The energy model of psycho-spiritual territory proved precise and practical because energy centers represent states of mind that we can recognize as original and pure. Therefore, energy centers are some sort of orientation map that can be used as suitable auxiliary means for defining positive and desirable realities or inner states that are natural and those that are not.
Each outer and inner dysfunction (physical, psychological, and spiritual) is connected to the dysfunction of some energy center. For example, the energy form of traumatic experience (the sole cause of all human problems) is always located in one of the chakras and disturbs its healthy function. Subtle energy channels that connect the person with the so-called “lower astral spheres” are also found in the chakras, where they create disturbances in the normal functioning of specific chakras. Different levels of subtle bodies contain different types of energy disturbances. Therefore, it is helpful to know at least the essential characteristics of known energy centers on all levels of energy bodies. So, apart from a physical body, a human being is constructed of three levels of subtle bodies:
1. Level of human energy field (aura and chakras)
2. Level of intention (hara level)
3. Core star level
I will be sharing here a short overview of the essential characteristics of those levels and their energy centers, many of which are newly discovered and crucial for shaping the map of the anatomy of the energy body and its centers. This overview will also show possible dimensions of consciousness connected with each energy center and healthy states of mind that accompany the normal functioning of energy centers. I will also say something about their practical application.
AURA AND CHAKRAS
According to Barbara Ann Brennan, aura or human energy field represents “the energetic framework or grid structure upon which the physical body rests. Everything that is created in the physical world must first exist or be created in the world of life energy. Every form that exists must first be formed in structured levels of the energy fields”(1). Consequently, the aura is an energy matrix enveloping the physical body with seven essential layers. Each layer is connected to one of seven chakras. Building material that forms aura is the energy of a universal energy field, experienced as the energy of thoughts and feelings. The physical body is a carrier for the material aspect of the human being, while the aura represents the emotional and mental aspects. Each person’s aura fills itself with the energy of a universal energy field through energy funnels that we call chakras. In that way, chakras are the means of energy communication. They receive emotional and mental information of different frequencies and transmit them in our environment. Each chakra regulates a wide range of other bodily, psychological, and spiritual functions. Since chakras are experienced as means of energy communication, they will serve as points of contact of our energy field with different forms of external influences. Since a wide range of literature concerning positions, colors, and connections of chakras to endocrine glands is already available, I will deal with some of their less-known aspects. Here are the essential psychological and spiritual functions of each of the seven primary chakras.
The first chakra is connected to the awareness of the self as a physical being. It feeds the physical body with earthly energies and gives it strength and tenaciousness. In a psychological sense, this chakra contains a person’s relationship with their body. Persons who love their bodies and are satisfied with them have a healthy functioning first chakra. This chakra also includes the type of relationship a person has towards physical and material reality. Therefore, this chakra regulates our groundedness and capability to handle and act in physical reality. What we usually call “common sense” is also located in the first chakra, together with the type of practical capabilities that some person has. In that way, the first chakra can practically realize our ideas.
The second chakra has two aspects – the front and the back. All the other chakras (apart from the first and the seventh) also share this configuration. All front aspects are connected with emotions, and we call them “emotional centers,” while back ones deal with willpower. The second chakra is connected to sexuality and self-worth. It is also connected to something known in psychology as “ego.” However, the human ego is not an unhealthy formation – it represents a psychological means of the soul’s individualization, incarnation, and creative realization through a specific body and personality. Through ego, one becomes aware of who and what they are and how they differ from others. That’s why the ego holds an equally important place on the map of the human soul as every other aspect. If we consider the human being from the level of spiritual reality, then the ego creates individual consciousness and is aware of the illusion of separation. However, as long as a being exists within the manifested universe, it is mindful of its individuality. That is why ego represents a necessary instance of personality. It allows individuals to perceive themselves as a separate unit and take care of their survival and personal realization. Ego will degenerate only when a person has no spiritual insight, meaning that s/he lacks the awareness of the original unity of all existing life forms or seemingly non-living matter. People who lack contact with subtle dimensions of their being can emphasize the importance of dimensions they are familiar with, where the ego’s need will become the focus of their attention. That’s why such people tend to attach themselves or cling to the objects that form the elements of their essential needs. Each loss of such an object is experienced as personal injury, which creates suffering. There is no way people can fall under the power of their ego. Instead of ruling it from the levels of their higher consciousness, the ego the egos to lead them.
