Inhabiting the Chakras: Finding Space

Posted on September 21, 2015 by admin

In the previous post we discussed the triune soul as a habitat, a place to live in harmony with the whole of creation, and what is means to begin to inhabit these three realms. Here we will explore the chakras as habitats, ie actual locations with structures, energies, ecologies and relationships. You will need your imagination, the ability to stay immersed in the energetic world for 20 minutes or more, a comfortable pose or place to be, (supported savasana) and some understanding of anatomy. The intention is to evoke new sensations and perceptions, awaken more integration in movement open to the intuitive revelations that arise from the subtle realms of the body.

To inhabit the inner spaces, for a somanaut, requires a deepening increase in perceptual sensitivity. For our work with the chakras, this begins by learning to differentiate the various structures and elements that allow freedom of movement from the inner most layers of the body. An important note about the chakras before we go further: chakras are portals or gateways into ultimate mystery, and thus cannot be pinned down with any meaningful accuracy. What we can do is recognize their possible effects upon the structures, energy patterns and movements, and explore the sensations that arise as we proceed inward. Each of us will have unique experiences, so when I describe what I feel, that is only a starting point for your own explorations. Your experience may be quite different, but equally valid.

It is my own inner experience, and from what I see again and again in teaching, there are certain areas in the body when structures are con-fused, or stuck together. Thus we cannot differentiate the various components that make up that area. From a chakra perspective, the 1st and 2nd are quite undifferentiated, as are the 3rd and 4th, and the 5th and 6th. Our perceptual field and capacity to feel movements does not quite align with the model above. So we will begin by looking at ways to open up some space along the chakra line. The most subtle, but very powerful is to work from the level of ‘field effects’. The magnetic field is familiar enough for all to use, and the basic rules are opposite charges attract and like charges repel. If we imagine the 1st and 2nd chakras both carry a positive charge, the 3rd and 4th both carry a negative charge, and the 5th and 6th both carry a positive charge, some interesting movements begin to awaken.

Lie in a supported savasana, knees elevated to help keep the pelvis neutral. Imagine the legs, femurs to feet slowly oozing away from the trunk of the body. Imagine the pelvic bones releasing laterally very slightly to release the sacro-illiacs and then flowing away with the legs. Finally imagine your tail bone slowly lengthening and releasing in the same direction as the legs. Visualize the central organizing activity of all of these as the 1st chakra being repelled downward (away from the head) by the 2nd or sacral chakra. The sacrum moves in the opposite direction, upwards toward the heart or 4th chakra. Find the space that opens between 1 and 2 and rest in the depths of that space. Feel whatever sensations arise, looking for pulsation, vibration or slow wave motion as clues for the larger energy patterns. What is happening in the fluid body, through the blood vessels and the extra-cellular fluids? What happens to the lower lumbar discs, nerves, vertebrae? What other realms are there waiting to be noticed in the deep background?

Now bring your attention to the center of your diaphragm and imagine the 3rd chakra just below and the 4th chakra just above. Now add a negative charge to each and let them push apart a bit more. Feel the negatively charged 3rd chakra descending toward the rising positively charged second chakra. Feel the negatively charged 4th rising up toward the 5th chakra/throat region. Feel the organs and deep connective tissue structures of the mesentery, mediastinum, coronary and falciform ligaments melting, softening, opening. Follow the blood flow and the deeper rhythms of the body.

Finally, bring your attention to the soft palate at the back of the mouth. Imagine a positively charged 5th chakra below and a positively charged 6th chakra above, gently pushing apart. The positive 5th descends toward the negatively rising 4th, while the positive 6th rises toward the crown chakra just above the top of the skull. Soften inner ears and the backs of the eye sockets. Release the tongue, teeth, gums and jaws. Feel the field generated by all of these penetrating through the cells of the body.

