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Do you light up every room you walk into? Are you generous with compliments and gratitude, and eager to give hugs or back-rubs to people in pain? Do your friends refer to you as a breath of fresh air? Do you matter of factly accept others as they are, and love them even if their lifestyle or belief system is different from yours?
If so, you are blessed with healthy fourth chakra energy. This energy center, located at heart level, fuels our love for all humanity, forgiveness, and our willingness to reach out with compassion to nurture others. It is with this kind of love that we can create, within ourselves, a steady emotional climate. The fourth chakra resonates with universal love, a very different kind of love than that of second chakra relationship love. There is no sense of attachment or possession here. It's an unconditional acceptance of people and things the way they are, and gratitude for our place in the universe.
With strongly developed heart energy, we are able to release old grudges, forgive injuries, and reach out with compassion from a place of harmony within ourselves.
True healing of old emotional wounds comes from here. With a strong heart energy, we can see that clinging to pain damages us more than the person who harmed us. With this insight, we can move forward into forgiveness -- a vital step in growing toward emotional and spiritual maturity.
Heart chakra love is like air, light and spirited as a breeze. It does not tangle itself in emotional turmoil or neediness, but caresses everyone it touches with freedom, freshness, and a deep peace that radiates from our center.
This kind of loving experience is exhilarating, heady stuff; keeping it balanced is important to our effectiveness as human beings doing for each other. We need to stay "grounded," connected with the earth and our physical selves, to keep from drifting off into a kind of euphoric mist that threatens our sanity. We also need to stay connected with our mental powers and allow logic to enter into our decisions.
The fourth chakra is centered between the chakras that give us access to those two kinds of energy: the 1st chakra grounds us from the base of our spine, and the 6th chakra, at forehead level, connects us with reasoning power. Healthy heart energy draws from both of them and blends the energies into a centered, compassionate ability to love others without harming ourselves. It is this kind of loving energy that allows humans to heal one another.
We restrict our heart energy when we cling to painful old wounds without working through them and moving forward, when we wallow in jealousy or clinginess in our relationships, or when we forget to take care of ourselves so we can be healthy enough to give to others.
Persons with an "over-active" heart chakra will give of their resources beyond the point of all reason. They withdraw from their "emotional bank account" until they have nothing left to give to anyone, including themselves. They may find themselves unable to relate to others they see as "earthbound" or "unspiritual," and risk losing friendships.
Undernourished chakra energy results in jealousy, fear of rejection, an unwillingness to give, bitterness over the ingratitude of others, an inability to forgive or forget past injustice.
Physical manifestations of poor heart energy might be heart problems, lung or breathing problems, shoulder pains or cold hands.
We can nurture our fourth chakra energy by honoring our natural instincts to reach out to others compassionately, by doing whatever is necessary to recognize and forgive past injuries (this might mean getting help from a mental health professional), by freely expressing love and nurturing an attitude of gratitude.
We can begin to focus on developing healthy heart energy on the emotional, physical, spiritual, or mental level. Pick the easiest for you as your beginning place! Here are some common associations with fourth chakra energy and some suggestions for using them in everyday life.
ELEMENT: Air. Learn to breathe properly and fully, exhaling as much as you inhale. Go fly a kite. Spend an afternoon bird watching, especially during a seasonal migration. Meditate on the ability of air to refresh and fill open spaces. Open all your doors and windows.
COLOR: Green and/or pink. Wear these colors, especially close to your heart. Use them in decorating your home and office. Use these colors in the fabric for an altar cloth.
EXERCISE: Spend time outdoors in clean air, especially mountains or beaches. Learn a breathing meditation. Do yoga postures that open the chest. Shake your hands and arms frequently. Hug people.
MENTAL: Ask for forgiveness from someone you have injured. Consciously release an old grudge. Seek therapeutic help if you need it.
INCENSE FOR BURNING: Lavender, jasmine, yarrow
METAL: Copper
GEMSTONES: Emerald, tourmaline, rose quartz
QUESTIONS TO PONDER IN A JOURNAL:
Am I controlled by old pain? Mine or someone else's?
What fear do I have about becoming emotionally healthy?
What is my understanding of a healthy, intimate relationship?
Is there someone, or some project, that needs my help in a way that I can give it?
Am I using "love" to cling to or manipulate someone else?
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Resources:
Judith, Anodea. Wheels of Life. Llewellyn Press. 1990.
Myss, Carolyne. Anatomy of the Spirit. Random House. 1996.
Hover-Kramer, Dorothea, ed. Healing Touch: A Resource for Health Care Professionals. Delmar Publishers. 1996.
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