The second chakra is a center where the emotional aspect prevails. Here, we can find the most basic emotions, such as pleasure and satisfaction. That’s why it is connected to sexuality – the front aspect with the quality of sexual energy and the back aspect with its quantity. The malfunction of the rear aspect will create problems with impotence and frigidity, while the issues with perversion will come from the front aspect. The background of such problems lies in traumatic experiences that have resulted in a deep inferiority complex or traumatic experiences that blocked healthy aggressiveness and disabled the person from manifesting full sexual potential. Apart from sexual problems, all other forms of dissatisfaction with one’s life can be cleared by treating the second chakra.
Since the second chakra is connected with our awareness of self-worth, our financial status will be directly associated with its function. Numerous “objective” factors influence. Still, the amount of income or means of earning money is the leading cause of someone’s poverty, which is a conscious or unconscious attitude that the person is unworthy. That’s why all financial problems can be handled by energy and psycho-therapeutic treatments of the second chakra.
Concerning ESP, since the second chakra is an emotional center, it can be used to perceive other people’s emotions directly. However, it will be mainly those emotions the person experiences at a particular moment. This means a psychic or sensitive person can feel another person’s emotional state through this chakra.
The third chakra (solar plexus) is connected to the awareness of the self. The first, the third, the fifth, and the seventh are so-called mental chakras. While the first chakra is the center of common sense, the third contains our ability to think logically – it is the center of the linear, analytical mind. If its activity is too strong, excessive use of analytical thought will lead the person into neurosis. That can be accompanied by many psychosomatic symptoms such as anxiety, heart problems, and pressure in the solar plexus or sweaty palms, together with emotional states such as fear or stage fright. That’s why we find insecurity in the third chakra – the emotional state that almost became a psychological epidemic. The cure for this feeling is in the natural or healthy aspects of the third chakra, such as reason, self-confidence, and awareness of one’s original identity (I am myself). The third chakra can center the person in time and space and allow people to find their space in this world, the direction of their life and mission.
The rear aspect of the third chakra is connected to self-healing processes. It is activated when pathological processes appear in the body, and it is responsible for that familiar state of fatigue and tiredness related to illness. That state informs us that we are ill, so we are forced to abandon our daily activities to allow our bodies to rest and heal. Persons who successfully recover usually have a strongly developed back aspect of the third chakra. The ESP type available through the third chakra is a direct perception of other people’s thoughts.
The heart chakra, the fourth in the row, is connected to interpersonal relationships or universal and personal love. Here, we are leaving the sphere of human personality and entering the transpersonal dimension, which connects this chakra to the quality of the relationships a person can have. Since the heart chakra is emotional, it contains higher emotions such as love, happiness, and fulfillment. All forms of love, from infatuation to universal love, are in this chakra. Generosity, humanitarianism, unselfishness, and spontaneity are also inner states communicated through the heart chakra. The front aspect of this chakra is connected to some of the softest and most subtle internal states, but it is less known that the back aspect is related to courage and bravery or tough or ruthless love. Combativeness, ruthlessness, or firmness are characteristics of the rear aspect. Having the heart to tell someone something that would probably hurt them, confronting the situation, or reacting in cold blood in moments of danger are also capabilities connected to the back aspect of the heart chakra.
Spiritually, the heart chakra represents the center that collects energies from higher chakras and transforms them using unselfish love to be distributed into so-called lower chakras (lower anatomically – this is not a value judgment). Energies coming from lower chakras are being collected in the heart chakra and transformed to be lifted to higher chakras. For that reason, the openness of the heart chakra is the crucial moment for achieving any spiritual experience and inner transformation, in other words – the essential aspect of the capability to channel universal life energy. Through the heart chakra, a sensitive person can perceive the degree of someone’s openness – their capacity to give and receive love.
The fifth chakra, or the throat chakra, is connected to our perception of the external world and our ability to communicate with the world around us. We share with material and with the spiritual world through this chakra. It forms the communication model through which a person establishes contact with the external world. That’s why it represents the center of mental, energy, and verbal form of our communication model. For that reason, the throat chakra can contain dysfunctions such as rigidity or formalism, stubbornness, and prejudices stemming from not understanding that the map is not the territory and that communication models are just models. They are not the reality that we are trying to describe through them.