Notice that the 5th, 3rd and 1st chakras are all moving downward slightly. This follows the natural flow of peristalsis and the gastro-intestinal tract energy. By unblocking the first chakra, back pressure is relieved from the anal mouth so grounding can continue at all levels. The unblocking down of the 3rd chakra allows the esophagus (and the vagus nerve) a free run down through the diaphragm at the esophogeal hiatus all the way to the anus to help to prevent or heal hiatal hernias here. At fifth chakra, where swallowing begins, the descending energy helps release tension in the neck and shoulders, the vocal cords, and the floor of the brain.

The ascending currents of the 2nd, 4th and 6th chakras resonate with the cranio-sacral system, with the heart chakra synchronizing with the cranial and sacral regions. In a future posting, we will explore the cranio-sacral system in more depth, including the three layers of the tide. In the overall field of the body, there are always ascending and descending currents seeking dynamic balance and harmony, within and without the body/mind/cosmic field.

Notice also that as the 2nd and 3rd chakras are drawn toward each other, they combine to help strengthen the lumbar region and integrate its movements with the sacrum and thoracic regions. Similar in the cerivical region when the 5th and 4th combine to support and integrate movements of the neck with the rest of the body. Humans seem to be the only creatures who have lost the inherent liquidity of their spinal columns, including flexibility and subtle integration. The upright posture is only partially to blame as we can restore some of the integration by waking up and inhabiting the spine and chakras again.

We can use our supported bridge pose to deepen the sense of space and expansion along the chakra line and through the chakra spaces and we will use a great new prop designed by old friend Randy Dean, the Bhoga Block. These blocks are hollow, making them lighter and easier to move around. They have a squared end for standing upright, and have curved surfaces that allow a much more organic experience of the back-bending support we can use to open 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6. Experiment where you place them, and which direction the square end faces. You can use a single block, or a pair, so there are many different possibilities to support, perceive, awaken and integrate.

Here I am using two blocks placed between 2 and 3, the weight of the tail and chakra 1 inviting chakra 3 to follow the downward flow to the feet, opening the liver and root of the diaphragm, among other structures and energies. The feet gently pressing out, following the direction of 1, create a rebound at 2 sending it up toward the heart. As soon as possible, let the repelling/attracting magnetic fields take over the work and you can rest in the stillness between and around the field lines.

With the blocks higher up, three is starting to sneak back up, creating a slight break in the field, but 4 is releasing up lifting the sternum, opening the shoulders. The blockage at 5 is slightly more pronounced leading to redness. Inner adjustments are needed, but the inner glue is beginning to melt. Fire and water are beginning to work more coherently, but it is a work in progress. Finding the magnetic field lessens the strain tremendously.

By removing the blanket under the head, I can get more differentiation at 5-6, especially where the cranial bones sit on the neck at skull – C1, the atlanto-occipital joint. My crown chakra opens into the floor to help 6 open into the back of the skull. 3 still needs to move toward the feet.

To bring in rotation, we can use the basic standing wall twist. Now that we are vertical, the chakra line and gravity have a radically different relationship. The role of the feet in grounding the energy is enhanced when we can relax down into them, receiving Mother Earth effortlessly. The ascending energy is then more internal. In this photo, there is still congestion at the back of 4, the origin of the wings. but there is lift rising up through the skull. In rotation, the chakra spaces expand radially outward, perpendicular to the chakra line that is the central axis of the body. We will look at this more deeply next week. Or soon! Our shamanic weekend at Esalen is coming so the next blog might be about our experiences journeying to new places.

How Big is Your World?

Posted on September 15, 2015 by admin

Habitat is a wonderful word, carrying layers of meaning and subtle implications. It includes the physical place where something lives, the environmental factors that support and contribute to its well being, as well as other species that may be key components of this ecosystem. From a physical point of view, most of the planet serves as a habitat for the modern human as we have been shown to be a very adaptable species when it comes to the outer environment. And now we have space stations orbiting the earth, with dreams of Mars and beyond.

