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Growing, Observing, and Opening: Three More Paths to a Long Life

We’re incredible organisms. With proper care, our bodies and minds can last for a century or more. Just what constitutes “proper care” is up for debate, but over the past… Read More

How to Live a Longer Life

Perhaps more than ever, mortality is the focus of our news – day after day, week after week, month after month. Over time such persistent messages find their way into… Read More

13 Ways to Connect

Before we get swept up in all the material aspects of the holidays, I thought I’d write a bit about the opportunities for inner growth and awakening presented by the… Read More

Get Freedom: A Simple Ritual For Letting Go [post_title] => What are you feeling right now? [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => the-freedom-journal [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-05-29 22:18:01 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-05-29 22:18:01 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7118 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 2 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 6864 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2018-01-23 18:59:02 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-01-23 18:59:02 [post_content] => For her birthday, my daughter received a “magic chakra pendant” which consisted of cheap, dyed crystals glued together to form a rainbow in the shape of a pyramid. Shortly thereafter, she and I were shopping and we saw a set of seven “chakra teas” in a rainbow of boxes. She asked me, “What does chakra mean?” I sighed. It was like being asked, “What is art?” A couple years ago, I wrote an article for The Dragontree about the throat chakra and received numerous requests for articles on the other chakras. I have hesitated to oblige for a few reasons. First, interpretations of the word and concept vary quite a lot, even within the various Indian traditions where it’s found. Many of the classical writings about chakras are complicated and arcane. And the idea has been widely co-opted by Westerners, sometimes in thoughtful ways, other times in superficial ways. I felt it would be difficult to do the subject justice in the format of a brief article. However, I’m realistic about modern attention spans. I know that not many people are interested in reading a scholarly work about chakras. But Westerners have a hunger for spiritual connection, and chakras are interesting and might serve as an opening to deeper exploration and insight. So, I figure, if you’re going to read a mediocre article about chakras it might as well be from someone who has had in interest in them for a few decades and possesses a small library of books about them. Even if I have to oversimplify and modernize the topic, I feel there’s still value in opening the door. So, over the following months, we’ll look at what chakras are and how you can grow and heal through an understanding of this system. First, what’s a chakra? Chakra or çakra – pronounced “chah-krah,” not “shah-krah” – is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, disc, or cycle. Chakra philosophy, which comes mainly from the Tantrik texts of India, appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, Jungian and transpersonal psychology, and more. Chakras are usually defined as energy centers in the body that influence spiritual awakening as well as psychological and physical function. The number and location of chakras varies between traditions, but the prevailing model features six or seven chakras located along the midline of the body, upon or in front of the spine. The endurance and spread of this system is probably due to the appealing and accessible way in which it describes different states of consciousness and how we’re influenced by this subtle layer of our being. Here are the viewpoints of a few authors: Sir John Woodroofe, an early translator of Tanrik texts, described the chakras as centers of “Vital Force” (prana) and universal consciousness.¹ He (and many others) saw them as instrumental stations that need to be opened in order to arouse the life force/consciousness called kundalini to move through us and awaken us. (Kundalini is just as dense of a topic as chakras, so please pardon my superficial coverage.) Caroline Myss exposed millions of people to the concept of chakras through her 1996 book, Anatomy of the Spirit. She writes about them as if there’s a historical consensus supporting her interpretations (there isn’t), which is a bit misleading, but I believe her presentation of the chakras offers a lot of value. Here’s her modern psycho-spiritual definition: “The chakra system is an archetypal depiction of individual maturation through seven distinct stages.” She describes a process of ascension through the chakras whereby, “at each stage we gain a more refined understanding of personal and spiritual power, since each chakra represents a spiritual life-lesson or challenge common to all human beings. As a person masters each chakra, he gains power and self-knowledge that become integrated into his spirit, advancing him along the path toward spiritual consciousness in the classic hero’s journey.”² Harish Johari, in one of the earliest English language books on the subject – aptly named Chakras – defines them as “psychic centers of transformation that enable one to move toward an enlightened state of being.” As for the translation of chakra as wheel, Johari says, “the word chakra indicates movement. Chakras introduce movement because they transform psychophysical energy into spiritual energy.” He explains that variances in the way energy moves through our chakras produce variances in our psychic state and physiology.⁴ Just to shake things up, let’s look at some contrasting views. Ken Wilber, a prolific scholar on Eastern philosophy, writes: “The being-consciousness-bliss of one’s formless self is distorted and constricted, and under this tyranny [imposed by a separate-self sense] appears in the restricted forms known as the chakras.” Wilber goes on to explain that the chakras are like knots or contractions in our consciousness, and that spiritual liberation is the untying of these knots, or, more accurately, “not the actual untying of these knots, but the silent admission that they are already untied.” The paradox of the chakras, he explains, is that “They are ultimately dissolved in the realization that they need not be dissolved.” He claims that the chakras aren’t real, “in the sense that they do not pose a barrier to self-realization, nor do they constitute mandatory stages in an upward climb to liberation,” however, he goes on to say that they can certainly be perceived – as the localized experiences of different states of consciousness.³ In Robert Svoboda’s book, Kundalini, he asks his mentor, Aghori Vimalananda, about the notion that almost all physical and mental diseases are due to ‘blocked chakras.’ Vimalananda replies, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The chakras exist in the subtle body, and their connection to the physical body is very subtle. It is true that both the physical and subtle plexuses may become blocked, but in most people the Kundalini is fast asleep in the Muladhara Chakra [the first or root chakra at the base of the spine], and their chakras are absolutely closed and play no part in their day-to-day lives. . . . As long as you are full of attachments to life your consciousness will never be able to get close enough to any chakra even to smell its fragrance, much less to experience it.”⁵ So, how do we make sense of these disparate views? I recommend a combination of contemplation of others’ teachings and the guidance of your personal experience (keeping in mind that your personal experience doesn’t make you an authority on others’ experiences). I have encountered many practitioners of yoga, energy healing, and meditation who have had powerful firsthand experiences of their chakras – specifically the experience of an opening or closing, or the blockage of flow and the restoration of flow. It’s possible that these experiences are occurring on a different plane than what Vimalananda defines as a chakra, but we have to ask if it really matters. I’m inclined to believe that in most cases, it doesn’t. If the chakra system is a useful means for understanding our challenges, knowing ourselves, and prompting growth, isn’t that a good thing even if it doesn’t make us enlightened? Before I wrap this up, here is a list of the seven primary chakras, some of their characteristics, plus the key virtues and obstacles associated with them:

Muladhara – at the perineum (between the genitals and the anus). Associated with the earth element, with a sense of security and stability, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the material world.
Svadhisthana – at the genital region. Associated with the water element and with creativity, family, procreation, and [Myss:] with lessons related to sexuality, work, and physical desire.
Manpura – at the level of the navel. Associated with the fire element and with transformation, will, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the ego, personality, and self-esteem.
Anahata – at the level of the heart. Associated with the air element and with balance, love, compassion, connection, and forgiveness.
Vishuddha – at the level of the throat. Associated with space and with communication, self-expression, and creation through the word.
Ajana - at the level of the “third eye.” Beyond the elements, it is associated with self-realization, vision, knowing, projection, intuition, and insight.
Sahasrara – at the top of the head. Sometimes considered not to be a proper chakra, it is associated with oneness with Absolute (God) Consciousness and [Myss:] lessons related to spirituality.

Next time, we’ll discuss the first and arguably most important chakra for the average human – Muladhara – which is often said to be an expression of our sense of foundation and our ability to trust that our basic needs will be met. In the meantime, consider meditating on these concepts. Have you ever had a sense of one or more of your chakras? Have you ever experienced a shift in one of these places that brought about a change in your body, mind, or broader consciousness? Be well, Dr. Peter Borten References

Woodroffe, J. G., & P. (1931). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-chakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-panchaka; Two Works on Laya yoga. Madras: Ganesh.
Myss, C. M. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit: The seven stages of power and healing. New York: Three Rivers Press.
White, J. W. (1990). Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment. New York: Paragon House.
Johari, H. (1987). Chakras. Energy Centers of Transformation. Destiny Books.
Svoboda, R. E. (1995). Aghora II: Kundalini. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life Publishing.

