* * * FIFTH CHAKRA * * *

[Guest guest]

Day Five - Fifth Chakra

 

" If it is true that you are what you eat, it may just as

accurately be said that you are what you listen to. "

Stephen Halpern

 

 

Name:::Vissudha (purification)

 

Element:::Sound

 

Purpose:::Communication, Creativity

 

Issues:::

 

Communication, Creativity, Listening,

Resonance, Finding One's Own Voice

 

Goals:::

 

Clear communication, creativity, resonance

 

Color:::Bright blue

 

Location:::Throat, Pharyngeal plexus

 

Orientation:::Self-expression

 

Archetype:::Artist

 

Basic Rights:::

To Speak and Hear Truth

 

This right is damaged when we are not allowed to speak

truthfully in our family. " Don't talk to me like that, young

man! " " We don't discuss that subject in this family. "

This includes not being heard when we do speak,

keeping family secrets, and not being spoken to honestly.

When our parents, culture, or government lie to us, there

is abuse of this right. Learning clear communication is

essential to reclaiming this right.

 

Affirmations:::

" I speak and hear the truth. "

" I express myself with clear intent. "

" Creativity flows in and through me. "

" My voice is necessary. "

 

Identity:::

 

The fifth chakra is the center of our creative identity.

Here we identify with our self-expression—what we say

and produce. Initially, we identify with our word through

the commitments we make. In this identity, we take

responsibility for what we say by embodying it in our

actions. Through our creativity, we identify ourselves as

artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, politicians, mothers,

or fathers. (We may also identify with our mistakes and

failures.) The creative identity expands outward, through

its ability to contribute and give back to the larger

system.

 

As this level matures, we begin to identify with larger

possibilities and reach for inspiration from the great works

of civilization, from the inspiring acts of heroes and

saints, poets and painters. As we expand into the

creative flux of the world around us, we identify with our

path. Our path is the realization of our personal contri-

bution to the larger system. Ideally, the path leads to

an ever-expanding growth of consciousness and an

eventual transcendence of the personal self into the

transpersonal self. Its foundation is a healthy ego,

social confidence, and a sense of compassion for

others.

 

Demon:::

Lies

 

Lies can be told with words, but they can also be told

with actions or held by the body. When I am afraid to

show someone how excited I am, I restrict the muscles

of my face or hold my arms down by my sides. I am

then lying with my body and out of resonance with my

own field. My natural process gets frozen.

 

When we live in our truth, there is a resonant continuity

between ourselves and others. When this resonance is

interrupted, we experience discontinuity. Perpetual

discontinuity breaks down our health. Just as an engine

needs all of its vibrating parts to be coordinated smoothly,

so too does our basic resonance. This allows the forward

progression of the self to occur gracefully.

 

Vibrating Into Expression

 

The Subtle World of Vibrations

 

As we enter the etheric level of the throat chakra, we

enter a paradoxical realm of great subtlety yet powerful

influence. We leave behind the balanced middle ground

of the green ray and reach into the etheric range of

turquoise and blue that resonate with the throat chakra.

The enveloping element of air still surrounds us, yet we

reach beyond it into the unknown ether--the realm of

vibrations, sound, communication, and creativity.

 

We have passed the halfway point in our rainbow. In the

dance between liberation and manifestation, we are now

leaving the yin balance of the heart and to focus more

heavily on the upper chakras. We are breaking free from

gravity, free from the way things have always been and

from the structure and restriction of manifested form. We

become more abstract, yet broader in our scope. In the

first four chakras we concerned ourselves with form,

movement, activity, and relationship--things that are easily

observed. In chakra five, our attention moves to vibrations,

as the subtle, rhythmic pulsations that move through all

things.

 

Entering the Symbolic

 

The symbol strikes its roots into the most secret

depths of the soul; language skims over the surface

of the understanding like a soft breeze...Words make

the infinite finite; symbols carry the mind beyond the

finite world of becoming into the realm of infinite being.

J.J.Bachofen

 

As we enter the upper chakra triad, we enter the

symbolic world of the mind. Symbols are the building

blocks of consciousness, the link between the eternal

and the transient. Words, images and thoughts

(chakras five, six and seven) are all symbolic reflections

of the manifested plane. Each word we use is a symbol

for a thing, concept, feeling, process, or relationship.

Each image in our mind is a mental symbol for some-

thing real and each thought is a combination of these

symbols. With symbols we can do more with less. I can

talk about a truck even though I cannot lift one. I can

describe a spiral galaxy, even though I cannot travel to

one. I can show you a picture of a man easier

than I can describe him.

 

Symbols can be seen as the vibrational essence of what

they represent. They are the building blocks of com-

munication and consciousness. They are like packets of

meaning that can be stored in one mind and shared with

others, each packet enhancing consciousness. When a

symbol really speaks to us--when it is full of meaning--

then we are said to resonate with it.

 

Resonance

 

All life is rhythmic. From the rise and fall of the sun to

the rise and fall of our breath, from the beating of our

hearts to the infinite vibrations of atomic particles within

our cells, we are a mass of vibrations that miraculously

resonate together as a single system. In fact, our ability

to function as a unified whole depends upon the coherent

resonance of the many subtle vibrations within us. The

task of the fifth chakra is to enhance this resonance.

