Welcome to the Crown Chakra

● The final chakra is the Crown chakra or Sahasrara which means infinity and 1 thousand

● This represents your true path and living your life accordingly

● It is far removed from the Root which is the will to survive

● Some people describe the opening of this chakra as a surrender to divine will, or being at one with the universe. The ego withers and is replaced by a universal consciousness

● The symbol of the Crown is the 1000 lotus petals, often showing floating about the head like a halo and you might recognise this when you see some buddha images

● When it’s in balance you experience peace and fulfilment. Being entirely in the Crown chakra offers glimpses of enlightenment and bliss. The opening begins in the development of the previous 2 chakras. The 3rd Eye aim is toward fulfilment and purpose and the crown that you truly achieve this

● Its field is delicate, the slightest thought will ripple through the petals like wind in a field of grass

● This is the state of ultimate stillness. To witness this miracle is profound. Its thousand petals like antennae, reaching to higher dimensions

● It is this chakra that yoga philosophy has deemed to be the seat of enlightenment. Its ultimate state of consciousness is beyond reason, beyond the senses, and beyond the limits of the world around

● Yoga practice advises withdrawing the senses (pratyahara) in order to achieve mental stillness necessary to perceive this ultimate state

● Tantric philosophy, on the other hand, regards the senses as a gateway to awakening consciousness

● Chakra theory tells us that it is both a stimulation of intelligence to give us information, and a withdrawal to the interior where informations is shifted into ultimate knowledge

● Our thousand-petaled lotus must keep its roots in the Earth to maintain its blossom

● The element is thought and accordingly the function of Sahasrara is knowing; where other chakras are seeing, speaking, loving, doing, feeling, or having. We reach into the infinite body of information and run it through our other chakras to bring it to recognition and manifestation

● Through watching the play perform in our mind's eye we are the privileged audience of the play we have brought to life. Through watching this play of thoughts, our mind assimilates experience into meaning and constructs our belief systems. These beliefs are the master programs from which we construct our reality. Therefore the crown in the master chakra and relates to the pituitary gland which is the master gland of the endocrine system

http://www.satshree.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Gita-Ch13.pdf

● Physiologically the crown links to the brain. Our amazing human brain contains some thirteen billion interconnected nerve cells, capable of making more connections among themselves than the number of stars in the entire universe

● We may think that consciousness is invisible, but we only need to look around us - at the structure of our cities, the furnishings in our houses, or the contents of our bookshelves, to see the incredible versatility of consciousness in its manifested form. If we want to know what consciousness looks like, our world, both natural and manmade, it’s expression

● Consciousness is the field of patterns from which manifestation emerges. What then is ‘higher consciousness’? It is the awareness of a higher or deeper order - one that is more inclusive, and refer to awareness of a cosmic or celestial order

● Where the lower chakras are full of millions of bits of information about the physical world and its cycles of cause and effect, cosmic consciousness reaches far into the galaxies and beyond, opening to the awareness of unifying truths. It is the perception of meta-patterns, overarching organisational principles of our cosmic ordering system, we are the extreme opposite to the root in that we can jump from ancient Stone Age to visions of the future.

● Each of the chakras is a manifestation of the consciousness at different layers of reality, with earth being the most dense, and the 7th pure unmanifest consciousness, known in yoga as purusha

● Now we ask what is this thing called consciousness? What is its purpose? And how do we tap into it? Big questions asked from the beginning of time. And yet we must begin the inquiry

● This phenomenon is nothing short of miraculous. A faculty that we all have, but cannot see, touch, measure, hold, is the indelible reality that makes us alive. Its enormous capacity for regulating the body, playing music, speaking multiple languages, drawing picture, reciting poetry, remembering phone numbers, appreciating a sunset, solving a puzzle, experiencing pleasure, loving, yearning, acting, seeing. The faculty of the consciousness is endless in it remarkable abilities

● To really turn our gaze of attention upon this miracle is to enter the endless unfolding petals of the lotus, and the true source of the self, accessing perhaps even the historical records of humanity, the planes of existence and our individual Akashic records

● The search for meaning is the ultimates drive of the crown. There was a great book I read called ‘Prisoners of Our Thoughts’, who coined the term ‘logotherapy’ which discusses the link between meaning and happiness

● The Crown sees life entirely from a spiritual perspective. When it is closed or blocked there is a refusal to engage or even believe in the spiritual. This is often the case for people who argue that there is nothing beyond what the 5 senses can perceive. The material world and the will of the ego

● The rationalist argument persuades that everything can be explained mundanely; that there is no soul or spirituality, just the ego and the fantasy or whimsy. This is perhaps denial of the 7th chakra reality often leading to arrogance and materialism, and when life deals out sudden changes it adherents often struggle to cope, lacking any underlying meaning to their lives

