Research

Depressies

The neurobiology of psychedelic drugs: implications for the treatment of mood disorders

Franz X. Vollenweider1,2 & Michael Kometer1 About the authors

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Abstract

After a pause of nearly 40 years in research into the effects of psychedelic drugs, recent advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of psychedelics, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin and ketamine have led to renewed interest in the clinical potential of psychedelics in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. Recent behavioural and neuroimaging data show that psychedelics modulate neural circuits that have been implicated in mood and affective disorders, and can reduce the clinical symptoms of these disorders. These findings raise the possibility that research into psychedelics might identify novel therapeutic mechanisms and approaches that are based on glutamate-driven neuroplasticity.

http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/second-coming-psychedelics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_therapy

http://psychedelictimes.com/therapeutic-and-health-benefits-of-psychedelics/

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(howtousepsychedelics, 2017) ‘Clinical studies like this one that use psilocybin and LSD to study depression have a very simple protocol. Participants are invited to come to a research room that has been setup to feel comfortable and they take a dose of the substance. A researcher sits with them for the duration of the experience (typically 4-6 hours) and may talk them through any anxiety that arises. But generally, the participants simply remain quiet and feel the experience, following where their thoughts and feelings take them’.

Here’s one man’s story from a recent clinical study, as reported in the New York Times:

As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling regimens for kidney cancer. Counseling seemed futile to him. So did the antidepressant pills he tried. Nothing had any lasting effect until, at the age of 65, he had his first psychedelic experience. He left his home in Vancouver, Wash., to take part in an experiment at Johns Hopkins medical school involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in certain mushrooms. … Today, more than a year later, Dr. Martin credits that six-hour experience with helping him overcome his depression and profoundly transforming his relationships with his daughter and friends. He ranks it among the most meaningful events of his life, which makes him a fairly typical member of a growing club of experimental subject

The program:

(howtousepsychedelics, 2017) ‘Clinical studies like this one that use psilocybin and LSD to study depression have a very simple protocol. Participants are invited to come to a research room that has been setup to feel comfortable and they take a dose of the substance. A researcher sits with them for the duration of the experience (typically 4-6 hours) and may talk them through any anxiety that arises. But generally, the participants simply remain quiet and feel the experience, following where their thoughts and feelings take them’.

• What is innovative about it

It is not something new, the drug excised 40 years ago but was declared illegal in a lot of different countries. By re-introducing this drug means, much beter treatments, its cheaper and you will have a different (good and positief) look about the world and yourself.

• Where is it

You can do this at home or at a facility

• Who designed it

Depends on the kind of drug, mushrooms is made by nature it self, but lsd is design by Zwitser Albert Hofmann. Back then it was used by the M16.

• How big is it

More and more people experimenting whit those drugs and they are getting more open about it. Also the bad name that it has is changing, people are getting to see the positive ways of those drugs. So its stil growing

The therapie

HEEL DUIDELIJK FILPMJE!!!

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https://www.mrc.ac.uk/news/browse/psilocybin-for-treatment-resistant-depression/

A small scale MRC-funded pilot study into treating depression resistant to current therapies using psilocybin, the psychedelic compound of magic mushrooms, has found that it can be safely administered with appropriate support. This could pave the way for future randomised-controlled trials to establish the efficacy of the compound in treating this form of depression.

It is estimated that 350 million peopleopens in new window worldwide are affected by depression. The annual cost of depression in England is thought to be around £7.5 billionopens in new window. Most people with depression respond positively to treatment using antidepressant medication and cognitive behavioural therapy. But around 20% of those with depression do not respond to treatments and are classified as having treatment-resistant depression.

Previous studies have looked into the potential of using psychedelic drugs for conditions such as end of life anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and smoking dependence. Psilocybin acts on the serotonin system suggesting it could be developed for use in the treatment of depression.

The study aimed to assess safety and whether a potential treatment dose of psilocybin could be tolerated.

Hallucinogenics such as psilocybin can cause unpleasant reactions, including anxiety and paranoia, so it is important to establish whether the drug can be administered safely to people with depression. To investigate the safety and feasibility of using psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression, researchers from Imperial College London conducted a strictly monitored feasibility study. As this was not a randomised-controlled trial, the patients knew they were receiving the drug and there was no control group to provide comparison either with existing treatments or with no treatment at all.

Twelve people with moderate to severe treatment-resistant depression who had not responded to at least two courses of antidepressants were recruited (six men and six women, aged 30-64). Most of the participants actively volunteered to take part following presentations by the researchers and media coverage.

Eleven of the participants had previously undergone psychotherapy. The volunteers went through a thorough screening process before they were allowed to participate. Criteria used to rule out participants from taking part included people with a history of suicide attempts, those with diagnosis of a psychotic disorder and other significant medical conditions. Participants were fully supported at all times before, during and after they received psilocybin.

Participants were interviewed and completed questionnaires throughout the study and were given the opportunity to request psychiatric support at any point. Prior to psilocybin dosing sessions, each participant had a preparation session with a psychiatrist. These sessions involved discussing the participant’s own personal history, the psychological effects of psilocybin and simulation of the dosing session.

The patients received Home Office-approved psilocybin capsules during two dosing sessions seven days apart.

The psilocybin was administered to the participants at a research facility and participants were monitored by at least two members of clinical staff at all times during the psilocybin administration sessions. There was a follow-up with patients the next day, and then one, two, three and five weeks after the second dosing session.

Blood pressure, heart rate and the self-reported intensity of the effects of psilocybin were monitored before and continuously during each dosing session. No serious unexpected side effects were reported during the study. All participants reported temporary anxiety before and during initial drug administration.

All patients showed some decrease in symptoms of depression for at least three weeks. Seven of them continued to show a positive response three months after the treatment, with five remaining in remission after three months.

There are some limitations to this study, in addition to the small sample size. Previous studies have shown that using psychedelics can leave one open to suggestion, which could have been part of the positive outcomes seen here. It was also not possible to control for the psychological support received throughout this study.

Lead author, Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, Imperial College London, said: “Psychedelic drugs have potent psychological effects and are only given in our research when appropriate safeguards are in place, such as careful screening and professional therapeutic support. I wouldn't want members of the public thinking they can treat their own depressions by picking their own magic mushrooms. That kind of approach could be risky.”

Senior author, Professor David Nutt, Imperial College London, said: “It is important that academic research groups try to develop possible new treatments for depression as the pharmaceutical industry is pulling out of this field‎. Our study has shown psilocybin is safe and fast acting so may, if administered carefully, have value for these patients.”

Dr Louise Jones, head of translational research at the MRC, said: “We currently don’t have effective treatments for some people’s depression so we need to know more about how drugs such as psilocybin could be used for patient benefit. This study showed that, with appropriate safeguards, psilocybin can be safely administered to some patients with treatment-resistant depression. It will now be important to undertake studies that evaluate its role as a potential treatment.”

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Steve Jobs:

"Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life," Jobs said. "LSD shows you that there's another side to the coin, and you can't remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important — creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could."

Bill Gates (LSD),

This guy isn’t exactly an inventor, but certainly one of the most important entrepreneurs in the personal computer revolution. In an interview with Playboy, Gates has admitted using LSD in his “errant youth”.

Francis Crick — LSD

The legendary molecular biologist Francis Crick had told his Cambridge fellow, Dick Kemp, that he surprisingly had “perceived the double-helix shape while on LSD.”

John C. Lilly — LSD, Ketamine

Neurocientist John Cunningham Lilly was the most important figure in the field of electronic brain stimulation. He extensively experimented with LSD and ketamine.

Kary Mullis — LSD

Kary Banks Mullis was an American biochemist who won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for making valuable improvements to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Mullies once told California Monthly that he “took plenty of LSD”.

Ralph Abraham – LSD/ Other

Ralph Abraham is a prominent American mathematician. In an interview with GQ magazine, Abraham discussed how psychedelic insights had helped influence his mathematical theories. He took LSD and other psychedelic drugs.

Richard Feynman — LSD, Marijuana, Ketamine

One of the greatest theoretical physicists in history, Richard Feynman briefly experimented with LSD, marijuana and ketamine.

Timothy Leary – LSD/ Other

As we have mentioned above, Timothy Leary, remains of the most popular consumers and advocates of LSD. He also frequently used mushrooms.

https://www.famousscientists.org/14-famous-scientists-inventors-who-experimented-with-drugs/

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Psychedelic therapy

Psychedelic therapy refers to therapeutic practices involving the use of psychedelic drugs, particularly serotonergic psychedelics such as LSD, psilocybin, DMT, MDMA, mescaline, and 2C-B, primarily to assist psychotherapy. As an alternative to synonyms such as "hallucinogen", "entheogen", "psychotomimetic" and other functionally constructed names, the use of the term psychedelic ("mind-manifesting") emphasizes that those who use these drugs as part of a therapeutic practice believe these drugs can facilitate beneficial exploration of the psyche. In contrast to conventional psychiatric medication which is taken by the patient regularly or as-needed, in psychedelic therapy, patients remain in an extended psychotherapy session during the acute activity of the drug and spend the night at the facility. In the sessions with the drug, therapists are nondirective and support the patient in exploring their inner experience. Patients participate in psychotherapy before the drug psychotherapy sessions to prepare them and after the drug psychotherapy to help them integrate their experiences with the drug.[1]

According to one Canadian study conducted in the early years of the 1960s, the greatest interest to the psychiatrist was the fact that LSD allowed for the "illusional perception ('reperception') of the patient's original family figures (e.g. father, mother, parent surrogates and helpers, older siblings, grandparents and the like)", typically experienced as distortions of the psychiatrist's face, body or activity. In technical terms, this was called "perceptualizing the transference".[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_therapy#Methods

Ronald A. Sandison

Ronald Arthur Sandison (1 April 1916 – 18 June 2010) was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who was a well-known early pioneer in Britain of the clinical use of LSD in psychiatry. Although he later abandoned use of the drug in treatments, he remained convinced of its benefits to the end of his life.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_A._Sandison

Humphry Osmond

Humphry Fortescue Osmond (1 July 1917 – 6 February 2004) was an English psychiatrist known for inventing the word psychedelic and for his research into interesting and useful applications for psychedelic drugs. Osmond also explored aspects of the psychology of social environments, in particular how they influenced welfare or recovery in mental institutions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphry_Osmond

Socio-architecture

Socio-architecture is a phrase coined by psychologist Humphry Osmond and Canadian architect Kyo Izumi as part of their research for the best architectural form for Osmond's Weyburn Mental Hospital in 1951.

