Tag Archive: auras


Visual Phenomena and Psychic Awakening


Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I have begun to see things I never used to see. For example, I see various shadows and lights in empty space; they are so subtle that they are almost imperceptible. I have been to the eye doctor and even a neurologist and they can find no reason for this. The reason I am writing to you is because in the past week or so, I started to see light and color around people’s heads. At first I thought this was another issue with my vision, but then the word “aura” popped into my mind, and it hit me that maybe what I’m experiencing is more metaphysical than physical. (I have only seen these auras around two individuals; I don’t see them all the time.) I feel really spaced out these days; I can’t focus like I used to, which has made it hard to be productive in my job as a paralegal. Do you think what I’m experiencing is spiritual in nature? I hope so, because I’ve been afraid that I have a brain tumor!

K.

Dear K.:

While I’m very glad that you’ve seen doctors about this, it breaks my heart that you went through all of that testing fearing that you had a brain tumor. In other times and places, these sorts of experiences were better understood. Can you imagine how different your experience would have been if you had been immediately directed to the neighborhood shaman, guru or spiritual healer, and promptly received a clear explanation and helpful advice? It seems like “modern science” is even eradicating spirit in cultures with the strongest foundations of spiritual knowledge, for I keep hearing from people in India who are experiencing classic psychic phenomena who are writing to me half a world a way for help. When I recommend they find a local guru to help them, they say they wouldn’t know where to find such an individual! In any case, it is helpful that you’ve ruled out physical causes, for now we can feel free to explore metaphysical explanations.

There are hundreds of “symptoms” associated with spiritual/psychic awakening. (I hesitate to use the word “symptoms” because this connotes pathology, so from here on out, we’ll call them “signs.”) In your question, you present two of the most common: seeing/sensing subtle energy and feeling spaced out or out of touch with mundane reality. These signs are especially common in early spiritual awakening. I experienced the exact same thing way back when I first began to explore spiritual practices. I had had a number of spontaneous psychic experiences prior to choosing to actively explore spiritual matters; it was these experiences that ignited my interest in metaphysics. When I began to spend a lot of time in altered states of consciousness via practices like meditation, all sorts of interesting things began to happen.

For me, seeing auras came first. It is normal to see auras around some people and not others, especially when this is happening spontaneously as opposed to it happening as a result of your own conscious effort. The first time I ever saw an aura, I was in a university lecture for an Eastern Religions class. I had been dabbling in meditation for a few weeks at this point. The lecture was held in a very large hall with the professor on a stage with a spotlight on him at the podium. As is common in long lectures, I kept drifting in and out of a trance state. As my mind wandered, my vision went into a soft focus so I was no longer really focused on anything or anyone in particular. That’s when I noticed something amazing: the professor had a huge yellow light all around him! At first I assumed this had something to do with the spotlight, but when he wandered away from it and into the shadows on the stage, the light remained the same. That’s when I realized that it was coming from him instead of from some outside source.

Like you, it took me a moment to realize that I was probably seeing his aura. Needless to say, I don’t think I heard much of the lecture after that, for all sorts of thoughts began to race through my mind. I found myself thinking about pictures of Jesus and the saints and how they were depicted with this same golden light around them. I wondered if the artists who painted them this way were clairvoyant or if these subjects were so spiritually bright that their auras shone forth for all the world to see. I thought it was fascinating that the aura I was seeing belonged to a professor of Eastern Religion. What sort of spiritual development might he have undertaken over his many years of studying various mystical paths? Certainly he would be more spiritually developed than the average person; was this why I was seeing his aura and no one else’s? I wondered how many of my fellow students might be seeing the same thing I was, so I started looking around the large auditorium, but everyone else seemed to be experiencing nothing more than an ordinary lecture. I tried to see their auras to no avail. I dove more deeply into meditation after this, however, and over the course of the semester, I did begin to see auras on most people when I tried to make that happen.

Some time after this, I began to practice astral projection, which involves spending a lot of time in a deep meditative state. That is when I began to notice what appeared to be shadowy lines and structures in otherwise empty space. It was like seeing a vague shadow of another world. I would see walls and beams and objects so faint that it wasn’t clear what they were, it was just clear that “something” was there. It sounds like you are seeing the same things I was.

These perceptions happen when we’re in a “spaced out” or trance state of mind. As we begin to awaken spiritually, we naturally get “spacey” like this, for our left brain and its psychic/intuitive abilities kick on more and more. It’s also normal to feel drawn into introspection and called to explore deep questions and issues instead of mundane reality. The more time you spend in trance/deep reflection, the more subtle energy you tend to perceive. This is true whether you are purposefully entering altered states of consciousness via practices like meditation, taking mind altering drugs, or simply lost in deep contemplation.

As you naturally evolve spiritually, your vibration rises to the point where you’re able to perceive a higher range of frequencies than you could before. You also become more and more sensitive, which makes you more perceptive and more consciously aware of what your psychic senses are picking up. When you then focus your attention beyond this world by entering a trance state, you begin to perceive things that exist beyond the physical. (This is why meditation naturally leads to psychic development.)

I encourage you to research the many other signs of spiritual awakening, for if you’re not experiencing them now, you may be soon, and I don’t want you to worry that something is wrong with you! This is a normal, natural process. Try to relax, go with the spiritual flow, and trust that whatever you need will come to you as you move forward.

– Soul Arcanum

Symptoms of Energy Cording


Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I read your article on promiscuity and how it affects the aura and creates energetic links. I have read this before from a Hindu saint. My question is: How does this astral tie affect the individual? I mean, let’s say I have been with many partners – how would I notice these astral connections? Are there observable mental, emotional or physical symptoms? Besides thinking of the person, I don’t notice anything else.

Ryan

Dear Ryan:

Since the influence of psychic cording is subtle/energetic, how much you notice would depend on how psychically sensitive you are. Of course, the stronger the bond, the more likely one is to notice these effects. For example, the strongest psychic bond is typically that between mother and child, so even mothers who aren’t especially psychic may have striking experiences of this connection. Similarly, someone who is highly psychic can pick up things about people they barely know. If you are highly psychic, you may have an acquaintance pop into your head only to have that person phone you just after this, or learn that this person was thinking of you at that time.

