The energy field that surrounds our physical being is created by the collective vibration of all the chakras. It looks something similar to an egg shape around our entire body. This energy can be drained through leaks, tears, or energetic impurities in the fabric of our energy field. When this happens, there is a flaw in the functioning of the energetic field, leaving the individual with little energy to adequately support life. This effect cascades, negatively influencing the functioning of the chakras and ultimately the body. The flow of energy can also be irregular and disrupted from its normal paths locally or overall.
WORKING WITH THE CHAKRAS
The chakra system provides a convenient way for us to make our way to the internal, finer workings of our delicate, intricate beings. Through an understanding of the chakras, we can develop inner unity, balance, and peace, which will ultimately help us to grasp our surroundings and the larger universe. According to East Indian texts and newer Western methods, typical approaches to accessing these centers include crystals, meditations, visualizations, and yoga. In this book, we use a questionnaire (in chapter 3) to help you identify areas of your chakra system that may require healing. There is much information stored within these centers, so as one begins to work on the issues related to chakras through foods, it is likely that emotional issues will begin to surface to facilitate the healing of those centers.
THE FOOD-CHAKRA CONNECTION
So how do we make the leap from chakras, our vital energy centers, containing the essence of everything we are and will be, to something physical like food? How do we use foods to heal every aspect of ourselves? Embedded within the food are many kinds of information that feed us. When we eat, we take in and assimilate what the food has to offer. If you want to assess how a particular food will affect your energetic self, first identify its obvious characteristics: where it is grown, how it grows, its external and internal colors, whether it is solid or liquid or both. From there you can go deeper into pinpointing its nutrient composition: Is it primarily carbohydrate, fat, or protein? The culmination of all these aspects will ripple through our physical body to impact the vibration of our chakras and the flow of energy running through the chakras.
Think about it in simplistic, familiar terms: We are energy. Food is energy On a certain occasion, perhaps we literally feel “low on energy” because we have been working extra hours and taking on additional responsibilities. Certain foods may embody optimal physical qualities that give us the physical nourishment to feel revived. On another level, this food may capture within it the vibration that is needed to repair and correct spiritual patterns in our solar plexus chakra (responsible for our energy input and output), so that we will choose not to let ourselves get into situations where we know that our energy will be drained. One such example of a food that would perform both of these functions would be whole grains. On a physical level, whole grains contain a blend of mostly carbohydrate (mainly starches and fibers), some protein, and a small amount of fat. Complex carbohydrates like starches provide our bodies with a gradual release of energy in the form of sugar so that we could sustain our energy over time.
If we look at the physical qualities of the food, they reveal to us aspects of its spiritual messages. In the case of the whole grain, note that the essence of the plant, the germ, is tightly encased by the endosperm (or middle, starchy) layer and then protected further by the bran (outer) coating. In energetic terms, this plant speaks to us of protecting our essence from depletion.
Now if we ate processed grains repeatedly, we might experience the opposite of this phenomenon. First, processed grains will be lower in long chains of sugars and higher in simple sugars, ultimately leading to a rapid influx of sugar into the bloodstream. Therefore, we get a strong, initial spike of energy due to the fast release of sugar, but because of the corresponding quick release of insulin to shuttle the sugar into the cells, we end up with low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Signs of low blood sugar include shakiness, headache, and fatigue. Our energy is depleted. Instead of enriching ourselves with energy from the food matrix, on an energy level we have made the process of eating a very costly one. Furthermore, the spiritual essence of a processed grain indicates a lack of integration and structure. Processed grains typically lack the germ and bran layer, leaving only the starchy endosperm. The spiritual message we send to our cells is one of a lack of wholeness and cohesion, causing us to disperse our energy.
Another example of how food can feed us spiritually is through color. In the instance with low energy, yellow foods can be stimulating and balancing to the solar plexus chakra, since they would transmit the vibration of yellow to the chakra. The solar plexus chakra is balanced when vibrating at the resonance of the color yellow. Thus, eating the spice curry would be very vibrationally congruent with this energy center and provide the solar plexus with the color frequency it needs. The curry compounds also stimulate physiological digestion through their warming nature. As a result, curry feeds the energy center through its color and its inherent physical properties.
As we go through each of the chakras in chapters 4 through 10, you will read about more of these physical-spiritual properties of food and how they may help you to work with specific challenges. When we learn to use foods and to eat in alignment with our soul, the healing begins. Increased consciousness occurs when all our many aspects are aligned and connected. Think of a boat with many oars going in all directions, but once they are aligned on one path, the boat flows forward at full speed. Such is the relationship with our spiritual selves. Our soul is the culmination and interconnection of many layers of varying vibration, with the densest one being the body, or physical layer.
In the next chapter we provide a questionnaire that asks about your physiological, emotional, and mental states. By completing the questionnaire you will be able to uncover which chakra(s) need support from food and eating. Afterward, you can read chapters 4 through 10 straight through or jump to the chapter that best addresses the chakra you would like to work on.
CHAPTER 3
DISCOVERING YOUR CHAKRA ISSUES
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.
—ANTHONY ROBBINS
In this chapter, you will be able to identify the chakra issues that require healing by completing a questionnaire that integrates our physiological, emotional, and spiritual aspects. At the end of each section of the questionnaire, you will add up your score for that section. The highest scores indicate the direction of the chakra imbalances. It is common to find that there is more than one chakra that needs repair. In that case, it is recommended to address the lowest-number chakra first, since a block in a lower chakra will most likely turn into a blockage in the higher chakras. (Remember that, for the most part, energy in the body flows upward.) Your results will point you to the chapters that address each of the chakras individually.
I recommend completing this questionnaire in a quiet place, and as honestly as possible. You can also use the questionnaire to track your progress in the future, as you work through these issues using food as your healing tool.
CHAKRA QUESTIONAIRE
The questionnaire is divided into seven sections, one for each chakra. For each of the fifteen questions within each section, read each statement and rate, from 1 to 5, how much it applies to you. Then, add up your scores from each section, giving you a total of seven scores at the