Sales of cosmetics, chocolate and (shudder) Spam are up, but Americans have reined in spending on nearly everything else from cars to clothes to restaurant meals. But as the stock and housing markets hit new lows and we resort to shopping in the back of our closets, we may find a glimmer of a silver lining: Recessions can make us a little leaner–and greener.

“The bottom line is, people get physically healthier when times are bad,” says Christopher Ruhm, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who has studied rates of illness and mortality during recessions. For example, when cash is scarce, we eat fewer fattening restaurant meals and by not going out as much, we’re also responsible for fewer global warming emissions from transportation. Caveat: Ruhm only said, “physical health improves.” Faced with job and savings loss, “people feel mentally worse,” he adds. No wonder we’re buying more chocolate and lipstick!

A little knowledge can also help us cope better. Here’s a look at how your health, and that of the environment, may be trending during this economic crunch.

1. You’ll eat more home cooked meals (and be trimmer, healthier and likely happier for it). Some 71 percent of Americans are cooking at home more and eating at restaurants less frequently, the Food Marketing Institute reports. “Home cooking has fewer calories and more nutritional value than foods purchased outside the home,” says Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at NYU. “So eating at home is always good value, not least for encouraging family cooperation and interaction through meals,” Nestle says.

2. You may buy less fresh produce (but you may already be buying more). When cash is scarce, shoppers tend to buy foods containing less water, which are less perishable, along with cheap staples like beans and rice, the New York Times reported in October. And more beans and rice, more canned foods and more pasta results in less, well, regularity, because you’re getting less water in your diet. Thus far, though, the evidence countervenes the conventional wisdom: Also in October, Nielsen market polls showed an increase in unit sales of fresh produce versus last year.

3. You may also buy less red meat (a win for the environment and our health). The head of the International Panel on Climate Change (which shared the 2007 Nobel with Al Gore) urges people to cut back on meat in order to help stem the tide of methane, a potent greenhouse gas excreted by cows. People who eat foods high in saturated fats, such as red meat, are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the American Heart Association, as well as some cancers, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Animal fats, including dairy products, also have high levels of toxic dioxins.

4. You may continue to buy some organic food (reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated). While organic food sales have slowed, the organic marketplace is still growing, leading to continued benefits for our soil and water quality and those of us who prefer food without pesticide residues and added hormones and antibiotics, recession or not.

5. You may be buying more locally grown foods (if it’s not you, someone’s doing it!). The USDA announced a growth in farmers’ markets, whose number nationwide reached 4,685 in August 2008, a 6.8 percent gain from two years before. This news is better for the environment (fewer planes and trucks spewing pollutants and carbon) and for our health (fewer post-harvest preservatives and pesticides).

6. You may eat more Spam (and Bisphenol-A). Production of Spam, a staple from the Great Depression and World War II, is up a lot. It’s cheap, yes, but Spam comes in a can, and canned foods are the main source of hormone-disrupting Bisphenol-A in our diets. Plus, BPA leaches more readily into fatty foods (like you know what) or acidic ones (like tomatoes) so resist the temptation (if that’s a possible reaction to Spam!) and save pennies in other ways.

7. You’ll exercise more (and even if you hate it, it may cheer you up). Twenty-five percent of Americans said they’re coping with the recession stress by exercising more according to a recent health poll. “When people feel mentally worse, you wonder, what can you control? You can exercise more and eat healthier,” Ruhm says.

8. You’ll brew your own coffee (and/or tote a refillable mug). To save money, people are forgoing Starbucks in favor of brewing their coffee at home. In addition to saving money and thereby raising self-esteem (not to mention confidence in one’s ability to perform these basic tasks), home brewing will also help reduce the 28 billion disposable coffee cups we chuck a year, resulting in 100 million pounds of landfill trash.

9. You will probably buy less soda (yesss!). Unit sales of carbonated beverages are down more than 5 percent. Great for your health: Whether you were drinking sweet high-caloric drinks or artificially sweetened sodas, even diet sodas contribute to weight gain, according to a 2007 study. And, buying less soda is great news for the environment, given the growing waste and disappointing recycling rates associated with aluminum cans and plastic bottles (but switching from soda to bottled water is cheating!).

