"Lotus of a 1000 petals" exercise

   Make yourself comfortable in a sitting position, with your spine really straight. Relax yourself, loosen the tension in your neck and slacken your jaw. Then close your eyes.

   Breathe in deeply "through" the Root Chakra, i.e. imagining that the air is entering via this chakra and then passing through the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th chakras and revitalising them, before filling your lungs. Then exhale "through" the Crown Chakra, imagining that the air you are expelling from your lungs is stimulating the 5^th and 6^th chakras en route.

   Transform the air swirling out of the Crown Chakra: imagine, visualise this air changing into bubbling water which gradually becomes still.

   Visualise, floating on this water, a beautifully pure, white or pink lotus flower. Place yourself in the middle of this splendid lotus flower.

   If you can, draw a picture of this image, which you will then use as a meditation aid for three days, to "anchor" your feelings relating to this visualisation. To begin with, you may only have partial success with visualising (i.e. creating your own mental images). But don't be discouraged, this is mainly due to a lack of practice. You can start with a simpler image. For example you can try visualising a really bright column of violet air emerging from your Crown Chakra at the time of exhalation.

   Here is a variation on the previous exercise:

   Visualise a shining Lotus flower with a thousand petals, on the top of your head. As you breathe in, visualise a stream of white light rising from the first chakra towards the top of your head via the rear of the body (your back) and say the syllable: "SO" (ss-oo).

   Feel this light nourishing the thousand-petal Lotus… which is glowing and unfolding more and more … As you exhale, your breath flows in the form of white light back down to the Root Chakra via the front of your body. Then say the syllable: "HAM".

   Take twelve breaths in this way. Imagine that the path of your breath (up the back and down the front of your body) is forming an oval of sparkling light which is encircling you and protecting you, and above which the 1000-petal Lotus is resting. Keep concentrating for a moment on the top of your head, with the Lotus present, then end this visualisation by thanking the Universe.

   This exercise is very powerful. Do it whenever you want to stimulate your Crown Chakra.

The Crown Chakra

     

   This energy centre is linked to the seventh plane of consciousness, i.e. knowledge of the Divine, of the Universe, and pure intuition which prompts you to say: "I know!".

   Resulting from esoteric and spiritual tradition, "creative visualisation" is a technique which allows people to realise their desires through the creation, the fabrication of mental images (which must always be positive). In fact, visualisation allows you to "invent", to "think up" your life before turning it into a concrete reality.

    How is this possible?

    Matter is energy manifesting itself in fairly solid form, whereas thought is energy manifesting itself in a more insubstantial form. Unlike matter, thought is a subtle, mobile, swift energy. Thought always precedes materialisation. It is like a "plan" - it creates an image of a form, and this directs the flow of concrete energy into this form to materialise it on the physical plane. Similarly you can realise a mental image. The fact of creating a mental image and concentrating on it, mobilises energy which makes it possible to attract and create the corresponding form in the real world.

    Doing exercises that involve visualisation is a very useful way of supporting the development of the Crown Chakra and getting in touch with your intuition. 

The Brow Chakra (Ajna)

   

   This energy centre is connected with the sixth plane of consciousness, which concerns the power of positive thinking and the art of creative visualisation.

   When this chakra is developed, people finally find positive thinking and creative visualisation feasible, and this makes them capable of controlling their destinies in harmony with their aims in life. The imagination then becomes truly active and tangibly enriches projects in life.

   The following exercise is designed to act as a powerful stimulus to the "third eye".

                "Clear Vision" exercise

   Sit down comfortably in a cross-legged position with your spine really straight. Breathe deeply and calmly and take a moment to relax. Then make the sound OM (which is pronounced Aaa-oooo-mmmm), while focusing your mind on your Brow Chakra. With your eyes closed, and still relaxed, gently concentrate on an imaginary point situated between your two eyebrows, just above the bridge of the nose. Chant the sound OM, trying to make it vibrate at this point. Experiment by trying to chant different sounds or the sound OM in different tones, to "project" them into this chakra. You will find that it's easily achieved, with a bit of practice.

   Then silently concentrate on the Ajna Chakra. Clearly sense this point situated between the eyebrows. After a few minutes, lean backwards, supporting yourself with your elbows, and allow your head to fall back until the Brow Chakra is pointing directly towards the sky (ceiling).

   Breathe deeply and regularly "through this chakra", maintaining a brief pause after inhaling. Carry on doing this for a few minutes before finally bringing your body back into your starting position. Try to perceive, to feel the movement of energy in the third eye.

   Tip your head back again while breathing in. Hold your breath and expand your chest. Draw the PRANA energy (i.e. the universal cosmic energy captured from the surrounding air while inhaling) up into the third eye as you exhale.

