What are the Chakras and their Purpose?

Submitted by Open on Tue, 05/15/2012 - 18:04


A great deal is spoken of in spiritual texts and musings about the Chakras and exactly what their purpose is. Here at Openhand, we view them as 'consciousness exchange points' where Unity Consciousness as the soul infuses with Separation Consciousness as the bodymind. Our lives are greatly affected and influenced by our relative level of vibration within these crucial consciousness centres. Understanding and exploring them will have a profoundly beneficial impact. Here is an extract from Five Gateways offering a perspective on their functions and purpose...

Extract from the book 5GATEWAYS concerning the chakras

"As we step into the corridor leading to Gateway 3, we are likely to experience times of great unrest and turmoil as upheaval begins to take place internally, which is often reflected externally through the circumstances of our lives. We are prone to roller coaster mood swings, one day feeling energised, invigorated and deeply spiritual and the next, perhaps tired, heavy, sombre and disconnected. This seesaw effect is caused by internal shifts in the balance of consciousness principally through the chakras. These are etheric consciousness centres where the soul infuses into the bodymind.

Put simply, it may be considered that each cell in our bodies has two different vibrations present in it. One is the heaviness and denseness of the bodymind (which we may call “Separation Consciousness”), the other is the lightness and expansiveness of the soul (which we may call “Unity Consciousness”). The chakras provide the energetic bridge - the connecting interface between the soul and bodymind. When they are open and vibrating as designed, we experience ourselves authentically as the soul expressed through the bodymind. However, when they are closed down for some reason and their energy is convoluted, incongruent and dense, then there is a greater tendency to identify with the bodymind.

It is here where we get stuck, because consciousness is not flowing freely through the chakras as it was designed to. Due to their etheric nature, the chakra system has not yet been generally accepted within society and has been confined to the world of mysticism and spirituality. However, there is now growing acceptance - although still much disagreement - as to their exact locations and purpose. It is best therefore to use any frame of reference we may encounter, more as a guide and locate the centres through our own experience by bringing continual awareness to them. By working with them and closely monitoring the corresponding effect in our external lives, we can gauge the influence they have.

I have used this approach to yield the following overview of the chakras...

  1. Base chakra: located around the coccyx and genitals, it relates to our connection to the physical plane including our immune system and sexuality. If the vibration here is low, we tend to be over attached and identified with the physical experience. We feel separated from the ‘All That Is’ and have overtly lustful and potentially exploitative sexual urges. As we transmute the energy in this chakra to the higher vibration, we are increasingly released from attachment to the physical plane and naturally aspire to higher spiritual growth.
  2. Sacral chakra: located approximately where the spine and pelvis meet, the sacral chakra is the emotional centre which governs our state of being within relationships. If the vibration is low, then we tend to be overly attached in relationships, needy and jealous. As we transmute the energy and raise the vibration however, we discover increasing sensuality in relationships.
  3. Solar plexus chakra: located on the spine, around the area of the top of the stomach. Its purpose is to accept and infuse higher spiritual knowing into the lower mind - what we may call subconscious mind. Indeed it can be considered to govern the correct functioning of lower mind. When the vibration is low, we are prone to mental programming and distortion and are therefore more susceptible to addictive behaviours such as attachment to caffeine, chocolate, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. When we fully transmute the consciousness here, we are able to take control over the base urges (of the lower animal), expand our consciousness and open up new channels of creative influence through etheric manifestation. “Telepathic Knowing Exchange” can take place from the higher realms into the Third Dimension through this chakra when functioning as it is designed.
  4. Heart chakra: located at the level of the heart, this is the centre where the unconditional love for all life activates, what some call “The Christ Consciousness”. When the vibration is low, it manifests as judgmentalism and the radical adherence to a singular truth, thereby precipitating conflict in our lives and limiting us to the Lower Dimensional Realm. When the vibration here is transmuted however, judgmentalism falls away and is replaced by unconditional love for all life. We become able to see and hold multiple truths and through correct non-judgmental discernment, become able to choose Right Action in line with the guiding hand of Benevolent Consciousness (experienced as a heartfelt pull). When we attain a fully open heart chakra, we begin to unfold into the Fifth Dimension.
  5. Throat chakra: located at the area of the throat, the fifth chakra connects directly to higher mind - our fifth bodily vehicle of expression (see Gateway 5). It governs our ability to receive, interpret and articulate the highest truth from the cosmic library of all knowing. The throat centre provides the direct connection into higher spiritual awareness. When the vibration is low, we tend to be more bounded by the notion of separate identity, thereby limiting us more to the lower dimensions. A low vibration here would manifest as an inability to express and be at ease with authentic reality; we are governed more by the limitations of lower conditioned thinking because of our attachment to false identity. Put simply, we are less able to express our inner truth and be awesomely okay with that. The chakra opens completely when we are no longer internally affected by the outer reaction to our fully expressed truth. We are able to ‘turn the other cheek’ and automatically express higher wisdom at whatever apparent personal cost; thus the doorway to multi-dimensional experience is opened for us.
  6. Third eye: located in the pineal gland roughly in the centre of the head at the level of the eyebrows. The third eye may be regarded as the centre of consciousness for the soul within the body. Whilst we are engaged in the transmutation of consciousness within the lower chakras, we tend to be unaware of it because our actions are governed more by the false self rather than the soul. Put simply, Soul Consciousness from the third eye is swallowed up in identification with the bodymind and its attachments to the external drama. However, as we release these attachments, the vibration in the lower chakras transmutes and then Soul Consciousness is liberated rising up the spine and reconnecting in the third eye with Unity Consciousness flowing ‘downwards from the Source’. This is referred to as “kundalini activation” (fully explained below). When the third eye activates, we become increasingly able to see reflections of ourselves in other people and all life. We are able to identify and align with our true sense of beingness. Thus, the soul’s purpose is now being unleashed.
  7. Crown chakra: located just above the fontanel where the three bone plates of the skull meet. This chakra only really activates when we have transmuted much of the density in the lower chakras and liberated enough Soul Consciousness from bodymind identification. At this point, the crown chakra opens and infuses energy into our highest bodily vehicle - the “spirit light body” (or “merkaba”). This paves the way for correct rationalisation of the multidimensional influences we are experiencing, including for example the underlying synchronistic patterning through all events. As the crown chakra fully opens, multi-dimensional living through the spirit light body becomes a reality for us. We become centred in the universal flow of Right Action and are increasingly able to shift consciousness between dimensions as required by the natural flow of the universe.