10. You’ll drive less, breathe cleaner air and have fewer accidents. Americans drove nearly 11 billion fewer miles from Sept 2007 to Sept 2008 than in the previous 12 months, the Department of Transportation announced in November. Despite the recent fall in gas prices, the trend continued into Thanksgiving when planned holiday car trips fell by 1.2 percent, the first decrease in years. “People go out less, drive less, so there are fewer traffic accidents and pollution levels fall, Ruhm says. This, along with the slowdown in industrial activity, means fewer greenhouse gas emissions and far less smog and particulate pollutants, which cause lung disease and lower birth weights.

11. Your recession baby may be more likely to be a girl (check back in a couple months). While most parents, of course, are equally delighted to be blessed with a child of either sex, this intriguing thesis reveals the possible physical outcomes of economic shocks. “After environmental shocks, sex ratio drops 3 to 4 months later. A recession is one kind of environmental shock. And dramatic downturns such as this one are so unusual–so dramatic and so fast,” says Ralph Catalano, a professor of public health at UC Berkeley who’s studying the affect of environmental stress on sex ratios, including a decline in male births in Germany during a past recession. Why? “There are two ways in which a depression or disorganized economy may affect sex ratios,” Catalano says. One, “You’re more likely to conceive females on more days of the month, a lot of evidence suggests, and stressed males have reduced libido and lower sperm counts, so where there’s less sexual activity it favors female babies,” Catalano says, adding that he doesn’t believe this argument. More compellingly, he says, “In animal research, females that are stressed tend to spontaneously abort offspring that are less likely to produce grandchildren, and so they’ll get rid of smaller males in utero.” When will we know if this is happening or not? “Given the current economy, we should see reductions in male to female sex rations by January or February of next year,” Catalano says.

12. You may splurge on a little makeup (count us in!). As is typical in recessions, cosmetic sales are going up and up (40 percent at last count)–a harmless indulgence, so long as you make sure your personal care products are free of the most toxic ingredients, such as phthalates in synthetic fragrances. “We are concerned about the effects these chemicals may have on many hormone-related processes such as sexual development in children,” says Luz Claudio, associate professor of community and preventive medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, who is conducting a long-term study of the relationship between girls’ development and the personal care products they use. In recent human studies, phthalates have been associated with feminizing traits in male infants. Happily, U.S. sales of natural personal care products are posting strong growth even in this weak economy, rising 12.5 percent in 2007, according to market researchers Mintel, who predict another increase from $465 to $513 million this year–better for your health, water quality and wildlife, all around.

All in all, we think you’ll have good green cause for optimism. Recent reports show that when Americans are buying anything, we’re looking for green options not only for the sake of our health, but also for the sake of the planet. We’re behaving greener and healthier, too, saving energy (which saves money), driving less and walking more, reusing and recycling. The environment remains American’s top social cause, a survey found in November, and nearly 7 out of 10 Americans say they’ll remain loyal to brands that support social causes, even in a recession.

Help is on the way! The new Administration is planning to invest in green energy, infrastructure and jobs to get us out of this recession. So, turn off the TV and socialize. That’s what the holidays are all about, being with family and friends. And, if you conserve energy by watching less TV, you may be less depressed and have more sex as a result. The sun still shineth, winds of change are afoot and like winter itself, this economic chill may precede green growth. As Granny always said, health is wealth!

The number-one killer in America (for both men and women), heart disease is the result of the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients. This process, called coronary artery disease, can generally be traced to a condition called atherosclerosis, the build-up of cholesterol-rich fatty deposits, or plaques, on the inside of arterial walls. As these deposits accumulate over time, the coronary arteries narrow to the point that the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart is impeded. (Arterial spasms — triggered by smoking, extreme emotional stress, or exposure to very cold temperature —may also cause coronary arteries to narrow suddenly and dangerously.)

The Risk Factors — and How You Can Reduce Yours
Major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, diabetes mellitus, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and poor nutrition. Prevention and treatment centers around these risk factors — and these approaches will help you lower risk for many other types of illness, as well as helping you feel great and have more energy overall.

1. Don’t smoke.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of cardiovascular disease in women, with more than 50 percent of heart attacks among middle-aged women attributable to tobacco. Risk of cardiovascular disease begins to decline within months of smoking cessation and reaches the level of persons who have never smoked within 3 to 5 years.

