The Function and Awakening of Chakras - Crown Chakra, Third Eye Chakra, Throat Chakra, Heart Chakra, ... Root Chakra

Generally speaking however, the three lower chakras (the root, belly and solar plexus chakras) correlate to basic primary needs - those of survival, procreation and will - and have a larger physiological component to their functioning. The four higher chakras are more related to our psychological makeup: the heart, throat and third eye chakras are more advanced and more mature, defining love, communication and knowledge; the crown chakra is purely spiritual, providing the connection to the universe beyond.

The root and belly chakras are related to generative and sexual functions. The solar plexus chakra is related to digestion. The heart chakra is related to the heart and circulation. The throat chakra is related to the lungs and the voice, including the ears, nose, and throat. The third eye chakra is related to vision, the eyes, and the pituitary gland. The crown chakra is related to the brain, and especially the pituitary and pineal glands.

The changes in anatomy by which this is accomplished is as follows. Again, this will only be a rough sketch because the actual range of psychic abilities and the processes involved is very broad and complicated. The lowest chakra (the root chakra) reserves a special function housing an energy called kundalini. It is through the use of the kundalini energy that the chakras get enhanced in their activity. The enhanced activity of a chakra is called the "awakening" of that chakra and is supposedly accompanied by a flaring up of the color of the chakra and a large increase in its speed and energy processing capabilities. Awakening a chakra confers psychic abilities (or siddhis) as well. The awakening of the chakras is effected in actual practice is through certain yoga exercises or hypnosis, though spontaneous occurrences are known. It is also known that certain drugs will stimulate the chakras. Click here to check out a variety of excellent Chakra recordings (under the "Consciousness Expansion" heading).

Now, the psychic abilities that are associated with the chakras are roughly as follows. The awakening of the lower three chakras are associated with what they call "psychism", which is considered to be a relatively crude exercise of psychic abilities. This includes mediumship, the ability to dream (dreaming being considered as a crude form of astral projection), and the occurrence of sporadic psychic abilities such as the type studied by parapsychologists (isolated cases of telepathy or precognition, for example). The awakening of the four higher chakras produce what are generally regarded as "legitimate" psychic abilities, involving the conscious use and control of these abilities. These are the siddhis described in various literature, these are often possessed by those who have studied and practiced yoga to a great extent. The awakening of the heart chakra produces enhanced empathic abilities and the ability to heal. The throat chakra leads to clairaudience, which is the ability to hear on the nonphysical planes. The awakening of the third-eye chakra leads to clairvoyance or the ability to see on the nonphysical planes. And the awakening of the crown center is associated both with the ability to consciously travel on the nonphysical planes and with the process of enlightenment.

In addition to the seven regular chakras, there are several more transpersonal chakras which play an important part in spiritual growth and development. The term "transpersonal" is used to identify these chakras because they do not activate until the individual has attained some measure of soul contact and is becoming aware of him or herself as a multi-dimensional being, a transpersonal - rather than simply a personal - self.