Chakra Five: Throat + Ether/Sound
“Speak in ways that people want to listen. Listen in ways that people want to speak” Anonymous
Howdy everyone!
I am so glad you could make it back today. At its core, this Chakra Journey is truly about believing in your ability to just take one step after another. You don’t know exactly what is coming, just like in life, but you are safe because you have yourself. Your beautiful self, full of physical ability, learned truths, and desirous potential.
Because you are BACK (!!), I know we can start out hot and with clarity today in a Yoga class. We are at the tipping point of growth as we have aligned and found personal truth in more chakras now, than we have left in this series. I encourage you to do “Lion’s Breath” as many times as possible in this session – let out noise!
Welcome back to your space, where you have a mat, water, and a journal. Maybe you have changed the scarf over the lamp to Blue.
As we give allowance to and space for the principle of change, I will continue to present these Chakra journeys in slightly different ways. Not the same way works for everybody, and sometimes you need to see something in a different perspective to actually want to do it.
The quoted readings and some exercises come from the book Wheels of Life by Anodea Judith, PhD. All other sources are noted. These posts will be written as both blog and journal; I have taken this journey to create it. My aim is simply to share information I have found useful. Any mistakes are my own.
How did you feel about that session? I loved building up flow again after being slow and thoughtful yesterday. Building up energy again feels necessary as we ascend into higher chakras, and develop the complexity of the system by adding more. I have noticed that with each Chakra Experience here, day by day the lower parts of my body are feeling lighter. It truly feels like I am shedding some weight by binding my cells together with my thoughts and actions after each chakra level. Maybe I’m feeling the freedom of self-love. How are you? Check in on yourself.
Optional Journal Prompt: What part of my journey is the most difficult to understand and accept?
One of the animals of the Heart Chakra is a bird, and the Throat Chakra element is Sound; so we are going to tie in our experience from yesterday, as we head into the 5th Chakra. Sit comfortably for a few minutes and simply listen to the diversity of bird calls. Even if this seems a little odd, give it a chance. While you listen, massage the areas of your feet at the Throat Chakra; the “neck” of your toes. Also, where your fingers meet your palm.
“Visuddha” Sanskrit for “Purification”
Associated Weighty Words: Ether, Sound, Vibration, Communication, Mantras, Telepathy, Creativity
The Table below is a non-exhaustive list of physical and mental, we will call them “charms”, which you can work with for each Chakra. “Work with” would be to feel (location on body), visual imagination, do (activate body part), eat, smell, watch, listen, etc. – Well that just means, using all your senses! How very Tantra of us 😉
| Visuddha | Purification |
| Location | Throat, Neck, vertebrae C3-C7 |
| Element | Ether + Sound |
| Outer Manifestation | Vibration |
| Function | Communication, Creativity |
| Inner State | Synthesis of Ideas into Symbols |
| Glands and Body Parts | Thyroid, Parathyroid, Neck, Shoulders, Arms, Hands |
| Malfunction | Sore Throat, Stiff Neck, Colds, Thyroid Problems, Hearing Problems |
| Color | Bright Blue |
| Seed Sound | HAM |
| Celestial Body | Mercury |
| Food | Fruits, Seaweed |
| Verb | I Speak |
| Herbs | Frankincense, Benzoin, Tea Tree, Rosemary |
| Minerals | Turquoise, Aquamarine, Celestite |
| Animals | Elephant, Bull, Lion |
| Sense | Hearing |
| Chief Operating Force | Resonance |
| Demon | Dishonesty |
The message of the Fifth Chakra is ultimately: sound is the first awakening. Sound and vibration is of utmost importance to civilization because it is how we communicate. That goes for the DNA in our body instructing our cells, to the letter we write to a friend; both are different forms of communication through the web of connection. We have the capacity to translate sounds and symbols into comprehensible substance, and there is also this unseen web of connection which we innately communicate through vibrations.
- This Chakra is related to the creation and transmission of thoughts, sound, and actions.
- “The element Ether represents a world of vibrations – the emanations of living things that we experience as the aura, as sound, and as the subtle plane of whispered impressions on the mind into which our more solid realities are unfolded.” Anodea Judith
- Thus far we have been more or less acting internally as separate beings. On this level and beyond, the chakras open up the world of community, and shared consciousness.
