THE BIOFIELD (HUMAN ENERGY FIELD): FOUNDATION FOR ENERGY …

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THE BIOFIELD (HUMAN ENERGY FIELD): FOUNDATION FOR ENERGY MEDICINE

COURSE DESCRIPTION Energy is everything. Everything in the universe is in motion, even a rock at an atomic and subatomic level. Science is increasingly showing that human beings are comprised of an energy system that is highly integrated with the physical body, emotions, and the spiritual aspect of individuals. Energy healing is a practice that recognizes that energy is a vital, living, moving force, which is instrumental in determining health and well-being. The primary function of energy healing is to change the frequency of the body’s energetic fields, channels, and centers to improve health and enhance healing. The outcome of this course is for the learner to be able to explore the foundations of energy medicine, including the biofield (human energy field), the auric layers, and the chakras. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, you will be able to do the following: 1. Define the term energy.

2. Describe characteristics of energy medicine.

3. Discuss the biofield (human energy field).

4. Describe the role of the seven auric layers in the biofield.

5. Differentiate between the characteristics seven chakras (subtle energy centers).


INTRODUCTION

In a few decades scientists have gone from a conviction that there is no such thing as energy fields in and around the human body to an absolute certainty that they exist.

James Oschman, Ph.D., Energy Medicine

McKusick (2014) states “Over the last two decades a new paradigm has been emerging—that we are more fundamentally energetic and informational beings with sophisticated, high-speed communication channels in our living connective tissue matrix capable of rapidly affecting tissues, cellular processes, and even nuclear DNA expression” (p. viii). Today’s cutting-edge physicists are showing that “we exist in an ocean of potentiality and latent energy present in the quantum vacuum …a sea of almost infinite energy in which matter and mass manifest and disappear continuously” (McKusick, 2014, p ix). While today’s scientists, with the aid of advanced technology, are now able to demonstrate that human beings are energy beings and are so much more than the sum of their individual parts, this concept of the human energy field is not new. Its roots are embedded in human history. Dale (2013) notes “Albert Einstein, amongst other great scientists, shattered the Newtonian universe by asserting that human beings are not isolated islands unto themselves. We are composed of energy and energy fields, which interconnect us to all things” (p. 9). In addition, traditional healers worldwide have known for centuries that the body is a complex energy system with energy flowing through or over its surface (Rakel, 2017). Until recently, allopathic medical healers have largely ignored the traditional healing paradigm that asserts human beings are energy beings. However, this is changing dramatically, and an exciting and promising new branch of academic inquiry and clinical research is opening in the area of energy healing (Oschman, 2015; Shealy, 2011).


• Scientists and energy therapists around the world have made discoveries that will forever alter the healthcare providers’ perspective of human energetics.

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is conducting research in areas such as energy healing and prayer, and major U.S. academic institutions are conducting large clinical trials in these traditional healing areas.

• Conflicting approaches to healing that explore the concepts of life force and healing energy (such as allopathic and traditional healing) are now supporting each other.

With a growing body of scientific evidence now supporting the efficacy of energy healing systems, the paradigms of allopathic health care are shifting. A growing number of researchers, physicians, nurses, and other health practitioners are embracing a new view of healing that includes energy healing. The healthcare community is combining traditional methods of energy healing with allopathic medicine. According to Shealy and many scientists, energy medicine is the medicine of the future (Shealy, 2011). WHAT IS ENERGY?

Energy is everything—everything in the universe is in motion, even a rock at an atomic and subatomic level. According to Dale (2017) energy is defined as “information that vibrates.” Conventional descriptions refer to energy at the physical level and define it as the capacity to do work and overcome resistance. Conventional science recognizes four main types of energy or forces (Dale, 2017; Benor, 2004):

• Strong nuclear force: The strong nuclear force binds neutrons and protons in the atomic nucleus that act over short distances.


• Weak nuclear force: The weak nuclear force contributes to nuclear structure and radioactive decay. Both strong and weak nuclear forces have little effect outside the nucleus.

