Emotions and Chakras

Emotions also affect our chakras, in consequence our physical health is affected because of emotions, lets’ look in to it:

There are emotions and states of mind that affect the chakras in a negative way if they're not processed adequately, for example: Fear will affect Muladara the root chakra; Guilt will affect Svadhishtana the second chakra; Shame will affect Manipura the third chakra; Sorrow will affect Anahata the fourth chakra; Lies will affect Vishuda the fifth chakra; Illusion/Maya will affect Ajna the sixth chakra; Attachment will affect Sahasrara the crown chakra.

Fear is a primal emotion that can be labeled in a thousand different ways, some have fear of water for example, some fear of the dark, some fear of being alone, fear of being punished, fear of loosing, fear of confrontation, fear of the unknown, and I can go on and on until I reach a thousand labels, but something remains the same, “Fear” and out of fear a thousand other emotion are born....For example you fall in love with that special man or women, then of course you don’t want to loose that person because they make you feel good, you can even go to the extent to say that they complete you, they give you a reason to live, that they are your entire life. Then another man or women approaches your beloved with or without intentions, does not matter, you feel jealous, why? because you fear loosing them. Some more negatives emotions arise, like insecurity, low self esteem, anger, frustration, desperation, etc; and all of this because of the fear of loosing, loosing what in the first place. Be conscious now and forever that nobody belongs to nobody, in life we go on crossing paths with different people for the purpose of growing spiritually, we all go on sharing our self with other different selfs, but remember that all experiences are perennial as the grass, all roads lead to a destination, all paths, all cross roads eventually come to and end. Why worry about something that eventually will be taken away by death, yes anything in this plane no matter what it is will be taken away by death. Let’s say according to human thinking that you are one of the luckiest persons on earth, you have accumulated good wealth, you have enjoy excellent health, your first love was the only love and you have expended forty or fifty years together, you have children and grand children all beautiful inside and out. Eventually all that will be taken away by death so why worry about something that by the laws of nature is already gone. You see the ultimate and only fear it is the fear of death and to eliminate this fear and all of its sub products, you just have to acknowledge your own immortality, the soul, the self it is immortal, it is spirit, pure and omnipresent because we are a parcel of God, if you can conceive this truth, fear is gone, it never was. Remember this always, “Paths are many, truth is one.”

For example you fall in love with that special man or women, then of course you don’t want to loose that person because they make you feel good, you can even go to the extent to say that they complete you, they give you a reason to live, that they are your entire life. Then another man or women approaches your beloved with or without intentions, does not matter, you feel jealous, why? because you fear loosing them. Some more negatives emotions arise, like insecurity, low self esteem, anger, frustration, desperation, etc; and all of this because of the fear of loosing, loosing what in the first place. Be conscious now and forever that nobody belongs to nobody, in life we go on crossing paths with different people for the purpose of growing spiritually, we all go on sharing our self with other different selfs, but remember that all experiences are perennial as the grass, all roads lead to a destination, all paths, all cross roads eventually come to and end. Why worry about something that eventually will be taken away by death, yes anything in this plane no matter what it is will be taken away by death. Let’s say according to human thinking that you are one of the luckiest persons on earth, you have accumulated good wealth, you have enjoy excellent health, your first love was the only love and you have expended forty or fifty years together, you have children and grand children all beautiful inside and out. Eventually all that will be taken away by death so why worry about something that by the laws of nature is already gone. You see the ultimate and only fear it is the fear of death and to eliminate this fear and all of its sub products, you just have to acknowledge your own immortality, the soul, the self it is immortal, it is spirit, pure and omnipresent because we are a parcel of God, if you can conceive this truth, fear is gone, it never was. Remember this always, “Paths are many, truth is one.” hide

Guilt is primarily an emotion experienced by people who believe they have done something wrong, mainly because right or wrong it is a matter of perception, this perception most of the time has been manipulated by society, it depends where you live, with whom you live and which rules and regulations you follow. For example what is wrong in this country it maybe fully acceptable in another part of the world, what is moraly condemned by this or that religion it may be an uplifting act by another. So what is real guilt, well first of all guilt hurts, for example if you did offend someone you love or if you did hurt someone emotionally or otherwise and this causes you pain in your heart, then yes this is guilt, usually guilt hurts bad, it can destroy you if there is no redemption. How can we avoid this powerfull destroying emotion? Very simple, just live by the principles of Yama and Niyama, in other words: Truth, Integrity and Non-Violence. If you live your life practicing this simple code of ethics, even fear will never come. Truth always tells the truth and by living with the truth and for the truth even white lies must disappear; Integrity is: always do what is right no matter what; Non-Violence includes Non-Verbal Violence, Non-Emotional Violence and Non-Physical Violence, any act that disruptes peace is violence, avoid it. The Cosmic law says: “respect mans law,” if mans law says, “ Do not drink and drive,” well DON’T drink and drive, if mans law says, “do not steal,”well DON’T steal, if mans law says, “Do not harm,” well DON’ T harm, very simple. If you live by this simple code you will never have to be worried about Guilt or any of its sub products.

