The Chakra System - The Rainbow Within

I first heard of the Chakra system 30 years ago when I trained to become a Dr. Lascelles healer. I was handed a tomb of a book to read regarding this energy system but, quite frankly, I may have been reading another language altogether and I was completely bemused!

I hope that this article will help those looking for guidance to understand the reality of these energy centres and to maybe empower others to be aware and to understand just how much autonomy we really have regarding our own self-healing.

The word Chakra comes from Sanskrit and means wheel. Chakras are often depicted as energy centres which spin in a circular motion in the form of a vortex.

There are seven major chakras in this energy system. There are said to be many more which have been seen but we will only concentrate on the seven major centres in this article.

These energy centres link all aspects of our self, the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual “bodies” and when all are vibrating in harmony, we experience health and well-being.

When the chakras become blocked, they are unable to draw in enough light and energy from the Universe which is required to keep us in balance. Blockages can occur when there is disharmony in one or more aspects of our being.

Healing (from another person, or our own self) helps to gently release any blockages and will restore balance so that the chakras can once again open to the Universal Life Force Energy (or God) that is always available.

  • ROOT CHAKRA – (base of the spine) Colour RED “I HAVE”.This chakra relates to our material world and physical structure (skeletal), survival, flight or fight instincts, preservation of species. We could liken it to our animal instincts, our need for security, our need for societal and family acceptance This charka helps us to take action, to get things done.
  • SACRAL CHAKRA – (lower stomach area) Colour ORANGE “I FEEL”. This chakra is our centre of emotion. It allows us to feel joy, desire, the ability to be tactile. This centre holds our emotional issues from childhood. It is the seat of our intuition or gut feelings.
  • SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA - (upper stomach area between the ribcage) Colour YELLOW “I CAN”. This is a most important chakra which holds our personal power, willpower. Independence, ego, status. It is also where we feel fear and panic.
  • HEART CHAKRA – Colour GREEN OR PINK “I LOVE”. This chakra is where we hold our unconditional love, compassion and empathy. As healers this is the most important chakra as all healing comes from the heart.
  • THROAT CHAKRA – Colour BLUE “I SPEAK”. This chakra enables us to speak our truth. It is the centre of self-expression, communication, creativity, individuality and integrity.
  • THIRD EYE CHAKRA – Colour INDIGO “ I SEE”. This chakra is where we hold our judgement, wisdom, imagination, spiritual awareness, clairvoyance, and connection to our spiritual guides.
  • CROWN CHAKRA – VIOLET “I KNOW”. This chakra connects us to a higher power, guidance and higher self, spiritual links, knowledge and wisdom.

When these energy centres are absorbing all the energy they can, we are in balance.

Although we cannot normally see these chakras, we can feel them or become aware when there is a problem within our being.

The root chakra is difficult to feel as this is the densest chakra but using the above information we can clearly “know” when something is amiss. Fear of poverty, fear of acceptance and feelings of insecurity lie here. We can help to energise this chakra with our positive thoughts and visualising the colour red and reminding ourselves what we “HAVE”.

The sacral chakra is very easy to feel. When we are excited or joyful, we have a feeling of anticipation, a fluttering, butterflies in our stomach. Conversely, if we have emotional issues, we can often feel dread here, a gut feeling, an intuition. We can then concentrate on our emotional issues and to visualise the colour orange can aid this process. Examining what we “FEEL” is a healing in itself and can aid the journey to self-acceptance and self-love.

The solar plexus chakra is the easiest to “feel” in my opinion. When we are feeling powerless or fearful it feels as if there is a tight fist in this centre of this chakra. This is us feeling this chakra closing tight. To aid the healing process we can visualize the yellow of this chakra and remind ourselves “I CAN”.

We have all heard the saying “open hearted” or indeed “Hard hearted”. When we suffer terrible loss, we can feel the “pain” in our hearts. Visualising the colour green can help to return us to “I LOVE”.

The throat chakra is also easy to feel. When we need to say something important and we get that tightening of the throat or a feeling of constriction we are clearly feeling this chakra needs our attention. We can visualise the colour blue and examine what it is we need to communicate. This enables us to “SPEAK

The brow or third eye chakra is not easy to “feel”, but we do know when it is not working to its full capacity when we can’t control those nagging fears or judgements we may be going over and over again in our minds. Again, visualise the colour indigo and look inside to see where these thoughts come from and remember to “SEE” what is really going on in our heads.

The crown chakra is the one which connects us to divine power, guidance and insight. It is the link between us and our higher self. We know when this chakra is not fully activated when we feel lost spiritually or are suffering a “dark night of the soul”. Visualising the colour violet and see it filling our whole being will help to reconnect us to “I KNOW”.

This is, of course, only my interpretation of this wonderful rainbow of colours which we all carry within us and which we can all access to aid our healing journey. I do hope this article has been helpful.

Kathy Searle