Chapter 18 Begin any deep work with this

 

Based on over thirty years of work with veterans, first responders, and individuals facing illness and trauma, I have found this practice is essential before any meaningful conversation can begin.

When I am practicing any kind of therapy with my patients, I always start with a somatic meditation, starting with a clearing breath using a longer out-breath followed by a grounding procedure, body scan, and central nervous system clearing.  I’m really doing charka clearing, although I don’t always describe it that way. Many people recognize what I’m doing and then we can discuss their experiences using more traditional terms. However, I explore the charkas in a flexible way, not assuming that we will find the conventional issues, colours or images as described by traditions such as Hindu yoga.

I simply ask people to simply focus on the areas of their bodies where they feel emotional tension or unresolved trauma. Then we explore from there- exploring their interoception of sensations, images, colours or memories.

 

There are some basics, however, which can serve as a guide to help you focus, visualize and feel these energy centers.

The word, “charka” means a wheel in Sanskrit. There are seven main chakras along the spine and head, beginning from the root of the spine up to the top of the head, to the crown charka. There are several other minor charkas along the spine and in the hands. If you are doing a charka clearing in a methodical manner, then start with the root charka at the bottom of the spine. This is an area that is often difficult to find, but if you can’t feel this energy centre, then imagine that it is there, and you can feel it. To begin with, simply notice what you feel or sense or recognize about that area. Concentrate on sensations, colours, images or memories that arise when you focus in that area. It is good practice to take one week or any time period you need, per charka and immerse yourself in that energy centre. Journal about what you notice, any of the qualities you find there, surround yourself with the colours you associate with the charka, wear or keep stones representing the charka close by. Sometimes it can take weeks of focused meditation to really ‘feel’ the chakra, as a direct embodied experience.

The Practice

Always start any therapeutic situation with a clearing breath, followed by a visualization of the central nervous system as a channel flowing from bottom to top, and from top to bottom into the earth. See this channel as a passageway of light, clear and traveling through all the charkas.

 Here is the original transcript from the  channeled fellowship called the River, Session 18, 1990. I have left their original language untouched as much as possible, although at times its archaic and a little awkward. Please read with some understanding that this was channeled from a fellowship that is multi-dimensional and unused to English as a means for communication. However I wanted to stay as close as possible to the original teachings for accessibility.

 

River: When you are in a relaxed, meditative state and you have not protected yourself fully by focus, it is then easy to become confused and blurred by the uncontrolled needs and psychic energies of others. Not with any maliciousness perhaps, but just out of control and unaware.

It is always wise before beginning any deep work on the spirit to go throughout the body in a protected way, checking the chakras to see if any influence or need to remove others or others wants from memory. We have spoken up this as a first step, forming energy within, in a right to left motion around that, checking the chacras that they are open, clear and pointing in a direct, outward way, not up or down.

And they will be pointing up or down as one goes through the day and as energy is used, they become out of sync directionally I need to be aligned. For example, the upper shock rose throughout the day become bent downwards, the angle becomes downwards bent as the body becomes fatigued, or experiences hunger, anger, cold, heat, uncomfortable Ness with clothing, the direction becomes lower.

At the same time, if the chakras become too open, they may need to be adjusted. The chakra of the solar plexus is the one that needs the most care. It tends to be easily influenced, easily put out of balance, and quickly becomes either an upward or downward imbalance.

If there is too much thought and machinations in the mind, too much detail, organization, then the solar plexus chakra becomes angled upwards, unhealthily and needs to be gently angled downward, with a straight forward angle, with focus and energy drawing inward, straight from the body.

If there is too many thoughts about fear, loss, survival, then the chakra will be angled downwards and it is difficult to plan, have a vision for the future or be positive about outcomes or goals.

The heart chakra too needs to be checked, perhaps daily. Close your eyes now and check your own chakras, starting with the root chakra, which is always full and open, drawing in from the earth. Checking there, then moving up the spine to the hara, the solar plexus. At this moment now how do you sense the solar plexus?

Julia: Ah, it seems to be tilted a little downward.

River: That is good, because at this moment you are focused on this exercise which is healing you. Gently raise it up so that it is focused and facing the channel, direct it outwards. In that way you allow energy to flow in and out, and memory to float in and out, and the past to dissipate and the future to form itself in its own time.

Whenever the chakras are pointing at an odd angle, or imbalanced, it becomes easier for memory to become stored there, for the emotions to cling to it. If the chakras are inclined in a straight facing out angle, that the chakras can allow emotions to flow in an out, unobstructed.

Sense your heart chakra. Which direction, if any, is it aiming towards?