 

The rhythmic entrainment of various frequencies within

our body and consciousness forms a coherent, central

vibration that we experience as a kind of resonant " hum "

when we are having a good day. On those days, it

seems we are in harmony with everything, as if we cannot

miss a beat. We are in sync with the rhythm of the

universe. (It is interesting to note how much the fourth

chakra state of being in love contributes to this experience.)

On other days, we feel like we are out of phase or as if we

cannot do anything right. Then we feel out of sorts,

uncomfortable in our own skin, and others may find us

uncomfortable to be around. Understanding the principles

of vibration and resonance helps us increase the

coherence of our basic vibrational experience and realign

our basic rhythm.

 

Resonance requires a certain balance of flexibility and

tension. A string needs to be both taunt and flexible in

order to sound a note. In our bodies, we need to have

enough flexibility to resonate with different frequencies,

yet maintain enough tension to create a repeating

pattern.

 

The state of resonance within the body/mind is a state-

ment of our health and vitality. When we cannot resonate

with the world around us, we cannot link with it. We are

unable to expand, respond, or receive. We become

isolated and ill. Opening to resonance requires both

grounding for the establishment of form, and an openness

of breath that yields softness and flexibility. This balance

is a delicious combination of letting and willing that allows

us to both listen and respond at the same time.

 

It is my belief that sleep puts us back in harmony with

our own resonance. When we sleep, our heart rate,

breathing, and brain waves all settle into a deep, rhythmic

entrainment.

 

Rest helps us reestablish the body's natural resonance,

so its field can become coherent again. When we are

tired, each vibration is a new demand that further

fragments us. Rested, we are better able to meet the day.

 

The Etheric Body

 

At the level of the fifth chakra, we expand our attention

from the physical plane into the subtler etheric fields.

Commonly known as the aura, this etheric field is

generated by the totality of internal processes--from the

energetic exchange of subatomic particles to the

digestions of food in our cells, from the firing of neurons

to our current emotional state, and on to the larger

rhythms of our outer activities.

 

Our very life force can be seen as a stream of pulsating

energy. When the stream is not fragmented by blocks

in the body armor, then pulsation moves freely through

the body and out into the world. This streaming creates

a resonant, etheric field around the body--an aura of

wholeness. A resonant field makes coherent con-

nections with the outside world. A fragmented field

makes fragmented connections.

 

Our etheric field is also a living record of our experience

through time. Old traumas leave their trace in the aura

as unhealed wounds, unfinished communications, and

(some believe) past lives and the warning of future events.

Normally, we are too bombarded by cruder and louder

vibrations to be able to tune into this subtle field and

perceive the information it holds for us. As we refine our

energy through the upward movement of the chakras,

we increase our awareness of this subtle level.

 

Our etheric body is highly sensitive to emanations

around us, even if we are unaware of it. In the fifth

chakra, we are working to refine our vibrations so that

we can tune into this subtlety. The name for this chakra

is Vissudha, which means purification. Purification is

a vibrational refinement that takes place as we rid the

body of toxins, speak truthfully and authentically, and

as we work through the issues of the lower chakras.

Purification prepares us to enter the even more refined

energies of the chakras above.

 

Truth and Lies

 

" The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied

later a thousandfold. " Aristotle

 

To fully express our individuality is to express our truth.

A non-individuated person will express what people

want to hear. A fearful person will be afraid to speak their

truth. A person without ego strength will be afraid of what

others think and give up their authenticity.

 

Those whose lower chakras are in good order--living in

the truth of their bodies and feelings, with ego strength

and accepting love--can now safely express their own

personal truth. I cannot emphasize enough the

importance each of the lower chakras plays in this

process.

 

If the fourth chakra brought us self-acceptance, we no

longer need to deny truth. This acceptance is a

container that allows us to flower. Living in the field

of acceptance with unconditional love and openminded-

ness, our truths and individuality can emerge. We

need not deny our feelings or pretend to be different.

 

If the ego and will are strong, we are able to express

our truth even in the face of opposition. We have the

courage to be different, the warrior spirit to defend our

truth, even if it opposes what is around us.

 

If feelings are denied, we may find we have various

conflicting truths. We want to move forward and we

want to resist. We feel attracted to someone and do

not trust them. To live in truth is to be able to live in

these contradictions--to accept that each piece can be

true without negating the other. To force ourselves to

pick one side or the other may deny a truth.

Resolution of inner conflict can only come by

acknowledging even conflicting truths.

 

Truth can be seen as a resonant field. Negative

experiences teach us to deny and withhold our truth.

We are punished for disagreeing with our parents. We

are teased for admitting that we are afraid. We are

misunderstood when we try to express ourselves. If

our views are not consistent with the majority, we can

be ostracized. Sometimes, our safety and psychic

survival become dependent on restricting the truth.

