KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

Color,Gem, Oil, and Affirmation Correspondences for Awakening Your Chakras, by Margaret Ann Lembo

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Gemstones, color, and scent are universal languages and tools. Likewise, the use of color, crystals, and positive affirmations to awaken your chakras, the energy centers of your body, are powerful tools for bringing balance into our lives.

According to eastern philosophies, we have chakras within our energy field that are spinning wheels of light. These energy centers are responsible for regulating the functions of many levels of our being—the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical bodies. There are seven main chakras, and each chakra has a color associated with it (as well as many gemstones and aromatic scents.)

It's empowering to use colors, essential oils, and gemstones with a positive affirmation. Use the affirmations with each color, chakra, and gemstone included for each chakra in your daily life.

1. The first chakra is the Root Chakra. This energy center is located at the base of the spine and is responsible for our basic needs. This is where we store our vital energy for providing food, shelter, and water for ourselves. Money is also strongly associated with this center.
   • Its basic color is red.
   • A gemstone for the root is garnet.
   • Use vetiver or patchouli for grounding and prosperous thinking.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "I live life fully and completely. My passion for life fills me with joy and enthusiasm. I am strong and healthy. I take action and move forward. I am safe, secure and grounded."
2. The second chakra is the Navel or Sacral Chakra. It is obviously located at our navel, just a few inches below our belly button. This is the center for reproduction and creativity; this chakra holds the energy to create and take action in our lives.
   • The color for this energy center is orange.
   • A gemstone for the navel is carnelian.
   • The essential oils of peppermint and orange are beneficial for activating and aligning this chakra.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "My imagination is active conjuring up creative ideas as I play and relax. I embrace fun times and trust in the relaxed flow of the day. When I relax great ideas jump into my consciousness!"
3. The third chakra is the Solar Plexus. This center connects us with joy, personal power, self-confidence, mental clarity, and the ability to shine our light. While memories of the past may have reduced our self-esteem, likewise, this chakra stores kudos and praises received that raised self-confidence.
   • The color associated with it is yellow.
   • Gemstones for the solar plexus are citrine, amber, and golden calcite.
   • Use lemon, petitigrain, and bergamot oils with the intention to raise your self-esteem.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "I am powerful beyond belief. My magnificence shines through for all to see. It is safe for me to be powerful in loving ways! I have the courage to be all that I can be."
4. The fourth chakra is the Heart Center, located in the center of our chest. This center is the bridge between the lower three chakras of the physical mundane world and the upper chakras of the spiritual world. This is the part of us where our true self resides, the love that we are. It is where and how we integrate that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.
   • The colors for this chakra are green and pink.
   • Gemstones for the heart are green aventurine, pink tourmaline, and rose quartz.
   • Lavender is a perfect essential oil for this chakra (as well as for all the chakras). Other scents are rose and jasmine, which can be cost prohibitive.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "Compassion, kindness, and love are mine. I am tolerant of the differences between my beliefs and the beliefs of others. I am nurturing and accept nurturing from others."
5. The fifth chakra is the Throat Center. This center is obviously located at our throat and provides us our ability to communicate and express ourselves. This is not exclusively our verbal expression, but also the way we express ourselves in the world, whether through writing, speaking, singing, cooking, or however else we may express who and what we are.
   • This chakra is blue, like the color of the sky, or stone turquoise.
   • Stones for the throat center are celestite, amazonite, and aquamarine.
   • Essential oils like eucalyptus, Auntie M's Anti, or tea tree are beneficial to open the throat chakra and clear congestion.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "I am impeccable with my word. My words are spoken with love and kindness."
6. The sixth chakra is the Third Eye Center, located in the center of our forehead. This is the location of our ability to see the unseen, know the unknown, and hear what is not being said. It is the place of intuition, knowing, and dreaming.
   • This chakra is indigo blue.
   • A stone for the third eye is lapis lazuli.
   • My favorite essential oil for the third eye center is frankincense; it’s a perfect scent for meditation and centering.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "I am focused. I follow my intuition. It is easy for me to meditate. I receive messages all the time and follow my internal guidance system."
7. The seventh chakra is the Crown Chakra. This is the place of higher intuition, channeling, and the connection with Divine Consciousness. This is the place where our connection to miracles resides.
   • The color associated with the crown ranges from golden white light to a violet flame.
   • Some gemstones for the crown chakra are selenite, amethyst, and clear quartz.
   • Sandalwood and helichrysum, along with frankincense, are aromatic favorites to activate your divine connection.
   • The Gem Spot Affirmation is: "My intuition is strong. I trust the signs and messages the Universe sends me to guide me easily through life."