For example what is wrong in this country it maybe fully acceptable in another part of the world, what is moraly condemned by this or that religion it may be an uplifting act by another. So what is real guilt, well first of all guilt hurts, for example if you did offend someone you love or if you did hurt someone emotionally or otherwise and this causes you pain in your heart, then yes this is guilt, usually guilt hurts bad, it can destroy you if there is no redemption. How can we avoid this powerfull destroying emotion? Very simple, just live by the principles of Yama and Niyama, in other words: Truth, Integrity and Non-Violence. If you live your life practicing this simple code of ethics, even fear will never come. Truth always tells the truth and by living with the truth and for the truth even white lies must disappear; Integrity is: always do what is right no matter what; Non-Violence includes Non-Verbal Violence, Non-Emotional Violence and Non-Physical Violence, any act that disruptes peace is violence, avoid it. The Cosmic law says: “respect mans law,” if mans law says, “ Do not drink and drive,” well DON’T drink and drive, if mans law says, “do not steal,”well DON’T steal, if mans law says, “Do not harm,” well DON’ T harm, very simple. If you live by this simple code you will never have to be worried about Guilt or any of its sub products. hide

Shame: to avoid shame is very simple, if you have done no wrong there can not be shame, so DON’T do wrong. But here lets stop for a minute, what is wrong? What can cause shame?...If right or wrong is a matter of perception then shame is also a matter of perception. For example: Two friends both young and happy went to a party together and after too many drinks they decide to take their clothes off and dance naked, many others did the same and in no time the entire group was dancing naked and having a good time. The next day one of them did not want come out of the house, could not face the world out of shame because of the way he/she was brought up, he/she was consume with shame. The other friend on the other hand with a healthy outlook on sexuality and quite comfortable with his/her nudity thought it was fun and felt somewhat liberated. As you can see perception dictates shame, if you ever fell that nasty emotion call shame maybe it is time to readjust your perception of life but shame can also be brought on by a third party: There were these two brothers born about a year a part, their mother died when they where very young so they were raised by their unethical drunk father. These two boys suffered a great deal their entire childhood and teenage years. They where abused physically, verbally and emotionally almost daily by their father and of course as soon they came to age they left the house and never returned. Ten years later they found the old man dead in an ally he died drunk, beaten to death. The one brother ended up in prison serving time for murder, he was drunk and killed a man in a bar fight, the other became a doctor and work in a public hospital always trying to help others. The two brothers where interviewed by a reporter, the one in prison said: “Like father like son, nobody ever taught me different so I did like my father, what do you want me to say, that’s life.” The other one said: “All of my life I felt so ashamed of my father that I promised myself that I would never become like him.” Again, shame it is a matter of perception it is up to you to see that half glass of water, half empty or half full

If right or wrong is a matter of perception then shame is also a matter of perception. For example: Two friends both young and happy went to a party together and after too many drinks they decide to take their clothes off and dance naked, many others did the same and in no time the entire group was dancing naked and having a good time. The next day one of them did not want come out of the house, could not face the world out of shame because of the way he/she was brought up, he/she was consume with shame. The other friend on the other hand with a healthy outlook on sexuality and quite comfortable with his/her nudity thought it was fun and felt somewhat liberated. As you can see perception dictates shame, if you ever fell that nasty emotion call shame maybe it is time to readjust your perception of life but shame can also be brought on by a third party: There were these two brothers born about a year a part, their mother died when they where very young so they were raised by their unethical drunk father. These two boys suffered a great deal their entire childhood and teenage years. They where abused physically, verbally and emotionally almost daily by their father and of course as soon they came to age they left the house and never returned. Ten years later they found the old man dead in an ally he died drunk, beaten to death. The one brother ended up in prison serving time for murder, he was drunk and killed a man in a bar fight, the other became a doctor and work in a public hospital always trying to help others. The two brothers where interviewed by a reporter, the one in prison said: “Like father like son, nobody ever taught me different so I did like my father, what do you want me to say, that’s life.” The other one said: “All of my life I felt so ashamed of my father that I promised myself that I would never become like him.” Again, shame it is a matter of perception it is up to you to see that half glass of water, half empty or half full. hide