Through transmutation of the denser energies in the chakras, we are in effect becoming inner alchemists, changing the very nature of our being from lower levels of dense consciousness to higher vibrational frequencies. Allegiance is switching to the soul’s lightness through each of our cells and we begin the Ascension process in earnest. We can still feel the heaviness and denseness of the physical body, but growing internal realisation consolidates that it no longer defines us. All the while, we are opening and expanding new channels, bringing in the higher energies. Ripples and waves of energy begin to flow throughout the bodymind and our consciousness expands into new dimensions of experience."

Open

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Katie!

Powerful words and images. Watching the video evokes a whooshing feeling inside (as in where did that go!). Continual motion. In and out, like the ebb and flow of the tides. Deeply, deeply cleansing. Light in, debris out. Trinity's "Higher Paradigm" meditation comes to mind as does Rumi's poem "Guest House".

"This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond."

x Cathy

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yeah katie! to me thats pretty much the whole game! welcome, let whatever has to happen happen, observe, integrate, next!

Ain't nobody got time for having freakouts over every little thing !!

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Hey, Katie. This is a really useful insight. I'm feeling (on a deeper level now) that an experience is just an experience and it calls for the same treatment, whether it is pleasure or pain. Holding on to pleasure can cause as much contraction as resisting the pain.

I came across this quote by Fred Alvarez yesterday and the sentiment he is sharing made me very still and peaceful inside. Perhaps it'll speak to you guys as well:

"The energy moves and flows. The mind is like an empty singing bowl that can be filled with many thoughts. You can empty the bowl only by stopping to identify with these thoughts. When you hit the empty bowl with the stick, the sound vibrates into eternity, as I become part of the whole. My identification with “I”, who I “think” I am ceases to be and washes away into infinity. The stars and planets dance, the birds are singing, the water flows and the sun emerges again and I’m still here on this earth… in this world."

With love.

M.

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A big YES to this Katie. Thank you for posting it...just allowing space for it all...rather than resisting the resistance. Like you said...to stay open and keep moving through.

Loved the song and the video...love how we move through the contraction of the tunnel and then come back out into open space...felt right on the edge and yet totally flowing.

Thank you!
love, Jen

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ive been moving through some deep foundation breaking stuff, and I read these words from a friend on fb, and thought to share, I found them very loosening...

'Welcoming whatever I feel and loving whatever happens, feels great.
Way better than being stuck in a never ending argument with myself and reality.
Side bonus...it teaches me how to be loving and welcoming...and joyful!
My new mantra...welcome I love you. I have room for you. Come in. To whatever
arises. I have room for 'suffering' as well as 'pleasure'.

This turned some of the pain on its head, it might help ..?