The throat chakra is connected to attitudes about oneself, life, other people, or God that form the outline of our worldviews. It is necessary to have such attitudes, but it is also necessary to be able to change them when they are not helpful anymore or when one is mature enough to build a new worldview. That’s why healthy functioning of the throat chakra is connected to mental flexibility, understanding, and tolerance.
The front aspect of the throat chakra forms the quality of our relationship with the external world, our perception of and communication with the outside reality. If our worldview is filled with negative beliefs, we will tend to keep them suppressed to sustain the image of a good and friendly person. Still, such negative attitudes and beliefs will become evident in the psychological projection mechanism. We shall transfer our unconscious beliefs to the outside world and, therefore, experience other people or God as threats to our existence. This will result in the feeling of being constantly endangered by our environment. With some energy work on the throat chakra and some psychotherapy, our projections can be made conscious and cleared out.
The front aspect of the throat chakra forms the type of energy food from the external world that people need. Since the throat chakra regulates digestion and metabolism, all weight problems can be treated by clearing and harmonizing this chakra. The same goes for addictions, from smoking and coffee to alcohol, sex, and drugs. Namely, the food that is necessary to us is concerned exclusively with information and energy that enables our personal and spiritual development. Everything else is needless, but contemporary society is faced with numerous types of addictions because, in modern civilization, spirituality is marginalized and considered irrelevant. It became a taboo subject, together with sex or death. However, precisely the lack of this kind of awareness and connectedness with the spiritual levels of our being is the original cause of all addictions.
The back aspect of the throat chakra is also known as “the professional center.” Its openness and healthy functioning allow the person to find the appropriate form for their creative realization, meaning simply – the profession best suited for them. The type of ESP possible through throat chakra is the so-called “channeling.” The back aspect of the throat chakra allows connection with higher consciousness and communication with it through channeled verbal messages.
The sixth chakra, or “the third eye,” is connected to the world of ideas. It is the basis of our worldviews. Our capability for understanding mental concepts, creative visualization, and life philosophy are also there. The third eye holds the synthetic mind, the ability to connect different concepts into a meaningful whole. Spiritually, the third eye enables awareness of the universal unity of everything that exists. This chakra is associated with intuition and ESP as capabilities that stem from the fact that, on the spiritual level, there is an interconnectedness of everything that exists, independent of its place in time and space.
The back aspect of the third eye is also known as the “executive center” because it concerns our capability to bring our life philosophy to action. The rear aspect also contains our talents. All spiritual initiations include the back aspect of the third eye, where they locate energetic inscriptions of new spiritual capabilities. The type of ESP typical for the third eye is clairvoyance, which surpasses time and space. Clairvoyance is, in fact, a direct visual perception of events in the present, past, or future.
The seventh chakra, or the crown, has only one aspect, the same as the first one. It is also connected to the spiritual consciousness as the third eye, but here, we surpass the manifested universe and the awareness of the universal unity of all manifested forms. Here, we perceive the original, non-manifested reality that we usually call God. That’s why the crown chakra represents the center of awareness of our unity with God. At the same time, this chakra is the center of faith, peace, and patience, or trust in the positive outcome of some event when everything looks terrible. It is the center of service, devotion, and letting go.
The type of ESP found in the crown chakra is immediate knowledge. A person capable of using the crown chakra in such a way can abandon ESP processes like channeling or visions – they know if something is or is not without any tangible or subtle indicator. The crown chakra is named after the presupposition that in ancient times, only persons with a wholly opened and developed top of their heads could become kings because they were connected to God. This characteristic of the kings became twisted later because, in known history, the persons who became kings usually got there by immoral means and brutal force. The only remainder of the opened crown chakra was a shiny metal surrogate on their heads, meant to impress the subjects with its glitter and high price.
LEVEL OF INTENTIONALITY
According to Barbara Brennan, the level of our intentionality is “…one quantum leap deeper into our original nature and one dimension deeper than the aura. Haric level is the foundation on which the aura rests“(2). This level of existence is called the haric because of the center of power located in the abdominal area, known from oriental martial arts. Haric level is the level of human existence connected to the accumulation of energy necessary for achieving our goals or our original intention at any given time. While the layers of aura represent different frequencies of emotional and mental vibrations, and chakras represent the means of energetic communication of those states, the points of energy radiation on the haric level are the centers of energy accumulation where we store energy that is necessary for the achievement of a variety of goals. Haric level also allows us to create awareness of our real goals or original intention and understand the means for realizing our purpose in material reality.