But, from a psychological/mental perspective, most modern humans inhabit the tiniest of worlds; one limited by their own narrow minded thinking and fear based ideological beliefs. These self created prisons and personal hells shape our behavior, and are reeking havoc on the environment and ecosystems that support our existence. How did the human become the species that destroys its own habitat?

This was the driving question of Thomas Berry‘s life and it inspired many extraordinary books, including The Dream of the Earth, one of the most important books of the 20th century. One possible perspective is that the modern human has completely collapsed its collective soul. Whether through over-reliance of logic and reason, or just plain fear of the unknown, we no longer inhabit the soul. We some how live outside its domain, the way James Duffy, a character in James Joyce’s short story, “A Painful Case” “lived at a little distance from his body, regarding his own acts with doubtful side-glasses.” In our detachment from what is real and spiritually meaningful, we have forgotten how to nurture the environment that allows the soul to thrive, and barely acknowledge its existence. Because of this, we allow others to decide how big our dreams can be. We allow others to impose limits on our spiritual freedom, never acknowledging or trusting the deep inner wisdom of our own unique soul journey. And we are devastating the planet that nurtures or existence.

Fortunately, the Soul is making a comeback. The Feminine Spirituality that nurtures soulness is returning. Spiritual liberation is upon us, if we can find the courage to plunge into the unknown. For us somanauts, our soul journey is to fully and deeply inhabit this human form we call the body, in its soul dimension, which is the whole cosmos, physical as well as psychic. In the last post there is a brief description of the triune soul, including the Celestial, Mental and Physical Souls. When we can begin to see these soul realms as inter-related habitats, with healthy and unhealthy ecologies, we can begin the process of inhabiting, healing and reconciliation, both within our own soul realms, and simultaneously within the collective soul of humanity, the planet, and the cosmos. We’ll look at the Mental Soul first, and then, for our embodied practice, dive into the Physical Soul. We’ll call upon the Celestial Soul angels to help with both!

Mental Soul

The Mental Soul is the realm of thoughts, ideas, beliefs, creativity, imagination and intelligence. It is also the home of the ego, the realm where both the pathology and the healing begin. The poor ego has become a punching bag for much of pop psychology and pop spirituality, and this misunderstanding is a major obstacle to spiritual maturity. We need a healthy ego to continue to mature. The Samkhya term ahamkara, the ‘I maker’, refers to the natural and essential psychological processes that lead to the development of a strong, wise and unique self sense.

The Mental Soul is also home to the buddhi, or intelligence, and a key role of the buddhi is to keep the ego healthy, but in check. An unhealthy ego oscillates between an over-inflated view of itself with a deflated one, runs wild with imagination and self deception, and makes decisions from these deluded perspectives. What about me me me…? Trouble begins here. A healthy ego just does its job of navigating the incarnational journey without trying to personalize anything, and leaves the key decision making to the buddhi. A strong buddhi is essential for this. To inhabit this realm in a healthy way we need to awaken and nurture this balanced relationship between ahamkara and buddhi.

Thomas Berry’s 4th principle can help us understand nature of a healthy triune soul, and the Mental Soul especially, as it is a fundamental description of Soul health. We need all three of these basic laws Thomas describes to function simultaneously. If one is missing, or dysfunctional, problems will arise.

Principle 4: “The three basic laws of the universe at all levels of reality are differentiation, subjectivity and communion. These laws identify the reality, the values and the directions in which the universe is proceeding.”

Differentiation is simple on the surface. Every form, from atoms to galaxies, are unique. The Universe never exactly repeats itself. To honor our soul, we must allow our uniqueness to awaken and flourish. Differentiation also means we can function as as independent being at all levels of reality. We do not need to be dependent upon mommy, daddy, or guru to live our lives. Ideally, parents and teachers allow us to discover our own inherent freedom. Interestingly enough, this independence is a very clear expression of ego. I am different, I am unique. The buddhi understands that independence is a cosmic law, and really ‘nothing special’, because everyone is unique. There is no need for an inflated, or deflated self sense. However, many spiritual communities, cults and fundamentalist groups cultivate the dependence of their followers as a means of maintaining power and control. We are superior, and you are inferior, but if you do what we say, you will be safe. Yikes! This is not to imply that independent beings cannot continue to learn from and evolve with others, as we will see with ‘communion’.