Hugs K xx

...and I spent the day driving down the coast, listening to Everloving, it reaffirms to me how we are to stay open and keep moving through..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=atyvdC15HFA

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Open, I felt a strong pull recently to re-read your book, Divinicus, to remind myself, once again, of what's going on in the Big Picture. On a deeper level this time 'round of reading it, many of the puzzle pieces fell into place about what I feel and sense about the past/present/future continuum of timeless time and my part in it.

It's fascinating to hear that you were working with a hive consciousness of raptor energy yesterday. I felt such intense energies yesterday, overwhelming at times. It was definitely a "scream" day as per my share above. I'm fully with you. It's crucial to feel and honour our pain and yet not become owned by it. Rather liberate our souls through it. These days, I'm feeling like life here on planet earth is really one big mental institution run by the raptor crazies. In my mind's eye, I'm continually seeing the powerful scene from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest": The Chief breaking through the prison bars, running free. As he said to McMurphy, "Let's go."

Cathy

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There's a great deal going on in 'the field' right now - when isn't there? :-) This may account for a fair bit of what people are feeling. I've been spending time in and around the area of Avebury of late. It's a World heritage site with many megalyths and the general area where most of the year's crop circles appear. In fact I was out there yesterday working with the field and experiencing different flows. It was exceptionally powerful.
    The general theme was that of Pleiadian energy beginning to confront ancient karma with raptor energy. Pleiadian energy is very high vibration - 5th/6th density, felt mostly in the higher chakras. It's a very lovely, soft, playful, mystical kind of energy.

When it came into the Earth's field a few million years back, it's purpose was to help the emerging human consciousness - to help seed interconnected yet unique souls from the collective hominid consciousness. The Pleiadian energy was essentially 'sabotaged' - taken over, suppressed and subjugated in this plane. The raptor energy is dense and controls consciousness more in the 1st and 3rd densities - in the body and mind. It can literally control and take over mind if you're not being fully present. I strayed into an area near Avebury yesterday which contained a 'hive consciousness' of this energy and had to work hard to unravel and release it. In the same area, conversely, there are many other portal sites that are now allowing in the Pleiadian energy which is absolutely wonderful to experience. It's a very light, uplifting and compassionate feeling.
    Many souls visiting Openhand will be star souls, including Pleiadians, who will have suffered some of this karma and needing to be working through it. I wrote about this in the book Divinicus: rise of the divine human. But even if you're not a Pleiadian star soul, each human still has 223 Pleiadian genes, so all will be affected in some way by the unravelling resolution which is now beginning.

People will feel these interplays of consciousness - however they won't necessarily understand their origins and why it's happening. I wrote the book to shed some light on those karmic feelings. It can accelerate the unravelling/integration process. The important thing is to feel into what's going on - not to push it away. Express into the pain fully, then work with it internally to allow it to unravel. At the height of the pain, remind yourself "this is all a transient experience" - that it doesn't define you. Fully honour it, yes, but don't let it own you. Then you come through it as The One - as presence. This unleashes soul through it - a magical liberation. This is the new Breakthrough Approach.
    The important thing to remember is that life is a process, not a destination. If you're processing, and working through, then you're evolving. And that's what it's all about!

Sending loving vibes through the ether. Open *give_rose*

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Although I get that my "come and go" pain is part of my karmic, evolutionary journey this time 'round, personally, I find it helps to rant and rave once in a while as in "The Scream"! Being noble and brave gets to be a real drag, at times! I'm certainly in no danger of sainthood! :)

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AS M. put it, we are a tribe - Cathy, heartfelt thanks for your kind words...<3

Just an update:) : exruciating emotional pain here from a karmic relationship, supported by visions, dreams (honestly, for some reason I thought I wouldn't able to feel such kind of pain anymore - and bingo! :)) ) and physically, my throat hurts so bad I can hardly swallow or talk. Yet I am more and more the Witness of it (in it) all.

ps. During my morning walk in the empty suburbian streets of Budapest, a bus came along to the stop with an ad on its side: 'Breaking Boundaries'. :))

Sending love to you all. <3
Márk

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Pain is an expression of life...
M...I admire your ability to have a sense of presence through this experience and your ability to articulate and translate as it moves through. It's so challenging to be in physical pain. It's feels very vulnerable to have the body feel weakened.

Your grace through this is illuminating. I have experienced karmic pain but am unable to talk about it. It was so symbolic in many ways. It was so excruciating. Yet in those moments I still felt such freedom such knowing. It really slowed me down physically and this even greater appreciation and compassion grew through the fertile ground of pain.

"The fragility of the embodiment" then on the opposite pole is the
unfathomable resilience.

I too had very vivid dreams today, then a thought came to me as I have been thinking of you. What if we are all expressions of a collective karmic experience, processing it through the universal interconnective strands that reflect light. Each an expression of divine beingness brought together sharing this space and time to process a collective karma deeply seeded within the collective sub consciousness pulsating through on a planetary plane of existence. Then a vision of our individual rays flowing through with a sense of healing and transcendence.

