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Heart Chakra
Opening Your Heart's Emotional Power to Transform

By , About.com Guide

Christopher Stewart

Guest article from Christopher Stewart

You have seven major energy or psychic centers that radiate throughout the body, both front and back. These are called "Chakras" which is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel. Each chakra is a center for various energies to be transformed and linked in your body. The body chakras start at the base of your spine and run all the way to the top of your head. Chakras are seen in clairvoyant or psychic sight sometimes as colored circles, funnels, flowers, or as just a field around a part of the body. These energy centers have a vibrational frequency and may also be heard clairaudiently.

Center for Unconditional Love

In your human energy system, the center for unconditional love is located in the center of your chest. This is your fourth chakra. It governs the heart and circulatory system, respiratory system, arms, shoulders, hands, diaphragm, ribs/breasts and thymus gland.

Many issues of love, grief, hatred, anger, jealousy, fears of betrayal, of loneliness, as well as the ability to heal ourselves and others are centered in the fourth chakra.

From this position in the middle of the body the fourth chakra is the balance between your body and spirit. This chakra is the place where unconditional love is centered. Unconditional Love is a creative and powerful energy that may guide and help us through the most difficult times. This energy is available in any moment, if we turn our attention to it and use it to free us from our limits and fears.

Ask yourself some of these questions:

  • What emotional memories do I need to heal?
  • What relationships current or past require healing?
  • Are my emotional wounds taking over, causing me to try and control people or situations around me?
  • Do I allow the wounds of others to control me? How do I let that happen?
  • What do I need to forgive myself for? Who needs forgiving from me?
To have this fourth chakra energy fully touch our daily life requires intent and practice. This begins within our self, for without the ability to love ourselves, we cannot truly experience love from another or give it truly to another. In loving ourselves we allow the intent to generate the feeling of unconditional love within us, and then to share this feeling with others. Whatever we send out is returned to us.

Metta Practice

A powerful practice to open to and embody unconditional love is one from the Buddhist tradition. It is called "Metta Practice." Metta is a word meaning living kindness. Metta practice is a meditative and centering practice of well being for yourself and others. Many books and articles have described this practice is far greater detail. The book Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg is one of the best.

Beginning the Metta practice will start your journey to your balance point of body and spirit. It is a journey that will change and begin to heal all areas of your body, heart and mind.

Basic Instructions for Metta Practice

Sit comfortably in a chair or cushion in a place you will not be disturbed for 15 minutes.

With your eyes open or closed, relax, breathe easily and comfortably. Feel your energy settle into your body, easily and comfortably.

Begin to pull your awareness into your heart area, and let your breathing arise from that area. See if certain words emerge from your heart that speaks to what you wish for most deeply for yourself. For example, "May I enjoy peace, may I enjoy good health, an abundance of love." Continue this way until you feel a sense of well being.

Now, visualize or imagine radiating outward in a series of concentric circles this well being for others you have a close intimacy with. For example, "May my husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, son, daughter enjoy good health, peace, an abundance of love." Continue radiating outward this well being for those in your circle until you feel complete. Then move this circle to those you know, and then those you do not know, and move the circle outward to your town, state, country and the entire world. Bring the practice to a conclusion when you feel complete with it.

(c) 2005 Christopher Stewart

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