Please note that I’m talking about conscious effects: we are all influenced by the psychic cords we have with other people whether we know it or not. Further, the less conscious we are of these interactions, the more they tend to influence us.

The cords that are formed when we have sex with someone are never completely broken unless something is done to purposefully break them. They do tend to fade or diminish over time, however. The stronger they are at their foundation, the more they tend to endure. Thus a long, passionate, true love affair is like a castle: though we may leave it behind, it remains standing and will continue to exist even as it falls into ruins. Only if we purposefully disassemble it and re-appropriate its materials will it disappear from the landscape.

Along the same lines of this metaphor, when we sleep with someone in a casual way without forming a deep bond, it’s like throwing up a little hut in our psychic territory. If we sleep around a lot, soon we’ll have a little ghetto in our psychic back yard. These creations aren’t as strong and enduring as true love affairs, so they will fall apart faster. Since they aren’t enormous like castles, it’s much easier to ignore, dismiss or overlook them.

It’s interesting that I’m writing this column today, because just last night I had long, delightful dreams of a boy I loved decades ago. Our bond is a good example of the castle I describe above. Though we’ve only run into each other a handful of times since we broke up, we continue to have fond feelings for each other, and I continue to have him pop into my mind on a regular basis. I also tend to dream about him every now and again, which is a very clear indication that we continue to have a strong psychic bond.

Having frequent or striking dreams about someone is one sign that we have a psychic bond with them. Here are some others:

On a mental level, the most common sign is that these folks will tend to just pop into our heads for no apparent reason. Of course, it’s wise to ponder what may have caused them to come to mind. If there is a song playing on the radio that reminds us of them, it could be nothing more than a mental association. If we can think of no reason why that person may be popping into our heads, then odds are good that we’re psychically linked.

As for why they would come to mind at that time, all sorts of things are possible. If we are working on some particular issue in our current lives, and that issue is somehow tied to the experiences we had with that person, it’s natural for those energies to be reawakened. It’s also very common for our thoughts about someone to make them think about us. Therefore, when someone pops into our heads, it may be because they’ve been thinking about us for some reason. Having a psychic connection to someone is sort of like having an intercom system: when one party sends a signal through it, it starts something of a telepathic dialogue that can go on indefinitely. Of course, for most people, this is mainly happening at an unconscious level.

On a mental level we can also pick up thoughts and ideas from people we are psychically bonded to. For example, I often see images of desert mountains, and when I follow the line of these images, the face of an old lover comes up, so I assume I am seeing images from his life. This is very similar to the images I see when I purposefully connect with someone on a psychic level in order to do a reading for them. It’s also similar to how spirits show me images and memories from their lives. This is really helpful to know if you’re trying to develop your psychic abilities, for if you examine the random images and thoughts that pop into your head, you will have a sense of what it is like to pick up psychic impressions.

On an emotional level, we can be suddenly overtaken by moods and feelings that seem to come out of nowhere. While we tend to feel like our moods just come over us, our feelings aren’t random. When we choose to be in a certain mood, our feelings are coming from within us; when we don’t consciously set our own tone, our moods tend to entrain to the strongest signal around us. This is why being around someone who is depressed can really get us down, while being around someone who is in a great mood can lift our spirits.

Sometimes the strongest signal is the emotional wavelength of someone we have a psychic bond to. This is why we may sense that someone is in danger even though they are miles away, for being in danger sends a very strong signal. Since we are rarely conscious of this type of influence, it tends to be extra powerful. It’s relatively easy to notice the influence of someone who is depressed and make a conscious choice to set our own tone, but when the influence is psychic in nature, we may be baffled as to why we suddenly feel down.

On a physical level, we can pick up the aches, pains and problems of people we are strongly connected to. This is especially true when we empathize with someone and we are powerful creators. Through years of working with the law of attraction, I have gotten to the point where I can give something my attention and manifest it very quickly. When I’m not careful with my thoughts and vibration, this tends to yield undesirable results!

It’s tricky to keep my vibration high when someone I love is hurting. Recently my athletic daughter had a lower back injury, and my heart went out to her because she was so frustrated and disappointed at her inability to compete. Within two days, I had the exact same pain in the same spot in my lower back. Similarly, my husband has been struggling with a painful elbow, which we’ve learned is due to bone chips in the joint. Within about a month of him developing this problem in his left elbow (and me listening to him talk about it and watching him struggle with it every day), I had pain in my left elbow!

The key to resolving such matters is conscious awareness. Once I became conscious that I was empathizing with and thus entraining to these vibrations, I was able to quickly release those conditions. Given the endless ways that psychic bonds can influence us, we are wise to choose the people we bond to carefully, and to cultivate conscious awareness of the subtle energetic interactions constantly flowing through our lives.

Soul Arcanum

The Evil Eye and Auric Interactions

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

My family has all sorts of superstitions that I’ve always thought were crazy. At the same time, however, part of me has always wondered if maybe there is something to them. For example, my grandmother was forever blaming all sorts of problems on what she called the “evil eye.” (I could tell you lots of wild stories!) Anyway, do you think the evil eye is real? Is it possible to harm another person on some level just by looking at them?
– Effie

Dear Effie:

The evil eye is a common superstition in Arab and European countries, especially around the area of the Mediterranean. However, the understanding that ill will can be communicated via a look is universal. Let’s deal with the superstition first.

The basic idea behind the evil eye is that one person can curse another person by simply envying them. Most people believe that this harm is not intentional. It seems to arise from the idea that in drawing attention to someone’s blessing, God may realize He’s made a mistake or that things aren’t “fair” somehow, and take that blessing away.

From a metaphysical perspective, there is of course no need for us to hide our blessings for fear they will be taken away from us, and in fact, that sort of fear is counter-productive. Most of us can appreciate the psychological issues behind such superstitions, however, for we’ve all been the uncomfortable objects of envy. If someone who couldn’t have a child praised my beautiful baby, I would naturally feel sorry for her and empathize by imagining myself in her place. If we are in any way doubtful of our worthiness of such a blessing, it’s natural to think we’d better hide our good fortune lest someone take it away.

Perhaps this sort of thinking arises in childhood, when parents strive to be fair to siblings. If one sibling has something like a new toy or candy, he may be made to share it with his brothers and sisters. Also, children often find things they treasure but should not have, and when their parents find out, they take those things away. To protect their treasures, children often learn to hide them.

