Image by Arifur Rahman Tushar
When I began to study Huna in 1982, the first subject we dealt with was forgiveness, for good reason: it cleared the way for a larger current of energy to flow through us.
It takes effort to hold on to old guilt, grief, and pain, just as grudges and gripes contribute to stress. For-giving is what takes us back to before the giving of the hurt. Or consider it as that which is required before we can give fully of ourselves. Forgiveness is releasing rather than accepting. It frees up energy that has been holding stressful patterns in place. When we truly forgive, we release those tightly held patterns and can access more energy.
There are many ways to approach forgiveness and many rituals to achieve it. Ritual reinforces the subconscious mind's sense of what is real. When we ritualize the act of forgiveness, the effect is reflected in our real-time relationships, regardless of whether the other person is aware on a conscious level of the work we have done.
A very important key to healing work is to understand that we are directly connected to whatever we are thinking about. Whether we think about an inanimate object, a distant friend or acquaintance, an ancestor, or someone with whom we are in close and loving relationship, our thoughts connect us like a complex weaving. If I'm speaking of it, thinking of it, or looking at it, I'm connected to it. We weave the tapestry of our lives just as spiders create their webs. In our thoughts, we are constantly spinning our connections to everything around us.
There's a Hawaiian word, aka, which, though possibly not related to the Sanskrit word akasha, bears a resemblance to it in sound and meaning. It refers to the essence of the material on which our thoughts ride, the threads with which we spin our interconnections. The tiny filaments of aka that we spin with each thought become more and more numerous as our relationships develop, and the threads are spun into cords. The multidimensional fabric of our lives is woven and given texture by these fine filaments, threads, and cords that we constantly emanate and receive as we interact with our surroundings.
In our loving relationships the cords are luminous and vibrant, and energy moves freely between, helping us to be mutually supportive. When there is anguish, pain, or misery in a relationship, what started out as luminous fibers turn dark and dense, which prevents the free-flowing exchange of energy. The thickness, texture, and weight of these cords, as well as the movement of light and energy through them, are directly related to the quality of the relationship, or in some cases, the trauma associated with the relationship. Instead of being mutually supportive, a relationship can become weighted down like a tree with many dead branches. We carry that weight with us and use up a great deal of our energy just to support it. It is actually no different than natural law in the plant world. Prune your apple tree, removing the dead wood to make space for new growth, and your tree will respond with renewed vigor.
Imagine Yourself As A Tree
We can imagine ourselves as a tree. The spinal column is like the tree trunk, and the main branches extend from the chakra centers. Each chakra center is associated with an element and specific issues related to the elemental significance of that chakra. The cording occurs in accordance with the issues around each level. In complex relationships, such as those between parents and children and other people who are close, the cords exist in several centers, possibly even in all of them. Cords representing other specific relationships can be found at the relevant chakra centers. For example, a cord might connect you with a teacher at the fifth center because the throat chakra relates to communication. Your supervisor at work might turn up at the root chakra where security and survival issues are located, or at the third chakra, where personal power issues appear.
Each person's tree of life is the source of the personal tapestry woven by these threads of different qualities and thicknesses, textures, weights, and colors. Sometimes the tree needs pruning. What pruning shears can we use to rid ourselves of the old, dense, brittle cords, the limbs that don't serve us anymore? The answer is forgiveness.
Forgiveness is an amazing thing. With it, you can transform darkness into luminosity. Or you can simply release a cord altogether. You don't have to worry about losing your connections to people; even if you release a cord, you can always build a new one, and hope that the new ones will sustain their luminosity.
Forgiveness goes in two directions. Sometimes it is appropriate for you to forgive others, and at other times you need to ask for the forgiveness of the person at the other end of the cord. Or you can ask the person what it would take for him or her to forgive you. Be willing to negotiate for that forgiveness. Sometimes you will find yourself at both ends of the cord, and you must give yourself the same forgiveness that you give others.
The chakra centers are energetic portals, points of power through which you, as an individual, access realms of consciousness related to the elements and basic issues of life. They are arranged much like a ladder of consciousness, starting with the tailbone. Most of the chakras are in alignment with the spinal column as it rises upward through the body.
