Formation of the Lower Chakra System – Third Chakra
Now we progress to the third chakra formation, or Manipura in Sanskrit. It is called the Solar Plexus in English. This chakra is about two fingers above the navel, but can vary a bit; while the second chakra is around the lower abdomen. This spot will also often present with energetic pain, especially from sudden anxiety or a severe challenge to the ego; thus the “knot in the stomach” feeling. Once attuned, you can locate the exact center of each chakra with a fingertip, similarly as you can sense where the layers of the subtle bodies begin and end.
As the child grows through these formative years, the personality develops, the third chakra coalesces, and a solid and coherent ego is formed.
They are often viewed as the rebellious youngster during this period, and this becomes clear in the teenage years as the person is trying to establish an identity of their own. The youngster’s personality and ego development is affected by several factors; strongest is the family environment, next interaction with peers and teachers in their school and social environment.
To take a common example, when the child has been severely challenged, such as being overly punished, the third chakra (as well as the heart) will often develop a protective shield-like quality. But the resulting personality traits may manifest in different ways.
They may become passive and withdrawn; they may develop over-defensiveness, or the resulting buried rage could develop into an aggressive and violent attitude. I find this to be one of the most interesting aspects of practicing spiritual energy healing. I have noticed that the same type of incident or similar chain of events that occurs in one person’s life can manifest in radically different outcomes for another person. While sharing so many common experiences, we are all still quite unique; a configuration of many influences. These include not only environmental ones, but many others. Genetics, generational family legacies and samskaras (generational soul quality impressions akin to grooves or ruts), racial and national energies, and the qualities brought in with the individual soul. There are also references to a ‘soul-ray’ in some esoteric literature.
We all know people who seem to be over-compensating for their inner conflict. A typical example would be a person who seems to meet others with a third chakra ‘punch to the gut’; it feels like they hit you in the belly with their power to assert dominance when you meet them. Another person will meet you with a gentle openness and acceptance. If their third chakra is emotionally healthy (as opposed to simply being disempowered or fearful of rejection), this person is living from their center, their heart; the fourth chakra.
As explained in the second chakra article, entities from the astral plane that are attracted to the internal cry for help, due to pain and fear, often lodge in the third chakra. Their tendency is to control and become part of ego-related power and thus are found in this power center, which is already developing during childhood. Trauma and deep fears and these foreign fragments of consciousness (entities) can also come in during adulthood, but they nearly always originated in childhood and then get triggered by later events. A traumatic experience during adulthood, including drug-induced ones, can cause the psychic ‘openness’ necessary for an entity to enter, but most attach earlier. These ‘outside’ energies (not solely an organic internal product of the person) initially convince us they are here to protect and serve us. A few people remain aware of their presence, but most are not. So, when these unevolved but potent fragments of consciousness are brought into a client’s awareness, they are normally surprised. I don’t find them to be as ominous as most would presume, although a few are malevolent. This may sound fantastic to some, but it has always been commonplace in my practice and in the school I attended. I have found ancient references to such abounds in sacred texts. They are dealt with and transformed in much the same way as organic energies, but with some differences.
The third chakra is directly influenced by the energies of the second chakra. During my initial chakra scan, I almost always see an effect upon the ego and personality by the state of the inner child. A healthy ego is quite necessary in order to function in the society we have created. It is the purification of the personality and realization of it as the Self (Atman), not its destruction. That is the goal in spiritual growth. The identification mechanism with the ego is lost in awakening, not the personality itself.
The third chakra has a direct esoteric connection to the sixth chakra.
© Andrew M. Williams