2. Lower your cholesterol.
High blood cholesterol is a condition that greatly increases your chances of developing coronary heart disease. Extra cholesterol in the blood settles on the inner walls of the arteries, narrowing them and allowing less blood to pass through them to the heart. Aim for total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL; LDL cholesterol below 130 mg/dL and HDL above 35 mg/dL.

3. Maintain a healthy weight.
Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are epidemics in the United States that contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of obesity has increased among both men and women in the United States in the past decade; currently about one third of adult women (or 34 million) are classified as obese. Also, 60% of both men and women get no regular physical activity. Obesity, especially abdominal adiposity, is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women.

4. Exercise regularly.
Recent evidence suggests that even moderate-intensity activity, including brisk walking, is associated with substantial reduction of cardiovascular disease risk. These findings support the 1995 federal exercise guidelines endorsing 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity most days of the week, a program that should be feasible and safe for most of the population. Regular exercise and maintenance of healthy weight should also help reduce insulin resistance and the risk of non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, which appears to be an even stronger risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women than in men. Diabetes is associated with a threefold to sevenfold elevation in cardiovascular disease risk among women, compared with a twofold to threefold elevation among men. Approximately half of all deaths in patients with non–insulin dependent diabetes mellitus are due to heart disease.

5. Eat less saturated fat, more produce & more fiber.
Diets low in saturated fat and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, a recent study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal confirmed that the consumption of fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, seems to have a protective effect against coronary heart disease. You may even think about moving toward more flexitarian or vegetarian eating habits: A vegetarian diet reduces the risk of coronary artery disease, and may even reverse existing coronary artery disease when combined with other lifestyle changes. A Mediterranean diet that uses olive oil can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.

6. Avoid trans fats.
Trans fatty acids have been linked to adverse lipid profiles and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This includes most margarines. The role of other fatty acids, including monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and marine omega-3 fatty acids, remains controversial.

7. Consume alcohol only in moderation.
Moderate intake of alcohol is related to reduction of cardiovascular disease — but may raise blood pressure and increase risk of breast cancer. Early surgical menopause is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which appears to be negated by the use of estrogen therapy.

8. Arm yourself with risk-reducing supplements.
Antioxidant vitamin supplements, particularly vitamin E and homocysteine-lowering agents such as folate and B6, have promising roles in prevention of cardiovascular disease, but conclusive evidence may hinge on the results of several ongoing randomized clinical trials. When it is found in unusually high levels, homocysteine brings the same degree of risk as having high cholesterol does. The B vitamins, especially folic acid and B12, will drive elevated homocysteine levels down to normal, often without the need of any prescription medication.

9. Give yourself some new stress-management tools.
Poorly controlled stress may have an adverse effect on blood lipids. An attitude of hostility has been powerfully linked with a higher incidence of cardiac events, and cynical distrust has been associated with accelerated progression of carotid artery disease. Relaxation methods (meditation, breathing exercises), yoga, and stress management techniques are essential for preventing cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease and for reducing the risk of recurrent cardiac problems. Meditation improves exercise tolerance and decreases electrical changes associated with poor circulation to the heart. Meditation has also been shown to lower cholesterol and reverse carotid artery thickening. Also consider acupuncture, which has been shown to help relax the myocardium and improve circulation.

10. Ask your health professional about herbs and nutritional supplements that may be useful in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, including:

- Bilberry
- Turmeric (curcumin)
- Fenugreek
- Ginger
- Guggul
- Ginkgo
- Garlic (one garlic clove is roughly equal to 4 mg to 1 gram of garlic; a daily dose of 600 to 800mg may be recommended)
- Onion
- Vitamin B12
- Folic acid (500 to 5000 micrograms daily may be recommended)
- B6
- L-Carnitine
- Coenzyme Q10 (100 to 300 mg daily may be recommended)
- Vitamin E (400 to 800 International Units daily may be recommended)
- Magnesium (200 to 400 mg daily may be recommended)
- Niacin (A typical oral dose of 100 mg, three times daily; may gradually increase to avg. dose of 1 gram three times daily, with a maximum dose of 6 grams. Extended release tablets: Dosing may begin with one 375-milligram tablet at bedtime and be increased by no more than 500 mg per four-week period, to a maximum of 2,000 mg, given as two 1,000-milligram tablets before bed)
- Fish oils (6 grams daily may be recommended))
- Soy (Isoflavones may be recommended))

Everything begins with your consciousness. Everything that happens in your life, and everything that happens in your body, begins with something happening in your consciousness. Your consciousness is who you are, your experience of Being. You decide what ideas to accept and which to reject. You decide what to think, and you decide what to feel. When these decisions leave you with residual stress, you experience the stress as if in your physical body.