Much love
Erica

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Pain is a lonely journey, but being upheld by a tribe that understands inspires courage. The left arm gets numb and painful when the heart activates, but I’m feeling well most of the day now. Breathing into the heart and out.

Open, you are right about the karma. I’m getting many past lives’ flashbacks via dreams, visions and felt sense. This can be quite emotional, especially the vivid dying scenes. I feel the connections of the re-lived events with the current life and it releases some major old attachments. Wow. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing the work, it is just happening on its own. Allowing, allowing as best as I can. There is a fear of letting go of too much, so there is no "me" anymore. Feeling into that too. I know it is the ego.

Mark and Cathy - I loved reading your feedback. It made me feel that we are in it all together. Feels like we're holding hands now.

Thank you, my friends. Your presence is felt and appreciated.

:-)

M.

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Dear M.

I have experienced karmic pain in various parts of my body on and off throughout my life since I was a young child due to surgeries/impairments etc., so I know how wearing and challenging it can be. Your comments indicate you've got the process covered for releasing it in the manner Open affirms.

Mark, I feel the way you do, at times, with regard to your karmic pain. That it seems I'm here to burn away all the dross of the whole world.

I resonate with the truth of this quote by Joseph Campbell:

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

M. and Mark, your bravery and expanded awareness of its purpose inspire me deeply. That said, I know it's not easy. My heart goes out to both of you.

Much Love,

Cathy

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Dearest M.

Since last summer's Transfiguration course we've had quite a lot of similar experiences. Having both of us gone trough what is called a full blown kundalini awakening, it really seems this is where karma is really kicking in. As to the physical symptoms, I have also been experiencing quite a lot of unusual chest pains and sometimes it also feels very hot in that area (I have the most torturing physical pain in my shoulders and upper arms though).

Simultaneously, my attachments, fears etc. continue to be peeled off of me with a skinning knife. Also through the physical pain, we are continuously reminded that our body is the alchemical vessel and/or furnace where we have to burn away all impurities of the old. I must admit, sometimes I feel as though I am here to burn away all the dross of the whole world..:)

I am glad that your test results were negative.
Take care!

with love,
Márk

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I've often worked with people who'll say (for example) "I have a pain in the heart" or something similar. Yet the doctors can't find anything in the physical. Of course the pain they're feeling is etheric pain - of the fourth density - yet experienced through the physical (because all densities are interrelated).

It especially happens when someone is expanded into the energy field - particularly the karmic plane in the Fourth Density. So you activate karma (as experienced here), and then feel it as physical. When in fact it's not.

As always, the way through it, is very much as you have done M. It's all about feeling into it, expressing it by honouring and allowing it. Then feeling into and through it, becoming as-one with it, thereby becoming The One in it. Then you unleash the soul through it, with a tremendous sense of liberation and expansion.

This is exactly "Breakthrough"!

Namaste

Open *OK*

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Thank you for provoking more exploration. Feeling guided by harmony with an innate sense of service, I feel it's ok to be misunderstood. It feels to provide ample opportunities to shift or adapt to continue to reflect the love and compassion that ripples and flows. That's the highest truth that feels to guide. It's also kind of humorous, I'll feel that resistance and think Oh yeah, this is you "helping" again... I feel over time if I am patient and consistent , perseverance will speak for itself. Its ok to not "fit" in and it's showing me that I don't need to compromise to make peace for the immediate gratification to feel good right now as this is a lifelong revelation that is occurring. It shows how durable and resilient one can be even amidst all the self destruction that is occurring on so many levels- so I'll explore that more over the next few weeks as I observe and watch for the patterns to arise

You had brought up Christ Consciousness which is very prevalent. I remember the precise moment when "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do." activated an inner alchemical change within. It was no longer "my" eyes I was seeing through. Everything was in slow motion, moving my body felt so heavy. I remember how green the trees looked, the smell of rain, the sound of my feet on the rocks, everything was so amplified. It was a massive shift which made me feel quite crazy at the time. I can relate to Marye's post, especially the part of it feeling lonesome. Those were some really long years for me yet I wouldn't change one second of the pain as it was the pain that tore me to the core. It was the catalyst.

"I read recently that enlightenment is not simply a state in which the intellect is in possession of questions and answers - it is a state of being in which the full spectrum of Source Consciousness is integrated, synthesized and crystallized into the incarnate body presence: understood in the mind, felt in the heart and made tangible in the body." Thank you for sharing this perspective. I see how you are so committed to see where your path takes you no matter where the rabbit hole takes you, I just saw the reflection of resilience in you. So commitment and resilience seemed to combine in this moment.

