Heart Chakra:  I LOVE

Anahata or the Heart Chakra is the fourth chakra in this energetic system.  The Sanskrit translation of Anahata is “unstruck”, meaning “sound that is made without any two things striking”.  This is referring to the sacred, Divine sounds that originate from the Anahata chakra in the most advanced states of meditation, documented by the ancient yogis, saints, sages, and mystics from ancient times.

The heart chakra is associated with the air element, lease dense of the physical elements.  It represents compassion and love.  It is located over the cardiac plexus.  It is symbolized as a twelve-petaled lotus, the twelve petals representing the twelve intersecting nadis or energetic pathways at this chakra.  Inside the lotus is a six-pointed star.  The triangles of the star represent the downward descent of spirit into body and matter, along with the upward ascent of physical matter rising up to meet spirit.  This sacred symbol is also known as the Star of David, and represents the sacred union of the subtle and physical energies, the dance between the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine.

The bija mantra or seed syllable is Yam; when chanted the sound vibration cleanses and heals this chakra.  The heart chakra is commonly visualized in the color green; which represents the Divine Masculine aspect of this chakra.  The color pink is a second color associated with this chakra, representing the Divine Feminine aspect.

  From the fiery realm of the solar plexus chakra, igniting the will, taking control, and ideally burning through our stubbornest blocks and challenges, the fires can now be allowed to subside a bit.  As the glowing embers rise up, we can now turn toward our center.  We are warmed, cleansed, and ready to experience the next level of awareness.

The heart chakra is the central point of the entire chakra system, and serves as the bridge between matter and spirit.  From the physical realm and manifestation, we now expand toward the softer, subtler realm of spirit.  Here we move from focus on oneself along with a multitude of desires, and begin to embrace a larger interconnected web of relationships.  As the ego is transcended, we grow toward something greater, deeper, stronger, bigger than the tiny self.  As we move from matter into spirit, we expand.

The heart chakra is the center of love.  However, love at the heart chakra level is distinctly different from mundane love, or the passionate love or lust originating from the sacral chakra.  Mundane love depends on conditions being met.  Friendship love can quickly expire following a heated argument.  Sexual love is object oriented, therefore the passion generated is dependent upon the attraction to a particular person.

At the level of the heart chakra, love is not dependent on any person, place, thing, or situation.  Rather, love is experienced as a state of being, which then radiates outward into the energy field.  In this way, unconditional love and compassion is both unconsciously and consciously shared with whomever enters the field – whether in person, or non-locally.

With regards to the evolution through the chakra system, the fighting that is common at the solar plexus chakra becomes acceptance at the level of the heart.  The more thorough our work, the easier it will be to accept the outer circumstances that we have no control over.

When the heart chakra is free from grief and old emotional wounds, it is free to open:  innocent, fresh, clean, radiant.  Being associated with the air element, this also represents the qualities of freshness, openness, lightness, softness, simplicity.  Air is spaciousness and expansion, achieved through letting go.  If we cling too tightly to our beloved, they wind up suffocating; they are deprived of air.

Any number of afflictions can lead to closure or imbalance of the heart chakra, thus reducing the flow of love both outward and inward.  Undue, unhealthy attachments or obsessions to a person or people can most certainly reduce the flow of love that could otherwise be received.  Along with this, jealousy, racism, homophobia, ageism.  Any and all of these demarcations keep one within a sense of separation, and destroys any understanding of unity and oneness.

Opening the heart chakra expands one’s capacity for sharing loving energy with others, no matter their background, creed, heritage, life circumstance, etc.  The greater our capacity to realize this interdependence and oneness, the greater our capacity to both give and receive the exquisite flow of Divine Love becomes.

It is said that damage occurs at the astral or subtle levels long before physical symptoms appear.  Chronic Anahata imbalance can manifest physically in a variety of ways, including asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and lung disease.

The three astrological signs associated with the air element are Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.