The Human Energy System
The Two Major Aspects of the Human Bio-System
There is only one certain way to transform our lives,restore our internal balance and connect to the divine aspect of nature. We must transform our mind by clearing the unconscious emotional toxicity that pollutes it. Most of us live in the gulf of confusion that separates the human from the Divine. If we are to fulfill our potential, we must find a way to incorporate the Divine elements of our nature into our conscious experience. In most of us, the Divine elements exist more as a promise and a hope than as a tangible reality. The challenge we face is how to stretch our consciousness toward the Divine. We won’t escape the gulf of confusion we inhabit until we do. Fortunately, we have been designed by our Creator to accomplish this very task. When God gave us a body, He also gave us a soul and spirit. We have a dual nature and are a unique combination of physical substance and Divine energy. Our job is to unite the two and make them one.
The Supra-physical Nervous System
The physical elements of our system are designed to last a lifetime, but no more. They are mortal. On the other hand, the supra-physical aspects of our system are designed to last for eternity. They are immortal, part of our Divine connection. Therefore, while the physical part of us is destructible and will die, the larger, Divine part of us that we do not see and rarely experience is indestructible and will never perish. The physical components of our system include the brain, the skeletal structure and the physical body with its various organ systems, such as the circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, immune, digestive, muscular, and nervous systems.
The supra-physical elements of our Divine nature include the electromagnetic field, or aura, that encircles the physical body, the seven major chakras (an Indian term that means a spinning wheel of light) that exist just outside the front of the body, and the subtle nervous system, composed of the meridians and the nadis, that is located within the physical body. (For a complete and detailed visual representation of the supra-physical elements of the human system please view the work of the artist Alex Grey as they appear in his book of remarkable paintings, Sacred Mirrors.)
The Electromagnetic Field
The electromagnetic field contains the energies of mind (as differentiated from the brain), emotion, soul, and spirit. These aspects of consciousness are represented in the electromagnetic field as bands of light and color that encircle the physical body. The band of the emotional nature is the band closest to the body. Next to it is the sheath of the mind, followed by the sheath of the soul. The band of the spirit is the band farthest from the body. The bands of the mental nature and soul lie between those of the emotional nature and the spirit.
The ancient Yogis of India had an interesting aphorism they used to describe the relationship between the mind and the body. “The mind is not contained in the body,” they said, “but the body is contained in the mind.” At first glance this aphorism may not seem to make much sense, but when we think of the mind and body in terms of the aura, it makes perfect sense. Since the energies of the mind are located in the electromagnetic field surrounding the body, the body is literally contained within the mind, much like an egg is contained within its shell. The physical brain is the central receiving station for the mind as well as the processor for the ideas that emanate from the mental sheath of the aura. In this context the mind is part of our Divine nature.
Unlike the energies of the mind, soul and spirit, the seven chakras are not bands of light and color surrounding the body in successive layers, but are, rather, spinning wheels of light located in specific locations just in front of the physical body. The chakras transform and distribute the energy from the electromagnetic field into the physical body in order to sustain the body and regulate its many systems.
The Meridians and Nadis
The subtle nervous system is made up of the acupuncture meridians, charted by ancient Chinese seers, and the nadis, charted by ancient Indian sages. The meridians and nadis are both microscopic channels through which the subtle energy that has been stepped down through the chakras is distributed throughout the body. The main focus of the meridians is the health of the physical body, while the nadis are concerned with the individual’s spiritual evolution toward the Divine. Just as plants need sun to grow, we need spiritual divine light to evolve.
The flow of subtle energy moves down through the various levels of our consciousness, starting at the spiritual level then down through the soul, mind, chakras, and, finally, into the meridians and nadis. At each succeeding level, the energy is stepped down so that the physical body might be able to handle the influx of power without having its circuits blown.