If you are familiar with chakras, then you can tell from my logo that I love chakras.  The rainbow-colored spheres within my logo are representative of the chakra system within the body.

If you are unfamiliar, here’s a quick lesson:  There are seven energy centers called chakras (literally “wheels”) that store energy/life force/prana.  They are along the spinal column and correlate to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column.  Each has a different relationship to a gland in the body’s endocrine system.  Each stimulates different organs and systems in the body.  Hatha Yoga activates these energy centers releasing the energy that flows through the spine.  Yoga helps these energy centers/nerve bundles to function correctly clearing blocks that may be there.  Each chakra also is associated with a mental/emotional focus.  In each newsletter I’ll highlight how you can work with a particular chakra to correspond with the season. ~

This month I’m suggesting you focus on being present, on the “now”, and accessing your spiritual essence so you can have access to the small wonders in your life which give your life meaning.  The crown chakra energy gives life meaning.  When the crown chakra is balanced, you experience peace and notice the small wonders in your life.  You experience fulfillment.

The crown chakra creates that inner calm of meditative moments.  The crown chakra is on the top of your head and vibrates to the color violet.  It is the fastest vibrating chakra and brings us closer to oneness with the Universe.  It is associated with knowledge and understanding.

“..it relates to questions like ‘Why am I here?’ and statements like ‘There must be more to life than this.’  These issues may never be looked at.  On the other hand, the action of exploring them may be the beginning of a radical change of life and work.” – Healing with crystals and chakra energies by Sue and Simon Lilly.

I think that when you focus on your inner presence, you define yourself less and less by outer standards.  You experience fulfillment because you have all you need inside.  The outer standards don’t matter anymore because there is no more “outer”.  There is no longer a separation between yourself and others—all is seen as “self”.  We are all one.

Having an open mind and the ability to question the status quo is an example of a balanced seventh chakra. When our seventh chakra is balanced we experience our own limitless nature. We are connected to spirit, but not addicted to that connection.

When your crown chakra is balanced, you experience fulfillment because you bring what is in you out to the world through the energy of peace.  “Once we start living from and within the crown chakra, we start to be thankful for our lives exactly as they are.”  The Book of Chakras by Ambika Wauters.  This inner calm draws others to you allowing you to be a channel of healing energy.

Being a channel of healing energy relates back to the violet color this chakra vibrates to.  Healing is represented by the color violet—the blue giving detachment and the ability to be devoted to the flow of energy, and the red supplying motivation to be of use to others.

Violet is also associated with imagination and inspiration.  Put violet in your life when there is:

• A need to rebalance life
• A need to speed up the natural healing energy of the body
• A need to use the imagination in practical ways
• A need to integrate new skills into everyday life
• A need to remove all sorts of obstacles in life
• A need to calm hyperactivity, or energize lethargy and depression.”

Source:  Healing with crystals and chakra energies by Sue and Simon Lilly.  (See the gem section below for some gem therapy to help bring violet into your life.)

The grounding root chakra vibrates to the color red. Just as the violet color of the crown chakra uses both red and blue energies, staying grounded in your body helps to stabilize the crown chakra.  This can be achieved as simply as eating and drinking pure foods, getting rest and exercising the body.  The crown chakra reminds you that God is in you—so treating your body like a temple is appropriate, isn’t it?

We need rest, tranquility, and peace to contemplate the small wonders and mysteries of life. Doing regular yoga and meditative practices develops both the root chakra and the crown chakra.  Daily reflections ground you—such as noticing the small wonders that present themselves in your day.

According to A Handbook of Chakra Healing by Kalashatra Govinda, “Normally a strong, healthy crown chakra ensures a long, healthy life. Chakra work can stimulate the crown chakra, thereby protecting against chronic illnesses and promoting the body’s own natural healing processes.” She lists a weakness in the immune system as being an attribute of a weakness or block in the crown chakra. She reminds us that all the chakras work together toward a healthy body, and that the best way of enhancing the crown chakra through natural healing methods is to engage in intensive work on all the other chakras.

One of the ways our seventh chakra can get out of balance is when we become attached to results and outcomes. We then believe that it’s our striving and effort that controls the outcomes of our life.  Then we have rigid belief systems—such as believing in the body’s inability to heal as we get older, and have a closed mind to thinking anything else is possible.  When you have a balanced crown chakra, you understand that “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”—John Lennon.  We can handle whatever happens because we’re okay with what is.

My May 2010 newsletter referenced a wonderful book on the subject of “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie.  Becoming attached to results and outcomes—a sign of an unbalanced crown chakra—can be painful when things don’t go as planned.  Byron uses something she calls “The Work”.  “The Work” consists of four questions and a “turnaround”, a way of experiencing the opposite of what you believe.  The questions are:  “Is it true?  Can you absolutely know that it’s true?  How do you react when you believe that thought? Who would you be without the thought? Byron says that “when I believed my thoughts, I suffered, but that when I didn’t believe them, I didn’t suffer, and this is true for every human being.” She says anyone can do “The Work” by visiting www.thework.com.  The Website includes free materials to download, audio and video clips, a network of Work facilitators, etc.

