the 7 chakras

four years ago, while studying foundation science, i became intrigued by quantum mechanics and attempted to deepen my knowledge by reading books and articles on the subject for personal pleasure and discovery. the blueprint for reality that quantum mechanics presents has philosophical implications that i took to discussing in a philosophy conference. it became apparent that some of the ideas in quantum mechanics seemed to be expressed in eastern mysticism. these connections were explored by Fritjof Capra in his Tao of Physics. i found the book entertaining but, owing to the sheer breadth of interpretation of eastern mysticism, and the ease with which it's possible to extrapolate myriad possibilities from quantum mechanics, remain to be convinced that quantum mechanics is a scientific explanation of spiritual phenomena in eastern mysticism. but none of that took away the intrigue of eastern mysticism, in particular the practical wisdom of the Vedas and the Tao, which has become the spiritual homeland that i visit in troubled times. and each time i do visit that homeland, my knowledge and experience widens.

up until now, my path has been based on jnana yoga - this is the pursuit of enlightenment via knowledge - and yoga is simply a word for path. i get some benefit from hatha yoga - this is the yoga most widely practised in the west with physical postures and breathing exercises - but if it's done too fast, which it is in most of the classes i've been to, i can actually feel somewhat damaged by it, both physically and mentally! the best part of any yoga class for me has always been the om mantra chanted at the end, which never goes on for as long as i'd like.

it was my neighbour who first brought my attention to the fact that i was chanting a lot recently when he said that he didn't mind what music i played, but did i have to play it over and over again? so i plugged in my headphones. i was going through a lot of stress at the time and began feeling, not so much pain, but emptiness or over-activeness in certain parts of my body, mainly in the solar plexus and gut areas. i don't quite know how i came across the concept of the chakras from there - all i can think is that, in times of trouble, i'm guided back, naturally and unconsciously, towards the Vedas and the Tao. the Tao seems to provide the context for the practical wisdom of the Vedas to flourish. the chakras come from the Upanishads, which are part of the Vedic texts.

in peace and lovingkindness, enjoy. :-)