The Chakra System - Third Eye: Ajna
“We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.” – Anais Nin
I see spirits.
Not in a creepy way like that little kid from the movie, The Sixth Sense.
You know the, “I see dead people.” kid…
…yeah well, not like that.
They generally look like wisps of white light, floating in the air.
Or like shadows that move from one corner to the next.
Sometimes, I’ll see dancing little orbs of light of all different colors.
Honestly, it’s quite pleasant the majority of the time.
But, as I’ve learned over the course of life, most people don’t have the same perception of the world as I do.
Most people don’t see spirits hanging out above their dining room table.
I was born with my third eye blown wide open and because of that, I can see these things.
Your third eye is a reflection of how you perceive the world around you.
It is located at the top of the spinal column, near the Medulla Oblongata.
It’s linked to the medulla plexus; a bundle of nerves that hang out in the lower half of the brain stem.
Although the actual location of this chakra hovers around the lower brain and upper spine, when most people think of the third eye, they think of its activation point.
You’ve seen this point commonly depicted in works of art across the world, as a physical third eye just above the brow in the center of the forehead.
It’s activated from 8.5 through 14 years of age and provides us with gifts of vision and perception.
With this chakra, we are able to transform our individual consciousness and rise above the physical polarity that we experience here on Earth.
That’s all fine and good, right…but what does that actually mean?
It means that when this chakra is fully activated and balanced, we no longer see the world in forms of duality: “good” versus “bad” or “I” versus “you”.
We break free from the bindings and restrictions of this sort of perception and we move forward with the vision and knowledge that everything is sacred and whole.
That we are all a part of the same source.
We are all connected.
We are all one.
About a year ago, I read a book that helped open my third eye. It was called, “Your Soul’s Plan” by Robert Schwartz.
It’s centered on reincarnation and the idea that you plan major life lessons prior to beginning each life, for the benefit of your soul’s progression.
Honestly, I don’t really recall much about the book itself, but the feeling that I had once I finished it will forever be imprinted into my consciousness.
In the span of a few days, the way that I perceived the world drastically changed.
All of a sudden, the duality that filtered the perception of my fellow mankind, was gone.
Thought processes like, “She is better than I am.” or “He is making bad choices.” neutralized.
Here’s a pretty good example:
There is a street that I would drive by regularly that always had a homeless man, begging for change on the corner.
He always looked dirty and unkempt, holding a cardboard sign that asked passersby for money.
Whenever I drove by, I would make sure that my windows were rolled all the way up and my doors were locked.
I would avoid eye contact, because the thought of an interaction with a homeless man made my skin crawl.
(Not something I’m particularly proud of, but it’s honest.)
A few days after I finished the book, I drove past this man.
The light at the intersection had just turned red, so I knew I’d be sitting there for a few minutes and instead of avoiding all forms of contact, I turned my head and simply looked at him.
What I saw surprised me.
His face, albeit covered in a thin layer of dirt, also held the story of a hard life.
His cheeks looked wind burned and his skin calloused and leathery.
We locked eyes, and what I saw in his was not something to be fearful of.
I saw kindness there and something else… Something that I couldn’t identify, but that felt vaguely familiar.
My intuition gently reminded me that we are all connected.
That even though this person wears the body of a homeless man, and I the body of a middleclass white American woman, our essence…the part of us that makes us more than just those bodies, was exactly the same.
The more I thought about that interaction, the more it truly resonated with me.
Being homeless doesn’t make him “bad”.
Having a steady job and a home, doesn’t make me “good”.
We are just experiencing this life in different ways.
Just like every single one of us.
Since this radical change in my perception, I’ve found that I have infinitely more compassion for others.
That instead of walking the path of “right” and “wrong”, “good” and “bad”, I am now walking a path free from that striking polarity.
From a place where beauty is easier to find in all things.
This is the place from which we can live our best lives, not only observing reality but by truly perceiving and understanding it.
