Chapter 10

How
Chakras
Interact

Now that we have examined each chakra in detail, our system is complete. We can now examine ourselves as a whole, seeing how the various parts interact, both within ourselves, and with others. This chapter will be an overview of how the chakras work together. It will cover the common patterns among chakra interaction such as: relative strengths and weaknesses between chakras, chakra interaction in personal relationships, and chakra patterns in culture. This information helps pull together the pieces of the system so that it can be understood as an integrated and interpenetrating whole.

As components of a comprehensive bio-psychic energy system, chakras do not function by themselves, but as wheels or gears in a larger machine—the machine being, of course, the human body/mind. The purpose of studying the wheels is so that we can know how they fit together—so that we know what parts go where, and we know how to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.

It cannot be stressed enough that with any use of the Chakra System, whether it be for therapy, personal growth, or medical diagnosis, the system must be considered as a whole. To diagnose yourself as having a third chakra malfunction without examining the part each chakra plays in the total structure of your personality would be a mistake. Any block that affects one part of the system will affect others. It would be like replacing the leading lady in a stage play when the director is at fault.

The fundamental theory of the Chakra System, at least in this writing, is that the chakras need to be in balance with each other. Ideally, there should be an even flow of energy through all of the chakras, neither favoring nor avoiding any particular one. Any imbalance in one end of the system is likely to create an imbalance in the other.

Personality characteristics, however, may tend to be somewhat dominant in one chakra or another. An artist might be highly visual, and a singer more oriented toward her fifth chakra. Within reason these discrepancies are natural expressions of individuality and should be left alone, or even enhanced, as long as the emphasis is not to the detriment of any other level of awareness.

The first thing to consider in examining any particular set of chakras is that each person has their own energy system with its own particular flavor and “quantity of flow.” A half-inch copper pipe cannot handle as much water as a six-inch main line and should not be expected to. Therefore, we may as well dispense with the idea that there are any standards—that any chakras “should” be a particular way, or that people can accurately be compared to each other. This includes, in my opinion, thinking that we know which way chakras are supposed to spin.

We can only compare a person’s chakras to the other chakras in their own system. We begin, then, by getting a feel for one’s own particular flavor and flow—through interviewing them about their habits, desires, dreams, and the extent of their activities. Through this process certain patterns are bound to appear. One person may systematically suppress his emotions; another may continually exhaust herself, having a larger span of activities than her energy can handle. Still another avoids physicality and compulsively stays in the realm of spirit, while yet another clings to cynicism about anything that can’t be seen in the material world.

As these patterns emerge, certain blockages may become apparent. A blockage can be due to a chakra that is “closed,” i.e., unable or afraid to handle energy at that particular level; or it can be due to one that is too open, meaning that all attention and activity is consistently drawn to that level, at the expense of other levels.

Sandy, for example, has trouble with too little energy in her third chakra. She is easily intimidated, fearful of many things, and suffers from an inferiority complex. Because of this block, she is too shy to make many friends, she holds a low-paying job, and suffers from frequent illness. Thus, her third chakra block affects several other chakras as well, such as her fourth (love and friendship) and her first (survival) chakras. However, the treatment of her problem may lie in establishing a better relationship to her body, improving her health, giving her a firmer foundation from which to establish her self-esteem and personal power.

Frank, on the other hand, is also blocked in his third chakra, though in an opposite way. Frank is the type who acts as a bully, always having to be in control, always needing a new kind of stimulation, and enjoying his power over others. Because of his need for power, he has difficulty relating to people on an equal basis—he makes few friends, has trouble at work, and drinks himself to ill health. In both cases, the block affects the same chakra. But Frank’s problem may lie in the emotional realm (second chakra) requiring healing on that particular level before other levels can be effectively dealt with, while Sandy needs grounding. There are no hard and fast rules—one must use intuition to assess the whole personality.

The best way to start chakra analysis is with ourselves—by examining our own energy system, our faults and virtues, and our wishes for change. The following set of questions may help to determine your own distribution. Answer them honestly, or ask a friend for their alternate viewpoint.

CHAKRA SELF TEST

Directions: Answer each question to the best of your abilities.

N = Never

S = Seldom

O = Often

A = Always

P = Poor

F = Fair

G = Good

E = Excellent

Score one point for the first column (N or P), two points for the second column (S or F), three points for the third column (O or G), and four points for the fourth column (A or E). Add up the points for each chakra and compare.

