INTRODUCTION TO THE 3 CENTERS:
HEAD, HEART, & HARA
The human has three primary soul centers, which are also energy centers or centers of awareness. These are the head, heart, and hara.
The United States constitution provided a checks and balance system by forming three branches of government: legislative, executive, judicial. This was done so that there would be no possibility of an autocrat ruling the country. So, too, do we have an internal checks and balance system within us. They are the head, heart, and hara.
Most often we rely on the head to legislate what actions to take. We rely on the heart to execute those actions because without passion, we would not take action. And we rely on the hara to provide judgment on our action as it sends physical signals from the body as feedback on our actions. Ever feel butterflies, queasiness, or irritable bowel symptoms? These are all emotions generated from our gut.
By tapping into all three centers of awareness, we provide the best possible support to ourselves especially in the decision making process. When all three centers are balanced, our intuition works at its highest potential.
How many times can you remember someone telling you to pay attention and think it through (focus with your head), or to follow your heart, or to rely on our gut instinct? The highest level of awareness requires us to access all three centers equally.
THE 3 CAULDRONS
When we find concepts that exist in multiple cultures, especially those that date back hundreds or thousands of years, it gives added validity to the truth of the concept.
A poem called “The Cauldron of Poesy”, written in the 15th century by Amergin and to Nede Mac Adne, identified three centers of the soul, called cauldrons. These three cauldrons were incorporated into the cosmology of Celtic Druidry. The three cauldrons are:
Cauldron of Knowledge (Coire Sois) – Located in the head, this is the source of the highest spiritual and artistic inspirations. At birth it is in the inverted position. If a person becomes spiritually enlightened, it turns to the upright position.
Cauldron of Motion or Vocation (Coire Ernma) – Located in the heart, this is the source of vision work, and skill. If a person has no gifts or skills, it is inverted. If a person becomes aware of their skills, it is tipped on its side. If a person becomes trained in a skill and is enlightened, it turns to the upright position.
Cauldron of Warming (Coire Goiriath) – Located in the belly, this is the source of physical and constitutional health and strength. At birth it is upright in all people and stays upright throughout life with the potential to be fully filled.
In the upright position, the Cauldrons are capable of holding much more knowledge and wisdom. The Cauldron of Vocation and the Cauldron of Knowledge can be turned by either sorrow or joy. There are four forms of sorrow that occur within a person: longing, grief, jealousy, and hard travel. There are two forms of joy: divine joy and human joy. Human joy has four forms: marriage or sexual delight; good health; vocational prosperity; and success in effort. Divine joy has two forms: delight in the blessings of the Gods/Goddesses and eating at the Well of Wisdom.
THE HEAD
When we use the term “head”, we are really referring to a few piece parts. The head includes the mind, which represents logic. The head also houses the sixth and seventh chakras. The head is also the home of the Third Eye. The Third Eye has been called by various names throughout history, including the “Inner Eye,” “Mind’s Eye,” “Eye of the Soul,” and “Eye of Reason.” Almost all Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as many humans, wear a bindi between their eyebrows, which is a physical representation of the Third Eye. Even the single horn of the unicorn represents the Third Eye and was adopted as a symbol of an illumined spiritual nature. When you are able to see with the 3rd Eye, you feel expanded perceptual abilities, increased sensitivity, increased sense of peace, and a higher consciousness.
The head is also the home of the pineal gland. The pineal gland is a pea-sized gland located between the cerebral hemispheres in the brain. The pineal gland got its name because it looks like a tiny pine cone. It has several functions but most importantly it is known as our spiritual or intuitive center.
Here is a process you can use to stimulate or activate your pineal gland:
- With your eyes closed, stare at the tip of your nose, then raise your gaze to the Third Eye.
- Visualize the opening and clearing of your pineal gland.
- Tap your Third Eye three times to inform and seal.
- Avoid fluoride, which is believed to calcify the pineal gland.
THE HEART
When we use the term “heart”, we are referring not only to the fourth chakra but there is an energetic center called the “assemblage point” in the chest area.
The assemblage point is the primary place that the energy body connects to the physical body. The assemblage points is in the center of the chest at the nipple line and the ideal entry angle is 90 degrees, or perpendicular, to the body. The assemblage points is about a quarter to a half inch in diameter.
To find your assemblage points, stand up and look straight ahead. Use the tip of your index finger of your left hand to press firmly into the tissue in a four inch circle in the center of your chest. You’ll know you’ve found your assemblage points because it will likely be very tender or painful.