We must also remember that folklore arises to answer questions to which there are no other answers available. For example, babies and small children tend to get sick a lot. Back when there was no medical explanation for most illnesses, people looked to supernatural causes because they were desperate to be able to do something to save their children from harm.

There are all sorts of strange rituals, charms and so-called cures for the evil eye, which you can research elsewhere if you’re interested. I do think it’s interesting to note that these remedies reveal a basic awareness of the fact that our auras can be affected by others’ energy. When we believe we are protected, our vibration is high, and for this reason alone, using a charm or ritual could protect us. Further, charms for protection are often mirrored surfaces or look like eyes, as they are designed to reflect and return the energy in the sender’s gaze. This suggests basic understanding of karma, and how it is wiser to “turn the other cheek” than to go on the offensive. Other remedies for the evil eye involve auric cleansing techniques. For example, in some places children are smudged with smoke when they return from being in public.

As for whether or not there is any spiritual basis for these superstitions, we all know that looks can be unsettling and unnerving. While some looks obviously contain some sort of threat, most of us don’t like to be stared at, and some looks really give us the creeps. The common saying, “if looks could kill” suggests we are aware of the malevolent quality of some looks, and grateful that they can only affect us on a non-physical level.

Most women are familiar with the energetic feeling of being “checked out” or leered at by a man. One of the first auric interactions I ever witnessed clairvoyantly involved such a situation. I was picking up a friend who lived in a college co-op. She hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so I agreed to wait while she grabbed a quick meal with her housemates. I was sitting in the back of the dining room when I saw a young man enter. Her back was to him, and as I saw him look at her, I actually saw this red, murky energy flow out from his aura toward her. When it got close to her, all of a sudden she turned around and looked right at him with an angry look on her face.

This so surprised me that I lost my clairvoyant connection. Later I told her what I’d seen, and she was amazed by it. She then explained how that young man had been sexually harassing her for a while, and gave her the creeps!

This experience demonstrated how we sense when someone is looking at us: they actually send energy out to our auras. It also explained how we can sense things about people, like whether they are safe or dangerous, sincere or dishonest, and all sorts of other information. Regardless of what they may do or say, when we interact with other people, our auras are communicating on a deeper level.

We can send energy to someone by focusing on them mentally, but it’s more powerful to be able to focus on them visually as well. By focusing our gaze on someone with emotion, we can communicate all sorts of things from anger, threats or rejection to sincere interest, sexual attraction and love.

Further, when two or more people are together, natural spiritual law causes them to entrain to the vibration of the person with the strongest energy field. This person has the most “power” both in terms of life force and interpersonal dynamics. This does not mean that person is the most “enlightened.” If such a person has a very positive, warm vibration, others will find him attractive. If such a person has a negative or destructive vibration, people will naturally tend to fear him.

People with strong life force energy radiate that power in many ways, and one key way is through their eyes, which tend to be striking, penetrating or beautiful. It thus makes sense that when we are around someone of a lower vibration who has more powerful chi than we do, we will feel threatened by their energy, and try to avoid interacting with them in any way.

Please don’t let these ideas worry you, for we have been dealing with these auric interactions our whole lives with the help of our wonderful inner guidance systems. Our instincts make us aware of what is happening on an auric level, so all we need to do is listen to our intuition and act accordingly.

– Soul Arcanum

Weak Knees, Energy Rushes and Psychic Ability

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

My name is Daniel, and I am a 19-year-old college student from Tennessee. I am an adventurous person, and enjoy exploring old homes, forests, etc. Sometimes when I’m in an old setting, I have a very strange sensation: my knees get weak and I almost feel as if I am blacking out. At the same time, I feel a rush of emotions that seem so concentrated, I can’t separate them. Although at first I assumed that this experience was connected to the “paranormal” in a “haunted house” sense, I have recently come to believe that it’s some form of psychic ability. Are the experiences I described legitimate psychic ability? I know that everyone is psychic to an extent, but my experiences don’t seem to be very common. Any information on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
– Daniel

Dear Daniel:

I think it would be most helpful to ponder your experiences in light of “kundalini” or life force energy. This will lead us to the most basic foundation for such experiences, because ultimately, everything in the Universe is a matter of energy.

While we could label these “psychic experiences,” I believe what you’re experiencing at such moments are actually surges in kundalini. As we awaken spiritually, we naturally develop psychic abilities, so the relationship between what you’re experiencing and psychic phenomena is sort of like the relationship between exercise and fitness: as you awaken spiritually, you naturally develop psychically, just as when you exercise regularly, you naturally develop greater fitness. All growth spurts involve a surge in kundalini, so whether we are growing physically or spiritually, the basic energy that animates us and gives us consciousness will surge to fuel that growth spurt.

Some symptoms of spiritual awakening/ kundalini rising include: emotional outbursts and strong waves of emotion, which may be positive (bliss and ecstasy, for example) or negative (fear, anger or depression). In the extreme, manic depression often arises from the highs and lows of erratic kundalini flow. This would explain those intense waves of emotions you feel.

Kundalini rising can also cause physical symptoms such as weakness, dizziness, exhaustion, numbness or tingling in the body (especially in the lower extremities), mental confusion, disorientation, visual distortion and psychic experiences. I’ve only named a few of the symptoms one might experience with kundalini awakening to demonstrate that all of what you describe falls within this range.

As kundalini rises into the area of the third eye and crown chakra, tiredness or drowsiness may develop. Physical weakness and fatigue are also natural because a big shift in vibration can be taxing on a body that is not adequately prepared for it. Some even say that a surge in kundalini uses up so much blood sugar that our blood sugar level may plummet, and most of us know how that feels! If we don’t understand what is going on, it’s natural to become worried or anxious about such sensations, which would only hinder the process of kundalini rising further and cause more discomfort.

Dizziness and disorientation in particular often precede some sort of spiritual breakthrough, for these are crown chakra experiences. As kundalini rises from the root chakra up the spine, it eventually makes its way out the crown of the head, so once it’s made it to the crown chakra, we’re on the verge of a breakthrough. If we “black out” at this point, it may be because we simply aren’t yet consciously up to speed with this level of experience.

