THE RAYS ENTER THE physical body and have an energizing, life-giving effect on every cell. They also have a profound effect on the layers of the aura (the subtle body), especially the chakras. Each ray influences and affects each chakra. In effect, each ray splits into seven parts, one part for each chakra. These can be considered layers of the soul.
The chakras are the energy centers inside the subtle body that receive the energies of the universal life force from the particular ray and then distribute these energies around the body.
No one knows how the universal life force enters the body. As a teenager, I was taught that it entered the body through the crown chakra (at the top of the head) and filtered down to the other chakras through the nadi system that connects them. However, there are other possibilities. In her book The Complete Book of Chakra Healing, Cyndi Dale suggests that each ray enters the body in a particular place. The first ray enters through the coccyx, for instance, and the second ray enters through the third eye/forehead.1 Other people suggest that the rays enter the body through the chakra that relates best to each ray. If this is the case, then the rays enter the body through these chakras:
First ray: Crown chakra
Second ray: Heart chakra
Third ray: Throat chakra
Fourth ray: Root chakra
Fifth ray: Brow chakra
Sixth ray: Solar plexus chakra
Seventh ray: Sacral chakra
How the First Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The first ray is the Ray of Power and Will. It relates strongly to the crown chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are courage, strength, honesty, and leadership.
The root chakra is concerned with survival and the will to live. This includes eating the right foods, exercising, sleeping, and even earning money. The root chakra grounds, or “roots,” us to the earth. It provides feelings of security and comfort. The positive qualities of the first ray help the root chakra perform its functions, as they help it feel safe and secure.
The sacral chakra is concerned with creativity, sexuality, and emotional balance. The positive qualities of the first ray enhance the sacral chakra’s potential in all of these areas.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. These are all qualities shared with the first ray, which is able to add extra power if and when required.
The heart chakra is concerned with compassion, love, and relationships. The first ray adds steadfastness, honesty, and open-mindedness to enhance the positive qualities provided by a balanced heart chakra.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. The first ray enables the throat chakra to speak the truth in a confident, fearless manner.
The brow chakra is concerned with the mind as well as intuitive and spiritual matters. The first ray enables the brow chakra to develop intuitive and spiritual insights and look toward the future with confidence.
The crown chakra is concerned with our spirituality and connection with the Divine. The courage, honesty, and strength of the first ray harmonizes well with the purity of the crown chakra, and helps it to grow in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of the interconnectedness of all life.
How the Second Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The second ray is the Ray of Love-Wisdom. It relates strongly to the heart chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are calmness, patience, endurance, serenity, intuition, and a love of the truth.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. All the positive qualities of the second ray have a positive effect on the root chakra, enabling it to perform its functions with serenity, calmness, and patience.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. The second ray aids this chakra by providing patience, when necessary, as well as calmness and serenity.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. The second ray can soften any potential aggressiveness and domination by providing calmness, cooperation, and a sympathetic approach.
The heart chakra is concerned with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. The wisdom and love of the second ray harmonizes perfectly with the energies of the heart chakra.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. The insight, wisdom, sympathy, and universal love provided by the second ray are all expressed effectively when combined with the throat chakra.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. The second ray is concerned with intuition, too, and also adds qualities of philanthropy, sympathy, understanding, and universal love.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. This harmonizes perfectly with the second ray qualities of humanitarianism, philanthropy, intuition, wisdom, and spirituality.
How the Third Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The third ray is the Ray of Active Intelligence. It relates strongly to the throat chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are a powerful and creative mind, the ability to see the overall picture as well as the details, good communication skills, adaptability, and financial and business acumen.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. All the positive qualities of the third ray have a powerful effect on the root chakra, enabling it to keep the person grounded while at the same time seeing greater opportunities that can be achieved with the unlimited potential of the mind.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. The third ray aids this chakra by providing adaptability, creativity, and good communication skills. These all help the sacral chakra to realize its potential, too.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. The third ray aids this chakra by adding the qualities of adaptability, abstract thinking, and a powerful mind. These both soften and strengthen the direct approach of this chakra.
The heart chakra is involved with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. These qualities are considerably enhanced by the good mind and excellent communication skills provided by the third ray.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. These are all major characteristics of the third ray. All these qualities are all considerably enhanced by this combination.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. These enhance the creative potential of the third ray. The communication skills provided by the third ray enable the person to express his or her intuitive experiences.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. The qualities of the third ray enable the person to enjoy an even closer relationship with the universal life force.
How the Fourth Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The fourth ray is the Ray of Harmony, Beauty, and Art. This ray relates most strongly to the root chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are the ability to reconcile situations and achieve harmony through conflict, artistic and creative potential, and the ability to captivate and entertain others.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. This chakra provides confidence and persistence to people on the fourth ray. This solid foundation also enables them to develop their creativity and people skills.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. All of these qualities are enhanced by the ability of fourth ray people to harmonize difficult situations and to get on well with others.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. The people skills of the fourth ray enable the solar plexus chakra to express itself more diplomatically and with concern for the well-being of others.