As you proceed through your life you are constantly weaving a multidimensional lattice of aka. The threads originate at each of your chakra centers according to the element and issues associated with that chakra. By understanding this model, you can perceive how various issues -- physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental (along with their corresponding elements) -- are linked to your physical body and can be recognized, nurtured, and healed accordingly.
Attachments Associated to Specific Chakras
The descriptions provide a way of perceiving the relationships between the chakras and issues that contribute to both your illness and your well being. They suggest where to look for cords associated with specific situations and people when you perform the forgiveness ritual that follows. Because so much of our culture has become drug dependent, I am including some of the substances rampant in our society that affect the chakras. Substance abuse almost always results in cording that requires forgiveness. Even a single substance-related event can block the free flow of energy. For example, an embarrassing moment that occurred when you were drunk may be siphoning energy if it is still unresolved.
1. The root chakra is located at the base of the spine. It is associated with the element Earth, and is related to all things physical, including physical healing. The issues you will encounter here are often associated with survival, security, fight or flight responses, trust, and material support. Family members such as parents may be strongly present at the first chakra center, not only because they brought you into this life, but because they were integral to your security as a young and dependent person. Manifestation, including abundance and lack, are also associated with the first chakra. The substances that most affect the root chakra in our society are opiates, depressants, and hypnotics. When used in excess, those drugs compromise our basic fight-or-flight responses and our survival instincts.
2. The second chakra is located in the area of the genitals/womb. It is associated with the element Water. Emotional issues are found here, as are issues concerning reproduction, nurturing, sexuality and sexual relationships, children, sensitivity, and the social pecking order. Cording regarding relationships, jealousy, and our territorial nature are also included here. The prevailing substance in our society that influences this center is alcohol.
3. The third chakra is located at the solar plexus. This chakra is associated with the element Fire, and is concerned with one's personal will and power. It includes issues around one's identity, motivation, vitality, and action. Some of the darker issues connected to this chakra involve power over others, destructive behavior, rage, and violence. Nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, and caffeine are ubiquitous in our society. They are often abused and, consequently, may affect a person's will, thus affecting the third chakra center.
4. The heart is the center of our being. The heart chakra stands between the three lower chakras (each of which is grounded in the terrestrial laws of physics) and the three upper chakras (through which we connect to the universal or collective mind). The heart is the platform from which we move from a dualistic approach to life to a view of the multiplicity of possibilities. The intelligence of the heart, recognized in ancient Egypt and many mystical cultures, is now being validated by science. In the heart center we find issues related to love, our most intimate relationships, mating for life and progeny, and the domestic issues around home and family. Our clearest guidance is heart centered. Chocolate and MDMA are drugs that are associated with the heart.
5. The fifth, or throat, chakra is associated with the element Air. Communications, sound, art, humor, and 'sthetics are all accessed through this center. Teachers may be present at the fifth center because it is related to communication and learning. The fifth chakra is the shamanic doorway, the narrow passage through which each person must travel alone. It connects our dual, either/or reality with the larger collective reality in which there are infinite possibilities. In our culture the most widely used substance that affects this center is marijuana. Yoga, martial arts, music, and initiatory practices affect all the centers but have a particularly strong effect on the fifth and above.
6. The third eye, or sixth chakra center, is where all of the elements come together to support each person's inner vision of reality. Because all of our senses meet here, it is a primary point of power that we can develop through yogic disciplines or martial arts, and other advanced practices found in various traditions. This center is also affected by psychedelic substances, including sacred plant medicines such as peyote, mushrooms, San Pedro, ibogane, ayahuasca, and so forth. It should be noted that we can affect all of the centers through conscious intention and focus, breathing, and both physical and spiritual exercise. Here cords relate to our psychic perceptions in the spirit realms, and perhaps to psychic interference.
7. The seventh center, the crown chakra, is located at the top of the head and can be reached through the fontanel, a point on the brow between the third eye and the crown. It is associated with the element Akasha and when it is opened we can have direct access to the superconscious mind, also known as the upper world or High Self. Issues at this chakra are generally associated with spiritual or religious belief systems and with access to higher realms of consciousness, including extraterrestrial and other cosmic intelligence. Both the lower or inner world of the collective unconsciousness and the higher world of the superconscious mind are accessible through inner travel -- you have to go in to get out. There are usually very few cords here, and the only dark ones are likely to be associated with betrayals of faith or shattering of fundamental beliefs.
