Chakras

First of all what are they?  A Chakra is an energy center in the  body and there are 8 main ones.  Chakras are not only energy centers but they are in constant movement they  are swirling vortexes of energy. The word Chakra comes from the Sanskrit word meaning wheels.  How open or closed these  energy centers are  effects your  Kundalini energy- or what we like to call our Divine Potential.  Lets back up some.  And take a min to  review the chart.  Start at  #1 and read a bit about each  energy center.

There are 8 major energy centers in the body and each energy center is responsible for certain types of energy and is associated with certain  feelings. Yes the  diagram only shows 7 the 8 th is your aura and your aura is affected by all the chakras and how they are interacting with each other.  Your aura which combines the effects of the other seven chakras can often be seen by others and is another post on its own- some day I might get around to writing one.  The chakras  and their swirling motion  tie the spiritual body, and physical body, and ethereal bodies together. They transfer spiritual information back and forth to and from your physical body and are centers where energy flows.  Remember that  swirling vortexes are powerful forms of energy. Think of  Hurricanes, tornadoes,and maelstroms for a visual reference. Just like these environmental vortexes, energy is constantly being pulled in and emitted out in  a circular motion internally through each chakra.  

The  first three chakras  deal with the basic needs of life and the physical needs of the body.  In the LDS world we would call this living as the natural man focusing only on  physical things that bring  pleasure, power, and posterity. In KY (Kundalini Yoga)  we call this  the lower triangle.  Lets talk about the upper triangle now. The chakras in the upper triangle  are 5, 6, 7  they accumulate, create, and refine the energy, and deal with more spiritual things.  Someone who lives in the upper triangle (think of  a wise man  who spends his days meditating in a cave, or people who devote ALL their time and energy to spiritual things) we consider them to be very enlightened and intuitive but they live in this triangle so they lack balance.
On to  the 4th chakra  or the heart center. The Heart Center  is the balancing point in the body between the flow of the upper energies of the Spiritual things or the Heavens and the lower energies that stem from the natural man or the energies of the Earth. A balancing of the energy in all the chakras  will meet here at the heart. 

When  man partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil there was more than just a physical detachment from God. Man's consciousness  fell as well.  In stead of being like god and balanced and spiritually minded  we fell to the lower triangle making us natural men and carnal minded. Lets read Mosiah  16 :3-5   

3 For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.

 4 Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state.

 5 But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God.

So this isnt a good thing. We need to rise up and over come the natural man. Mosiah 3:19  

Knowing that energy attracts like energy its important to raise your vibration- raise your  kunidalini energy up the Chakras or Raise your divine potential  by putting off the natural man.  Here is a good  quote that  says  it better than I could. 

This relationship between behavior and your dominant chakra is key because energy acts like a magnet. We constantly attract vibrations to ourselves that are on the same wavelength as the chakras from which we are operating. Kundalini Yoga allows the kundalini energy to rise, balancing and coordinating all of the chakras.
Kundalini Yoga does not force the kundalini to rise; it prepares the body to allow it to rise so that you can experience your higher consciousness. When this balance of the chakras occurs, you become empowered; you are able to be a compassionate, conscious, and capable human being.
Yogi Bhajan taught about the functions and attributes of the eight major chakras so that we could understand and transform ourselves via the practice of Kundalini Yoga.
[From Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power by Shakti Parwha Kaur and The KRI Aquarian Teacher Training Level 1 Manual]

So when we tap in to our divine potential and divine energy we become  more Christ like. Pay attention to the word Energy its all over in the Scriptures if you are looking for it. "All energy of heart."  it is interesting  to me that when the word is used  it often corresponds to  the correct chakra. energy of heart- love and concern for children and others.  Or this one  " I did speak unto my people,and did urge them with great energy" here he is using the energy of his throat speaking words to convince others to  fight for freedom.
It should be our  goal to find a Good balance and to live in the heart chakra. We can come up  for spiritual highs but we cant live there or we wont be able to live this life as it was meant to be lived.  We can  spend time doing Earthly things- hey its part of life- but we cant live there or we will miss the spiritual experiences we are are meant to have in this life. So to live life to its fullest we  must seek a balance we must raise up from the natural man and shake yourself from the dust of the earth and become a saint - full of LOVE.   Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled (GR purified) from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Or in other words let us  be pure in heart  cleaned from evil minds and have a clean body free from the dust of the earth.

For more reading  check these helpful sites out
Chakras
The Eight Major Chakras
Yogi Bhajan Lecture: Living in Love
The Chakras and the Two Trees in The Garden of Eden
Chakra Center

Kirtan Kriya-The Ultimate Meditation

Here are my ramblings about  Kirtan Kriya

Feel free to skip the ramblings and just do it 

Kirtan Kriya 

Tune In  Take a few deep Breaths,  

• Sit in easy pose or in a chair with feet flat on the floor (This can also be done walking just be sure to keep a strait back.)
• Arms should be stretched out with the back of the hands resting on the knees, or at your side if you are  walking.  
• Eyes should be closed and focused at the brow point also called the 3rd eye.
•  Mudra- changes start in Gyan Mudra (Thumb  and pointer  pressing with the other fingers  outstretched and together). Move the  thumb to the middle finger,  then ring finger, and  little finger and pressing the thumb and finger as you say each sound of the Mantra.
• The Mantra  Sa Ta Na Ma  
• The breath  should come  naturally during the spoken parts of the Meditation and should be in and out in a slow steady rhythm during the silent portions.  
• As you meditate  visualize  white light energy coming down through the top of your head and out through  your third eye in a L shape. This will help eliminate head aches.  
• The order of the meditation is: Chant Sa Ta Na Ma for 1 min, whisper it for 1 min,  chant it silently in your mind for 1 min, Then work your way back up  by continuing your silent chanting for 1 min, whisper it for  1 min,  and chant for 1 min. Next stretch arms out wiggle fingers as you suspend your breath for  three breaths. Then let your hands fall  to  knees in receptive pose (hands cupped) and sit in stillness and quiet your mind for one minuet.