Physically this chakra is associated with the mind and also with vision. It manages the brain, eyes, pituitary gland, neurological system, sinuses, and hypothalamus, also aspects of the ears, the nose, and the pineal gland.
Some of the main physical symptoms of an imbalanced third eye include:
Eyesight Problems
Deafness
Nightmares
Dyslexia
Brain Tumors
Strokes
Blindness
Seizures
Pain
Depression
Hormone Imbalances
Insomnia
Neuralgia
Acute Sinusitis
Nervous Breakdowns
Growth or Developmental Disorders
Blood Pressure Issues
Learning Disabilities
Migraines
Psychologically, the third eye is the center for our inner vision.
It’s our ability to embrace the worth of our being.
Understanding that you have worth simply because you are here.
It’s seeing life through the lens of our higher self and not through the often times distorted view of our battered ego mind.
You may see an imbalance to the third eye manifesting in the following psychological ways:
With a blocked and deficient third eye:
Inability To See The Obvious
Denial of Problems
Denial of Challenges
Being Easy to Deceive
Chaos
Codependency
Abusive Relationships
Difficulty in Planning the Future
Memory Loss
Lack of Joy
Anxiety
Perception Issues
With an over-active and excessive third eye:
Fantasizing
Hallucinations
Difficulty Concentrating
Obsessiveness
Delusions
Nightmares
Self-Centeredness
Turmoil
When the third eye chakra is in balance, you will have a keen intellect and strong intuition.
You will be able to see the bigger picture in all of life’s experiences.
With that wider view, you will find an ease in establishing goals and also taking action, seeing them through to fruition.
You’ll also be able to perceive and influence more than just the physical third dimensional aspects of Earth.
Here are some tools that you can use in your daily life to help bring balance back to your third eye chakra.
Visualize: The element of the third eye is light and is related to vision, so incorporating this element into your daily life will help balance this chakra. My favorite thing to do to boost my third eye is to step outside and tilt my face upward toward the sky, bring your awareness to how the rays of the sun feel when they hit your face. Also practicing visualization meditations can be very powerful for this chakra.
Aromatherapy: Essential oils beneficial for the third eye include: Geranium, Basil, Jasmine, Lavender and Rosemary.
Color Therapy: The color of the third eye is violet, so bringing more of that color into your daily life is an easy way to nourish this chakra.
Sound Therapy: The frequency of the third eye is 426.7 Hz and Keynote A. Find music that plays mainly at this frequency and close to this keynote. Also sounds of bells and chimes ringing will be soothing for this chakra.
Reflexology: Massage these areas to stimulate energy flow to the third eye: On the hand, the middle segments of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers and the end segment of the 4th finger. On the foot, the center area of the pad of the big toe, massage clockwise.
Nutrition for the Third Eye Chakra: Eat purple foods such as figs, grapes, raisins, blackberries, prunes, eggplant, purple cabbage, purple kale, purple potatoes, purple carrots and purple asparagus.
Affirmations: Create a positive affirmation for this chakra. Write an affirmation that feels right to you and state it several times throughout your day.
I see the truth in all situations.
I trust and honor my intuition and inner wisdom.
I invite sacred transformation.
It is safe for me to see the truth.
The third eye gives us the ability to have true clarity surrounding the fact that we are all a manifestation of one spirit.
Once we gain this understanding, we are given the gift of being able to live simply and joyously without the severe contrast of duality.
But, like most things in life, it often times isn’t an easy process to get to that place.
However, our chakras have an amazing ability to prompt us toward these lessons.
They provide us with opportunities and invitations to confront and process old patterns regularly.
But sometimes we resist changing old patterns, even though we can recognize that they are no longer serving us.
We do that because of a fear of change and the unknown.
When that happens, our chakras will subtly but steadily guide us down paths that will help prepare us for those lessons.
And then they will be brought to our attention again.
Providing us with the opportunity to process and release them with a little more confidence.
This is the cycle of progression.
This is the cycle of growth.