Some Suggestion of Methods for Working With the Chakras

8/2/2019 Some Suggestion of Methods for Working With the Chakras

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Some suggestion of methods for working with thechakras

You will have, by now, at least some sense that you are actuallyworking with the chakras in a direct way, even from the very beginning ofshamatha practice. You may not have been aware of it when you firststarted, yet now you know that the energies and forces that you work within shamatha are none other than those of the subtle centres. Really, howcould it be otherwise?

The practice of the 7EM then brings a more definite sense ofprogression or, you could say, brings a sense of process and direction to ourpractice. Such a structure is, of course, nothing more than a metaphor butby now you will be gaining more of an insight into what metaphor actuallymeans. The metaphor is extended, widened and deepened by consideringthe nature and function of the chakras.

So you can see that in the process of deepening our understandingand practice we are in no way departing from the foundation of basicmeditation that we established at the beginning.

Now that we have some basic information on the chakras we canconsider a few ways to engage with them and work with them. Whicheverof the following methods you choose to work with, always remember thethree wisdom tools: good in the beginning; good in the middle; good at the

end. At the beginning arouse the bodhicitta; in the middle remainundistracted; at the end dedicate the merit.

Sit in basic meditation for a short time, accomplishing shamatha ifyou can. Then proceed with a method for working with the chakras. Youalso can empower each method further by practising the colourvisualization and/ or 2=0 Yoga as a warm up, so to speak.

Method 1: Focus.Here you very simply and naturally bring the focus of you meditation

to the chakra and its related position in the physical body. What does it feellike, physically and emotionally? What are the stories that rise in the mind

in response to this focus? Work with what you find using the methods youhave learned.

Here you are discovering what the reality is that you are creating from thischakra. What is the actual (i.e. now) reality of this level of your being? Youcan spend a whole session on just one chakra. Or you can go all through thechakras in one session either ascending from muladhara, or descendingfrom sahasrara.

Method 2: Symbols.

Exploring the traditional symbols.


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Here you take one of the associations of the chakra and explore it inyour meditation. Explore your relationship with it, what it means to you andwhat rises in your mind in response to contemplating it. As you workthrough the discomforts and blocks you will empower the centre and itsassociated areas of mind and body.

Method 3: Traditional Correspondences.If you have a particular problem, look to the traditional

correspondences to see which chakra to explore.

Method 4: Interior Vision.We call this developing interior vision.

From the peaceful state ofshamatha, see/ sense each of the chakras what state is it in? Are there any blocks? You may sense blocks with anyof the senses common and uncommon. You may simply work on intuitionand trust. Explore the nature of the block and transform it using the 7EM oranother practice you know.

You can do method 4 just generally, or you can have a particularproblem in mind and look for its reflections in the chakras. Working in thisway you can clear specific problems.

Method 5: Stimulation.You can stimulate the centre physically either by pushing or striking it

(not too hard!) or by more internal methods or by performing yogicpostures. Then sit and continue in the way you have learned. Actually, withthe yogic posture method you can maintain the posture and do the

meditative technique from there. If you do yoga anyway this is a very goodway to super-charge your normal practice of postures!

Method 6: Finding & Looking.On finding a thought, an emotion, or sensation pleasant or

unpleasant, expanding or contracting you notice which of the chakras ismost involved and influenced. You bring your attention to that chakra andproceed as before.

Lets look a bit more closely at this method in relation to a sensationof pain. Firstly you bring your focus to the pain. You go into the pain andfind where it seems to connect to in the body, then find the emotions and

stories: those that look back to the past; those that inhibit the present; andthose that look to the future. Use the methods you already know. Put yourhand on the spot or prod it with a finger this may help your focus. Youfeel/ sense which chakra(s) the pain connects with. Experiencing theproblem in the chakra with all the senses, you apply your methods.

For a life problem bring the problem to mind and allow the emotionsconnected with the story of the problem to rise. Ask yourself (or your HigherSelf and so on) which chakras are involved. Experience the problem in thechakra with all the senses. Proceed with your methods as before.

Upon resolution of the problem or at the end of the session, the

Goddess appears and grants healing and empowerment to the chakrasinvolved. See and feel the colour and its associated emotions and energies


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fill the entire body and aura. So you not only experience the resolution, youalso see, hear, touch, smell and taste it. You allow yourself to be helped andyou allow the experience to become complete. Then you relax and let thevisualization dissolve into peace. Then you look again has it resolved or isthere more work still to do? You carry on like that.

Method 7: Journey.This method concerns visualization, or journeying into the chakra itself.

Here we can introduce a more shamanic method of working with theenergy of the chakras. In time you will be able to integrate any/ all of theother methods with this one and the result will be very powerful.

If we approach visualization in the right way and allow it to bespontaneous, we can connect with energies very deep in our psyche. In theright way means safely. And the basis of safety is the sanity and stability ofshamatha. Beyond that there are a few ways in which traditionally theshaman or voyager is protected.

In the Golden Dawn (an hermetic tradition having its hay-day in thelate 19th century), for example, there was great emphasis placed uponknowing the divine and angelic names, their signatures or sigils,appropriate gestures, signs and so on. There are different details for eachrealm that you wish to visit. The purpose of knowing such details is forpsychic protection in other words to prevent delusion. The principle is agood one and the system is worth looking into if you have an interest.

In shamanic traditions there are guides who fulfil the same role as thenames, signs and gestures for the Golden Dawn.

For our protection in the inner realms, we will call upon our Higher

Self directly. In case of doubt or any kind of problem it is the Higher Selfthat we refer to and who is able to keep us safe and engaged in useful workrather than useless fantasy.

The Higher Self may be thought of as a very highly evolved beingwho exists outside and beyond time and space. It may be you from thefuture. For all practical (present) purposes we can relate with the HigherSelf as if they are a separate being. They are, in some mysterious way, ourpersonal link with the divine and enlightened nature. Understanding theexact nature of their being does not seem so important as the relationshipwe develop with them. Also, as we are working within the relative (as weare now), we need to allow the mystery to be mysterious! We realize that

we cannot comprehend everything with the normal dualistic mind, so wedevelop our sense of mystery and trust in that, as a straightforward way togo on. The Higher Self is, in this sense, mysterious. Once you havedeveloped you relationship with your Higher Self, you can refer anyquestions to them.

The main way to tell if you are talking with in the presence of yourHigher Self is the feeling there is a wonderful atmosphere of love andwarmth in which you feel safe, protected, accepted and totally loved.

Other useful names for the Higher Self may include: Divine InnerGenius; the Guardian Angel; the Link with the Divine. Pick a name or

concept for this being that you can relate to.


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So lets meet your Higher Self and also establish a safe place in yourinner reality, a base of operations as it were, from where you can ventureforth in imagination to interact with the metaphors of your being andchange your life. Lets establish the Safe Place. Once this has been done,then you can venture out into the realms of the chakras.

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Some Suggestion of Methods for Working With the Chakras