[post_title] => How to Have the Hottest Chakras in Town [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => hottest-chakras-town [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-07-02 22:01:31 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-07-02 22:01:31 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://www.thedragontree.com/?p=6864 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 10 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 7077 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2018-07-25 17:36:18 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-07-25 17:36:18 [post_content] => The crown chakra, called Sahasrara, is situated at the very top of the head, which is an energetic center or portal recognized by cultures worldwide. It’s part of why Jews and Muslims wear head coverings. If the soles of the feet are our closest connection with the earthly realm and the solid ground beneath us, the top of the head, as the opposite pole, is closest to the ethereal realm, the heavens, or the unseen. Thus, it’s widely regarded as a link to our spiritual nature. While each of the previous chakras had some degree of association with the body, the senses, and the world of duality, this is not the case with the seventh chakra. Traditionally, it signifies a state of total unification with God or consciousness itself. This chakra is depicted as a lotus with a thousand petals (really, “thousand” is meant to signify some unfathomable number) - an opening of consciousness on an unfathomable scale. Interestingly, there is an acupuncture point at the same location and its name is Bai Hui - “hundred meetings” (again, “hundred” is used to connote some large number). Bai hui is considered to be a place where many different energy channels come together, and it’s a highly significant point in the practices of Qi Gong and Tai Chi. Many sources have little to say about the seventh chakra, sometimes not even considering it a chakra, but more of a final destination that can only be experienced. Aghori Vimalananda described it as such: “When Kundalini moves from the Ajna [sixth chakra] into the Sahasrara [seventh chakra] the final shreds of identity are lost and the sadhaka [spiritual seeker] merges completely with the Universal Soul. All differentiation is lost, and the result is Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the samadhi (state of profound one-pointed consciousness) in which nothing is perceived except the Universal Soul. All determination and indecision drop away, all fluctuations of the mind disappear. You are finished! Gone to the land of no return!" Caroline Myss, approaching it more as a developmental challenge, writes that the seventh chakra represents “our capacity to allow our spirituality to become an integral part of our physical lives and guide us.” Much in line with the Daoist conception of Bai Hui, she describes it as an “entry point” for life force to pour into us, and says it “contains the energy that generates devotion, inspirational and prophetic thoughts, transcendent ideas, and mystical connections.” Myss also states that this chakra “motivates us to seek an intimate connection with the Divine in everything we do,” and she asserts that “seeking a personal spiritual connection shakes us to our core.… In seeking union with the Divine, we are asking to have all physical, psychological, and emotional ‘illusions’ removed from our lives.” Myss emphasizes that, in contrast to the way we typically approach organized religion, which is often motivated by a (first chakra) drive to adhere to the “group mind” or belong to a tribe, the desire for an intimate connection with the spiritual realm invites us to relinquish the concern for acceptance by our tribe. Myss considers spiritual “crises” to be a challenge of the seventh chakra, and says they present with three symptoms: First, there’s “an awareness of an absence of meaning and purpose that cannot be remedied merely by shuffling the external components of one’s life.” She is clear to point out that simply being unable to find meaning and purpose, but still expecting life to deliver it, isn’t quite the same thing. She says it’s accompanied by a feeling that “something is trying to wake up inside them.” Second, there are strange new fears. Not typical human fears, but fears that make a person feel they’re losing touch with their identity - that they don’t know who they are or what they want. And third, there is a “need to experience devotion to something greater than oneself.” Myss writes that this is a need rarely mentioned in psychological texts, but that we all need to be connected to “a source of power that transcends human limitation and turmoil … a source of miracles and hope.” Myss says that while these three symptoms could arise from a psychological dilemma, when the root is spiritual there’s no desire to blame other people for the crisis, because there’s a recognition that the cause is within us. She recommends a spiritual guide, rather than a psychological counselor for help in navigating this passage. In light of the differences between the words of Vimalananda and Dr. Myss, I feel it’s important to state once again that there are two main orientations to the chakras. The historical yogic or Tantrik orientation is that they are stations of spiritual awakening, perhaps traversed one by one through the arousal of a powerful force known as Kundalini, generally through diligent practice, and that mastering each one represents a tremendous accomplishment. (I should also reiterate that there are many different perspectives on the chakras even within the Indian scriptures.) Thus, from this standpoint, arriving at the crown chakra might mean the end of one’s human existence, at least in any usual form. The modern Western orientation is that the chakras are subtle, functional energetic centers that color our mental, physical, and spiritual life. They represent stages of development, with each chakra being associated with a set of challenges, and each capable of producing signs and symptoms of imbalance. Even though the Western version is more accessible to me, I must admit I don’t feel the same kind of reverence for it that I have for the historical tradition. Our modern interpretation is one of too many cases of Westerners discovering and appropriating something fascinating from another culture, running it through our filters, cross-referencing it with other philosophies, and reinventing it. Some of our extrapolations are still theoretical and haven’t been tested over time. There are pros and cons to purism. Sometimes dedicated instruction in a tried-and-true methodology is safer and more effective than trying it on in a casual, self-directed way. And learning a synthesis of a variety of philosophies might result in our missing out on benefits that could only be realized through a deeper, more formalized immersion in any one of these philosophies. But purism can also get us stuck in laborious or ineffective practices that have only endured because of blind adherence to tradition. In any case, there are very few Westerners who are willing or able to undertake an exploration of the chakras in the way that they were historically approached (and even fewer teachers capable of guiding such an exploration). So, in my opinion, the most effective role I can play is to meet my readers where they are and offer them something they can assimilate, with the hope that if it resonates with them, they’ll earnestly pursue a deeper study and personal inquiry. Here I’ve partially copied a table from Anodea Judith’s book, Eastern Body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System as a Path to the Self. These interpretations are not exactly traditional, but I think you’ll find them thought-provoking.