“Communication is the coordinating principle of all life. It is the means whereby consciousness extends itself from one place to another.” Anodea Judith
Anxiety Tool
In this Chakra it is relevant to discuss anxiety, as we have risen from the eartly chakras, into the air and mental vortexes. Anxiety is a state of being that originates in the brain and the brain sends signals to the physical body which effectively “wrap” mental energies around the physical, creating constriction which the bodysend signals back to the brain interpretting this as pain. The state of anxiety can also exacerbate the seperateness of the mind and the body, alienating the two, and often getting caught right here…the throat!
“The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep in the brain that is believed to be a communications hub between the parts of the brain that process incoming sensory signals and the parts that interpret these signals. It can alert the rest of the brain that a threat is present and trigger a fear or anxiety response. The emotional memories stored in the central part of the amygdala may play a role in anxiety disorders involving very distinct fears, such as fears of dogs, spiders, or flying. The hippocampus is the part of the brain that encodes threatening events into memories.” (National Institute of Mental Health).
If you’ve ever delt with anxiety, you know it takes so much concious work to alliviate the physical symptoms, and then gradually start talking to yourself, deconstructing why you begin to feel distressed and it’s connections. I thought this physical technique presented in the following video was a nice way to relax that “lump in throat” “globus hystericus” effect, and one you can do anywhere.
Journal Prompt
Is there someone with whom I am not expressing my authentic voice?
- Our ability to move our muscles is due to the brain communicating with the nerves and muscles. We physically grow due to hormones sending chemical messages to cells. All of this is written in our DNA, and we don’t consciously have to do any work to interpret it
- Our body knows what to do with the information it is given. So that works on the negative too. If you keep putting yourself down, or putting yourself in hurtful situations or with low vibrations, the body will read that as scripture, incorporating those energies into your body.
- You’ve heard this before “put yourself in situations that build you up”, and the reason is because everything expresses vibrations, and those vibrations physically alter what they touch. The act of being alive means waves of energy due to vibration (friction of two substances) are constantly emanating.
- We’ve all felt unspoken emotions from others. When you walk into a room and feel “tension”, it feels dense right? It even physically repels you, you don’t want to be close! Pregnant women are often said to be “glowing” in their early pregnancy. Have you felt their energetic draw? Light seems to shine from them, they are vibrating at a higher level because of something growing inside communicating Love.
- Our body knows what to do with the information it is given. So that works on the negative too. If you keep putting yourself down, or putting yourself in hurtful situations or with low vibrations, the body will read that as scripture, incorporating those energies into your body.
- Sound is a vibration that multiplies acoustic waves through a “transmission medium” of gas, liquid, or solid.
- Humans can perceive frequencies from about 20Hz- 20,000Hz, above that are known as ultrasound.
- “All sounds can be described as wave forms, vibrating at a particular frequency”
- Frequency is how close together the waves occur
- Amplitude is how high they are
- Two wave patterns similar enough, will eventually “lock into phase” and the frequency will combine into one tone, with greater depth (amplitude)
- This is called Resonance
- As we are building energy and harmony in ourselves and aligning, opening our chakras to cycle in rhythm, we are building resonance. As we grow further into sync with our physical, metal, emotional, spiritual rhythms (combining our separateness into unity) this is how we achieve “enlightenment”. Amplitude and frequency vibration is sky high, giving us the ability to live our lives with new clarity.
- I like to call this feeling “bodinuity” – you don’t have to see the whole picture to feel it
- Have you felt music that makes you feel whole? -Resonance
- I like to call this feeling “bodinuity” – you don’t have to see the whole picture to feel it
The video below is a visualization for seeing sounds and the effects of vibration. The experiment stems from the work of Ernst Chladni in the 1800s, demonstrating how vibration effects matter. The field of study developed into Cymatics by a Swiss scientist, Hans Jenny. He saw that vibrations “danced” and arranged themselves into patterns through coming into communication with frequencies.
- Time and time again in this journey, we find ourselves participating in this “dance” metaphor. It may not be a metaphor at all, but simply reality of creation – stemming from vibration.
Journal Prompt
What kind of music do I love to listen to? Can I attribute certain feelings to different genres?
“All vibrations are characterized by rhythm, a repeated, regular pattern of movement through time and space. These rhythmical patterns are deeply ingrained functions of our consciousness. The turning of the seasons, the diurnal rhythms of night and day, the cycles of the moon, women’s menstruation, the movement of breath, and the constant beating of our hearts are a few examples. No living thing escapes these rhythms. Rhythm, like change, is a fundamental aspect of all life and consciousness.” Anodea Judith
- Rhythm is the great integrator of all of our vibrations
- Rhythms help create patterns and habits. And just like chakra cycles, we can get stuck in bad rhythms.