Subjectivity states that the soul is also the Soul. The individuated self is also the Self, Drashtuh, the Seer. This is the integration of the infinite unbounded Celestial Soul or Atman into everyday consciousness. Infants live here, but the incarnational process gradually draws them into the Physical and Mental Souls, and when these are not well integrated, the Celestial Soul is forgotten and the spiritual world collapses. A healthy buddhi also keeps the ego in check here. Grandiosity can run rampant when the ego discovers the infinite and stakes its claim. “I am a spiritually enlightened being and I can do no wrong”. Naive students can project this grandiosity onto their teacher, and if the teacher is not awake, their own egos can get sucked into believing this as well.

Communion is the reality that the Universe is a Community of Beings, inextricably intertwined within and without each other. Souls need community, and find community at every level of reality, from humans, to angels of the celestial realms, to the animal and plant spirits of the lower realms. Communion is about relationships, where we can safely dissolve egoic boundaries without losing our personal identity. The buddhi monitors and regulates this process and helps repair and restore the inevitable ruptures that take place in relationships.

We also need communities of humans that give us full support to pursue our own wholeness and not tie us down with dogma and small mindedness. We all hold a unique piece of the cosmic puzzle. It is our dharma to unfold that piece, discover how it fits in with the other pieces and share it with the world.

Studies of the attachment process, one of the great contributions of the modern west to the understanding of the developing mind, high-light the role played by emotionally mature adults in helping an infant slowly evolve the ego or “I sense” and the buddhi or intelligence, and thus continue grow to emotional adulthood, and maybe even spiritual adulthood.

The infant begins with no ego boundaries and can merge with its environment. In the idealized attachment process, the parent(s), as carrier of love in the form of nurturing and safety, merges with the infant to provide strength, security and support. The parent appears to the infant/child as all-knowing and all powerful. The mental soul of the child remains latent in the beginning. A mature parent gradually allows the baby/child/adolescent to differentiate. This involves developing its own self sense or ego, and its own ability to make decisions, awakening the mental soul level. All the while,the parents still provide the primary guidance in monitoring and modulating the emotional ups and downs of being alive. Love is constant channeled from the celestial soul, even through hard times and deep disagreements come and go.

As the physical soul matures through biology and healthy living, the intelligence of the mental soul, the buddhi, awakens, and guides the ego towards a realistic perspective on its own unique capacities. Parents own human frailties are exposed and everyone’s humanity is acknowledged. Mature parents have a strong self sense of their own and do not confuse their own needs and wants with those of the child. This leads to healthy differentiation. Healthy parenting provides clear examples of trusting surrender into relationships and freedom to be and become a unique being. This leads to healthy communion. When love is the foundation, subjectivity flourishes. Of course, the process is never as smooth as the idealized projections. Children come into the world with their own past life karma, and parents have the karma of their parents as well, so it is usually quite messy.

The Physical Soul

Inhabiting the Physical Soul requires the activation of perception, as this is the major modality through which it functions. Through perception we begin to navigate the inner world of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. In any somatic exploration, we begin with the complementary elements earth and space, also known as weight and lightness. (Please explore and inhabit these in all poses and life.)

Next we move into water and fire, another pair of complementary elements. B.K.S. Iyengar, writing in Light on Pranayama, equates ‘prana’, or our life energy, with the balance of fire and water. Fire warms the water and gets it moving. Water cools the fire and prevents overheating and burnout. Water is yin, fire is yang. In balance you have the whole spectrum of possibilities. The circulatory system is the best place to play with fire and water, so we will now move into the vyana vayu and see what appears.