Various researchers and traditions present different maps of the haric level. Chinese Taoism speaks of three dan tien or centers of power. Barbara Ann Brennan speaks about the hara line and three energy centers on that line, two of which can be connected to the system of Chinese dan tien (center that she calls “the dan tien” is the lower dan tien from Taoism, and center she calls “the soul seat” could be the Taoist middle dan tien), but her third center is not the Taoist upper dan tien, but something completely different. Diane Stein, Reiki Master, speaks of thirteen energy centers on the Haric level, but in my experience, her real contribution to the anatomy of the Haric level is the discovery of the so-called causal center and the point she called earthly chi. The structure of the haric level that I am going to present here, using mentioned sources and personal discoveries, looks like this.
The foundation of the Haric level is the vertical hara line that looks like a laser beam that goes from above, from the sphere we could call heaven, through the center of our body towards the center of the Earth. The Hara line is our axis that holds all the atoms and molecules of our physical body together. It also allows us to contact the source of our intention and represents the foundation for each of our activities. Whenever we discover the pure original intention behind our actions, mental states, or situations we find ourselves in, we connect our consciousness with the hara line. To be aware of our original intention, the Hara line has to be straight, unbroken, and firmly attached to the center of the Earth.
The vertical line is also connected to our perception of space and vertical movement through different ambiances and densities of space. But there is also a horizontal Hara line associated with our perception and management of time, therefore called the timeline. This line is located at the sternum level and begins in the infinity of our past, crosses our body (the present), and goes to the infinity of our future. This line must be perfectly horizontal and at a perfect right angle with the vertical line. If it is not, there’s some work to be done.
According to Taoist teachings, there are three power sources in nature – Heaven (universe), Earth (planet), and Man. The Haric level reflects this model. Three energy sources on the hara line, together with three dan tiens, are the points for energy accumulation and action. The first source of energy that fills three dan tiens is located approximately one meter above our head. This center’s energy frequency is of a specific kind; therefore, we call this point the source of heavenly chi. Barbara Ann Brennan calls this center “ID point” or the individuation point because it represents God’s manifestation through individual beings. At the same time, the ID point carries the possibility of connecting with non-manifested reality. The source of heavenly chi allows the charging of three (or a total of six) dan tiens as centers of energy accumulation with the aspect of the universal energy field that we call heavenly or spiritual. It is a very fine and high frequency whose most typical effect is the state of freshness, peace, and relaxation.
The second source of energy on the hara line is located approximately one meter below our body and is called the source of earthly chi. This frequency of the universal energy field is necessary for the survival of the physical body, and its typical effect is the feeling of warmth, strength, alertness, and power. Both energy sources enable contact with numerous other frequencies (and characteristics) of heavenly and earthly chi that can be stored in six dan tiens or power sources. The third energy source is the human being, with energy centers that Taoists call dan tien.
The lower dan tien represents the center for the accumulation of energy needed for achieving our goals and actions in physical reality. It is located approximately two centimeters below the navel, and according to Barbara Brennan, it looks like an orange golf ball. This power center became famous through Eastern martial arts – karate or kung fu practitioners act from that spot when they perform things beyond the usual human physical capabilities (breaking bricks, etc.). Lower dan tien gives bodily strength and agility, or the capability to realize our original intention in material reality using the most skillful action.
The middle dan tien Barbara Brennan calls “the soul seat.” The center of the energy form of what we usually call the Soul is located here. This dan tien is slightly above the heart chakra but in a different dimension and looks like a candle flame with diffuse bluish light. The energy accumulated in the middle dan tien allows us to create awareness of our authentic personal goals, our souls’ longing, whatever it may be. The soul longs for fulfillment through physical and psychological health, happy relationships with others, realized creativity, work for the everyday good, and ritual life in harmony with God. Only we know the specific forms and means of our inner fulfillment. Middle dan tien gives us the energy necessary to create this awareness and achieve our personal needs.
