Some suggestion of methods for working with the chakras

You will have, by now, at least some sense that you are actually working with the chakras in a direct way, even from the very beginning of shamatha practice. You may not have been aware of it when you first started, yet now you know that the energies and forces that you work with in shamatha are none other than those of the subtle centres. Really, how could it be otherwise? The practice of the 7EM then brings a more definite sense of progression or, you could say, brings a sense of process and direction to our practice. Such a structure is, of course, nothing more than a metaphor but by now you will be gaining more of an insight into what metaphor actually means. The metaphor is extended, widened and deepened by considering the nature and function of the chakras. So you can see that in the process of deepening our understanding and practice we are in no way departing from the foundation of basic meditation that we established at the beginning. Now that we have some basic information on the chakras we can consider a few ways to engage with them and work with them. Whichever of the following methods you choose to work with, always remember the three wisdom tools: good in the beginning; good in the middle; good at the end. At the beginning arouse the bodhicitta; in the middle remain undistracted; at the end dedicate the merit. Sit in basic meditation for a short time, accomplishing shamatha if you can. Then proceed with a method for working with the chakras. You also can empower each method further by practising the colour visualization and/ or 2=0 Yoga as a warm up, so to speak. Method 1: Focus. Here you very simply and naturally bring the focus of you meditation to the chakra and its related position in the physical body. What does it feel like, physically and emotionally? What are the stories that rise in the mind in response to this focus? Work with what you find using the methods you have learned. Here you are discovering what the reality is that you are creating from this chakra. What is the actual (i.e. now) reality of this level of your being? You can spend a whole session on just one chakra. Or you can go all through the chakras in one session either ascending from muladhara, or descending from sahasrara. Method 2: Symbols. Exploring the traditional symbols.

Here you take one of the associations of the chakra and explore it in your meditation. Explore your relationship with it, what it means to you and what rises in your mind in response to contemplating it. As you work through the discomforts and blocks you will empower the centre and its associated areas of mind and body. Method 3: Traditional Correspondences. If you have a particular problem, look correspondences to see which chakra to explore. to the traditional

Method 4: Interior Vision. We call this developing interior vision. From the peaceful state of shamatha, see/ sense each of the chakras what state is it in? Are there any blocks? You may sense blocks with any of the senses common and uncommon. You may simply work on intuition and trust. Explore the nature of the block and transform it using the 7EM or another practice you know. You can do method 4 just generally, or you can have a particular problem in mind and look for its reflections in the chakras. Working in this way you can clear specific problems. Method 5: Stimulation. You can stimulate the centre physically either by pushing or striking it (not too hard!) or by more internal methods or by performing yogic postures. Then sit and continue in the way you have learned. Actually, with the yogic posture method you can maintain the posture and do the meditative technique from there. If you do yoga anyway this is a very good way to super-charge your normal practice of postures! Method 6: Finding & Looking. On finding a thought, an emotion, or sensation pleasant or unpleasant, expanding or contracting you notice which of the chakras is most involved and influenced. You bring your attention to that chakra and proceed as before. Lets look a bit more closely at this method in relation to a sensation of pain. Firstly you bring your focus to the pain. You go into the pain and find where it seems to connect to in the body, then find the emotions and stories: those that look back to the past; those that inhibit the present; and those that look to the future. Use the methods you already know. Put your hand on the spot or prod it with a finger this may help your focus. You feel/ sense which chakra(s) the pain connects with. Experiencing the problem in the chakra with all the senses, you apply your methods. For a life problem bring the problem to mind and allow the emotions connected with the story of the problem to rise. Ask yourself (or your Higher Self and so on) which chakras are involved. Experience the problem in the chakra with all the senses. Proceed with your methods as before. Upon resolution of the problem or at the end of the session, the Goddess appears and grants healing and empowerment to the chakras involved. See and feel the colour and its associated emotions and energies

fill the entire body and aura. So you not only experience the resolution, you also see, hear, touch, smell and taste it. You allow yourself to be helped and you allow the experience to become complete. Then you relax and let the visualization dissolve into peace. Then you look again has it resolved or is there more work still to do? You carry on like that. Method 7: Journey. This method concerns visualization, or journeying into the chakra itself. Here we can introduce a more shamanic method of working with the energy of the chakras. In time you will be able to integrate any/ all of the other methods with this one and the result will be very powerful. If we approach visualization in the right way and allow it to be spontaneous, we can connect with energies very deep in our psyche. In the right way means safely. And the basis of safety is the sanity and stability of shamatha. Beyond that there are a few ways in which traditionally the shaman or voyager is protected. In the Golden Dawn (an hermetic tradition having its hay-day in the late 19th century), for example, there was great emphasis placed upon knowing the divine and angelic names, their signatures or sigils, appropriate gestures, signs and so on. There are different details for each realm that you wish to visit. The purpose of knowing such details is for psychic protection in other words to prevent delusion. The principle is a good one and the system is worth looking into if you have an interest. In shamanic traditions there are guides who fulfil the same role as the names, signs and gestures for the Golden Dawn. For our protection in the inner realms, we will call upon our Higher Self directly. In case of doubt or any kind of problem it is the Higher Self that we refer to and who is able to keep us safe and engaged in useful work rather than useless fantasy. The Higher Self may be thought of as a very highly evolved being who exists outside and beyond time and space. It may be you from the future. For all practical (present) purposes we can relate with the Higher Self as if they are a separate being. They are, in some mysterious way, our personal link with the divine and enlightened nature. Understanding the exact nature of their being does not seem so important as the relationship we develop with them. Also, as we are working within the relative (as we are now), we need to allow the mystery to be mysterious! We realize that we cannot comprehend everything with the normal dualistic mind, so we develop our sense of mystery and trust in that, as a straightforward way to go on. The Higher Self is, in this sense, mysterious. Once you have developed you relationship with your Higher Self, you can refer any questions to them. The main way to tell if you are talking with in the presence of your Higher Self is the feeling there is a wonderful atmosphere of love and warmth in which you feel safe, protected, accepted and totally loved. Other useful names for the Higher Self may include: Divine Inner Genius; the Guardian Angel; the Link with the Divine. Pick a name or concept for this being that you can relate to.

So lets meet your Higher Self and also establish a safe place in your inner reality, a base of operations as it were, from where you can venture forth in imagination to interact with the metaphors of your being and change your life. Lets establish the Safe Place. Once this has been done, then you can venture out into the realms of the chakras.