The heart chakra is involved with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. The innate harmony and cooperation provided by the fourth ray enhance all of these qualities.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. The people skills, creativity, and aesthetic approach of the fourth ray enhance the communication and self-expression skills of the throat chakra.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. The beauty and harmony expressed by the fourth ray enhance the intuitive qualities of the brow chakra.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. The ability of the fourth ray to grow spiritually through difficulties enhances this connection. The fourth ray’s strong aesthetic sense enables the crown chakra to see spirituality in all creation.
How the Fifth Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The fifth ray is the Ray of Concrete Knowledge and Science. It relates strongly to the brow chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are its common sense, powerful intellect, and ability to objectively analyze, discriminate, and assess information in a clear yet detached manner.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. The practical, objective, and precise qualities of the fifth ray enhance the ability of the root chakra not only to survive but to expand and grow.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. The analytical approach of the fifth ray enhances the sacral chakra’s potential for emotional balance.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. The insight, technical capabilities, and commonsense approach of the fifth ray enhance all of the qualities of the solar plexus chakra.
The heart chakra is involved with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. The scientific, analytical approach of the fifth ray enables the heart chakra to remain balanced while expressing love and compassion.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. The powerful, discriminating intellect provided by the fifth ray enhances the potential of the throat chakra for creativity and self-expression.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. The powerful intellect and down-to-earth approach of the fifth ray enable the brow chakra to develop its intuition in a balanced, impartial manner.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. The clear, focused, investigative intellect provided by the fifth ray enhances the crown chakra’s connection with the universal life force.
How the Sixth Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The sixth ray is the Ray of Devotion and Idealism. It relates strongly to the solar plexus chakra. The positive qualities of this ray are humility, sincerity, loyalty, idealism, and a strong faith.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. The solidity and grounding of the root chakra are considerably enhanced by the sincere, loyal, humble, and idealistic qualities of the sixth ray. The strong faith provided by this ray is also enhanced by the solidity and grounding effect of the root chakra.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. The qualities provided by the sixth ray enhance the emotional balance, pleasure, and sexuality of this chakra.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. The idealism, love, and devotion of the sixth ray balance and harmonize the strength, will, and power of the solar plexus chakra, creating a powerful combination. The unyielding persistence of the sixth ray further strengthens this combination.
The heart chakra is involved with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. The idealism and devotion of the sixth ray harmonize perfectly with the energies of the heart chakra.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. The sixth ray energies allow the throat chakra to express itself with humility, idealism, love, and devotion.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. The idealism and love of the sixth ray enable the brow chakra to develop and grow in spirituality and wisdom.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. The humility, idealism, and devotion of the sixth ray enhance and strengthen the connection with the Divine. The persistence of the sixth ray helps in this regard, too.
How the Seventh Ray
Stimulates the Seven Chakras
The seventh ray is the Ray of Order and Ceremonial Magic. It relates strongly to the sacral chakra. The main quality of this ray is the energy it has to create order. It can plan, organize, pay attention to details, motivate, and manifest whatever it desires.
The root chakra is concerned with grounding, solidity, and survival. The energy and power of the seventh ray motivate and stimulate the root chakra to help it achieve its goals.
The sacral chakra is concerned with pleasure, emotional balance, and sexuality. This is the chakra that relates to the seventh ray, and it uses the energy this ray provides to organize its activities, scheduling time for pleasure as well as hard work.
The solar plexus chakra is concerned with will, power, and strength. This harmonizes well with the seventh ray’s practicality and ability to organize, manage, and achieve its goals.
The heart chakra is involved with compassion, balance, love, and relationships. These qualities help the seventh ray achieve order. The organizational skills provided by the seventh ray help the heart chakra achieve harmony and balance in its relationships.
The throat chakra is concerned with communication, self-expression, and creativity. All of these qualities help the seventh ray to create and maintain system and order. The communication skills of the throat chakra enable the seventh ray to express its needs to coordinate, manage, and motivate others.
The brow chakra is concerned with intuition, clairvoyance, and the powers of the mind. The practicality, power, and reasoning ability of the seventh ray broadens and balances the intuition and psychic potential of the brow chakra. This is a powerful combination, as answers can be provided by both logic and intuition.
The crown chakra is our connection to the Divine. The seventh ray has a close connection with the ultimate life force, too, and this enables the ray to use its soul nature to manifest its goals on the physical plane. This is a form of white, or good, magic. This is why the seventh ray is called the Ray of Order and Ceremonial Magic.
A Day with Your Soul
This exercise will help you learn more about your chakras and your soul. You will also gain a closer connection with the Divine.