Osmond is best known for his research into the treatment of schizophrenia, and on the other hand the facilitation of mystical experiences, with psychedelic drugs,[1] but his Weyburn hospital became a design research lab to examine the functional aspects of architecture and its impact on the mentally ill. Osmond based his ideas of hospital design on the species-habitat work of German zoologist Heini Hediger, and on the research acid trips he took with Izumi.

Osmond also coined the terms "sociopetal" and "sociofugal"[2] to describe seating arrangement that encouraged or discouraged social interaction. His 1957 article “Function as the Basis of Psychiatric Ward Design”[3] is considered a minor classic. His work regarding architecture was continued by his colleague Robert Sommer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socio-architecture

Betty Eisner

Betty Grover Eisner (September 29, 1915 – July 1, 2004) was an American psychologist known for pioneering the use of LSD and other psychedelic drugs as adjuncts to psychotherapy.

Hanscarl Leuner

Hanscarl Leuner (born 1919 in Bautzen; died 1996 in Göttingen) was a German psychiatrist.

His father was a leatherware factory owner. He studium of medicine at Frankfurt University and Marburg University (1939–1946) was interrupted by his military service in World War II.

He was a pioneer in using psychoactive drugs for therapy in Germany. He invented the so-called Psycholytic Therapy (German: Psycholytische Therapie) which is a combination of psychodynamic psychotherapy with some light use of hallucinogens to enhance access to preconscious contents. After the general prohibition of hallucinogens in most countries he developed Guided Affective Imagery (also known as: KIP, Katathym-imaginative Psychotherapy, Katathym-Psychotherapy, guided mental imagery, catathymic influences).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanscarl_Leuner

Guided imagery

Guided imagery is a mind-body intervention by which a trained practitioner or teacher helps a participant or patient to evoke and generate mental images[1] that simulate or re-create the sensory perception[2] of sights,[3][4] sounds,[5] tastes,[6] smells,[7] movements,[8] and images associated with touch, such as texture, temperature, and pressure,[9] as well as imaginative or mental content that the participant or patient experiences as defying conventional sensory categories,[10] and that may precipitate strong emotions or feelings[11][12][13] in the absence of the stimuli to which correlating sensory receptors are receptive.[14][15]

The practitioner or teacher may facilitate this process in person to an individual or a group. Alternatively, the participant or patient may follow guidance provided by a sound recording, video, or audiovisual media comprising spoken instruction that may be accompanied by music or sound

wo ways of generating mental imagery[edit]

There are two fundamental ways by which mental imagery is generated: voluntary and involuntary.

The involuntary and spontaneous generation of mental images is integral to ordinary sensory perception, and cognition, and occurs without volitional intent. Meanwhile, many different aspects of everyday problem solving, scientific reasoning, and creative activity involve the volitional and deliberate generation of mental images.[23][24][25][26][27]

Involuntary[edit]

The generation of involuntary mental imagery is created directly from present sensory stimulation and perceptual information, such as when someone sees an object, creates mental images of it, and maintains this imagery as they look away or close their eyes; or when someone hears a noise and maintains an auditory image of it, after the sound ceases or is no longer perceptible.

Voluntary[edit]

Voluntary mental imagery may resemble previous sensory perception and experience, recalled from memory; or the images may be entirely novel and the product of fantasy.[28][29]

Technique[edit]

The term guided imagery denotes the technique used in the second (voluntary) instance, by which images are recalled from long-term or short-term memory, or created from fantasy, or a combination of both, in response to guidance, instruction, or supervision. Guided imagery is therefore the assisted simulation or re-creation of perceptual experience across sensory modalities.[30][31]

Posttraumatic stress disorder[edit]

Posttraumatic stress disorder often proceeds from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event involving death, serious injury, or significant threat to others or oneself;[78] and disturbing intrusive images, often described by the patient as 'flashbacks', are a common symptom of this condition across demographics of age, gender, and the nature of the precipitating traumatic event.[79][80][81] This unbidden mental imagery is often highly vivid, and provokes memories of the original trauma, accompanied by heightened emotions or feelings and the subjective experience of danger and threat to safety in the present "here and now".[82][83][84]

Social anxiety[edit]

Individuals with social anxiety have a higher than normal tendency to fear situations that involve public attention, such as speaking to an audience or being interviewed, meeting people with whom they are unfamiliar, and attending events of an unpredictable nature.[85]

As with posttraumatic stress disorder, vivid mental imagery is a common experience for those with social anxiety, and often comprises images that revive and replay a previously experienced stressful, intimidating or harrowing event that precipitated negative feelings, such as embarrassment, shame, or awkwardness.[86][87] Thereby, mental imagery contributes to the maintenance and persistence of social anxiety, as it does with posttraumatic stress disorder.[88][89]

In particular, the mental imagery commonly described by those suffering from social anxiety often comprises what cognitive psychologists describe as an "observer perspective". This consists of an image of themselves, as though from an observing person's perspective, in which those suffering from social anxiety perceive themselves negatively, as if from that observing person's point of view.[90][91]

Such imagery is also common among those suffering from other types of anxiety, who often have depleted ability to generate neutral, positive, or pleasant imagery.[92][93][94][95][96][97][excessive citations]

Depression[edit]

The capacity to evoke pleasant and positively affirming imagery, either voluntarily or involuntarily, may be a critical requisite for precipitating and sustaining positive moods or feelings and optimism; and this ability is often impaired in those suffering from depression.[98]Depression consists of emotional distress and cognitive impairment that may include feelings of hopelessness, pervasive sadness, pessimism, lack of motivation, social withdrawal, difficulty in concentrating on mental or physical tasks, and disrupted sleep.[99] Whilst depression is frequently associated with negative rumination of verbal thought patterns manifested as unspoken inner speech,[100] ninety percent of depressed patients reporting distressing intrusive mental imagery that often simulates and recollect previous negative experiences,[101][102] and which the depressed person often interprets in a way that intensifies feelings of despair and hopelessness.[103][104]

In addition, people suffering from depression have difficulty in evoking prospective imagery indicative of a positive future.[105][106][107][108][109][110][111][excessive citations]

The prospective mental imagery experienced by depressed persons when at their most despairing commonly includes vivid and graphic images related to suicide, which some psychologists and psychiatrists refer to as "flash-forwards".[112][113]

Bipolar disorder[edit]

Bipolar disorder is characterized by manic episodes interspersed with periods of depression;[114] 90% of patients experience comorbid anxiety disorder at some stage;[115] and there is a significant prevalence of suicide amongst sufferers.[116][117]

Prospective mental imagery indicative of hyperactivity or mania and hopelessness contributes to the manic and depressive episodes respectively in bipolar disorder.[118][119][120][121][122][123][124][excessive citations]

Principles[edit]

The therapeutic use of guided imagery, as part of a multimodal treatment plan incorporating other suitable methods, such as guided meditation, receptive music therapy, and relaxation techniques, as well as physical medicine and rehabilitation, and psychotherapy, aims to educate the patient in altering their mental imagery, replacing images that compound pain, recollect and reconstruct distressing events, intensify feelings of hopelessness, or reaffirm debilitation, with those that emphasize physical comfort, functional capacity, mental equanimity, and optimism.

Whether the guided imagery is provided in person by a facilitator, or delivered via media, the verbal instruction consists of words, often pre-scripted, intended to direct the participant's attention to imagined visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory or olfactory sensations that precipitate a positive psychologic and physiologic response that incorporates increased mental and physical relaxation and decreased mental and physical stress.

Guided imagery is one of the means by which therapists, teachers, or practitioners seek to achieve this outcome, and involves encouraging patients or participants to imagine alternative perspectives, thoughts, and behaviors, mentally rehearsing strategies that they may subsequently actualize, thereby developing increased coping skills and ability.[125]

Stages[edit]

According to the computational theory of imagery,[126][127][128] which is derived from experimental psychology, guided imagery comprises four phases:[129][130][131][132][133][134][135][excessive citations]

1. Image generation

2. Image maintenance

3. Image inspection

4. Image transformation

Image generation[edit]

Image generation involves generating mental imagery, either directly from sensory data and perceptual experience, or from memory, or from fantasy.[136][137][138][139][140][141][142][143][144][145][146][excessive citations]

Image maintenance[edit]

Image maintenance involves the volitional sustaining or maintaining of imagery, without which, a mental image is subject to rapid decay with an average duration of only 250ms.[147] This is because volitionally created mental images usually fade rapidly once generated in order to avoid disrupting or confusing the process of ordinary sensory perception.[148][149][150]

The natural brief duration of mental imagery means that the active maintenance stage of guided imagery, which is necessary for the subsequent stages of inspection and transformation, requires cognitive concentration of attention by the participant. This concentrative attentional ability can be improved with the practice of mental exercises, including those derived from guided meditation and supervised meditative praxis.[151][152][153] Even with such practice, some people can struggle to maintain a mental image "clearly in mind" for more than a few seconds;[154][155][156] not only for imagery created through fantasy[157] but also for mental images generated from both long-term memory[158] and short-term memory.[159]

In addition, while the majority of the research literature has tended to focus on the maintenance of visual mental images, imagery in other sensory modalities also necessitates a volitional maintenance process in order for further inspection or transformation to be possible.[160]

The requisite for practice in sustaining attentional control, such that attention remains focused on maintaining generated imagery, is one of the reasons that guided meditation, which supports such concentration, is often integrated into the provision of guided imagery as part of the intervention. Guided meditation assists participants in extending the duration for which generated mental images are maintained, providing time to inspect the imagery, and proceed to the final transformation stage of guided imagery.[161][162]

