A Journey into the Energy Centers of the Human Body - The Fourth Chakra - The Heart Chakra
The fourth chakra is located in the center of the chest and rules over the lungs, heart, upper back and ribs, inner arms and hands. It relates to the respiratory system and the breath, so chronic disorders in any of these areas may indicate heart chakra imbalance.The fourth chakra is the heart chakra and is associated with the color green, the color of growth and healing. Also the color rose, which is the "color of love." This chakra is connected with balance, emotion, self-love, and love of others, healing, compassion, and unity. This is the area of the body where love resides. It allows us to love deeply, feel compassion, and have a deep sense of peace and centeredness. Heart chakra love is like air, light and spirited as a breeze. It does not tangle itself in emotional turmoil or neediness, but caresses everyone it touches with freedom, and a deep peace that radiates from our center. This is probably why in so many cultures the heart is said to be the “seat of the soul.”
The fourth chakra, in the system of seven charkas, is the balance point between your physical reality (the lower 3 in-body chakras) and your spiritual reality (the upper 3 in-body chakras). This chakra spins faster than those below it, but not as fast as those above. Thus, if you have any question of what is appropriate for you, ask your heart, for it is the center of self-affinity.
The heart chakra is the center of our energy system and balances our emotions. When this chakra is blocked, it can be difficult to stay balanced, as energy cannot flow freely between the physical and subtle bodies. As the heart chakra is healed, the ability to give and receive love is felt instinctively.
This chakra energy also resonates with unconditional loving. From here, humans can reach out to one another with compassion and healing. Learning to love yourself is a powerful first step in securing a healthy fourth chakra. The "wounded child" resides in the heart chakra.If the heart chakra is closed down, the very core of us suffers. Our breathing is shallow, slowing down our metabolism and our physical energy. Blocked at the center, we feel divided between mind and body. We pull in to ourselves, withdraw, and become a closed system.
When the heart chakra is too open, there is a tendency to give all our time and energy away, to be so focused on others that we lose our own center. Persons with an over-active heart chakra will give of their resources beyond the point of all reason. They withdraw from their "emotional bank account" until they have nothing left to give to anyone, including themselves. They may find themselves unable to relate to others and risk losing friendships.
We restrict our heart energy when we cling to painful old wounds without working through them and moving forward, when we wallow in jealousy or clinginess in our relationships, or when we forget to take care of ourselves so we can be healthy enough to give to others. Relationships can be very difficult with an individual who has closed the chamber of the heart to the world. Forgiveness is a must. When this chakra is in a negative state, physical illnesses brought about by heartbreak require that an emotional healing occur along with the physical healing.
Ideally, the heart chakra should radiate love from a strong, solid center of self-acceptance and reach out with supportive care and compassion toward others. With its essential message of balance, our self-love and love for others needs to be balanced and interconnected. In a healthy and healed fourth chakra, one is united with the beautiful gifts of grace and peace. Love teaches us to let go and trust in the world, it is a devotional journey that clears the way for healing on a global scale.
Below is a meditation that Zeffi suggests you do on a daily basis for a month. After the 21st day you will see things start clearing for you throughout the last week of this meditation. Remember to write down the small miracles that make changes in your life. Write down what you have experienced or things that you observed.Suggested Meditation
Make yourself comfortable in a place where you will not be disturbed during your meditation.
Wear comfortable clothes.
You may want to play some soothing music to help you relax during your meditation (many metaphysical stores have various selections of chakra music).
Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.
Take twenty deep breaths while visualizing above your head a bright white light that goes from the top of your head and runs down through your spine, down through your tail bone and out of your tail bone into the earth beneath you.
Imagine the light traveling down; down through the earth until it reaches the center where the white light becomes the fire at the center and becomes an anchor, anchoring you to Mother Earth keeping you grounded, safe, and secure within yourself.
From this anchor visualize the color green, as a green ball of light at the center of your chest. Check the shading of this color green; check the emotions and feelings that you may be experiencing. Stay with this visualization for five minutes.
Afterwards write down what you experienced during this fourth chakra meditation and on all the chakra meditations that you will be experiencing in the coming months.
An important part of this exercise is to write down or journal your findings. Your journal doesn't have to be formal – it doesn't even have to be written in complete sentences! All it is, is a place for you to express what you are feeling.
These meditations can strengthen each chakra center by visualizing its vibratory color. Write down your impressions leaving out nothing you observed and/or felt. You will find that as you write that you are exploring who you are, what you are going through, and how you are dealing with it.
In addition to this meditation, Wednesday is the day of Mercury and Planetary Hours are the “timing” of when a ritual should be performed for maximizing the effects and results of your intention.
If you would like to conduct a ritual for health and assist clearing your fourth chakra,
Zeffi recommends that on Wednesdays from sunrise to sunset only a vegetarian diet be consumed.
Or in place of that choice you may choose simply to consume green tea and water (a day fast) for the same length of time.