Since you have these experiences when you’re in what we might term a “spiritual” setting or situation of one sort or another, I’m even more inclined to presume that they stem from a sudden surge in kundalini. If your body was a clear and open channel for this energy, you would probably have either an ecstatic spiritual experience or conscious psychic awareness of what is happening energetically in that situation. With the old forests, for example, you may have some sort of blissful spiritual experience, while in an old house, you may perceive the presence of a non-physical entity or awareness of residual energy that is somehow uncomfortable for you.

Suddenly feeling weak, sick, dizzy, etc., is not always a sign of kundalini surging, so you must view your experiences within the context of the setting and your own feelings at that moment to determine what is really happening. If you’re in an uplifting spiritual situation and you feel blissful or ecstatic, I’d presume you’re experiencing a surge in kundalini. If, however, you’re in a house you think could be haunted and you suddenly feel dizzy or weak, it’s probably a sign that this is not a good place for you to be.

You see, as kundalini rises, it makes us more and more sensitive on the whole. (This is why psychics are also known as sensitives.) If kundalini rising has made someone super sensitive but they don’t pay conscious attention to issues of energy, they may suddenly feel dizzy, weak or nauseous when they walk into a heavy, negative environment like a bar, or interact with someone of a nature that is not good for them. Because they’re not conscious, they wouldn’t know that this is their inner guidance system trying to tell them to get away from there.

Please note that kundalini awakening does not have to be a difficult or uncomfortable process, though we may not have full conscious control over how things will unfold for us personally. The more we work WITH and trust in this process, however, the smoother things should go.

It’s a bit like the growth process of the physical body: if we suddenly notice we’re growing because our clothes and shoes have gotten uncomfortably tight, and this freaks us out, we may resist growing more by doing something akin to foot binding. This will of course cause us far more discomfort. If, however, we trust in this as a natural process and we shed everything that has grown too small or tight for us (including limiting beliefs and perspectives), we can naturally flow into a bigger state of being.

Thus I believe the best thing you can do is to become a clearer, more conscious channel via spiritual practice. This is essentially why yoga developed in the first place; it opens up energy flow throughout the body and integrates us on all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Meditation, spiritual study or other spiritual practices will also make you more conscious of what is happening to you on all levels. This will empower you to remain in a high vibration as you walk through such experiences and lend you more control over them.

I suggest you view these experiences as signs that you are ready to embrace a more conscious spiritual path in order to clear inner channels for new growth and development. The more conscious you get spiritually, the more you will both understand the true nature of such experiences and be able to facilitate a smooth spiritual journey.

– Soul Arcanum


Primer on Chakras

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum: I often read references to the “chakras,” and while I’ve done some research on this term, there is so much out there I’m overwhelmed. I love your simple writing style. Can you offer some basic information on the chakras, such as what they are and why they’re important?
– Suzanne

Dear Suzanne:

I understand why you’re feeling overwhelmed. I plugged “chakras” into Altavista to see what kind of information a web surfer might come up with, and got more than a million hits.

The word “chakra” comes from the Sanskrit word for wheel. It refers to the energy vortices that run along our spines, through which life force energy is channeled into the physical dimension. There are a number of articles in our archives regarding the various specific properties, colors, etc., associated with each chakra, so here I will focus more on general chakra information.

The nature of everything in the Universe is energy. The slowest/densest form of this energy that most of us can perceive is what we experience with our physical senses. There is a great deal of energy, however, that can not generally be physically perceived. Some sensitive people like psychics and healers can use extrasensory perception to consciously tune into some of this energy before it slows down enough to manifest in physical form. Everyone is actually aware of these subtler energies more or less, however, for it is from this dimension of perception that intuition arises.

Here’s a simple metaphor: before it rains, humidity is building in the atmosphere. We can’t see that humidity as water, nevertheless, it is there. As it gets heavier and heavier, we may begin to “feel” or sense it, but we still can’t see it until it builds to a point where it actually becomes drops of rain. Someone who is very sensitive can feel that humidity building before others can, and can perceive it in the air when others can not. Someone who is very sensitive and wise or spiritually conscious can further recognize the signs of an impending “storm” or other weather manifestation based on past experience. In this example, a psychic is sort of like a trained meteorologist.

This is similar to what happens with energy. We all have physical bodies that can be seen, felt, etc., but we also have etheric bodies that can be seen and felt by sensitive people. These etheric bodies are composed of life force energy that is in the process of flowing into the physical dimension. It is from the reports of those who can see and otherwise perceive etheric energies that we glean our understanding of the chakras. (Please note that references to chakras can be found throughout the world’s cultures and religions, which indicates that this is not an abstract model for understanding our human nature, but rather a universal truth.)

Our bodies are in a state of constant change; in fact, life itself is the constant flowing of energy. When energy stops flowing from the non-physical into the physical, we are “dead” in this dimension. It is through our chakras that this ever moving energy flows.

The chakras/auras of people of great youth and vitality tend to look brighter and more vibrant, where people who have ill health or who lack “energy” tend to have dimmer auras and less vibrant chakras. The energies of every person are unique; there is a wide range of possible manifestations here. Even within the same individual, some chakras will be seen to be highly developed, while others are smaller or dimmer. Some chakras may appear to be clear, open and “healthy,” while in others, problems or issues may appear like rips or tears, blocks, clouds, shadows, etc.

Further, as we develop spiritually, our chakras grow and expand. In someone undeveloped, they may look like dim, small circles. In someone of great spiritual development, they will appear huge, vibrant, open and swirling. The “halo” of angels, Jesus and the Buddha are crown chakras that are so developed, even ordinary people could perceive them. (The crown chakra governs our connection to Spirit – to all that is – so those of tremendous spiritual development are seen to have glowing “halos” or rings of light around their heads.)

By observing the condition of the aura/chakras, sensitives can determine many things, from health problems that have manifested or are about to manifest, to how someone is feeling emotionally, to how developed they may be spiritually. Further, by working at a conscious level with our chakras, we can move toward greater well-being and personal development.

Somewhere along the way I picked up a model of the chakras being divided into three classifications, the lowest governing more physical matters such as our physical bodies, the middle governing more personal matters such as our desires and feelings, and the upper chakras governing more spiritual matters such as our outlook on life and our sense of connection to the Divine. There are no distinct demarcations, however – one level flows into the next.