• Electromagnetic (EM) force: This force pervades the cosmos, from atomic structures to chemical molecular interactions and electrical power.

• Gravity: This force is weaker than the others over short distances and is active in proportion to the mass of an object. Gravity is the dominant force in the universe. Although its effects are measurable, its nature is the least understood of the energy forces and there are no clear theories to explain how it works.

Until recently, Western science assumed there were no other energies in the universe than the four types listed above. However, there is an increasing body of new scientific evidence related to bioenergies (human energy fields) that have not been previously recognized in Western science. The energy of human life, called mana, can express itself in many ways, including patterns, sounds, and thoughts. Although the subtle patterns of thoughts may not be easily seen, they exist nonetheless (Dale, 2017). Schwartz (2007) offers a complex, more comprehensive description of energy as the capacity to do anything at the physical, psychological, or spiritual level. The term energy can refer to familiar and easily measurable frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as light (including color) and sound, or to less familiar influences of living systems for which measurement is currently more difficult. WHAT IS ENERGY MEDICINE?

Energy healing is a practice that recognizes that energy is a vital, living, moving force, which is instrumental in determining health and well-being. The primary


function of energy healing is to change the frequency of the body’s three main energetic anatomic features--energetic fields, channels, and centers (Dale, 2017). Energy medicine is a domain that deals with energy fields of two types (Dale, 2017):

• Veritable energies can be measured and they include vibrations (e.g., sound) and electromagnetic forces, including visible light, magnetism, monochromatic radiation (e.g., laser beams), and rays from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. The body produces or is affected by all of these types of energies.

• Putative energies, also referred to as biofields or subtle fields, are difficult or almost impossible to measure. These energy fields are believed to explain the presence of vital life energy.

Therapies involving veritable energies use specific, measurable wavelength frequencies to treat clients. Therapies involving putative energy fields are based on the concept that human beings are infused with a subtle form of energy. This vital energy is known under different names in different cultures, such as:

• Chi or qi (pronounced chee) in traditional Chinese medicine.

• Ki in the Japanese Kampo system.

• Doshas in Ayurvedic medicine.

• Prana, etheric energy, fohat, orgone, odic force, mana, and homeopathic resonance elsewhere in the world.

Practitioners of energy medicine posit that illness results from disturbances of these subtle energies (the biofield). The concept that sickness and disease arise from imbalances in the body’s vital energy field has led to many forms of therapy. For example, traditional Chinese medicine balances the flow of qi through a series of approaches, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, Qigong (pronounced chee gong), diet, and behavior changes. THE BIOFIELD: THE HUMAN ENERGY FIELD


The biofield is often referred to as the human energy field (HEF). While the existence of this field was once disputed, scientists now know with almost absolute certainty that one exists (Oschman, 2015). The physical body has an energy counterpart referred to by many names: ethereal body, aura, energy field, bioenergy field, and human energy field. The HEF and the physical body interact with each other, and an understanding of their interrelationship is the basis of energy healing and effective therapeutic treatment. Many people can sense the bioenergy fields of heat and other measurable energies that emanate from the human body. Healers are especially adept at interpreting these sensations and discerning whether they are indicative of specific energy blocks, or psychological states that may lead to diseases or illnesses. When the energy flow is blocked or distorted, a natural healthy balance cannot be maintained, and states of disease become evident. Contaminated foods, environmental toxins, parasites, chronic viral infections, surgery, emotional trauma, and negative thought patterns all have the potential to interfere with a person’s energy flow. Some of the fields sensed by healers appear to involve energies that conventional science has difficulty assessing; auras are just one example. Healers can diagnose an individual’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual conditions by examining his or her aura (Benor, 2004). The work of William A. Tiller, PhD, one of the world’s leading scientists on solid-state physics and psychoenergetics, posits that our eyes detect only a small fraction of the total electromagnetic spectrum and our ears detect only a small fraction of the total available sound spectrum. It can be suggested, therefore, that most of us detect only one band in the total spectrum of reality but that some individuals are cognitively aware of the normally unseen bands (Tiller, 2002). McTaggart (2008) states, “Human beings and all living things are a coalescence of energy in a field of energy connected to every other living thing in the world. This pulsating energy field is the central engine of our being and our consciousness, the alpha and the omega of our existence” (p. xiii). Energy healers believe the energy field must be tapped for healing to take place. McTaggart states that the human energy field is the force responsible for the human mind’s highest functions. It is an integral part of our heart, our mind, and our memory, and, as Einstein once said, it is “the only reality” (McTaggart, 2008). A growing body of scientific data provides support for the concept of a biofield. So far, three categories of biofield measurement from humans have been researched: (1) high-voltage electrophotography, (2) electrodermal testing (EDT), and (3) natural light emission called biophotons (extremely low-level visible light emission from organisms). EDT is more clinically useful than the other methods, which have fewer clinical applications and are still considered tools for exploration in basic clinical research (Rubik, 2014).


