* * * SIXTH CHAKRA * * *

[Guest guest]

Day Six - Sixth Chakra

 

" We don't see things as they are. We see things

as we are. " Anais Nin

 

Element:::Light

 

Name:::Ajna/To Perceive and Command

 

Purpose:::Pattern recognition

 

Issues:::

 

Image, Intuition, Imagination, Visualization,

Insight, Dreams, Visions

 

Goals:::

 

Psychic perception, accurate interpretation,

imagination, clear seeing

 

Color:::Indigo

 

Location:::Forehead, brow, carotid plexus, third eye

 

Orientation:::Self-reflection

 

Basic Right:::

To See

 

This right is damaged when we are told that what we

perceive is not real, when things are deliberately hidden

or denied (such as parental drinking), or when the breadth

of our vision is discounted. When children see things

that are beyond the scope of their understanding,

or when angry or frightening scenes occur frequently,

children diminish their own ability to see.

This may affect both physical vision and subtler psychic

perceptions.

 

Affirmations:::

 

" I see all things in clarity. "

" I am open to the wisdom within "

" I can manifest my vision. "

 

Identity:::

 

In the sixth chakra, we expand into our archetypal

identity, transforming the individual I into something

transpersonal. Our personal story is now seen as an

event in a larger story. If we suffered from poor mothering

because our mothers were not supported, we carry a piece

of the archetypal story of the degradation of the Mother

Goddess—the loss of the archetypal Mother. The power

that our mothers lacked was the same power that has

been stripped from women over millennia, stripped from

the archetype itself. Those who suffered from distant

fathers carry a piece of the larger story of industrial

revolution, of disempowered men removed from their

families, and the distant Father-God archetype.

 

We enlarge our understanding of Self as we find our own

life themes reflected in fairy tales, mythology, movies,

and news stories. We experience self-reflection in the

larger system. We realize we are players in a much

larger drama, riding the waves of the cultural tide's ebb

and flow. As we mature at this level, we consciously

embrace the evolution of the archetypal symbols that

speak to us. If we take on a crusade for the preservation

of the ancient forests, we are doing more than just saving

trees—we contribute to a larger archetypal cause.

 

Demon:::

Illusion

 

Illusion wrests our consciousness from open-minded

perception, fixing it upon a frozen image. An illusion is

a static image, displaced in the stream of time, and is for

that reason unreal. The illusion I hold of how something

should be is usually an image of what it currently is not.

My attachment to it pulls me out of present time, where I

might see realistically. My fixation on my body ten

pounds thinner fails to appreciate my body the way it is

now. My illusion of how a relationship should be makes

me criticize all the places my relationship falls short of

that image, and I fail to see the meaning these issues

might have for me.

 

Illusions are held in place by an investment of psychic

energy. When we fixate on an image, everything

becomes food for its embellishment. If we think someone

dislikes us, we take the slightest disharmony as proof.

A hypochondriac takes the slightest ache as proof of

illness. When we invest in an illusion, it ties up our energy

and perpetuates the attachment. The more we are

attached, of course, the more energy we need to invest,

and it is here that we run into the danger of obsession.

Since illusion does not feed back the energy we invest, it

does not bring satisfaction or completion and, like an

addiction, continues to lure us into its false promises.

 

When illusion is fed by a sixth chakra excess, it becomes

obsession or delusion. Obsessions fix an unusual amount

of energy on a particular issue; delusion assembles

elaborate illusions around a central theme. Removed from

the grounded connection of the first chakra, the upper

chakras spin wildly, like an engine with the clutch

disengaged—lots of activity with no forward movement.

The more we invest in an illusion, the harder it is to let

go of it. Sealed in, we are trapped into repetitive cycles

that keep us from true understanding.

 

Seeing Our Way Through

 

Opening the Third Eye

 

As we enter the brow chakra, we look back at the steps

behind us with new vision. Adding indigo to our ever

expanding bridge we now have enough colors to see that

we are, indeed, building a rainbow. Once we see what

the pattern is becoming, we can intuit the steps

necessary to complete it. Our sight gives us

guidance. We can see where we have been, where we are

now, and predict where we are going. This

consciousness lets us know what to do, which explains

why the sense of sight is classically related to the

third chakra, even though the sixth chakra is about

seeing. Without vision our actions are mere impulses,

but with vision they become creative acts of will in

the service of transformation.

