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All living things radiate–some people call this the “aura,” some call it the “etheric body,” while others refer to it as “photon emission.” Jeremy Ross calls the energetic aspect of a person the “higher self” (1994). Changes in a person’s energy field help us to ascertain their condition. Steven Halpern describes the human body as “an oscillating system or systems of vibrations”. The vibrations people radiate are measurable. To learn more about frequency read our article Do Crystals have frequency. The body does not generate the energetic field, rather, the energetic field generates the body: This is the life force. The human electromagnetic field can be affected energetically, and this is a way of affecting health. Electro-acupuncture is a common measuring tool used in energetic healing methods: electrical resistance of acupoints can be measured with a voltmeter, indicating the energetic state of the person. The electrical resistance that is measured at acupoints is usually 1/10th that measured elsewhere. The acupuncture meridians and the chakra system are considered by Gerber to be the interface between the etheric body and the physical body. (John Beaulieu p. , 1987)
Changes in meridians and points are indicative of changes that have already occurred in the etheric body. Correcting the pathology will cause normalization of the meridians. Measuring these meridian changes with a voltmeter connected to acupoints is similar to measuring a person’s electro-magnetic field using Nogier filters and feeling the person’s pulse: both are feedback mechanisms. A feedback mechanism is a way of receiving information about a person directly from the person’s body, which circumvents miscommunication, a person’s lack of awareness about their body, and the difficulty of describing an imbalance within the constructs of verbal language. A feedback mechanism bypasses consciousness and gives unadulterated, direct information. Feedback mechanisms include electro-acupuncture, the pulse, the electromagnetic field, abdominal palpation, point palpation, and muscle testing. Such measurements can also be used diagnostically, as well as to determine what treatments will help a patient. These methods can be used to determine the effects of sound on a person. With a feedback mechanism, one can determine the best choice of sound or frequency therapies to better a person’s health.
The body does not generate the energetic field, rather, the energetic field generates the body: This is the life force.
Kirlian photography shows the etheric field visually: an unfertilized egg has an electromagnetic field shaped like the adult version it can potentially become. A leaf with part of it torn off will have the radiant field of a whole leaf. This is like just how the phantom pain of an amputee can be treated with acupuncture via the ear point for the missing part. Kirlian photography can show the presence of cancer, cystic fibrosis, and other diseases (Gerber 43-44). A Soviet scientist named Inyushin has “photographed the human aura, and found that vivid flares of light were consistent with the position of acupoints”. (Seki, 1983) (Ross, 1994) Spiritual balance and emotions affect the energy systems of the body, as do nutrition and the environment. The emotional frequency is considered by Gerber to be the astral body, the next level out from the physical body after the etheric body. This layer is related to the astral plane, and involved in astral projection. It is connected to the physical body via the chakras. Jeremy Ross associates this energetic level with the liver in Traditional Chinese Medicine. A shift in consciousness is a route of affecting the human energetic system. Music, especially drumming, can cause such a shift. Acupuncture is another method, as well as the clearing sessions, which will shift your consciousness. Five Element acupuncture has traditionally focused on treating emotions. Music, too, has long been known to affect the emotions.
Imagination can facilitate healing. The right brain is involved in consciousness shifts, and acts as an intermediary between the energetic healing method and the body. Intent is a process of using imagination and will to achieve an effect. Intention is an important part of any healing process, including acupuncture, music healing, raw frequencies and the clearing sessions. “The first and most important element in healing music, then, is the intent with which it is created and the intent with which it is presented. Intent is all-important when using or choosing live or recorded music to accompany therapeutic and medical procedures. Intent begins and ends the circle of musical healing” Healing energy is directed and affected by the healer’s thoughts.
The Human Energy Field is the manifestation of universal energy that is intimately involved with human life. It can be described as a luminous body that surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body, emits its own characteristic radiation and is usually called the “aura”. The aura is that part of the Universal Energy Field (UEF) associated with objects. The human aura, or Human Energy Field (HEF), is that part of the UEF associated with the human body. Based on their observations, researchers have created theoretical models that divide the aura into several layers. These layers are sometimes called bodies and they interpenetrate and surround each other in successive layers. Each succeeding body is composed of finer substances and higher “vibrations” than the body that it surrounds and interpenetrates.