My favorite pose of exploration these days is supported bridge, where weight and lightness prepare for a deeper experience of fire and water. Near the block, find the bifurcation of the aorta and inferior vena cava and open up the flow in both directions, toward the head, and toward the tail. (Blockages in my neck/throat lead to the excess redness of the face.) Trace the blood vessels as a flow up into the legs and back down as well. Next slide up under the heart and carefully lift the heart/liver so the aorta and vena cava stay long and free. No hinging of the spine! Track out to arms and hands and back to heart. Open soft palate and adjust skull on C-1 to help release neck pressure. Extra height under the shoulders may help here, as in sarvangasana. Now begin to lubricate the mesentery by lifting it up away from the blood vessels and imagining a thin layer of fluid sliding around. This begins the differentiation of the median plane of connective tissue in the body to help liberate front from back, flexion from extension, and the anterior nerve roots from the posterior.

Now, from the space surrounding the heart, feel the mediastinum, especially the posterior, and begin to imagine a linking of the mediastinum with the mesentery. To do this you have to pass through the diaphragm and liver, spreading them laterally to fill the space across the whole torso. Lubricate the ligaments and tendons so the tissue is more pliable and the organs feel more freedom of movement. When the mediastinum, posterior liver tissues and the mesentery meet, knit them together elastically, so in backbends, the whole net stretches evenly. Most students by pass the liver region, giving the table top look to backbends. B.K.S. Iyengar was a master of exploring the inner world through the elements. This is a backbend from the median plane, where fire, water and the connective tissues are in perfect harmony.

Similar action of the median plane is needed in forward flexion poses such as bakasana and uttanasana. No wrinkles in the median plane, but there is an elastic elongation of the core tissues. This keeps the organs toned and the fluids reaching into every nook and cranny of the body. Feel free to take this exploration into any of your favorite poses or sequences.

This is ‘inhabiting’ the body, and prepares us for allowing the awakened body to be a gateway to the shamanic realms, where the hidden dimensions of the soul can be liberated and healed. Next week we will look at rotations and how these poses help expand our perception of the fluids into the discs and spinal canal and how when we can inhabit the inner spine, the cosmic realms begin to appear more spontaneously.

I’m a Soul Man!

Posted on September 8, 2015 by admin

Although the word ‘soul’ is used in many fascinating, confusing, and contradictory ways, soul always seems to imply some form of integration or relationship between the sacred and the profane, the mystical and the sensuous, or to use the advaita terminology, between the formless and the world of forms. My first ‘felt sense’ of soul came from the Soul music that arose in the 1950’s and 60’s, combining elements of Gospel and its spiritual aspirations with the more sexual/sensual Blues. Nothing better than feeling the presence of Jesus through all the chakras! Thank you Sam and Dave! This made a whole lot more sense to me than the Catholic image of soul as an ‘untainted purity’ that was continually being stained by unending chain of sins, and had to be constantly cleansed by some priestly dry cleaner. My soul wanted heaven and earth to dance together as one. But what exactly is the soul?

The outer, objective world of the senses is relatively easy to describe. We can see and feel oak trees, ocean waves and fire. Finding words to articulate the inner subjective world, the domain of the mystic, the shaman, the poet and the somanaut, is much more difficult, but soul is a word seemingly used by everyone. Soul has recently returned to my vocabulary as three very different perspectives on soul have been offered to me and I am digesting, integrating and hoping to incorporate them into my teaching on the spiritual unfolding currently underway.

Adyashanti uses soul in a very Buddhist/Mystical Christian way. John O’Donohue has a Celtic/Druidic view on the soul, and Hank Wesselman and Jill Kuykendall speak of soul from the Shamanic point of view in general, and the Hawaiian Kahuna tradition specifically.