Thought to share... I was taking a bath yesterday as well with some Moldavite crystal salts that I came across over the weekend. Honestly didn't know much about it but felt a strong pull. Here's a little info about Moldavite. It says it is etherically carved of spiritual fire. This mysterious green talisman is star-born, formed from nature's violent meteoric impact with Mother Earth. Etched by force and flame as it fell from the heavens Moldavite returned to the earth's surface transformed, a glass of amazing delicacy and grace ready to serve humankind. As a Stone of Connectivity, Moldavite carries an intense frequency, a fusion of earthly and extraterrestrial energies that are quickly felt, often dramatically in those who resonate with its power. Holding Moldavite for the first time often produces a sensation of heat, felt first in the hand, then progressively throughout the body. In some cases the heart chakra is activated, experienced as a pounding pulse, followed by sweating or flushing of the face, and an emotional release that may range from laughter to tears. So much synchronicity within those few sentences. Thank you for sharing your bath story as it lead me to read more, so much interconnectivity.

Much love to all of you, expressing on this forum is such a blessing. Thank you Open for holding this space for all of us to connect.

Erica

In reply to by erica r

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Dear Erica,
You are holding a lovely space with your consciousness. It feels to me so soft and gentle. I so relate to the sense of rightness when allowing my soul to be channelled. It is such a warm feeling and there is no effort in it... Yes, I too find no need for an immediate gratification. The sense of service is also becoming stronger and with that the perspective on the "work" shifted as well. All is more fluid and there is no need for a rigid plan to be put into place. The notion of creating a mental fixed plan seems silly.

Funny that you mentioned the moldavite and its properties. I have a moldavite neckless that I haven't worn for over a year. It is very special to me, but somehow I managed to forget about it. Recently, it's been faintly falling in and out of my conscious mind. I put it back on today and it feels right.

I feel like sharing about the physical pain I've been experiencing recently:

The word “sensorium” is a really good expression. It means the sum of a person’s perceptions about the internal and external world. It seems us humans are mostly preoccupied with the external environment, except when the pain bends us in a half. This just happened to me.

I spent the night at an emergency hospital unit, experiencing excruciating surges of pain in the chest. It was very unsettling because the pain arranged itself so that it resembled symptoms of a well known cardio-vascular condition...I forgot how challenging it can be to honour the raw physicality of the experience and allow it’s fullness to emerge. We are incredible beings and yet I am confronted with the sense of fragility of this embodiment yet again. This has always been a challenge for me hhh...

At the hospital, in a moment between the pain surges, it occurred to me that the physical pain, the vulnerability, the raw somatic experience are a reminder of how alive I am. ALIVE! Pain is an expression of life. It is an experience, just like feeling heat on my skin is an experience. It has different qualities, than other experiences, but they are all unique anyways. I was quite contracted, but somehow the sense of aliveness and warmth took over and I fell asleep on the narrow hospital bed.

I’m back home. The pain still comes and goes. The doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with my body. I am struggling a bit, but also holding space for the new heart that is weaving itself into form. I'm also almost ok with the old one wanting to fall apart a little more.

M.

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Thank you for your kind words, Erika. Your presence is felt <3

I like your reflections. Your sharing feels soothing to me and you are expressing something that is challenging to put into words, so it’s also interesting and provokes more pondering for me. You are asking interesting questions about what is creating what and I do not have an answer. But I have a question: How does it make you feel to be misunderstood when your actions are not interpreted as intended? Why do you think this is happening for you?

We are a living library of interconnectedness, with each of our individual realities being a result of our personal consciousness. I have created mine so I can learn. Others have created their realities to receive learning, tailored to them. I suspect every one’s individual expression of their consciousness is playing an important role for everybody else. For me at the moment, this expression includes getting into a rabbit hole, getting banged up while doing so and feeling into all that. If I get lost, I will ultimately face a mirror looking back at myself. And then it all starts again, right there, with myself.

For Jenny, it is a different kind of investigation of life and a quick integration, for you (as I perceive it) is to express the more etheric aspects of who you are. The person, who misinterpreted your intention is also a teacher showing you an aspect of yourself, perhaps a less etheric and more earthy and destructive one (just one of many many possibilities). Only you will know what it is. So, I feel it is so important for us to share here to provoke more exploration for one another.

I read recently that enlightenment is not simply a state in which the intellect is in possession of questions and answers - it is a state of being in which the full spectrum of Source Consciousness is integrated, synthesized and crystallized into the incarnate body presence: understood in the mind, felt in the heart and made tangible in the body. I like this take, and see now how each of us is integrating different pieces of this spectrum. From there, I feel so much compassion and gratitude as we are all really helping each other as one consciousness. From this perspective, even the state of ignorance and OC intervention are all-important parts of the great Divine plan.