Sorrow: nobody wants to feel sorrow but sometimes sorrow can be quite a purifying emotion if processed adequately. Sorrow can be associated with sadness, suffering and even sometimes regret, but sorrow it is from the heart not from the mind not from the body....Suffering can be physical can be mental. Sadness on the other hand it is purely a mind emotion, if you loose your job you most probably will feel sad but sadness will disappear as soon you find a new job. You can be suffering because of a tooth ache or suffering because you have no friends, in both cases that can be resolved easily; go to the dentist suffering is gone, make a friend, suffering is gone. But sorrow, it is deep, it is from the heart. For example if death knocks at your household door and takes a loved one, then there is sorrow. Sorrow arrives always unexpectedly, always his you hard. To deal with sorrow in the proper way, awareness is necessary and for awareness, sensitivity is utmost. Let your self be vulnerable this is the perfect time for spiritual growth, I know it hurts, I know sometimes the pain is unbearable but just sit and watch. Don’t go and drink, don’t go and try to distract your self and pretend that there is no sorrow, NO, just sit and watch, watch your pain, watch your despair, watch your suffering, the more you watch you will see that sorrow will transmute into awareness and with awareness, bliss will be born and there will be peace, peace in your heart.

Suffering can be physical can be mental. Sadness on the other hand it is purely a mind emotion, if you loose your job you most probably will feel sad but sadness will disappear as soon you find a new job. You can be suffering because of a tooth ache or suffering because you have no friends, in both cases that can be resolved easily; go to the dentist suffering is gone, make a friend, suffering is gone. But sorrow, it is deep, it is from the heart. For example if death knocks at your household door and takes a loved one, then there is sorrow. Sorrow arrives always unexpectedly, always his you hard. To deal with sorrow in the proper way, awareness is necessary and for awareness, sensitivity is utmost. Let your self be vulnerable this is the perfect time for spiritual growth, I know it hurts, I know sometimes the pain is unbearable but just sit and watch. Don’t go and drink, don’t go and try to distract your self and pretend that there is no sorrow, NO, just sit and watch, watch your pain, watch your despair, watch your suffering, the more you watch you will see that sorrow will transmute into awareness and with awareness, bliss will be born and there will be peace, peace in your heart. hide

Lies: Have you ever heard the expression: “The truth will set you free” well it is true, but first let look at what a lie is: A lie is an untruthful statement made to someone else with the intention to deceive....

To lie is to say something one believes to be false with the intention that it be taken for the truth by someone else. A true statement may be a lie . If the person who makes the true statement genuinely believes it to be false, and makes the statement with the intention that his/her audience believes it to be true, then this is a lie. A lie-to-children is an expression, or more specifically a euphemism (A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces), that describes a lie told to make an adult subject, such as sex, acceptable to children; But Why? Isn’t much easier to explain that because this is an adult subject and because of his/her age it is going to be difficult to understand and then promise that you will fully explain when the time is right? A white lie would cause no discord if it were uncovered and offers some benefit to the liar or the listener, or both. For example, when two people collide in a crowded hallway and one falls down, he/she might tell the other that they are not hurt, even if they hurt a little bit. Lies which are harmless but told for no reason are generally not called white lies, but still lies. Lying by omission means allowing another person to believe something to be true that one believes is false, by deliberately failing to reveal one's belief, rather than by being untruthful. Hence it is normally classified not as a lie but as an act of deception.( Deception is the covert manipulation of perception to alter thoughts, feeling, or beliefs.) Indirectly lying is when a person tells a statement that isn't an outright lie, but still has the purpose of making someone believe it as an untruth. An example would be a child who knocks over a vase, and, when questioned, states that "the cat was playing around on the shelves". The cat, indeed, was doing so, but was not the cause of the accident. Dissembling is a polite term for lying, it can be considered as just misleading but is also used as a euphemism for lying.

The philosophers Saint Augustine , as well as Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant, prohibited all lying. According to all three, “there are no circumstances in which one may lie. One must (unfortunately) be murdered, suffer torture, or endure any other hardship, rather than lie, even if it is the only way to protect oneself is to lie. The truth will set you free.” If you are in the pursuit of truth, well, there is no place for lies. Beside, life gets way easier by just following this simple truth, Try it, in very little time your life will be transformed.

