Know Your Chakras: Six

This is the sixth installment in a seven part series on the chakras. (You can find the articles on chakras 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 at these links.) In this series I will be discussing the physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological aspects of each chakra, how they interact with us and our environment, as well as how to work with and balance each chakra through diet, exercises and meditations in order to bring lasting health and happiness into our lives.

Chakra 6 – The Third Eye – Ajna – (To Perceive)

Element: Light

Function and Purpose: Sight, perception, intuition, visualization, imagination

Obstacle: Illusion

Balanced Inner States: Strong intuition, strong ability in creative visualization, keenly perceptive, imaginative

Imbalanced Inner States: Inability to visualize or imaging the future, insensitive, living in denial

Location: Center of the forehead or slightly between and above the eyes

Color: Indigo

So far we have moved from our roots, growing strong and deep into the earth, up into the flowing waters of our emotions and sexuality, to the sunlight of personal power and transformation, into the lush, green forest of unconditional love, to the clear blue skies of communication, and now into the indigo stratosphere of inner sight and visualization.

The sixth chakra, more commonly referred to as our third eye, is located in the center of the brain (and can be exteriorly felt between the eyebrows), and is the source of inner and outer sight and perception. Its primary function, however, is seeing beyond the physical, material realm, and it is the inner visionary aspect of our thought and mental workings of the mind.

Our sixth chakra is often referred to as “the seat of the soul” and is the fundamental source of creative visualization, imagination and psychic ability, as it is one more step into the ethereal and spiritual realms of the chakra system.

Through the process of light perception within our physical sight, we are able to take in the images we see in the outer realm of physical manifestation, and process and store this information in the inner, visionary realm of perception which can be used in the process of creative visualization and imagination.

When our sixth chakra is balanced, we have the ability to clearly imagine and visualize the positive future which we desire. The images and visualization process flows freely, yet is guided by the structure of our choosing through the use of our mental processes. When the brow chakra is imbalanced, however, our visualization processes and imagination can either be non-existent or lack the structured guidance necessary to focus our energy into creating the future we long for – much like a ship out to sea, without a rudder, at the mercy of the wind and storms.

The most important aspect of the sixth chakra is psychic ability, which is within each and every person and can be developed through practice and patience. The third eye allows seeing beyond time and space, giving us the ability to move freely between the interconnectedness of past, present and future, which manifests itself in the form of visions, images and cosmic insight and perception.

What are your favorite methods for working with the third eye?