The more evolved we become spiritually, the higher we tend to be centered in terms of our chakras. If we reflect on cultural history, I believe we can see a shift upward in terms of society’s general focus. A century and more ago, we as a race were more centered in the middle chakras, as life was a lot of hard work. With technology and evolution, we’ve moved upward, and recently been more focused in the intellect.

Beyond the intellect of course lies Spirit; that is where we are heading as a race right now. Individuals throughout history have focused in certain areas, of course – I’m referring to overall population trends.

Ideally, we are never focused solely on one aspect of life or centered in one chakra; instead, all our chakras are radiant, open, and in healthy balance with each other. As we progress or evolve on one level then, we must bring the other areas of our being up to speed. Someone who focuses a great deal on intellectual development (the fifth and sixth chakras) will tend to neglect other aspects, such as their physical well-being, and end up “out of shape.” Someone who is very spiritually focused, who meditates a lot, etc., can become so “top heavy” in their chakras that they lose touch with the physical. We say that they are “out there,” by which we mean that they are not “all here” – grounded in their physical bodies.

It can be very helpful to make a habit of consciously assessing the state of the chakras at any particular time, and if one or more seems to be lagging behind the others in development, or reflects any sort of problem or issue, to work on bringing the corresponding area of one’s life up to speed. One can do this via personal meditation, or with the help of an energy healer or clairvoyant.

I had to rebalance my own chakras years ago when I began intensely exploring spiritual matters and meditating a lot. Through various experiences I figured out that I had developed my upper chakras (intellect and spirit) beyond my lower chakras (physical being and will). I was like a lot of “spiritual” people: out of shape and sort of drifting through life.

I then made a conscious decision to cultivate better balance by getting fit and adopting earthier spiritual practices. This helped to bring my lower chakras up to speed with my upper chakras. There are many ways to go about this. Yoga, for example, is a great way to bring spiritual energy through all of one’s being into the physical, and to balance your energy overall.

If you’d like to read more, I recommend you start with books by classic authors on the subject, such as C.W. Leadbeater, A.E. Powell, and Barbara Brennan.

– Soul Arcanum


Primer on Chakras

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum: I often read references to the “chakras,” and while I’ve done some research on this term, there is so much out there I’m overwhelmed. I love your simple writing style. Can you offer some basic information on the chakras, such as what they are and why they’re important?
– Suzanne

Dear Suzanne:

I understand why you’re feeling overwhelmed. I plugged “chakras” into Altavista to see what kind of information a web surfer might come up with, and got more than a million hits.

The word “chakra” comes from the Sanskrit word for wheel. It refers to the energy vortices that run along our spines, through which life force energy is channeled into the physical dimension. There are a number of articles in our archives regarding the various specific properties, colors, etc., associated with each chakra, so here I will focus more on general chakra information.

The nature of everything in the Universe is energy. The slowest/densest form of this energy that most of us can perceive is what we experience with our physical senses. There is a great deal of energy, however, that can not generally be physically perceived. Some sensitive people like psychics and healers can use extrasensory perception to consciously tune into some of this energy before it slows down enough to manifest in physical form. Everyone is actually aware of these subtler energies more or less, however, for it is from this dimension of perception that intuition arises.

Here’s a simple metaphor: before it rains, humidity is building in the atmosphere. We can’t see that humidity as water, nevertheless, it is there. As it gets heavier and heavier, we may begin to “feel” or sense it, but we still can’t see it until it builds to a point where it actually becomes drops of rain. Someone who is very sensitive can feel that humidity building before others can, and can perceive it in the air when others can not. Someone who is very sensitive and wise or spiritually conscious can further recognize the signs of an impending “storm” or other weather manifestation based on past experience. In this example, a psychic is sort of like a trained meteorologist.

This is similar to what happens with energy. We all have physical bodies that can be seen, felt, etc., but we also have etheric bodies that can be seen and felt by sensitive people. These etheric bodies are composed of life force energy that is in the process of flowing into the physical dimension. It is from the reports of those who can see and otherwise perceive etheric energies that we glean our understanding of the chakras. (Please note that references to chakras can be found throughout the world’s cultures and religions, which indicates that this is not an abstract model for understanding our human nature, but rather a universal truth.)

Our bodies are in a state of constant change; in fact, life itself is the constant flowing of energy. When energy stops flowing from the non-physical into the physical, we are “dead” in this dimension. It is through our chakras that this ever moving energy flows.

The chakras/auras of people of great youth and vitality tend to look brighter and more vibrant, where people who have ill health or who lack “energy” tend to have dimmer auras and less vibrant chakras. The energies of every person are unique; there is a wide range of possible manifestations here. Even within the same individual, some chakras will be seen to be highly developed, while others are smaller or dimmer. Some chakras may appear to be clear, open and “healthy,” while in others, problems or issues may appear like rips or tears, blocks, clouds, shadows, etc.

Further, as we develop spiritually, our chakras grow and expand. In someone undeveloped, they may look like dim, small circles. In someone of great spiritual development, they will appear huge, vibrant, open and swirling. The “halo” of angels, Jesus and the Buddha are crown chakras that are so developed, even ordinary people could perceive them. (The crown chakra governs our connection to Spirit – to all that is – so those of tremendous spiritual development are seen to have glowing “halos” or rings of light around their heads.)

By observing the condition of the aura/chakras, sensitives can determine many things, from health problems that have manifested or are about to manifest, to how someone is feeling emotionally, to how developed they may be spiritually. Further, by working at a conscious level with our chakras, we can move toward greater well-being and personal development.

Somewhere along the way I picked up a model of the chakras being divided into three classifications, the lowest governing more physical matters such as our physical bodies, the middle governing more personal matters such as our desires and feelings, and the upper chakras governing more spiritual matters such as our outlook on life and our sense of connection to the Divine. There are no distinct demarcations, however – one level flows into the next.

The more evolved we become spiritually, the higher we tend to be centered in terms of our chakras. If we reflect on cultural history, I believe we can see a shift upward in terms of society’s general focus. A century and more ago, we as a race were more centered in the middle chakras, as life was a lot of hard work. With technology and evolution, we’ve moved upward, and recently been more focused in the intellect.

Beyond the intellect of course lies Spirit; that is where we are heading as a race right now. Individuals throughout history have focused in certain areas, of course – I’m referring to overall population trends.

