Find out about the energy fields of the human body. Chakras, meridians, aura, subtle bodies, energy healing, distance healing.

THE ENERGY FIELDS OF THE BODY

(This article is taken from the Transpersonal and Emotional Release Counselling Training Manual, The Portiuncula, Toowoomba, Qld. Australia)

The Human Energy Field is the manifestation of universal energy that is intimately involved with human life. It can be described as a luminous body that surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body, emits its own characteristic radiation and is usually called the "aura." The aura is that part of the Universal Energy Field associated with objects. The human aura, or Human Energy Field, is that part of the Universal Energy Field associated with the human body.

(Barbara Ann Brennan, Hands of Light p.41)

Energy fields and Transpersonal and Emotional Release Counselling

Because a major outcome of our inner work can be a powerful release of energy within us, we need to be able to support these changes in our body and our lives. As we begin inner work, and begin to release energy that has been held in our bodies through blocked emotions, habitual holding of our muscles and the process of psychological repression, we may find ourselves struggling with areas of pain in our body or even illness as this holding is released and our body is adjusting to a new way of being.

Consciously or unconsciously most of us fear this energy and the changes that may need to occur in our lives if we are to be fully alive.

It is important to have a body that can support this natural flow of energy. Some ways of supporting the energy system might be through bioenergetics, emotional release work, regular exercise, yoga, meditation and diet.

What are the energy fields of the body?

Today, there are three main models that are used to explain the body's energy:

Each has developed independently, but shows striking similarities to the other two. According to all three systems, energy permeates the physical body - the organs, muscles, bones and glands that we can dissect and examine - but also reaches beyond the physical into areas that mainstream Western medicine does not address.

These systems define health and illness not only on the physical level, but also on the mental and spiritual planes through observing the state of the body's energy. Illness is believed to begin when the energy flow is first disrupted, rather than when physical symptoms appear. The balance of energy in the body can be deeply affected by stress, shock or emotional factors. If the energy remains unbalanced, illness will result. Good health depends on a smooth, steady flow of energy, which requires mental and spiritual as well as physical balance.

The three main models are:-

1. The ancient Chinese system.

2. The ancient Indian system.

3. The modern Western model.

The Chinese body energy system is so ancient that its roots cannot be traced. Its influence has been strongest in the Far East, extending south from China through Laos, Thailand and Cambodia to the Philippines, and east through Korea to Japan.

The key concept of the Chinese system is that there are "rivers of energy", known as meridians, that run through the body. There are twelve main meridians with many minor branches, and eight vessels which may be considered as energy reservoirs. Energy flows through each of the meridians, one after the other, in a complete energy cycle. Each of the major meridians is associated with an organ, such as the heart, as well as with the muscles along its path; with emotions; and with the elements and the cycles of nature, whether times of day or the changing seasons. If the meridians become blocked, the flow of energy is disrupted, which can eventually lead to certain organs becoming depleted of energy and developing physical symptoms.

The Indian body energy system is generated from and regulated by the chakra system. Chakras are thought of as "spinning wheels of energy". There are seven major chakras positioned down the midline of the body from the crown chakra at the top of the head to the base chakra at the base of the spine. There are also minor chakras located around the body. Each of the major chakras is associated with different organs, endocrine glands, emotions, abilities and colours. The energy given out by the chakras creates an aura which reaches beyond the physical body and forms layers around the body. This body energy system is the basis of both Yoga and the Ayurvedic medical tradition and is the model followed by both Hindus and Buddhists during meditation.

The third energy system was developed in the West and is used by healers and clairvoyants in Europe and the USA. It is similar to the Indian chakra system, in that layers of energy are believed to surround the body. These layers are linked to the chakras and form an aura. People who can see this aura describe seven distinct layers, each possessing a different colour, density, fluidity and function. The successive layers emit different "vibrations" of energy; each layer encompasses the physical body and all the previous layers, as well as reaching beyond to a more expansive energy field. Each layer is associated with a chakra. The first layer is linked to the base or first chakra, the second to the sacral or second chakra, and so on to the seventh layer, which is associated with the crown chakra. The first three layers represent the energy of the physical being. The fourth reflects the astral body, which is connected to the heart chakra and is associated with love. The three highest layers are the energy vibrations of the spiritual plane.

The energy within every person directly or indirectly affects the energy of every other person in the world. Our relationships with those closest to us are crucial to our well-being and happiness. We are profoundly affected by the atmosphere created by the energy of our partners, parents, children or close friends and respond to whether they are excited, happy or depressed.

Even strangers can affect our energy - squeezing past crowds of tired and preoccupied people in a city street, for example, can be disturbing to our energy, while enjoying a concert or party surrounded by congenial people can gloriously uplift our energy.

(Emma Mitchell , Your Body's Energy)

Our biography becomes our biology

Our physical body is surrounded by an energy field that extends as far out as our outstretched arms and the full length of our body. It is both an information centre and a highly sensitive perceptual system. We are constantly "in communication" with everything around us through this system, which is a kind of conscious electricity that transmits and receives messages to and from other people's bodies. These messages from and within the energy field are what intuitives perceive.

