Ayurvedic therapy is a truly holistic approach to achieving and maintaining wellness based on thousands of years of scientific study.
Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old healing tradition from India that teaches us how to enrich our lives by staying in harmony with nature.
Here is a very brief introduction into Ayurvedic theory.
All matter (including the body) is composed of 5 elements which are the building blocks of existence. Living matter has three forces comprised of these 5 elements which govern all psychophysiological processes. These three forces are called doshas.
The term dosha means ‘that which causes things to decay’, reflecting the fact that when out of balance (with our constitutional nature or our environment), the doshas are the causative forces in the disease process. The names of the doshas are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. The doshas are the 3 primary energetic principles which regulate every physiological and psychological process in the bodymind. A harmonious state of the 3 doshas creates balance in the body, mind, and emotions, ~homeostasis~ and is the foundation of good health. Any longstanding imbalance in the doshas manifests as disease.
Vata means ‘that which moves things’; it is sometimes translated as wind. Vata is comprised of primarily air with ether being a secondary element. It is the moving force behind the other 2 doshas, which are considered incapable of movement without it. It is responsible for all of the body’s activities and sensations. It is responsible for the movement of air in and out of the lungs, blood through the circulatory system, and thoughts through the mind. It promotes mental balance and comprehension.
Pitta means ‘that which digests things’. It is primarily fire with water as a secondary element. It is responsible for all chemical and metabolic transformations in the body, as well as for heat production. It also governs our ability to digest ideas and impressions and to perceive the nature of reality. It stimulates the intellect and kindles the capacity for enthusiasm.
Kapha provides support and substance to the body. It comes from a word which means that which holds things together. It’s primary element is water with earth as a secondary element. It gives strength and stability, both physical and psychological, and governs human emotions such as love, compassion, forgiveness, loyalty and patience. Kapha can bestow resistance against disease and can support the healing process. Where Vata and Pitta effects are active on the body, Kapha acts to restrict these 2 forces and prevent their excessive manifestation.
Together the 3 doshas govern all the activities of life: catabolism, (vata), metabolism (pitta), and anabolism (kapha). When vata is excessive, there will be therefore excess catabolism, resulting in a breakdown or deterioration of the body’s natural defenses. Excess pitta dosha results in disturbances of metabolism and heat production including infection. Increases in kapha dosha results in increased tissue growth and weight gain.
Another fundamental idea in Ayurveda is that of ama. Ama is the result of all undigested foods (and experiences; even thoughts!). It begins (usually in the mind, then) to accumulate in the GI tract, then overflows into other channels in the body such as blood vessels, capillaries, and lymphatics where it can cause obstruction. In addition to grossly physical effects on the body, ama also has subtler consequences on the vital energies, mental clarity, and emotions. If allowed to remain, it eventually becomes toxic and accumulates in tissues of the body where an individual has a predilection for disease. As a consequence a disease condition manifests and we give it a name: Arthritis, high blood pressure, gallstone, bronchitis, cancer, depression etc.
Disease manifests as the result of excess accumulation of any of the 3 doshas or ama. Pancha karma is the therapeutic means by which excess doshas and ama are eliminated from the physiology.
About the Author
The Ayurveda Health Retreat contains a group of dedicated health professionals seeking to combine the best of conventional and ayurvedic medicine. We have an Ayurvedic Practitioner, a Doctor of Naturopathy, an Acupuncture Physician and several Massage, yoga and meditation teachers and Reiki therapists. They have studied Traditional Ayurveda under such great teachers as Dr. Vasant Lad, Dr. Pankaj Naram, and Dr. Syama. They have been taught the ancient art of Kerala ayurvedic massage and pancha karma.Their main center is in north central Florida in the small historic town of Alachua (20 minutes north of Gainesville and 2 hours north of Orlando). Its Main Street has gift shops, restaurants and many other shops to browse through. There is an abundance of natural beauty in the area. The beautiful wooded parks, crystal clear waters of natural springs, rivers and lakes are only 20 minutes away and are a wonderful place to walk, swim, and connect with nature. The center offers 5-8 and 12 day retreats. Stay from 3-21 days is permitted. For more information visit their site at www.ayurvedahealthretreat.com .