   Repeat this exercise nine times in a row. Then lie down on your back and take at least as much time to relax as it took to do the exercise. Feel totally and utterly relaxed!

The Throat Chakra

   This energy centre corresponds to the fifth plane of consciousness, which is all to do with words, communication creativity. Here is an exercise designed to purify this chakra, while developing your creative inspiration. It involves spontaneously writing down phrases without using your intellect. It may be that you won't understand your writings until afterwards, when you read back over your text.

               "Inspired writing" exercise

   Take a sheet of paper and write down a word vertically, leaving a couple of lines between each letter. Close your eyes for a few moments, breathe calmly and deeply, and relax. Raise your consciousness, as though you were climbing a staircase of light, and ask the "little inner voice" of your Soul to inspire you. Then, starting with each of the letters in the vertical word, you are going to write out horizontally, firstly a word which begins with that letter, or even one or two phrases. Don't think about it. Write down the first thing that comes into your head. Don't "sort" the ideas, just write spontaneously. You'll often be amazed at the result, even if you're not successful every time. Remain open: the vertical word can represent a query, on which you would like to obtain some guidance, some enlightenment.

   The way we speak, and in particular our tone of voice, betrays lots of things about our inner life: our moods, emotions, states of mind, conditioning. In fact, the voice is an instrument of self-affirmation. Someone whose voice is muffled or faint often has problems pushing himself forward and asserting himself in front of others.

   Being difficult to understand is a way of "mobilising" your audience more strongly, and therefore taking energy from other people. Also, you can amuse yourself by identifying the people around you whose voice seems "strangled", either because it doesn't appear to go with that person, or because part of their energy is being "retained".

                   Voice exercise

   Then, you can gradually work on your voice:

   First of all, observe yourself when you are speaking, to sense what is happening in your throat, with regard to the energy you put into your words, into your oral expression. Then, when you feel that you are holding back, be brave and commit yourself more forcefully, by raising your tone or by speaking with more gravity. Try to sound really involved in what you are saying. You will find that the people around you perceive you differently. This kind of exercise is very effective for purifying and stimulating the Throat Chakra.

   Finally, allow yourself to have a good shout from time to time, in your car for example. This is probably one of the best places to do it, without being heard or upsetting anyone. We don't have enough opportunities in our civilisation to express ourselves by shouting. It is however very liberating, and a shout never killed anyone. Yet we stop ourselves from doing it. You certainly shouldn't take the attitude that there's something "ridiculous" about it.

   When you are speaking, you should always feel in contact with the ground, "rooted" in earth energies. This link between our voice and our "anchorage" gives weight to the words we say - they seem better "grounded", more real, quite firm. This is a considerable asset, if you really want to make yourself heard, or to inspire other people's confidence.

   Do this work on your voice as often as possible, because it has very positive effects on the 3^rd and 5^th chakras, consciously clearing them of certain kinds of conditioning. This leads to more effective self-affirmation and also boosts creativity and inspiration.

The Heart Chakra

       

   To open your fourth chakra, and reach to the fourth plane of consciousness, here is a simple exercise you can practise whenever you have a quiet moment. But you'll gain the most benefit from doing it first thing in the morning, before you start your day.

              Heart-opening exercise

   Sit down comfortably, with your back really straight, in a cross-legged position if possible, with a cushion slipped under your buttocks if need be, so that your folded legs are lower than your pelvis. Place your hands flat on your thighs, or bring them together in your lap, palms up, against your abdomen. Concentrate for a few moments on your breathing, to make it deeper and more regular, calm and relaxed. Don't force it. Make sure you breathe "abdominally" - you should feel your abdomen swelling slightly when you breathe in. Then your thoughts will gradually subside.

   Now concentrate, without straining or tensing up, on your brow (Ajna chakra) and try to feel or visualise that you are sitting in the sun. Imagine that the sun is in front of you, and that you can feel its heat and rays striking you and penetrating your chest. Now sense a "heat-spot" developing inside your chest. Feel that your chest is "opening up" as though the air was going in and out of you through your chest. Feel this heat spreading throughout your body and radiating all around you. Then you will be filled with a sense of peace and plenitude, a well-being which may even verge on ecstasy. Just allow yourself to experience this wonderful state, and nourish yourself from it.

   If you keep repeating this exercise, you will gradually find a new core building inside you, a warm and stable inner core which gives you a new sense of being more alive, more profound. This will give you the strength and courage to be more genuine, more natural.

   Here is another technique for opening the Heart Chakra. This one is based even more on the confidence you have in yourself, others and the Universe. Remember that your feeling of confidence echoes your relationship with the Universe and with the Yang pole, and therefore your relationship with your father and men in general.

          Second exercise: Let yourself fall!