Adya uses soul as a synonym for what in beginning meditation is known as the witness, or witnessing consciousness. For pre-meditation consciousness, awareness and what arises in awareness are confused, or undifferentiated. Entangled in this confusion is also the self identity. I am my psychological content. All the chatter that goes on in the mind is me and this is a highly unpleasant place to be for very long. In level 1 meditation, or mindfulness, we are taught to just notice or be a witness to what is arising in the mind, without getting involved in the story. This begins the teasing apart of Purusha (soul) and Prakriti, creation, that is the foundation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Mindfulness is not so easy in the beginning as the mental habit is to react to almost everything that shows up and to totally forget about just witnessing. Restraining the urge to react, what Patanjali calls citta vrtti nirodhah, takes discipline, tapas or abhyasa, and patience. We teach self discipline and restraint to children, so it is a basic human practice in the beginning. Also, beginners on the yoga/meditation path recognize that ‘mind’ is addicted to having ‘some thing’ to grasp as an anchor, or place to stabilize itself. Therefore, a second aspect of beginning meditation is added.

Concentration practice, also known as dharana – dhyana – samadhi and samyama in the yoga tradition, helps root the nervous system in the world of form so it can relax, feel safe, and begin to trust in ‘letting go’ into stillness. The biological instinct for survival does not necessarily trust letting go. If you are a bunny rabbit grazing peacefully in a field, letting go into your bunny bliss may lead to becoming someone else’s dinner. An edge of anxiety and fear, just in case, keep the bunny genes alive. We have to learn to override that instinct to find the depths of our soul.

With time, we eventually begin to recognize that witnessing, or awareness is actually different from what is arising in awareness. We open to a deep, vibrant stillness, unbounded in space or time. We discover eternity as being ever-present. This is what Adyashanti calls ‘soul’ level consciousness. This level can also be called the masculine, transcendent, or formless consciousness and its discovery is the beginning of spiritual awakening. The ‘sacred emerges into conscious awareness not as another form, but as limitless eternity.

John O’Donahue uses the word ‘soul’ to describe the deep urge of our embodied self to merge with the infinite and links it with the heart. Soul is “a presence from the divine world where intimacy has no limit or barrier.” And as it is linked to the infinite, it can never be truly captured or held. “All you can ever achieve is a sense of your soul. You gain little glimpses of its light, colors, contours. You feel the inspiration of its possibilities and the wonder of its mysteries.”

In this sense, the soul is not an aspect of the physical world, the world we see, feel and directly contact, but it is in the realm of form, as it can change, mutate, grow and evolve. It inhabits the subtle realm, underground, hidden away. Poet David Whyte defines soul as “the indefinable essence of a person’s spirit and being. It can never be touched and yet the merest hint of its absence causes immediate distress.” Depth-psychologist James Hillman adds “the search for the soul always leads into the ‘depths’.” John O’Donohue’s book “Beauty” was written to help nurture the soul. “The human soul hungers for beauty.” And “we feel most alive in the presence of the Beautiful for it meets the need of the soul.” This use of soul is a lot juicier than Adya’s, but Adya uses the word ‘spirit’ to integrate the feminine as a realization of the soul. Same inner experience, slightly different wording.

As yoga students and somanauts, we can dive into the depths of our own souls through the water element, the metaphor for emotions, the inner world and the unconscious mind. Poseidon, or Neptune to the Romans has his trident, the symbol of the trifurcated muladhara/earth element, as he prepares to plunge in the depths of the oceans. The unconscious hold our fears and anxieties, as well as our unrealized higher potentials. If we want to wake up, we must take the plunge and liberate the soul from the habit and conditioning of feeling separate and lost. Mindfulness, or the awakening of “soul”, provides swimming lessons so we do not drown during our dives into the inner ocean. Beauty, awe and delight steer the soul safely through the turbulance of our life experiences. Start in the shallow end of the pool, and work your way into the deeper waters. A mindful and juicy asana practice is even better as it will help you become a very proficient navigator of the water element.

