There are several movements from the head or mind to the heart center. Prior to awakening, there is the potential shift from being mind-centered to being heart-centered, depending on our orientation. For some, this is natural. For others, not so much.
Note: heart-centered doesn’t mean emotion-centered. Emotions are 2nd chakra-based. The heart is fine feelings that are more universal, like love and compassion. Some people shift from emotion-centered to the heart, though such people are unlikely to read this blog. 🙂
There is the post-awakening descent of the presence (united Shiva-Shakti) from the head to the heart, and later the gut. These are when identification with that aspect of ego is broken.
And yet there can still be a habit of favouring the mind instead of the body. This is typically because of past habits, developed from avoiding our unresolved baggage. This limits embodiment and the fullness of experience.
I’m not suggesting mind is bad and some have strong natural inclinations there, like myself. There are tiers of this.
– mind driven by identified ego and unresolved experiences
– mind driven by the resolute intellect and its association with the Self
– mind driven by flow
– mind driven by the awake heart
Yet unresolved experiences will still drive the mind to the degree of their remaining presence.
I’ve thought of the power center as synonymous with the 3rd chakra. But it turns out there’s two things. The chakra and the power center.
The chakras, sub-chakras and nadis (energy channels) are like the electronics of our body, while the power center is like the battery.
To my surprise, the power center isn’t fixed in the 3rd chakra, although there can be a lot of resistance to its movement. It does sit there, and the third chakra powers the mind, so we can relate it to both the head (mind) and gut identifications mentioned above.
It seems a baby taps the mother’s power center until near the end of the first trimester, when their own comes into the body through the mother. Then, soon before the body is ready to be born, the soul moves in to bring consciousness. This is commonly when the fetus starts kicking and such.
With the soul in the heart and the power center in the gut, there is still a heart-mind polarity. However, that power center can be moved up to the heart center to unite with the soul. Yet it’s usually deeply embedded in the third. Going deeper is what allows it to be released from under the resistance.
We move fire into air, lighting up the heart. This brings together Power and Love, two Divine qualities. This makes it part of an embodiment process.
Not sure why I didn’t recognize this chakra/ power center distinction before, but Malika pointed it out. Game changer.
Davidya
Apologies for the lag – have been proofing video transcripts for YouTube, the blog, and the bot. Have a batch of articles coming up now.
Thanks David for sharing your timely insights. Is this a conscious process in that we can move
our power center to the heart and feel into the union of the two? I do notice an expansion in that inner movement. You cite moving fire into air – could you explain this more? I assume this is more than two metaphors. There is also the role of the Witness here in noticing the activities of the mind but staying uninvolved. Would this be the case through all 4 tiers? Is the next tier (5) the mind is transcended by the heart/soul and both by Being or pure awareness? Hope these questions are not overthinking the unfoldment of higher states (smiles).
Hi Harrison
Yes, very much a conscious process. I’ve been exploring moving it up and moving energetics between them. It hasn’t stayed up yet. Apparently the ground is quite ready.
The third chakra supports the mind kosha and the fire element. The fourth is the heart/intellect kosha and Air. So moving fire into air.
more:
https://davidya.ca/2013/05/13/its-elemental/
As you go into Unity plus, the distinct observer is merged into the observed. Some may experience it like the world absorbing the Self. The Alertness quality remains but there isn’t a distinct observer the same way. And the point of observation becomes more flexible. We’re not fixed to this body-mind, though it remains our default.
Some who are very devotional may experience the mind going largely off-line. But for most of us, mind just shifts from trying to control to being a tool of knowing.
Thank you David for sharing. Some repressed emotions (that I had no idea were present) were released earlier in the year. Since then the experience here has been mind driven more by flow, rather than intellect, as I too have this extremely active mind. There seems to be finer feelings coming on board as well. It’s been this gradual process, but the cumulative effect is really noticeable now that there has been some reflection just be reading your blog entry. Thanks again for more insight on this ever-deepening journey.
Beautiful, Aaron.
I’ve found there is ongoing progress punctuated by occasional pauses, like the fog of medical treatment or a poor sleep. And sometimes, those make no difference.
There is a larger process of embodiment, of bringing the inner out, but I don’t have enough data yet to illustrate the process. It’s been a long time since many have been able to even awaken to the higher stages, let alone embody them.
Hi David!
So what is the power center?
I always equated the power center with the lower dantian.
Hi Michael
I’ve always thought of the 7 chakras as what powers the system., 1 to embody each kosha. Turns out the entire chakra-nadi system is the electronics. The power center is what powers it in this physiology.
There is undoubtedly a term I’m unaware of in the literature.
As for what it is, that’s an interesting question. It’s an embodiment of the Divine quality of power. In experience, it’s most like makara, when a drop of the Divine lit up the makara point, just above the third chakra. But that was just a drop. The power center is ongoing.
The soul is an expression of a point value of consciousness. The power center comes from above too. Seems to be from what Dante called the primum mobile, at the top of creation. From a place of celebration. In Vedic terms, Agni.
hmmm – puts the opening of the Rig Veda in a different light.
Interesting!
But if it is that which powers this physiology then it is the lower dantian (just google it….Dorothy called that mahamarmas or something similiar).
Usually it sits below the navel deep within the body.
Between navel and where the 2. chakra sits but deep within the body.
Hi David,
I am no expert but reading this reminded me of something similar I have read, thought I’d share. Swami Sivananda in book called Kundalini Yoga, briefly mentions the rising of the fire to mix with prana in the heart which then affects the kundalini. In another book Taoist Yoga by Charles Luk, there is more detail including developing immortal foetus.
Bhagavad Gita 4.29, 15.14, also hints at mixing prana and apana.
Hi AB
There are layers to this stuff. For example, the fire that breaks open the cap in the kundalini rise so it can go higher than the third chakra. And the blending of various pranas.
What I’m referring to is deeper, but ‘as above, so below’ principle applies. Quite a few processes repeat themselves on different levels at different stages.
Thanks David, this really helps not to get fixated.