“The seventh chakra is about opening ourselves up to the spirit of creation living our lives through divine guidance and seeing the world with a sense of wonder, love, amazement, and unity, as we did as a small child. When you reach this ultimate balanced state, you are truly at peace with yourself and the world. You emanate love, wisdom, and compassion.” Anatomy for Yoga, Nicky Jenkins & Leigh Brandon.  “Seeing the world with a “sense of wonder”—that’s what this month’s focus on “small wonders” is all about.

So while opening up the seventh chakra is associated with psychological maturity and spiritual development, I think it’s the sense of wonder and the amazement of a child as described in the previous paragraph that is so important here. “That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don’t remember what it’s like to be twelve years old.”— Walt Disney: Was founder of Walt Disney Productions.

What a wonderful chakra when balanced!  We cultivate the ability to be mature enough to know when it’s time to play—to do something as innate as “wonder”.  How did we forget?  It’s time to remember.

Breathwork and Visualization:

Affirmations:

• God is in me, above me, below me, and around me at all times.
• I seek the highest truth and the most healing ways to live my life.
• I honor and protect my divine spirit.
• I know that all is good despite appearances to the contrary.
• I look within where I am safe, loved, and protected.
• My spirit is eternal.  It loves beauty, harmony, peace, and joy.
• I trust that my highest good and greatest joys are unfolding now.
• I am grateful for all the good things and people in my life.
• I accept who I am and honor the spirit within me.
• I live in joy and gratitude for the goodness that fills my life.
• I appreciate the beauty of Earth and will honor and protect it as well as I can.
• I know my higher purpose is being fulfilled now.
• I trust God to show me the next step in my process.
• Goodness and joy are mine in all situations.
• I am thankful for the awareness and insight I have into the profound mystery of life.
• I honor all people, all religions and all spiritual paths.  Each leads to God.
• Thank you for my life, for who I am and for what you have allowed me to become.
• I am connected to and part of the Universal creative energy.

Sources:
The Book of Chakras, Ambika Wauters.
Power Mudras, Yoga Hand Postures for Women by Sabrina Mesko.

Diet and the Third-eye Chakra: The crown chakra enjoys a pure, light vegetarian diet.

Aromatherapy and the Third-eye Chakra: The crown chakra enjoys frankincense, lavender, and rosewood, among others.

If aromatherapy interests you, I use Young Living Essential Oils™ which are therapeutic, food-grade oils.  Please inquire if you are interested in purchasing a favorite scent and I can add your request to my personal monthly order.  Essential oils raise the vibrational frequency of the body. When the vibrational frequency of the body drops, we become more receptive to ill health: http://justalist.blogspot.com/2008/03/vibrational-frequency-list.html. Therapeutic-grade essential oils are great to have in your arsenal of health promoting natural products.

Gem therapy and the Third-eye Chakra: Gemstones amplify the energy when placed in contact with your chakras.  For those of you unsure on this subject, consider that it’s scientifically proven that everything is energy.  Nothing is really solid.  Why wouldn’t the energy of a stone work effectively with the energy in our bodies just as some research speculates that the energy of computers, cell phones, and microwaves may affect our bodies?  At the very least, I find that holding a favorite stone is like a talisman for me, or a “worry stone”.  As my favorite author, Wayne Dyer, likes to say, “If it’s a placebo effect, I’ll take two”.

Some Crown Chakra gems are: Amethyst, fluorite, sugilite, diamond, and Alexandrite, among others.  “Violet stones combine the vibrations of practical, down-to-earth red energy with the energy of blue—the expansive, spacious, undefined flow of peace.

Combining the two extremes allows the violet stones to bring a state of balance wherever it is required, while having a special focus on the workings of the mind.  Violet stones help the mind to become more organized and orderly.  This can aid where there is restlessness and difficulty sleeping.  Dynamic rest and effortless action are the characteristics qualities that violet stones can bring to our lives.”  – Healing with crystals and chakra energies by Sue and Simon Lilly.

If gem therapy interests you, you can find a great selection at www.crystallinelight.com. I’ve known Jennifer, the owner, for many years and love her products!

Yoga poses for stimulating the Crown Chakra:

All yoga poses are essentially grounding and activate the chakras.  Yoga postures and breathwork are intended as preparation for meditation—stimulating both the third-eye and crown chakras.

Yoga without the connection of breath awareness is simply a stretching practice. So a consistent yoga practice stimulates all the chakras, as does the many breathwork practices outlined in the current and past newsletters.

Although not necessarily yoga, “dancing connects us with the higher realms of the divine.” And “Meditation can help you connect with your inner self.” The Book of Chakras, Ambika Walters. Hare pose, Half Shoulderstand as well as Headstand—if they are in your practice, are also stimulating to the crown chakra.  This month’s highlighted pose, the tortoise pose, was also chosen for its contemplative aspects.