The Shamanic world has a complex view of ‘soul’. Although there are subtle variations on soul among various indigenous cultures across the planet, almost all agree that the human has three souls, or three aspects or levels of soul, that are involved in the reincarnation process and our life journeys. The following is from the Hawaiian Kahuna tradition as taught by Hank Wesselman and Jill Kuykendall in The Spiritwalker Teachings. (Kate and I will be diving more deeply into these waters when we study with them in person next month at Esalen. I find their teachings very similar to my own experiences with yoga and lots of fun to play with.

In the Kahuna tradition, the three souls, the Soul Cluster, are the Celestial, The Body and the Mental, and health and well being occur when all three are aligned and working together harmoniously.

The Celestial Soul, also known as the Spiritual Soul, Oversoul, or Angelic Soul are all names for the Immortal Soul known as Paramatman in the Vedic tradition. It’s essence is infinite light and at incarnation the Oversoul sends a holographic seed of light to awaken and enliven the other two mortal souls. This energy is transferred to the other two souls in the form of breath, or spiritus. Although everpresent, the Celestial Soul remains hidden from the other two until they attain a level of harmonious integration on the mortal plane. Then, seeds of further growth and development can be planted in the mortal souls to bring out higher and higher dimensions of consciousness into the world.

This seed first awakens and engages with the Physical, Earth or Body Soul as breath or prana. The Body Soul comes from two sources, mother and father. Not only do the sperm and egg come together on the physical plane, but also a psychic/energetic field from each of the parents combine to receive the seed from the Oversoul. The Body Soul carries the evolutionary intelligence at a cellular and organic level and handles all physiological functioning, including the urge for continuous growth, healing and development. Memories as well as all of our learned behaviors are stored here. The Body Soul is analagous to a combination of the anamaya, pranamaya and manomaya koshas in the Vedic tradition.

The Body Soul also is involved with all forms of perception, including the inner world as well as the outer. It is always honest, as it perceives without editing, interpreting or assigning meaning. And most importantly for our future explorations, the Body Soul contains the gateways to the inner world of the shaman. Because it is the perceiver, it is the giver and receiver of all shamanic experiences. (This image is from Michael Williams’ web site on prehistoric shamanism.)

Very much like computer hardware, the Body Soul follows directions and can be further programmed and this becomes a possible source of problems, as it operates in concert with the Mental Soul, which has access to ideas, imagination and creativity.

The Mental Soul or Ego Soul tends to remain in the background in young children as they are very much body centered in the early years, but begins to emerge as the child begins to question the world. The Mental Soul is the source of thoughts, creativity and imagination, assigns meaning to experiences, makes decisions and acts to guide the Soul Complex on the life journey. These choices are directed by the beliefs and the self sense that arises in the Mental Soul from our life experiences. This self sense, or ego, (constructed by the ahamkara), responds to both positive and negative experiences. Positive ones build self confidence and a strong sense of personal power, and our life choices flow from wisdom, compassion and creativity. Negative experiences such as various types of trauma can lead to a damaged self sense, emotional pathology, and life choices based on fear, aggression or self loathing. These traumatized belief structures also interfere with the Body Soul’s capacity to sustain health by sending it bad software leading to a debilitation of energy and illness.

The Body Soul can give feed back to the Mental Soul about these imbalances, as it is always honest. But the Mental Soul, in its creativity, can lie to itself. It can distort the direct information the Body Soul to sustain its own belief patterns. The question for healing becomes how do we begin the allow these two Souls to work in synchrony? The Mental Soul has to learn how to listen objectively to the Body Soul, to trust it’s information, and to discover the inherent power in the physiological wisdom that is at the heart of the Body Soul. A key aspect to the wisdom of the Body Soul is the Shamanic Gateway, and we will go into this in more detail in a further posting. When the Body Soul and Mental Soul are in synch, the Oversoul can be seen and heard, and the next level of spiritual growth can proceed.