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Chakra Christianity And Greece Sacred Pipe |
Chakra ChakrasWritten 1994-1995 About the chakras. I am not an expert by any means, but I would enjoy to share what I have learned about them. Let's start with the basics:
Notice how one can make a mental & spiritual exercise of feeling how energy comes into the body, goes through the various changes assoicated with each chakra in turn, and then leaves the body and returns to where it came from. I'll have an easier time going into the topic if you have specific questions. Notice how it is *very* easy to make relations to the Kaballah using the chakra system. I think that is *very* important because the chakra system is very body orientated & the kaballah seems very mind orientated to me. To combine or understand the two together seems very balanced to me. Introduction to basic Hindu beliefs.Aum, or Om is a great important foundational building block of the Hindu religion & philosophy. You can read a lot about it by reading the Upanyshads for example (which is a collection of significant Hindu scriptures) among many other books. Many "new age" spiritual folk beg borrow & borrow from such things, so just hearing the Word Aum or Om hardly means Hindu. That is where it originated. Aum* represents the beginning sound, the sound that came before all other sounds, the original sound. The simplist sound that all other sounds are based upon. The foundational sound. An explination for this that I have heard is that if you open your mouth as wide as comfortably possible and make a sound with the least amount of effort possible, the sound you get is an "A" sound, if you begin to close your mouth, the sound will change to a "U" sound and finally into an "M" sound as your mouth closes completely. Since this is an "effortless" sound, perhaps it is why it is considered the "first" sound. In the Upanyshads, the following mythology surrounds the Aum*. The letter A represents the physical, the U the mental, the M the spiritual and there is an invisible, unspoken, unspeakable letter at the end which is one with God. As you speak the Aum*, you can concentrate on first the physical, then the mental, the spiritual and finally oneness as you say each letter. I am remembering this from a few months ago, so I might be slightly imprecise with the exactness. In other words, I'm paraphrasing. Another neat paraphrase from the Upanyshads is that the Aum is a bow, and with that bow you can launch your Self towards the target of Brahman. The word Brahman when used in this context means something akin to the Absolute, the One, the Tao or God. Brahman is one of the three Hindu gods in their trinity. Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahman represents creation, Vishnu represents preserverance and Shiva is the destroyer. Each has a wife or female aspect. If you want to pray for the world to continue peacefully, you might pray to Vishnu or a form of Vishnu (like Kirshna or Narayanaya). It is less common, but in certain circumstances it is appropriate to pray to Brahman or Shiva. The * at the end of Aum* is my way of writing the invisible letter at the end of Aum... It's *not* the invisible letter, since you can see it and all, but it's there to remind you & me that its there. Aum, according to Hindu philosophy is the root word, the first word. If not historically, at least metaphorically. If you think of words as having a certain lineage, Aum is the parent of them all. All words have Aum in them somewhere. According to the Upanashads, probably the most fundamental Hindu philosopic text, each letter in the Aum represents a state of consciousness. The letter "A" represents the physical sheath of existance, the letter "U" represents the astral sheath, the emotional/intellectual aspect of existance, the "M" represents God. There is then a hidden letter that is also silent at the end of the Aum which actually *is* God. As you say the Aum, the Upanashads suggest that you think about what each letter represents as you are saying them. There is another quote in the Upanashads which says something to the effect that you are a bow, the Aum is the arrow, and by properly aiming your concentration, you can correctly aim the target of Brahman. Brahman is sanskrit for "unity." The reason that Aum is considered the "fundamental" word is that if you open your mouth widely and make the sound which comes with the least effort it is an "Ah" sound. Then if you close your mouth midway and make the sound that comes with the least effort it is a "U" sound. Lastly if you close your lips and make the sound that comes with the least effort it is an "Mmm" sound. So if you open your mouth widely and make the sound that requires the least effort and then slowly close your mouth as you continue to make the sound, you will make the sound "Aum." Thus Aum is the most effortless sound that can be humanly uttered. Thus it is the root word, if not historically, at least using this metaphor. First chakra blocksThe root chakra, being represenative of the human capacity to receive energy, is manifest and visible in a number of ways. Much like the root of a tree, if a tree has healthy roots, the tree will be physically healthy. People who have root chakra problems often have physical, psychological and emotional weaknesses and problems associated with their inability to receive energy (in whatever form). Exercizes which causes a person to become more aware and conscious of the energy that they are *already* receiving (as we must all be receiving some energy or else we would soon wither) are good root chakra exercizes. This can include being more conscious of the process of eating and adopting more positive & healthy eating habits, going on calming walks, physical exercizes which emphisize balance are good for the root. Standing on one foot with the other foot tucked into a half-lotus (or as close as comfortably possible) is a typical root balancing exercize. Another good exercize is standing with feet about 4 feet apart and bending at the knees, back straight, with hands in a prayer position. Hold as long as reasonably and comfortably possible. |
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© 1994-2008 Brian A. Cameron