What is it that makes our hearts beat and lungs breathe in and out? What is the power that creates and moves the billions of cells that form and sustain our bodies?
We call this invisible force Ki or Vital Energy and it manifests itself as electrical fields and currents circulating all around our bodies. This energy moves through a network of channels that carry it to every cell and organ. It is the fundamental force that controls to perfection every function of our body. When our Ki is strong, balanced and flowing well we are healthy, and furthermore have strong resilience and self-healing power to overcome adverse external influence such as injury, infection or a polluted environment.
Understanding Disease
The root cause of disease is an imbalanced or weakened state of Ki. We call this situation an energy blockage. Accumulations of negative energies or environmental toxins will modify, slow down or stop the invisible circulation of Ki. Just imagine a dam that stops the flow of a river and changes the life support system of all animals living in its vicinity. With blocked energy our body’s systems become unbalanced and our vital organs and immune system weaken. As a result we are more likely to become sick and are vulnerable to viral, bacterial or fungal infection.
The Causes of Energy Blockages
1) Emotions
Emotions have a very powerful effect on the body, more than most people are willing to acknowledge. Our mind controls our energy system, which in turn controls the physical body. Intense negative emotions are linked to various organs. Chronic anger will affect the liver, worry creates stomach problems, grief and melancholy influence the lungs and large intestine and fear the kidneys. Mind and body are inseparable. For every emotional state there is a physical response in the body. 2) Family inheritance – Ancestral Energy Blockages Chronic and genetic illnesses are often rooted in weaknesses inherited from ancestral family energy patterns. Such patterns of blocked energy can be transmitted from generation to generation and influence descendants both physically and mentally. These blockages often manifest themselves in conditions that prevail in the family. Ancestral blockages take longer to open but when they do tremendous healing can be achieved.
3) Environmental Toxins
Excess accumulation of toxins absorbed into the body from pollution in the air, water and food can create energy imbalance and blockage and cause the body to spend its energy dealing with the contamination. This keeps the body’s vital energy from flowing properly and as a result all bodily functions weaken and the body is also less able to eliminate toxins.
The Solution
Every person is born with self-healing power. When mind & body are in balance this healing power can be maintained. But if we lose the equilibrium, this natural power can be disrupted. Being able to take control of our minds as well as our bodies is the most reasonable and effective way to restore our immune system to keep good health. Most people have depended upon passive treatment through external intervention to restore their health. However our body’s system like nature can regulate itself to perfect health if given the proper environment. Suhn Ki Energy provides a unique healing system that directly addresses the root cause of disease and allows for a fundamental restoration of ones self-healing power and basic mental and physical health.
About the Author
The Chun Do Sun Bup method has offered its students around the world profound techniques for healing body, mind and spirit. To learn more about the Ki Center’s Training and Treatment programs or to receive an assessment of your energy condition and a demonstration of the healing power of vital Ki, please contact Suhn Ki Energy Center, 4 West 22nd Street, 3rd Fl. New York, NY 10010, suhnki@kienergy.info 212-604-9595.
Website: www.kienergy.info
You can also contact the International Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Wellness Center. Telephone 617-669-6996. E-mail: boston@cdsb.org
Website: www.cdsb.org
For many baby-boomers, Taoist wisdom brings to mind Bruce Lee’s “Fists of Fury” and the world of forbidden warriors. Yet, it was David Carradine’s portrayal of the exiled Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine, the mystic who wandered the American West in the 1972 hit TV show Kung Fu that introduced this tradition’s hidden spiritual dimensions. Who can forget the Taoist Master who challenged Caine’s errant “grasshopper” ways while dispensing the secrets of the universe in profound poetry borrowed from the Tao Te Ching? Yet Caine’s martial arts mastery was always juxtaposed against his ability to decipher life’s hidden secrets, “the mystery that can be indirectly known but not explained.”
