The Crown Chakra

J.M. Storm said it best when he said, "I think some souls have a way of connecting without our knowledge. That's why you can meet someone for the first time, but inside you just know. You know it is not the first time you've felt them." This thing we call life, despite it's ups and downs, is not meant to be a passive endeavor. It is a gift meant to be felt. So often, we forget that there is more to experiencing the world around us than just what our five sense tell us. There's this fundamental draw in all of us that has no words or meaning that we can readily define. It is an intimate, albeit unconscious, knowing, deep down in our souls that pushes us to look beyond our own understanding for something greater than ourselves. Some people find this connection through religion, others experience it in nature; there is no right way to fulfill this desire. Irregardless of how or where it is found, ultimate peace and joy are felt here.

This pull comes from the universal life energy that surrounds us all. It is a source of wisdom and energy; interlinking each of us individually to everything and everyone. The crown chakra, or Sahasrara in Sanskrit, pulls this energy into our being, fueling our entire system. The intellectual knowing and ego do not exist here. The limits of our five senses transcend into the realm of truly feeling deep within the soul all life has to offer. We see the divine, we sit content in the knowledge that our life path is exactly where it is meant to be. Without the crown chakra, our energy becomes stagnant, almost without a pulse. It's direct link to the root chakra makes it a meeting point between the physical and the spiritual.

As energy is being drawn in, it simultaneously sends energy out, connecting us with the collective consciousness of the universe. "I think, therefore I am," determines what energy is being given back. The balance we intentionally create within the rest of the system determines what energy is released. When we are filled with fear or doubt or rage, we send this out and ultimately receive it back. The same applies to gratitude, love, and blessings. When we begin to realize that everything is interconnected in some way, we open ourselves up to faith; to the beauty that is created in learning from the divine.

An imbalance of the crown chakra manifests itself in two primary ways. The first is a disconnect from all things spiritual (blocked or closed chakra) or an unhealthy attachment to all things spiritual (excessive energy). Some common beliefs of these two are:

The intimate connection of the crown chakra to the other energy centers in the body paves the way for the "symptoms" of other imbalanced chakras to travel upwards, creating the perfect storm, in essence. When there is depression or anxiety caused by the sacral or solar plexus chakra, we see this move upwards towards the crown, intensifying as it goes. The same can be said for negative or destructive emotions, lack of creativity, difficulties in relationships, and ultimately, how are ego reflects inwardly and outwardly. The beauty of the crown chakra can also be our destruction when not cared for properly.

Because of the depth to which the crown chakra impacts us, balance is not as simple as saying a few affirmations or lighting some incense (although they do help!). The choice to bring balance to this chakra means making the choice to heal. When we talk about healing, it is a mind, body, and soul kind of healing. It is intense, and scary, and fraught with painful emotions that most of us would rather suppress. It means forgiveness, changing thought processes, and truly letting go. It means stepping out of comfort zones and learning to feel with the divine rather than living in the past. It is not an overnight process, and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, but the end result...I can't even begin to describe how glorious it is because quite frankly, I don't understand it. I just know how it feels.