The position of the assemblage points affects our physical and psychological health. When it is correctly aligned we are positive, happy, and healthy. When the AP is out of alignment we are anxious, depressed, lack energy, or are unwell.
If the assemblage points is out of alignment, it can be shifted back to its optimal position. If you feel that your assemblage points is off, find an energy medicine practitioner who is trained in relocating assemblage points.
Carlos Castaneda believed the assemblage points was a shaman’s portal to “the place of silent knowledge”. Shamans shift their assemblage points in order to perceive different worlds where they can gather power to solve problems.
THE HARA
When we use the term “hara”, we are referring not only to the second and third chakras but there is an energetic center in the belly area. Eastern culture has specific terms for the concept of the third awareness center called the “hara” or “dantian”.
Hara is a Japanese word that means “sea of energy”. In Chinese, the name for the hara is “dantian”, which means “elixir field” or “energy center”. The Sufis call it the “Kath”.
The Hara is the center of the energy body. It can be in slightly different places for different people. It is approximately 1½ to 3 thumb widths below the navel and about 2 thumb widths inward from the skin. There are three acupuncture points at the Hara: the Gate of Origin, and the Sea of Qi, and the Stone Gate.
The hara should be soft and relaxed above the navel but full and firm below it. For most beginners, the hara starts out big, about the size of a baseball or basketball, but as a person learns to consolidate energy, it gets smaller. The health and power of the hara can be increased through: meditation, visualization, breathing techniques, tantra, martial arts, shiatsu, yoga, acupuncture, and QiGong.
“Soma-psychology allows us to distinguish three distinct levels of human communication. Soul and spirit, divided into three distinct spheres: a mind sphere with a verbal thought skin as its surface, a body sphere bounded by our sensory and emotional skin, and an inner soul sphere of our overall soul and spirit. These three spheres also correspond to the three main centers of awareness in the body, the head, heart and hara.” –Peter Wilberg
We actually do have a second brain in our gut. It is called the entreric nervous system, which governs the gastrointestinal system. The enteric nervous system can operate autonomously from the central nervous system and has the same neuropeptides found in the brain. More than 90% of the body’s serotonin and 50% of the body’s dopamine are in the gut. The second brain can inform our state of mind through physiological signals, such as “butterflies”.
As a fetus, we were fed nutrients through the navel. After birth, we feed on energy through the naval. In Inka cosmology, the spiritual stomach is called the “qos’qo”. It is the central receptor of living energy in our body. Through the “belly eye” we connect directly to the energy of Earth. Thus, we have an energetic umbilical cord that maintains our connection with Mother Earth.
You can locate the qos’qo by feeling it with your hand. You can also open or close it at will. Learning to use the qos’qo is an important part of mastering your energy body. As a master, you know how to cleanse the hucha (heavy, dense energy that does not serve you) from your energy bubble, called a “poq’po”. A master can also eat and digest heavy energy (called “hucha mikhuy”); perform saminchukuy, which is a process of pulling in sami (light, refined energy) through the crown chakra to the poq’po; and perform saiwachakuy, which is a process of pulling earth energy through the base chakra to the poq’po.
PROBLEM SOLVING WITH THE 3 CENTERS
Most of us are much more familiar with accessing the head and heart for decision making. However, in Western culture, we are not as familiar with acknowledging the hara. If we don’t access the triad of head, heart, and hara, then we aren’t using the full range of our capacities. The head brings logic, organization, and planning skills to the table. The heart brings emotion, passion, compassion, and love to the table. And the hara brings instinct, intuition, and action to the table.
When you are processing any issue or question, call your head to stand front and center in your consciousness. Ask your head what it has to say. Write the answer down on paper. Then thank and release your head. Next call your heart to stand front and center in your consciousness. Ask it what it has to say. Write the answer down on paper. Thank and release your heart. Last, call in your hara to stand front and center in your consciousness. Ask it what is has to say. Write that answer down on paper. Thank and release your hara. Now review what all three said. If there is a decision to be made, there can’t be a tie within a triad. You will know how you really feel about the issue if you agree with the three or if you disagree with the three. And remember, there is also your Higher Self that can be consulted. But that is the subject of another article.
Copyright © 2016 Drake Bear Stephen. Except where acknowledged. www.DrakeInnerprizes.com
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