- Waking up earlier with less sleep than your body may need, to commute in rush hour, to work all day, commute again, get frustrated with your partner or child that evening because you are drained…they may react just as snappy towards you! That is creating a bad rhythm from bad vibrations. Everyone involved now has lower vibrations, hindering the progression of collective growth.
- Some people successfully overcome this by getting lost in good music or podcasts on their commute; anything that dissipates the cycle of low or different frequencies
- We can’t form our lives exactly how we like, which is why we have tools to get us through the dissonance
- Some people successfully overcome this by getting lost in good music or podcasts on their commute; anything that dissipates the cycle of low or different frequencies
- Waking up earlier with less sleep than your body may need, to commute in rush hour, to work all day, commute again, get frustrated with your partner or child that evening because you are drained…they may react just as snappy towards you! That is creating a bad rhythm from bad vibrations. Everyone involved now has lower vibrations, hindering the progression of collective growth.
We all encounter dissonance daily – when our thoughts or actions don’t mesh with our ideals, and throws off our rhythm. “So in order to return to that place of harmony, you’ve got a choice: You can change your beliefs, change your actions, or change how you viewed your actions.” – Psychology World
- We are constantly presented with choices (nearly every second) to align yourself with what truly makes us able to live in harmony. The Throat Chakra is a tool for us to put those choices into action
- How do we verbally respond to being yelled at?
- How do we physically respond to disappointment?
- Are you speaking enough to connect with those around you?
- How do you allow your brain to make you feel with dissonance?
- Our work through the lower chakras has led us to this place of confidence in yourself -and the knowledge that nobody tells me how to act or what to say except ME.
- We can choose to contribute “harmonious” or “non harmonious” vibrations
Journal Prompts:
Describe your style of communication. Do I get to the point or do I beat around the bush?
When I was growing up, how did my family communicate? How do I think that affects how I communicate today?
How do you express yourself best? Writing, Art, Clothing, Speaking?
Knowing my history and my desires, what are 3 ways I can express what lies in my heart?
Who is your favorite person to talk to? Why?
So we have discussed how vibration, sound, and resonance all weave into our construct of our physical and mental beings. Where we put our bodies in space matters; how we treat that body mentally and physically needs to be part of a rhythm that allows high vibrations in order to liberate and manifest your desires. Lastly we will discuss forms of communication.
- “Communication is a way of extending ourselves beyond our ordinary limitations”
- We can call family in another state without having to travel there
- We can listen to something to communicate to ourselves a peaceful, energized, or focused place of mind
- Information not known to you, is now read, heard or felt, which now is stored in your brain
- All of these examples are transforming one substance into a line of connection to another substance
- The more that technology develops, the more methods of communication infiltrate our consciousness. This can be frustrating. And much of the time we do not even realize all of the channels of communication we are experiencing. That is why we are here on this chakra journey; to tone down the noise. This information is only here to guide you to YOUR inner consciousness.
- The best thing I can relay is to simply look inside yourself as to what you have rediscovered about who you are and what makes you vibrant, and in harmony with your world.
- Up to now you have hopefully revealed those things, and at this chakra level we mirror our fire chakra- we transform what is inside and we express it out loud.
- This is the level where your world expands
- The creativity you have transforms at this chakra to your ability to use it with power. You have the ideas, but how will you communicate them so that people will know about them?
- In creating art, or forming ideas, you are indulging in inner discovery, piecing together, rearranging found parts. You are not frightened to look outside yourself for inspiration to stimulate the creative process
- You have the capabilities through phone, email, video, voice to contact anyone alive that you want – but it is up to you to narrow down WHO the most important or most closely aligned person is to contact that can help you get to where you want to go.
- Struggling to find a job? Every state has a system to help find one.
- You must be willing to start at the “bottom” just like you did with your root chakra.