We know that stress creates symptoms. The interesting question is, “Which stress creates which symptoms?” When we are able to quantify this process, we are then able to see the body as a map of the person’s consciousness, relating particular symptoms to particular stresses and particular ways of being, in the same way that Type “A” Behavior has been able to be associated with heart disease.

To understand this map, we must first orient ourselves to the idea that the causes of symptoms are within. While it’s true that germs cause disease and accidents cause injuries, it is also true that this happens in accord with what is happening in the consciousness of the person involved.

Germs are everywhere. Why are some people affected and not others? Something different is happening in their consciousness. Why do some patients in hospitals respond better to treatment than others? They have different attitudes. Something different is happening in their consciousness When someone is injured in an “accident,” why is it that a very specific part of the body is affected, and that it is the same part that has had habitual problems? Is that an “accident,” or is there a pattern and an order to the way things happen in our bodies?

Your consciousness, your experience of Being, who you really are, is energy. We can call it “Life Energy” for now. This energy does not just live in your brain; it fills your entire body. Your consciousness is connected to every cell in your body. Through your consciousness, you can communicate with every organ and every tissue, and a number of therapies are based on this communication with the organs which have been affected by some kind of symptom or disorder.

This energy which is your consciousness, and which reflects your state of consciousness, can be measured through the process known as Kirlian photography. When you take a Kirlian photograph of your hand, it shows a certain pattern of energy. If you take a second photograph while imagining that you are sending love and energy to someone you know, there will be a different pattern of energy shown on the Kirlian photograph. Thus, we can see that a change in your consciousness creates a change in the energy field that is being photographed, which we call the aura.

This energy field shown in the Kirlian photographs has been quantified, so that when there are “holes” in particular parts of the energy field, these are said to correspond to particular weaknesses in specific parts of the physical body. The interesting thing about this is that the weakness shows up in the energy field before there is ever any evidence of it on the physical level.

Thus, we have an interesting direction of manifestation shown through what we have described.

1. A change of consciousness creates a change in the energy field.
2. A change in the energy field happens before a change in the physical body.

The direction of manifestation is from the consciousness, through the energy field, to the physical body.

Consciousness———1———>Energy Field——–2———>Physical Body

When we look at things in this way, we see that it is not the physical body creating the energy field, the aura, but rather the aura or energy field that is creating the physical body. What we see as the physical body is the end result of a process that begins with the consciousness.

When someone makes a decision that leaves them with stress, creating a blockage in the energy field with a sufficient degree of intensity, this creates a symptom on the physical level. The symptom speaks a certain language, which reflects the idea that we each create our own reality. When the symptom is described from that point of view, the metaphoric significance of the symptom becomes clear. Thus, instead of saying, “I can’t see,” the person would have to say, “I have been keeping myself from seeing something.” If they cannot walk, they would have to say, “I have been keeping myself from walking away from something.” And so on.

We must understand that there are no accidents and no coincidences. Things do happen according to a pattern and order. We can say that we have an inner guidance system, a connection to our Higher Self, or our Inner Being, or whatever name we choose to give this Higher Intelligence. This inner guidance system functions through what we call our intuition, or our instinct. It speaks a very simple language. Either it feels good, or it doesn’t. All the rest is just politics.

We are told we should move with what feels good, and do not do what doesn’t feel good to us. We are told to trust this inner voice. When we don’t follow this inner voice we feel tension. We feel not-good.

Then, the voice must get louder. The next level of communication is through the emotions. As we move more and more in the direction that feels not-good, we experience more and more emotions that feel not-good, and at some point we can say, “I should have listened to myself when I thought to move in the other direction.” That meant that we heard the inner voice. Otherwise, we could not have said, “I should have listened.” If we make the decision we know is the right one for us, and therefore change direction, there is a release of tension, we feel better, and we know we are again on the right track.

If we continue to move in the direction that feels not-good, the communication reaches the physical level. We create a symptom, and the symptom speaks a language which reflects the idea that we each create our own reality. When we describe the symptom from that point of view, we can understand the message. If we change our way of being, we have received the message, and the symptom has no further reason for being. It is able to be released, according to whatever we allow ourselves to believe is possible.