   This exercise is done with a partner. You stand with your eyes closed, and your partner stands behind you. Take a moment to completely relax by breathing calmly.

   Your partner counts up to 3, and on 3, you let yourself fall backwards, with complete confidence. Your partner catches you at the last moment. Repeat the exercise several times, until you feel perfectly at ease doing it, then reverse the roles.

   Spend some time thinking about what you felt after this experience. What did it teach you about confidence?

Self-affirmation exercise

   Stand in front of a mirror and say to yourself, in your head, the following positive statement: "I accept myself and love myself just as I am", or perhaps "I recognise myself as a worthy person", etc. Try to find a phrase that really strikes a chord with you, i.e. one that actually seems "unacceptable" at the moment. It will be even more effective if you say your chosen phrase out loud. Repeat this exercise every day, trying to really feel the affirmation. In your daily life, you will find that you are confronted with situations that challenge you to apply this new precept. As the days go by, you yourself will see how you are developing, as you repeat your key phrase.

   For self-affirmation to work, you need to be true and sincere, i.e. in touch with yourself, as you are deep down. So you need to have dropped the masks that the people around you have encouraged you to wear. How can you do this?

   First of all, apply yourself to consciously feeling things. When you find yourself in front of someone, listen to them attentively, without immediately starting to reply from the head. If you remain "in your head" (your mind), you short-circuit your emotions, you don't give yourself an opportunity to feel. Yet it's this process that allows you to establish the difference between you and the other person, like a boundary between your environment and your self. You become a separate individual in your own right when you allow yourself to feel freely, without holding back in any way. You don't allow the other person to gain control over you. After allowing a moment to feel what your interlocutor stirs inside you, with their attitude or their words, name this feeling in your mind.

   The next step is to verbally express your feelings to the other person: this is the trickiest part. Normally, we avoid this, because it is not conventional or because we don't want to offend the other person. But in doing this, we are giving them power over ourselves. One of the best ways of affirming yourself is to express your attitudes, your emotions, your feelings.

   Naturally, you need to take some precautions. They key is to express yourself in a personal way, i.e. by formulating phrases that begin with "I", for example:  

   "I have the impression that…", "I sense that…", "I have the feeling that…", or "What you say makes me…", etc.

   There is a world of difference between phrases like: "You are threatening me" or "You are unfair" AND "I feel threatened by your words" or "I don't feel that is fair". In the first case, you are judging or accusing the other person, but in the second case, you are merely stating your personal position, which only involves yourself. This option is preferable because it leaves some distance between you and the person you are talking to. When you say "I can't agree with you" instead of "What you say is wrong", you keep the focus on yourself, you are asserting the difference between you without attacking the other person. You get fully involved in the exchange in a mature way, and you make yourself heard and respected. You don't put yourself in the firing-line or damage the integrity of the person you are talking to, as long as you are speaking about yourself. And by allowing yourself to express your feelings, you are truly affirming yourself.

Practise this exercise at every opportunity you can find. Start with people you know well and can trust, then expand the field to include other people.

The Solar Plexus Chakra

    The negative conditioning linked to the third chakra prompts statements like: "I'm useless". The antidote is to build some kind of self-recognition. As a first step, you can try to identify behaviour that is motivated by a desire for recognition from other people (real or symbolic). This manifests itself in the way you constantly judge yourself and often feel dissatisfied with what you are doing.  

   The following exercise is designed to correct this imbalance originating in the third chakra and the plane of consciousness associated with it.

Giving-receiving exercise

The thing we receive most of during the day is words - the words of other people. 
Whenever someone addresses you verbally, be careful to remain quiet and receptive. 
Open yourself up, and let in the words of the person talking to you. 
Don't reply straight away, and try not to reflect even, as you go along. 
Just listen attentively. 
This is a kind of "rehabilitation" exercise I'm giving you. 
Of course, if you are dealing with an aggressive or particularly negative person, you should avoid opening up, because you'll risk being "contaminated" by their negativity. 
In all other cases, allow yourself to receive the sounds of other people's words. 
And if someone says "thank you", don't immediately say "Oh it's nothing" - allow the thanks to penetrate inside you. 
If someone gives you something, simply accept it, allowing yourself to be touched by this gesture towards you.
If it makes you feel emotional, it doesn't matter. 
You can perhaps express your feelings by saying something like "I'm touched" or "I'm overcome". 
Sometimes it's difficult to show your emotion, because at this time you are very vulnerable. 
But in these circumstances, you can allow yourself to do it. 
This simple-seeming exercise can have big repercussions on your life, because it teaches you to really receive, and therefore to open yourself up. 
And then life will be able to give you the best it has to offer. 
If, on the other hand, someone asks you for something that you have the means to give, gladly agree to part with it: this is a sign that life is checking that you are not closed. 
Because life is a constant ebb and flow of giving and receiving. 
In order to receive, you need to give, and visa versa. 
In fact, if your glass is always full of water, how can it fill up again? Remember that when you agree to give something of yourself, on any level (spiritual, intellectual, emotional, material, etc.), you are "stimulating" the movement of life as well as your chakras (and the sacral centre in particular).

