Sixth Chakra - Mind's Eye
Posted by Benjamin Baron on
Sanskrit Name; Meaning : Ajna; to perceive
Location : Center of the forehead / center of eyebrows
Affirmation: “I see.”
Central Power : Intuition, Imagination
Element : Light [1]
Note: Chakras five through seven ascend beyond the physical elements
Arising through the chakras, we now find ourselves sitting at the literal “Mind’s Eye”, and about the second easiest to remember next to the heart chakra. This “All-Seeing Eye” is our infinite connection to divine consciousness and a glimpse into the things beyond what we can see. This center envelops our thoughts and consciousness that mark us as slightly different then the animal people, such as bears, snakes, or dolphins, or other creatures solely lying on blind instinct and genetic evolution. We all think, even if we all think in different ways. This chakra represents how we think, imagine, and perceive the world.
The sixth chakra is at the edge of human potential.[2] It is what marks us as having something more than just an automaton. In Buddhist philosophy, it is consider one of the highest honors to be born as a human being, who can then perceive the teachings, or dharma. The sixth chakra opens us up to images, intuition, and to new things; it is the place where we go for our dreams and visions; it is where we are connected through memory and recall; and, the sixth chakra is the home of symbolism and visualization.[3] The mind is the place where we open up and evolve our thinking through life just the same way that the sixth chakra opens up to “higher wisdom” or “god knowledge”.
That’s because the element of this chakra is light, a higher and faster vibration than that of sound in the chakra below. Through light, we are blessed with the ability to see, to take in from a distance the shape and form of things around us. This miraculous act of seeing is the basic function of this chakra, but this implies far more than seeing with our physical eyes. Physical perception tells us that something exists, but only inner sight can tell us what it is. While our physical eyes are organs of our perception, the sixth chakra relates to the mystical third eye - the organ of inner perception. The third eye witnesses the internal screen where memory and fantasy, images and archetypes, intuition and imagination intertwine on endless display.[4]
The sixth chakra, often termed “the third eye,” is the celestial body, and like the theric, is of the spiritual realm. It is the world or body that holds our individual future and is also our access to that future… The celestial body is that realm of light; and being associated with illumination, this body influences all that light enables us to “see.” Put another way, the celestial body allows us literally to “see the light.”[5]
The physical manifestations of the sixth chakra are all found in the organ of the brain itself. You would find issues related to hallucinations and delusions; there lie in the sixth chakra issues with “wrong thinking” or difficult concentrating; and, the sixth chakra lives in the unfortunate realm of nightmares, visual problems / problems perceiving and thinking, and headaches, migraines, and other “mind based” difficulties or deficiencies.[6] Because this chakra ties solely with thought, imagination, and consciousness, it is also the place where energy can get “held up in the mind” which is why tension headaches are also a thing!
This chakra also ties in with the pineal gland.[5] This part of our brain is designed for regulating hormones, as far as science knows, and is also intimately tied to the chakra system. According to Dr. Richard Jelusich, he refers to a golden energy that ties between this gland and the chakra system. He says:
The spiral of energy begins in the throat, affecting the thyroid gland, then passes through the occipital area of the brain, through the frontal lobes of the brain and eyes, through the corpus calossum, and affecting the small bundle of nerves that connect both hemispheres of the brain, and ends in the pineal gland. It is shaped like a golden mean spiral and is created and affected by the functioning of the throat chakra.[7]
I think by now it has been beaten into illumination so much that you understand that the sixth chakra is “The Mind’s Eye”. But what does that mean? Atop a few choice pieces of history, and a well known form of currency, is the Eye of Providence. It often is depicted in a triangle, and has come to mean divine providence and the idea that God is watching over all of humanity. This “open eye” is similar to the way the Mind’s Eye works when it comes to our eternal connection with the divine, God, Spirit, Source, inner knowing, guides, our highest self, One, All, or whatever other name you need to know this ineffable thing as. Just like the Eye of Providence is looking out for all of humanity, the Mind’s Eye is constantly looking out for an interest in the spiritual connection that we can form within ourselves of both ourselves and the world around us as we perceive it.
The sixth chakra is spirit as much as any of the other chakras. However, this one has a particular connection with consciousness and the way we experience the divine. This chakra’s energy is all about how we become god-like in our consciousness, in our understanding, and in our perception. We elevate understanding, interconnection, and awareness in this chakra. Sixth chakra development is usually referred to as spiritual awakening. We suddenly see with new eyes, experience profound insight, change our perspective and attitude, or receive a vision. It can happen at any time in life.8
[1] Judith, A. (2006). Introduction: Sacred Centers of the Self. In Eastern body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self (pp. 10-11). essay, Alchemy.
[2] Jelusich, R. (2004). Chapter Twelve: Sixth Chakra - The Prophet. In Eye of the Lotus: Psychology of the Chakras (pp. 196). essay, Lotus.
[3] Judith, A. (2006). Chakra Six: Seeing our Way Through. In Eastern body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self (pp. 338). essay, Alchemy.
[4] Judith, A. (2006). Chakra Six: Seeing our Way Through. In Eastern body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self (pp. 344). essay, Alchemy.
[5] Bruyere, R. L. (1994). Wheels of Power. In Wheels of Light: Chakras, Auras and the Healing Energy of the Body (pp. 42). essay, Simon & Schuster.
[6] Judith, A. (2006). Chakra Six: Seeing our Way Through. In Eastern body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self (pp. 338-339). essay, Alchemy.
[7] Jelusich, R. (2004). Chapter Eleven: Fifth Chakra - The Communicator. In Eye of the Lotus: Psychology of the Chakras (pp. 173). essay, Lotus.
[8] Judith, A. (2006). Chakra Six: Seeing our Way Through. In Eastern body, Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra system as a Path to the Self (pp. 366). essay, Alchemy.