Image inspection[edit]

Once generated and maintained, a mental image can be inspected to provide the basis for interpretation, and transformation.[163] For visual imagery, inspection often involves a scanning process, by which the participant directs attention across and around an image, simulating shifts in perceptual perspective.[164][165][166][167][168][169]

Inspection processes can be applied both to imagery created spontaneously, and to imagery generated in response to scripted or impromptu verbal descriptions provided by the facilitator.[170][171][172]

Image transformation[edit]

Finally, with the assistance of verbal instruction from the guided imagery practitioner or teacher, the participant transforms, modifies, or alters the content of generated mental imagery, in such a way as to substitute images that provoke negative feelings, are indicative of suffering, or that reaffirm disability or debilitation for those that elicit positive emotion, and are suggestive of resourcefulness, ability to cope, and an increased degree of mental and physical capacity.[173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184][excessive citations]

This process shares principles with those that inform the clinical psychology techniques of "imagery restructuring" or "imagery re-scripting" as used in cognitive behavioral therapy.[185][186][187]

While the majority of research findings on image transformation relate to visual mental imagery, there is evidence to support transformations in other sensory modalities such as auditory imagery.[188] and haptic imagery.[189]

Outcome of image generation, maintenance, inspection, and transformation[edit]

Through this technique, a patient is assisted in reducing the tendency to evoke images indicative of the distressing, painful, or debilitative nature of a condition, and learns instead to evoke mental imagery of their identity, body, and circumstances that emphasizes the capacity for autonomy and self-determination, positive proactive activity, and the ability to cope, whilst managing their condition.

As a result, symptoms become less incapacitating, pain is to some degree decreased, while coping skills increase.[190][191][192][193]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guided_imagery

WHAT ARE MAGIC MUSHROOMS?

OVERVIEW:

Magic Mushrooms are an entheogenic substance from the genuses psilocybe, panaeolus, and copelandia.

There are dozens of specific types of magic mushrooms but they all share one commonality: they all include the psychoactive compounds psilocybin and psilocin.

The effects of ingesting magic mushrooms is similar to LSD. However, users report a more ‘natural, holistic’ feeling when on magic mushrooms. They also report a shorter total trip time.

BRIEF HISTORY:

In the early 1950s, Gordon Wasson, at that time Vice President of J.P. Morgan discovered the magic mushroom in a Mazatec community in Oaxaca, Mexico. He wrote an article entitled, “Seeking the Magic Mushroom,” published in Life Magazine in 1957 about his experience in taking the magic mushroom with a local shaman, Maria Sabina.

This article brought knowledge of the existence of the magic mushroom to Westerners for the first time. In fact, this article was one of the first ‘initiators’ of the countercultural revolution of the 1960s.

TODAY:

In today’s generation, small amounts of magic mushrooms are slowly becoming recognized for the immense benefits, especially in aiding smoking cessation, depression, and ADHD.

Check Out Our Ultimate Guide to Magic Mushrooms

TOXICOLOGY OF PSILOCYBIN

Psilocybin is well-tolerated among healthy individuals. Hormone levels, liver function and toxicity, and blood sugar all appear to be unaffected by mushroom use. Complications that have been reported appear to arise in vulnerable individuals under uncontrolled conditions and at high doses. Adverse effects, like “bad trips”, can almost always be managed with interpersonal support and without pharmaceutical intervention.

TRIPPING ON PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS: WHAT TO EXPECT

PREPARING FOR A TRIP ON MAGIC MUSHROOMS

Set and setting are especially important considerations to make prior to a magic mushroom trip. It is recommended that you follow the guidelines in Dr. James Fadiman’s book, The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide, especially if it will be your first time tripping. This includes things like having a “guide” that you trust and is familiar with the range of reactions people have while tripping, set aside enough time in a location where you feel comfortable, and getting into a stable and calm state of mind prior to your magic mushroom experience.

Psilocybin mushrooms can be ingested in their whole form. They’re typically dried and most everyone agrees they don’t taste good. An alternatively method is to make a tea with the mushrooms. You can chop up the mushrooms and, for about 20 minutes, boil them in water which you then drink. The mushrooms will still have some active psilocybin, so you can eat those as well. Some people like to put them in peanut butter or Nutella to mask the taste.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON A MAGIC MUSHROOM TRIP

The canonical effects of magic mushrooms are typically felt about 1 to 1.5 hours after ingesting a dose. A typical trip on a moderate dose of psilocybin mushrooms (12-25 mg) includes increased intensity of emotional experiences, increased introspection and altered psychological functioning in the form of “hypnagogic experiences” — that is, a sort of transitory state between wakefulness and sleep. It is commonly described as a waking dream state, and brain imaging studies show that a mushroom trip is neurologically similar to dreaming.

Perceptual changes such as illusions, synaesthesia (mixing sensory modalities; e.g., hearing colors, tasting sounds), emotional changes, and a distorted sense of time are all characteristic of a mushroom trip as well. These effects are typically felt around 1 to 1.5 hours after orally ingesting a psilocybin mushroom dose.

You’ll begin to notice a change in your perception of the world around you. You may experiences changes in your visual perception such as halos around lights and objects and geometric patterns when your eyes are closed. Your thoughts and emotions will also start to change. It’s not uncommon to have a sense of openness to thoughts and feelings you tend to avoid in your everyday life. A sense of wonder and delight with the world around you, the people in your life, and your thoughts is also quite common, along with a sense of peace and connection with the world.

Strong emotions are often experienced, good and bad. It’s recommended that you don’t resist these emotions in either direction, but rather let them work their own course. Many who do report strong negative emotions also report a simultaneous sense of calm acceptance and detachment from them, especially if they remind themselves that the emotions are temporary.

Physical side effects can vary from individual to individual and include changes in heart rate (up or down), changes in blood pressure (up or down), nausea, increased tendon reflexes, tremors, dilated pupils, restlessness or arousal, and troubles with coordinated movement.

One study also found that psilocybin can cause headaches in healthy individuals that can last for up to a day. None of the subjects reported severe headaches, however, and psilocybin is actually used by some to treat a clinical condition called cluster headaches (see therapeutic uses section below).

BAD TRIPS

Anyone curious about trying magic mushrooms for the first time will inevitably worry some point about having a “bad trip” — dysphoric hallucinations, uncontrollable paranoia, and just generally “freaking the fuck out” are usually some the most common worries. To be sure, bad trip happens, but there are a lot of things you can do to greatly reduce the likelihood of a bad trip happening in the first place.

For example, special attention should be paid to set and setting, as mentioned above, but there are a few other personal variables you should consider before embarking on a mushroom trip.

A 2012 study on 261 people given psilocybin found that the following factors were related to having a “good trip”:

• Being high on the scale for the personality trait of absorption; that is, generally being able to be absorbed in your mental imagery

• Being in an emotionally excitable and active state immediately before you take the drug

• Having experienced few psychological problems in past recent weeks

Conversely, they found that the following factors were related to “bad trips”:

• Being high in emotional excitability

• Returning to a stage of helpless infancy

• Being in an experimental setting involving positron emission tomography (PET) scanning — what the fuck? Yeah, I don’t know. I guess people freak out when they have to go into that machine while tripping.

PSILOCYBIN IN THE TREATMENT OF CLUSTER HEADACHES

Cluster headaches are often described as the most painful and disruptive type of headache to have. They are more intense than migraine headaches, but they typically don’t last as long. Attacks at night are often more painful and intense than daytime cluster headache attacks, but both obviously interfere in a person’s life significantly.

To date, no systematic studies have been published that describe the treatment potential of psilocybin for headaches, but myriad anecdotal reports have caught the attention of the medical community. In the mid-2000s, medical professionals began taking notice of psilocybin and LSD as possible treatments for cluster headaches after some of their patients reported remission of their condition following recreational psychedelic use (and subsequent self-medication).

Here is just small sample of the anecdotal reports on psilocybin’s effects as a treatment for cluster headaches:

• http://reset.me/personal-story/psilocybin-mushrooms-stopped-cluster-headaches/

• http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/05/longtime-sufferers-of-cluster-headaches-find-relief-in-psychedelics.html

• https://www.erowid.org/plants/mushrooms/mushrooms_medical1.shtml

• https://clusterbusters.org/treatment-options-busting/the-psilocybin-mushroom/

• http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/12/psychedelic-mushrooms-cured-my-cluster-headaches.html

• http://entheology.com/news-articles/low-dose-psilocybin-brings-relief-to-cluster-headache-sufferers/

PSILOCYBIN IN THE TREATMENT OF MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

Anecdotal evidence has pointed towards psilocybin (and other psychedelics) as a treatment for mood disorders like depression and anxiety. Dr. James Fadiman has been collecting such anecdotes for several years now and the overwhelming majority of them have been positive.

Recently, the federal government has allowed some very small, highly controlled studies to be conducted on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin on mood disorders. In 2011, a small pilot study was conducted to test the effects of psilocybin on depression and end-of-life anxiety in terminal cancer patients. Patients in this study had advanced-stage cancer and a clinical diagnosis of acute stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety disorder due to cancer, or adjustment disorder with anxiety. They were given 0.2 mg/kg of psilocybin (a moderate dose of about 10 mg to 20 mg, depending on the person’s weight) or niacin in a double-blind, randomized control trial. The researcher observed significant decreases after psilocybin treatment on measures of depression and anxiety up to 6 months after the trial.

Psilocybin treatment has also been shown to successfully reduce symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in a small study of patients who didn’t respond to conventional serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) drug therapy. In this study, all patients showed a reduction in OCD symptoms between a 23% and 100%.

PSILOCYBIN IN THE TREATMENT OF ADDICTION

The so-called classic hallucinogens were used in preclinical trials to treat addiction in the 1950s and 60s with promising results, but again, once many of these psychedelics were made illegal in the US and most of Europe, research into the use of them in a therapeutic context came virtually to a halt. But recent years have seen a resurgence in using psilocybin and other psychedelics (namely, ibogaine and sometimes LSD) as therapeutic tools to treat addiction.