**Click to enlarge** I realize I digressed quite a bit in this article, but I wanted to return to the challenges I presented at the outset of these articles - balancing the traditional and the modern, and weighing the value of precise accuracy against that of better comprehension. Only toward the end of writing these eight articles did I become aware of some of my own biases, and I want to mention them here for two reasons. First, I’d like to let them go. Second, perhaps this will help some readers notice and relinquish their own biases. Here goes: I tend to put more stock in Eastern sources of spirituality; I tend to feel Westerners are looking for shortcuts and are rarely willing to commit to a lifelong spiritual practice; I tend to feel that historical spiritual teachers were sages and that modern ones are often charlatans; and I tend to feel that old practices are more legitimate than new ones because someone just “made the new practice up” (even though that’s exactly what someone did with the old practices). With these subconsious biases, I felt a lot of conflict in writing these articles - partly because I’m a Westerner and I’m contributing to the co-opting of this philosophy! But the fact is, I could be wrong about all of these notions, and indeed, my own life experience doesn’t support them. I have known Westerners who are enlightened, who are fiercely committed to doing their work and cutting through their illusions, who are absolutely authentic in how they present themselves, and who are probably more effective at facilitating positive change among their own people than an outside might be. If you'd like to try an exercise to build awareness of this energy center, try this stance from Qi Gong and Tai Chi. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and a slight bend in your knees. Make sure the insides of your thighs are slightly engaged as you spread your knees a bit so that they are in line with your feet. Bring your hands out in front of you as if you were resting them on a big Buddha belly. The palms face the abdomen and are a few inches apart. There is space under each armpit (enough for a tennis ball to fit there) and the elbows are lifted slightly so that the arms form a circle. Now for the magic. Imagine that there is a string attached to the very top of your head - directly in line with the tips of your ears - and that it's pulling you upward. Imagine that you're suspended by this string. It makes it effortless to stand in this way. Next, imagine there is another string attached to the tip of your tailbone - or a place at the absolute base of the torso, in line with the point on the top of your head. Imagine that this string pulls downward, coaxing you to deepen your squat (still keeping the knees in line with the feet, not letting them go past the line of your toes). The lower string pulls down and the upper string pulls up. You spine gets longer and longer. You are suspended between these two forces. Breathe deeply, engage your body while remaining peaceful. And stand here for a minute, or five (or twenty!). I hope you’ve benefited from this series and I wish you the best in opening to greater self-awareness, peace, and freedom. Be well, Dr. Peter Borten [post_title] => The Crown that Obliterates Social Status [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => the-crown-that-obliterates [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2019-06-27 22:50:32 [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-06-27 22:50:32 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://thedragontree.com/?p=7077 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 8 [filter] => raw [webinar_id] => 0 ) ) [post_count] => 3 [current_post] => -1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 7118 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2018-09-05 16:45:15 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-09-05 16:45:15 [post_content] => In this video, Dr. Peter Borten explains the basics of Body Centered Releasing, and the powerfully positive effect this practice can have on your life. Learning to use your body to make peace with inner conflicts and let things go is always preferable to resisting and holding on to emotions by trapping them inside. Body Centered releasing lets us BE with each moment in a way that allows for more freedom. Dr. Borten also introduces The Freedom Journal - The Dragontree's new workbook that will help you guide yourself through this process of saying yes to each moment as it comes while always keeping some awareness on your physical felt experience. Instead of trying to revisit the past or anticipate the future, you're able to stop resisting and be in the reality of the present moment - and your whole life changes.

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