The child who gets hit for opening his mouth quickly

learns to keep it shut. Unfortunately, this exacts a

price. In repressing part of our truth, we restrict both

the natural resonance of the etheric field and the

completion of the horizontal current moving from inside

to outside. We fall out of step, become uncoordinated,

and cease to resonate with the others. When we are

out of our truth, we are living a lie. Lies form the demon

of the fifth chakra.

 

Traumas and Abuses

 

It is not the traumas we suffer in childhood that make us

emotionally ill, but the inability to express the trauma.

Alice Miller

 

If I hit the taunt string of a guitar, I makes a sound. If I

hit it hard, it makes a loud sound. If I hit it softly--

a quiet sound... Any beginning guitar player knows that if

you do not hold the string down tightly over the frets,

the sound is dull instead of resonant. When I restrict

the movement of the string, I also restrict its expression.

 

As an event impacts us, it impacts us with a vibration.

Like the guitar string, it is our nature to express what

impacts us. When that expression is restricted (by

whatever inhibitions we have been forced to accept) we

lose our resonance and no longer vibrate in the chorus

of creation. We become less fully alive, out of step,

and dissonant.

 

If we do not make a sound the vibration of the impact

is stored in the body as stress. The natural flow of

vibration through the body is interrupted and energy

comes in but does not go back out. It takes effort to

restrict that flow, and causes further stress to maintain

the restriction.

 

When the throat chakra is blocked then we separate from

the chorus of life. We cannot block the ears, eyes, or

nerve endings of the skin thoroughly as we can block the

throat, so it is easier to block expression than it is

reception, easier to block what comes out of us than what

comes in. Therefore, a block in the throat chakra is most

likely a block in the discharge of energy, creating a

situation in which the input exceeds the output.

This difference is experienced as stress.

 

If I am impacted by the humming of machinery the ringing

of telephones, the yelling of someone who is angry, the

myriad of unacknowledged vibrations that impinge on me

all day long, and I cannot release this energy, then I

become stressed. If I have suffered a strong negative

impact or an intolerable situation and I cannot talk about

it, these vibrations become frozen in the core of my body.

Frozen at the core, my whole being is restricted from its

natural rhythm of pulsation.

 

So what blocks us from expressing our truth, our outrage,

our creativity, or our needs? What makes us close down

the throat, bottling up the emotions, or annihilate our

ideas before they can make it out of our mouth?

What makes us hide behind silence?

 

Shame at the core, fear for one's safety, or simply being

out of touch with the core self makes us unable to bring

the inside of ourselves out to meet the world. To keep

this from happening, we block the essential gateway that

connects inner to outer and lock the gate against the

possible escape of our true feelings. We protect the

vulnerable interior self from exposure and possible harm

or ridicule. We lock ourselves up posting a censor at

the door.

 

We do this by tightening the neck and shoulders, by

throwing our heads out of alignment with our body, by

talking incessantly about anything except what is really

bothering us. Some do it by stuffing food down their

throats, as if filling the mouth will block the passage and

prevent the feelings from pouring out.

 

Underneath each of these methods is a need to hide. In

hiding we keep ourselves in isolation, keep ourselves from

intimacy, and keep our selves from evolving. In essence,

we keep ourselves from meeting the truth and so we

become a closed system that eventually runs out of

energy and settles in inertia. When our block has reached

such proportions that we are locked in inertia, it becomes

even harder to get the throat to open up. Just as it is hard

to write a letter to someone when you have been out of

touch for a long time, it is also hard to break silence over

issues that have long remained unspoken, to speak out

when we are in the habit of remaining hidden, or to risk

suddenly becoming conspicuous in a crowd. Much of this

is kept in place by the demons of the lower chakras.

 

(just a small section from a larger Chapter of the book!)

 

....we dance to the rhythm of our own personal vibration

as it resonates with the environment and the people

around us.

 

Conclusion

 

" All the tragedy in the world, in the individual and in the

multitude, comes from lack of harmony. And harmony

is best given by producing harmony in one's own life. "

Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

In the philosophies of India, sound is considered the

primordial ingredient of creation. Sound, crafted from the

cosmic drum of Shiva in the celestial realms, was given

to Brahma and Saraswati, the pair of deities that rule

over creation and beginnings. The divine order of the

universe, the essence of spirit, and the element of sound

are intricately connected. Without sound, the universe

will collapse again into nothingness, stolen by Mother Kali,

in her final act of destruction. With sound, we are given

the power to create from within ourselves using the same

primordial energies that create the world around us and

indeed our very selves. With sound, we are given the

tools to avert destruction.

 

The fifth chakra facilitates a profound passage between

the abstract information of conception, image and idea,

and the manifested realm of the material world. It takes

us through the heart where we communicate and connect

with each other; through our power where we command

and contain; through our emotions and down into the

coordination of the cells within our bodies. On the spiritual

plane, sound brings us up through the lower chakras

(using body, movement, will, and breath) into resonance

and harmony, information and understanding. It is the prime

transmitter of consciousness itself. Although sound may

be the primordial ingredient of existence, it is

consciousness--created from its vibrational impact--that

creates and maintains the very web of life.

 

Eastern Body Western Mind by Anodea Judith