America’s boundless appetite for oriental wisdom over the past decade is reflected in the widespread consumption of all things eastern — from acupuncture and herbs to Tai Chi Chuan and Tae Kwan Do. More recently, the unparalleled success of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sparked a renewed cultural exploration. Once again the West is turning east to de-code the mysteries of body, mind and spirit.
And yet what is it that we seek? For many of us, our fascination with the East reflects a search for wholeness in a mechanistic world — a desire to recover that which has been lost to us in our increasingly homogenized, sanitized, faster and faster paced reality. We long for a way to reconnect with that which is greater than one being, and yet deep within ourselves.
Fortunately, Boston seekers need look no further than the Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Wellness Center for an introduction to Taoist healing arts. “Ki or Vital Energy” training transforms human energy into its superhuman or divine form. Through this art of inner alchemy, one can glimpse into the traditions that generations of sages have turned to for self-healing, self-mastery, and self-realization. What is this miraculous thing called Ki, the invisible force that has the power to revitalize body, mind and spirit? The Chinese call it Chi and the Koreans call it Ki, hence the terms Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Aikido, which all mean “vital energy”. No matter what label each culture assigns, Ki remains the primordial force that results when sperm and egg unite. It is the energy of life in its purest form. In the Taoist view, to understand Ki we must develop an awareness and appreciation for the laws of Nature, especially as they are manifest in human life. In Ki Training, Nature must become our sacred text and indisputable guide for our personal growth and spiritual evolution.
When Ki energy channels are open and flowing, the human being knows no limits. Ki is not only the basic component of matter; it is also the mind of matter. Everything one thinks and feels is transmitted to the body via the energy system. When there is harmony between body and mind, our energy flows smoothly like running water, but when there is discord, it becomes blocked or damned up with congestion, which eventually leads to disease. Learning how to recognize and master the healthy circulation of Ki throughout the body is at the heart of all Taoist training.
Chun Do Sun Bup (CDSP)
Chun Do Sun Bup, which literally means “the heavenly way to recover body, mind, and spirit” is a 6000-year-old Taoist form of South Korean martial arts training. For thousands of years, this discipline was secretly passed down from generation to generation until Dr. Haeng-Yong Mo and his wife Gui-Dai Park began to explore “The Way of the Taoist Immortals” and were called upon to revitalize this tradition for the modern era.
The Grandmasters were to endure 30 years of arduous and often life-threatening ascetic training in the mountains of Korea, until ultimately they were capable of transmitting the perfect balance of yin/yang energy or Ki.
As they wrote in The Book of Heaven, when Grandmasters Mo and Park perfected the “heavenly way” of the Taoist Immortals, they received extraordinary healing abilities. They traveled in Japan, and South America performing miracles and treating thousands of people relieving their illness and suffering. Yet, as they traversed the world, they realized that they would never be able to reach everyone who needed their help. Finally their prayer to “serve humanity” was answered in the Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Training.
KI ENERGY TRAINING
Today there are more than 200 nonprofit International Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Centers operated by Korean and Western Masters who teach this ancient art in South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England. Ki Masters dedicate their lives to cultivation of their healing abilities to serve humanity. Introduced to North American in 1994, Ki Energy Centers are now located in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Commenting on their mission, Master Vera Zachariassen, head of the New York Ki Center said, “First and foremost, we recognize that every person is born with healing power. When the mind and body are in balance this healing power can be utilized, but when we lose our equilibrium this natural power can be disrupted or destroyed. So one of our primary purposes is to teach people how to develop their own innate healing abilities.”