- There are always steps to take, and if you are “above” any of them…ego is still in your way
- To expand your world you also need to simplify, just like the manifestation current. Do you need help with childcare, do you need secure housing, do you need help to put down your kryptonite (TV, sweets, cuddles with your partner)
- Remember the work you need to do is not always easy, but a pull will always follow your “push” – you are building to your greater harmony through your efforts
- Many successful people will tell you, the best thing you can do for yourself is narrow down your days to prioritizing the ONE thing you can do that is legitimately relevant to your goal
- Of course we LOVE incorporating many things (Tantra) that make us our best selves, but you are successful if you will simply do the one most important thing.
- Struggling to find a job? Every state has a system to help find one.
- The creativity you have transforms at this chakra to your ability to use it with power. You have the ideas, but how will you communicate them so that people will know about them?
Journal Prompt: What is the first step I need to take to express my goals?
The following video is a reminder of what is happening around us every moment of every day. A reminder of how much of society is trying to influence our minds, and why it is so important to have a firm grasp on your awareness as an individual.
- Media is potent – feeding us multi-level communication and if it is trying to sell you something, can be full of subliminal messaging
- It comes down to what the message is trying to make us do. Help the world, or consume it? Is there integrity?
- At it’s best, media communication will shares truth, inspires creativity, transforms power from the hands of manipulators, and brings innovators like you to light
Have you been curious what the “seed sounds” are in the daily charts? Today they are finally revealed.
- Hindu metaphysics states that everything in the universe is made of sound.
- Of each thing in the universe there is a symbolic image of the energetic vibration attached to it – a seed sound – “bija mantra”
- Mantra- “man, protection/instrument”
- “A mantra is a tool for protecting our minds from the traps of non-productive cycles of thought and action”
- Helping focus the mind to one point of calm
- “The chanting of a simple mantra can change our random pile of thoughts and emotions into a cohesive and graceful pattern” – like the sands on a vibrating plate
- The magic is not in the meaning, but the rhythm of the sound
- “A mantra is a tool for protecting our minds from the traps of non-productive cycles of thought and action”
- Mantra- “man, protection/instrument”
- Of each thing in the universe there is a symbolic image of the energetic vibration attached to it – a seed sound – “bija mantra”
- The M is said to represent the maternal/material aspect of the world, A represents the father/nonmaterial, the other letters having to do with the “weight” of the chakra
- Just like the building of any pattern that resonates in your body, the value of saying the mantra lives in your conviction and your frequency
- You can use positive affirmations as mantras, or use chants from different cultures all over the world. What is relevant to your use? Are you repeating specifics, that you are humble, strong, loving? Or repeating OM/AMEN- a principle sound of creation that ties everything together
I have 3 more activities for you today:
- Chakra 5 Self Massage: Slow down the massage, and repeat the mantra “HAM” in your head. It’s A like “father”, not A like “ant”
- On your yoga mat: tip your body upside down, shake down any loose change, any feelings you need to see. Come into Shoulder Stand, repeating HAM until you are satisfied.
- Teach someone else the Sushumna Breathing Activation. Teaching is the best way to cement the act into your subconscious! You got this! Drink from above like a straw, fill your cavities with blue/white light of oxygen, drink in till it is pouring down into the earth. Now fill up from below, breathing in the grounding energy, till it is suspended in the clouds above.Now with rotating breaths, in and out from the sky to the ground to the sky. Making sure you are filled in every dimension with energized light. Think HAM while you and your partner breathe silently together.
Okay ya’ll that wraps us up for Chakra 5: Throat Chakra
Take care of yourself out in the world. I know things are not getting any easier with the COVID19 crisis. We are in this for the long haul. Take this time you might have to keep developing yourself. You have so much to offer the world; please do yourself the justice of finding how you can make your life more resonant, and not add misinterpreted noise.
Conclusions for Throat Chakra: Speak, express, radiate harmonious vibrations to elevate personal and collective consciousness. Transform your inner desires into communicable actions.
A little bonus: Listen to this meditation frequency as you drift to sleep tonight. It definitely gelled with my subconscious…slipping away into the ether.
I truly am grateful for your curious energy in the world and I wish you nothing but success.
With Health and Happiness we go,
Kaitlin
4/23/2020
Resources:
https://www.everydayhealth.com/neurology/cognitive-dissonance/real-life-examples-how-we-react/
https://practical-balance.com/
https://www.neurocorecenters.com/blog/depression-anxiety-stresseffects-of-stress-anxiety-on-brain
I didn’t have a good place to put this video but it was so interesting to see this guy’s compilation of how to create a “choir harmony” in recrording music. I mean that software is beyond my comprehension, and so cool.