The Sacral Chakra

The negative conditioning related to the second chakra engenders beliefs like: "I don't deserve to be loved". To avoid suffering from a wound caused by a lack of love, people "close themselves" to receiving. Observe your reaction when someone gives you something. Do you say: "Oh, you shouldn't have" or "You needn't have bothered "? If so, this means you find it hard to receive. But when you do this, you prevent the flow of life from circulating through you and this has very concrete repercussions on your existence: you cannot accept from life the gifts it offers you, so you cannot develop, even on a material level. If you want to be richer, first of all you need to learn how to receive. Receiving from life requires no effort or struggle. Here is an exercise you can practise in your everyday life: Giving-receiving exercise The thing we receive most of during the day is words - the words of other people. Whenever someone addresses you verbally, be careful to remain quiet and receptive. Open yourself up, and let in the words of the person talking to you. Don't reply straight away, and try not to reflect even, as you go along. Just listen attentively. This is a kind of "rehabilitation" exercise I'm giving you. Of course, if you are dealing with an aggressive or particularly negative person, you should avoid opening up, because you'll risk being "contaminated" by their negativity. In all other cases, allow yourself to receive the sounds of other people's words. And if someone says "thank you", don't immediately say "Oh it's nothing" - allow the thanks to penetrate inside you. If someone gives you something, simply accept it, allowing yourself to be touched by this gesture towards you. If it makes you feel emotional, it doesn't matter. You can perhaps express your feelings by saying something like "I'm touched" or "I'm overcome". Sometimes it's difficult to show your emotion, because at this time you are very vulnerable. But in these circumstances, you can allow yourself to do it. This simple-seeming exercise can have big repercussions on your life, because it teaches you to really receive, and therefore to open yourself up. And then life will be able to give you the best it has to offer. If, on the other hand, someone asks you for something that you have the means to give, gladly agree to part with it: this is a sign that life is checking that you are not closed. Because life is a constant ebb and flow of giving and receiving. In order to receive, you need to give, and visa versa. In fact, if your glass is always full of water, how can it fill up again? Remember that when you agree to give something of yourself, on any level (spiritual, intellectual, emotional, material, etc.), you are "stimulating" the movement of life as well as your chakras (and the sacral centre in particular).

The Root Chakra

   

- You can stimulate this chakra by pausing after breathing out and before you breathe in again. The stimulation of this chakra generally has the effect of calming the nervous system and reducing tension in the spine.

  To do this, concentrate mentally on the position of the chakra, and imagine it bathing in a beautiful bright red light, the aim being to "warm" it as much as possible so that you can relax it more afterwards. The easiest way to achieve this is through your breathing: just breathe calmly, and deeply, then concentrate firmly on this part of the body during the pause in your breathing that follows exhalation. Stay like this for a few seconds, your lungs emptied of all their air, then breathe in deeply once more. 

  Carry on doing this. Ideally, you should practise this simple and yet powerful exercise for several minutes, twice a day, preferably at the start and the end of the day.

- Earlier, we dealt with the conditioning linked to an unbalanced Root Chakra and the associated negative beliefs ("I have no place", "I don't have the right to exist"…). Fear is at the root of all this, and it's fear that keeps the life-energy trapped at the level of this chakra. The antidote to this fear is confidence: confidence in oneself, in others, in the Universe. People who regain confidence in themselves, and in life, can gradually overcome their deepest fears. One of the keys is to have faith in the Universe. See it as a "cosy womb", a gigantic matrix. The following exercise serves to build an "umbilical cord" of energy, linking you to the Universe. In fact, this already exists (your breathing) but you can strengthen it considerably with the following visualisation exercise.

                 

How to purify and stimulate blocked chakras

Here is a powerful preliminary technique, used by Ancient Sages. 

It's called the "Diamond Smile". Its main purpose is to help you, first of all, to become physically aware of your chakras. It has two separate parts and is intended to initiate the chakra-opening process: the first stage relates to focusing the attention. One basic freedom that everyone possesses, is the freedom to choose where we turn our attention. Whether it is focused internally on a sensation or externally on a perception, or even on an imaginary place, the fact of concentrating the mind on something has the effect of drawing energy towards it. 

A chakra is like a bud. To open, it needs energy. You can use attention to attract energy to where it is needed. If you direct your attention towards the position of a chakra, and hold it there in a focused but relaxed way for 30 - 60 seconds, the chakra will start to "move".