Biofield therapies show positive physical changes on living systems, including human beings. More direct evidence of the biofield has been gathered by measuring changes in the practitioner’s or the patient’s biofield before and after biofield therapy or before and after other energy medicine interventions (Rubik, 2014). Further research is needed to refine and standardize the measurements of the biofield as well as explore its relevance to health, disease, and healing. The Seven Auric Layers of the Human Energy Field

Scientists have been investigating and substantiating the existence of the aura, the field that surrounds the entire body, for over a hundred years (Dale, 2017). According to Brennan (2017), the human energy field (aura) has several components and can be divided into at least seven layers encompassing the body. These layers radiate out from the body and are connected with each of the seven basic chakras. Some scientists propose that “plasma” (tiny subatomic particles) exists in a state between energy and matter, while others suggest the human energy field is made of ether, an element comparable to a negative mass, or a hollowed-out space. Each layer has its own frequency and its own color. Each layer is also connected through the chakras to the physical body. The characteristics of each layer are described below (Brennan, 2017; Dale, 2017).


First Layer: Ethereal Body

• The ethereal layer lies closest to the body and is the energy matrix within which bodily tissues are formed prior to manifesting into physical form.

• This layer has the same structure as the physical body, including all the anatomical parts and organs.

• This energy field sets up the matrix in the shape of the body parts prior to their cellular growth in their ultimate physical form, and it does so before the cells materialize physically.

• Just 0.25 to 2 inches in width, light blue to gray in color, the ethereal layer is composed of a sparkling web of energy lines upon which the physical matter of the body tissues is shaped and anchored.

Second Layer: Emotional Body

• This layer, which is associated with emotions and feelings, follows the outline of the physical body and penetrates the ethereal field.

• Extending about 3 inches beyond the physical body, the emotional body comprises all the colors of the rainbow in constant fluid motion.

• The colors of this layer become clearer and more vivid when they are influenced by highly energized feelings such as love, excitement, joy, or anger.

• Confused and depressive feelings tend to muddy and darken the hue of this layer.

Third Layer: Mental Body


• The third aural layer is associated with thoughts and mental processes.

• Appearing predominantly as a bright yellow light radiating about the head and shoulders, the third layer extends about 3 to 8 inches from the body.

• It extends and brightens as the owner concentrates on mental processes.

• Thought forms appear as blobs of bright yellow with additional colored hues emanating from the emotional layer.

Fourth Layer: Astral Body

• Through this layer and its associated chakra filter all the energies, thoughts, and experiences that ultimately affect us emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

• The fourth layer is infused with the rose color of love.

• This layer is considered the dividing band between the lower and upper auric layers and is associated with the heart chakra. The heart chakra is the main energy center through which all energies must pass as they move from one auric layer and from one reality to another.

• Spiritual energy must pass through the heart chakra (and this layer) to be transformed into physical energy. Conversely, physical energy transforms to spiritual as it exits through the heart chakra.