Chun Do Sun Bup is a complete self-healing system that combines the amazing power of Ki Energy Training and Chunsoo or Ki Energy Healing. It offers ways to realign our body and mind with the principles of harmony and beauty that rule Nature. When mind and body can tune back to the energetic frequency of Nature, our vital life force can regain its proper flow and restore healing of the most profound and lasting kind. Nature is unselfish, unbiased and harmonious. Nature gives unconditionally and only asks for cooperation and wise measure. Harmonizing the constantly chattering human mind with the mind of Nature, so that we can receive its healing power, is a long process because Nature heals slowly. But Nature heals best. It follows its own pattern, not ours. Ki Energy Training offers one of the shortest and most direct ways to walk this profound healing path. Ki Energy Training consists of 100 classes divided into 12 steps, performed in a small class setting in sessions lasting one hour. Each class consists of chanting and breathing exercises to purify the mind and refine the energy system; systematized ki movements to revitalize and strengthen the body’s energy circulation; and silent meditation to develop mental clarity and to enhance spiritual development. The training room is filled with the power of invisible Ki, and students learn how to receive, circulate, and retain vital energy.
Ki Energy Training is believed by many to be a natural and lasting solution to such health problems as stress, migraines, back and neck pain, chronic fatigue, food allergies, digestive disorders, anxiety, depression, and other serious illnesses.
Although many health programs deal with the mind and body separately, Ki Training restores emotional and physical balance by disciplining the body and mind simultaneously. As trainees participate in classes and receive healing treatments, they sometimes report that old energy blockages are dissolved, toxins are released, signs of stress and aging are removed and emotional balance is restored.
Ki Energy Healing Treatment
The hands-on application of vital energy known as Chunsoo, or “heavenly hands,” is an integral part of the Chun Do Sun Bup (CDSB) healing program. During this treatment, the Ki Master transmits cosmic energy into the body’s blocked energy meridians through finger pressure and sound frequencies. The sshhh breath sound deeply penetrates energy blockages by combining sound with vibration. A Ki Energy Healing Treatment can take between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the state of one’s energy system. Through this technique, energy blockages can be quickly located and opened, leading to the removal of pain, tension and toxins that are often the precursors of disease. After treatment, the physical body is detoxified, the mind is stabilized resulting in clearer thinking and emotional balance, and the natural flow of Ki is restored to the immune system.
Ki Ancestor and Family Healing
A commonly acknowledged cause of energy blockages is the accumulation of toxins and negative emotions such as chronic anger, worry or grief. Another source of energy blockage is an inherited energy blockage. As the name implies, our parents pass on this type of weakness to us. All energy blockages affect us physically, mentally and spiritually and inherited energy blockages can defy the best efforts of traditional and alternative medicine. Interestingly, both Western and Eastern medicine conclude that certain illnesses are familial such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke. Western medicine would attribute these illnesses to mutations of a gene, while Eastern thinking postulates the influence of our Ancestors unresolved negative mind states and emotions. Through Ancestor Training Ceremonies led by the Chun Do Sun Bup Masters we’re allowed to heal such ancestral energy blockages and to restore new levels of health and well-being to our families and ourselves.
A whole plant is contained in the seed. An entire person is contained in an egg. Every living thing in the world comes from seed. And every living thing in the world dies and falls to the earth. Bodies rot, only to feed the earth and release the seed. That is true rebirth.
Tao is infinite. It is a seed of unlimited circumference, with its center any point in boundless eternity.
Tao is a tiny seed, containing unlimited universes its dimensionless center.
The seed is the whole of what we want to know. The seed is the center. The seed is the source. And the source is the whole of Tao.
— “Everyday Tao” - Deng Ming-Dao
About the Author
The Chun Do Sun Bup method has offered its students around the world profound techniques for healing body, mind and spirit. To learn more about the Ki Center’s Training and Treatment programs or to receive an assessment of your energy condition and a demonstration of the healing power of vital Ki, please contact Suhn Ki Energy Center, 4 West 22nd Street, 3rd Fl. New York, NY 10010, suhnki@kienergy.info 212-604-9595.
Website: www.kienergy.infoYou can also contact the International Chun Do Sun Bup Ki Energy Wellness Center. Telephone 617-669-6996. E-mail: boston@cdsb.org
Website: www.cdsb.org
Have there ever been times in your life when you needed some guidance?… some direction in life, or a bit of help making a major decision? Where did you turn? To a trusted friend? A family member? An astrologer or psychic? Maybe you found some helpful direction from these sources, or maybe not. Did you ever wish that there was a higher source of wisdom and guidance you could turn to? One that is free from human bias, whose wisdom is absolutely trustworthy? This higher source of guidance does, indeed exist, and is closer than you may imagine. It is always available to you.