Julia: I think that it is facing upwards slightly.

River: Can you face it so that it's facing in a 90° angle to your body? In that way, you also lower the body's use and demand of energy from the intellectual headspace and shift to a grounded matrix net of space and use. If the chakras are pointing upwards, all of them, you lose the connection with the environment, with the world, with direct experience and connectedness with others. Instead you are connecting with your own and others’ fantasy worlds. It drains the body, it drains the spirit, and it causes physical disease, mental confusion, and it adds to the earth's confusion.

It is important to check the chakras regularly, check the direction they are facing, and if there are any external drains from your own body, caused by past experiences and memories. Chakras may face up or down, to the right or to the left. If they are facing upwards at an angle, you are too much in your head and the machinations of mind and the illusions there. If they are facing downwards, you are overwhelmed with concerns of survival, heavy emotions, instinct and reactiveness.

If they are facing in an angle towards the left, then you are into receiving and pulling in energy of others. You can be susceptible to the manipulations of others, of being used, victimized, out of control, or of being too much in tune to others. In other words you are giving in to the sense of losing yourself. If the charkas are angled to the right, they are more in an assertive, directive mode, giving constantly but also controlling and limiting oneself, others and the environment. Each are in imbalance.

Julia: What about the crown chakra, mine seems to be pointed upwards.

River: Yes it is naturally looking up. The root chakra is naturally looking down, facing into the earth. Checking those two is important- how are they situated within your head? It is also important to check the balance within the internal cranium chakra that is below the crown chakra. The crown chakra is not so much in the very skull brain itself, it is at that point above the head that is connected with past, future, all matter, all knowing us, is, and is your connection to the River.

The crown chakra is the most important Chakra, the most powerful chakra for balance, for growth. All awareness at some point should be put there during meditative exercises, visualizing that chakra being open and that it rises from the skull, but does not originate there. Visualize the energy in your crown charka, that like the root chakra, an inward imagining.

Julia: Sometimes when I'm in deep meditation, I feel a strange sensation above my head. It's as though something is rising above my head and expanding outwards.

River: Hmmm, up above your body?

Julia: Yes.

River: It is the energy that you have channeled up through your body, through your backbone out through each chakra, which rises, through the crown chakra, continues up to a space above the head. It is there that it radiates out and down, creating an aura around the body. It has gathered all points along the way, all identity along the way and who you are at this point. It has been called the Thousand Petal Lotus. But that is not what it was originally, and has not always been for all people as that. Some have seen the opening of the crown chakra as a many faced spirit, a guardian of the self. Created by the self, for by drawing up energy through the chakra channels, it draws up with it, essences and memories of you, like an odour or ether that rises through, ever changing, ever changing, to spread out throughout the body as an identity of who you are.

It is this what you communicate to others, and all matter and all beings. It is this that you sense in others, and in all matter and in all beings.

Julia: So, this feeling of elevation and expansion is the opening of the crown chakra?

River: It is not the crown chakra, it has access to the crown chakra directly through the skull. It is connection to Soul. The last chakra is the crown chakra but also connected to it is the third eye which it has a different purpose. It has the purpose of sensing in other ways than physical ways and communicating in other ways. It is as if it were the arms, eyes and body of the Soul it communicates and knows.

All the chakras are connected through this spinal column, through each side of the spinal column, and in this way, they are one chakra was many outlets.

When you do your work on the life meditation however, we do not suggest that you work on your chakras at this time. Work on your physical body, on your aliveness on life. What is it to be fully alive, here? Is that understood?

Julia: Yes.

River: Are there further questions? It seems that we have taught much during these questions and perhaps it is time, and it is a good way to teach, through questions- since at this time there are no more teachings for today. Are there further questions?

Julia: No more questions on the life teaching- but some questions about charkas. The bottom chakra points down, but the other charkas point where?

River: They point straight out from the body. You may visualize your spinal column as a straight rod, of course it isn't. From the central spine, there are channels that come out like plumbing! At the right angle to the spinal column. They open the energy directly radiating outwards and directly is drawn inward. Each of the charkas are rising, except the crown chakra, which is connected of course, it is the end of tube too.

There are in fact two tubes running beside each other, so closely tided, that they share one part of themselves. Energy rises in up one side and down the other. It is as if the two channels are fitted together like this with the body. (Channel motions with hands to show up and down) Energy rises up through one and is drawn down by the other. On the left side of the body, the energy is rising on the right side of the body energy is descending. (For a right-handed person, the opposite for a left-handed person.)