Psilocybin as part of an assisted treatment plan has shown promise in treating alcoholism in non-clinical trials in a recent study from 2015. Significant reductions in drinking and abstinence from drinking were reported after psilocybin administration as part of a treatment program.

Psilocybin also appears to be potential tool in helping people quit smoking tobacco. In a recent trial, 2 to 3 treatment sessions with psilocybin as part of a larger cognitive-behavioral therapy program for smoking cessation had an 80% success rate with smoking cessation in study participants (12 out of 15 subjects). By comparison, conventional smoking cessation method success rates — gum, patches, cold turkey, etc. — have about a 35% success rate.

Interestingly, in another smoking cessation study, quitting success rates were significantly correlated with intensity measures of mystical experience and ratings of personal meaning and spiritual significance during psilocybin trip sessions.

https://thethirdwave.co/psychedelics/

WHAT IS IBOGAINE?

OVERVIEW:

Ibogaine comes from the Iboga plant, a shrub that grows in West Africa, most notably Gabon. It is a naturally occurring psychoactive substance, often used to help treat drug addiction, specifically opioid addictions.

BRIEF HISTORY:

In 1864, the first description of Iboga was published by the Western world – but it wasn’t until 1901 that Ibogaine was crystallized from the Iboga root. Before being used to treat opioid dependence, Ibogaine was sold in pill form under the name of ‘Lambarene’ in France to help with fatigue, depression, and recovery from infectious disease.

In 1962, Howard Lotsof began administering Ibogaine to a total of 19 individuals, including 7 with opioid dependence. All 7 reported a blunting of the acute withdrawal symptoms normally associated with opiate withdrawal.

However, because of its psychedelic nature, Ibogaine was declared a Schedule 1 substance in the late 1960s. Ever since, it has been illegal to obtain and use in the United States.

But when something is as effective as Ibogaine in treating a normally harrowing withdrawal period, it will be used. For that reason, alternative treatment centers began popping up around the world, including in places like Mexico and Brazil.

TODAY:

In the past twenty years, Ibogaine has become increasingly accepted as an effective treatment for opioid addiction. It is considered, by many, to be the most intense psychedelic experience, as the onset can last as long as 24 hours. Unfortunately, the Iboga plant is in grave danger of going extinct due to over-cultivation.

Currently, the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance (GITA) leads the way for advocacy and ibogaine-therapy related resources.

WHAT IS LSD?

OVERVIEW:

LSD, or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, is a psychedelic drug of the ergoline family. It is best known for its use during the counter-culture of the 1960s and has been demonized by the political establishment as a result.

In 1938, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss scientist, synthesized LSD in his laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland. He discovered its hallucinogenic effects in 1943.

BRIEF HISTORY:

During the 1950s and 1960s, LSD was used in a wide range of psychotherapeutic studies. It proved tremendously helpful in dealing with issues like alcoholism, autism, creative problem solving, and general psychotherapy.

But because of figures like Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey, LSD became a widely abused drug, and, thus, was prohibited by the federal government in 1968.

(Read more about the history of LSD)

With the recent resurgence in popularity of psychedelics, LSD is being re-examined as a substance with positive potential.

Many users claim taking LSD was a transformative experience because of the perspective-shifting understandings while under the influence.

THE GOOD AND BAD:

One of our goals is to help you understand both the pros and cons of LSD use. While LSD can be a tremendous force for positive change, it is critical to use it in a responsible manner. Most experts recommend a low to moderate dose for the first time.

It is also critically important to pay attention to set and setting (your mindset and the environment in which you trip) when taking any psychedelic.

WHAT IS DMT?

OVERVIEW:

DMT – short for N,N-Dimethyltryptamine – is a naturally occurring chemical found in all living organisms. When extracted from certain plant sources, the crystallized form is combined with some sort of herb (cannabis or otherwise) and smoked. The effect is instantaneous.

DMT is colloquially called the ‘Businessman’s Trip’ because of its short duration – often as short as 10 minutes. Those who smoke DMT in its crystallized form report comparatively odd experiences relative to the classic psychedelics, including ‘blasting off’ into white space, and having contact with alien-like entities.

BRIEF HISTORY:

Nick Sand first synthesized DMT freebase (the smokable form of DMT) in the 1960s. Before the discovery of freebase DMT, it could only be injected, an onerous process. By discovering freebase DMT, Sand opened the doors for accessibility to this previously mysterious chemical.

DMT, like LSD and Psilocybin, was declared a Schedule 1 drug in the 1960s.

TODAY:

Along with many other classic psychedelics in this Third Wave of Psychedelic Use, smokable DMT has seen a resurgence in interest, especially in Australia. According to a study in 2013, DMT has the largest amount of new users, compared to other psychedelics. Research estimates suggest that 8.9% of people have tried DMT at some point in their life.

At the moment, the two best resources to learn more about DMT are Rick Strassman’s book: DMT: The Spirit Molecule and a documentary by the same name.

WHAT IS AYAHUASCA?

OVERVIEW:

Ayahuasca has caught the attention of many Westerners over the past years for its abilities to heal many of the mental health ailments brought on by living in a materialist-driven, superficial culture.

Indigenous to the Amazonian region in South America, Ayahuasca is an entheogenic blend made of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf.

It has been traditionally used in spiritual ceremonies by indigenous shamans in the Amazon. Only in the past 15-20 years has it become well-known to Westerners, who now participate in both above-the-ground ceremonies (through the UDV church) and sub-culture ceremonies (most notably in the USA, where the UDV still has not obtained the right to administer ayahuasca in a traditional ceremony).

BRIEF HISTORY:

The history of Ayahuasca is as old as the Amazon itself. However, it attained its current level of celebrity from four influential cultural figures: Richard Evans Schultes, William Burroughs, and the McKenna brothers.

Burroughs wrote about ayahuasca in the Yage Letters, published in the late 1950s; the McKenna brothers wrote extensively about ayahuasca in True Hallucinations, published in the 1980s.

Both were informed by Richard Evans Schultes, considered by many to be the father of modern ethnobotany, for his study of indigenous people’s uses of entheogenic plants, including ayahuasca.

TODAY:

Ayahuasca is the most legitimate psychedelic used today, largely due to its legal protection in both the Amazonian countries, and in many Western countries (because of the religious protections of the UDV)

Although DMT – the active psychedelic in Ayahuasca – is considered a Schedule 1 drug (hilarious because DMT exists in every living thing on Earth), when consumed in the ayahuasca brew, it is considered to be a vessel to a higher spiritual calling.

Recent research has also proven ayahuasca to help with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and many other Western-model mental ailments.

WHAT IS MDMA?

DEFINITION:

MDMA, short for Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, is a psychoactive substance first invented in 1912. Unlike all of the above substances, MDMA is not a traditional psychedelic. It does not cause any typical psychedelic effects. Instead, it is an enactogen, which are substances that produce experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, and emotional openness.

It is also commonly referred to as Ecstasy, though this is when pure MDMA is pressed with another type of substance, often an upper.

HUISHOUDELIJK ZETTING KOMT VAAK VOOR

KLEURGEBRUIK

2 OF 3 LEGE PLEKKEN, DIT VULLEN MET JE EIGEN (VAN DE PATIENT) HUISELIJK PRODUCTEN

ZOEK PER THERAPY OP WAT DE PATIENTEN EEN PRETTIGE OMGEVING VINDEN.

VERCHILLENDE LOCATIES IN 1 GEBOUW DUS BOS, STAD OCEAAN

Psychedelic Society of the Netherlands

In this new era of psychedelic practice and in recognition of current scientific research providing evidence for the benefits of these substances - backed up by our own personal explorations - we have established the Psychedelic Society of the Netherlands as a meeting place for people interested in learning more about psychedelics. We advocate for safe, responsible and informed use of psychedelics as a means for exploring non-ordinary states of consciousness, for therapeutic and developmental purposes. The Society organizes events related to the psychedelic experience. These are lectures, movie screenings, music events, art classes, and discussion groups. We aim for a holistic approach, discussing the social, cultural, therapeutic and scientific aspects of the use of psychedelics. We provide opportunities for open discussions with experts in the field including writers, scientists, therapists and people with extensive personal experience. We are actively collaborating with other Psychedelic Societies around the world to spread good news, safe practices, share speakers and reliable information about these amazing evolutionary substances.

https://www.facebook.com/events/100952963729372/

Useful information websites:

http://tim.blog/2015/09/14/are-psychedelic-drugs-the-next-medical-breakthrough/

http://www.maps.org/

https://www.mrc.ac.uk/news/browse/psilocybin-for-treatment-resistant-depression/

---

1.Choose a location very deliberately.

“…trip out where you feel open, free, comfortable, protected and empowered. If you don’t know that maybe you shouldn’t be tripping.” — @phred

2.Let your breath be your anchor.

“If your experience gets intense or scary, remember: you can always go back to focusing on your breath… For me it is the ultimate anchor to stay centered, even during the darkest phases.” — @bbolint

3.“Play chill music.”

— @bashfulkoala

“Maybe most important, MUSIC!! Play some music that you absolutely love. Music can definitely help keep your trip going good. Not to mention, it sounds absolutely amazing while tripping.” — @bbolint4

“Try closing eyes when listening to your music of choice and see how deep/lost you can get into it it really is amazing how much more you can appreciate music when ignoring all your other senses” — @bbolint0

4.“Have zero obligations all day and preferably the next day as well.”

— @bashfulkoala

5.“Trip only with people you love and who completely accept you.”

— @bashfulkoala

6.Set intentions.

“You can just party, sure, but you could also use psychedelics for exploration. What part of you would you like to explore this time?” — @bbolint1

7.Silence, darkness, and solitude.

“Silence, darkness and solitude can also be your friends, if you are up to it. Sometimes the greatest experiences are the ones you are afraid of facing.” — @bbolint1

“I love to trip alone because for me it is a great way to overcome my shadows with noone there to help me but me…” — @bbolint

[Note: Being completely alone isn’t recommended unless you have had significant experience with psychedelics.]