If we created the symptom with a decision, we are also able to release it with a decision.

As an hypothesis, we can imagine that someone makes a decision that it is not a good idea to express what they want. From that moment, whenever there is something they want, they keep themselves from expressing it, and therefore from having what they want. That feels not-good. The tension grows. They feel more and more not-good as they keep themselves from expressing what they want and not having it.

Eventually, something happens to create a symptom on the physical level, and their right arm is affected. It could have happened through falling from a ladder, or in an automobile accident, or by pinching a nerve in the neck, or by “sleeping in a draft.”

Something had to happen on the physical level to create the symptom, in order to give the person the message on the physical level about what they had been doing to themselves. We do to ourselves literally what we have been doing to ourselves figuratively.

The effect is that the person cannot move their arm. They are keeping themselves from reaching for something, and since it is the right arm, on the “will” side of the body, they are keeping themselves from reaching for or going for what they want. They have been giving themselves reasons to not believe that they could have what they want.

When they begin to do something different in their consciousness, they notice that something different begins to happen with their arm, and the symptom is able to be released.

To understand the map of the consciousness that the body represents, we can turn to some ancient Hindu traditions which have been studying consciousness for thousands of years, and which use the language of the chakras.

Chakra is a sanscrit word, and it means “wheel,” or “vortex,” because that’s what it looks like when we look at it. Each chakra is like a solid ball of energy interpenetrating the physical body, in the same way that a magnetic field can interpenetrate the physical body.

The chakras are not physical. They are aspects of consciousness in the same way that the auras are aspects of consciousness The chakras are more dense than the auras, but not as dense as the physical body, but they interact with the physical body through two major vehicles, the endocrine system and the nervous system. Each of the seven chakras is associated with one of the seven endocrine glands, and also with a particular group of nerves called a plexus. Thus, each chakra can be associated with particular parts of the body and particular functions within the body controlled by that plexus or that endocrine gland associated with that chakra.

Your consciousness, your experience of being, represents everything it is possible for you to experience. All of your senses, all of your perceptions, all of your possible states of awareness, can be divided into seven categories, and each of these categories can be associated with a particular chakra. Thus, the chakras represent not only particular parts of your physical body, but also particular parts of your consciousness. When you feel tension in your consciousness, you feel it in the chakra associated with the part of your consciousness experiencing the stress, and in the parts of the physical body associated with that chakra. Where you feel the stress depends therefore on why you feel the stress. When someone is hurt in a relationship, they feel it in their heart. When someone is nervous, their legs tremble and their bladder becomes weak.

When there is tension in a particular part of your consciousness, and therefore in the chakra associated with that part of your consciousness, the tension is detected by the nerves of the plexus associated with that chakra, and communicated to the parts of the body controlled by that plexus. When the tension continues over a period of time, or reaches a particular degree of intensity, the person creates a symptom on the physical level. Again, the symptom served to communicate to the person through their body what they had been doing to themselves in their consciousness. When the person changes something about their way of being, they are able to release the stress that had been creating the symptom, and they are then able to return to their natural state of balance and health.

When we are reading the body as a map of the consciousness within, we work with the idea that the tensions in the body represent tensions in the person’s consciousness concerning what was happening in the person’s life at the time that the symptom developed. The person was feeling stress about something that was happening in their life at that time.

We are going to examine the map of consciousness that the chakras provide, in order to understand the language of the symptoms that are associated with each chakra. In order to complete this map, however, we also need to look at ourselves as each a polarity of yin and yang, feminine and masculine characteristics.

For most people, their right side is their yang side, their will side, their acting or active side, and the left side is their yin side, their female side, their feeling or adaptive side. For people who were born left-handed, this polarity is reversed. Thus, for a right-handed person, their right leg can be described as their will leg, or their male leg, or the foundation of their will, but for a left-handed person, their left leg would be their male leg or will leg, and so on. Thus, we can talk about the will arm, or the will eye, or the will nostril, etc., and which side it is on will depend upon whether the person is right-handed or left-handed at birth.

Each of the chakras is energy vibrating at a certain frequency, in a logical and orderly sequence of seven vibrations. As we move up the scale, the elements become more and more subtle, moving through the five physical elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, to the spiritual elements of inner sound and inner light. The heaviest element is on the bottom, the lightest on the top. It is a logical and orderly sequence.

