The sixth chakra might be the most popular chakra around! Located at the center of the forehead, it’s usually associated with psychic experiences and enlightened masters are often described as having the third eye “open”.
- Color: Purple
- Location: Center of the forehead
- Element: Light / Fire
- Development stage: 36 – 42
As I’ve stated before, all chakras are developing and absorbing experiences throughout your life, but there are core developmental stages that correlate with the human lifespan in which a chakra may awaken, or ascend, in knowledge more significantly than in other stages. The Third Eye’s turn comes around between the ages of 36-42. This is a juicy point in the adult experience in which you still feel very young and connected to your youth, but have also been given transformative adult experiences that have you feeling mature, grounded, and excited about the future.
Left Brain vs. Right Brain
Throughout our lives, we’re mostly programmed to understand the world through logic and the analytical mind, a.k.a. the Left Brain. Anything regarding rules, science, medicine, politics, religion, logic, control, and observable events belong to the realm on the Left Brain and represent masculine energy. We’re taught to revere left-brained experiences as reliable, unshakeable Truth that must not be questioned.
On the other side of things, we have art, music, dance, emotions, theater, and mysticism. We’re taught to entertain all things related to creativity and imagination sparingly. All of these fascinating things belong to the realm of the Right Brain – things that we’re told to entertain & pat on the head but not take seriously because they are unreliable. It’s no surprise that Right Brain activity is also related to feminine energy.
A lot of what we experience related to the Root, Sacral, and Solar Plexus chakras sets the template for our left-brained way of reasoning and experiencing life. As we move onto the Heart, Throat, and Third Eye chakras, our experiences become deep, unexplained, and intangible, shaping everything that our Right Brain can carry.
The Sixth Sense
The Third Eye is a mainstream symbol for the sixth sense because its healing process triggers a lot of psychic experiences. It’s actually quite normal to start having wild dreams, seeing synchronicities and repeated numbers, having odd insomnia in the middle of the night, a sudden rush of energy going in and out of the body, shortness of breath or panic attacks, a sharp need or inner calling to do something specific (and often weird), and the list goes on. Third Eye symptoms are also known as spiritual awakening symptoms or kundalini awakening symptoms.
Into the Unknown
By this time, you should’ve already developed a keen sense of knowing how the material world works, and how your own psyche projects and exteriorizes your own light and shadow. You’ve seen the material world and experienced the invisible, but you haven’t yet stepped into the unknown.
The archetypal journey of The Unknown is also known as the Siren’s Call, or the Hero’s Journey. It is that hidden purpose or motivation that makes no sense to others, but you go ahead and chase it anyway. Moving into the unknown can mean all sorts of things to different people, but it usually involves making a big decision that doesn’t make sense to others.
There is a wider sense of understanding that truth is an illusion, and that your perception shapes your experience. As you go through this journey, you might find yourself resonating with the following:
- Craving rich connections
- Not interested in politics or world issues anymore
- Abhorring social media and empty connections
- Desire to engage with new, like-minded people
- Engaging in risky behavior, within reason (Calculated risks)
- Spending time in nature as often as possible
- Choosing experiences and conversations that are happier, even if it means being alone
- Making decisions that seem very grand to others, but casual to yourself
The Last Ego Death
Embracing right-brained experiences is interesting, colorful, fun, weird and oh-so-so wonderful! It may feel like you’ve found the absolute truth, or at least, the only truth worth paying attention to… Yet, a lot of spiritually-minded folks get stuck in this stage.
Right-Brained experiences only feel true because you’re juxtaposing it against your past Left-Brained experiences, the ones you’re trying to leave behind. Yes, you’ve been working hard on destroying those Left-Brain-Ego-3D-Matrix-Attachments, but now you’re gonna have to kill the other ego… The one that made you believe that Right-Brained thinking is the only way to go.
This is when things get really loopy: It now feels like you’re being asked to go back to the analytical side and label yourself as crazy, but that’s the point – Neither realm is better than the other. They simply exist, and they are both part of the human experience. That’s why you have both brains. That’s why you’re a spiritual being with a physical body.
Third Eye experiences are meant to jiggle your senses so you can start detaching from your left vs. right brain way of seeing things. Once detached, you can move beyond and start using your inner sense – one that understands and values both the material and the spiritual world, yet relies on neither.
You’ll often see people lean to one side or the other, but the lesson of the Third Eye is that it’s not about choosing what society expects of you and it’s also not about following a supposedly-spiritual path. By all means, do what makes you happy! Tune into your inner vision and create something completely new. This is the goal of a grounded, embodied spiritual living.
What the Third Eye Chakra affects: It’s an acute sensorial experience: Music feels deeper, ears ringing or screeches, taste in food changes, very sensitive to scents and smells, awareness of how clothing feels on your body and how your body reacts to food you ingest.
You may notice that people’s tones of voice now sound different to you. There’s an unspoken understanding of what’s happening beneath the surface with people (you’re now an empath, or clairsentient). You don’t want to eat meat or gluten anymore (or you suddenly do crave it!). You become wary of the places you go to, or the people you spend time with because of how it all makes you feel. You may even change your clothes often because you’re sensitive to the material or its energy.
Is my Third Eye Chakra unbalanced? Migraines, headaches, brain aneurysms, temporary blindness, sudden loss of sight or general eyesight issues, breathing problems. Pain in the center of the forehead or on the temples, problems hearing people properly. Confusion, a general sense of “What the heck is wrong in the world? Is it me?”. An odd sense of not belonging, not feeling understood, or living between worlds. A strong feeling of wanting to run away, or break free from your environment.
How can I balance my Third Eye Chakra? The trick to balancing the Third Eye is exactly that: Balance! Dive into experiences that are more spiritually-oriented. Journal everything. Take it easy with yourself (and with others). There’s a lot to be said about The Sacral Chakra and your ability to trust so that co-creation can, not only manifest, but thrive. This theme will come up again when we discuss The Crown Chakra!
Depending on your level of awareness, you might feel drawn to the color purple, amethyst crystals, mysticism, tarot, soulmates, twin flames, and astrology. Others might discover meditation, Reiki, the Law of Attraction, the Power of Now, channeling, or become interested in past life exploration.
It’s important to note that that sudden aloofness, risky behavior, psychic experiences, and a switch in social environment can go haywire very quickly for a lot of people. It’s good to have a buddy system during this time, and the Universe will usually provide you with at least one.
Wherever you’re at in this journey, be ready to dive into exploring your inner sense with playfulness and wonder – fear and judgement will only hold you back! Meditate often, find a group, and stay self-aware!
More about Chakras:
- 1st Chakra: The Root Chakra
- 2nd Chakra: The Sacral Chakra
- 3rd Chakra: The Solar Plexus Chakra
- 4th Chakra: The Heart Chakra
- 5th Chakra: The Throat Chakra
- 6th Chakra: The Third Eye Chakra
- 7th Chakra: The Crown Chakra