Practitioners of energy medicine believe that the human energy field contains and reflects each individual's energy. It surrounds us and carries with us the emotional energy created by our internal and external experiences - both positive and negative. This emotional force influences the physical tissue within our bodies. In this way our biography - that is, the experiences that make up our life - becomes our biology.

Experiences that carry emotional energy in our energy systems include: past and present relationships, both personal and professional; profound and traumatic experiences and memories; and belief patterns and attitudes, including all spiritual and superstitious beliefs. The emotions from these experiences become encoded in our biological systems and contribute to the formation of our cell tissue, which then generates a quality of energy that reflects those emotions. These energy impressions form an energy language, which carries literal and symbolic information that a medical intuitive can read.

(Caroline Myss, 1996 Anatomy of the Spirit p.p.33-34)

Energy, posture and movement

The human body is designed for movement - something discouraged by many aspects of Western life. Exercise benefits not only the body, but also the mind and emotions. People who exercise regularly recognise its value in enhancing mood, releasing stress and clearing the mind. Exercising with consciousness of the energies involved can be doubly rewarding: using energy to create more energy.

How people stand, sit and move can have a profound effect on both their physical well-being and their energy levels. In fact, being self-aware during everyday activities can prove as valuable as following a stringent exercise programme. By maintaining poor posture and moving awkwardly we are putting strain on our muscles and bones, and causing energy blockages in our bodies. Conversely, by working in harmony with the energy system we can make any activity easier and more enjoyable, whether it's a walk in the country or a repetitious task such as housework.

(Emma Mitchell, Your Body's Energy)

We acknowledge all sources: Babara Anne Brennan., Emma Mitchell., Caroline Myss.

SEVEN SUBTLE BODIES

Described here is a model of seven subtle bodies, each level extending farther from the physical body and made of finer energy material. It is important to remember that each succeeding level intepenetrates all the previous levels, including the physical, so that it constitutes, dynamic, and complex interaction between them.

THE ETHERIC BODY.

The etheric body is the closest to the physical and it is considered to be the blueprint upon which the cells and organs are built. When imbalanced and weakness occurs in the etheric area, they will eventually manifest themselves on the physical level. The meridian system is believed to be integrated with the etheric body and to act as an interface between the etheric and physical.

THE EMOTIONAL BODY.

The emotional body is the container of feelings. It roughly follows the body's outline but extends further than the etheric. It is composed of colored clouds of energy which are continuously in flux, altering according to mood and emotional state. This field is often the aura of colors that are perceived around a person. The emotional body holds our psychological stability and our sensitivity to those around us.

THE MENTAL BODY.

The mental body is associated with thoughts and mental processes. It is usually perceived as bright yellow, expanding around the head during mental concentration. In the mental body we interpret information according to the belief structures that we have developed.

THE ASTRAL BODY.

The astral body is the fourth layer. This subtly colored energy layer contains the essence of our personality. It is the boundary layer between the current individual personality and the more collective spiritual awareness, and is concerned with relationships, particularly these that encompass the whole of humanity.

THE CAUSAL, SOUL AND SPIRITUAL BODIES.

The function of the three remaining subtle bodies are not so clearly defined. The fifth layer is the causal body which links personality to the collective unconscious and is the doorway to higher levels of consciousness. The soul, or celestial body is the sixth subtle level. It seems to focus fine levels of universal energy and is related to the idea of the higher self. The spiritual body is the seventh subtle body. It is the container and integrator of all other subtle energies. It has access to all universal energies, but maintains the individuality of each being.

Many thanks to the author of this article who is unknown.

THE MERIDIAN SYSTEM

The meridian system of subtle energy is at the heart of traditional Chinese medicine. Knowledge of the meridians and the accupuncture points requires extensive indepth study. The meridian system, as conceived by the Chinese, has 12 main energy channels that follow recognized pathways near the surface of the skin. Although it is one integrated system, each meridian has a starting point and an end point, which indicates the direction of flow and function. Each meridian is named after an organ or function, such as the liver or stomach, but this can be misleading in the West, as the physical organ is only a small aspect of the type of energy with which a meridian deals. The function ascribed to physical organs by the Chinese rarely have any recognizable Western correlations.

It has been generally thought that the meridians are non-physical or etheric, vessells providing the physical body with the subtle nutrition of chi or life energy. Recent research suggests that the meridians are, at least at some levels, superfine, physical structures. The accupuncture points along each meridian have been clearly identified as having a different electrical potential to non-accupuncture points. Injecting minute amounts of a marker substance has demonstrated that it migrates rapidly out of the accupressure point along very specific pathways distinct from any nerve or blood vessels. Close examination of these pathways shows a system that parallels and interweaves with known physical organs and systems. It contains fluid that has some similarities to blood and lymph. When experimenters severed these channels around an organ, celular disfunction followed. The arrangement of this microscopic system suggests that it comes into being before any other cellular differentiation and may act as a template for the development of the body.

In addition to the twelve meridians that flow on each side of the body, there are many other vessels that feed the chi energy into the smaller channels for distribution. The most important extra channels ar the conception and the governing vessel, both of which possess accupuncture points and flow up the midline of the body. These two channels help to maintain the flow of chi within the entire system and affect vitality and health.

Many thanks to the author of this article who is unknown.

Energy fields and Transpersonal and Emotional Release Counselling

Our biography becomes our biology

Energy, posture and movement

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