When I perform reiki I always begin and end the session at this area, in the center of the chest, for we give and receive love through this chakra. The colors associated are green or pink and no antidote is needed since it is central and balanced. The tone is a (as in ah) and the note is f#. The combined sounds of everything on earth compose a harmonic chord which is the keynote of our planet. It is the key of f (or f#) whose note becomes visible as green. This sound is good for quieting the mind. The element is air and the sense is touch. The statement is "I want to give and receive love." No wonder I became a massage therapist. I am an air sign of aquarius, like to wear green, and feel fulfilled when I touch people. The heart chakra is the center of compassion. When open, you transcend the limits of your ego and identify with other people, plants, animals, all of life. This is the humanitarian center. You like to become involved with social causes and care about things like saving whales and the planet earth. You may find yourself working in a helping profession and participate in meditations for peace. The heart chakra is your most vulnerable place. When hurt in life and love, the first impulse is to close your heart and say "I will never let anyone do that to me again" and build a wall around your heart. Every time you experience a death or loss, you will either go through a process of grieving, feeling all your feelings (especially anger and sadness) or you will close off your heart and remain in a state of denial, becoming numb to pain as well as pleasure. I am personally in the latter mode which I need to work on. In fact, the majority of people have closed off their hearts, which accounts for the alarming number of apathy that exists in the world today. A major part of healing is to mend the heart. It is the center of your body and when heart energy flows, your whole being is full and you radiate love energy to everyone around you. Green is the color of healing. All healing herbs are green and since it is in the center of the spectrum, green is the most balanced color. When we feel tense, it is relaxing to take a drive in the country and green is nature's way of loving us. I always get happier when we drive to Michigan and I don't even have to read the signs to know I have arrived in the state for I actually feel my arrival. Think of a rich green meadow and as you draw in your breath, inhale the green of the grasses directly into your heart. Pink is the the most powerful color for sending love to another person. I have a pink rose quartz that I hold in my right hand to focus on sending my love to intended persons. I hold it in my left when I hope to receive love. When I was practicing seeing the auras around people, I did so at church and pink radiated above my favorite priest's head. Pink is the color of health (a baby is pink at birth.) It is the color of love and good health. Balanced energy characteristics in the fourth chakra include , outgoingbeing balanced, compassionate, empathetic, humanitarian, see the good in everyone, desire to nurture others, friendly, active in the community, discriminating, in touch with feelings, can surrender and merge in a love relationship, desire a oneness in body, mind and soul, and highest goal is to experience Divine Bliss - a spiritual, emotional, physical sensation while in the embrace of your beloved. Excessive energy shows demanding, overly critical character, tense between the shoulder blades, possessive, moody, melodramatic, manic-depressive, use money to control people, the attitude of a martyr "I have made so many sacrifices for you..." master of conditional love "I will love you if..." Deficient energy characteristics include feeling sorry for yourself, paranoid, indecisive, afraid of letting go, being free, getting hurt, family members getting hurt, being abandoned, feel unworthy of love, terrified of rejection, cannot reach out and need constant reassurance. A good example of this imbalance is the woman who loves too much. She was not well loved as a child and does not believe she is worthy of love. She will choose a mate who resembles the father or mother who was unable to give her the love she craved. Her greatest desire is to change her mate into a loving person through the power of her love. She does everything for him, but she ends up trying to control him and he often resists by pushing her away. Sound familiar? Glands or organs influenced are the heart, lungs, immune system, thymus gland and lymph gland. Illnesses to be treated with green or pink include heart pain, heart attack, high blood pressure, negativity, fatigue, difficulty breathing, tension, insomnia, anger, paranoia, cancer (the best color for treating cancer is green, but never white as it is nourishing and should not be used for cancer as it feeds it.) Green jade is like a loving father reaching out his hand to give comfort, reassurance and protection. When you feel threatened, frightened, weak or vulnerable, jade is grounding and stable and conveys strength. Jade embodies the love of nature and holds and gives warmth. It is soothing, like holding hands with a friend. This is the favorite stone of the Chinese as they say it has wisdom, clarity, justice, courage and modesty. Jade draws impurities from the body. Some healers use this for broken bones or swollen glands. Jade is especially good for public speakers and teachers and it carries the energy of love and forgiveness. Rose quartz derives its soft pink tint from titanium. It is the gentlest of stones with a soothing vibration that penetrates the heart and brain, soothing away your worries. For those who have been hurt in love or suffer a broken heart, rose quartz is like the Divine Mother, the ultimate comforter who rocks you in her arms and gives you unconditional love. Rose quartz has the ability to heal the child within, so whenever you explore childhood traumas, place this stone on your heart as it will help you to love yourself and believe you are worthy of love. This stone has been recommended for alcoholics as they frequently drink to numb the pain they feel from lack of love and for skeptics who will not open to their spirituality. Aventurine is a light green quartz with a metallic glint. It allows you to be soft and open without being vulnerable. It is a stone of unlimited possibilities and opens vast horizons - the stone of the dreamer. It brings pure joy and excellent for young people going out out on their own and comforting for women going back to work or school after raising children. Aventurine gives the energy of protection and liberates. It is an uplifting stone and can be used by those who get depressed. It makes a nice present and radiates good cheer. Watermelon tourmaline is a beautiful green and pink stone that creates even more vulnerability than the rose quartz. It is like being held in loving arms that are so comforting you can no longer hold back your tears. It can be overwhelming as the mind melts and with it the walls that both protect and hold you prisoner. This is a stone that should not be used as jewelry unless you are prepared to be vulnerable. It would be a great stone to have while practicing the healing techniques in Brandon Bay' s wonderful book The Journey. A shaman in Sedona recommended I read this to save my life as I was involved in many heavy caregiving, illness and death situations that were draining my life force. I am still going strong so it worked for me. The Beatles summed it up perfectly "the love you take is equal to the love you make". ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE xo
