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.
My opening section was about being aware of your constant connection to the sacred in your life—whether it’s during your yoga practice or while doing the dishes. It is through the energy of the crown chakra that we fully connect with our Source. It is through this connection that we become whole.
Experiencing the sacred in every aspect of your life reminds you that there is no place where God isn’t. I think we all innately believe that but we forget to look for it. We forget to communicate with our Source. We forget. But your Source never gives up on you! God is communicating with you all the time. You just forget to notice.
All you have to do to strengthen the connection is ask, and if you forget to ask, the Universe just might remind you to do just that! When you increase your conversation with Spirit, you activate your Crown Chakra.
Do you forget you are loved and cared about and the Universe wants to hear from you? There is nothing new with the concept of asking the Universe for a sign or message and expecting to receive an answer, but how many of you, I wonder, really expect to receive an actual answer? I think experience makes us all believers, don’t you? How about believing you’ll hear back at the get-go because you have faith in the unseen?
Blessed are those who believe and have not seen. ~ Jesus
I’ve often used the famous quote “You’ll see it when you believe it.” Do you think, perhaps, the biblical quote above refers to the blessings of then seeing what you believe because you believed?
I’m not sure when I started to receive messages “between sleep and awake”—the magical ‘tween time, but I’ve come to treasure the messages when they do come. My regular readers know this is how I came to call my business “Better Day Yoga” . Sometimes I go for months without a “message”, or so I think. Perhaps I’m not listening. I mean, why would the Universe, or anyone, take time to talk to you if you’re not paying attention, right? Are you “on alert” to the signs and messages your Source is sending you every day?
Maybe it was my lack of “being on alert” that caused the Universe to lose patience with me. It knows I sit up and take notice when a message comes in threes—so it delivered the message to ask for a message—three times.
The power of three
How many of you believe “things happens in threes”? Three is a very auspicious number. Trinities appear in many of the world’s religions and cultures—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; Mother, Maiden, Crone. The lucky “cat with nine lives” derives from the auspiciousness of three. Nine is composed of three trinities (9 = 3 x 3); and is considered to be “sacred three times”—the highest expression of sacred.
When asked for a lucky number, most pick either three or seven. We view and judge our world based upon threes—good, better, best; this, that, and the other; too warm, too cold, just right, etc. A trinity of sevens—777—is considered very lucky!
I, for one, sit up and take notice when something comes to me three times. Being intimately connected with all that I am and all that I do, my Creator knows this of me. I’ve often said that the Universe will communicate with you in the way most likely to be heard and accepted by you. We are each different and unique individuals with our own history and our own beliefs. Something meaningful to my history may not even make it on your radar.
The first message came to me through my usual inspirational, random readings from one of my favorite books: Oracle Within by Dick Sutphen. This particular reading suggested that right before you go to sleep ask for dreams that will assist you in understanding what is holding you back. And here’s the part I like—it suggests asking that the dreams be received literally, not symbolically. (I remembered thinking, “I can ask that?! Why didn’t I think of that?! Well why wouldn’t you be able to ask for a clear answer? The Universe is, after all, an aspect of your Higher Self.) Ask that you remember them immediately upon awakening and keep a pen and paper by the bedside for recording.
So that’s what I did. I asked what was holding me back. And, yes—right between sleep and awake the message came—and please know I don’t share this lightly. It said “Omit, not good enough.” Okay, okay. I’ll give you that. Most days I can be my own worst enemy. Hmmm. Do you think that might be holding me back? D’oh!
The second “message to ask for a message” came to me when curiosity got the better of me—as it often does—and I decided to click on a link I saw in the margin of one of my many newsletters. Yes—I do consider these moments a message as well. Why do you sometimes want to click the link and other times pass it by? Nothing is coincidence. I linked to what I considered a magical meditation practice. meant to connect your third eye chakra to your crown chakra allowing you to “connect to and communicate with your spiritual self.” (See the “Breathwork and Visualization below.) This became two Facebook posts on my Better Day Yoga page since the same web page had another suggestion in the column about asking for an answer:
1. Drink a small glass of water before going to sleep at night.
2. While sipping, close your eyes and focus on your Third Eye, the space between your eyebrows.
3. Think to yourself, “this is all I need to do to find the solution to the problem that I have in mind.”
4. Then finish the water.
5. When you wake up in the morning, repeat the process.
~
The synchronicity of similar messages hadn’t hit me yet—until it happened a third time. This time I wanted to find a reading to share during final relaxation/Savasana for my next yoga class. I turned to a new favorite book by one of my favorite chakra authors—Anodea Judith. She co-authored her new book, Creating on Purpose / The Spiritual Technology of Manifesting Through the Chakras with Lion Goodman:
“Deepak Chopra says that the Universe forms itself around your questions. It’s as if your question is a tagline typed into a cosmic search engine that then calls up all the appropriate sites where your question might be answered. It draws information to you.” Isn’t that a cool thought? And isn’t it exactly how it is?! Once you start expecting answers, they appear everywhere because you are aware. The authors suggest you craft your question during meditation, your shower, your drive to work, etc.; and send it out to the Universe. Then prepare yourself to receive it whenever and however it comes.
The “thump on the head” realization came to me as I was sharing this last reading with my students. It finally hit me—the Universe was reminding me, again, that it is in the asking that the messages increase.
So how about getting busy and doing some more asking? Okay? Got it! You don’t need to ration your conversations with the Universe. Treat Source like the old friend that it is. Invite a deeper awareness into your life. Deepak suggests you ponder a question each day. Start a conversation with your Guides—daily. Look and listen every day.