 

The element of this chakra is light, a higher and

faster vibration than that of sound in the chakra

below. Through light, we are blessed with the ability

to see, to take in from a distance the shape and form

of things around us. This miraculous act of seeing is

the basic function of this chakra, but this implies

far more than seeing with our physical eyes. Physical

perception tells us that something exists, but only

the inner sight can tell us what it is.

 

While our physical eyes are the organs of outer

perception, the sixth chakra relates to the mystical

third eye--the organ of inner perception. The third

eye witnesses the internal screen where memory and

fantasy, images and archetypes, intuition and

imagination intertwine on endless display. By

watching the contents on this screen, we create

meaning and bring it to consciousness. The purpose of

the sixth chakra is to see the way, and bring the

light of consciousness to all that exists within and

around us.

 

The final outcome of working through the sixth

chakra--with its archetypes and images, dreams and

fantasies, symbols and illusions--is the emergence of a

personal vision. As we see more and more of

ourselves, we see more deeply into people and

situations around us. As we expand our internal

picture into a larger, more comprehensive worldview,

we inevitably begin to create a vision. This vision

can address world problems and how they might be

changed for the better, or it may only address

something within our own lives. It may be as large as

a vision to create a new society, or as focused as one

about relating to our spouse differently. It is not

the size or scope of the vision that is important, but

the ability to see a new way of being.

 

Ascending to the sixth chakra opens us to transcendent

realms beyond ordinary awareness. This expansion can

radically shift our perspective of daily situations

and bring profound insight and vision. It can also

elevate our understanding to broader levels, allowing

us to embrace a much larger system of being than we

have ever encountered. In expansion of consciousness,

chakra six takes us to a beautiful world of colors and

symbols, dreams and fantasy, archetypes and images.

The possibilities expand through imagination which

stimulates creativity. Our new vista gives us increased

understanding, as we not only perceive the patterns

around us, but also perceive our own place and purpose

in them.

 

Chakra six prepares us for the final passage on the

Rainbow Bridge. With its focus on archetypes, it lays

the groundwork for understanding the intricate dance

of divinity and consciousness that we shall encounter

in the next chakra.

 

Pattern Recognition

 

" The eyes are the gateways to the soul.'

William Shakespeare

 

We see the way by learning to recognize patterns.

Patterns reveal the identity of a thing--what it is, what it

is for, how to relate to it. Too often, we look at some-

thing only until we recognize the pattern and then we

stop. We see someone coming toward us from across

the street. We look at the hair, the body, the walk,

trying to distinguish the pattern until we see who it is.

We say, " Oh, that's Kevin, " at which point we often

stop taking in new information. Opening the third eye

allows us to continue to look; we see beyond and

perceive ever deeper patterns and meaning.

 

Pattern recognition is like playing a game of connect

the dots. At first we see only a jumble of dots and

numbers on the page. But as we make connections

between the dots, an image forms. Even before all

the dots are connected, we can guess the image

because we recognize it.

 

At a critical point in the assembling of information,

the incomplete pattern reveals the whole. While

each of our chakras brings us information, it is the

task of chakra six to assemble that information

into meaningful patterns. This self-reflection leads

to self-knowledge and wholeness.

 

Pattern recognition requires the ability to see

simultaneously into past, present, and future. When

your friend launches into an all-too-familiar tirade

about how he hates his job, you can predict what he

is likely to say next because you have heard it all

before. As a result, you may stop listening to him,

and might not even notice if he says something new.

We take from the past and project it onto the future.