Ideally, we are never focused solely on one aspect of life or centered in one chakra; instead, all our chakras are radiant, open, and in healthy balance with each other. As we progress or evolve on one level then, we must bring the other areas of our being up to speed. Someone who focuses a great deal on intellectual development (the fifth and sixth chakras) will tend to neglect other aspects, such as their physical well-being, and end up “out of shape.” Someone who is very spiritually focused, who meditates a lot, etc., can become so “top heavy” in their chakras that they lose touch with the physical. We say that they are “out there,” by which we mean that they are not “all here” – grounded in their physical bodies.

It can be very helpful to make a habit of consciously assessing the state of the chakras at any particular time, and if one or more seems to be lagging behind the others in development, or reflects any sort of problem or issue, to work on bringing the corresponding area of one’s life up to speed. One can do this via personal meditation, or with the help of an energy healer or clairvoyant.

I had to rebalance my own chakras years ago when I began intensely exploring spiritual matters and meditating a lot. Through various experiences I figured out that I had developed my upper chakras (intellect and spirit) beyond my lower chakras (physical being and will). I was like a lot of “spiritual” people: out of shape and sort of drifting through life.

I then made a conscious decision to cultivate better balance by getting fit and adopting earthier spiritual practices. This helped to bring my lower chakras up to speed with my upper chakras. There are many ways to go about this. Yoga, for example, is a great way to bring spiritual energy through all of one’s being into the physical, and to balance your energy overall.

If you’d like to read more, I recommend you start with books by classic authors on the subject, such as C.W. Leadbeater, A.E. Powell, and Barbara Brennan.

– Soul Arcanum


Do We Need to Close Our Chakras After Working on Them?

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I read your chakra cleansing and charging exercise a while back, and I love it. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now. I just have one question. I’ve read other places that you should always close your chakras after working on them, but you don’t mention this. Isn’t it important to close the chakras after opening them?
P.

Dear P.:

Thanks for this question! I’ve received it in one form or another a number of times over the years, and it seems to be a matter of some controversy.

Chakras are energy vortices through which life force flows through our beings. There are seven major chakras, and each governs energy of a different range or vibration. The lower the vibration, the more “physical” the energy; similarly, the higher the vibration, the more “non-physical” or “spiritual” the energy. In this way, different chakras correspond to different aspects of our being, from our physical bodies to our feelings, thoughts and connection to the Divine. As I have only limited space here, I won’t go any further into basic chakra information, which can be found in abundance on the internet.

When chakras are “open,” they are freely channeling life force energy from the Universe through our beings. The more open they are, the more energy is flowing. Imagine that being “open” here is not an all or nothing state – we can be closed, open, and anywhere in between. When we feel very “open,” that is a good indication that our chakras are open – we are open to expressing ourselves, receiving input and experiencing whatever comes our way. When we experience fear or pain, we often “shut down” or close ourselves off from the potential for further discomfort, and in this way, we close down the chakras involved to various degrees.

We can consciously “open” our chakras, clear away the “baggage” and debris of “negative” experiences, and “charge” them up so that they channel more energy. This is what is meant by “working on chakras.” There are some spiritual teachers who say that we should always close the chakras after working on them, for when they’re open, we are “open to” negative energies in our environments. We may then be easily influenced by others, drained of our energy, or vulnerable to “psychic attack.”

My own views on this are based on my studies and training and also on my intuitive sense of truth. In my view, it is wise to simply open the chakras and to assume that one is always safe from negative influences. If you’re at a point in your spiritual development where you’re consciously working on tuning up your own energy, then you are probably intuitive enough to modulate your energy according to your needs as you move through life. Your vibration is probably also high enough to keep you above most negativity. I have never tried to close my chakras, and have not suffered any ill effects.

It is true that when we are open to everything, we have to process a great deal of energy and information. I call this being “awake.” Yes, discomfort and confusion will arise, but that’s preferable to sleepwalking through life. Instead of just shrugging off experiences we don’t understand, we chew on them, work through them and seek understanding of them. It’s a lot of work, but that’s the whole point: to be awake and evolving a sense of understanding about the nature of life.

Should you open your chakras and then not be able to deal with negative energies in your environment, you would experience pain and discomfort, and then your chakras would start to close down naturally. Keeping our chakras closed on purpose to “protect ourselves” from negative energies is a bit like walking around with our eyes closed, just in case something might blow into them.

Even people who have never even heard the word charka are naturally repairing and rebalancing chakras all the time. Let’s say that Mark was very focused on getting a Ph.D., and spending all his time thinking, studying, learning, etc. He’d start to feel unbalanced, like he needed more physical exercise and more love and emotional connection. His solar plexus, throat and third eye chakras would likely be far more developed and open than his root, sacral and heart chakras. If he told himself he didn’t have time to make changes, he’d get more and more uncomfortable. This is how disease and depression develop. As he honored his need for other experiences, the chakras would naturally balance.

When we are in balance, we experience a sense of well-being. Think about how it would feel to have the right amount of everything in your life: physical exercise, sexual fulfillment, personal accomplishment, love and support, creative expression, intellectual stimulation, connection to the Divine.

To get a feel yourself for how your chakras are functioning, just ask yourself the following questions. The more you answer “yes,” the more open the corresponding chakra probably is. If you see “weak” points here, you can simply focus consciously on developing that area of your life in order to achieve better balance.

Root chakra: Do I feel physically vibrant, healthy, and powerful in the world? Do I feel at home here? Do I feel like I belong? Do I have a strong desire to live? Do I love and appreciate my body as a wonderful treasure? Am I a high energy person, moving boldly through life?

Sacral chakra: Do I have a strong, healthy sex drive? Do I feel sexually confident and fulfilled? Can I express myself sexually, and give and receive pleasure? Does expressing myself creatively feel wonderful and fulfilling?

Solar plexus: Do I know what I want, and feel confident about being able to manifest it? Can I make decisions and act upon them? Am I aware of my emotions and able to control them? Am I able to mentally sort through and resolve my feelings? Am I emotionally fulfilled?

Heart chakra: Do I have fulfilling, healthy relationships? Do I love myself, friends and family, and have a strong sense of compassion for all living beings? Can I accept others as they are, without needing them to change? Do I expect the best from people, and look for the best in them? Am I good at cooperating? Can I stay in the moment and surrender outcomes to the Universe?

