Once upon a time, while sitting on my sheepskin rug in deep meditation, I had a strange experience. I was quietly and consciously counting my breaths when suddenly I found myself outside of my body—looking at another me sitting there in full lotus. No sooner did I realize who I was looking at (though she looked somewhat older) than I saw a book fall into her lap. As it landed, it jarred me back into my body and I looked down and read the title: The Chakra System by A. Judith Mull (my name at the time).
That was 1975. I had only recently read the word “chakra” for the first time but it had obviously registered with some significance. I crawled out of my meditation and went to find the passage—a mere paragraph in a book by Ram Dass,2 yet I turned almost directly to it. I read the passage several times and felt an immediate swirling of energy in my body—a deep inner churning—like the feeling a detective might have when finding an important clue. It was a feeling of conception, of something new starting to grow. I knew then I was to eventually write this book.
It took many years before the word chakra started appearing in book indexes and card catalogs. Information was scarce, so I was forced (fortunately) to develop my own theories through self-experimentation and the scrutiny of others to whom I taught yoga and administered bodywork. Before long, everything I saw seemed to fall into this neat little pattern of “sevenness”: colors, events, behaviors, days—yet I could find little actual information to correlate my theories.
I gave it up, moved to the country, and began an earnest study of ritual magic—most notably working with the elements: earth, water, fire, and air. My meditations continued, my theories grew, and so did I. I still didn’t have the words I wanted, so instead of writing about chakras, I found myself painting them. The process of visualization helped develop my thinking in a nonlinear way.
Two years later, forced to return to civilization, I found that the use of the word chakra had grown. I became part of a consciousness research group and went back to school. I returned to my bodywork practice. I underwent clairvoyant training and discovered others had independently come to see some of the same patterns. I was validated, and with my new-found clairvoyant sight, returned to this work.
Over the past ten years, I have developed these theories from the hundreds of clients I have seen for bodywork, psychic readings, counseling, and teaching. I have delved into Sanskrit literature, quantum physics, theosophy, magic, physiology, psychology, and personal experience to patch together a coherent system that bridges the old and the new. Both my work and I have undergone many changes.
Today, eleven years later, I finally give up being pregnant. Fully formed or not, this baby has decided to be born. I feel like I’m having septuplets—lots of pushing, long labor, yet impossible to stop once begun.
Each of these seven babies, called chakras, deserves to be a book of its own. I’ve given them English names—survival, sex, power, love, communication, clairvoyance, and wisdom—yet they go by many names, and most often, by numbers. In this work, however, they are represented as a family, an integral unit, working and growing together. The chapters couldn’t possibly approach all there is to say about sex, power, or any of them—only what’s relevant to follow branches of this particular family tree, with its roots in the Earth and its leaves in the heavens.
This book is a practical guide to a subject that is normally considered very spiritual. As “spiritual subjects” are so often considered impractical or inaccessible, this book attempts to re-examine the spiritual realms, showing how deeply they are embedded in each and every aspect of our daily lives. It is my belief that people will understand and value their spiritual natures only when it becomes practical to do so. Far more is accomplished when we want to do something than when we think we should.
When times are such that billions of people face the possibility of nuclear disaster, when men and women fear walking the streets at night, when alienation and disorientation are at an all-time high, then spirituality becomes very practical. The search for unifying factors in our daily existence, the search for understanding and direction, and the inevitable pull toward consciousness brings us to a critical evaluation of our spiritual natures. Too pragmatic and scientific to accept things on faith, Western peoples have lost touch with the world of spirit and the sense of unity it can bring. Ancient systems, couched in language and culture so different from ours, are often too alienating for the Western mind.
This book attempts to validate the needs facing us today physically, mentally, and spiritually. It contains theories for the intellectual, art for the visionary, meditations for the ethereal, and exercises for the body. Hopefully, it has something for everyone providing practicality without stifling the more important underlying essence.
To satisfy the Western mind (and my own), I’ve included some scientific theories, but my own background is not scientific, and I find that when you come right down to it, few people really think that way in their personal lives. For me, discovery of the chakras first came from an intuitive sense, later to grow and join with the rational. I would like to impart this order to the reader as well.
Literature tends to be linear and rational, while the states induced by the chakras require a different mode of consciousness. As a result, the information is presented in a variety of ways. To satisfy the rational mind, I have presented these theories with concrete scientific metaphors, popular paradigms from the fields of consciousness research and modern therapy techniques. This is the intellectual part. Its purpose is to transmit information and stimulate the thinking process.
To call to the other side of the brain, I have included guided meditations, exercises, artwork and personal anecdotes in hopes of making the chakras come more alive. This is the fun part. Its purpose is to bring the experience of being intuitively connected to the information at hand.
The meditations are written to be read slowly and poetically. I have not included a deep relaxation phase before each meditation for the simple reason that they are boring to read and would take away from the literary impact. However, if you plan to use the meditations yourself, or for a group experience, I strongly suggest taking time to relax the body and prepare yourself for entering slowly into a meditative state. The deep relaxation exercise or grounding meditation outlined in Chapter Two can be used as preparation, or you may wish to use your own technique. The meditations, professionally recorded with a musical background keyed to the chakras, can be obtained through Llewellyn Publications.
The physical exercises are of varying degrees of difficulty. Most of them can be done by the average person. A few, such as the headstand or the chakrasana3, are for more flexible or developed bodies. It is strongly stressed that any physical exercises given in this book be done slowly and carefully, and that you take care not to push or strain muscles, or coerce the body into positions that are painful or uncomfortable in any way. If you experience discomfort, STOP.
If you are previously unfamiliar with chakras, or with metaphysics in general, give yourself time to assimilate each level. The associations are both broad and subtle. It cannot be attacked, like information in other disciplines. The most important thing is to enjoy the exploration. I know I did in writing this book.
—1987