The colors of the spectrum also represent a series of seven vibrations in a logical and orderly sequence, as do the notes of the musical scale. Thus, we can put the heaviest vibrations or the longest wavelength on the bottom and the lightest on the top, and a particular color can be used to represent a chakra in its clear state, as can a particular musical note. Music played in a certain key vibrates a particular chakra, and we feel a particular way when we hear that music. Our relationship with a certain color says something about our relationship with the part of our consciousness that the color represents.

The Root Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness concerned with security, survival, or trust. For most people, this concerns the parts of their consciousness concerned with money, home, and job. When this chakra is in its clear state, the person is able to feel secure, be present in the here and now, and be grounded. When there is tension in this chakra, it is experienced as insecurity or fear. When there is more tension, it is experienced as a threat to survival.

Parts of the body controlled by the sacral plexus and this chakra include the skeleton system, the legs, and the elimination system. Symptoms in these parts of the body represent, therefore, tensions at the level of the Root Chakra, and we therefore know that the person is seeing the world through a perceptual filter of insecurity or fear. The adrenal glands are also associated with this chakra.

If one leg is affected, we can see whether it is the male leg or the female leg, and thus whether it has something to do with trust in a male or trust in a female. We can also see it as having something to do with trust in the will, or the aspects of trust in the foundations the emotional being, related to what was happening in the person’s life at the time the symptom developed.

The physical sense of smell, and therefore the organ of the sense of smell, the nose, is associated with the Root Chakra. Symptoms at the level of the nose or affecting the sense of smell reflect tensions at the level of the Root Chakra.

Each chakra is associated with an element. The Root Chakra is associated with the element of earth, and reflects something about the person’s association with the earth, or how they feel about being on the earth, which we call Mother Earth. This chakra is also associated with our relationship with our mother. When someone experiences a sense of separation from their mother, or not feeling loved by their mother, they cut off their roots and experience symptoms of tensions at the level of the Root Chakra until they can again open to accept their mother’s love.

When a child comes into the world in the traditional family structure, the mother provides the nourishment and the father provides the direction. Thus, in the child’s relationship with its mother, it makes certain decisions about the way things are. The relationship with the mother thus becomes a model for the person’s relationship with everything that represents security – money, home, and job.

The Root Chakra is associated with the color red.

The Abdominal Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness concerned with food and sex – the communication from the body to the person within it, about what the body wants or needs, and what it finds pleasurable. It also is related to what is happening in their consciousness about having children. When this chakra is in its clear state, the person is in touch with this communication, and listening to and responding appropriately to what the body wants and needs.

Parts of the body controlled by the lumbar plexus include the reproductive system and the abdomen, and the lumbar region of the back.

The sense of taste is associated with this chakra, as is the element of water. When someone does not have a clear relationship with water (swimming, for example, or being on a boat), this reflects their attitudes about the parts of their consciousness that this chakra represents.

Tensions on the will side or the emotional side of this chakra indicate tensions in the person’s consciousness as conflicts between either the will or the emotions with what the person’s body is asking for.

This chakra is associated with the sense of taste, and with appetite. It is also involved with the person’s willingness to feel their emotions.

The second chakra is associated with the color orange.

The Solar Plexus Chakra is associated with the parts of our consciousness having to do with perceptions of power, control, or freedom. In its clear state, it represents ease of being, and comfort with what is real for one’s self – being comfortable with who you are.

Parts of the body associated with this chakra include the organs closest to the solar plexus – stomach, gall bladder, spleen, liver, etc. – as well as the skin as a system, the muscular system as a system, and the face in general.

The physical sense associated with this chakra is the sense of sight. Anyone with impaired eyesight experiences tension at the level of their solar plexus chakra about the issues of power, control, or freedom. Nearsighted people also experience tensions at the level of the Root Chakra, and experience the world through a perceptual filter of fear or insecurity. Those who are farsighted experience tension also at the level of the throat chakra, and see the world through a perceptual filter of anger or guilt. Astigmatics see through the emotional perceptual filter of confusion.

The endocrine gland associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra is the pancreas. We can say that diabetics are keeping sweetness from themselves. When someone gets too close with sweetness, they feel threatened in their power to be who they are, and an emotion comes up to create a safe distance again. The emotion is anger. Diabetes is associated with suppressed anger.