As I was taking a bath 20 minutes ago, wax from one of the candles began to stream down to the water. It was creating an interesting formation, so I let it stream. Suddenly it lit up and the fire descended and touched the water surface. This is so meaningful for me right now ☺

Magic.

M.

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My heart is with you M!!
I usually share reflections because it feels safe to me so here is an in the moment feeling...
Makes me feel vulnerable
Here goes... This whole existence in this human form is based upon polarity from the heart beat to the magnetic poles of earth in the physical form. From feelings of malevolence to benevolence.. It's all around us pulsating through creating realities. Then the mind interprets experience as good or bad. Feelings create laughter or tears.
What I have been feeling is the power of our minds thoughts and feelings affecting the experience on a soul level then universally interconnected. Is there a force at work entrenched within the imposed mind sets that it recognizes when the threads start to unwind... or am I creating that thought. Is reality creating the thoughts and feelings or thoughts and feelings creating reality? Recently I've noticed this pattern where I feel like I am helping someone and their perception is the opposite... It's so alive that I feel the self destruction of man melting away it's own existence.
So I let go of any need to identify with opposing forces, it's become a known variable that is completely accepted whilst in this human form. So within that knowing the edges dissolve, positive and negative continue to contract and expand as the human heart pumps as another veil lifts, a perceived sense of clarity arises as the identification within is no more. To me it feels like I'm naked as I have all I need within each and every moment no matter how the landscape morphs or changes.

Humbly and with love
Erica

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Thank you! Beautiful sharings.
I find the more limitless I feel the expansion occurs authentically. So I ask why create edges... It's like a superimposed grid from the mind that creates constriction leading to restriction. I've wanted to share a piece of my "story" which I think reflects a breakthrough. A few years ago, the day I decided to leave the life I had spent 20 years creating, is when it happened. I had left in my vehicle with my son Gabriel. It was mid May and I had thought the snow was done falling for the year. I headed out with the clothes on my back knowing there was no looking back. I felt this upwelling of energy that was so clear and true. At the time I didn't have words or formed ideas around any of it. As I travelled, the snow started to fall in a blinding manner, melting to the road then freezing. I felt to be energy within a human vehicle moving in a larger vehicle. I could feel the tearing of reality occurring as I moved further away from the set point I had referenced for so long. I felt like I was in a latex balloon pushing out. This known reality pushing back. Then as I approached a bridge over Eagle River, two vehicles started to spin in front of me. Both landing perpendicular in each lane. I held the steering wheel, foot pressed to the brake but there was no stopping. I was headed straight into a collision. At the last second, one of the vehicles- the black one ( I just thought of this-- one was white and one was black) moved forward parallel to the white one. I took my foot off the gas and felt like I just flew past them both.

After my body began to shake. I didn't know what was happening. All I knew was it felt like something miraculous had occurred. I felt like I had burst through the balloon of a reality.,

Since, when I reflect, thoughts of OC come to mind. Reptilian constricted energy that no longer had any place within soul, it was cast away. Was there a tentacle able to manifest to project one last chance to control before I was completely free to experience a new landscape. Benevolence felt to be swirling.. was I protected in some way. Just that thought brings me to tears of pure joy. It's not easy by any means, it's not designed to be. It feels like even within all the freedom to "be" there is still a design at work, a creation much greater. The Universal language we all speak without words sings to each of us.

Much Love
Erica

In reply to by erica r

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Dear Friends:

Jen, I so admire your ability to pick up on the realizations, bringing them to consciousness and applying them to your life right away. That is inspiring!

Marye, your honest sharings stir something in my heart. Thank you.

Erica, wow, what an experience, so beautiful... Looks like you stayed expanded after your breakthrough... In my reality there are still polarities and they create the edges. It is important for me at this point to acknowledge both sides of the equation and continue to challenge this reality instead of avoiding a potential discomfort. An expansion follows a contraction and it feels a bit like a birthing process into another layer of consciousness.

Open, you said:
“One of the greatest limitations of the spiritual mainstream is the constant striving for peace.”
I see quite a few lovely and spiritually inclined people unknowingly participating in this form of denial. The belief in positive affirmations seems quite popular. There is probably deeper truth to that too, it’s just the ego application that causes so much contraction. I guess, the shadow will eventually find a way to manifest and act out unconsciously. So, staying on the edge may be recognizing that both sides exist and be willing to express the shadow side with consciousness (the light).