There are 7 main energetic bodies associated with the aura and linked with the main 7 chakras in the body. There are 8 other energetic bodies that are linked to the out of body chakras. These will not be discussed here, but are mentioned to inform you that there are a total of 15 energy bands or dimensions for the human being. In most of the other body psychotherapies, it is stated that there are 4 bodies, physical, emotional (astral or vital), mental and spiritual. The spiritual is actually the combination of the remaining 12 energetic bands. In order to give a more detailed comparison of the main aura energetic bands, we will represent the system used by Barbara Brennan for its detailed analysis of the different bodies. She has a different naming scheme than most traditional methods, so do not let the naming such as Astral being at the 4th level confuse you. It is all referring to the same levels regardless of the naming convention. So again, most of the body psychotherapy used in the country deals with the First 4 levels of Barbara’s system and they label them as Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual.
There are many systems that people have created from their observations to define the auric field. All these systems divide the aura into layers and define the layers by locations, color, brightness, form, density, fluidity and function. Each system is geared to the kind of work the individual is “doing” with the aura. The two systems most familiar to Barbara’s system is Jack Schwarz, which has more than seven layers and is described in his book, Human Energy Systems, and the system used by Rev. Rosalyn Bruyere of the Healing Light Center in Glendale, California. Her system is a seven layer system, and is described in her book Wheels of Light, A Study of the Chakras.
The Seven Layers of the Auric Field – as described by Barbara Brennan
I have observed seven layers during my work as a counselor and a healer. At first I could only see the lower layers, which are the most dense and easiest to see. The longer I worked, the more layers I could perceive. The higher the layer, the more expanded my consciousness needed to be to perceive it. That is, in order to perceive the higher layers, like the fifth, sixth and seventh, I would have to enter into a meditative state, usually with eyes closed. After years of practice, I even began to see beyond the seventh layer. My observations of the aura revealed to me an interesting dualistic field pattern. Every other layer of the field is highly structured, like standing waves of light patterns, while the layers in between appear to be composed of colored fluids in constant motion. These fluids flow through the form set by the shimmering standing light waves. The direction of flow is sometimes governed by the standing light form, since the fluid flows along the standing lines of light. The standing forms of light are themselves scintillating, as if they are composed of strings of many tiny, rapidly blinking lights, each blinking at a different rate. These standing light lines appear to have tiny charges moving along them.
Thus, the first, third, fifth and seventh layers all have a definite structure, while the second, fourth and sixth are composed of fluid-like substances that have no particular structure. They take on form by virtue of the fact that they flow through the structure of the odd layers, and thus somewhat take on the form of structured layers. Each succeeding layer interpenetrates completely all the layers under it, including the physical body. Thus the emotional body extends beyond the etheric body and includes both the etheric and physical bodies. Actually, each body is not a “layer” at all, although that is what we may perceive. It is, rather, a more expansive version of our self that carries within it the other, more limited forms. From the point of view of the scientist, each layer can be considered to be a level of higher vibrations, occupying the same space as the levels of vibration below it and extending beyond. In order to perceive each consecutive level, the observer must move up in consciousness to each new frequency level. Thus we have seven bodies (In actuality there are 15, but only 7 are discussed here), all occupying the same space at the same time, each one extending out beyond the last, something we are not used to in “normal” daily life. Many people erroneously assume that the aura is like an onion, where you can peel away consecutive layers. It is not. The structured layers contain all the forms that the physical body has, including internal organs, blood vessels, etc., and additional forms that the physical body does not contain. There is a vertical flow of energy that pulsates up and down the field in the spinal cord. It extends out beyond the physical body above the head and below the coccyx. I call this the main vertical power current. There are swirling cone-shaped vortexes called chakras in the field. Their tips point into the main vertical power current, and their open ends extend to the edge of each layer of the field they are located in.