Each of you has at least one spiritual guide that is “assigned” to you, and stays with you throughout your life to assist you as needed. (This is not the same as your guardian angel.) You also have what is called your Higher Self. Your Higher Self is that part of your consciousness that is one with Spirit, and therefore, always in touch with the Higher Cosmic Wisdom. Your spiritual guide and your Higher Self assure that there are at least two higher sources of guidance available to you.
Now even though this higher guidance is always available to you, when you begin meditating and traveling your spiritual path, an interesting shift occurs. The light of your Inner Spirit begins to shine more brightly, and this light becomes a sort of beacon, signaling those in the higher spiritual realms that your spiritual journey has truly begun. To assure that your journey goes along in harmony with the cosmic plan, you begin to attract various teachers and guides to fill special needs for your soul’s growth.
These wise and loving beings, who are present to help you travel your spiritual path, gently and quietly suggest possibilities and positive choices whenever needed. However, this must be done without interfering with your free will. This is very important, because cosmic law dictates that your freedom of choice cannot be taken away. This is especially true here on Planet Earth, where learning to make choices is an essential part of the curriculum. So your guides won’t make your decisions for you, or tell you what you “must” do. Rather, they will gently whisper suggestions, and then leave the rest up to you.
This effortless collaboration with your guides is occurring more than you may know. Much of the time when you are making life choices, you are receiving higher guidance. (I’m not referring to mundane choices, such as which kind of breakfast cereal to buy, but choices that have a reasonable impact on your life or the lives of others.) You may not be aware of it, but your guides are there, assisting you.
For example, have you ever been heading somewhere and had a sudden urge to stop at a place that wasn’t on your planned itinerary, only to run into an old friend. Perhaps this friend has some information for you - or vice versa - that turns out to be quite meaningful. Or perhaps your meeting leads to some positive new opportunity for one or both of you. These kinds of synchronicities begin to occur more frequently for those traveling their spiritual path. And what’s behind them? It’s your spiritual guides whispering gentle suggestions in your ear. This guidance process can be easy and spontaneous… part of the natural dynamic of your life.
Speedbumps on the Path
However, sometimes you may go through periods when it seems as though the choice-making process is a struggle. You may feel confused, ambivalent, or completely clueless. At these times, something is obstructing the clear flow of inner guidance, as well as the clarity of your own thinking process. What causes this? The most common cause is the constricting anxiety that comes from “over-importantizing” decisions… giving too much weight to the outcome.
What often adds to the anxiety, is the notion that there is one right choice, and we have to discover what it is. There is a tendency to feel - either consciously or unconsciously - that if we make the right choice, The Universe will smile upon us, doing everything possible to support us. Our road will be smooth and easy. Everything will work out perfectly… the right choice will lead us to nirvana.
But if we make the wrong choice… take the wrong road, we fear that we will encounter countless obstacles, and nothing will work out favorably. Although we may blame “The Universe” for making this road so hard to find, it is generally the anxiety of thinking we must find the one right way that makes it difficult.
Now, sometimes there is one choice that is more in harmony with your soul’s plan, and may well lead to greater joy than the other choices. However, when this is the case, The Universe does not obscure it just to see if you can find it. That would serve no positive purpose. On the contrary, it tends to post signs flashing “this way,” all around you, and in every corner of your psyche. And if you do happen to choose another route, The Universe does not withhold it’s unconditionally loving support because of it.
However, quite often there is not just one road that you are meant to take, but several possible roads, leading to several “possible futures” that will all bear fruit in some way. And all will have their joys as well as their challenges. From the higher cosmic perspective, your soul’s growth is the top priority, and life is set up so that even the dumbest choices will open a doorway to growth and valuable spiritual lessons.