Throat chakra: Can I express myself with skill and ease? Do I do the practical things I need to do in order to be healthy, happy and successful? Do I take responsibility for my life instead of blaming others for my problems and expecting others to take care of me? Do I strive to do my best, and do I feel worthy of rewards or compensation for my efforts? Do I have enough faith in myself to take risks, embrace challenges, and create avenues for fulfillment?

Third eye: Am I mentally sharp and able to figure things out? Do I have lots of creative ideas, and the habit of taking the necessary steps to make them reality? Do answers or insights come to me as I mentally try to understand things? Am I able to visualize my goals and dreams? Do I set realistic, attainable goals? Do my experiences support and validate my beliefs about life?

Crown chakra: Do I feel like I’m part of something vast and wonderful? Do I feel connected to God/ Spirit/ the Universe, and feel that my life has a purpose? Am I able to view myself honestly, and to ferret out the lessons in my experiences in order to develop wisdom?

As you work with your chakras, I encourage you to do whatever your intuition tells you is best for you. If you assume that your higher self will naturally guide you in maintaining balance, then you can focus on just opening up to life and developing an ever greater capacity for joy, well-being and personal power.

Finally, there is a great guided Chakra Clearing and Charging Meditation in Soul Arcanum’s Spiritual Toolbox that you may want to check out.

– Soul Arcanum

Do We Need to Close Our Chakras After Working on Them?

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I read your chakra cleansing and charging exercise a while back, and I love it. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now. I just have one question. I’ve read other places that you should always close your chakras after working on them, but you don’t mention this. Isn’t it important to close the chakras after opening them?
P.

Dear P.:

Thanks for this question! I’ve received it in one form or another a number of times over the years, and it seems to be a matter of some controversy.

Chakras are energy vortices through which life force flows through our beings. There are seven major chakras, and each governs energy of a different range of vibration. The lower the vibration, the more “physical” the energy; similarly, the higher the vibration, the more “non-physical” or “spiritual” the energy. In this way, different chakras correspond to different aspects of our being, from our physical bodies to our feelings, thoughts and connection to the Divine. As I have only limited space here, I won’t go any further into basic chakra information, which can be found in abundance on the internet.

When chakras are “open,” they are freely channeling life force energy from the Universe through our beings. The more open they are, the more energy is flowing. Imagine that being “open” here is not an all or nothing state – we can be closed, open, and anywhere in between. When we feel very “open,” that is a good indication that our charkas are open – we are open to expressing ourselves, receiving input and experiencing whatever comes our way. When we experience fear or pain, we often “shut down” or close ourselves off from the potential for further discomfort, and in this way, we close down the chakras involved to various degrees.

We can consciously “open” our chakras, clear away the “baggage” and debris of “negative” experiences, and “charge” them up so that they channel more energy. This is what is meant by “working on chakras.” There are some spiritual teachers who say that we should always close the chakras after working on them, for when they’re open, we are “open to” negative energies in our environments. We may then be easily influenced by others, drained of our energy, or vulnerable to “psychic attack.”

My own views on this are based on my studies and training and also on my intuitive sense of truth and what Spirit tells me. In my view, it is wise to simply open the chakras and to assume that one is always safe from negative influences. If you’re at a point in your spiritual development where you’re consciously working on tuning up your own energy, then you are probably intuitive enough to modulate your energy according to your needs as you move through life. Your vibration is probably also high enough to keep you above most negativity. I have never tried to close my chakras, and have not suffered any ill effects.

It is true that when we are open to everything, we have to process a great deal of energy and information. I call this being “awake.” Yes, discomfort and confusion will arise, but that’s preferable to sleepwalking through life. Instead of just shrugging off experiences we don’t understand, we chew on them, work through them and seek understanding of them. It’s a lot of work, but that’s the whole point: to be awake and evolving a sense of understanding about the nature of life.

Should you open your chakras and then not be able to deal with negative energies in your environment, you would experience pain and discomfort, and then your chakras would start to close down naturally. Keeping our chakras closed on purpose to “protect ourselves” from negative energies is a bit like walking around with our eyes closed, just in case something might blow into them.

Even people who have never even heard the word charka are naturally repairing and rebalancing chakras all the time. Let’s say that Mark was very focused on getting a Ph.D., and spending all his time thinking, studying, learning, etc. He’d start to feel unbalanced, like he needed more physical exercise and more love and emotional connection. His solar plexus, throat and third eye chakras would likely be far more developed and open than his root, sacral and heart chakras. If he told himself he didn’t have time to make changes, he’d get more and more uncomfortable. This is how disease and depression develop. As he honored his need for other experiences, the chakras would naturally balance.

When we are in balance, we experience a sense of well-being. Think about how it would feel to have the right amount of everything in your life: physical exercise, sexual fulfillment, personal accomplishment, love and support, creative expression, intellectual stimulation, connection to the Divine.

A clairvoyant can tell you about your chakras with just a glance; I can “see” mine mentally. To get a feel yourself for how yours are functioning, just ask yourself the following questions. The more you answer “yes,” the more open the corresponding chakra probably is. If you see “weak” points here, you can simply focus consciously on developing that area of your life in order to achieve better balance.

Root chakra: Do I feel physically vibrant, healthy, and powerful in the world? Do I feel at home here? Do I feel like I belong? Do I have a strong desire to live? Do I love and appreciate my body as a wonderful treasure? Am I a high energy person, moving boldly through life?

Sacral chakra: Do I have a strong, healthy sex drive? Do I feel sexually confident and fulfilled? Can I express myself sexually, and give and receive pleasure? Does expressing myself creatively feel wonderful and fulfilling?

Solar plexus: Do I know what I want, and feel confident about being able to manifest it? Can I make decisions and act upon them? Am I aware of my emotions and able to control them? Am I able to mentally sort through and resolve my feelings? Am I emotionally fulfilled?

Heart chakra: Do I have fulfilling, healthy relationships? Do I love myself, friends and family, and have a strong sense of compassion for all living beings? Can I accept others as they are, without needing them to change? Do I expect the best from people, and look for the best in them? Am I good at cooperating? Can I stay in the moment and surrender outcomes to the Universe?