At the top of course the energy rises up and continues, radiating outward, on the other side the energy is drawn down through to continue out through the root chakra, down to the earth, into the sentience of all beings. Imagining it in this way will make visualization easier and creativity can then be applied for your own personal technique. Is this clear?

Juliet: Yes, why do I feel uncomfortable in my hara sometimes?

River: Check now which way your hara is facing.

Julia: I think it is facing downward.

River: Raise the hara so that it is facing directly outwards from the body. It is blocked, not badly, but slightly blocked. Reach there and in some way, unblock it- in your own way, maybe by visualizing a rug or a layer over it, whatever it is uncover it. You may find it is plugged quite far back in time and memory. Then you need to draw quite far back, drawing, drawing, drawing until finally there is nothing more to bring up.

Then the energy is clear and radiant. Please do this. We suggest that there is a person attached there, a mother entity, perhaps you should remove this person. Right now, adjust the hara so that it is facing downward again. Yes, it feels clear now, sometimes pressure must be placed within to unblock. Visualizing it, opening it so that energy radiates out.

At this point you may feel a flush of heat, or a tingling feeling at the base of the spine. This is perfectly normal.

Juliet: I thought that it turned colour.

River: Perhaps from a dark to a light.

River Julia: I saw my hara as being gold.

River: Yes, gold is a good colour for the hara. Seeing it floods out, so that the energy is continuous. It needs to be checked regularly.

Julia: Who is the person in my hara?

River: It is one of your family members. It is perfectly acceptable to have family members attached to the hara. But you may not need or want them attached, and with love and healing remove them, and say that it is not necessary anymore. That care in the relationship can continue without the inner psychic attachment.

It is as if you bow to the sun to thank it for its radiance, but now you need another kind of relationship. Of course it is possible to have attachments with agreements, and there is no problem with that. It may be important to have that connection and it may be that you yourself can follow up connections from your body to others and that is something that you may decide to continue.

Where are the attachments? If you find a cord radiating from your hara, from your heart chakra, or from any chakra, that binds you, connects you with another. Look at it carefully. Ask yourself, is it necessary or needed? It may be, or it may not be. Being aware of it is important however

Making conscious choice is always far better than an unconscious choice. Are there further questions?

Julia: Yes, I also came across blocks in my second chakra when I was meditating on my waist.

River: And did you put life into your ovaries, did you fill them with life?

Julia: Yes.

River: And where did the life go?

Julia: It seemed to go down into the earth and into the first chakra.

River: That is a good direction for the energy to go. And radiance from there goes into the earth and into all things and that is good too. For women it is a good place to restore earth energy, and for men also.

Julia: How would a man meditate on the second chakra and visualise the energy going into the earth?

River: They would meditate on their testicles, more than anything else. The penis is not as important in that case, it is the carrier of the testicles.

For males and females to centre liveliness there, in the second chakra, is to let it naturally drop back into the earth. It is not only to unite their generative power with the earth as a whole but it is requiring A reciprocal regeneration back into their own lives. In this case, it is a healthy thing to do, it is a healthy way of ensuring your body remains healthy.

It is always good to draw up energy, life from the earth herself. For by earth, we do not meet the physical planet earth only. The essence of earth, the essence of all of earth as one whole, in space and time. For earth, to be envisioned by a human should not be seen as one life, because life flows backwards and forwards in time, as the great Net, it is the Great Net.

By drawing energy upwards into our lower chakra, into the ovaries, you use and draw up that energy. So next time you do this exercise, if you can do it by focusing on your ovaries, first of all open downloads then upwards also.

River: Are there further questions?

Julia: No thank you. I think I have lots to work on here until next week.

River: Greetings then. Joy in the journey.

 

These instructions on somatic and nervous system clearing are particularly significant in our society that is overly concerned with cognitive functioning and perseverating with egoic functions of intellectual problem solving. These imbalances give rise to disconnection with themselves, others and with the Earth herself. The are important chakras are below the heart, which can help us develop deep connections with Gaia, with all beings and all life.

Our human society at this moment in time is largely blind to interconnection with all life on our planet, not metaphorically, but in reality.  We have created filters on our ideas and believe that “I am an isolated person who struggles in a chaotic, whimsical universe which appears to have little or no meaning, little or not justice and little or no love.” From these beliefs arise war, violence, social disharmony, hegemony, and imposed oppression on others.  

Perhaps more meditation on the first three chakras with a theme of aliveness, interconnection and joy would bring us more quickly to a sane society.

I have written previously about clearing the charkas from unwanted influences of others. Please check out those techniques and let me know in the comments how it went for you.