What are the signs of inharmonious functioning?

   

   If the Heart Chakra is not functioning well, this can manifest itself in various ways: for example, you may be willing to give, to always be "there" and attentive to someone, but without engaging your heart. Perhaps without being aware of it, or without admitting it to yourself, you are expecting some kind of gratitude and recognition in exchange for all this "love" … and you are disappointed if your efforts are inadequately rewarded.

   Or it could be that although you feel strong and powerful enough to share this strength with other people, you yourself are incapable of accepting love from others, of opening yourself up to someone else enough to receive. So you feel uncomfortable with anything to do with tenderness and gentleness. You might have persuaded yourself that you don't need other people's love. This kind of attitude often goes hand in hand with a "puffed out" chest, which is a sign of an internal "armour", and (often subconscious) protection against attack and suffering.

   When the Heart Chakra is not functioning properly, this can easily make you vulnerable and dependant on other people's love and affection. If someone rejects you, you are deeply wounded (especially if you've plucked up the courage to open your heart). You would really like to give your love, but because you are afraid of another rejection, you never seem to find the right opportunity. You always end up being even more convinced of your inadequacies. As soon as someone makes a play for your heart, you tend to hide or withdraw, because you are afraid that you might get hurt.

   People whose Heart Chakra is closed are often cold and indifferent towards other people, and may even have a completely "shrivelled" heart. Before they feel anything, they need a strong external stimulus which helps them to overcome their denial of their own feelings.

To sum up: If you have emotional problems, if you can't find any inner peace, if you are blind to your intuition, if you regularly repress your feelings, if when there's a conflict you can't manage to stay calm and "keep your distance", intellectually and emotionally, this means your fourth chakra is unbalanced.

   Once this chakra is "open" and capturing cosmic energy properly, it helps you to attract love into your life, to live in harmony with yourself and others, to find your partner in life. Organisational skills, tact and diplomacy help you to adapt and integrate well in society, without losing your individuality.