CHAKRA ONE: Earth, Survival, Grounding

	Answer	Score
How often do you go for a walk in the woods, park, or otherwise make contact with Nature?	N S O A
How often do you exercise consciously? (work out, do yoga, etc.)	N S O A
How would you rate your physical health?	P F G E
How is your relationship to money and work?	P F G E
Do you consider yourself well grounded?	N S O A
Do you love your body?	N S O A
Do you feel you have a right to be here?	N S O A
	Total:

CHAKRA TWO: Water, Emotions, Sexuality

	Answer	Score
How would you rate your ability to feel and express emotions?	P F G E
How would you rate your sex life?	P F G E
How much time do you create for simple pleasure in your life?	N S O A
How would you rate your physical flexibility?	P F G E
How would you rate your emotional flexibility?	P F G E
Are you able to nurture and be nurtured by others in balance?	N S O A
Do you struggle with guilt about your feelings or sexuality?	A O S N
	Total:

CHAKRA THREE: Fire, Power, Will

	Answer	Score
How would you rate your general energy level?	P F G E
How would you rate your metabolism/digestion?	P F G E
Do you accomplish what you set out to do?	N S O A
Do you feel confident?	N S O A
Do you feel comfortable being different (if need be) from those around you?	N S O A
Are you intimidated by others?	A O S N
Are you reliable?	N S O A
	Total:

CHAKRA FOUR: Air, Love, Relationships

	Answer	Score
Do you love yourself?	N S O A
Do you have successful long-term relationships?	N S O A
Are you able to accept others the way they are?	N S O A
Do you feel connected with the world around you?	N S O A
Do you carry a lot of grief in your heart?	A O S N
Do you feel compassion for those with faults and troubles?	N S O A
Are you able to forgive past hurts from others?	N S O A
	Total:

CHAKRA FIVE: Sound, Communications, Creativity

	Answer	Score
Are you a good listener?	N S O A
Are you able to express your ideas to others so that they are able to understand them?	N S O A
Do you speak the truth faithfully, speaking up when you need to?	N S O A
Are you creative in your life? (This is not limited to doing an art form, it could be creative with anything—setting the table, writing letters to friends, etc.)	N S O A
Do you engage in an art form? (painting, dancing, singing, etc.)	N S O A
Do you have a resonant voice?	N S O A
Do you feel “in synch” with life?	N S O A
	Total:

CHAKRA SIX: Light, Intuition, Seeing

	Answer	Score
Do you notice subtle visual details in your surroundings?	N S O A
Do you have vivid dreams (and remember them)?	N S O A
Do you have psychic experiences? (intuitive accuracy, seeing auras, sensing future events, etc.)	N S O A
Are you able to imagine new possibilities as solutions to problems?	N S O A
Are you able to see the mythic themes (bigger picture) of your life?	N S O A
How would you rate your ability to visualize?	P F G E
Do you have a personal vision that guides you in life?	N S O A
	Total:

CHAKRA SEVEN: Thought, Awareness, Wisdom, Intelligence

	Answer	Score
Do you meditate?	N S O A
Do you feel a strong connection with some kind of higher or greater power, God, Goddess, spirit, etc.?	N S O A
Are you able to work through and release attachments easily?	N S O A
Do you enjoy reading and taking in new information?	N S O A
Do you learn quickly and easily?	N S O A
Does your life have significant meaning beyond personal gratification?	N S O A
Are you open-minded in regard to other ways of thinking or being?	N S O A
	Total:

Scores of 22–28 indicate a very strong chakra; scores of 6–12 indicate a weak chakra. Scores between 13 and 21 are in the average range, but could use improvement. However, it is the distribution that is important. Compare your scores between different parts. Aside from the strongest and weakest chakras, is there a distribution pattern, such as higher scores in the lower chakras, or higher scores in the upper or middle chakras? Does this pattern coincide with your own views about yourself?

Distribution Analysis

Energy flows in two ways in the chakra system—vertically, as it passes up and down connecting all the chakras, and horizontally, as it passes into and out from each chakra, interfacing with the world outside. The vertical channel can be thought of as the basic source, while the horizontal flow is the expression of that source.

The vertical channel is a polaric flow between the earth and the heavens—between matter and consciousness. In order for this flow to be full, each end of the spectrum must be open and connected to the raw energy source particular to it.

If the first chakra is closed, then the upward flow of liberating energy is blocked off. Cosmic energy may still come through the crown chakra, but it has no pull from the lower body to move toward manifestation. Ideas may proliferate, creativity and awareness may be high—but the person has a hard time finishing projects or directing his life. The consciousness may consist of loosely formed ideas or fantastic but impractical schemes that never come to fruition.

On the other hand, if the crown chakra is closed, while the first remains open, the problem is reversed. The earth energy has no pull toward expression, but sits like a wallflower waiting for a dance partner. The person may be highly practical, well-focused and secure financially, but lacking in creativity, hopes and dreams, or awareness of subtle planes. Plenty of plodding, but no dancing. Change is difficult, ruts and habits set in. The person has cut off his liberating current. The inability to manifest anything new results in an attachment to whatever security already exists.