For the last 2 days my body's been confined to bed. My heart, my whole chest is aching so much, making sleeping, breathing, and even eating really difficult. (I'm able to type in the horizontal position though!) Something is going on energetically and I'm getting multitudes of paradoxical visions and other downloads. I'm being told to feel and know and not to think too much. This is actually a good general advice. Also, interestingly, I posted a blog entry about stillness 2 days ago... the pain started right after. Now, as soon as I start moving around, the pain takes me right back to the horizontal position. Kind of funny, when you think of it...the title of my blog is "Be still and know"...

This feel of merging polarities keeps coming up and I'm beginning to sense on a new level that the "opposite" aspects of reality permeate each other so deeply that they are inseparably one: I am one and then I am the other, and then I am both. At one point when we rise to a higher level of consciousness, there is probably no distinction between the two, and perhaps that is what Erica is sharing in her post, maybe for some of us, that edge is no more ☺

For now, I’ll just continue flowing like a bubble of presence within the ever-changing universe.

I love you, guys.

M.

PS I just scrolled up to Open's article... the heart chakra is associated with the Christ Consciousness... numerologicaly this consciousness is represented by number 33... I'm seeing this number EVERYWHERE recently... 33 is also my birth number (when you sum up the birth day/month/year digits)

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Marye I was reading your sharing and I felt a resonance with what you shared here....

"Fear of releasing/losing control"

I realized that there is management happening within my inner process...there is resistance to letting light in and there is this control mechanism for catching that. I realized that if I am truly present then there can be complete allowance for how/internally where, the current flows. If I can truly surrender to what is arising inside then I also feel the resistance to dark/light arise and can soften through it and release it. Not sure if this makes any sense but I am seeing there is a strong control mechanism inside that is managing the flow inside and creating complication.... Perhaps rooted in a lack of trust in the flow. Very illuminating! Thank you for sharing so vulnerably and honestly... It's helped me see myself. Love, Jen

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M - you said...

    "Growth happens right on that edge. That is where the greatest opportunity for learning lies."

Perfect. Absolutely. Yes!

One of the greatest limitations of the spiritual mainstream is the constant striving for peace. Inadvertently people take themselves out of this boiling inner cauldron, because they don't want to deal with the difficulty when it gets too 'hot' - like in relationships for example. Yet only in the heat can we melt away the dross. Only in the heat of the flames is the sword of truth - the soul - forged.

That's why real growth only happens right on the edge!

Open *OK*

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Dear M,

Oh let me tell you how I can complicate things hahaha! Simplify is a theme showing up over and over and that came through in your response here... Thank you!!!

I see too that no matter if I have experienced getting stuck in darkness ... I was never completely lost...I emerge with a clearer sense of where the stuckness happens... Where I refuse to connect to the light through it and why that happens... The attachment I feel to my being a dark and horrible being. My heart has begun to crack open to myself... With a soft pink hue pouring through.

Beautiful poems M... What a gift... Thank you <3

With love,
Jen

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Hi Jen,
As I was reading your post it dawned at me that growth happens right on that edge you mentioned. That is where the greatest opportunity for learning lies. It feels quite all right now to dip into the distortion, stay there a little and come back changed.

The polarities seem soo intertwined... the light brings up the darkness for us to resolve and the darkness releases entrapped light. What if it is really not that complicated and I just need to allow the polarities within us do their dance? Until there are none, until there is only stillness and infinite space? I've noticed before how opposites collapse upon each other, and perhaps it is no news for many, but somehow a deeper realization just hit me and it makes me want to laugh hard. Jenny, you are such an amazing mirror!

I read a bunch of poetry today and this is what wants to come out:

AT THE EDGE
Growth happens at the edge,
Right in between freedom and the cage.
I’ll let the current take me deep,
For this is exactly where I need to be.
Right into the abyss of despair,
Stay close, slow down, prepare...

LOST
I’ve lost myself yet again
The tears are flowing freely now.
I will envelope my disappointment
With compassion and tenderness
Make of it a warm coat
For my soul.

M

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Oh geez can I relate with this stream of posts... Thank you Marye, Open and M....I was sharing on another thread the experience with the inner states. What you say M. about acceptance of the state... Not resisting and seeking to get out of it is so key... As is breaking through it... At times I find it challenging to feel where I am becoming identified with the state... Like I begin to accept the low so much that I believe it is me... That takes me into a downward spiral and the entire environment reflects that I am this distortion.... Or so it seems through the filter of the "mood".... And yet I do breakthrough it at some point =).

M, you mentioned compassion for self... And this is what is beginning to arise for me... In the depths of the muck I notice my hand comes to my heart or belly or forehead... A natural expression of self comfort... And as I allow the story to unfold in a real physical way through the body, being able to hold a space for myself with loving compassion feels so essential.