Try the following preliminary experiment. 

Find the approximate position of the Ajna Chakra (the third eye): roughly the width of two fingers above the nose, between the eyebrows. Touch this spot with your index finger to start to draw your attention to this area. Focus your mind on it for 30 seconds. Don't allow anything to distract you, but remain calm at the same time. Stop and observe the effect produced. Do you detect a new sensation in this area? Can you feel a throbbing, an itch, a warmth, a trembling, or do you feel nothing at all? 

Don't try to anticipate the experience: to start with, you can't really tell what you are going to feel. You just need to accept any sensation that occurs, without showing too much excitement or insufficient interest. If you don't feel anything, try the experiment again for another 30 seconds. Don't expect anything extraordinary - when a chakra starts to open, it's a subtle experience. I would advise you to work for a short period, to observe the effects, and then repeat the process. Little by little your sensitivity will sharpen, and then you'll be able to prolong the experiment to five minutes. 

Remember that attention is a tool: it attracts energy to where it is needed… and at the same time, increases your awareness of sensations in the area concerned. Also, the more you relax, the greater will be the volume of free energy that can be drawn towards the point where your mind is fixed. But regardless of what you feel, the main objective is to direct energy towards the chakra bud, so that it can start to move and finally open, "petal by petal". 

The second part of this technique is called conscious breathing. This is a "generic" breathing which combines sensations, emotions and understanding in a conscious action. The objective is to increase the amount of universal cosmic energy that can be extracted from the surrounding atmosphere and to intensify it. 

Begin by breathing in through the nose, as though you were joyfully smelling a rose, with an awareness and understanding of your desire and your need to absorb the energy contained in the fragrance of the rose and in the air. Hold your breath, as though you were savouring the bouquet of a delicate wine - be relaxed and let the sensation spread through your whole body. Then let your breath out, releasing at the same time all your tension and negative emotions, allowing them to flow out of your body along with your breath. 

Pause until you feel the need, physiologically and psychologically, to start the breathing cycle again. Try this for a few minutes, until the process starts to feel quite natural. This kind of conscious breathing is used as an energising and purifying process, each complete respiratory cycle representing a concrete step towards a better inner state. You can combine this exercise with focusing your attention on the chakra "bud" that you want to purify, which will boost the process of opening this chakra. First, concentrate on the position of the particular chakra (Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, etc…) towards which you need to attract energy. 

Use the third eye as your starting point, then touch the place of the chakra concerned with your fingertips. Next, start the conscious breathing. Most of the energy sucked in with your breath will flow to the point where your attention is focused. As you hold your breath and relax, the energy will be able to grow and penetrate more deeply. As you breathe again, you eliminate obstacles and resistances, leaving the energy a bit more freedom to work. This technique is not dangerous at all. The most important thing is to be aware of each stage you are performing, and to remember your aim: the opening of your chakras. 

IMPORTANT: Practise the "Diamond Smile" technique, a few minutes every day, for twelve consecutive days. You can do it in the morning or the evening, as you prefer, but be sure to leave a big enough gap after a meal (in fact, the digestion process "absorbs" lots of energy, and this tends to hinder the opening of the chakras). Once all your energy centres have been sufficiently "cleansed" in this way, we will be able to work together so that you can receive the "Miracle of the Sacred Fire" (I'll come back to this specific point later…).

How can you tell if one or more chakras is blocked?

  

   In my earlier description of each of the chakras, I have tried to give a clear indication of the signs that allow you to tell whether a chakra is working harmoniously, inharmoniously, weakly, etc.

   Using these criteria, you should soon be able to identify your worst problem areas. Sometimes, I have deliberately described the consequences of a malfunctioning chakra in a rather "exaggerated" way, to help you to quickly understand certain tendencies associated with this imbalance.

   Another way of analysing your chakras is through self-observation. See which of your chakras reacts strongly at times of stress and unusual upheavals. You may find that in certain tricky situations in life, you always see the same kind of reactions.

   If, for example, your Root Chakra is under-functioning, you may feel that you are "losing your footing" when faced with difficult circumstances. If this chakra is "hyperactive", you will tend to fly into a rage or become aggressive.

   If the second chakra is functioning badly, your feelings will be blocked when things are particularly tense, but if it's operating excessively, you may well burst into tears or react with a lack of emotional control.

   Slow functioning of the third chakra can explain your feelings of powerlessness or weakness, often accompanied by a strange sensation in the stomach or a mysterious apprehension. When this chakra is overloaded, this results in nervous tension or a tendency to want to grab control of every situation through over-excitement.

   If you feel as though your "heart is stopping", this is a sign that your fourth chakra is not functioning strongly. And that awful thumping of the heart (when it "pounds" in the chest) in a stressful situation, indicates that the Heart Chakra is generally dysfunctional.