Sri Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras on book two-Sadhana Pada- Sutra 36 explains: “satya = truthfulness; pratishthayam = having established; kriya = action; phala = fruits or results; asrayatvam = become subservient.= To one established in truthfulness, actions and their results become subservient.

Swami Satchidananda translated this Sutra and explains the meaning as follows:

“ By the establishment of truthfulness, Yogis get the power to attain for themselves and others the fruit of work without doing the work. In other words, things come to them automatically. All nature loves an honest person. Then you need not run after things, for they will run after you. And if you are always truthful, if no lies come from your mouth, a time will come when all you say will come true. Even if you say something by mistake, it will happen, because by the practice of satyam (Truth; truthfulness=one of the yamas.) the words become so powerful and clean that honesty observes you. It wants to be with you always. If a curse is spoken, it will happen. The more we lead a life of honesty, the more we will see the results, and that will encourage us to be more honest.

With the establishment in honesty, the state of fearlessness comes. One need not to be afraid of anybody and can always lead an open life. When there are no lies, the entire life becomes an open book. But this comes only with an absolutely honest mind. When the mind becomes clear and serene, the true self reflects without disfigurement, and we realize the truth in its own original nature.

A vow of absolute honesty means we can no longer tell white lies either, if by being honest we will cause trouble, difficulty or harm anyone, we should keep quite. Instead of lying and saying things like: “I don’t know,” we can be frank: “I know, but I don’t want to tell.” This does not mean you should protect a criminal, because not only should we not lie, but we should not cause someone else to lie either. If we do it consciously, we are a part of that lie. In fact, under law, punishment is usually greater for the person behind a crime than for the one who actually commits it.

So, first follow truth, and then truth will follow you. In the same way, first you learn to smoke and then the smoke teaches you. I am quite certain nobody enjoys his or her few cigarettes. They are taken in with great difficulty, nausea and vomiting. Gradually we can take in a whole puff without letting it out. Then, eventually, the cigarette begin to “smoke” us. First we burn the cigarette; later it burns us, working on our tissues little by little.

Yoga is not a philosophy to be followed with blind faith. In the beginning, it is true that confidence and trust are necessary, but as you continue to practice, every step will bring more and more hope, greater and greater confidence. If we are true yogis just for one day, we will be transformed and want more of it. It’s contagious, just like any other habit. But first we must make some effort until we get a taste of the benefit. Similarly, certain candies might appear a little strange, and a child might say, “No, no. I don’t want it,” when mother offers it. But if the mother exerts some force and makes the child taste it, the child will want more and more. Once we get the taste, even if the whole world stands in our way, it won’t keep us from our goal.”

At the beginning I mention to you the acquisition of siddis (spiritual powers) well this is one of them. So, as Swamiji said: “first follow truth, and then truth will follow you.”

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Illusion, also called Maya: According to Hinduism; Under Maya's influence, the Atman, (the soul) mistakenly identifies with the body. He/she accepts such thoughts as "I am white and I am a man/woman," or "This is my house, my country, and my religion." Thus the illusioned soul identifies with the temporary body and everything connected to it, such as race, gender, family, nation, bank balance, and sectarian religion....Under this sense of false-ego (false-identity) the soul aspires to control and enjoy matter. However in so doing he/she continuously serves lust, greed, and anger. In frustration he/she often redoubles his/her efforts and keeps on compounding mistake upon mistake, only to fall deeper into the illusion. In ignorance ( Tamas), he/she is fully convinced that right is wrong and wrong is right. In passion he/she is unsure, hesitant, sometimes enjoying and at other times repenting. Only in goodness does the soul begin to develop wisdom – to see things in the real light. Thus enlightenment means moving away from Tamas towards Sattva. (Sanskrit sattva "purity", literally "existence, reality"); By so doing , the soul gradually escapes the clutches of Maya and moves towards liberation. Maya literally means "that which is not." In the twilight, one may easily mistake a rope for a snake. In so doing, we feel fear. Hence fear and other emotions may often be based on illusion, an incorrect perception of reality. Each person, each physical object , from the perspective of eternity is like a brief disturbed drop of water from an unbounded ocean. The goal of enlightenment is to understand this —more precisely, to experience this: to see intuitively that the distinction between the self and the universe is a false dichotomy (A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts). The distinction between consciousness and physical matter, between mind and body is the result of an unenlightened perspective; this is the purpose of this book, to help you with enlightenment so you can understand and free yourself from the world of Maya. One free from illusion can see life for what it really is: That we human beings and everything sorrounding us is born out of one unique source of divine energy call God. That we are interdependent, there is no race differences, there is no religious separation, there is no need for a position of power. There is no difference between us and animals or better stated there is no difference between us and any life form contained in this universe. There is one solar system, there is one planet, there is only one sun that feeds us all so we are all Terrestrial, we are interdependent. If there is no sun, then there is no life on this planet, if there are no trees, there is no oxygen, if there are no animals there is no ecological equilibrium. We are interdependent, every molecule every atom of existence depends on each other, if one single atom is missing there is caos, some may say we are just a drop in the ocean, but that drop is needed to complete the incomplete. You as a human being are not different or more or less than the stars, as the star is an essential part of a stellar system, you are an essential part of this system, as with the animals, trees, and rocks that are present here with us. To free yourself from the world of Maya you must meditate on Ajna in the middle of the forehead between the eyebrows, by meditating on it you will develop inner vision which is the real vision. When Master Sivananda said,” that meditating on Ajna will free you from past Karmas,” he was right because if you start seening reality for what it is then you will always do what is right, karma will be transmuted. By opening your third eye you will become sensitive, by becoming sensitive you will become aware, by becoming aware you will transform the ordinary things into the most extraordinary. You will transform the least to the most and you will make earth your heaven. If no bridge or gap exists then everything is divine, as its always was, always is and always will be.