Being in it so fully allows it to be felt deeply and shown fully in the mirror... But there is a point for me where I lose perspective and merge with the distortion ... I am not so sure that is so useful for me... I can't tell yet... Seems that there is a moment to breakthrough it but instead I accept the lower reality.

Went for a bike ride today and noticed that every time I came close to the edge of the sidewalk I would go off into the grass or into the edge between the grass and the sidewalk. I realized that when I see the edge, all attention goes to the edge and of course it draws the bike right into it like a magnet... But if I instead notice the edge, feel and be aware of it but maintain attention on the path before me then the bike rides along the edge of the sidewalk and gradually comes back into center. Felt like a message for me in working with these "lows"... Being with it, feeling it's there but not just throwing all attention into the hole.

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Hi Marye and Open,

I tuned into your conversation and it provoked a thought about the dynamics of the so called “bi-polar disorder”. It occurred to me that the trickiness of this tendency lies in the sense of entrapment in the experienced reality, both on the manic and the depressive side. Breaking through this is really hard and it often seems like there is nothing to be done and it is just a waiting game. But perhaps that is the thing… doing something about it, trying to escape it is actually tightening the distorted reality? Yes, it seems so…

I’m currently flipping towards the depressive stage and have decided to allow it fully this time, for the sake of the experiment. There is a sensation of the mood going down, slight panic at the thought of being locked and incapacitated in the dark reality for several days or weeks. Today, I was allowing all that wanted to come to the surface: the rapidly morphing reality - twisting sense of self and with that bending of the "outside world". It is becoming so distorted, but it’s not fixed yet, so I can remain the observer for now. And there is also something else, a sensation that escaped me before: a feel of a heavy haze that is morphing into a thick blanket that wants to keep me down for a period of time. This same haze blanket is also pushing up in the manic state.

It occurred to me that perhaps the bi-polar tendencies are not just an undesirable condition that needs to be gotten rid of. Maybe it is an opportunity to dig deeper and break free stronger from the deepest imaginable abyss of despair? Is it there to actually facilitate greater awareness? I feel like it is...

This is very interesting and I feel I can remain ok with what is happening at the moment. As I’m holding this space for myself, the feelings of tenderness and compassion are filling my heart. I’ll just continue observing what’s going on gently and steadily without a need for the outcome. I also want to feel into “being incapacitated and locked”. Now that I wrote this, the blanket feels more tangible and perhaps even tangible enough for me to take it off soon. I’m just curious to see what it will do next. Also, I have been off lithium for few years now while trying the “organic” approach.

Has anyone else experienced that?

M.

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Hi Marye,

Well done for sharing. I know these experiences can seem pretty crazy at times, but what you're describing is very aligned with what happens as the soul infuses and integrates inside.

The rollercoaster happens because on the one hand it feels great when new infusions of light bringing soul happen, but then you're also reintegrating fragments that have gotten lost within inner density. As the mainstream of your soul gets stronger, the pull activates more and more of those fragments. But as they activate, they stir up the density that they've gotten stuck within. Suddenly this 'sediment at the bottom of the stream' flushes into your awareness and greatly influences your reality. It's like you've suddenly put on a pair of sunglasses with particularly dense filters in - except not only do you see density, but feel it all around you too.

Yes, the two states can feel like schizophrenia, like your being two different people at time - one is the False Self and one is the True Self. Sometimes there's a mix of both. The key is to keep recognising what is not you in your particular life situations - such as what goes on in the office. If you're not able to process it in the moment it's happening, work to contain the energy (as you admirably did), then later that day, when you're away from work, take some time in meditation and regress yourself back into the situation - see the images, feel the feelings, then express them out into your space.

Allow yourself to be in the density. It may well be karma - seeing and feelings strange event like you describe which feel real, and sometimes horrific. Nevertheless, allow yourself yo go there again. Especially feel into the tightness it creates inside. At the height of the pain, as it becomes almost unbearable, remind yourself the experience is not who you are. Experience is always transient - it comes and goes. However the presence that you are at your core always remains. So look for the presence amidst the intensity - the sense of being the Seer watching the experiences happening. Not detached from them though - actually through the experiences.

Then let your soul break through and emerge from the density - look for the threads of lightness and give attention and expression to those. Such a process could last a couple of hours and go through many cycles over days and weeks. So be patient. And work to balance the intensity with times of softness and lightness too. What brings you joy?

I've explained this process of healing more fully in this article here...
https://www.openhandweb.org/9_Step_Spiritual_Healing_Process_for_dealin…

It may not at times feel like it, but you're doing great. The soul is infusing and integrating. You're evolving and growing. So keep going - awesome!

Much love and support

Open *give_rose*