Most people are content to accept the commonly-held views of reality as presented and reinforced by popular media such as TV news programs, movies, and books. Our early schooling teaches a simple or childlike view of the world that often extends, unexamined, into adulthood. It will take third eye chakra development in order to see past what we are told is true, and to make our own evaluation. But growing Agnya chakra takes effort. A lot of it.

One way to develop your third eye is to ask the right questions. Agnya chakra development is supported when the young child confronts a parent or teacher with “Who are you to tell me who I am, and what I should think?” Every parent has to deal with challenges, hopefully by responding in a kind,  but firm manner, and being careful not to crush the youthful spirit before them. Similar questions will reappear ten years later, fueled by the raging hormones of the young adult.  But beneath these two developmental stages – the infant rebellion and the teenage confrontation with authority – the inner third eye is beginning to open. Development self-enquiry is beginning.

No one can tell us who we are, at our fundamental identity. Others can only tell us who they want us to be, or who they think we should become. Yes, others can see our potential, and can provide much-needed support. But, ultimately, our true self is discovered by it seeing itself: through self-enquiry, self-development, and through the transforming fire of our personal relationships. These three factors provide the most wonderful (although often painful) opportunities, and will bring us the tools t0 break free of the tyranny of the common reality.

The process of questioning the outer authority must eventually evolve into the enquiry of who you think you are, or who you have been told you are. As adults we will soon come to learn that we have little power to influence others, or to shift events in the outer world. But we do have tremendous power to change ourselves. The doorway to personal freedom opens when we learn how to develop ourselves, and to come to see what is meaningful in life though our own efforts. Once you are engaged in the adult journey of questioning the self everything begins to change.

The key that unlocks the door of personal and spiritual development is to ask the right questions, and in doing so to develop Agnya chakra. Without a functioning third eye we will remain blind to all spiritual depth, and mired in the dull flatness of polar opposites. Strive to open your third eye. Don’t settle only for the constructed reality offered to you by others. Learn to see the truth for yourself.

My reasons for working with this chakra are practical rather than metaphysical. I find that tremendous value is added to the overall effectiveness of my sessions with clients when (usually at the end of a Six Session Series) I encourage the etheric connections of the Guru chakra to deepen into the energetic structure of the brain, and the other chakras. The idea is to strengthen the higher nature of my client with that of their present personality: to bridge everyday consciousness with the client’s soul identity.

This can be helpful in many ways, one of which is to create greater meaning in the client’s life so as to help explain some of the challenges he or she is currently facing. Another is to deepen the acceptance of their spiritual nature, and support their search for gaining higher states of consciousness.

The Guru chakra (in the Relational Energy Healing system) is located about two inches above the head, hovering just above the Crown chakra. It is a tiny chakra, resembling an ovoid or torus shape, and seems to function as a doorway into the soul wisdom of each person. When we are born, the Crown chakra coincides with the anterior fontanel, or “soft spot”, and the Guru chakra “downloads” information into the developing brain by utilizing this physical and energetic opening. At death, our consciousness departs up through this same opening, traveling up the “tunnel of light” (Sushumna, which follows the path of the spinal cord) and into the “doorway filled with light” (Guru chakra).

Personal and spiritual growth does not only come from a mental understanding our lives; it also comes to us unbidden … through grace, or via serendipitous insight. Such changes or shifts in consciousness can flow to us more easily when the Guru chakra is energized or activated (traditionally this is done via the efforts – or presence – of an initiated spiritual teacher). Whatever activates the trigger, either a spiritual teacher or your energy healer, having the support of our higher nature can only be a good thing. Inviting connections from the Guru chakra into the energetic brain and chakra centers adds positive impetus to our journey of awakening, and towards transformation. When we are ready, the Guru chakra will help show us our path.

That is because the Guru chakra is, fundamentally, our own higher nature.

When root chakra cords are weakly or reluctantly attached to the living planet we will feel like orphans; that we don’t belong here, that we are bereft of hope, or support. These chakra cords provide an essential connection to the natural world. Mother Earth is the base note, the fundamental beat, of our physical manifestation. Without her maternal support we cannot grow up strong; we dare not take on the risk to become fully potent, passionately alive. And without such aliveness, we will never develop into our full potential: as fully embodied creative and spiritual beings.

Our animal body is the link between Earth and Spirit, and is the launching pad for our wings of divine desire. Our sensual nature urges us to fly, to feast, to hunt, to survive… and to fully immerse ourselves in the Divine creation. And then, from the depths of matter, we begin to awaken.

Our personal development in Muladhara (Mula = root, Adhara = support) requires both roots (to Mother Earth) and wings (basic trust in exploring the living world). Poet Mary Oliver points the way for us, in her marvelous poem Wild Geese,

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love
 what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile, the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across landscapes,

over the prairies and deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

- Wild Geese, from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver.