Follow Your Bliss
If you ask for higher guidance, more often than you may imagine, your guides will encourage you to do what you love, i.e. to follow your heart’s desire… your highest ideal. Or as the great mythologist, Joseph Campbell put it, to “follow your bliss.” Of course, that excludes anything that will cause anyone any harm. Such choices may catalyze a feeling of elation or excitement within you when you think about them.
On the other hand, there may be occasions when your higher guidance will encourage you to do what’s best for all concerned, even if it does not seem so blissful. In such cases, you most likely know what to do already, but may try to ignore it, hoping your guides will get you off the hook with an easier course to take.
When you begin to understand these dynamics of choice and of working with your guides, things tend to lighten up considerably. You begin to feel free of the pressure, and are less likely to over-importantize, and agonize over decisions. Choices start to come more easily… sometimes instantly, sometimes emerging and taking shape gradually. You begin to trust more in your instincts and intuition. And when you aren’t all knotted up with anxiety, you are way more receptive to the gentle whisperings of your spiritual guides. So the whole process once again becomes a spontaneous collaboration between you and your higher guidance.
Inviting Higher Guidance
Of course, there may still be occasions when a major life choice is not perfectly clear, and you feel the need for some extra help. At these times, it’s best to turn within and ask for higher guidance. In such cases, the same principle holds true… the more you can relax and not get all knotted up with anxiety over the outcome, the easier it is to be receptive to your guides. For these occasions, here’s an easy exercise you can do to get in touch with your Higher Self when you need some guidance.
1. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. Breathe easily and naturally.
2. Imagine yourself in a place where you feel completely comfortable and at peace. It may be somewhere in nature, a room where you feel very comfortable… wherever you feel most at peace.
3. Picture a being of light approaching from a distance. You can see that this being is radiating great peace, love, and wisdom.
4. As he or she reaches you, you realize that it is your Higher Self.
5. Invite your Higher Self to sit with you. Notice how you feel completely at home and at peace in it’s unconditionally loving presence.
6. Briefly explain the situation to your Higher Self, and ask for his or her guidance.
7. Then you can either sit quietly, waiting for the response… or you can carry on a dialogue with your Higher Self.
You may receive an answer immediately, or after a short time. Your Higher Self may give you an answer in the form of words, symbols, pictures, or just a deep knowing. The answer may be very specific, or it may come in the form of a higher truth, which sheds enough light on the situation to help you choose wisely. If you don’t receive an answer while you are sitting, it’s ok. You have still begun the guidance process, and that’s important. Once you have begun the process, your guidance will most likely find you at a moment when you are not trying to find it.
Guidance from your Higher Self or your spiritual guides should always be gentle, and feel kind, compassionate, and accepting. It should never be a command (except in rare, life threatening situations requiring instant action). If a guide tells you that you “must” do this or that, it is not your Higher Self or a higher spirit guide. Simply disregard the advice, and ask it to move along.
Remember, you are being gently guided and lovingly cared for at all times. The more you learn to trust this, the easier it will be for your Higher Self and spiritual guides to assist you, and the more harmonious and enjoyable your journey will be. About the Author
Trained as a meditation teacher in 1973 by the International Meditation Society, Jim Malloy has 30 years of experience teaching meditation. He has taught meditation classes throughout the western and southwestern United States and in England. In 1975 he opened and directed a meditation center on the Oregon coast.
He has been practicing daily meditation for 37 years. To deepen his practice and further his teaching skills, he has studied with some of the world’s foremost experts on meditation from India, Japan, and Tibet… including Maharishi Mahesh Yogi; Swami Muktananda; Joshu Sasaki Roshi; Shunryu Suzuki Roshi; and the 16th Karmapa.
You can learn more at www.meditationcenter.com or contact Jim Malloy by email: jmalloy@meditationcenter.com.
The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more. Below is a brief description of each chakra.
Chakra Seven: Crown Thought, Universal identity, oriented to self-knowledge This is the crown chakra that relates to consciousness as pure awareness. It is our connection to the greater world beyond, to a timeless, spaceless place of all-knowing. When developed, this chakra brings us knowledge, wisdom, understanding, spiritual connection, and bliss.
