The Crown Chakra addresses the seventh energetic centre and our connection to the Divine. This chakra represents our connection to spirit, and our capacity to allow spirituality to become an integral part of our physical lives. Whilst our energy system as a whole is animated by spirit, this chakra is directly aligned to seek an intimate relationship with the Divine, and is considered the chakra of faith, prayer or meditation.

The physical location is found at top of the head – you may have noticed this energy during times of meditation or prayer, feeling a deep connection to a life force energy or other dimension of life in the form of inspirational or prophetic thoughts, transcendental ideas and mystical connections that go beyond the usual realm of normal consciousness. This force nourishes and influences the mind, body and spirit and distributes itself throughout the entire body and lower six chakras.

In Eastern spiritual traditions, the crown chakra represents “nothingness”, an eternal energy with no beginning and no end, from which all physical manifestation begins. “No-thingness” may be an easier concept to comprehend, because nothing is not just nothing, it is all; the nothing space between atoms, the nothing time of moment to moment, vibrant with possibilities and potential to manifest. In the beginning there was nothing, in the end there is nothing, but within you will find the entire Universe…

Spirituality and Religion

We may relate the connecting with spirit as being about organised religion, but it is important to differentiate as religion is primarily a first root chakra experience whose main purpose is to protect the group, primarily from physical threats.

Spirituality on the other hand is an individual experience, directed towards releasing fears of the physical world and pursuing a relationship to the Divine.

Spirituality is often called upon during a time of leaving this physical world, however it can be part of a regular human life. We may find ourselves at crossroads throughout our lives in which we need to let go of a previous phase and metaphorically “die”, in order to access consciously the energy of the crown chakra to Live in the Present Moment, spiritually awaken and transform.

In seeking union with the Divine, we are asking to remove all “illusions” (physical, psychological or emotional) from our lives in order to separate from group mind mentality and to awaken an internal voice of authority.

Spiritual Awakening

Spiritual Crisis, “Dark Night of the Soul” or Spiritual Awakenings are Crown Chakra related and usually 3-fold:

1. They begin with a deep longing and awareness of an absence of meaning and purpose that cannot be remedied by ordinary solutions such as shuffling external components of one’s life i.e. being given a pay-rise, promotion, marriage or new relationship.
2. Secondly, strange new fears such as the fear of abandonment or ageing as if they are losing a sense of identity.
3. The third symptom is a desire to experience devotion to something greater than oneself.

Some people find surrogates to devote themselves to such as a corporation, political party, sports team, personal exercise routine or even a street gang; all of these material earthbound surrogates will eventually fail. No matter how much you exercise, you will age! If a company lets us go the pain experienced is undoubtedly due to the sense of devotion given. We are not meant to be devoted to any human being, material item or perceived powerful form. Devotion is meant to be directed upwards and to take us with it. When this “dark night” occurs it is common to label this a psychological dilemma, but it is more appropriate to see the root of the issue is spiritual; that the cause of the crisis comes from within.

Whilst psychological counselling can help with navigating this crises, the content of one’s inner dialogue related to matters of the spirit is a crucial aspect of recovery.