Making conscious connection with the chakras with the intention of balancing and aligning them with each other provides an avenue for balancing various aspects of your life. It is beneficial to meditate on each of the chakras using visualization to spin off what you no longer need and replace that with goodness, love, and well-being. Using guided meditation CDs and place gemstones on each of these chakras will bring peace and balance to your life.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2011. All rights reserved.

I have been suffering from severe depression for a long time. I am starting to contact my spirit guides. Can they help me to heal from depression? My communication is very rudimentary so far, but I do believe they are really there.

S.

Susyn:

Spirit guides can be a wonderful source of healing, guidance and direction. Having direct contact with our guides can indeed help us to move out of circumstances like depression, for they have the ability to free and empower us on a metaphysical level.

One of the greatest blessings of being consciously connected to our spirit guides is being able to perceive and understand the messages they send us in all sorts of ways. While meditating and conversing with them can bring great insights, they can also alert us to important information through others and put us into into contact with people with the power to help us.

Depression is a malady that seems to haunt us all at one time or another. It is common to feel depressed when our worlds are out of balance or when we are not receiving the things we most long for in life. The first thing we can do to break free of this paralyzing state is to improve our spiritual connections. Your decision to address this problem with your spirit guides is wise and powerful; it may prove the key to you finding a new lease on life.

Most people don't realize that spiritual healing is essential in overcoming depression. Since depression is of such a low and heavy vibration, being depressed can make it impossible to feel Spirit's presence in our lives. By continuing to work to establish a strong connection with your guides, you are taking a powerful step towards freeing yourself from the grip of depression.

As you strive to make daily contact with your guides, your awareness of them will grow stronger. Your intuition and psychic abilities will begin to function with greater ease, and the sadness that hangs over you will lift.

I'm not a medical doctor, but I have found a natural product that works wonders for the physical aspects of depression. There are many natural supplements available that can help you break free of feelings of depression and align with a higher state of being. St. John's Wort is very popular as a mood elevator, but there are many others.

One that I take and highly recommend is called KAL Beyond L-5-HTP. Because it does not have to build up in your system like prescription anti-depressants, this product starts working right away. Once you have moved beyond the depression, you do not have to keep taking it. If you awaken one morning feeling the depression returning, you can take it and feel better within a few hours. If you are taking any medications or have other serious health problems, please be sure to consult your doctor before trying this supplement.

*****

Oceania:

Asking spirit guides to cure depression reminds me of the joke about a man whose house is flooding, which I'll condense: As the water rises, a rescue boat motors by and offers to carry the man to safety. He says, No thanks, God will save me. As the water rises further, he's forced onto the rooftop, where a rescue helicopter hovers overhead. Again the man shouts, No thanks, God will save me! He subsequently drowns and complains to God about not being saved. God replies, I sent a boat and a helicopter - what were you waiting for??

There are many tools available to combat depression, so what are you waiting for?

If you've been struggling with depression for a long time, your brain chemistry may be out of whack. Depression has a genetic component; do you have family members who have suffered from mood disorders like bipolar or depression, or from alcoholism and addiction, which are often attempts to self-medicate? Genetic depression is best treated by a psychiatrist using anti-depressant medication. Brief electrical stimulation of the brain (ECT) is also a modern, safe and effective treatment for long-term depression.

Being in a group with others who are depressed in which you give and receive support is also therapeutic. Bill W. and Dr. Bob founded Alcoholics Anonymous on this very principle; they were able to remain sober as long as they supported others in doing the same.

If your depression stems from negative thought patterns, you may benefit from reading Feeling Good by David Burns, which teaches you how to modify your thoughts whenever you start thinking in unrealistic extremes. For example, if you find yourself thinking, Everything goes wrong, you would change that to, Some things don't turn out as expected, but there are still many good things in my life. The unexpected happens to everyone - not just me - and often leads to unexpected gifts, lessons and possibilities!

For those whose depression was triggered by a specific loss or crisis, grief counseling or psychotherapy may be the most helpful approach. In order to maximize your well-being, it is important to get restful sleep and regular exercise, eat a healthy diet and drink plenty of water, and reduce stress through yoga, massage, mindfulness or the enjoyment of a hobby.

While your Spirit Guides cannot cure your depression on their own, you can surely ask them to inspire, motivate, guide and comfort you as you proactively reach for the many resources that are there for the taking.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.