You will need to set aside some time on your own for this exercise. A whole day would be ideal, but if you can’t spare that amount of time, set aside as much time as possible. You can do a great deal in a single hour if that is all the time you have.
If you’re going to spend more than an hour on this exercise, you’ll need to prepare some food and drink. Choose good, healthy, nourishing food. Pick at least one thing to eat that you consider expensive or a luxury. This could be considered a treat or an extravagance. This will enable you to nurture your body as part of the exercise. You might also like to pack some small snacks, such as raw, unsalted nuts, raisins, and fruit.
The drinks can be anything except for alcohol and soda. Water is the best choice, but you might like to take tea, coffee, or some other beverage with you.
You will also need pen and paper, or some other method to record your experiences.
You should also set an intention for the day. This can be as brief or as long as you wish. Your intention might be to gain a greater connection with the Divine. You might ask to feel the presence of God in your everyday life. You might ask for some indication that you’re moving in the right direction. It’s a good idea to think about your intention a few days, or a week, before your special day. Write it down and keep it with you, as you may want to enlarge or amend it as different ideas occur to you.
Decide ahead of time where you’re going to spend this pleasant day. There may be a spiritual or holy place nearby. If there is, do some research and learn as much as you can about the place before you visit.
You might choose a place you’re familiar with, or deliberately decide to visit someplace you haven’t visited before. Choose a pleasant setting where you won’t be interrupted. If it’s a warm day, you may choose to do this exercise outdoors, possibly by a river or the ocean or maybe out in the country. The idea is to do the exercise in pleasant surroundings, away from your normal, everyday life. If possible, do this well away from other people as well. Of course, this may not be possible. It might be mid-winter, or you may not be able to get away from your home. In this situation, you’ll obviously have to do the exercise at home.
If you’re doing this exercise outdoors, go for a pleasant walk. Take your time and pause to look at anything that interests you. Look for beauty in everything you see. Watch the flight of a bird, the trunk of a tree, the movements of the clouds. Most of the time we’re too busy to notice the beauty that surrounds us.
If you’re doing this exercise at home, sit in a comfortable place and look at, or hold, something you find attractive. Look at it from different angles and fondle it, if it’s something you can hold. Appreciate the work that has gone into the making of it, and remember how and when you obtained it.
When you feel ready, sit or lie down, close your eyes, and think about the beauty you have just experienced. Hold this thought for as long as possible and then become aware of your physical body. Notice if your thoughts of beauty can be felt in any part of your body. You may notice a sensation in the area of your solar plexus, heart, or throat chakras. You may not become aware of any sensation anywhere in your body, and that is fine, too.
The sensation can appear in unusual places. Not long ago, an acquaintance of mine told me that she had noticed a sensation on the tip of her tongue. Someone else told me he’d experienced tingling fingertips on his right hand.
Again, when you feel ready, open your eyes, and have something to eat or drink. Afterwards, write down your thoughts on what you’ve done so far. If you experienced a sensation in your body, you should write that down. You should also jot down any thoughts that occurred to you while you were communing with nature.
The next stage is to experience the Divine. Whenever possible I like to do this close to running water, such as a stream or the ocean. There is something about the air close to moving water that seems to make it easier for me to make contact. However, this is not always possible, and if I can’t do this close to water, I simply imagine myself lying down beside a bubbling brook or listening to waves rolling in to shore.
Make yourself as comfortable as possible. Close your eyes and relax your body as much as possible. One way of doing this is to focus your attention on the fine muscles around your eyes, and to consciously relax them as much as you can. By the time you’ve done this, you’ll find that the rest of your body has also relaxed.
Another method is to consciously relax all the muscles in your body, starting with the toes of one foot and working your way up to the top of your head, relaxing all the muscles in your body in turn.
Once you feel totally relaxed, mentally scan your body to ensure every muscle is as relaxed as possible. Focus on any areas that are not fully relaxed, and allow them to become loose and limp.
Think about your desire to make contact with the architect of the universe, and then let the thought go. Focus on your breathing, and remain quietly expectant. It’s natural for your mind to start thinking about matters that are unrelated to what you’re trying to do. Buddhists call this “monkey mind.” Whenever you notice that your mind has become sidetracked and is thinking about other things, gently bring it back and focus on your breathing again.
The aim is to enter into the quietness and become one with the Divine. This is exactly what holy people do when they practice contemplative prayer. They are not asking God for anything. Their desire, and goal, is to spend time in God’s presence.
You may want to communicate with the Divine. Many people have been taught formal prayers that use stilted, formal language. Naturally, you can speak to God in this way, if that is what you want. For most people, there is a better way. Simply open your heart and say whatever you want. When you’ve finished, stay in the silence for as long as you can before returning to the present.
