invoke fertility but also when you need projects and relationships to be successful. In some psychic systems the sacral chakra is overseen by the spleen chakra, which governs digestion.

3 The solar plexus chakra (manipura). Located below the breastbone and above the navel, the solar plexus chakra is where mediums get their psychic information. Green or light red in colour, it controls the adrenal glands, and when it is out of balance it can affect the stomach, liver and pancreas. You can use this chakra when you want to achieve an ambition or when you are planning a career move.

4 The heart chakra (anahata). Located in the centre of the chest and in the middle of your shoulder blades, the heart chakra is golden in colour and relates to emotions such as love and compassion. If it becomes blocked it can affect the lungs, the heart and breathing and immunity in general. You can use this chakra for matters of love and friendship and for understanding others.

5 The throat chakra (visudda). Located at the top of the throat, the throat chakra is silvery blue in colour and relates to creativity and self-expression. It is prominent in musicians, singers and public speakers. When it becomes blocked, your throat, ears, eyes, nose and mouth may be affected. You can use this chakra when truth and principles are at stake.

6 The forehead or third eye chakra (ajna). Located between your eyebrows in the centre of your forehead, the third eye chakra is blue and purple in colour and relates to your pituitary gland. It influences intelligence, intuition and psychic ability. When it becomes blocked it can affect your head, eyes and brain. You can use this chakra for psychic awareness and harmony.

7 The crown chakra (sahasrara). Located at the top of your head, the crown chakra is a glowing purple colour and will not open until all other chakras are balanced. When it is open you experience the highest connection to the universal mind by your mental, physical and spiritual self. You can use this chakra when striving for wisdom and perfection.

CHANNELLING

The process through which a medium communicates information from spirits and other non-physical beings, such as angels, deities or guardian spirits, by entering into a trance or some other altered state of consciousness.

The urge to communicate with the spirit world is as old as humankind itself. In primitive cultures certain individuals - priests, shamans or medicine people -would seek out the wisdom of the spirit world. The ancient Egyptians and Romans, as well as the early Chinese, Babylonians, Tibetans, Assyrians and Celts, all channelled spirits and entities, and holy men and women of Judaism, Christianity and Islam received divine guidance.

Divination and healing are forms of channelling, as is possession, when an entity seizes control of an individual. In the Middle Ages possession was seen as demonic rather than divine. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when spiritualism was at its height, channelling grew in popularity. The Fox sisters, three young women from New York, first brought public attention to channelling in 1848 when they announced the arrival of spirits in their séances.

One famous medium of the mid-nineteenth century was Nettie Colburn, a trance channeller whose spirit guides advised President Lincoln. Between 1861 and 1863 Mrs Lincoln called her to the White House to use her skills to advise the President on a wide variety of subjects -advice he was known to have followed. For example, Colburn channelled advice about how Lincoln could raise morale among the Yankee troops, and her advice worked.

After spiritualism declined in the early twentieth century, channelling did not receive widespread attention again until the early 1970s, when Jane Roberts published the Seth books, which were allegedly channelled to her by a non-physical entity called Seth. Channelling is no longer a hot topic, but popular interest remains to this day.

Different mediums have different ways of channelling. Sometimes it happens when the channeller falls into a sudden trancelike state, or it can be induced. Methods to induce channelling include meditation, prayer, hypnosis, fasting, chanting, dancing, breath exercises, sleep deprivation and taking hallucinogenic drugs.

Direct voice channelling occurs when another entity or personality takes temporary possession of the channeller’s body, often using voices and mannerisms different from those of the channeller. The channeller may be unaware of what is being said or done and may not recall anything afterwards. Mental channelling, the mediation of thoughts, words, images and feelings, is also done in a state of light trance, but this time the channeller is aware of the process. The channeller’s voice may or may not change, and he or she may communicate through automatic writing, a Ouija board or similar device, or even sleep or dreams. Physical channelling involves physical effects such as psychic healing, apports and levitation. In the wider sense of the term, channelling could also include intuition, inspiration and imagination, and as such it becomes a way for everyone to connect to a higher source of wisdom.

A number of theories have been put forward to explain channelling. The simplest is that channellers do actually get in touch with the spirit world. Others believe that channellers engage in deliberate fraud or that it is symptomatic of multiple personality disorder. The trouble with the latter argument is that mentally ill people do not tend to have control over their communicators, but channellers typically do. The view advanced by some psychologists is that channelled entities are not separate entities but part of the channeller’s subconscious that takes on the personality of an entity in order to express itself.

Many psychics believe that channelling is a skill anyone can learn and that it shouldn’t just be the preserve of professional mediums. It’s important to remember that everyone will have a different experience of channelling, and the insights received may come in any number of different forms. It is up to the individual to translate and interpret.

CHANTING

The frequent repetition of a word, phrase, or mantra as part of meditation or a religious or magical rite. Some believe that chanting is a way to achieve an altered state of consciousness so that psychic power or energy can be raised for the purposes of healing or magic. Others believe that chanting helps them commune with the divine.

Chanting can be done alone or in a group. It can be accompanied by hand clapping, drumbeats, musical instruments or dancing. Sometimes chanting is melodious; sometimes it is monotone.

In all major religions the most powerful chants are the names of God. In Vedic scriptures the name of God awakens spiritual consciousness. The Hare Krishnas incorporate the name of God in their group chanting believing it can help liberate them from reincarnation. Various Hindu and Buddhist chants use the word Om, a sound that is believed to encompass the whole universe. Followers of Islam chant the 99 names of Allah, called the beautiful names, and the name of Jesus figures strongly in Christian chants.

In primitive tribal societies chanting was used to raise psychic energy, appease supernatural powers and bring blessings. The practice occurred in ancient Greece, where female sorcerers would howl their chants, believing that strong vibrations enhanced the power of their words. Medieval sorcerers and magicians also sang their chants in very forceful voices, and the practice was continued into the twentieth century by men like Aleister Crowley, who believed that the sound of chanting could profoundly affect both humankind and the universe. Native Americans also observe chanting in preparation for activities and ceremonies such as healing, hunting, fighting, rites of initiation and funerals.