"My heart is open to receive the energy of love. I radiate this essence. I walk my path with Ease and Grace."
Oh, the heart, so full of emotion. The heart chakra is the 4th chakra in the main chakra system. It is known as Anahata in Sanskrit, meaning "unhurt" or "unstuck sound." This chakra is very special and my second favorite to work and explore. It is very similar to the root chakra. The heart chakra is the last of the physical chakras and the first of the spiritual. It is considered "The Gateway" and is where you can find all the answers. So many of us search outside for answers to questions we may have when all the answers are within us. I know it sounds crazy. Even hearing myself say it almost makes me want to roll my eyes. But it is true, everything begins and ends in love.
This chakra is located in the spine behind the sternum, level with the heart and space surrounding the heart. The heart chakra is where all sound manifests in the manifested universe. In the depths of this green chakra is where we can find our ability to love and dream our soul's dreams. Finally, the heart chakra shows us our relationship with ourselves and others.
I read a beautiful note written in one of my books by a student years before me that said, "With the awakening of Anahata, we come to realize that in the void of silence within this energy center, we can transcend our temptations towards violence." The heart chakra is the energy center for love and relationships where we can find unconditional love and compassion. We hear the saying "follow your heart" a lot, or at least I did, meaning that you should perceive and create choices from a higher place rather than from our lower chakra nature based on compulsions and desires. The root chakra is more ego self. The heart chakra is the higher self.
The heart chakra space is the space we can learn to balance opposites. The male and female, masculine and feminine, mind and body, ego and unity. The area where we can confront these oppositions without jealousy, hatred, anger, or envy and instead can embrace our true spiritual identity by approaching things with unconditional love.
The physical aspects of this chakra and its responsibilities monitor the heart, circulatory system, blood, esophagus, lungs, thymus, breasts, and shoulders. It is the cardiac plexus and can be responsible for congestive heart failure, heart attack, heart disease, high blood pressure, lung cancer, asthma/allergies, and breast cancer.
Emotionally and mentally, we can associate the heart chakra with relationships, the ability to relate and bond with others, and the Divine. It is the center of happiness, with core values inspiring more hope and trust. All beings are accepted as ONE. We become connected to ourselves and cultivate happiness and joy quickly while loving and accepting all of ourselves and others. You become capable of giving and receiving genuine love while producing an abundance of compassion for yourself. With an open, balanced, and connected heart chakra, you live in the more positive emotions.
When things are out of balance, you may experience love-hate relationships, resentments, grief, self-centeredness, loneliness, forgiveness, repressed heartache, or despair. You may even want to fix other people's relationship problems, avoiding your own. As a result, there could be a lack of self-love and a feeling of indifference and withdrawal. A closed heart chakra can give us the inability to forgive, and we may experience a lack of empathy. In addition, the heart chakra creates our sense of jealousy and codependency.
The heart chakra stimulates deep healing internally and externally. It is the Spiritual Core helping us navigate the world around us. As the root chakra pulls out negative emotions, the heart chakra pulls out positive ones. It is considered one of the centers of most religions and spiritual disciplines. The energy center space is where we can balance being generous to others and showing self-love and acceptance. We can also utilize this energy to escape the limitations of karma from the past while transcending.
The heart chakra is the 4th chakra in the main chakra system, yet the first that steps into the spiritual realm of awakening. It can bring about the ability to attain the highest forms of love and service toward others. Intuitive gifts relating to air, the element of this chakra, are born in this energy vortex. These gifts could be like levitation or the acceptance of limitless knowledge and healing powers. The more you awaken your kundalini, the more spiritual gifts will become available. It relates to the external world by touch. Seeking to be generous towards others but also self-caring and nurturing. We say unconditional love and compassion start with you. Thus, this chakra forces you to look inward. To become accepting of the outside world, we must also understand and accept all aspects of our inside world.
Take a peek at the Heart Chakra Toolbox, the next blog, to help you open, balance, and activate this chakra to help you create a deeper connection with your higher self. Remember, this chakra is connected to the self and reaches the outside world, so what you connect with and feel inside, regardless of how much you think you are helping someone else, you could help others more if you watered your garden first.