These are, of course, extreme examples. Most situations are not so clear-cut. These combinations result in a dominant theme of either cosmic or earth energy. Some people are perfectly balanced, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Establishing the dominant theme is the first step in analyzing chakra blockages.

Both upward and downward currents can also be altered by imbalance in any of the chakras. If a person has a block in the second chakra, for example, with heavy emphasis on the cosmic energy, then most of the chakras are still well fed, with the greatest deprivation occurring in the first chakra. Opening the first chakra may then alleviate the problem by bringing energy up from the earth to meet and balance the cosmic energy trying to come down. Indeed, if the first chakra is closed, the cosmic energy will have a hard time filtering down as low as the second chakra.

If a person with predominantly physical energy has a second chakra blockage, then they are likely to be in sorrier shape. The five major chakras above will be blocked from their main source—the first chakra. In treating a person like this, one can work on opening the crown chakra (though it is likely to be difficult) or work on the second chakra directly to allow the earth energy to rise. This example illustrates why sex is often so important to physically oriented people. Aside from physical stimulation, it allows passage of energy to the rest of the body, otherwise malnourished.

Likewise, the middle chakras can be analyzed in terms of the directions of the vertical flows. Fifth chakra blocks in mental types result in an inability to manifest creativity and communicate ideas. In the physical type, they result in communication without content, or without knowledge or creativity to back them up.

In the third chakra blockages, a physical type may have power with no control over it. It may be intermittent, or insensitive. In a mental type, there may be a great deal of inner strength, but an inability to really accomplish anything in the “real” world— a lack of confidence in dealing with tangible things.

When the heart chakra is blocked, then energy from both ends is also blocked. The mind/body communication is shut down and needs to be re-established to open things up again. Likewise, if one or the other end points are blocked, the energy will balance itself in one of the other chakras, depending on which current is dominant.

Each chakra is a dynamic combination of earth and cosmic energy. The ratio between these two energies determines how the chakra expresses itself. This expression comprises the horizontal channel, branching out in a spherical fashion from each center. Each channel takes the source energy, both cosmic and material, and uses it to interact with the outside world. In this interaction, energy is also absorbed from the world and brought into combination with the source.

An earth-oriented fifth chakra might go in for sculpture, dance, or acting. A more mentally oriented fifth chakra would tend to go into writing or languages. An earth oriented third chakra would be interested in science and technology, while his more mental counterpart would be drawn toward executive functions.

In this way, each chakra perpetuates its patterns. A woman in technology will meet more people in technological fields than in political ones. Dancers are reinforced by other dancers to keep in shape, and writers are reinforced by other writers to read books.

I have seen only slight correspondence between gender and upper/lower chakra distribution. I believe most of this is cultural rather than biological in origin. Men, so typically blocked in the emotional center (which is the center chakra in the physical realm), are pushed into mental realms and out of the body. Women, typically assigned the job of physical maintenance, i.e., housework, cooking, and child raising (not to mention childbearing), get pushed into their lower chakras. Much of the imbalance between the genders fluctuates around the second chakra (emotions and sexuality)—resulting in a heavy emphasis in this area as the energy tries to balance itself out. Men, denied emotional release, put more emphasis on sexual contact as a way of reclaiming their bodies and re-establishing their physical connection. Women, often feeling oppressed by this, tend to shut down their sexuality and retaliate in emotional realms.

With more equality between the sexes, these patterns are changing. Nor are they so well established that exceptions are not almost as common as the rule. Many women spend a great deal of time in mental planes, while the men go out and work in the physical world. Many women tend to be more interested in spiritual pursuits, for instance, expressing themselves in intuitive fashion, while many men pursue more concrete goals, preferring to talk only about things that can be seen or heard in a tangible sense. As stated earlier, there are no hard and fast rules.

There is one more significant general pattern in chakra interaction—the spiral. As mentioned in the chapter on the heart chakra, the whole body/mind can be seen as a spiral emanating from or returning to the heart. If the initial outward movement of the spiral is toward communication, it will end in chakra one, manifestation. If the spiral initially goes toward the third chakra it will end in the seventh. In either cases, the channels connect chakras three and five, chakras two and six, and chakras one and seven.

The interrelationships of these combinations are not hard to see. Communication is facilitated by a sense of personal power and power is enhanced by effective communication. Psychic and intuitive faculties are enhanced by tuning into the emotions, and the emotions are strongly affected by subconscious information picked up psychically. Chakras one and seven are connected by their basic polarity; their dance creates the whole spectrum.

A thorough analysis of one’s spiritual nature, physical problems, or general personality should encompass all these aspects. Again, the general rule for understanding and using a complex system is to look at the system as a whole, and analyze it with the faculties of all your chakras.

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