READING THE AURA AND CHAKRAS

(Using Psychic Information and Guidance)

   You will begin each healing treatment by calling in the energy using symbols, as previously described. After this, however, your first task is to begin the process of assessing the condition of your patient. Each patient will present him- or herself to you with specific energetic defects in the energy field, and specific treatment needs. You will therefore need to treat each patient as unique, and seek to come to an understanding of his or her condition prior to treatment. You must remember, however, that this process of becoming aware of the condition of your patient also continues throughout treatment-that you will use your perceptual tools throughout your work to continually refine and add to your understanding of the patient, as you treat.

   In Chios Level II you will use three main perceptual tools to inform yourself of your patient's condition: 1) The psychic information and guidance you receive regarding the condition of your patient's aura and chakras, as perceived through your intuitive sense (in your mind's eye); 2) Your observations, as you learn to observe the aura and chakras of the patient using your own eyes, and 3) Sensations in your hands, especially as you practice the passing-of-hands over the patient's energy field. The information you receive from these sources will be combined and used together. You will use these perceptual tools to look for blocked chakras, leaks and tears in the auric field, auric energy impurities, energy depletion and disturbances in energy flow-the simple energetic defects that you will learn to treat as you study this level. The first perceptual tool you will study, in order to begin to sense these defects, is the reception of intuitive (psychic) information and guidance.

   A primary and very important tool of the healer is the ability to obtain psychic information and guidance. Beyond the level of our "everyday" awareness, with our busy "thinking mind" which preoccupies itself with the surface level of reality, lies a greater realm of awareness, within which lies great knowledge and power. Each of us has, by virtue of our intuitive mind, a connection to this wider realm. This deeper awareness, present in each of us, contains within it all the information we might ever seek to know-including knowledge of the condition of the patient's aura and chakras, contributing factors in the psychology and life experience of the patient, and the most beneficial way for healing treatment to proceed. This psychic information can be accessed by developing and refining the connection we all have to this wider realm of awareness. This can be done by cultivating our intuitive abilities, through practice using the proper technique. The healer can therefore acquire this useful information, use it to become more aware of the patient's condition and thereby be able to plan and give a more effective and beneficial treatment.

   Learning to access the knowledge contained in this realm of higher awareness not only enables the healer to receive information on his or her own-from the higher awareness of the healer-but also to open a channel to receive guidance. Often, the healer will be assisted in obtaining this information, through the assistance of an entity which exists on a higher level of awareness, a higher plane of existence-a guide. The guide acts to provide a channel, to facilitate the reception of this information, as a messenger to assist the healer. Because the guide exists at a higher level of reality, initial contact and effective communication may be difficult, at first, but through the training of the intuitive sense of the healer, the awareness "opens up," and a fuller, more comprehensive awareness and communication between healer and guide becomes possible.

   The guide may also provide a conduit for the healer to exercise the healing power, which resides in this field of pure being. Whether a healer operates "alone," or with the assistance of a guide, it is this higher realm of awareness that provides much vital information for the healing of the patient. The development of intuitive ability is essential for the reception of this information. Learning to develop the intuition is the same overall process as becoming aware of, and able to accurately receive, guidance.

   The technique that trains the awareness of the healer to begin to receive this intuitive (psychic) information is described below. This technique effectively assists the healer in asking for, and receiving, the desired information, and provides an entry into what will become the effortless and unitary reception and awareness of psychic information and guidance. From regular practice, you will find that your receptive ability will progressively increase and become more accurate, and you will naturally receive more information, as you work. You will also, if you have guidance, find that the more you work to become consciously aware of and use the information your guide offers, the stronger your guide's assistance becomes.

The Intuitive Technique for Practicing Reception of Psychic Information and Guidance:

   Learning to obtain psychic information and guidance is begun through learning to do an intuitive reading. Understanding how the mind works to obtain this information, and then using the mind in an accurate and pure way to obtain it, assists the healer in learning this ability.

   The human mind is often thought to be composed of two differing functions: the intellect, or rational mind, which thinks along specific avenues of thought, and the intuitive mind (or intuition), which is able to access information from the larger realm of intuitive awareness. These two functions correspond to the two cerebral hemispheres, and each has its part to play in our life, by virtue of its unique abilities. The rational mind, corresponding to the left hemisphere, is deductive, active, concentrates, and assists us in living in this world. It excels at focusing on specifics-at formulating, analyzing, interpreting things and taking specific action. The intuitive mind, corresponding to the right hemisphere, is expansive, passive, receptive and possesses an inner awareness beyond time and space. It excels at receiving impressions and coming to intuitive understanding of things, and is able to access information from the wider realm of awareness-it is our personal connection to this realm.   These functions of the mind may also be termed the active principle (the rational mind) and receptive principle (intuitive mind), and may be used in a certain way to obtain psychic information. The active principle, with its ability to focus and formulate, is used to ask for the information that is desired-to focus the awareness upon the subject of the inquiry. The active principle is then "dropped," or left behind, so that the receptive principle may receive the information desired. Before the information comes, the rational mind (active principle) focuses the attention and intention, and then control is relinquished, so that the intuitive mind (receptive principle) may effortlessly receive the needed information. These are used in a certain way, and this method of asking for and receiving information is detailed below.