Chakra Six: Third Eye Light, Archetypal identity, oriented to self-reflection This chakra is known as the brow chakra or third eye center. It is related to the act of seeing, both physically and intuitively. As such it opens our psychic faculties and our understanding of archetypal levels. When healthy it allows us to see clearly, in effect, letting us “see the big picture.”
Chakra Five: Throat Sound, Creative identity, oriented to self-expression
This is the chakra located in the throat and is thus related to communication and creativity. Here we experience the world symbolically through vibration, such as the vibration of sound representing language.
Chakra Four: Heart Air, Social identity, oriented to self-acceptance
This chakra is called the heart chakra and is the middle chakra in a system of seven. It is related to love and is the integrator of opposites in the psyche: mind and body, male and female, persona and shadow, ego and unity. A healthy fourth chakra allows us to love deeply, feel compassion, have a deep sense of peace and centeredness.
Chakra Three: Solar Plexus Fire, Ego identity, oriented to self-definition
This chakra is known as the power chakra, located in the solar plexus. It rules our personal power, will, and autonomy, as well as our metabolism. When healthy, this chakra brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, and non-dominating power.
Chakra Two: Spleen/Sacral Water, Emotional identity, oriented to self-gratification The second chakra, located in the abdomen, lower back, and sexual organs, is related to the element water, and to emotions and sexuality. It connects us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement. Ideally this chakra brings us fluidity and grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change.
Chakra One: Root Earth, Physical identity, oriented to self-preservation
Located at the base of the spine, this chakra forms our foundation. It represents the element earth, and is therefore related to our survival instincts, and to our sense of grounding and connection to our bodies and the physical plane. Ideally this chakra brings us health, prosperity, security, and dynamic presence.
Anodea Judith is considered one of the country’s foremost experts on the combination of chakras and therapeutic issues and on the interpretation of the Chakra System for the Western lifestyle. She is best known for the chakra classic, Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System, (Llewellyn, 1987), an illustrated 540 page manual that has come to be considered the definitive work on the subject. Her most recent written book is the ground-breaking: Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self, released by Celestial Arts in February 1997.
The next time you light a candle, put a little power behind it. As you are about to light the candle, take a moment and state an intention. Say a little prayer, ask for world peace, offer your blessing to someone who needs it or send light to people you know.
So often we use candles to celebrate– birthdays, holidays, religious rituals. Sometimes we light them just for aesthetics and scent, but the act of lighting a candle can be a powerful one. You can use candle lighting as your own private moment to bring energy to yourself or send it to others. The flame of a candle reminds me of the “three-fold flame,” called upon for protection during meditation and other spiritual practices. You can focus on the flame and ask for protection throughout your physical, mental and emotional bodies, or in other words, throughout all aspects of yourself. You can also use candle lighting to honor someone– we use it on birthdays, right! Perhaps there’s a friend or loved one who needs support, you can light your candle and ask that help is sent their way. The act of lighting the candle can also be used to honor someone we have lost.
There’s many candles being made today for specific purposes. Aromatherapy candles are really saturating the marketplace, but check the quality of your candle before buying. Look for manufactures that use essential oils and lead-free wicks. Rapunzel Gifts offers aromatherapy pillar candles and votives that are made right here in the U.S. with high quality ingredients. Our collection www.rapunzelgifts.com/candle includes scents of lavender, sage, rosemary, peppermint, cinnamon, mandarin orange and more. There’s also Herbal Magic Reiki Charged Affirmation candles that come with inspirational affirmations in essential oil scents matched to the intention, www.rapunzelgifts.com/cjhm.
For fun, check out the Gossip Stop and Come To Me candles. These fun and powerful candles are what’s called Hoo Doo, urban magic for urban folk. They come specially blended with instructions on how to use them.
So the next time you’re lighting candles for the table or home, remember to pause for just a moment. Let that light into your heart and then send it back out to those who need it.