Throat chakra: Can I express myself with skill and ease? Do I do the practical things I need to do in order to be healthy, happy and successful? Do I take responsibility for my life instead of blaming others for my problems and expecting others to take care of me? Do I strive to do my best, and do I feel worthy of rewards or compensation for my efforts? Do I have enough faith in myself to take risks, embrace challenges, and create avenues for fulfillment?

Third eye: Am I mentally sharp and able to figure things out? Do I have lots of creative ideas, and the habit of taking the necessary steps to make them reality? Do answers or insights come to me as I mentally try to understand things? Am I able to visualize my goals and dreams? Do I set realistic, attainable goals? Do my experiences support and validate my beliefs about life?

Crown chakra: Do I feel like I’m part of something vast and wonderful? Do I feel connected to God/ Spirit/ the Universe, and feel that my life has a purpose? Am I able to view myself honestly, and to ferret out the lessons in my experiences in order to develop wisdom?

Karen, as you work with your chakras, I encourage you to do whatever your intuition tells you is best for you. If you assume that your higher self will naturally guide you in maintaining balance, then you can focus on just opening up to life and developing an ever greater capacity for joy, well-being and personal power.

– Soul Arcanum


Using All Your Psychic Senses to Read Auras

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum: I’ve been trying to see auras for a while now, and nothing is happening! After reading a book on the subject and trying all the exercises, I finally signed up for a one-day workshop on how to see auras, and though everyone around me seemed to be having a great time, I never saw a thing. Am I missing something about how this all works?
Amy

Dear Amy:

I understand your frustration. It reminds me of when I was in training to become a Spiritualist minister at the School of Spiritual Healing and Prophecy in Lily Dale, New York. While my classmates and I learned all sorts of wonderful things, there were two main categories in the curriculum: energy healing and mediumship. Most of my classmates were more comfortable with energy healing than spirit communication; they were all healers and could feel energy with their hands.

By contrast, I had come to the school because I had been experiencing spontaneous spirit communication and I wanted to learn how to control it in order to help the grieving. This made me much more comfortable with mediumship than energy healing.

On the first intensive day of training in energy healing, we ran our hands over our classmates auras, and everyone was talking about feeling hot spots and cold spots, pockets of energy here and strange vibes there. I, however, wasn’t feeling a darn thing except really inadequate.

Eventually, I summoned the courage to tell the instructor that I had no idea what everyone was talking about. He asked me what I experienced internally while everyone else was feeling all that stuff, and I told him what I was seeing in my mind. I could see colors and patterns of energy and even see where some problems or issues may lie, for my attention would be drawn to that part of the body and symbols would pop up in my mind’s eye. He then laughed and reassured me that I wasn’t unfit for energy healing work – I was just very visual/clairvoyant.

The point of the story is that we must all trust and work with our own natural strengths and abilities. No two people are exactly alike, so no two healers or psychics will perceive subtle information the same way. Everyone has a primary modality. Some people are visual like me, so when they’re accessing psychic information, they tend to do so clairvoyantly. Some people are more auditory/clairaudient, and some people are more kinesthetic/clairsentient. (There are other modalities too, but these are the big three.)

It can be very frustrating for people who are primarily kinesthetic to try to get visual information, just like it was hard for me to try to get clairsentient information. Further, most people are only familiar with the clairvoyant approach to viewing auras. As there is an abundance of this information available in books and on the internet, I won’t go into it here. Following are some ideas for those who are more auditory or kinesthetic.

First, regardless of the specific techniques you use, you must get centered in a very high vibration to consciously access psychic information. There are lots of ways to get into a high vibration; I’ve written on this extensively in other articles.

Next, you have to shift your focus beyond the physical, or you’ll only use your physical senses. To begin to focus metaphysically, center your awareness on the space surrounding objects. If you’re visual, you would gaze at something living (a person, animal or plant), and then shift your attention from the object to the so-called empty space around it. You can do this if you’re not visual too by simply centering your attention on the space around the subject.

If you’re primarily auditory, begin by getting into a high vibration and then mentally focus your attention on the being/person you’re wanting to read. You don’t have to look at this person since you’re not going to be processing information visually. Just focus on them and imagine a telephone cord connecting the two of you. Now mentally ask that person (or your spirit guides) to please tell you about them. Allow thoughts and words to come into your awareness.

While you could ask for a description of this person’s aura, if you’re able to get that information clairaudiently, you might as well skip right past that and ask for deeper psychic information. After all, the important thing in reading auras is what your perceptions mean.

For example, as I write this article, I’m sitting in a cafe and there is an older gentlemen sitting at a table to the right of me. First I mentally ask his permission to read his aura, and I feel a welcoming sort of response. I ask my spirit guides to give me the experience of someone who is primarily auditory. I mentally shut out any vibes from other people, focus my attention on this one connection, open up and ask for information.

The first thing I hear is It’s a shame. I ask what is a shame, and I mentally hear a whole story about the man’s son, who has grown distant from the rest of the family. The son is off doing his thing now, and I understand that this man wishes they had a closer relationship.

Now let’s try the same exercise from a kinesthetic perspective. For this approach, I imagine myself in his body. (You can also do this through a connective cord, as above, if you’re worried about taking on others’ energy.) I imagine that I am in his body, and as I do so, I feel sort of wistful and sad. When I ask why I feel sad, I have the feeling of holding a baby in my arms. This is not physical, of course; it’s more like a feeling in my own aura. I have the auric feeling of cradling a baby and at the same time, I see a baby in his arms. (I can’t turn off the visual information. Our primary modalities are like that – they’re always processing whatever we’re experiencing, and all modalities are always working together to foster understanding.) I now know that he feels wistful about one of his children.

You can get all sorts of information to flesh things out by using your other modalities. If you’re wanting to read someone’s aura to learn about their personality, strengths, weaknesses, etc., you can do it the same way. Just get into a high vibration, and either let things come to you or ask questions and then allow insights to flow in whatever way works best for you.

Trust what you perceive and remember that you can always ask further questions to get more information and clarification/confirmation. Also, while you’re wise to work with your strengths, the more well-rounded you are in your development, the fuller your awareness will be, so it’s wise to practice getting information through all of your psychic senses.

– Soul Arcanum