The element associated with this chakra is fire, and the person’s relationship with the sun says something about their relationship with the parts of their consciousness associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra.

The color of the Solar Plexus Chakra is yellow.

The Heart Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with relationships and our perceptions of love. The relationships we speak of here are with those people closest to our heart – partners, parents, siblings, children.

The parts of the body associated with this chakra include the heart and lungs, and the blood circulatory system as a system. This chakra is also associated with the thymus gland, which controls the immune system. When this is affected, as with AIDS, the person’s lifestyle separates them from someone they love.

The physical sense associated with this chakra is the sense of touch, in its aspect of relating to the person inside the body. For example, a massage given to someone with no sensitivity to what the person is feeling inside would be an example of the sensation we associate with the Abdominal Chakra, but when the masseur seems to have a sense of what the person inside the body is experiencing, then it includes the aspect of relating we associate with the Heart Chakra. When someone experiences extreme sensitivity about being touched, we would ask what was happening at the level of the Heart Chakra.

This chakra is associated with the element of air. When someone has difficulty with air, with breathing (asthma, emphysema, tuberculosis, etc.), we say that their relationship with air reflects their relationship with love – difficulty letting it in, or letting it out, for example

The color associated with the Heart Chakra is emerald green.

The Throat Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with expressing and receiving. Expressing can be in the form of communicating what one wants and what one feels, or it can be artistic expression, as an artist painting, a dancer dancing, a musician playing music, using a form for expressing and bringing to the outside what was within. Expression is related to receiving, as, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”

The throat chakra is associated with abundance, and with the state of consciousness called, “grace,” where it seems that what you want for you is also what God wants for you. Accepting what the abundant universe offers you requires a sense of unconditionally receiving.

This chakra is also associated with listening to one’s intuition, and flowing in a particular way where it seems that the Universe supports you in all that you do. It is the first level of consciousness from which one perceives another level of intelligence functioning, and one’s interaction with this other level of intelligence.

Parts of the body associated with this chakra include the throat, shoulders, and arms and hands. and the thyroid gland.

The sense of hearing is associated with this chakra, and the element of ether, the most subtle physical element, corresponding to what we find in deep space. The ether is the crossover between the physical and the spiritual dimensions. Someone looking at the world through this chakra watches the manifestation of their goals. The Will Arm represents manifesting what you want, and the Feeling Arm represents manifesting what makes you happy. Hopefully, the two point to the same thing. Blue is the color associated with this chakra.

The Brow Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with the spiritual view, and the home of the Spirit, the Being within. This level of consciousness is associated with what western traditions call the unconscious or subconscious, the part of our consciousness that directs our actions and our life. From this level we are aware of the motivations behind our actions. We can watch our outer theater from an inner point of view.

This chakra is associated with the carotid plexus, and the nerves on each side of the face, and the pituitary gland. Headaches in the temples or center of the forehead are associated with tensions at this level. This chakra controls the entire endocrine system as a system, and the process of growth.

The Brow chakra, also known as the Third Eye, is associated with extra sensory perception (ESP), the set of all inner senses that correspond to the outer senses, which together comprise spirit-to-spirit communication. The element associated with this chakra is a vibration known as the Inner Sound, the sound that one hears in their ears that does not depend upon something in the physical world. Some consider it a pathological condition. In some of the eastern traditions the ability to hear this is considered a necessary prerequisite to further spiritual growth.

The color associated with this chakra is indigo, midnight blue, the color of lapis lazuli, or the color of the night sky during a full moon.

The Crown Chakra is associated with the parts of the consciousness concerned with unity or separation, and just as the Root Chakra showed our connection with Mother Earth, this chakra shows our connection with Our Father, Which Art in Heaven. At first, it is associated with our connection with our biological father. This becomes the model for our relationship with authority, and this becomes the model for our relationship with God. When there is a sense of separation from our biological father, the person closes this chakra, and the effect on the consciousness is a sense of isolation and aloneness, being in a shell, and difficult to make contact with those outside the shell.

The person feels as if they are hiding from God, or hiding from themselves, not seeing what is true for them in the deepest part of their consciousness, the part we call the soul.

This chakra is also associated with a sense of direction.

