My Favorite Quotes About Chakras

“In the forehead between the eyes but a little above is the [Ajna Chakra] ajnacakra, the centre of the inner will, also of the inner vision, the dynamic mind, etc. (This is not the ordinary outer mental will and sight, but something more powerful belonging to the inner being.) When this centre opens and the Force there is active, then there is the opening of a greater will, power of decision, formation, effectiveness, beyond what the ordinary mind can achieve.” —Sri Aurobindo

“The two higher chakras are super-rational and transcendental—their activity is generally found only in initiates or highly developed souls. The Indigo Chakram presides over the higher phenomena of the soul—sensitivity, spiritual perception and intuitive true occult forces, clairvoyance, power of vision, healing, etc. Its root center is the pineal gland.” —S.J.G. Ouseley

This is the plane of intuition. An old Webster's Dictionary defines this word: “Direct apprehension or cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception or consciousness, involving no reasoning process; quick or ready insight or apprehension.” But a better definition would be synonyms like presentiment, divination, clairvoyance, instinctive knowledge, and immediate perception. It is also interesting to note that Women's Intuition or 6th Sense could be the result of the fact that the pineal gland is larger in women than men.

It has also been discovered that sunlight greatly affects the pineal gland through the eyes, and this makes sense that it is the 6th Chakra, just where the Third Eye is said to be (which I think is the pineal gland in reality). It even looks like an eye. Descartes believed that the pineal gland was the seat of the human soul located in what we consider mind. The pineal gland plays a central role in our visual field of perception. Our eyes communicate with it to regulate our body's rhythm. And most people know about melatonin, the hormone that many business travelers take to eliminate jet lag. A lack of the melatonin hormone is even thought to be linked to cancer.

It seems obvious that if you have insomnia, you are low in melatonin. Learning about this 6th Chakra and using all the meditations, colors, etc., that are connected to it, is a smart way to take control of your body and mind. The pineal gland is directly related to the Heart and Crown Chakras.

 

Nose Concentration

Sri Krishna said, “He should sit firm, holding his body, neck and head erect and still, and gaze steadily at the tip of his nose without looking around.”

Note: If you have ever had problems with your eyes being stable, do not practice this meditation. If you get dizzy or feel nauseated, stop immediately and do not continue. If you have a very strong sense of smell, think twice about doing this; it will strengthen your sense of smell. And if you have ever had psychotic episodes of any kind, do not do this..

Sri Krishna continues: “One should purify the passage of Prana by means of inhalation, retention and exhalation of the breath, and should also practice slowly in the inverse order with the senses under control. Raising the syllable Om to the heart by means of Pranayama, one should add to it the vowel. The Om is like the continuous peal of a bell, and extending in a thin line like a thread in a lotus stalk. One should practice Pranayama coupled with Om, 10 time (3 times) daily. Within a month one will then control the Prana.”
Source: These quotes of Bhagavan Sri Krishna are taken from the famous Bhagavad Gita (The Song Celestial) and the Bhagavatam, which were created several thousand years ago.

In simpler terms:

• Sit with your back straight and your legs in a comfortable position. Begin to breathe deeply and slowly with intention.
• Begin by gently looking down at the tip of your nose. You won't be able to see it right away. It takes a little time.
• Once you see the tip of your nose clearly, close your eyes and hold the gaze inwardly with your eyes facing down.
• Open your eyes again and repeat all of the above. As directed in the Bhagavad Gita, do it a few times and then rest.

The benefits include increasing your sense of smell, and activating your pineal gland.

 

Third Eye (middle of forehead)

This Chakra is the perception center of all non-material reality. Here we can see life from an objective perspective. We see the situations but are not attached to them and therefore choose our actions rather than reacting. This is where inner knowing comes from, the ability to know the truth, intuition. This is how we see a person's inner beauty. This is the seat of neutral, non-judgmental awareness.

Third Eye Meditation

Obviously, if we focus on the spot between our eyebrows, something will happen in time. This is the area that responds so quickly with colors and visuals in our mind's eye. There are many wonderful meditations provided on this site. Check out the Meditation series to learn more. The candle meditation is the one I usually taught my students who wanted to work with this Chakra to help it become more open.

“The question arises: Are there any limits to this process of expansion? Is there any a priori reason why the self—the soul, as we may now call it—should not be able to identify itself with the widest of all communities, whatever that may be? ... Now the widest of all communities, wider even than the Kingdom of Man, is the Kingdom of God, the Universe itself. In what relation does each of us stand to this all-embracing unity? —The Problem of the Soul by Edmond Holmes