   If the Throat Chakra is functioning in an irregular way, your throat will feel tight and you might start to stammer, or your neck may wobble. In the event of this chakra becoming over-active, you will react with an avalanche of words which will do nothing to help you to master the situation.

   If, in a state of stress or shock, you feel incapable of forming a single clear idea, this is a sign that your Brow Chakra is under-performing, while headaches indicate that it is being overloaded.

   These reactions are typical symptoms of weaknesses in our energy system. So if we observe them carefully, this can help us to understand ourselves better.

   You can also use a special test (called a kinesiological test) to determine which of your chakras are blocked. You will need another person to help you with this.

   Here are the steps you should follow: place your right hand flat on a chakra and stretch your left arm out to the side, at shoulder height, so that it forms a right-angle with your body. The other person (the one who's helping you to do the test) shouts: "Hold!", and you try to hold your left arm in this horizontal position, while they try to force it down by applying pressure at the wrist.

   If the chakra is harmonious and balanced, the outstretched arm will show strong resistance, but if the chakra is blocked, the arm can't resist and the other person will succeed in lowering it without any great effort. Apply this test to each of the seven chakras in turn, and it will give you a pretty accurate idea of the energy state of your chakras. Disorders in the chakras always manifest themselves through a weakness in the arm. You can do this test from time to time to see if there has been any change. If the chakra system is in perfect condition, the arm test will have a positive result seven times over, i.e. the arm will show firm resistance every time. I would advise you to take a little break between testing each chakra to prevent your arm from getting tired.

   Another variation of this test is to press your thumb against your index finger on your right hand and cover the chakra to be "tested" with your left hand. Your partner then tries to separate the two fingers being squeezed together. If the resistance is strong, then there is no problem with the chakra being tested, but if the resistance is weak, the chakra needs to be balanced.

   Now I'm going to tell you various ways of restoring the balance of the chakra/chakras that need it most. There are different techniques for purifying, stimulating and balancing chakras. You will be able to adopt and apply those you feel are most suitable for you.  

   I'm going to suggest some simple techniques and exercises specifically designed for each chakra. They are tried and tested, and all effective, as long as you do them properly and regularly.

What happens when the Crown Chakra is almost closed?

  

 
 You now know that the opening and harmonisation of the chakras, that I've described so far, brings a wealth of knowledge, experiences and abilities. But if the Crown Chakra is not open, you always feel separated from the Divine Spirit, and this prevents you from becoming totally free from fear. This fear still maintains some blockages in the chakras, so they can't fulfil their potential because their energies are not vibrating in complete harmony with the intentions of the Creator, and consequently these energies also find it impossible to vibrate in perfect harmony with each other.

   People who therefore can't or won't open themselves up to spiritual truths, end up suffering from moments of uncertainty and doubt, and from the absence of any precise aim in their life. They may be starting to realise the absurdity of their current existence and they may develop a fear of death. To try to stifle these worrying impressions, they take refuge in increased activity. They shoulder new responsibilities, to prove that they really are indispensable, to allay a nasty feeling of "emptiness" and to give their life some meaning. This shows that they need to be more introspective, to balance their inner life and outer life. Sometimes they may fall ill and be obliged to rest, which gives them an opportunity to reflect on the real reasons for their "forced" immobility.

To sum up: if you have a set of rigid or dogmatic beliefs, if you feel the need to believe blindly rather than to discover what is right for you, if you feel separated from "God/the Universe", if you think that spirituality is something tedious or even pointless, this means your seventh chakra has undergone little or no development.

How can you tell if your Crown Chakra is vibrating harmoniously?

    The seventh chakra does not get "blocked" as such. It's just a matter of the extent to which it is developed. If it is functioning weakly, the universal cosmic energy can't revitalise the physical body or the other chakras which are also turning slowly. Conversely, if it is working strongly, this allows the Divine Consciousness to inspire us.

   When the Crown Chakra begins to open, you feel more and more that there is no real barrier between your Inner Being and the world outside. Your mind is perfectly calm and open. In this meditative silence, the constant mental "babble" (the internal dialogue that normally fills your head) ceases.  

    Thanks to the gradual opening of this chakra, these moments become more and more frequent. You experience them more and more distinctly, until they become your permanent reality.

    If all the other chakras are balanced and working in harmony with each other, you may experience Supreme Enlightenment. From this moment on, you never look back in your development. You feel as though you have emerged from a long dream, to now live in a sumptuous, magical, ecstatic reality. When you want to know something, all you need to do is to focus your attention to find the answer, because everything exists inside you, in the Divine Spirit which is ONE with you, and to which you have free access whenever you like.

