We finally reach the Crown Chakra in our series on the Chakras and Unity Consciousness. Sahasrara means “thousand-petaled” and it refers to a lotus flower that blooms at the crown of the head. A lotus stem grows from the mud deep below the surface of the water and rises up to blossom at the top, just like spiritual energy that rises from the root chakra in the tailbone to the crown chakra at the top of the head. Also, the lotus opens to the sky, which symbolizes Universal Consciousness.

Unity may feel like an impossibility in today’s culture of difference and division. But aren’t there also times we experience unity with others? For example, here in the U.S. we saw an amazing pulling together of resources when the eastern states were deluged with a 1000-year flood. And most of us have had the experience of going through a tough time like an illness or death in the family only to be surrounded by love, prayers and tangible support.

So which is it, are we divided or are we unified?

It really depends on your perception, or what you are looking for. If you are looking for division and only talk to people who think the same way you do, then your perception of division will be strengthened. And if you look for unity and are willing to be open and curious with people who live, think and act differently than you, then your perception of unity will be strengthened.

Yoga teaches that we exist in Universal Consciousness. We are born in it, live in it, nurtured by it and are always trying to connect with it. It’s why we seek out lasting friendships, are passionate about caring for the earth and its critters, and why we may be drawn to follow a spiritual path.

This is where Yoga and the chakras can be very helpful in perceiving and strengthening our own connection to Universal Consciousness. All the practices we’ve explored over the past several months in this blog have led us to this place of Unity.

One of the best practices to activate Sahasrara Chakra is chanting AH and OM. AH is an open sound and you can easily picture the thousand-petaled lotus flower opening above your head. But because it is so open, AH can make you feel spacey and ungrounded. In that case, follow up with the mantra OM, the universal sound that unites all things in the material and spiritual realms, past, present and future. Try chanting AH for 3 minutes, OM for 3 minutes, then sit quietly to feel the vibration. This will give you 10 minutes of Unity to bless your days and shift your perception moving into the New Year.

Yoga means “union,” but what exactly is being united? When we’re doing a yoga practice—asana or postures—we’re uniting breath with movement. When practicing alternate nostril breathing—called nadi shodhana—we are uniting right and left, warm and cool, masculine and feminine. When we are sitting in meditation, we are uniting the individual self with higher consciousness.

I began this discussion in the last post called “Unity” where I explained the philosophical view that we are all seeking unity and offered some ways to experience unity. Now I wish to embark on an exploration of how the chakras support our quest for unity consciousness through meditation.

Most yoga students are aware of the “wheels” of energy known as chakras. There are over 100 chakras in and around the body, but the ones we find most useful are the six chakras that rest along the spinal column at the tip of the tailbone, pelvis/sacrum, solar plexus/navel, heart center, throat center and third eye/just above the eyebrows. The space above the head is often called the crown chakra, but technically it is not a chakra but rather an opening to transcendence (however you define or understand it).

In upcoming posts we’ll explore the individual chakras, but for today we’ll look at the two things that bind them together. The first is the central energetic channel that rises from the tip of the tailbone to the top of the head. It’s called the sushumna and can be visualized as a tube through which energy can flow up and down as well as out into the body and the aura that surrounds the body.

The second is the sacred sound OM, the sound that brought all things into being at the beginning of time and which continues to bind us all together. Did you know that sophisticated listening devices record a humming sound in the earth, at the bottom of the sea and even in deep space? The vibration is 136.1 Hz, the vibration of OM.

To experience unity consciousness today, find a quiet place to sit for 5-10 minutes. Whether cross-legged on the floor or in a chair, sit up to lengthen your spine. Listen to your breath for a minute or so. Next visualize the central channel along the spine filled with the white light that is moving energy. Listen for the sound of OM filling the channel. You can even repeat OM quietly with your breath or silently in your mind. You are one with everyone and everything. Express gratitude for this deep truth. When you are ready to transition out, return to listening to your breath. Stand up slowly and return to the day carrying with you this profound realization of unity consciousness.

Here are some thoughts on Unity that come from the Yoga tradition as well as some ways you can practice Unity today.

The Yoga tradition teaches that we are physically conceived and nurtured in a state of Unity. Our mother’s egg and our father’s sperm are united to create the first cells that will eventually because us. And then for nine months we live in a blissful state fully united with our birth mother because we rely on her for everything we need.

Once we are born into the world, however, we leave the comfort and security of our mother’s womb and our sense of Unity is shattered. We spend hours alone in a crib, we cry for our mother and we must learn to soothe ourselves. The disunity continues as we grow developing our likes and dislikes, exploring our strengths and weaknesses, seeing how we are similar to and different from others.

But because Unity is our first experience in this physical body, we are always trying to return to Unity whether we are aware of it or not

We may seek Unity through spiritual practices, work, relationships, hobbies, etc. Each of these things can give us glimpses of Unity, but for most of us it takes a lifetime to realize Unity. If we remember our first experience of Unity, we see the ingredients of this experience: acceptance, love, contentment, and present moment awareness.

Here are a few ways to cultivate these ingredients:
FLOW EXPERIENCES Bring body, mind and breath together in yoga, meditation, creating art, or otherwise losing yourself in the moment.

EMBODY OPPOSITES Think of someone who believes radically different from you. Rather than trying to convince them of your opinion, imagine that you are they and try to embody their views. Notice how this simple exercise builds empathy for others’ viewpoints.

ELEVATE YOUR LOVE Like all emotions, love has lower and higher vibrations. Low level love is attachment where we hold onto what we want to keep and push away what we reject. We reserve our best for those closest to us. High vibration love includes everyone—humans we know and don’t know, animals, nature—and is future oriented because it wants the best for all who will come after.

One World = Unity Consciousness