Going Within by Shirley Maclaine Page A

energy, when we attune to them we are attuning to the specialized centers that have shaped our characters and our natures each time we have entered the physical plane to learn and experience. The more we are attuned to the unique energies within our bodies, the more we can open our consciousness to the higher resource to which they are connected and of which we, and they, are a part.
    The more we are connected to higher resources, the more infinite we become as human beings. Carl G. Jung claimed that the chakras were the gateways of consciousness in man, receptive points for the inflow of energies from the cosmos and the spirit and soul of man; that the chakras are always aligned with the Divine God energy because they are the creation of the soul.
    The ancient masters claimed that good health depends upon the correct alignment and functioning of these seven etheric energy centers: that the union of spirit and matter manifests as consciousness in thephysical, and the seven chakras govern how our consciousness is experienced in the physical body. How then to open the mind to the energies of the chakras?
    In order to understand the meaning of aligning the chakras it is necessary to understand the area of physical consciousness that each one represents.

    For me, the seven chakras can best be identified by using key words that represent the emotional issues associated with each chakra. The function of the physical glands associated with the emotional issues of each chakra then becomes clear.
    The first chakra, also known as the base chakra or root chakra, is located at the base of the spine and is defined as the chakra that governs one’s understanding of the physical dimension. It is the grounding chakra—that is, it grounds one in the Earth, it puts both feet on the ground: it is pragmatic, ultrarealistic, the “survival” chakra responsible for our balance and our attitudes toward fight or flight. It is therefore the chakra that externalizes as the adrenal gland, and it also governs the functioning of the kidneys and the spinal column. It is esoterically perceived as red.
    Indian Hindu Vedic seers claim that the base chakra also channels the energy of the human will and that the entire human system balances itself on this base support. It is the seat of insecurity, where survival,possessiveness, and materialism lie. It is referred to as the survival chakra because it is through this center that we feel fear or anger when threatened.
    These negative aspects to survival lead to an interesting anomaly. Because the root chakra is ground-based, its fundamental nature is secure. But the personality, conditioned by the process of evolution, has learned to fire off alarm signals, triggered by perceived threat, so that the adrenals will start pumping adrenaline.
    The intriguing thing that explorers have learned about animals living in an environment previously devoid of mankind is that they do not perceive humans as a threat. Even now, animals in the wild react to their natural predators only while an actual hunt is in progress. The rest of the time they get along peacefully, allowing quiet coexistence at a respectful distance.
    Is it conceivable that when humans first became hunters and eaters of flesh, the glandular tie to the security chakra evolved in a distorted fashion? I wonder how far back we would have to go to learn when people first became afraid of people. This would be an interesting area for exploration as greater skills develop in working with the chakras, and might help to explain some of the basic insecurities that we as individuals may feel.
    As I learned how to work with my chakras, it was with this first chakra—the red chakra, the root and base of the human chakra system—that I workedwith first. In the meantime, though, I needed to learn where and what the other six chakras were.
    The second chakra is the sexual chakra, the chakra of creativity, located in the reproductive organs (the ovaries in the female