THE SEVENTH CHAKRA

   This is called the Sahasrara or Crown Chakra. It's also known as the "Lotus of a Thousand Petals". It is situated on top of the head, at fontanelle level. It is linked to the pineal gland, and associated with the element Ether and with LIGHT.

   This chakra represents Knowledge of the divine element that exists inside us, our own personal "truth". It relates to our system of beliefs, vision of spirituality, wisdom (knowledge of the Universe), spiritual path and pure and magical intuition.

    This chakra is situated outside space and time. It links us to the Divine Spirit. This is where we are "at home", feeling perfectly confident and secure. It's the "place" where our personal energy field can merge with the universal energy field. Previously we understood in an intellectual and then intuitive way, but here we reach the level of perfect comprehension.

   When the seventh chakra opens, the final blockages hindering the functioning of the other chakras are also cleared, and their energies can vibrate at full capacity.

What are the signs of inharmonious functioning?

   Inharmonious functioning normally leads to a "swollen head". This means that the person is living almost entirely through their intellect and their reason. But in wanting to solve everything through their mind, they only accept the realities conveyed to them by rational thought. Such people are very likely to have highly developed intellectual faculties and to be endowed with a capacity for detailed analysis, but they lack a broad, global vision and the ability to fit everything into a wider cosmic context.

   It's not unusual for such people to display intellectual arrogance. They only acknowledge factors that can be grasped by the mind and verified using scientific methods. They reject spiritual knowledge because it is "not scientific", "not real". They tend to try to influence people and things using the force of the mind, to demonstrate power or to satisfy personal egotistic needs.

   In general, an attitude like this coincides with an unbalanced Solar Plexus Chakra and a poorly developed Heart Chakra. If in spite of a few blockages, the third eye is relatively open, such actions are always possible, but they are definitely not in harmony with the natural flow of life. The individual feels isolated, and in the long run, doesn't gain the expected satisfaction.

   If the flow of energies is virtually stopped at the sixth chakra, the reality in which people live is no longer that of the visible outside world. Their lives become entirely dominated by material desires, physical needs and irrational emotions. Discussions of a spiritual nature seem tedious and pointless. They reject spiritual realities because they believe they are just products of the imagination or empty and absurd fantasies with no practical connection. Their thoughts tend to agree with prevailing opinions. They can fall into a profound nihilism which stems from their failure to realise their grand ideas and aspirations. But they always get themselves into this situation and it's not the world or other people who are to blame.

   In particularly stressful situations, they can easily "lose their head". They are easily distracted. In extreme cases, their thoughts are confused, woolly and entirely dominated by their repressed emotions.

To sum up: if you lack discernement, if you find it hard to make up your mind, if you often have illusions and can't rely on your intuition, if your vision of life is too negative, if you are incapable of "visualising" positive circumstances or bringing your creative imagination into play, if you are unaware of your own powers and your true personality, this means your sixth chakra is unbalanced.

 

   Once this chakra is "open" and capturing cosmic energy properly, you finally know exactly what you need for your own well-being (and that of others too), and you can focus your attention on a precise aim. Powers like intuition, positive thinking and creative visualisation become spiritual resources that you can exploit in order to build the life you want. You create your own lucky opportunities.

How can you tell if your Brow Chakra is open/balanced?

  

   If it is "open" and fully developed (this is only the case in very few people):

-           you definitely have a great capacity for visualisation and you understand many things intuitively. Your mind, your intellect can concentrate easily and at the same time remain open to all the mystical truths.

-           you become more and more aware that the visible aspects of things are only an image, a symbol through which the spiritual element is manifested down on the material plane. Your mind is full of idealism and imagination. You may realise, from time to time, that your ideas are being realised spontaneously.

-           the more your "third eye" develops, the more your mind draws on direct inner knowledge of reality, the more you are guided by a reliable intuition. Your perception of the world changes completely. You break the narrow bounds of the rational mind and you spontaneously integrate all the information you pick up into your fund of knowledge. The material world becomes transparent to you - your extra-sensory perception allows you to directly see the forces at work behind the façade of appearances. Your intuition and your inner vision give you access to all the subtle planes of reality.

THE SIXTH CHAKRA

   This is called the Ajna or Brow Chakra, and it's the famous "third eye". It is situated just above the nose, between the eyebrows. It is linked to the pituitary gland and associated with the element Space or Ether. This chakra represents "vision of life", self-knowledge, the ability to discern, creative imagination, clarity and unity.

   The third eye is the seat of all the processes to do with expanding consciousness. Its activity enables us to create new situations, new realities in the physical and material world, and also to "dissolve" old realities because they have become obsolete, irrelevant. However, for the vast majority of people, this process is automatic and takes place without any conscious intervention. Most of the thoughts determining our lives are ruled by our rigid emotional conditioning and programmed by our own judgements and prejudices, along with those of other people.

