The link from the heart chakra to the more etheric upper chakras, Vishuddha (the throat chakra) is the center of conscious communication. Like the second chakra, Vishuddha is a creative nexus. However, unlike the unconscious, earthy, and sensuous energy of Svadisthana, Vishuddha’s creativity is connected to our higher consciousness. Through its power, we literally express and identify ourselves in relationship to the outside world. We choose how to allow our energy to impact others, and use our voice to express our boundaries, desires, and needs.
Very pragmatically, we can sometimes feel as if we’ve “lost our voice” when there is a disconnect between our experience and our ability to communicate our needs. At other times, it is through communicating that we actually realize our own experience. For example, it is common to “hold it together” until someone asks us to communicate our experience. This act of articulating facilitates the integration of the experience, and causes us to “break down” or release the emotional energy.
A well-balanced throat chakra allows for an equilibrium between expression and listening. The element of Vishuddha is space, and it is in the openness and potential of this space that exchange can occur. Rather than engulf our listeners in a deluge of conversation or retreating into a silent shell, we allow for a meaningful sharing of energy and ideas. The powerful, unconscious energies of the lower chakras (our emotion and our ego) are refined and processed as we develop our capacity to communicate our personal experience with others.
Our lives are in continual, creative evolution. Through Vishuddha, we enhance our capacity to filter and share our experience with others.
Exercise: Notice your habits in conversation. Do you tend to dominate conversation, or retreat and stay silent? Do you fall into comfortable and disingenuous patter because it seems easy? Is there a better personal balance for you that you might find in increasing your capacity for conscious communication with others?