In a previous blog posting I wrote about  some of my work with a lesser-known chakra: the Talu chakra, a small energy center located in the human brain stem. I first discovered this tiny chakra during my teaching tenure at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing (BBSH), mostly because many of my students exhibited over-charged brain stems along with excessive Astral involvement during their time at the school. My assumption at the time was that Astral flooding was part of their training program… how better to learn about Astral healing than by immersing yourself in it?  Unfortunately, many BBSH teachers denigrate the astral world as regressive, as something to be transcended rather than integrated into the BBSH approach. No one took notice of a very important fact: that the healer-students were processing far more lower Astral energy than was healthy, or helpful. In fact, many students ended their training fearful of working with anything other than high-level spiritual guides.

Once I had left BBSH in 2003 I became free to return to a more objective study of the Talu chakra and other higher chakras, greatly assisted by my discovery of Shyam Sundar Goswarmi’s book, “Layayoga”. I came to realize that the Talu chakra was both a receiver of astral consciousness, as well as the main conduit in our communications with Astral entities.  Psychic healers have very highly charged Talu chakras compared to the general population, which makes them “food stations” for Astral people roaming at large in the material world. An over-charged Talu chakra will also affect the human nervous system in a negative way. In short, a strong psychic with poor boundaries makes a wonderful meal for Lower Astral people!

Without a good regime of regular astral hygiene, and a strong energetic container, psychics are often at the mercy of various forms of psychic invasion and energy draining. The sushumna (energetic spinal column) can become clogged with various Astral influences, dragging the healer’s vibration to a low, level, perhaps affecting their health. But by clearing out Astral debris, and by reinforcing the boundaries of the Talu chakra, the same psychic healer can learn to both tolerate – and even to thrive – in a high-Astral environment.

Here are some of the symptoms that suggest an over-charged Talu chakra:

1. An increase in mental restlessness and insomnia: a churning mind, full of voices or ideas that are jumbled around, as if you are tuning into different astral frequencies at random.
2. Energy drain that does not respond to the usual remedy of good diet, extra rest, or taking vacation time.
3. A sudden obsession, such as food or recreational drug use, has recently taken over your life.
4. Jolts or shakes randomly occur in the body, especially in the neck and head segment.
5. Vivid astral dreams that leave you disturbed rather than rested.
6. An increase in your personal fear levels, and difficulty in soothing yourself when anxiety sets in.
7. You find yourself saying inappropriate or invasive words to others that are not your words, as though someone else is speaking through you.

I regret not being able to bring Talu chakra clearing work into The Barbara Brennan School of Healing during my tenure there, as it adds a vital piece of knowledge to any healer training program. If you are struggling with astral invasion, have difficulties during your training as a psychic healer, or exhibit some of the above symptoms, please consider a Talu chakra clearing session with either myself, or one of my Diploma Course graduates. It usually only takes a few sessions to clear and re-set the energetic brain stem. This can often make a tremendous difference to the functioning of your overall energy system. You deserve to have good boundaries with the astral, and to have your life force flow in a healthy direction… and not unknowingly into the Lower Astral world.

To most people this Ayurvedic Shiro Dara treatment is surprisingly pleasant, but for psychics it’s a unique opportunity. The warm and fragrant oil flows through Agnya Chakra ( aka Ajna), and creates a profound effect. The hour-long session was washing my third eye chakra clean of accumulated astral grime, seemingly penetrating deep into the energetic prefrontal cortex of my brain. Something in my Western mind speculated that the treatment generated a tiny electrical field through combining oil and copper with the kinetic energy generated by falling oil, but I choose to ignore myself and keep the attention on the clearing experience. Man, this feels so good.

In the map used in Relational Energy Healing Agnya Chakra is a part of the energetic structures of the prefrontal lobes of the brain. It allows the inner visual function of the evolving human being to place what is “seen” (or intuited) into a meaningful and relational context. We don’t progress in life if we just know a bunch of facts and memorized rules. We need human wisdom to sift through the raw data of our lives, and to recognize patterns and subtle nuance.  Only then can we practically apply what we see to what we do.  Agnya’s function is to provide us with that unique perspective: synthesizing the complex reality of the everyday world with the hidden realities of the spiritual realms. Everyone has an Agnya chakra, and uses it to some degree. The difference with psychics is that the “muscle” of Agnya – and the prefrontal lobes – are more heavily utilized. We all know any over-used muscle or body part is prone to tension and stress. It will need therapeutic aid, just like an athlete’s knee or a dancer’s ankle. Which brings me back to Shiro Dara.

As the oil swirling across my forehead dropped me deeper into meditation I had a momentary thought that I was in a psychic “Jiffy Lube” drive-in service station, getting my oil changed so I could run another 3,000 miles. Probably not too far from the truth.