Each layer appears different and has its own particular function. Each layer of the aura is associated with a chakra. That is, the first layer is associated with the first chakra, and the second with the second chakra, and so on. The first layer of the field and the first chakra are associated with physical functioning and physical sensation – feeling physical pain or pleasure. The first layer is associated with automatic and autonomic functioning of the body. The second layer and second chakra are in general associated with the emotional aspect of human beings. They are the vehicles through which we have our emotional life and feelings. The third layer is associated with our mental life, with linear thinking. The fourth level, associated with the heart chakra, is the vehicle through which we love, not only our mates, but also humanity in general. The fourth chakra is the chakra that metabolizes the energy of love. The fifth level is the level associated with a higher will more connected with the divine will. The fifth chakra is associated with the power of the word, speaking things into being, listening and taking responsibility for our actions. The sixth level and sixth chakra are associated with celestial love. It is a love that extends beyond the human range of love and encompasses all life. It makes the statement of caring and support for the protection and nurturing of all life. It holds all life forms as precious manifestations of God. The seventh layer and seventh chakra are associated with the higher mind, knowing and integration of our spiritual and physical makeup. Thus there are specific locations within our energy system for the sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories and other non physical experiences that we report to our doctors and therapists. Understanding how our physical symptoms are related to these locations will help us understand the nature of different illnesses and also the nature of both health and disease. Thus the study of the aura can be a bridge between traditional medicine and our psychological concerns.
Location of the Seven Chakras
The location of the seven major chakras on the physical body corresponds to the major nerve plexuses of the physical body in that area of the body. Dr. David Tansely, a radionics specialist, in his book “Radionics and the Subtle Bodies of Man”, states that the seven major chakras are formed at the points where the standing lines of light cross each other 21 times. The 21 minor chakras are located at points where the energy strands cross 14 times. They are in the following locations: one in front of each ear, one above each breast, one where the clavicles meet, one in the palm of each hand, one on the sole of each foot, one just behind each eye (not shown), one related to each gonad, one near the liver, one connected with the stomach, two connected with the spleen, one behind each knee, one near the thymus gland, and one near the solar plexus. These chakras are only about three inches in diameter at one inch distance from the body. The two minor chakras located in the palms are very important in healing. Where the lines of energy cross seven times, even smaller vortices are created. There are many tiny force centers where these lines cross fewer times. Tansely says that these tiny vortices may very well correspond to the acupuncture points of Chinese medicine.
Each major chakra on the front of the body is paired with its counterpart on the back of the body, and together they are considered to be the front and rear aspect of one chakra. The frontal aspects are related to the person’s feelings, the rear ones to her or his will, and the three on the head to a person’s mental processes. These are shown in chart below titled The Seven Main Chakras – Front and Back Views. Thus chakra #2 has a 2A and 2B component, and #3 has a 3A and 3B component, and so on through the sixth chakra. Chakras 1 and 7 may be considered to be paired if one wishes, because they are the open-ended points of the main vertical power current that runs up and down the spine into which all the chakras point.
The points or tips of the chakras, where they connect to the main power current, are called the roots or the hearts of the chakras. Within these hearts are seals which control exchange of energy between layers of the aura through that chakra. That is, each of the seven chakras has seven layers, each corresponding to a layer of the auric field. Each chakra looks different on each of these layers. In order for certain energy to flow from one layer to another through the chakra, it must pass through the seals in the roots of the chakras. The figure below called – The Seven Layer Auric Body System, shows the auric field with all seven interpenetrating layers, and all seven interpenetrating layers of chakras. Energy can be seen flowing into all of these chakras from the Universal Energy Field, shown on the figures below. Each swirling vortex of energy appears to suck or entrain energy from the UEF. They appear to function as do fluid vortexes we are familiar with in water or in air such as whirlpools, cyclones, water spouts and hurricanes. The open end of the normal chakra in the first layer of the aura is about six inches in diameter at a distance of one inch from the body.