8.Go barefoot for a while.

“At some point, stand on bare earth in your bare feet. You should also walk around a bit but if you’re not used to walking in bare feet it might surprise you, so stand for a while first. It sounds like nonsense but it’s incredible, you’ll just have to try it.” — @bbolint4

9.Don’t think too much.

“It’s a bit counter intuitive but don’t think too much. Psychedelics are great for personal growth but it’s easy to get into thought loops. Staying present and aware is when the magic really starts to come out” — @bbolint5

10.Get out in nature.

“Hiking is preferable! Have an ultimate destination in mind (Think: scenic views). Climbing a mountain is a very powerful experience. Strongly encourage you to lose yourself in nature!” — @bbolint6

“… get outside! Best times for me have been at the beach and in the forest.” — @Corey-Emery

“Experience the vibrations and language of nature. Listen. Participate. Feel the connection.” — @bbolint7

11.Have a safety blanket.

“… a safety blanket always makes me so comfortable. I often have a sweater or something to hold onto and put on if I get cold or sit on if I go outside in the grass.” — @bbolint0

12.“Dress comfortably.”

— @bbolint0

13.Have water handy.

— @bbolint0

“Always, always, always have water handy. I dont know if it is a mental thing or what, but whenever a trip starts to get too crazy, water always helps me. I tend to have intense come ups, when my body/ mind is adjusting to the substance and water helps a ton.” — @bbolint4

14.“Go for walks.”

— @bashfulkoala

15.“Meditate beforehand.”

— @bashfulkoala

16.“Don’t be hungover.”

— @bashfulkoala

17.Bring healthy snacks.

— @bbolint0

“Make sure to have completely natural, vegetarian food available…” — @morty1999

18.Take deep breaths beforehand.

— @bbolint0

19.“Remember that you have control over your mindset.”

— @bbolint0

20.“Trust the process.”

— @bbolint6

21.“You’ll get the experience you need, not the one you want.”

— @bbolint7

22.Bring a journal and pens.

“I always like to keep a journal and a few pens with me while I trip.” — @Corey-Emery

“It’s also fun to have a notebook nearby – in my experiences, I have random epiphanies about the simplest things in life that I never realized before, and they end up changing virtually everything in my life for the better. I’m grateful I write them down because I’m not sure I’d remember them otherwise :)” — @morty1999

23.Prepare a special playlist.

“Having a comfortable playlist on my phone with headphones ready is always a safety/comfort device for myself.” — @Corey-Emery

24.“Everything is going to be okay.”

“Remember that you took a drug, wanted to do so, and are now along for the ride.” — @bashfulkoala

25.“If things start to get dark, sing a song or hug a friend.”

— @bashfulkoala

26.Smoke cannabis.

“This one probably isn’t for everyone, but cannabis has helped me to chill out a few times when trips have gotten a bit intense.” — @bashfulkoala

“I am not sure if I would recommend smoking weed. I have seen it go both ways. Either helping the trip out, or taking it to the next level of intensity. It just depends on the individual” — @bbolint4

[Know thyself on this one. If cannabis agrees with you and calms you typically, it might be a good idea to have some with you.]

27.“Enjoy the trip!”

— @Corey-Emery

28.Every bad trip has a lesson.

“I gotta say one of the most important to me is every bad trip has a lesson. If you find yourself lost, just relax.. clear your head, and you’ll probably just come to realize what you just learned because it’s always pretty eye opening and oddly comforting.” — @bbolint8

29.Go with the flow. Surrender to whatever is happening.

— @bashfulkoala

30.Build a campfire.

“… if you can build a campfire and sit next to it, it is amazing how warming and comforting the presence of the fire can be, holding you in a safe environment, being the ‘safe space’ during your trip.” — @bbolint

31.“Balance yourself out.”

“If there are things stressing you out in your life at the moment, it probably isn’t best to trip unless you want to deal with those stressors head on because they will come up. Take some time, meditate, clear your mind, uplift yourself, raise your vibration. Feel good before you trip.” — @bbolint4

32.Different psychedelics in different settings.

“Know the type of setting you will be in for the particular psych you will be doing. This is where I see differences in psychedelics. On shrooms, DMT, etc, i believe you should be somewhere peaceful, comfortable, and controlled. You don’t want to be at a festival on shrooms. You want to be by yourself or around trusted people, who are non-judgmental and familiar. However, on acid, you need to know your limits. For example, I like to do acid at festivals, dance and party. Or I could do acid around friends in a more chill setting. I tend to want to explore a bit more and interact on acid, whereas with mushrooms, that could be too overwhelming.” — @bbolint4

33.If things get too intense…

“If things get too intense during the trip, some tips I have are: – to take some time and focus on your breath. That will always ground you out. – connect with nature. Seriously, if you are outside, just lay down in the grass and breathe. I have found that this also balances you out and brings you back. – and water.” — @bbolint4

34.Look at art or read a poem.

“Have you ever tried looking at art while tripping, btw? Or read a nice poem? I can’t read on high doses, but art is always great.” — @bbolint1

35.Drink coffee when you’re coming down.

“I always find coffee to be the most nourishing thing ever once I start to come down.” — @morty1999

36.Spend time with your pets.

“If you have pets, be sure they’re nearby, because you’ll probably connect with them like never before.” — @morty1999

37.Embrace any discomfort.

“Don’t fight those elements of the trip which make you uncomfortable. Embrace them. If anything, actively pursue them. Make scary faces at them. Play with them. Be them.” — @bashfulkoala0

38.“Leave your electronics behind!”

— @bbolint7

39.“Try camping with a couple of trusted friends.”

— @bbolint7

40.“Just roll with it.”

---

Chakra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Chakra (disambiguation).

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From an 1899 Yoga manuscript in the Braj Bhasa language.

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In Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, a chakra (Sanskrit: Cakra, Pali : Cakka, Tamil: chakra ) is thought to be an energy point or node in the subtle body. Chakras are believed to be part of the subtle body, not the physical body, and as such, are the meeting points of the subtle (non-physical) energy channels called nadi. Nadi are believed to be channels in the subtle body through which the life force (prana) (non-physical) or vital energy (non-physical) moves. Various scriptural texts and teachings present a different number of chakras. It's believed that there are many chakras in the subtle human body, according to the tantric texts, but there are seven chakras that are considered to be the most important ones.[1]

Etymology[edit]

See also: Yantra and Mandala

The word Chakra (चक्र) derives from the Sanskrit word meaning "wheel," as well as "circle" and "cycle".[2] It's described by many as a spinning wheel of light[citation needed]. Of the 88,000 chakras within the human body, seven are considered of principle importance and are referred to as the "major chakras".[1]

M. N. Roy's review of tantric history says that the word chakra is used to mean several different things in the Sanskrit sources:[3]

1. "Circle," used in a variety of senses, symbolising endless rotation of shakti.

2. A circle of people. In rituals, there are different cakrasādhanās in which adherents assemble and perform rites. According to the Niruttaratantra, chakras in the sense of assemblies are of 5 types.

3. The term chakra is also used to denote yantras (mystic diagram)s, variously known as trikoṇa-cakra, aṣṭakoṇa-cakra, etc.

4. Different nerve plexuses within the body.

In Buddhism, the Sanskrit term cakra (Pali cakka) is used in a different sense of "circle," referring to the conception of rebirth consisting of six states in which beings may be reborn.[4]

History[edit]

See also: Yoga and Nadi (yoga)

Breath channels (nāḍi) of yogic practices are mentioned in the classical Upanishads,[5][6] but hierarchies of chakras are introduced in the eighth-century Buddhist Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti.[5][7]

Characteristics[edit]

Chakras (as well as Yantras and Mandalas) are visualised as lotus with different number of petals representing each chakra.

The texts and teachings present different numbers of chakras[citation needed]. Also, different physical structures are considered chakras. David Gordon White thus emphasises:

"In fact, there is no "standard" system of the chakras. Every school, sometimes every teacher within each school, has had his own chakra system."[8]

The following features are common[citation needed]:

• They form part of the body, along with the breath channels (nadi), and the winds (vayu).[citation needed]

• They are located along the central channel (sushumna/avadhūtī).[citation needed]

• Two side channels cross the centre channel at the location of the chakras.[citation needed]

• They possess a number of 'petals' or 'spokes'.[citation needed]

• They are generally associated with a mantra seed-syllable, and often with a variety of colours and deities.[citation needed]

• There are believed to be 7 major chakras.[citation needed]

Use in Eastern traditions[edit]

Hindu Tantra[edit]

Main article: Kundalini energy

Thousand Petalled lotus Crown, Two Petalled Brow Chakra, Sixteen Petalled Throat Chakra (Nepal, 17th Century)

David Gordon White traces the modern popularity of the "Hindu" seven chakra system to Arthur Avalon's The Serpent Power, which was Avalon's translation of a late work, the Satcakranirupana.[9] In actuality, there are several models and systems present in Hindu tantric literature, as White documents.[10] Kundalini is a feature of Hindu chakra systems.

