A happy high heart chakra

 As an empath, I have become acutely aware of the High Heart Chakra , also known as the Thymic Chakra or Thymus Chakra.    I didn’t even know I had one until recently until it was activated by really and truly getting to be myself in a bond with someone else. 

You’d think I might have found it sooner than mid-life, but I can’t complain…it wasn’t consciously activated and only the right situation could allow it to bloom on its own. I am very grateful to have discovered it at all.

I’ve been aware of the fairly well-known set of 7 chakras, or energy centers in the body for at least the last 15 or so years, and the more “traditional” 7 chakras do NOT include a “high heart” chakra or thymic or thymus chakra.  

(To read more on The Seven Chakra Energy Centers, see the article at http://www.thespiritualeclectic.com/2010/01/27/the-seven-chakra-energy-centers/.) 

It’s not that this additional chakra is anything new either.  Some energy practitioners believe there are 10 or even 12 chakras in and above/below the body. Perhaps even more.  And that no two people are alike and may have lesser chakras where others do not.

The first time I heard of the High Heart Chakra was from shaman Kelley Harrell of Soul Intent Arts  (http://www.soulintentarts.com ).  During a chakra clearing she did for me, the “usual” chakras didn’t turn up anything too murky but she mentioned a disturbance in my High Heart Chakra.  She was dead on, but I didn’t really understand it at the time.

You see, as an empath, I “connect” with people I am bonded with, whether they are family or friends, romantic or platonic, male or female.  (For more on energetic connections or empathic connections, see the article at http://www.thespiritualeclectic.com/2008/11/06/%e2%80%9cenergetic-connections%e2%80%9d-the-seventh-sense/.)  The strength of the connection depends usually on the depth of the bond and the location of the other person–the more intense the physical separation, the more intensely I feel the connection).  The physical location–where I FEEL the connection–depends on the individual and the relationship.

There are particular people in my history and in my present whom I will sense in different chakras.  Sometimes, I will feel them in different quadrants of a chakra.  I will know something is seriously amiss by where I feel a sudden pang of anxiety or grief that is not mine.  Yes, I’ll be feeling quite happy and content when an abrupt gnawing dread or “disturbance in the force” becomes suddenly overwhelming to me.  Sometimes, even though many of these connections are felt in my Third Chakra (solar plexus), I will know exactly which loved one is in trouble or hurting.  I’ll call and get instant confirmation.  Other times, they’ll lie to me to ease my mind or because my gift freaks them out, but I’ll find out later that they really were upset at the time.

I dated a man several years ago who was in serious trouble but I didn’t know it.   Felt it, yes, but didn’t have any physical proof.  Even after he left the geographical area, I could feel when he was in trouble…which was later easy to confirm.  I used to get this feeling with my maternal grandfather when he was very ill and needed help, and still get it with my children, mom, and brothers.  Most of my close relationships, I’ve felt in my solar plexus, a few in my heart chakra, one in my throat, and another in my brow (sixth) chakra.  Now, I feel someone in my High Heart Chakra.

I’m generally not aware of my chakras when all is well with me AND all is well with the people with whom I’ve bonded.  I simply feel good and that’s that.  If things are abolutely wonderful, then I feel blissful but still I’m not acutely aware of my chakras.  But if something is wrong,  I feel a terrible ache in one particular location in my body, one particular chakra or quadrant of a chakra or combination of chakras aligned with that relationship.  In the same place I might feel deep overwhelming love, I will feel the emptiness, the anxiety, the grief.  The flip side of the coin, so to speak. 

That’s how I discovered my High Heart Chakra–I’d been blissfully happy when one of my loved ones was deeply emotionally wounded.   I might as well have been shot there with an arrow.  The feeling couldn’t have been less different because I felt it as deep physical pain.

In some of my research, I’ve read that the High Heart Chakra is a lesser or minor chakra–or an in-between chakra–and that it’s located in the upper body as a pair.  They are supposedly on either side of the body, high up in the chest and directly below each collarbone.  I don’t feel them that way.  I feel only one, directly between my heart and throat, and I can pinpoint exactly where it is.  As far as I can tell, I have only one. 

The High Heart Chakra is supposedly an in-between energy center, between the Heart Chakra and the Throat Chakra.  One interpretation of it is that when it’s activated and open, we can speak our emotional truths.  To me, that means being able to be myself completely, to be open emotionally to and with someone, not to have to censor my feelings.  Of all my loved ones, I feel only one there and that is the very nature of the relationship–emotional openness, emotional truth.  I count myself as fortunate to have experienced a bond that facilitated this activation of emotion and empathy within me.

Every year around this time, I do a little life coaching exercise that’s featured in Give Your Life Direction.  The idea is to make a list of things I wish I could say but, for whatever reason, can’t.  Maybe because the other person is dead.  Maybe because it would be too dangerous to confront them.  Maybe because the other person lives far away.  Or maybe because I just don’t feel I can be honest with my emotions, whether they are jealous, angry, or wounded.  My fifth chakra, the throat chakra, has often been rather weak, but I’ve been actively strengthening it.

