Chris Bourne, Contributing Writer
Waking Times

A great deal is spoken of in spiritual texts and musings about the Chakras and exactly what their purpose is. Here at Openhand, we view them as ‘consciousness exchange points’ where Unity Consciousness as the soul infuses with Separation Consciousness as the bodymind. Our lives are greatly affected and influenced by our relative level of vibration within these crucial consciousness centres. Understanding and exploring them will have a profoundly beneficial impact. Here is an extract from Five Gateways offering a perspective on their functions and purpose…

Extract from Five Gateways concerning the chakras

“As we step into the corridor leading to Gateway 3, we are likely to experience times of great unrest and turmoil as upheaval begins to take place internally, which is often reflected externally through the circumstances of our lives. We are prone to roller coaster mood swings, one day feeling energised, invigorated and deeply spiritual and the next, perhaps tired, heavy, sombre and disconnected.

This seesaw effect is caused by internal shifts in the balance of consciousness principally through the chakras. These are etheric consciousness centres where the soul infuses into the bodymind. Put simply, it may be considered that each cell in our bodies has two different vibrations present in it. One is the heaviness and denseness of the bodymind (which we may call “Separation Consciousness”), the other is the lightness and expansiveness of the soul (which we may call “Unity Consciousness”). The chakras provide the energetic bridge – the connecting interface between the soul and bodymind.

When they are open and vibrating as designed, we experience ourselves authentically as the soul expressed through the bodymind. However, when they are closed down for some reason and their energy is convoluted, incongruent and dense, then there is a greater tendency to identify with the bodymind. It is here where we get stuck, because consciousness is not flowing freely through the chakras as it was designed to.

Due to their etheric nature, the chakra system has not yet been generally accepted within society and has been confined to the world of mysticism and spirituality. However, there is now growing acceptance – although still much disagreement – as to their exact locations and purpose. It is best therefore to use any frame of reference we may encounter, more as a guide and locate the centres through our own experience by bringing continual awareness to them. By working with them and closely monitoring the corresponding effect in our external lives, we can gauge the influence they have. I have used this approach to yield the following overview…

• Base chakra: located around the coccyx and genitals, it relates to our connection to the physical plane including our immune system and sexuality. If the vibration here is low, we tend to be over attached and identified with the physical experience. We feel separated from the ‘All That Is’ and have overtly lustful and potentially exploitative sexual urges. As we transmute the energy in this chakra to the higher vibration, we are increasingly released from attachment to the physical plane and naturally aspire to higher spiritual growth.
• Sacral chakra: located approximately where the spine and pelvis meet, the sacral chakra is the emotional centre which governs our state of being within relationships. If the vibration is low, then we tend to be overly attached in relationships, needy and jealous. As we transmute the energy and raise the vibration however, we discover increasing sensuality in relationships.
• Solar plexus chakra: located on the spine, around the area of the top of the stomach. Its purpose is to accept and infuse higher spiritual knowing into the lower mind – what we may call subconscious mind. Indeed it can be considered to govern the correct functioning of lower mind. When the vibration is low, we are prone to mental programming and distortion and are therefore more susceptible to addictive behaviours such as attachment to caffeine, chocolate, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs. When we fully transmute the consciousness here, we are able to take control over the base urges (of the lower animal), expand our consciousness and open up new channels of creative influence through etheric manifestation. “Telepathic Knowing Exchange” can take place from the higher realms into the Third Dimension through this chakra when functioning as it is designed.
• Heart chakra: located at the level of the heart, this is the centre where the unconditional love for all life activates, what some call “The Christ Consciousness”. When the vibration is low, it manifests as judgmentalism and the radical adherence to a singular truth, thereby precipitating conflict in our lives and limiting us to the Lower Dimensional Realm. When the vibration here is transmuted however, judgmentalism falls away and is replaced by unconditional love for all life. We become able to see and hold multiple truths and through correct non-judgmental discernment, become able to choose Right Action in line with the guiding hand of Benevolent Consciousness (experienced as a heartfelt pull). When we attain a fully open heart chakra, we begin to unfold into the Fifth Dimension.
• Throat chakra: located at the area of the throat, the fifth chakra connects directly to higher mind – our fifth bodily vehicle of expression (see Gateway 5). It governs our ability to receive, interpret and articulate the highest truth from the cosmic library of all knowing. The throat centre provides the direct connection into higher spiritual awareness. When the vibration is low, we tend to be more bounded by the notion of separate identity, thereby limiting us more to the lower dimensions. A low vibration here would manifest as an inability to express and be at ease with authentic reality; we are governed more by the limitations of lower conditioned thinking because of our attachment to false identity. Put simply, we are less able to express our inner truth and be awesomely okay with that. The chakra opens completely when we are no longer internally affected by the outer reaction to our fully expressed truth. We are able to ‘turn the other cheek’ and automatically express higher wisdom at whatever apparent personal cost; thus the doorway to multi-dimensional experience is opened for us.
• Third eye: located in the pineal gland roughly in the centre of the head at the level of the eyebrows. The third eye may be regarded as the centre of consciousness for the soul within the body. Whilst we are engaged in the transmutation of consciousness within the lower chakras, we tend to be unaware of it because our actions are governed more by the false self rather than the soul. Put simply, Soul Consciousness from the third eye is swallowed up in identification with the bodymind and its attachments to the external drama. However, as we release these attachments, the vibration in the lower chakras transmutes and then Soul Consciousness is liberated rising up the spine and reconnecting in the third eye with Unity Consciousness flowing ‘downwards from the Source’. This is referred to as “kundalini activation” (fully explained below). When the third eye activates, we become increasingly able to see reflections of ourselves in other people and all life. We are able to identify and align with our true sense of beingness. Thus, the soul’s purpose is now being unleashed.
• Crown chakra: located just above the fontanel where the three bone plates of the skull meet. This chakra only really activates when we have transmuted much of the density in the lower chakras and liberated enough Soul Consciousness from bodymind identification. At this point, the crown chakra opens and infuses energy into our highest bodily vehicle – the “spirit light body” (or “merkaba”). This paves the way for correct rationalisation of the multidimensional influences we are experiencing, including for example the underlying synchronistic patterning through all events. As the crown chakra fully opens, multi-dimensional living through the spirit light body becomes a reality for us. We become centred in the universal flow of Right Action and are increasingly able to shift consciousness between dimensions as required by the natural flow of the universe.

Through transmutation of the denser energies in the chakras, we are in effect becoming inner alchemists, changing the very nature of our being from lower levels of dense consciousness to higher vibrational frequencies. Allegiance is switching to the soul’s lightness through each of our cells and we begin the Ascension process in earnest. We can still feel the heaviness and denseness of the physical body, but growing internal realisation consolidates that it no longer defines us. All the while, we are opening and expanding new channels, bringing in the higher energies. Ripples and waves of energy begin to flow throughout the bodymind and our consciousness expands into new dimensions of experience.”

This article originally appeared at Openhandweb.org, a project started by Chris Bourne to elevate the consciousness of man and provide healing those in need.