The parts of the body controlled by this chakra are the pineal gland, the brain, and the entire nervous system as a system.

The color associated with the Crown Chakra is violet, the color of amethyst.

Using The Map
When there is tension in a particular part of the body, this represents a tension in a particular part of the consciousness, about a particular part of the person’s life. Being aware of these associations helps one to see the importance of resolving the tense issues in their life.

If it were only a question of doing what is necessary for the person to be happy, that would be reason enough to motivate the person to want to change something that doesn’t work for them, but here, we see that it is also a matter of health. The issues that are unresolved in a person’s life are, in fact, hazardous to their health.

When we see the correspondences between the consciousness and the body, we see the degree to which we each create our reality. In fact, those words begin to take on a new meaning. We see how everything begins in our consciousness and we are able to look around us at other aspects of our lives in the same way.

When we see how the body carries our the messages and deepest wishes of the Being within the body, we can realize that the process can go in more than one direction. If our consciousness is directing how we develop symptoms, it can also direct how we release these same symptoms. If our consciousness can make our body ill, our consciousness can make our body well.

The logical conclusion of this process is that anything can be healed.

The Success Solution: How You May be Preventing your Own Success

Recently, I worked with a client who found himself in a couple of situations many of us have either experienced, or fear experiencing. He called me, feeling down, frustrated and anxious about his future. In the same week, he was laid off at work and experienced the end of a six-year relationship. Ouch!

As we explored his situation, we discovered a couple of things. First, he really didn’t like his job and it was not leading him towards the financial success he desired. And second, the relationship that ended was an unhappy one for quite some time. Yet, he wanted to hold on to both of them and felt upset over what had occurred.

You see, many of us find ourselves in similar situations in life. We have something that isn’t quite what we want, but if we were to lose it, great fear and insecurity arises.

Why?

There are two forces that drive your life and prevent you from really having what you desire: attachments and aversions.

We become attached to what is comfortable for us — i.e., things that give us a false sense of having what we want; things that temporarily make us feel better for brief moments, only to leave us feeling rotten later. These attachments can include unfulfilling jobs, relationships that lack passion, bad habits such as smoking or overeating, and thousands of other possibilities.

Our attachments often prevent us from making the space in our life to have what we really desire. If life is a buffet, we have our plates full of food we don’t really like, meaning there isn’t any room for dessert.

Hanging on to that unfulfilling job for its false sense of security prevented this man from finding work he feels excited about doing — or starting a business of his own. His attachment to the mediocre relationship prevented him from exploring new possibilities and meeting someone who really loved him, and someone he really loved in turn.

When he saw this for himself, his energy took a dramatic turn in the positive direction. He saw new opportunity in his life instead of fear and loss. This one simple realization could likely change the course of his entire life.

We also have aversions. These are the things in life that feel uncomfortable to us. It could be making an important phone call, or asking out someone we are really attracted to, or getting in front of a room and sharing our brilliance. Aversions prevent us from moving forward, taking action and manifesting what we desire. Aversions prevent you from acting on your immense potential.

What are attachments and aversions and how can we overcome them?

Attachments and aversions are nothing more than feelings. Many of us say “I am frustrated” — but the truth is, “I feel frustrated.” I am having a feeling; I am not the feeling.

There is a wonderful technique called the Sedona Method that teaches a simple set of techniques that allow us to effortlessly “let go” of any unwanted thought or feeling — any attachment or aversion. With these blocks removed, you will feel more confidence, and more at ease and more willing to take the bold actions that produce success.

We can fight and struggle and force our way to success. We really can. I know. I have done it. But, ultimately, it is a hard, stressful, frustrating journey. I think you know what I mean.

Or, we can learn to easily overcome the resistance that creates a flow to life. When we overcome our attachments and aversions, we become truly free to be, do and have whatever we desire. It’s easy. It really is.

I encourage you to learn more about any program that teaches you to “let go.” It is the most powerful personal development tool I have ever learned. My favorite program on the market is the Sedona Method course — the original, and still the best, program of its kind.

The link below offers a free newsletter to learn more, and you can also order a free 2-hour DVD and introductory CD that includes a demonstration of one of the basic releasing techniques they teach. I encourage you to experience this program for yourself and discover the exhilarating possibility of true freedom from your attachments and aversions.

Wishing you all the success and abundance you can allow into your life,

posted by: John R. Barker