Trust that the Universe will deliver messages to you in ways that you personally will notice—just like you’d expect a good friend to do. Your connection and conversation with Source will grow exponentially once you become aware that everything is a message. Remember your connection. Your crown chakra will fill you with the energy of the Divine. Acknowledge your Divine Source and you will find your Guru within.
Breathwork and Visualization:
Find a quiet spot and take a few moments to relax your body and mind with your breath. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth—big, long, luscious complete breaths. Feel your shoulders relax with each exhale. You might even add the “Jnana mudra”: Connect index and thumb and extend the last three fingers of your hand with palms facing up. The author of this meditation, Ken Keicher, suggests this mudra closes your energy loop. Ken then asks you to “position your hands as if you are holding a ball of energy between your palms.”
Continue your breathwork for the entire session, allowing the rhythm of your breath to bring you to a meditative state. As you exhale, “visualize a stream of energy exiting through your Third Eye Chakra. The Chakra is, in effect, a ball of energy itself, with a channel through the center of it that allows energy transfer. Visualize this energy stream as being white. Repeat this process a few times.
When this has become comfortable, during your inhale, visualize drawing energy into your Higher Self through your Crown Chakra. Remember that your Crown Chakra is violet. Now you have established an inner energy loop, with energy coming in through your Crown Chakra and going out through your Third Eye Chakra. Continue this cycle for as long as you can focus, or if you are on a timed schedule, until you reach your time limit.
This particular meditation session is designed to allow you to connect to and communicate with your spiritual self. Through consistent and continuous daily practice, this increases your awareness, which, in turn, increases your energy frequency. When this channel of communication is open, your intuition and psychic abilities also increase.” Source: Ken Keicher daily emails at the time of this post. Link no longer active.
See some of Ken’s books on Kindle!
Affirmations:
- I live in the realm of cosmic consciousness.*
- I am at one with all life. *
- I live in the awareness that we are one people, one planet. *
- I open myself to experience the depths of my being. *
- I am one with the forces of life. *
- I am at peace knowing that I am protected and guided at all times. *
- I tune my will to that of infinite intelligence. *
- I connect with the highest, clearest vibrations of love in the universe. *
- My path is made gentle and easy as I lift my spirit to the highest levels of awareness. *
- I release my limited view of myself and attune to the oneness of all life. *
- There is no separation between my love and the love in the universe; we are one. *
- Full of thankfulness, I receive the good that awaits me.**
Source:
- *Chakras and Their Archetypes, Uniting Energy Awareness and Spiritual Growth, by Ambika Wauters.
- ** Mudras , Yoga in your Hands by Gertrud Hirschi’s.
Diet and Crown Chakra:
Since this Chakra about connecting to Source, developing awareness and a meditative state, a pure, light vegetarian diet is recommended. Detoxifying foods are also helpful for keeping lightness in the body.
Aromatherapy and the Crown Chakra:
The crown chakra enjoys frankincense, lavender, rosewood, and ylang ylang among others.
Young Living Essential Oils™ for the Crown Chakra :
Crown Chakra (Pineal Gland) / “I KNOW” /
Element: THOUGHT
Frankincense works immediately (as in, it begins working when you
open the cap) on opening the Pineal Gland, which many believe is the
connection that opens one to Spirit communication and communion with
your Higher Power. Prayerfully anoint your crown with one drop neat
(direct application), put one drop on hands, activate the oil’s
frequency by “stirring” with fingertips clockwise 3x, cup hands over
nose/mouth; inhale 3x. (There’s the power of three again!)
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 Crown 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”.
Recently, I found this great write-up on the subject of crystal therapy at Ashley Leavy’s Love & Light Crystal Therapies website (her website moved and I found a blog similar):
Since both crystals and the human body have an inherent energetic blueprint, it is thought that the energies of the body can be balanced and healed by introducing the energetic vibration of a crystal into the body’s energy field. Their perfect forms are a metaphor for the balance and perfection that humans search for in their own lives. Using crystals in this way can actually help to repair energetic imbalances within the ethereal body. Through entrainment, the human body will begin to mimic the perfectly stable, balanced energy of the crystal. For this reason, crystal healing can be performed on anything that possesses an energy field, be it a person, a plant, an animal, or the environment. The stable energetic vibrations from the crystals can be used to re-align and direct the flow of energy within the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, returning them to a state of health and wholeness. Listen to her amazing video on Crystals and the Human Energy Field here:
*Crystal Healing is not meant to replace conventional medicine, but rather to complement and enhance it. The information within this site is purely metaphysical in nature and is by no means medical. Crystal Healing should only be used with the understanding that it is not an independent therapy, but one that is a part of a holistic healing approach.
Some Crown Chakra gems are: Activates the Crown Chakra: Celestite & Blue Sapphire. Calms the Crown Chakra: Charoite, Sugilite, Luvulite. Balances the Crown Chakra: Clear Quartz, Amethyst. Source: The Chakra Bible by Patricia Mercier.
For some of these and other great crown chakra stones, (Indigo Gabbro, Selenite, Amethyst, Lilac Lepidolite, Apophyllite) check out here. I’ve known Jennifer, the owner, for many years and love her products (and her)! I’ve known Jennifer, the owner, for many years and love her products (and her)!
Yoga poses for the Crown Chakra:
All yoga poses essentially 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, Dolphin Pose, is also considered a headstand prep and stimulates both the crown and third eye chakras.
Yoga Nidra is also an excellent way to induce a meditative state and calm your crown chakra. See the “Healthy News” section for more on the benefits of Yoga Nidra.