You may be fortunate and become one with the Divine the first time you try this exercise. It’s more likely that you’ll experience the frustrating feeling of getting close but not quite reaching your goal. Even if you don’t feel you’ve become closer to the Divine, you’ll have learned more than you might think.
When you feel ready, become aware of your physical body and your chakras. Notice what responses they are giving to your quiet contemplation and meditation.
Once you have done this, take three slow, deep breaths and silently count from one to five. Open your eyes and familiarize yourself with your surroundings again. Lie or sit quietly for a minute or two before getting up. Move around for a few minutes, and eat some nuts, raisins, or fruit and drink some water.
Sit down and draw a picture on your pad. There is no need to think about this. Simply pick up your pen and start drawing. When you’ve finished the drawing, write down everything you can remember about this experiment. If you recall any of the extraneous thoughts that came into your mind during the meditation, write them down, too.
If it’s lunchtime, pause and eat your lunch. Pay particular attention to the beauty all around you as you eat.
Once you’ve finished writing down your thoughts, or have finished your lunch, enjoy some gentle exercise. If you’re outdoors, you might go for a walk. If you’re indoors, you may have to run in place, do some stretching exercises, or walk up and down a flight or two of stairs.
The next stage is to visualize your soul ray, or rays, coming from the Divine and going into your body, giving you life. After that, you can visualize the ray exerting its influence on all seven main chakras.
Start by making yourself as comfortable as possible. Relax all the muscles in your body. When you feel totally relaxed, visualize yourself sound asleep in bed. Notice your chest rising and falling rhythmically with your breathing. Also become aware of a ray of pure energy that comes from above and totally surrounds you.
As you look at yourself, see yourself gradually stirring. You may stretch and open your eyes for a few seconds. See yourself lying in bed not fully asleep yet not fully awake.
You can look more closely at the ray now. You see that smaller sub-rays head toward each chakra. As you watch, you sense yourself moving along a sub-ray and into your root chakra. You feel totally at peace and relaxed. It makes perfect sense that you are now inside your own root chakra. From this vantage point you can watch your root chakra performing all its functions, and you can also sense the influence your soul ray has on your root chakra. Watch it energize and breathe new life into your root chakra.
You can stay inside your root chakra for as long as you wish. When you’re ready, allow your focus to move inside your sacral chakra. Examine all of the chakras in turn. Alternatively, you might want to do this exercise in seven parts, looking at a different chakra each time.
When you’ve finished, take three slow, deep breaths, count to five, and open your eyes. As before, relax for a minute or two before getting up. Eat some nuts, raisins, or fruit and drink some water.
Make notes of everything you experienced during this meditation. You have visualized your soul in action, and probably have a great deal to think about.
Allow at least half an hour before performing the final exercise. Sometimes I fill in this time by relaxing and thinking about the previous experiments. Usually, though, I do some stretches and then go for a walk, pausing to appreciate anything interesting or beautiful that I see on the way.
When you feel ready, make yourself comfortable and read your intention out loud. Close your eyes and relax. If you’re relaxing in a beautiful setting, visualize it in your mind. If you’re doing this exercise at home, imagine a pleasant setting. It may be a place you remember, or you might create a pleasant fantasy scene, if you prefer.
Allow your thoughts to come and go. Instead of accepting any of them, let them go as soon as they become conscious. You may like to watch them float up into the sky or perhaps allow them to dissolve. It makes no difference how you let them go, just as long as you pay no attention to any of them. For all intents and purposes, you are a disinterested bystander who pays no attention to these idle thoughts.
It’s hard to give an indication of how much time you should allow for this, as everyone is different. However, after a while you’ll notice there are fewer and fewer thoughts to discard, and you’ve entered into a meditative state. Allow yourself to stay in this state for as long as possible. When you notice that extraneous thoughts are starting to appear again, consciously think of your intention. Repeat it to yourself over and over again, like a mantra.
You might like to say your mantra slightly differently with each repetition. You might sing it, place the emphasis on different words, repeat it slowly or quickly, or even say it falsetto. You’ll find that the repetition will help you relax even more than before.
When you feel the time is right, stop repeating the mantra and allow yourself to focus on your soul. Take time to think about how it gives life and energizes every single cell of your body. Think of the countless incarnations it has already experienced before deciding to enter your body. Think about the many incarnations it has yet to experience.
Allow yourself to mentally feel your soul in each of the chakras, and thank it for giving you the spark of life, enabling you to take advantage of all the opportunities this lifetime has to offer.
Finally, simply relax for a few minutes, quietly communing with your soul. When you feel ready, take three slow, deep breaths, count to five, and open your eyes.
Before getting up, think about all the things you’ve accomplished during this special day. When you get up, have something to eat and drink to ground yourself once again.
Before carrying on with your day, write down any notes you wish to make about your experiences.