• It extends 6 to 12 inches beyond the body. A great deal of interaction takes place between people on the astral level. Brennan (2017) claims she can observe energy forms exchanging between a man and a woman fantasizing about lovemaking. She claims there is a way to test energy fields to see whether the fields between two individuals are synchronous and whether the people are compatible. She adds that when people form relationships, they grow cords out of the aura fields, through the chakras that connect them. The longer the relationship, the more cords there are and the stronger they are. When the relationship ends, the cords are torn, often causing a great deal of pain (heartache) until they disconnect and reroute within the self. Fifth Layer: Etheric Template Body

• This layer contains all the forms that exist on the physical plane in a template or blueprint form, like a negative; hence it is known as the template body.

• This template of the body is projected to the etheric layer (first layer) where body tissues are materialized on the grid matrix upon which the physical body grows.


• This layer extends 1.5 to 2 feet from the body.

• When distortion in the etheric layer is detected, energy healing work is necessary in the template layer to provide support for the etheric layer in its original template form.

• To the attuned healer, the template form contains the entire structure of the auric field, including chakras, body organs, and body forms in a negative blueprint format.

• This layer connects physical reality with other realities. Sixth Layer: Celestial Body

• The sixth layer, or celestial body, is the emotional level of the spiritual plane, through which one experiences spiritual ecstasy. One can achieve this experience through meditation and other forms of transformation.

• From this transformation, one can reach a point of “being,” where one knows his or her connection with the universe. It is a place where individuals feel immersed in the Light and feel they are part of it and it is part of them. They feel they are at one with the Source.

• When the open celestial chakra connects with the open heart chakra, one experiences unconditional love of all humanity, of humans in the flesh, and of spiritual love that goes beyond the physical to all realms of reality.

• The sixth layer extends 2 to 3.25 feet from the body in a shimmering opalescent pastel light.


• It appears to radiate from the body like the glow around a candle.

Seventh Layer: Ketheric Field or Causal Body

• The causal body is sometimes considered the closest thing to the soul.

• The record of all that a soul has experienced on the physical earthly plane (during current as well as past lives) is believed to be contained in an individual’s causal body.

• This mental level of the spiritual plane extends about 2.5 to 3.5 feet in an oval shape around the body.

• It comprises a shimmering light of golden-silver threads, pulsating at a very high frequency and holding the whole auric form together.

• It has a thin protective layer on the outside, rather like an eggshell, which protects the enclosed fields.

This golden field supplies the main power current that runs up and down the spine and nourishes the entire body. As this current pulsates up and down the spine, it carries energy through the roots of each chakra and connects them to the energies that the chakras carry into the body. The seventh layer can be perceived only through the experience of enlightenment—the level of one’s divine self. THE CHAKRAS: SUBTLE ENERGY CENTERS


Among yogis, the chakra (Sanskrit for “wheel” or “turning”) has long been known as an “energy station” (Eden, 2008), envisioned as a point of swirling energy, a vortex. Eden also notes that while the term chakra has its origins in India, many cultures have identified and worked with the spiraling centers. Most healers sensitive to subtle energies eventually discover these centers of awareness in the human body. Neither physical nor anatomical, chakras reside in the subtle energy system. Each of the chakras is paired with a particular layer in the biofield (human energy field). Chakras are similar to the physical organs in the body and they correspond with, and connect to a particular location within the physical body, except that they operate at a higher frequency that is not visible to the human eye (Dale, 2017). Described and attended to by yogis for thousands of years, the chakra system serves as an integral part of healing in several spiritual traditions. Recently, interest in this ancient practice has exploded among healthcare professionals and the general population, rising with the growing appeal of integrative and alternative medicine (Slater, 2013). Most healing traditions identify seven major chakras. The English names of the chakras refer to the parts of the physical body where they are believed to reside: the root chakra, the sacral chakra, the solar plexus chakra, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third-eye (pituitary) chakra, and the crown (pineal) chakra.