Vajrayana[edit]

Main article: Vajrayana

Chakras play an important role in the main surviving branch of Indian Vajrayana, Tibetan Buddhism. They play a pivotal role in completion stage practices, where an attempt is made to bring the subtle winds of the body into the central channel, to realise the clear light of bliss and emptiness, and to attain Buddhahood.[11]

The Vajrayana system states that the central channel (avadhūtī) begins at the point of the third eye like of lord Shiva, curves up to the crown of the head, and then goes straight down to the lower body. There are two side channels, the rasanā and lalanā, which start at their respective nostrils and then travel down to the lower body. The apāna vāyu governs the lower terminations of the three channels. The lower end of the central channel ends in the rectum. The lower end of the lalanā ends in the urinary tract. The lower end of the rasanā channel emits semen.[citation needed]

The side channels run parallel to the centre channel[citation needed], except at locations such as the navel, heart, throat and crown (i.e. chakras) where the two side channels twist around the central channel. At the navel, throat and crown, there is a twofold knot caused by each side channel twisting once around the central channel[citation needed]. At the heart wheel there is a sixfold knot, where each side channel twists around three times. An important part of completion stage practice involves loosening and undoing these knots.[citation needed]

Within the chakras exist the 'subtle drops'[citation needed]. The white drop exists in the crown, the red drop exists in the navel, and at the heart exists the indestructible red and white drop, which leaves the body at the time of death[citation needed]. In addition, each chakra has a number of 'spokes' or 'petals', which branch off into thousands of subtle channels running to every part of the body, and each contains a Sanskrit syllable.[citation needed]

By focusing on a specific chakra (while often holding the breath) the subtle winds enter the central channel. The chakra at which they enter is important in order to realise specific practices. For example, focusing on the subnavel area is important for the practice of tummo, or inner fire. Meditating on the heart chakra is important for realising clear light. Meditating on the throat chakra is important for lucid dreaming and the practices of dream yoga. And meditating on the crown chakra is important for consciousness projection, either to another world, or into another body.[citation needed]

A result of energetic imbalance among the chakras is an almost continuous feeling of dissatisfaction[citation needed]. When the heart chakra is agitated, people lose touch with feelings and sensations, and that breeds the sense of dissatisfaction[citation needed]. That leads to looking outside for fulfilment. When people live in their heads, feelings are secondary[citation needed]; they are interpretations of mental images that are fed back to the individual[citation needed]. When awareness is focused on memories of past experiences and mental verbalisations, the energy flow to the head chakra increases and the energy flow to the heart chakra lessens[citation needed]. Without nurturing feelings of the heart a subtle form of anxiety arises which results in the self reaching out for experience[citation needed]. When the throat chakra settles and energy is distributed evenly between the head and the heart chakras, one is able to truly contact one's senses and touch real feelings.[12]

Bön[edit]

Chakras, according to the Bon tradition, influence the quality of experience, because movement of vayu cannot be separated from experience. Each of the six major chakras is linked to experiential qualities of one of the six realms of existence.[13]

A modern teacher, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, uses a computer analogy: main chakras are like hard drives[citation needed]. Each hard drive has many files. One of the files is always open in each of the chakras, no matter how "closed" that particular chakra may be[citation needed]. What is displayed by the file shapes experience.[citation needed]

The tsa lung practices such as those embodied in Trul khor lineages open channels so lung (the Tibetan term for vayu) may move without obstruction. Yoga opens chakras and evokes positive qualities associated with a particular chakra. In the hard drive analogy, the screen is cleared and a file is called up that contains positive, supportive qualities. A bīja (seed syllable) is used both as a password that evokes the positive quality and the armour that sustains the quality.[14][15]

Tantric practice is said to eventually transform all experience into bliss. The practice aims to liberate from negative conditioning and leads to control over perception and cognition.[14]

Qigong[edit]

Qigong (氣功) also relies on a similar model of the human body as an esoteric energy system, except that it involves the circulation of qì (氣, also ki) or life-energy.[16][17] The qì, equivalent to the Hindu prana, flows through the energy channels called meridians, equivalent to the nadi, but two other energies are also important: jīng, or primordial essence, and shén, or spirit energy.

In the principle circuit of qì, called the microcosmic orbit, energy rises up a main meridian along the spine, but also comes back down the front torso. Throughout its cycle it enters various dantian (elixir fields) which act as furnaces, where the types of energy in the body (jing, qi and shen) are progressively refined.[18] These dantian play a very similar role to that of chakras. The number of dantian varies depending on the system; the navel dantian is the most well-known, but there is usually a dantian located at the heart and between the eyebrows.[19] The lower dantian at or below the navel transforms essence, or jīng, into qì. The middle dantian in the middle of the chest transforms qì into shén, or spirit, and the higher dantian at the level of the forehead (or at the top of the head), transforms shen into wuji, infinite space of void.[20]

Indonesian and Malaysian metaphysics[edit]

Traditional spirituality in the Malay Archipelago borrows heavily from Hindu-Buddhist concepts. In Malay and Indonesian metaphysical theory, the chakras' energy rotates outwards along diagonal lines. Defensive energy emits outwards from the centre line, while offensive energy moves inwards from the sides of the body. This can be applied to energy-healing, meditation, or martial arts. Silat practitioners learn to harmonise their movements with the chakras, thereby increasing the power and effectiveness of attacks and movements.[21]

Western interpretations[edit]

Western adaptation of Hindu yogic chakras[edit]

Main article: Esotericism

In Western culture, a concept similar to that of prana can be traced back as far as the 18th century's Franz Anton Mesmer, who used "animal magnetism" to treat disease.

However, it was only in 1918 that the shakta theory of seven main chakras, that has become most popular in the West, was introduced, largely through the translation of two Indian texts: the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana and the Padaka-Pancaka, by Sir John Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, in a book titled The Serpent Power.[22]

This book is extremely detailed and complex, and later the ideas were developed into the predominant Western view of the chakras by C. W. Leadbeater in his book The Chakras. Many of the views which directed Leadbeater's understanding of the chakras were influenced by previous theosophist authors, in particular Johann Georg Gichtel, a disciple of Jakob Böhme, and his book Theosophia Practica (1696), in which Gichtel directly refers to inner force centres, a concept reminiscent of the chakras.[23]

Hesychasm[edit]

A completely separate contemplative movement within the Eastern Orthodox Church is Hesychasm, a form of Christian meditation. Comparisons have been made between the Hesychastic centres of prayer and the position of the chakras.[24] Particular emphasis is placed upon the heart area. However, there is no talk about these centres as having any sort of metaphysical existence. Far more than in any of the cases discussed above, the centres are simply places to focus the concentration during prayer.

New Age[edit]

Main article: New Age

Chakra positions in relation to nervous plexi, from a 1927 textbook

In Anatomy of the Spirit (1996), Caroline Myss describes the function of chakras as follows: "Every thought and experience you've ever had in your life gets filtered through these chakra databases. Each event is recorded into your cells...".[25] The chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column from the base of the spine to the top of the head. New Age practices often associate each chakra with a certain colour. In various traditions, chakras are associated with multiple physiological functions, an aspect of consciousness, a classical element, and other distinguishing characteristics. They are visualised as lotuses or flowers with a different number of petals in every chakra.

The chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature. They are considered loci of life energy or prana (which New Age belief equates with shakti, qi in Chinese, ki in Japanese, koach-ha-guf[26] in Hebrew, bios in Greek, and aether in both Greek and English), which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadi. The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance.

In his book on Japa Yoga (Himalaya Press, 1978), Swami Sivananda states that a yogi that practices Japa only with the Om and is successful at Mahasamyama (oneness with the object —in this case, a word being meditated on—) becomes a direct disciple of the Om, the most holy of all words and syllables (the same as the word of creation as recognised by the Torah, although this is not professed or quite possibly not even recognised by those of secular authority in either Judaism or Christianity). Thus, the yogi who achieves this feat needs no guru or Sat-guru to achieve any spiritual goal (an archetype or an Ascended Master —a Krishna, a Rama, a Jesus, a Nanak, a Buddha...—). Swami Sivananda mentions that this yogi has a path that is, in all recognisable ways and manners, reverse of that of other yogis or spiritual aspirants and their paths, in that this spiritual aspirant then works through the chakras, mastering them from the crown down. Satprem explains, in page 67 of his book Sri Aurobindo, or the Adventure of Consciousness (ISBN 81-85137-60-9), that, in Sri Aurobindo and the Mother's Integral Yoga, the practitioner experiences a "descent" where the Grace and Light works through and enlightens the chakras from the crown chakra downwards.

Another interpretation of the seven chakras is presented by writer and artist Zachary Selig. In his book Kundalini Awakening, a Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation and Spiritual Growth, he presents a unique codex titled "Relaxatia", a solar Kundalini paradigm that is a codex of the human chakra system and the solar light spectrum, designed to activate Kundalini through his colour-coded chakra paintings.[27]

Some system models describe one or more transpersonal chakras above the crown chakra, as well as an Earth star chakra below the feet. There are also held to be many minor chakras (for example, between the major chakras).

Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving. He suggested that this system has become different for modern people than it was in ancient times and that it will, in turn, be radically different in future times.[28][29][30] Steiner described a sequence of development that begins with the upper chakras and moves down, rather than moving in the opposite direction. He gave suggestions on how to develop the chakras through disciplining thoughts, feelings, and will.[31]

According to Florin Lowndes,[32] a "spiritual student" can further develop and deepen or elevate thinking consciousness when taking the step from the "ancient path" of schooling to the "new path" represented by Steiner's The Philosophy of Freedom.[note 1]

Endocrine system[edit]

Chakras and their importance are posited to reside in the psyche. However, there are those who believe that chakras have a physical manifestation as well.[33] Gary Osborn, for instance, has described the chakras as metaphysical counterparts to the endocrine glands,[34] while Anodea Judith noted a marked similarity between the positions of the two and the roles described for each.[35]Stephen Sturgess also links the lower six chakras to specific nerve plexuses along the spinal cord as well as glands.[36] C.W. Leadbeater associated the Ajna chakra with the pineal gland,[37] which is a part of the endocrine system.[38] These associations remain speculative, however, and have yet to be empirically validated.

Spectrum of light[edit]

Recent Western traditions associate colours and physiomotional functions for each of the seven main chakras.

