The Awakened Soul The Seventh Chakra
The seventh chakra is located at the top of the head. It is white or violet in color, and has to do with Higher thought and vision, Divine Intelligence, and inspiration. It's our connection to the Great Spirit, Infinity, or the Supreme Intelligence. Painatings depicting the saints with halos shining above their heads reflect this energy center.
The seventh chakra is energetically connected to the brain and also the pineal gland. The pineal gland, which is the size of a chick pea is active in children until they are about nine years old. This is what gives them that glow of wonder. Doctors once thought this was a dead gland, as in adults it shrinks down. In Yogis it is the size of an almond. Practicing headstand and handstand stimulates this energy center, elevating our mood.
When we resonate with someone at this energy center we have a meeting of the minds. We feel mentally stimulated by them, and there is a quickening and excitement during conversations. I find this connection when I talk with my dentist. Originally from Iran, he comes from a family of doctors. Although I am not trained in the field of medicine, when I am around him, my mind starts to vibrate on that level. Always interested in healing, my dancing brought me circuitously to study the body, the muscles, and the energetic body. Sometimes my dentist will mention another patient to me, describing a problem. The last time I was there, he had a patient with a problematic gag reflex. Each time they tried to work on him he could gag terribly. I sat for a moment, listening to him in the chair next to me. My mind started turning at a mile a minute and I rattled off the information to my dentist. "It's fear of not being in control, a third chakra imbalance, and also a problem in the nervous system." He listened quietly, seeming interested and slightly amused. His eyes met mine and he smiled and nodded as if to say, "Good." We come from different worlds, but there's a swirling of information that floods through me when I'm around him. He is also an oral surgeon and has taught dentistry in New York. Other offices in the area call him in when they are not sure what to do and he advises them. We have parallel habits in our practices. While he goes over his patients' charts, checking for anything he may have missed, and calling us back in to recheck his work, I do the same with my class choreography. I write out each exercise, the counts, the details, and then make tiny alterations over the three week period I teach the class. I adjust and find improvements that will help the flow of the movement and the cementing of technique. Many dance teachers and dancers are natural healers and my feeling is that we can work with open minded doctors like my dentist and compare notes. They have the technical background, and many of us have the feeling, the intuitiveness, and the energetic understanding.
A person with a balanced seventh chakra can let go of the need to control, and allow the concept of a "Higher Power" to be in charge. When people don't believe in a power outside of themselves, or Divine Order, they will dominate, force, demand, and control. On a mass level this results in chaos, madness, tyranny, and violence.
My intuition tells me that the seventh chakra is also related to our conscience. When we follow a path of higher consciousness, we live with a clear conscience. If we make a mistake, we try to put things right. When people fall into addictions, the brain chemistry is affected, and they do things they wouldn't otherwise do if they were in their "right minds." People that get caught up in drug and alcohol use usually have a strong desire to explore their spiritual nature, but this takes discipline and commitment. Drugs open the chakras, but they force them open, usually prematurely. Addicts are often sensitive, psychic people who often can't handle their emotional pain, particularly their rage. Many times they are bright, intuitive people who get swept into a path of self-destruction, mania, and even sadistic behavior.
What all of us really long for is inspiration, and this is received through the crown chakra, also known as the thousand petalled lotus. We can heal the 7th chakra through prayer, meditation, and affirmations. When our minds are open, we are able to detach. We can trust that if a situation isn't working out, that something of equal or greater value is headed towards us. We let go of the outcome and move forward. It's the opposite of manipulation, shrewd planning, or negative strategizing. A voice teacher of mine told me that her teacher, a famous opera singer at the Metropolitan Opera taught her, "You must continue to do the right thing." That is the attitude of one with a balanced seventh chakra.