• Each chakra influences organs, muscles, ligaments, veins, and all other systems, especially the endocrine system, within its energy field.

• Chakras are energy centers traversing the length of the spine, each accounting for a different mode of perception.

“Memory is energetically coded in your chakras just as it is chemically coded in your neurons. While an ‘energy memory’ system parallels neural memory and is foreign to Western thinking, it is taken for granted in many healing traditions” (Eden, 2008, p. 147). One of the subtlest methods of healing, chakra work is based on the belief that one must be integrated physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for total well-being to occur. One of the best ways to visualize a chakra in the body is to imagine a swirling wheel of energy where matter and consciousness meet. Valerie Hunt, a professor of physical therapy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Hiroshi Motoyama of Japan demonstrated objective evidence of chakra activity (Slater, 2013). Hunt placed electrodes on the skin over the chakra areas, which recorded wave-like electrical signals that were much higher frequency than any previously recorded in the study of human body. Motoyama theorized that if an enlightened individual could influence the chakras, the energy output of those chakras could be measured. Using a lead-lined recording booth, Motoyama measured the energy field of various chakras that subjects claimed to have awakened, usually through years of meditation. Motoyama recorded control subjects’ electrical state and changes over chakra areas, along with those for


advanced meditators and individuals who reported experiencing psychic incidences. He found that advanced meditators could consciously project energy through their chakras, revealing significant electrical field disturbances over the activated chakras. His findings demonstrate significantly greater energy levels at those areas than over the same areas of control subjects (Slater, 2013).

The health effects of one’s habits, beliefs, thoughts, fears, and desires may be found in our chakras. The ways individuals eat, exercise, deal with their emotions, and support their intellect are imprinted on their energy body. The goal of chakra balancing, then, is a strong, clear (unblocked) energy system that supports vitality, health, and continued spiritual and intellectual growth. Chakra Chart Eden (2008) notes that it is helpful to correlate each chakra with a particular color. This framework reflects an organic tendency rather than a specific correlation.

• Colors are vibrations of energy, and each chakra is as unique as a thumbprint.

• The vibrational relationship between the chakras and their associated colors is more complex than a direct correlation between a specific chakra and its corresponding color. For example, red is associated with the root chakra, but some energy healers will also perceive other colors, such as gold, in the root chakra.

• It is important to note that the associated colors are guidelines of the most common colors observed.


The table below provides an overview of each of the chakras as well as their associated features. A detailed discussion of each chakra is provided in the next section.

Chakra Sanskrit Name

Color Location in the Body

Endocrine Gland

Function or Purpose

Element Sense

Crown (7th)

Sahasrara Violet Top of head

Pineal Spiritual Thought

With-drawal of senses

Third Eye (6th)

Ajna Indigo Brow Pituitary Wisdom, intuition

Light Sight

Throat (5th)

Vishuddha Blue Throat Thyroid Commun-ication, creativity

Sound Hearing

Heart (4th)

Anahata Green or Pink

Chest Thymus Love, relation-ships

Air Touch

Solar Plexus (3rd)

Manipura Yellow Solar plexus

Pancreas Personal power, energy, will

Fire Sight

Sacral (2nd)

Svadhisthana

Orange Sacral area, lower back

Ovaries, testes

Emotions, sexuality

Water Taste

Root (1st)

Muladhara Red Base of spine, coccygeal plexus, perineum

Adrenals Grounding, physical needs, survival

Earth Smell

THE FIRST CHAKRA (ROOT)