A development in Western practices dating back to the 1940s is to associate each one of the seven chakras to a given colour and a corresponding crystal.[39] For example, the chakra in the forehead is associated with the colour purple, so to try and cure a headache a person might apply a purple stone to the forehead.[citation needed]

Mercier introduces the relation of colour energy to the science of the light spectrum:

As humans, we exist within the 49th Octave of Vibration of the electromagnetic light spectrum. Below this range are barely visible radiant heat, then invisible infrared, television and radiowaves, sound and brain waves; above it is barely visible ultraviolet, then the invisible frequencies of chemicals and perfumes, followed by x-rays, gamma rays, radium rays and unknown cosmic rays.[40]

Understanding existence and physical form as an interpretation of light energy through the physical eyes will open up greater potential[citation needed] to explore the energetic boundaries of colour, form and light that are perceived as immediate reality[citation needed]. Indian Yogic teachings assign to the seven major chakras specific qualities, such as colour of influence (from the seven rays of spectrum light), elements (such as earth, air, water & ether), body sense (such as touch, taste, and smell), and relation to an endocrine gland.[41]

Description of each chakra[edit]

Tantric chakras

Sahasrara Ajna Vishuddha Anahata Manipura Svadhishthana Muladhara

Bindu

There are believed to be seven major chakras, which are arranged vertically along the axial channel (sushumna nadi). David Gordon White traces the modern popularity of the seven chakra system to Arthur Avalon's The Serpent Power, which was Avalon's translation of a late work, the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana.[9] Below is a description of the seven chakras, with various associations. Each of these chakras also has its elemental deity (Vasu), demigod of its material element.

From the top down, they are thought to be:

Sahasrara[edit]

Sahasrara (Sanskrit: सहस्रार, IAST: Sahasrāra, English: "thousand-petaled") or crown chakra is generally considered to be the state of pure consciousness, within which there is neither object nor subject. When the Kundalini energy rises to this point, it unites with the male Shiva energy, and a state of liberating samadhi is attained. Symbolized by a lotus with one thousand multi-coloured petals, it is located either at the crown of the head, or above the crown of the head. Sahasrara is represented by the colour white and it involves such issues as inner wisdom and the death of the body.

Its role may be envisioned somewhat similarly to that of the Pineal gland. The pineal gland is a light sensitive gland that produces the hormone melatonin which regulates sleep and waking up, and is also postulated to be the production site of the psychedelic dimethyltryptamine, the only known hallucinogen endogenous to the human body. Sahasrara's inner aspect deals with the release of karma, physical action with meditation, mental action with universal consciousness and unity, and emotional action with "beingness."[42]

In Tibetan Buddhism, the point at the crown of the head is represented by a white circle, with 33 downward pointing petals. It is of primary importance in the performance of phowa, or consciousness projection after death, in order to obtain rebirth in a Pure Land.[citation needed] Within this state is contained the White drop, or Bodhicitta, which is the essence of masculine energy.

Corresponding deity for material element of this state is Dhruva.

The tone is 172.06 Hz = F.[citation needed][43]

Ajna[edit]

Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, IAST: Ājñā, English: "command") or third-eye chakra is symbolised by a lotus with two petals, and corresponds to the colours violet, indigo or deep blue, though it is traditionally described as white. It is at this point that the two side nadi Ida (yoga) and Pingala are said to terminate and merge with the central channel Sushumna, signifying the end of duality, the characteristic of being dual (e.g. light and dark, or male and female). The seed syllable for this chakra is the syllable OM, and the presiding deity is Ardhanarishvara, who is a half male, half female Shiva/Shakti. The Shakti goddess of Ajna is called Hakini.

Ajna (along with Bindu), is known as the third eye chakra and is linked to the pituitary gland which secretes hormones to communicate to the rest of the endocrine system and also connects to the central nervous system via the hypothalamus. According to Gary Osborn, the thalamus is thought to have a key role in the physical basis of consciousness and is the 'Bridal Chamber' mentioned in the Gnostic scriptures.. Ajna's key issues involve balancing the higher and lower selves and trusting inner guidance. Ajna's inner aspect relates to the access of intuition. Mentally, Ajna deals with visual consciousness. Emotionally, Ajna deals with clarity on an intuitive level.[44]

The tone is 221.23 Hz = A.

[citation needed]

Vishuddha[edit]

Vishuddha (Sanskrit: विशुद्ध, IAST: Viśuddha, English: "especially pure"), or Vishuddhi, or throat chakra is depicted as a silver crescent within a white circle, with 16 light or pale blue, or turquoise petals. The seed mantra is Ham, and the residing deity is Panchavaktra shiva, with 5 heads and 4 arms, and the Shakti is Shakini.

Vishuddha may be understood as relating to communication and growth through expression. This chakra is paralleled to the thyroid, a gland that is also in the throat and which produces thyroid hormone, responsible for growth and maturation. Physically, Vishuddha governs communication, emotionally it governs independence, mentally it governs fluent thought, and spiritually, it governs a sense of security.[45]

In Tibetan buddhism, this chakra is red, with 16 upward pointing petals. It plays an important role in Dream Yoga, the art of lucid dreaming.

Corresponding deity for material element of this chakra is Dyaus.

The tone is 141.27 Hz = C#.

[citation needed]

Anahata[edit]

Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, IAST: Anāhata, English: "unstruck") or heart chakra is symbolised by a circular flower with twelve green petals called the heartmind. Within it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming a hexagram, symbolising a union of the male and female. The seed mantra is Yam, the presiding deity is Ishana Rudra Shiva, and the Shakti is Kakini.

Anahata is related to the thymus, located in the chest. The thymus is an element of the immune system as well as being part of the endocrine system. It is the site of maturation of the T cells responsible for fending off disease and may be adversely affected by stress. Anahata is related to the colours green or pink. Key issues involving Anahata involve complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, equilibrium, rejection and well-being. Physically Anahata governs circulation, emotionally it governs unconditional love for the self and others, mentally it governs passion, and spiritually it governs devotion.[46]

The tone is 136.10 Hz = C#.

[citation needed]

Manipura[edit]

Manipura (Sanskrit: मणिपूर, IAST: Maṇipūra, English: "jewel city") or solar plexus/navel chakra is symbolised by a downward pointing triangle with ten petals, along with the colour yellow. The seed syllable is Ram, and the presiding deity is Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti.

Manipura is related to the metabolic and digestive systems. Manipura is believed to correspond to Islets of Langerhans,[47] which are groups of cells in the pancreas, as well as the outer adrenal glands and the adrenal cortex. These play a valuable role in digestion, the conversion of food matter into energy for the body. The colour that corresponds to Manipura is yellow. Key issues governed by Manipura are issues of personal power, fear, anxiety, opinion-formation, introversion, and transition from simple or base emotions to complex. Physically, Manipura governs digestion, mentally it governs personal power, emotionally it governs expansiveness, and spiritually, all matters of growth.[48]

Corresponding deity for material element of this chakra is Agni.

The tone is 126.22 Hz = B.

[citation needed]

Svadhishthana[edit]

Svadhishthana (Sanskrit: स्वाधिष्ठान, IAST: Svādhiṣṭhāna, English: "one's own base") or sacral chakra is symbolised by a white lotus within which is a crescent moon, with six vermilion, or orange petals. The seed mantra is Vam, and the presiding deity is Brahma, with the Shakti being Rakini (or Chakini). The animal associated is the crocodile of Varuna.

This chakra is located in the sacrum and is considered to correspond to the testes or the ovaries that produce the various sex hormones involved in the reproductive cycle. Svadhishthana is also considered to be related to, more generally, the genitourinary system and the adrenals. The key issues involving Svadhishthana are relationships, violence, addictions, basic emotional needs, and pleasure. Physically, Svadhishthana governs reproduction, mentally it governs creativity, emotionally it governs joy, and spiritually it governs enthusiasm.[49]

The tone is 210.42 Hz = G#.[50]

[citation needed]

Muladhara[edit]

Muladhara (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, IAST: Mūlādhāra, English: "root support") or root chakra is symbolised by a lotus with four petals and the colour red. This centre is located at the base of the spine in the coccygeal region. It is said to relate to the gonads and the adrenal medulla, responsible for the fight-or-flight response when survival is under threat.[51] The seed syllable is LAM.

Muladhara is related to instinct, security, survival and also to basic human potentiality. Physically, Muladhara governs sexuality, mentally it governs stability, emotionally it governs sensuality, and spiritually it governs a sense of security.[52] Muladhara also has a relation to the sense of smell.[53]

This chakra is where the three main nadi separate and begin their upward movement. Dormant Kundalini rests here, wrapped three and a half times around the black Svayambhu linga, the lowest of three obstructions to her full rising (also known as knots or granthis).[54] It is the seat of the red bindu, the female drop (which in Tibetan vajrayana is located at the navel chakra).[clarification needed]

The seed syllable is Lam (pronounced lum), the deity is Ganesh,[citation needed] and the Shakti is Dakini.[55] The associated animal is the elephant.[56]

The tone is 194.18 Hz = G .

[citation needed]

Other chakras[edit]

Hridhiya chakra (also known as hrid chakra) is measured from centre of Anahata chakra, two fingers to the left and continue with two finger down, whereby the heart beat can be felt.[57] Talu chakra is located at behind of Reticular Formation at Fourth Ventrical before beginning of spinal cord.[57] There are said to be 21 minor chakras which are reflected points of the major chakras.[58]These 21 are further grouped into ten bilateral minor chakras that correspond to the foot, hand, knee, elbow, groin, clavicle, navel, shoulder and ear. The spleen may also be listed by some authorities as a location for a minor chakra.

Secret chakras[edit]

There are said to be three chakras that are beyond the physical and spiritual. They are called Golata, Lalata, and Lalana and "located on the uvula at the back of the throat, above the Ajna chakra, and within the soft upper palate".[59] According to Robert Svoboda they defy description in the sense of the above seven and can only be experienced once Kundalini has fully awakened.[citation needed]

Minor chakras below Muladhara[edit]

There are said to be a series of seven chakras below Muladhara going down the leg,[60] corresponding the base animal instincts, and to the Hindu underworld patala. From the top down they are:

Atala — Located in the hips, it governs fear and lust.[citation needed]

Vitala — Located in the thighs, it governs anger and resentment.[citation needed]

Sutala — Located in the knees, it governs jealousy.[citation needed]

Talatala — Translated as "under the bottom level", it is located in the calves and represents a state of prolonged confusion and instinctive wilfulness.[citation needed]

Rasatala — Located in the ankles, it is the centre of selfishness and pure animal nature.[citation needed]

Mahatala — Located in the feet, this is the dark realm 'without conscience', and inner blindness.[citation needed]

Patala — Located in the soles of the feet, this is the realm of malice, murder, torture and hatred, and in Hindu mythology it borders on the realm of Naraka, or hell.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

• Lataif-e-sitta

• Aura

• Subpersonal chakras

• Sudarshana Chakra

• Transpersonal chakras

• Vitalism

Notes[edit]

1. Jump up^ English translations include:

• 1916: The Philosophy of Freedom. trans. Hoernlé and Hoernlé, ed. Harry Collison. This is the only English translation of the first German edition.