The upper dan tien is located two centimeters above the third eye and looks like a shiny diamond. It accumulates the energy necessary for creating awareness of our spiritual goals and the energy required to fulfill our spiritual needs. The lower dan tien enables the correct perception of our bodily needs and capabilities, the middle dan tien allows the perception of our psychological needs, and the upper dan tien enables the accurate perception of spiritual reality and personal spiritual needs. People who have this dan tien functioning correctly know their spiritual path, teachers and guides, or the spiritual tradition they might belong to. On the other hand, this center is known under the name “scanner” because it allows the development of capabilities of direct extra-sensory perception and influencing material and energy processes independent of time and space.
Those three dan tiens are the primary power centers on the haric level. They are located at the front of our body, at level with the hara line. However, more is to be found on the haric level, on the back side of the hara line. A few exciting centers located there are already known by the names of “causal center” or “assemblage point,” while the third one is my discovery and can only be connected to the Taoist point named “ming men.” Still, I will call them the back dan tiens because they are also the centers of energy accumulation. The difference between front and back dan tiens is that the front dan tiens accumulate energy necessary to execute certain energy activities, while the three back dan tiens accumulate energy for correct energy perception.
The upper back dan tien (causal center) is located behind the neck part of the spine. With it, we perceive ourselves as energy, non-material, or spiritual beings, and we are aware at each moment of the original intention of our existence as spiritual beings embodied in matter. So, when we are doing something, we know why, and the purpose of our actions is clear to us. This center enables the present in the present time and space and provides our consciousness with reasons for our existence in that particular time and space. The popular new-age idea of life “here and now” has its equivalent in this center.
The upper back dan tien functions harmoniously if the person’s posture is straight. Our spine has to be straight, without hunching in the upper part. If our posture is upright, we dominate the situation we are in and are aware of the solutions to eventual problems we encounter. The person with a straight upper part of the spine is awake and present, and it is not easy to shake her. Kings and aristocracy always stated their class position with upright posture. Servants and subjects bow their heads to follow other people’s orders, while persons with upright postures control the situation. That’s why a true aristocrat is a person who is aware of their goals and is capable of achieving them in material reality. Our original nature is aristocratic because it contains awareness that we are not just physical beings but much more than that. The source of nobility is in our spiritual nature and not in the money or some illusionary idea of our importance. Awareness of the original spiritual goal of our existence, centeredness in here and now, and the capability to control the situation are the essential characteristics of this dan tien.
The middle back dan tien is located behind the central part of the spine, somewhere between our shoulder blades. It is known as an “assemblage point” from the spiritual development systems described by Carlos Castaneda (3). Castaneda’s teacher, Don Juan, refers to the assemblage point as the center of our perception of the external world. A large part of the training that Don Juan’s disciples go through deals with the accumulation of energy in assemblage point to enter a state of heightened awareness and see the world as an energetic phenomenon and human beings as luminous balls made of energy. Accumulation of energy in assemblage point leads to its movement or fluidity, which allows the disciple to change their perception of the world at will and switch from one sphere of reality to another. With the power of intention, we can change our perception and become aware that we are the ones who create the external circumstances of our lives with our perception of the world. Assemblage point, named by the idea that all human perception is gathered in that center, thus becomes the energy counterpart of one widespread contemporary presupposition – human beings create their reality, be it external or internal.
The lower back dan tien is located near the kidney zone, or the lower part of the spine. This center concerns how humans perceive themselves as persons and physical beings through the level of intention. Castaneda is talking about the original intention of our existence as physical beings when he says that the person who chooses the spiritual path becomes a warrior. The essential characteristics of this center are awareness of ourselves, our inner states, and our actions. A warrior is a person who controls their passions, acts without regret, makes no mistakes, and is immaculate. Awareness of ourselves and our actions allows systematic perfection of our behavior according to the ideal we named “the warrior of light.” So, this center is connected to one already familiar and popular spiritual process, usually called self-observation.