The root chakra is associated with one’s tribal nature, with our connections to each other and every living thing. Location The root or base chakra swirls at the base of the spine, between the coccyx and the pelvic bone. Its energies move to the front of the body, spinning over the pelvis and the vagina in a woman and the penis and testes in a man (Eden, 2008; Myss, 2010). Purpose The root chakra carries life energies up into the body, through the other chakras, as well as down the legs. This chakra is the “grounding” connection to the earth’s subtle energies. Through it one is connected with the earth and our origins. It is associated with survival, stability, and physical sensations. The root chakra governs the basic instincts of eating, sleeping, sex, self-preservation, the manifestations of what an individual needs, and conservation of the species (Dale, 2017; Eden, 2008). Kundalini energy, the power of creativity, resides in the root chakra. The root chakra is as spiritually relevant as the higher chakras. The slowest spinning of the chakras, the root chakra is about 3 inches in diameter. Associated Color The root chakra, linked to the physical body, is most often associated with the color red, but this is not always the case, as other colors can be seen in the chakra in response to different influences, such as illness (Dale, 2017; Eden, 2008; Leadbeater, 2013). THE SECOND CHAKRA (SACRAL)

The energies of the second chakra can reflect a person’s natural healing abilities. When people meditate, they often report making contact with the energy contained in the second chakra.


Location Known as the sacral or abdominal chakra because of its location over the lower abdominal area, this chakra is the container of imagination and creative impulses (Eden, 2008). The sacral chakra is the center of sensuality, procreation, and giving and receiving sexual pleasure (Myss, 2010). Purpose The second chakra reveals the affection and compassion of the soul. Most caring and dedicated healers have a strong and active second chakra. People with a strong second chakra often make others feel cared for and comfortable. The energies of the second chakra reflect a person’s natural healing abilities (Eden, 2008). Associated Color Linked to the etheric body (the state between energy and matter), the sacral chakra is associated with the color orange. THE THIRD CHAKRA (SOLAR PLEXUS)

The third or solar plexus chakra contains the energies that represent individual identity, the sense of who one is and who one is not. Location The solar plexus chakra, located over the pit of the stomach, is linked with the pancreas and adrenal glands. It contributes to digestive functioning and the body’s acute response to stress. On the left side of this chakra are the spleen, pancreas, and stomach. On the right side of this chakra are the liver and gallbladder, and to the rear of this chakra are the kidneys and adrenal glands (Dale, 2017; Myss, 2010).


Purpose Eden (2008) describes the relationship between the third chakra and the body’s organs as follows:

Each organ’s function in your body parallels its role in your emotional life. Consider the organs within the third chakra. As the filtering system that detects toxins in your bloodstream, the kidneys are your prototype for fear and caution, for detecting and eliminating that which is dangerous. As a factory that breaks down whatever is harmful to your system, your liver is your prototype for self-protective anger. As the alarm system that triggers great rushes of energy for emergencies, the adrenals are the prototype for the panic response that mobilizes you in a crisis. As the body’s producer of metabolic juices, the pancreas is the prototype for assimilating what you can embrace. As the organ that sends stale air out of your body, the diaphragm is the prototype for grieving and finding closure with whatever is passing out of your life (p. 168).

The third chakra is believed to be linked to the astral body, described as pervading all space and accompanying the individual throughout life. The astral body survives the individual after death. The sacral chakra is also believed to be linked to the astral plane—a spiritual dimension or parallel universe comprised of spiritual energy (the Earth’s “body double”). The astral plane vibrates faster than the Earth and its energy penetrates to the core of the Earth (White, 2009; Dale, 2017). Associated Color The third chakra is associated with the color yellow (White, 2009). THE FOURTH CHAKRA (HEART)

Love, rather than logic, is the product of the heart chakra, and a person whose fourth chakra is dominant is guided more by the “heart” than the “head” and by feelings more than thoughts.


