The Third Eye Chakra

We are now near the end of our journey through the chakras - at the third eye chakra (also known as the brow chakra), which is located in the centre of the forehead. Here, at the end of the journey in the territory of the sixth and seventh chakras, we are in the spiritual realm - where the sense of a separate self is transcended.

The brow chakra is associated with the eyes, the ears, the nose and sinuses, as well as certain brain functions. Diseases of the third eye chakra include those of the eyes, ears and nose, as well as headaches and migraines, and nervous system disorders.

This chakra is to do with how we perceive what happens in our lives. When we are balanced here, we see our life events clearly and without distortions from the past. We think clearly, without getting caught up in cycles of self-destructive or negative thoughts. We are also intuitive, able to rely on and trust that intuition, and we feel aligned with our spiritual beliefs.

Of course we have a long history in the west of devaluing this more feminine, intuitive way of being in the world. It is the masculine more logical way of thinking that is prized in our society. This means that many of us have a high ability to use our logical and thinking minds, which of course is really positive. However, without developing the corresponding "softer" intuitive skills, we will become unbalanced. And this why we sometimes feel out of control of our racing thoughts, ideas and plans, and unbalanced by our mind that is still "whirring" away even when we want to relax, even sometimes when we are sleeping.

There are many ways of working to balance this chakra. Working with visual art, colour and drawing are very good. Similarly, simple meditation is good - just focussing on the breath, and allowing thoughts to come and go, and not identifying with them. This training on the meditation cushion can then carry over into our everyday lives, and we become less identified with our thoughts, more in touch with our intuitive selves, and in time our racing mind can slow down.

Energy healing and EFT are very powerful ways of balancing the third eye chakra. It is often the case that we don't see events in our current lives clearly because we are seeing them through a filter from the past. If we were criticised as a child, we can imagine criticism everywhere as an adult. If we were not allowed to express ourselves as a child, we can feel unable to do that as an adult, and, if we manage to, we can feel unheard. An inner child healing or an EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) session focussed on the past can help to release the energy that caused that pattern and mean that we see things more clearly in the present.

Past life healing can also often be very useful here. A past life healing (also known as past life regression) can get to the fear of accessing our intuition that can be held deep in the individual and collective psyche - whether you literally revisit a past life, or whether it is more an effective way of tapping into "stuff" held deeply within the energy field and body.

Finally, chakra balancing and toning meditations are also helpful. The balanced sound of the third eye chakra is a nasal "AY" and the balanced colour is indigo.