• 1922: Philosophy of Spiritual Activity. Based on 2nd German edition, trans. Hoernlé and Hoernlé.

• 1939: Philosophy of Spiritual Activity, trans. Hermann Poppelbaum, based on Hoernlé and Hoernlé translation

• 1963: Philosophy of Spiritual Activity, trans. Rita Stebbing

• 1964: The Philosophy of Freedom: The Basis for a Modern World Conception, trans. Michael Wilson

• 1986: The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity: Basic Features of a Modern World View, trans. William Lindeman

• 1995: Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path: A Philosophy of Freedom, trans. Michael Lipson, based on Wilson translation

• 2011: 'Rudolf Steiner's Philosophie der Freiheit as the Foundation of the Logic of Beholding. Religion of the Thinking Will. Organon of the New Cultural Epoch', trans. Graham B. Rickett, with commentary by G.A.Bondarev' ISBN 978-1-105-05765-6

There is a comparison tool to compare most of the above translations.

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:a b Wendy., Doniger,; inc., Encyclopaedia Britannica, (2006-01-01). Britannica encyclopedia of world religions. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. ISBN 9781593394912. OCLC 319493641.

2. Jump up^ Mallory, J.P; Adams, D.Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture (1. publ. ed.). London: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 640. ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5.

3. Jump up^ Bhattacharyya, N. N. (1999). History of the Tantric Religion (Second Revised ed.). New Delhi: Manohar. pp. 385–86. ISBN 81-7304-025-7.

4. Jump up^ Edgerton, Franklin (1993). Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (Repr ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 221. ISBN 81-208-0999-8.

5. ^ Jump up to:a b White, David Gordon. Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press 2012, page 14.

6. Jump up^ Trish O’Sullivan (2010), Chakras. In: D.A. Leeming, K. Madden, S. Marlan (eds.), Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, Springer Science + Business Media.

7. Jump up^ White, David Gordon (2003). Kiss of the Yogini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 224. ISBN 0-226-89483-5.

8. Jump up^ White, David Gordon (2003). Kiss of the Yogini. Chicago: Univdersity of Chicago Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-226-89483-5.

9. ^ Jump up to:a b White, David Gordon (2003). Kiss of the Yogini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 221. ISBN 0-226-89483-5.

10. Jump up^ White, David Gordon (2003). Kiss of the Yogini. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 221–229. ISBN 0-226-89483-5.

11. Jump up^ Geshe Gelsang Kyatos, Clear Light of Bliss.

12. Jump up^ Tulku, Tarthang (2007). Tibetan relaxation : the illustrated guide to Kum Nye massage and movement-- a yoga from the Tibetan tradition (Rev. ed.). London: Duncan Baird. pp. 31, 33. ISBN 978-1-84483-404-4.

13. Jump up^ Dahlby, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche ; edited by Mark (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: the five elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Pub. p. 84. ISBN 1-55939-176-6.

14. ^ Jump up to:a b Rinpoche, Tenzin Wangyal (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: the five elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Pub. pp. 84–85. ISBN 1-55939-176-6.

15. Jump up^ Dahlby, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche ; edited by Mark (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: the five elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Pub. pp. 84–85. ISBN 1-55939-176-6.

16. Jump up^ Charles Luk, Taoist Yoga – Alchemy and Immortality, Rider and Company, London, 1970

17. Jump up^ Mantak and Maneewan Chia Awaken Healing Light of the Tao (Healing Tao Books, 1993), ch.5

18. Jump up^ Yang Erzeng, Philip Clart. The Story of Han Xiangzi: the alchemical adventures of a Taoist immortal

19. Jump up^ Mantak and Maneewan Chia Awaken Healing Light of the Tao (Healing Tao Books, 1993), ch.13

20. Jump up^ Andy James. The Spiritual Legacy of Shaolin Temple

21. Jump up^ Zainal Abidin Shaikh Awab and Nigel Sutton (2006). Silat Tua: The Malay Dance Of Life. Kuala Lumpur: Azlan Ghanie Sdn Bhd. ISBN 978-983-42328-0-1.

22. Jump up^ Woodroffe, The Serpent Power, Dover Publications, pp.317ff

23. Jump up^ [1] Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

24. Jump up^ Mircea Eliade. Yoga, Immortality and Freedom

25. Jump up^ "Myss Library | Chakras". Myss.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

26. Jump up^ Helena Blavatsky (1892). Theosophical Glossary. Krotona.

27. Jump up^ Selby, John; Zelig, Zachary (1992). Kundalini Awakening: a Gentle Guide to Chakra Activation and Spiritual Growth. New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-35330-3.

28. Jump up^ "GA010: Chapter I: The Astral Centers". Fremont, Michigan: Wn.rsarchive.org. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

29. Jump up^http://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GA010/English/MAC1909/GA010b_index.html

30. Jump up^ "GA010: Initiation and Its Results". Fremont, Michigan: Wn.rsarchive.org. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

31. Jump up^ Rudolf Steiner, How to Know Higher Worlds

32. Jump up^ Lowndes, Florin (2000). Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart: The Fundamental Spiritual Exercises of Rudolf Steiner (2nd ed.). London: Sophia Books. ISBN 1-85584-053-7.

33. Jump up^ Sivananda, Swami (1991). Kundalini Yoga: illustrated (9th ed.). Sivanandanagar, U.P.: Divine Life Society. ISBN 81-7052-052-5.

34. Jump up^ Gardiner, Philip; Osborn, Gary (2006). The Shining Ones: the world's most powerful secret society revealed (Rev. and updated ed.). London: Watkins. pp. 44–45. ISBN 1-84293-150-4.

35. Jump up^ Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System - Anodea Judith - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

36. Jump up^ Sturgess, Stephen (1997). The Yoga Book: a practical guide to self-realization. Rockport, Mass.: Element. pp. 19–21. ISBN 1-85230-972-5.

37. Jump up^ The Chakras - Charles Webster Leadbeater - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

38. Jump up^ "John Van Auken | Mysticism - Interpretating the Revelation". Edgarcayce.org. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

39. Jump up^ Supreme God: Body, Will, Wisdom, and Work, Dorrance Publishing

40. Jump up^ Mercier, Patricia (2007). The Chakra Bible: the definitive guide to working with chakras. London: Godsfield Press/Octopus Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-84181-320-2.

41. Jump up^ Patricia Mercier (2007). p. 28

42. Jump up^ Patricia Mercier (2007). p. 302

43. Jump up^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwO8So8Kt0s

44. Jump up^ Mercier (2007). p. 267.

45. Jump up^ Mercier (2007). p. 233.

46. Jump up^ Patricia Mercier (2007). p. 199.

47. Jump up^ Mercier (2007). p. 168.

48. Jump up^ Mercier (2007). p. 167.

49. Jump up^ Mercier (2007). p. 127.

50. Jump up^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFHwFZJ5gac

51. Jump up^ "Root Chakra". ASIS Massage Education. Retrieved 17 January 2014.

52. Jump up^ Patricia Mercier (2007). p. 91.

53. Jump up^ Mumford, John (1995). A Chakra & Kundalini Workbook (Second ed.). Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 79. ISBN 1-56718-473-1.

54. Jump up^ Brown, C. Mackenzie (1998). The Devī Gītā: the Song of the Goddess: a translation, annotation, and commentary. Albany (N.Y.): State university of New York press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-7914-3940-1.

55. Jump up^ Mumford, John (1988). Ecstasy Through Tantra (Third ed.). Llewellyn Worldwide. p. 72. ISBN 0-87542-494-5.

56. Jump up^ Mindell, Arnold; Sternback-Scott, Sisa; Goodman, Becky (1984). Dreambody: the body's rôle in revealing the self. Taylor & Francis. p. 38. ISBN 0-7102-0250-4.

57. ^ Jump up to:a b Master Murugan, Chillayah (20 October 2012). "Varma Kalai and Secrets of Chakras". Silambam. Retrieved 31 May 2013.

58. Jump up^ Cross, J. R. Acupressure and Reflextherapy in the Treatment of Medical Conditions. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2001, p. 12.

59. Jump up^ Svoboda, Robert. Aghora II: Kundalini, p. 71.

60. Jump up^ Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Merging with Shiva: Hinduism's contemporary metaphysics, p. 231.

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• Leadbeater, C.W. The Chakras Wheaton, Illinois, USA:1926—Theosophical Publishing House—Picture of the Chakras on plates facing page 17 as claimed to have been observed by Leadbeater with his third eye

• Sharp, Dr. Michael (2005). Dossier of the Ascension: A Practical Guide to Chakra Activation and Kundalini Awakening (1st ed.). Avatar Publications. ISBN 0-9735379-3-0.

• Guru Dharam Singh Khalsa and Darryl O'Keeffe. The Kundalini Yoga Experience New York, NY USA:2002, Fireside, Simon & Schuster, Inc. Copyright by Gaia Books Limited. Kriyas and meditations copyright Yogi Bhajan, All Rights reserved. Revised Edition published 2016 as "Kundalini Yoga" ISBN 978-1-85675-359-3

• Judith, Anodea (1996). Eastern Body Western Mind: Psychology And The Chakra System As A Path To The Self. Berkeley, California, USA: Celestial Arts Publishing. ISBN 0-89087-815-3

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• Florin Lowndes, 'Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart: The Fundamental Spiritual Exercises of Rudolf Steiner' ISBN 1-85584-053-7, first English edition 1998 from the original German edition of 1996, comparing 'traditional' chakra teaching, and that of C.W.Leadbeater, with that of Rudolf Steiner.