Beginers start with 7 min.
 1 min for each  portion ( 1 min chant, 1 min whisper, 1 min silent then work your way back out, 1 min of silent, 1min of whisper, 1 min chant. ) Follow with one 1 minute of stretching the arms over your head and spreading the fingers wide, shaking them out, circulating the energy, inhaling and exhaling 3 times. Relax.

IF that is easy try  it for  14min
 2 min for each  portion ( 2 min chant, 2 min whisper, 2 min silent then work your way back out, 2 min of silent, 2min of whisper, 2 min chant. ) Follow with one 1 minute of stretching the arms over your head and spreading the fingers wide, shaking them out, circulating the energy, inhaling and exhaling 3 times. Relax.

Work up to  31 min
Begin the kriya by chanting for 5 minutes; then whisper for 5 minutes; then go deep into the sound, vibrating silently for 10 minutes. Then come back to a whisper for 5 minutes, then aloud for 5 minutes. The duration of the meditation may vary, as long as the proportion of loud, whisper, silent, whisper, loud is maintained.
To End: This sequence will take 30 minutes. Follow with one 1 minute of stretching the arms over your head and spreading the fingers wide, shaking them out, circulating the energy, inhaling and exhaling 3 times. Relax.

 Start out  with  One min for each set and then build up, adding  one  or 2 min at at time to each set, always keeping the stretch and quieting of the mind at the end  1 min regardless of how much you  add time  to the sets until you have  built up to 31 mins.  Why do you want to build up your time? Read more  about that  HERE 

 For your convenience here is a good meditation  Timer . There are many more online and many apps for your device.        

SA  Infinity or God          - Pointer Finger           Stimulates knowledge, wisdom, receptivity, & calmness

TA Life, Birth,                   -Middle Finger           Promotes patience, discernment, and commitment.

NA Death and change       -Ring Finger               Revitalizing energy, health, and vitality

MA Re-birth                     -Pinky Finger            Creates capacity to clearly and intuitively communicate

                                               

                                                 -Thumb                       corresponds to your Ego

 

* IF you want to  think Heavenly Father as you touch your pointer,  Jesus Birth as you touch your  middle finger,  His atonement and Death as you touch your ring finger, and  His resurrection as you touch your pinky finger. Making this connection to the plan of salvation during the silent  portion of this meditation has been so  uplifting for me.

So in a nutshell do this every day for 40 days and you  will feel closer to God in many ways. Your prayers will become deeper, you will have a better  out look on life, you will be more  calm in situations where you would normally  lose your temper or be stressed, and you will start to  notice the Energy of the Atonement surround you as you  go through out your day. 

Read more on :

Head Covering Here 

Sadhna  Here

Sat Nam  Here 

https://www.3ho.org/files/pdfs/KirtanKriya.pdf

Bursting the Bubble around the Heart - by Charan Surdhar

She explains this really well. So enjoy silly slides  and the information.

Remember  Like Dr Bradley Nelson says

Like everything else in the universe, the thoughts that you create are made of energy. Thought-energy has no boundary. Your thoughts are not confined to a certain volume and location like your physical body.

Now think of the scriptures it brings to mind the terms  Hard Hearted and Past Feeling.  Take a look at these two scriptures for a moment.
1 Nephi 7:8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts...
 1 Nephi 17:45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words;
Also think of  phrases like  he has  a heart of stone. When we wall our selves off from feelings our hearts become hard we are no longer able to hear and feel the  quiet whisperings of the spirit. We become past feeling.
 Now when we repent and when we remove negative emotions and negative energy from our hearts we can be  clean and have a soft heart. We will be more open to God and the Holy Ghost. Read 3 Nephi 19:33 "And the multitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which he prayed". Going from not feeling emotions as you should  to feeling them a new or  more strongly can be a big change- but hey that is what  this life is all about.  Here read what Alma has to say  "Have you been spiritually born of God and experienced a mighty change in your heart?:Alma 5:14"  Once this change sets in and we do our best to keep our  hearts open and tuned in to God We get many blessings. When Alma  speaks to  Zeezrom  He says  " And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full." Alma 12:10
May we use the wonderful blessings of the atonement to clear our selves from  sin and harmful emotions that would deaden our hearts to the  promptings of the spirit and the workings of God is my humble prayer for every one.  So if you haven't studied the atonement Please do! See my thoughts on that  HERE  and  HERE on my scripture blog. And if you want step by step guide on how to clear your heart wall read  Dr Nelson's book the Emotion Code.