Location This chakra lies at the center of the chakra system in the center of the body and is close to the anatomical heart. In most cultures, the heart is linked to the power of love. The heart chakra has within its area of influence the heart, lungs, thymus, and pericardium (a protective sac that surrounds the heart). This is the powerhouse of the human energy system (Dale, 2017; Myss, 2010). Purpose The heart chakra is the center through which all energies must pass in transit from one group of chakra layers to another and from one reality to another. This chakra and its associated chakra layer filter all energies, thoughts, and experiences, which ultimately affects an individual emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Linked to the “feeling body” the heart chakra is the central filter between the lower and upper chakras (White, 2009). Associated Color The color associated with the heart chakra is also in the middle of the color spectrum, green, but other colors are also associated with it. When the heart chakra emits a golden hue, it usually indicates that the person has a universal love that attracts others. A soft pink hue is evident in those who are loving, kind, and gentle. THE FIFTH CHAKRA (THROAT)

Expression is the product of the throat chakra, and it contains information from all of the other chakras. Location The areas of influence of the throat chakra are the thyroid and parathyroid glands. All energy and information are transmitted through the throat chakra as they pass from the higher seventh and sixth chakras to the lower chakras (including the heart, solar


plexus, sacral, and root chakras). This is the filtering point for all data, which are sorted, organized, and then dispersed as personal expression. The throat chakra is the center of sound and is responsible for speech, speaking the truth with courage, listening with nonjudgment, and communicating as well as hearing (Dale, 2017; Myss, 2010). Purpose Just as the thyroid and parathyroid glands contribute to the body’s metabolism and energy, the throat chakra breaks down the energies that pass through it to maintain the energy body. Energies from the root, sacral, solar plexus, and heart chakras move up through the throat on their way to the crown chakra. Energies from the third eye and crown chakras move down through the throat chakra on their way to the trunk of the body. This chakra facilitates unique self-expression (Eden, 2008). Associated Color Linked to the lower mental body or plane, the throat chakra is associated with the color blue and shades of blue (Eden, 2008). THE SIXTH CHAKRA (THIRD EYE)

The sixth chakra is an energy “station” where a sense of a separate self and identity can be transcended. This transcendence allows one to “leave” the body and move into the “mind” (Eden, 2008). The sixth chakra is the energy center of intuition (Myss, 2010). Location The forehead (third eye) chakra is the spiritual center of awareness, intelligence, concentration, and intuition. It is located between the eyebrows just above the bridge of the nose. The areas of influence for the third-eye chakra are the eyes, ears, lower area of the brain cortex, pituitary gland, and the “director of bodily operations,” the hypothalamus (Myss, 2010).


Purpose Modern thinking, intellect, and busy minds tend to dominate the more subtle but powerful connections to the psychic realm, which are the channels for receiving guidance and subtle energies beyond ordinary perception. This chakra, the third eye, is the portal to the spiritual world. It is associated in many cultures with psychic development and is the center of thought and abstraction (Eden, 2008). Associated Color The color associated with this chakra is indigo. THE SEVENTH CHAKRA (CROWN)

If an individual’s crown chakra is developed, open, and in harmony with the other chakras, a feeling of oneness with the cosmos can be experienced. Location Situated at the top of the head, the crown chakra is linked with the activity of the pineal gland. The crown chakra is associated with spirituality, the soul, ultimate knowledge, bliss, and the integration of personality with life, which gives a sense of purpose to one’s existence (Myss, 2010). Purpose The crown chakra relates to the whole being: physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional. It supports a holistic state of balance. The central themes of this chakra are spirituality, self-realization, and enlightenment. This chakra embodies the phrase “Let go of the past and live in the present” (Dale, 2017; Myss, 2010). Meditation, prayer, energy work, and rituals are safe but potent ways of opening the crown chakra and deepening spiritual awareness and connection (Eden, 2008).


Associated Color Linked to soul and the causal body (mental level), the crown chakra is associated with the color violet (White, 2009). SUMMARY The biofield (human energy field), the auric layers, and the chakras comprise the foundation for energy medicine. They provide powerful information for use by healers in the treatment of illness and disease as well as for enhancing well-being. The healthcare community is combining traditional methods of energy healing with modern medicine. Energy medicine is poised to be a vital component of the new paradigm of healing and a powerful force of healing for the future.


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THE BIOFIELD (HUMAN ENERGY FIELD): FOUNDATION FOR ENERGY …