● Because the Crown chakra gives life meaning your life generally takes a completely new direction when you bring this chakra into balance. That direction comes from a new sense of purpose; the purpose of life and of your soul. By honouring your true self, you love and honour the rest of creation. This self is not to be confused with the ego. The 7th chakra seen through the delusions of the ego and views them and the rest of life with a certain detachment. It creates an inner calm that often draws others to you. It was Buddha that said the root of all human suffering is in the attachment

● The Crown chakra is on the top of the head in newborn babies, this spot is called the Fontanelle or the soft spot - it is not yet fused together. In visualisations, you can reopen the spot to allow light, the divine spirit and inspiration to pour into you

● By opening yourself up to the spirit of creation, you learn your true purpose, you receive guidance on your spiritual path and you are able to recognise soulmates. Often you see the world through new eyes, viewing it with a sense of wonder that you last knew when you were a child

● The 7th chakra embraces both the christian concept of loving your neighbour as yourself and the buddhist detachment that sees the material world as an illusion ‘samsara’. It is of course far easier to block this knowledge which lies deep within us all and continue with smaller, less demanding life - and most of us do. But, whether we recognise it or not, we all yearn for oneness with the divine and through the Crown and chakra we may sometimes make that connection Developing the Crown ​- by definition it is intangible, rather than being physical it is pure spirit.

● The two main ways to access and develop the chakra are meditation and visualisation, using crystals can also help. Gold, violet and white crystals

- clear sontes clear quartx, tourmaline and diamond.trust your instinct when you choose them they may appear to you. Chakra vocal toning with the bisha mantras (Mantra = to think - free), and chakra cleansing. Crystals Crystals form under intense pressure and heat and are viewed as the 1st on earth. To cleanse use the following:

- Himalayan or Sea Salt (fill a bowl about 1⁄2 - 1⁄3 full- not metal) submerge crystals 1-24 hours. Run under cold water after. Stones that should not be in salt are: Opal, Hematite, Lapis Lazuli, Pyrite

- Smudging with Sage, or Sandalwood and Cedarwood incense - 20-30 seconds per crystal - Moon (for dark crystals) - is energising

- Sun (for bright crystals) - also energising; careful not to leave too long-colour may change

- Reiki Remember to keep up the cleansing techniques as chakras can change even within the same day, it’s about being aligned and in tune with yourself and the emotions surrounding. When things become physical other techniques would be required such as lymphatic, massage, acupuncture (also good for balancing) and continuation like Yoga. Chakra reading Each chakra is unique

- it resonates at a particular frequency and is represented by a specific colour comprising of a particular aspect of our being. But despite their uniqueness, the chakras form an energetic holistic system and for this system to work well there needs to be balance and harmony in each individual chakra. If you spend too much time working with one chakra, you may block or restrict the flow of energy to another chakra. Rather than correcting an imbalance, this brings about a new imbalance.

Overall summary

Your aim should always be to bring all the chakras into balance, creating a profound sense of harmony - this harmony. This harmony is a gift that you can offer back to the universe. Life is all about change. Nothing stays the same for a moment, whether it is the internal state of our bodies or the outside environment. We and the world are in constant change. The chakras reflect this by changing all the time too. They are constantly closing and exchanging energy.

When we talk about balancing them it is not a finite process. We need to constantly do this throughout our lives. Each day represent something new such as a speech affecting the Throat chakra and maybe one or two more depending on how you feel about speaking out.

Sometimes one needs to dominant to deal with the challenge you are facing or if your survival is threatened so your Root will take over. After that incident you would need to balance that and remove the habit that may have been created at that point. Some go a long way back into childhood. In Buddhist tradition we are also born with Karmic imbalances from previous lives. So the aim is to move through the past and then maintain healthy chakras and equilibrium in all 7.

Yoga Yoga compliments all the chakra rebalancing and you may have noticed the similarities when reading about ‘going within’, and the union of the mind, body and soul (this is the objective of Yoga and the meaning of Yoga). The postures (Asanas’) are only a part of what Yoga is.

Postures help to balance chakras and also remove energy blocks allowing your mind and body prepare for relaxation which is one of the 5 aspects of Yoga. This course has gone into more detail about another area of Yoga and a we offer a Yoga Philosophy course that looks into other areas, as well as a Mindfulness course looking into mindful goal setting and habit forming for success and balance.

Aromatherapy Support: Cedarwood, Elemi, Frankincense, Galbanum, Gurjum, Helichrysum, Jasmine, Lavender, Myrrh, Neroli, Rose, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Spikenard, Vetiver

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