CORE STARS LEVEL
The core stars level is connected to the original essence of our being. Beyond aura and chakras, which are the means of energy communication, and beyond the haric level where we find the awareness of our goals and accumulate energy necessary for their realization, we find core stars level that represents the level of our true original nature. It is the level of our real individual essence, independent of ego, soul, and all other levels of personality. Our true identity is our divine nature. This nature contains seven basic dimensions manifested through seven core star centers. Core star centers unveil the fascinating world of our original nature, with all of its limitless potential. The energy of core star centers permeates all lower-level energy bodies and all cells and atoms of our physical body. They are not the points of energy communication or energy accumulation. Like the stars, they are the centers that radiate their energy.
Core stars level is one dimension deeper than the Haric level and represents the foundation for all other levels – haric, aura, and physical body. The model of star centers that I will present here is much different than the only model known to me, which Barbara Ann Brennan developed. She mentions one energy center on this level, called “the core star,” and states its characteristics. I have started exploring this level under her influence, and at first, I just adopted her ideas and considered them final. Nevertheless, my personal development and the development of my closest associates spontaneously moved towards deeper engrossment of the star level, which brought about a completely new model of this dimension. At this point, our experience of the core star level presents it as consisting of seven primary energy centers, each representing one of the fundamental aspects of our original nature. Each star center is also connected to one of the basic levels of God’s creation that we usually call Heaven.
The first star center, if we observe them through their connection with heavenly spheres, is located on the central bodily axis, halfway between the soul seat and throat chakra. The first level of our original divine nature is an unconditional, universal love experienced as our authentic essence. That’s why I named this point the Love Center. It is characterized by the potential for achieving completely fulfilled and happy relationships with other beings. Here, love exists by itself, without the need for external stimulus. It is a building material of the whole universe. Therefore, the love center also contains the source of the five elements (air, water, fire, earth, and ether) that build the universe. Here, elements can be experienced in their purest form, where they represent pure consciousness (air), pure feelings (water), pure energy (fire), pure action (earth), and pure communication (ether). Mystics have always claimed that God has created the manifested universe as crystallized love, and it is not unusual that the five elements have their source in the center connected with love. Each star center also contains one primordial code, where the love center holds the type of our primordial relationship.
The second star center, as well as all the others, is also located on the central axis of our body, but this one is slightly above the navel. Barbara Brennan names that center “the core star,” and it is connected to the aspect of our original divine nature that we call creativity. So, I’ve named this point simply the Creative Center. It contains the total of our original creative potential. It is also a source of satisfaction because it is directly connected to the realized creative impulse. There are numerous ways of actualizing creativity in practice, but in this center, we find the so-called “love of the life” that Swedish mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg talked about. It is the type of creative activity that is the most suitable for us or our primordial creative impulse. The creative center also contains basic archetypes of creative realization. In ancient times, esoteric science recognized them as the 12 signs of the zodiac, but we can expand them to 22 archetypes represented with the trumps of Tarot cards. Each archetype represents one specific type and field of creative realization or one of fundamental God’s identities.
The third star center is located between the second chakra and the lower dan tien. I’ve named it the Peace Center. This star center contains the original healthy matrix of all physical body organs, our aura, and the Haric level centers. We can consider it to be the guardian of our physical body’s original purity and perfection or its sanctity as a kind of God’s temple. Many spiritual people think of the physical body and the matter as something filthy, low, or even evil. But, if we look at the matter through the eyes of the third star center, we experience matter as equally worthy and sacred as all other forms or levels of existence. The body is a sacred creation, the temple of the spirit, and the material world is the means of God’s manifestation and creative realization. That is why the body has to be a sacred tool to enlightened beings, to use it as a means of their realization in the material world. The term “bodhisattva” can be applied to this star center. A bodhisattva is an enlightened being who lives in the physical body. With other preconditions, the body must be healthy and purified to reach enlightenment. Also, for the enlightened soul to realize itself in material reality, it has to have a healthy and pure body. The work on bringing this center to awareness and its opening and purification will create potent reactions in the physical body. That’s why the peace center is crucial in each body’s healing process.
Apart from harmonizing our body organs and energy bodies with their original perfect matrix, another vital function of this center is bringing us to a state of complete peace. Inner peace will connect us with the truth beyond all dualities, movements, and processes. Discovering the primordial polarities inscribed in this center and their neutralization makes it possible to enter a state of deep peace. This state allows humans to connect with their original blueprint, just as God created it. So, together with connecting with universal love and original creative impulse, entering the state of peace represents another way of experiencing our primordial nature. The energies of the ten planets of our planetary system also have their source in this center. Each planet symbolizes one field of personal realization or the type of consciousness and activities that reflect the original needs of every human being.