The first year I tried this exercise, I had a list as long as my arm.  It was only  “supposed” to be ten things, but I kept going, shocked at how much I’d kept bottled up.  A few years later, the list was down to the five to eight range. Last year, I had to dig a little harder and still ended up in the five to eight range, thanks mostly to some secrets I was keeping for someone else. Every year of this exercise, the burden gets a little lighter.

I sat down a few days ago to make my list for the year…and nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

The closest I could come was a conversation I’d like to have with one particular man in my life who has been out of town, but I’ve held off only because it would be nicer to have the conversation  face-to-face, alone.  It’s nothing bad–no anger, no jealousy, no I’m-hurt, no why-did-you-do-this?, no nothing of that sort.  Instead, it’s just a nice talk about something personal and lovely.

Right now, there’s little to nothing that I have bottled up, no emotion I’m swallowing because I’m afraid to say it or fear the ramifications if I do.

I kinda like it this way.

The seven Chakra Energy Centers embody the life force of the human body from root to third eye to crown. Each correlates to specific energy centers vertically along the spinal column as well as a specific meaning and color.

Several years ago, I was dating a young physician who was open-minded enough to attend some of my spiritual gatherings in my home. At one of these gatherings, an energy healer in my group demonstrated her healing techniques on him as well as on another attendee whom he could observe. Even with 11 years of schooling and a burgeoning medical practice, he’d never been introduced to the system of energy centers, except in passing as some kind of New Age concept.

That night, he saw first hand how each energy vortex could be opened and closed and the effects of the life force of each. We were able to feel open heart centers that extended like a palpable force field all the way to the ceiling and beyond. We could feel open root vortex and third eye as high as six feet above the person on the massage table that we were using for our “experiments” in energy work. It was as definitive as a physical ball of goo–this “aura” would bounce a little under our outstretched palms as we found the top of this field of life force energy.

My friendly physician left that night bubbling about how he planned to go back and tell all his doctor friends what he’d experienced and how he suspected they might ridicule him but he could explain the correlation between anatomical energy centers of the body with the oh-so-New-Age-y chakra system. We were thrilled with his scientific explanation.

Here are the correlations we explained to him:

These vortices of life energy can be overstimulated or understimulated, or closed. In these cases, there will be sickness or some kind of blockage of that energy.

If the chakras are open and balanced, then the person is generally happy and healthy.

There are seven main energy centers but you may have more, smaller ones throughout your body, such as in your hands.

The base or root chakra:

Located at the base of the spine, at the coccyx or tailbone

Represents the physical, survival

Color correspondence: red

Gemstones: ruby, red jasper, jet, obsidian, smokey quartz, bloodstone, garnet, black tourmaline

Physically effects: base of spine, bones, feet, kidneys, knees, legs

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: weight gain, physical instability, knee problems, back problems, arthritis

The sacral chakra:

Located at about 2 inches below the navel; the womb area for women

Represents sexuality and reproductive issues

Color correspondence: orange

Gemstones: carnelian, orange calcite, coral, amber, citrine

Physically effects: reproductive organs, spleen, lower intestines, bladder

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: infertility, urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, anger, jealousy, incontinence, allergies, cervical cancer

The solar plexus chakra:

Located at the solar plexus/navel area, about 4 fingers’ width above the navel

Represents control, the “gut feeling” or “gut response” or the feeling of being “kicked in the gut”

Color correspondence: yellow

Gemstones: citrine, amber, yellow calcite

Physically effects: nerves and muscles, stomach, gall bladder, liver

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: digestive issues, “nervous” stomach, stomach ulcers, diabetes, fear, insecurity or distrust of intuition

The heart chakra:

Located in the heart/chest area

Represents emotions, particularly love, anger, jealousy, hatred;

Color Correspondence: green

Gemstones: jade, chryoprase, green adventurine, green or pink tourmaline, seraphinite (my favorite), kunzite (also a favorite), green peridot

Physically effects: heart, blood issues, arms, hands, chest

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: heart-related issues, stress, tightness in chest over emotional issues, circulatory problems, high blood pressure

The throat chakra:

Located in the throat and neck area, normally considered at the base of the throat

Represents ability to speak out, communication

Color Correspondence: blue

Gemstones: kyanite, aquamarine, blue lace agate, sodalite, lapis, celestite (my favorite), larimar (dolphin stone–another favorite), blue topaz

Physically effects: neck, throat, ears, thyroid, esophagus

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: thyroid, cancer of the esophagus, throat problems, ear infections, breathing problems, sore neck

The third eye or brow chakra:

Located in the brow area, between the eyes but in the middle of the forehead

Represents intuition and vision

Color Correspondence: indigo

Gemstones: lapis, sapphire, sodalite, azurite

Physically effects: eyes, nose, brow

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: blindness/vision problems, sometimes depression, lack of focus (ADHD), headaches

The crown chakra:

Located at the top of the head (remember Ballerina Barbie with the little blossom crown on her head that made her dance?)

Represents spirituality and connection to Deity

Color Correspondence: purple/violet; sometimes seen as white

Gemstones: quartz, selenite, amethyst, alexandrite (very pricey)

Physically effects: brain

Manifestations (some) of imbalance: mental confusion, sometimes depression, lack of motivation, mental illness, personality disorders, migraines, stroke