   So our intellect, our "mind", is not always the master, but often a slave to our emotion-riddled thoughts over which we only have minimal control. However, these thoughts become realities, in the true sense, in our lives, because what we experience externally is always just a manifestation, in the end, of our subjective internal reality.

   By expanding awareness and gradually opening the "third eye", the human being becomes increasingly capable of controlling this process of raising consciousness. The imagination develops the energy required to realise an idea or a desire. Fundamental knowledge arrives via intuition, clairvoyance and all other forms of extra-sensory perception. So things that were only sensed very vaguely before, now become clear and precise perceptions.

What are the signs of inharmonious functioning?

  

If energies are trapped in your Throat Chakra, the relationship between "mind" and "body" is upset. Either you have problems reflecting about your feelings and you tend to express your stifled emotions through rather thoughtless actions, or, you take refuge in rationalism and deny your feelings the right to exist. You only accept certain emotions that have been approved by your own judgement and don't upset the opinions of your loved-ones.

   Subconscious guilt complexes and anxieties prevent you from seeing yourself or showing yourself as you really are, and from openly expressing your most intimate needs, sensations and thoughts. On the contrary, you try to hide them behind a barrage of words and gestures, so that you don't "give yourself away". You won't allow yourself to appear in a position of weakness, and you will do anything you possibly can to maintain the impression of strength. And so you put pressure on yourself with your own demands. You sometimes feel that the tasks of life are weighing too heavily on you.

   All this doesn't rule out you possessing deep inner knowledge, however you daren't live by it or express it, because you are afraid of being judged by others or worried about finding yourself isolated. Free access to the messages of the Soul is blocked, and your faith in your intuitive powers dwindles to virtually nothing.

To sum up: If you have problems communicating or find it hard to express yourself fully, or if you don't feel you are "creating" your own life, if you are insufficiently individualistic, if you are easily influenced by people, or if you are afraid of change, this means your fifth chakra is unbalanced.

         

   Once this chakra is "open" and capturing cosmic energy properly, thoughts and feelings are finally linked in the best possibly way: the moves you make in your life are then based on enlightened intuition - that wonderful inner guide. You acquire an understanding of your own path of development, and it becomes possible to see this path as part of a vaster whole. You become capable of "reading between the lines", of interpreting the "signs" indicating your destiny. All forms of communication (conversation, reading, etc.) become fruitful. Your words have the power to influence others.

How can you tell if your Throat Chakra is open/balanced?

If it is completely "open" and functioning harmoniously:

-           you fearlessly express your feelings, your thoughts and your inner discoveries. You are just as capable of showing your weaknesses as your strengths. Your honesty with yourself and others, manifests itself through your "straight" attitude.

-           you have the ability to express yourself fully, with your whole being, in an original and creative way. You can easily "hold your tongue" if you feel this is appropriate, and you have the gift of listening to others using your heart and your inner understanding. You don't allow yourself to be influenced by other people's opinions - on the contrary, you maintain your right to independence and self-determination. Your lack of prejudice makes you open to the reality of subtle planes. Through your inner voice, you receive information from higher astral planes, which guides you through your life and you accept this guidance with implicit trust.

-           your language is very imaginative but also very clear. It expresses your intentions very effectively so that your desires can be fulfilled. When confronted with difficulties and opposition, you remain true to yourself and you are capable of saying "no" when your mind is made up.

THE FIFTH CHAKRA

   This is called the Vishuddha or Neck Chakra or Throat Chakra. It is situated at throat level, between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae. It is linked to the thyroid gland, and associated with the element Space or Ether, and with the sense of hearing.

   This chakra relates to talking, communication, self-expression, creativity, the ability to guide others, and individualisation (i.e. developing one's own original characteristics).

   The Throat Chakra is a kind of "bridge" between our way of thinking/feeling and our impulses/reactions. It also outwardly expresses the energies/information coming from the other chakras. Through this chakra, we can externalise everything that is going on inside us: our laughter and our tears, our feelings of love and joy or anxiety and anger, our intentions and our desires, our ideas, our understanding and our perceptions from our inner worlds.

   We can only express what we have inside us, and the Throat Chakra gives us a capacity for inner reflection. To be able to reflect clearly, we first need to create some "internal detachment".

   The throat centre allows us to become more and more aware of our own mental and intellectual processes, helping us to see the difference between these and our physical and emotional perceptions. This means that our thoughts are no longer dominated by our feelings or our physical sensations, which would prevent us from gaining objective knowledge.

   The fifth chakra is associated with the sense of hearing: using this chakra, we can listen to the secret voices of Creation, and we can also hear our own inner voice. We can enter into contact with the spirit "animating" the voice, to gain inspiration from it.