The fourth star center is located somewhere between the creative center and plexus chakra, and it resembles a golden ball that is situated on the central vertical axis. This center collects the energies of the first three star centers and enables the discovery of the appropriate form through which we will realize the potentials inscribed in the first three star centers. That’s why, at first, I called it a “coordination point,” but later, I changed its name to Realization Centre because it describes its essential characteristics more precisely. The characteristics of this center are so fantastic that they look more like magic than any usual human function. Namely, this center can find the appropriate form to realize any idea we might have. As the magic hat from which the magician pulls our rabbits, pigeons, scarves, or various other items, this realization center will provide solutions for any problem. It can form the way to realizing our justified and natural goals.
The type of awareness that comes from this center is connected to the perception of our original identity that says, “I am the God manifested.” I have to emphasize that the way the people experience themselves through this center is far from any egotism, grand mania, or disguised Satanism. It is the awareness that God is within us, not outside of us, and that we are the God manifested. We are the kings of our earthly kingdoms, and that’s why the source of unconditional fulfillment that the unity with our divine nature brings is inside of us, not outside. By clearing this center, we can achieve a high degree of freedom because we will de-identify ourselves from external sources of fulfillment and center ourselves in our original nature. Such people are not dependent on any external stimuli; they are not tied to particular persons, places, aesthetic criteria, or spiritual teachers who are outside the borders of their being. That’s why the realization center brings about unlimited and unconditional inner fulfillment that people usually experience as ecstasy in the zone of the solar plexus that expands towards the other parts of the body and outwards to our environment. Such inner fulfillment creates the need for celebration or creating some form of ritual life. The need for ritual life must not be forced upon the people from the outside but chosen freely and accepted by each individual. Such people will live their ritual lives without feeling obligation or compulsion and with obvious pleasure because they have chosen the lifestyle that brings them the most fulfillment freely, on their own. The primordial code that is possible to discover by connecting with the realization center is our primordial identity.
The first four-star centers form a whole and are connected to the first four levels of Creation or Heaven. They very much resemble earthly existence, the manifested universe, or secular life because those spheres of higher worlds represent an energy matrix according to which the material world was created. Namely, everything that God created can be called Creation. The first four levels of Creation are entirely connected to the manifested world and secular life, which have their foundation in relationships based on love, creative work, acting for the common good, and ritual life harmonized with our divine nature. But, apart from these four, there are three more levels of Creation and three-star centers whose characteristics are more subtle, and they are connected to spiritual life and the levels that exist independently of the material universe. Mystics and spiritually oriented persons find those levels to be the focus of their attention and interest. Their character is more abstract, and they sometimes require a unique lifestyle to be recognized and incorporated into everyday life. However, the so-called “secular life” is no less important than spiritual life. Harmonious secular life represents a healthy foundation for spiritual life, so all levels of existence should be equally present.
The first of the three upper centers, or the fifth star center, is located on the top of the forehead, a bit above the upper dan tien, and it is called the Sacred Center. Humility, grace, compassion, and forgiveness are the essential characteristics of the consciousness achieved through this center. It has a hyper-personal dimension, accompanied by the feeling of belonging to a large cosmic brotherhood of enlightened beings serving general, universal goals. Those goals are always concerned with unselfish help to others. The type of fulfillment this center brings is the capability to rejoice in another person’s happiness and successes and the deep inner pleasure that appears as the result of unconditional giving and helping to others. Activities and ways of assisting here are more passive and are usually spiritual activities such as prayer, caring, or healing. The sacred center also brings the consciousness of self as a being of light, a free space traveler moving towards the source of light with other souls, towards unity with God. This center contains the source of seven (and more) healing rays that many advanced healers state as essential tools for their work.
Next, the sixth star center, called the Unity Center, is located approximately 10 centimeters above the head. It is characterized by the consciousness free of any process or opposition or by the return to the state of original unity. Through this center, it is possible to enter Samadhi, the state of unity with God. However, while the fourth star center allows for experiencing God’s nature in its manifested aspect, the unity center provides for the experience of God in all aspects, even in the non-manifested state, as it is outside all forms, be it material or energetic. There is not much to be said of the original nature of God; however – there are things to be said of the practical value of the experiences gathered through this center. Since in the unity center, the existence of opposites is experienced as an illusion, here we encounter what we popularly call the faith.