Clearing Yourself of Unwanted Attachments
What follows is an exercise that can help you to prune and maintain your own sacred tree of life. When you have removed or transformed the dead weight of dense and dark cords, you will have more energy to apply more constructively in your life. Once you have cleared yourself of all the unwanted attachments, it is easy to maintain this state by being conscious and forgiving in the moment, rather than allowing dark and heavy cords to gain hold whenever any of the issues arise again.
When you do the exercise, you will be able to perceive the cords that exist between you and others. You will be able to follow those cords to their source, at which point you will encounter the people and situations with whom you have issues that you need to resolve through forgiveness. Then you will have the opportunity to prune your sacred tree by directly offering forgiveness to or requesting forgiveness from the High Self of the person with whom you are connected.
It is important to remember that some of the cords are likely to lead back to you. We are often hardest on ourselves, and we require the same forgiveness for ourselves as for others. Allow some time for contemplation before beginning this exercise, and be prepared to do it again and again until you find yourself clear of blockages in your energy system based on this model. Once you have cleared your dense cords and have only luminous connections, you'll need to revisit this process from time to time to maintain a free-flowing exchange between you and those with whom you continue to relate.
EXERCISE: Forgiveness Meditation
Close your eyes and ground and center.
See yourself as a transparent being. Focus your attention along the vertical alignment at the central core of your being, which may appear as the trunk of your sacred tree. Seek the sensations that identify the chakra centers. You may perceive them as luminous wheels of light. Take the time you need to allow these images to become strong and clear, in whatever way they develop. That may be through feelings, thoughts, knowing, or images, or your own personal and unique perception...
Begin by focusing on the first wheel of light at the first chakra center at the base of your spine. Look there for the threads and cords that emanate like branches or twigs. You will see lots of connections, many of which are luminous and some of which are dark and dense or brittle. Reach in with your inner hand to remove those dark cords that come away easily.
Choose one of the dense cords that remain, and follow it to its source. There you will get a picture or thought of the person at the other end of the cord. When you perceive the being at the other end, you will know whether you must offer forgiveness or ask for it.
Open your heart as best you can. . . . Offer forgiveness by saying in your mind to the person, "I forgive you completely." If you feel you need forgiveness from the person at the other end of the cord, ask what you can do to be forgiven, and be willing to negotiate...
Notice as the dark and dense cord that connects you either vanishes or turns clear and luminous...
Work your way up through the chakra system from the first to the seventh chakra, dealing with as many cords as is reasonable and comfortable.
When you have dealt with as many of the cords as you are able to at the moment, release the image you have created and ground and center yourself. Notice how much lighter you feel.
You can return to complete the work over a period of time, after which maintaining clear chakras is easily accomplished by checking in and doing the exercise periodically.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Bear & Co. (Inner Traditions). ©2003.
http://www.innertraditions.com
Article Source
Alchemical Healing: A Guide to Spiritual, Physical, and Transformational Medicine
by Nicki Scully.
Alchemical Healing brings together innovative techniques of shamanism and energetic healing with the principles of alchemy, creating a practical form of physical healing, therapeutic counseling, and spiritual growth. The author provides ways to integrate spirit and matter, to develop communications between divinity and humanity, to retrieve knowledge, and to influence physical reality in order to achieve healing and transformation. With simple directions, readers are guided through attunements and empowerments that access the Universal Life Force energy and a five-element system for healing themselves and others. They learn powerful techniques, such as psychic surgery, distant healing, and how to work with power animals and plant, mineral, and elemental spirit guides. Alchemical Healing presents a sacred journey into the most profound principles and mysteries of creation. It offers both an art form and a spiritual path that develops one’s ability to co-create the future with the wisdom of the spirit world.
Info/Order this book. Also available as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
NICKI SCULLY has been a healer and teacher of metaphysics, shamanism, and the Egyptian Mysteries since 1982. She gives lectures and seminars worldwide and guides spiritual tours to Egypt, Peru, and other sacred sites. The author of Power Animal Meditations and numerous audiocassettes, she lives in Eugene, Oregon, where she maintains a healing center.