Under this sense of false-ego (false-identity) the soul aspires to control and enjoy matter. However in so doing he/she continuously serves lust, greed, and anger. In frustration he/she often redoubles his/her efforts and keeps on compounding mistake upon mistake, only to fall deeper into the illusion. In ignorance ( Tamas), he/she is fully convinced that right is wrong and wrong is right. In passion he/she is unsure, hesitant, sometimes enjoying and at other times repenting. Only in goodness does the soul begin to develop wisdom – to see things in the real light. Thus enlightenment means moving away from Tamas towards Sattva. (Sanskrit sattva "purity", literally "existence, reality"); By so doing , the soul gradually escapes the clutches of Maya and moves towards liberation. Maya literally means "that which is not." In the twilight, one may easily mistake a rope for a snake. In so doing, we feel fear. Hence fear and other emotions may often be based on illusion, an incorrect perception of reality. Each person, each physical object , from the perspective of eternity is like a brief disturbed drop of water from an unbounded ocean. The goal of enlightenment is to understand this —more precisely, to experience this: to see intuitively that the distinction between the self and the universe is a false dichotomy (A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts). The distinction between consciousness and physical matter, between mind and body is the result of an unenlightened perspective; this is the purpose of this book, to help you with enlightenment so you can understand and free yourself from the world of Maya. One free from illusion can see life for what it really is: That we human beings and everything sorrounding us is born out of one unique source of divine energy call God. That we are interdependent, there is no race differences, there is no religious separation, there is no need for a position of power. There is no difference between us and animals or better stated there is no difference between us and any life form contained in this universe. There is one solar system, there is one planet, there is only one sun that feeds us all so we are all Terrestrial, we are interdependent. If there is no sun, then there is no life on this planet, if there are no trees, there is no oxygen, if there are no animals there is no ecological equilibrium. We are interdependent, every molecule every atom of existence depends on each other, if one single atom is missing there is caos, some may say we are just a drop in the ocean, but that drop is needed to complete the incomplete. You as a human being are not different or more or less than the stars, as the star is an essential part of a stellar system, you are an essential part of this system, as with the animals, trees, and rocks that are present here with us. To free yourself from the world of Maya you must meditate on Ajna in the middle of the forehead between the eyebrows, by meditating on it you will develop inner vision which is the real vision. When Master Sivananda said,” that meditating on Ajna will free you from past Karmas,” he was right because if you start seening reality for what it is then you will always do what is right, karma will be transmuted. By opening your third eye you will become sensitive, by becoming sensitive you will become aware, by becoming aware you will transform the ordinary things into the most extraordinary. You will transform the least to the most and you will make earth your heaven. If no bridge or gap exists then everything is divine, as its always was, always is and always will be. (Note: Ajna meditation is on a later chapter of this book) hide

Attachment is to cling to the impermanent, I am not too worried about explaining this to you because if you open up and transcend the limitations of an unenlightened perception you will have no attachments, you will become one with God, at that point you will simple be (Welcome home).