Namely, the lack of opposites or abandoning duality completely excludes the existence of any doubt. Since there is no difference between subject and object, and there is no process, the doubt is gone because the doubt is also a process. However, the faith that stems from the sixth star center is somewhat different from the faith in its traditional religious sense. Genuine faith has to be the consequence of personal spiritual experience. Faith in the declaration made by anybody else, even if it’s the top spiritual authority, does not come from the domain of personal experience. By that alone, it can’t be called knowledge. If we lack personal spiritual experience, we cannot harmonize ourselves correctly with our spiritual nature and live accordingly. We are not talking about the faith founded in family or national tradition or faith because it would be good to believe in something for some reason. This faith comes from a total lack of doubt in God as our most profound original nature.
From that kind of faith, we can build optimism, trust, letting go, security, peace, and a lack of fear, anger, or sorrow because of separation from God. The reasons for alienation are gone; we can now live in harmony with ourselves, other people, and nature. Ecological awareness stems from the fact that, essentially, all life forms are equal, and all of them are interconnected. Spiritually, the people whose sixth star center is purified become aware of themselves as “the kings of the heavenly kingdom,” the creators of their universe, where everything that exists is themselves and is connected to them. God is one, but that doesn’t mean there is only one true God. It means that everything that exists is God and that nothing is not God. God is omnipresent and represents the original true essence of everything that exists and everything that doesn’t exist.
The seventh star center takes us even deeper into the mystical nature of God. It is located approximately 20 centimeters above our head and connects us to Heaven’s seventh level. When we are “in the seventh Heaven,” we feel floating and no suffering. We feel perfectly safe as a perfect human being. Those are the most typical characteristics of the seventh star center, so its name could be the Center of Perfection. Here, we experience ourselves as a perfect being that is its source of love, happiness, knowledge, or truth. We are the love we’re looking for; we contain all the necessary knowledge and are the complete and perfect beings unconditionally fulfilled by ourselves. Existence is experienced as God’s dream, an illusion created for self-recognition. Here, we can find the awareness of the non-existence of suffering. The difference between the realization center (which also contains the awareness of oneself as God) and the seventh star center is that we consciously create our reality through the realization center, and here, all creation is unnecessary. We are already complete and realized beings; each action will disturb the original balance and perfection.
The difference between the sixth and the seventh star center lies in the fact that the sixth center is connected to the perception of God’s original nature. In contrast, the seventh center contains no perception at all. Here, we are talking about experiencing God through complete freedom and ease. That’s why the experience of passivity, non-action, simplicity, and absolute safety and protection accompanies this center. Since the seventh star center is mystical, it may seem to have nothing to do with the material world and secular life. However, the possibilities of its practical application are numerous. The feeling of safety and protection, the capability to achieve our goals through conscious non-action, peace and self-confidence, love for oneself, satisfaction, and polymath are desirable inner states that definitely represent the healthy foundation for any specific activity. That’s why this center is a creative and spiritual role model (teacher) that exists in us and can lead us to complete self-realization. It is the perfect matrix of ourselves, so we can conclude that God manifests itself through this center as the ideal human being.
There are more star centers above the ones we have discussed here, altogether 33. However, speaking about the star centers above the seventh isn’t necessary. Those who manage to become conscious and purify the seven primary star centers will be able to discover the characteristics of the ones beyond those seven. The nature of higher star centers is such that it is better to keep quiet about them, not because of the attempt to mystify them but because they are so subtle that it is difficult to talk about them. That’s why personal meditation on energy centers is the only way to achieve immediate experience of the dimensions of consciousness we have discussed here. The map I have presented here can serve as an auxiliary means, but the map is not the territory. For that reason, I recommend the practice to my readers since only through practice, not verbal information, is it possible to gain actual experience and knowledge.
Tomislav Budak, August 2000.
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1) Barbara Ann Brennan: Light Emerging – The Journey of Personal Healing, BANTAM BOOKS, 1992, page 13.
2) ibid., page 29.
3) Carlos Castaneda: Magical Passes – The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico, HarperCollins, 1998, page 6.