  Before beginning treatment, stand with your eyes closed and concentrate, imagine in your mind's eye the shape of your patient's body, a body outline. Focus your awareness on a "blank" outline of the body alone, allowing all other thoughts and emotions to become unimportant. Create this shape in your mind. You will be doing this with the awareness that you will be receiving, shortly, information on the energy field of the patient. This concentration on the body outline will probably require a little effort, at least while learning.  For a short moment let your attention concentrate, and focus, on this shape alone.

   Then RELEASE all effort, relinquish all control, and open yourself up to effortless reception of information that will just come. Let your mind drift, let go of all thoughts and preconceptions, suspend your thinking. Do not "strive to see" anything. You may still "see" the body outline, although now other information will appear as patterns upon it-blotches or patterns on the body, fuzzy areas or other appearances in the aura, colors, or in many other ways. Let whatever comes just come, without placing any judgment or "thinking" bias upon it. See whatever is coming effortlessly. Notice how this release of effort, and seeing, is similar to visualization as you have practiced it. It is not the same as pretending to see, or as seeing with the physical eyes, it is "seeing" information intuitively, with the third eye chakra-information that is felt with the being.

   It is not possible to tell you exactly what you will "see," because each person will perceive differently. You must experience, and interpret for yourself, your own unique perceptions. Perhaps you will "see" a discoloration or blotch over a chakra location, and know, at the same time, that it is a blocked chakra. Perhaps you will sense leaks or tears, damaged areas in the field leaking energy. Perhaps you will "see" muddiness around the head that you know to be auric impurities, and at the same time sense a gummy or mucky feel to the energy. Perhaps you will sense an overall disturbance of energy flow in the entire field. Perhaps you will sense energy depletion in the field, a weakness in the energy. You will sense any or all of these conditions in your patient, in various combinations, depending on that person's unique condition.

   You may, at the same time, receive information regarding the proper treatment for these areas. You will not be limited, in your reading, to "psychic sight," as information may come also through "sounds" or "feelings," even in your own body. The important thing to understand, however, is that you will not be "seeing" as you normally do with your eyes. It will be something like remembering a distant memory, or like a dream you have decided to dream, without knowing exactly what it will be. It will not be information you "think," but information which just comes, automatically.

   If, while receiving the information, you find yourself distracted by thoughts, let go of them. When you are receiving clear psychic information you are free from thoughts and emotions-free from the excessive activity of the "thinking mind"-and are allowing just the information coming from "beyond yourself" to emerge. If you are distracted by mundane thoughts, or doubt, do not react to them, just drop them and continue receiving the information effortlessly. This information coming from the ream of wider awareness, possibly from a guide, has a different "flavor," a different feel, that the thoughts from your own mind. You must learn for yourself how this difference feels.

   This exercise will take just a moment or two, and may be repeated for a second or third time, if you feel it would benefit, although once will often be enough, especially after you have gained some experience in this basic technique. Whether performing one "round" of this technique, or several, allow all the information coming to begin to integrate into an overall understanding of the condition of your patient, as well as inform you of whatever of the various energetic defects of the aura and chakras may be present.

   This technique is a very useful training tool, and should be used while you are learning and perfecting your ability to psychically "read" energy fields. When you become very advanced in the intuition technique, you will no longer have to consciously follow these steps. You will direct your awareness, and the information will come automatically. This basic technique can be used in many different ways.

   In addition to "seeing" information, you may also receive sounds, feelings, inner knowings or other guidance at various times. Be open to any colors that speak to you - chakra colors or colors in lower layers of aura. You will use all this information, and the sensing with your hands, to allow a fuller understanding of the condition of your patient to emerge in your awareness. Do not merely "analyze" your patient's condition, but use your intuition to begin to integrate and assess the information you are receiving. Allow the information to emerge, as it is, trust your first impressions, and do not encourage your "thinking mind" to question or modify what emerges. Trust the information you are receiving, and learn to trust your intuitive sense-it is as valid a tool as your rational mind.

©1994, 2000 Stephen H. Barrett