 

Recognition can shut off the possibility of new

information, or it can spare us an experience we would

rather avoid. Our interpretation of the pattern will

decide which we choose. If I find myself in a relation-

ship that reveals a dynamic I have been in before, I do

not need to continue the whole relationship to find out

what is likely to happen. I can choose to remove

myself from the distant or deceitful lover as soon as

the pattern becomes clear. Once we recognize a

pattern, we can intuit what it will become and guide

our actions accordingly. This is the beginning of

wisdom.

 

In the recognition of patterns, we find our way to insight.

Insight is the ability to see within, the " aha " of recog-

nizing a pattern, seeing where it relates to the larger

picture, seeing what it means. It is within the self that

the information from our experiences has been gathering

and is stored in our memory. It is only by seeing within

that we can cross reference that information and

recognize meaningful patterns.

 

Each time we recognize a pattern, we move toward

wholeness. This wholeness has an identity, which gives

it both meaning and purpose. Opening the third eye allows

us to see the big picture, transcend our ego-centricity,

and find the deeper meaning inherent in all things. As

inner sight develops, illusions are shattered, dreams are

integrated, clarity begins, and consciousness extends

yet another step beyond what was available through the

lower five chakras alone. We now access the broad

vision that enables us to see our way toward completion.

 

 

Archetypes

 

" Psychologically...the archetype as an image of instinct

is a spiritual goal toward which the whole nature of man

strives. " C.G. Jung

 

As bits of information assemble and begin to reveal the

identity of the whole, we enter the world of archetypes. If

we see a cat when connecting the dots, we recognize it

because we have seen cats before. It may be a black

cat or a tiger, a skinny kitten or a tailless manx, but all

fall into the same archetypal category of cat.

 

The archetype is a composite of images and experiences

that are grouped together by a common theme.

Archetypes are like morphogenetic fields which shape

our understanding. Like the strange attractors of chaos

theory, they cannot be seen directly, but are apparent in

the events of our lives. Someone who is chronically driven

to self-sacrificing benevolence may be overly influenced

by the positive aspects of the Great Mother archetype.

Someone who lives in fear of being devoured by women

may be suffering from the negative side of this archetype,

the Terrible Mother.

 

Archetypes can be symbolically represented by what is

called the archetypal image. When an archetypal image

is not fully integrated into the ego, then we are subject to

illusion. For example, the Hero archetype represents the

quest to achieve something extraordinary. William's drive

toward success was a partial reflection of the Hero's quest,

but his ego was so fused with an image of conformity

that it negated the possibility of anything extraordinary.

As a result, his success had a feeling of emptiness and

left his soul thirsting for deeper meaning. Sorting out this

difference allowed William to access the deeper archetypal

energy of the Hero in a conscious way and orient his life

toward more soul-fulfilling achievements.

 

Each of the chakras can be correlated to an archetype...

(listed). In addition, each chakra has the archetypal

energy of its associated element (earth, water, fire, air,

sound, light, and thought). The chakra system itself is

a still larger archetypal pattern, similar to Jung's archetype

of wholeness, the Self. Jung saw the totality of the Self

as the central archetype of order in the psyche, the

formative principle of individuation.

 

Individuation itself is also an archetypal process, and

though it differs from person to person, there are common

elements that comprise the archetypal pattern. The

process of individuation mirrors the unfolding of the

chakras, where we reclaim the shadow, establish our

autonomy, integrate our anima and animus, express

our individuality, recognize our archetypal influences,

and integrate all these elements into a greater

wholeness. To recognize an archetypal energy is to

recognize its pattern and meaning, and then guide

ourselves accordingly. To recognize the pattern of

individuation (or chakra unfolding) as it occurs in our

lives, allows us to see where we are, where we are

heading, and what we need to do to get there. Thus

insight directs action.

 

In the sixth chakra we move into our archetypal identity.

This identity is gained through the recognition of images

and symbols that appear in our lives through dreams,

imagination, art, relationships, or situations.

Recognizing the archetypal significance of these

symbols brings us into a larger spiritual framework.

We enter a broader context of understanding, and a

deeper recognition of who we are and what our purpose

is. This is the essential work of developing our

archetypal identity.

 

(more in the book...don't want to overload you...

 

 

 

Eastern Body Western Mind by Anodea Judith