Deluded much? Maybe it's the third eye chakra

Ever seen a hopelessly untalented contestant audition for The X Factor and wondered, ‘how can they possibly think they can sing?!’ That’s delusion – and it’s something we all suffer with at various points in our lives. Sometimes delusion can be caused by a block in the third eye chakra, which is the energy centre all about perception and intuition.

The ‘third eye’ is a term commonly used to refer to psychic ability, which is something we all possess to various levels. In almost every angel card reading I do, a message will come through about trusting your intuition. That’s because we all have a direct line to the Universe, and through that we’re given all the information and answers we could possibly need. But our brain just loves to interfere with these messages and tell us that we’re being ridiculous or we’re imagining things. Ensuring your third eye chakra is balanced is one way you can make sure you receive those messages clearly.

Imagination is associated with the third eye chakra, so people in creative industries in particular will benefit strongly from keeping this chakra in balance.

Memory is also highlighted in this chakra, so people who have buried, or are tortured by, unpleasant memories may experience third eye chakra blocks.

While the heart chakra’s enemy was grief and the throat chakra’s adversary was lies, the third eye chakra’s challenge is illusion, or a false sense of belief. If the third eye chakra is in balance we’re able to perceive things as they really are. We’re able to use our intuition to make good choices. We remember our dreams and instinctively understand their significance. We’re able to use visualisation to manifest what we want. We’re also able to detect what isn’t being said by people – in other words, an ability to read people’s body language and elicit meaning from the tone of their voice. We recognise the beauty in our jobs, our relationships and our bodies instead of wishing they were something else.

(Image: the third eye chakra symbol)

When the third eye chakra is deficient, you might display these traits:

* Poor memory

* Lack of imagination

* Denial of present circumstances

* Excessive scepticism

When the third eye chakra is excessive, you might experience:

* Delusions of grandeur

* Obsessions and fantasising

* Difficulty concentrating

* Illusions

* Nightmares

To bring the third eye chakra into balance, meditation and rest are essential. You could also try keeping a dream journal beside your bed, and writing down key themes from intense dreams when you wake up; this helps you notice patterns and messages from your intuition. For yoga types – resting child’s pose and fish pose are helpful.

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Read my posts about the other chakras here:

Base chakra

Sacral chakra

Solar plexus chakra

Heart chakra

Throat chakra

If you’d like to work with me to heal any of the issues in this article, you can book energy healing sessions here. More information about how I work is available here.  

Why music is so important to me

I’ve been writing about some fairly heavy topics lately (grief and fear, etc) so I thought I’d lighten up the blog a little by talking about a subject I could riff on for hours: music – something we all need more of in our lives. Turns out our ear holes have a direct line to our emotions. So listening to music not only drowns out your colleague’s whiny voice, science says it also improves your emotional health. Unless you’re listening to Nickelback, which has given no benefits to anyone, ever.

US researchers have discovered that music affects deep emotional centres in the brain – so that high you feel when you hear TLC’s No Scrubs is legit joy (oh, just me then?). In a McGill University study, participants’ brains were monitored as they listened to songs they’d identified as special to them. Researchers found dopamine was released in participants’ brains when they listened to those tunes. Dopamine’s the hormone associated with rewards – FYI it surges during eating and sex (yay and yay), and with drugs such as amphetamines (not so yay).

The dopamine release happens not only because we are enjoying the song but because we have a memory of having enjoyed that song in the past embedded in our brain, and we anticipate the high points that are coming. 

Science. It’s all smart and shit.

The reason I enjoyed reading about this study was it not only validated my experience of how music has lifted me when I’ve been feeling flat and motivated me to run faster on the treadmill but because it prompted me to consider the ways music has underpinned some of my best and worst memories. The way it transports me back to a particular time and place, and accentuates key connections. Because, as a cheesy ad slogan once declared, life deserves a soundtrack.

*      Good memory – Hey Jude by The Beatles. When I was a little kid, my dad would sing this to me, replacing it with ‘Hey Truds’. For years I was convinced it was a song he’d written just for me, and was bitterly disappointed when I learned the actual lyrics, which my father had purposely botched. (Fuck you, Jude, whoever you are.) The song doesn’t necessarily make me think of my dad, but it is associated with the warm glow of childhood and feeling wholly loved and protected.

*      Bad memory – Steal my Kisses by Ben Harper. This song was special to a workmate of mine and her boyfriend, so it was played at her funeral. Even though she died 15 years ago I still cannot listen to this song. To me, it is inextricably linked with unbearable sadness and the loss of love.

*        Random memory – Freedom by George Michael. Five years ago I was in a taxi with a good friend, and this song was playing on the radio. Without talking about it or thinking about it we interrupted our conversation to simultaneously belt out the line: “SOMETIMES THE CLOTHES DO NOT MAKE THE MAN!” It was that delicious realisation that you’re perfectly in sync with someone, just for a moment, and knowing you’ve just forged a shared memory. The poor taxi driver did not enjoy it so much; he got such a fright he almost drove off the road. Sometimes my friend will text me that lyric out of the blue and it makes me laugh every time.

Maybe this post has reminded you of the good, bad and odd memories that come flooding back when you hear certain songs. Seems like a good reason to turn up the volume, right?

Random but related: after I wrote this post, I did my daily angel card pull (I do one for myself before I draw a card for you guys every day): I got the ‘play music’ card. If that’s not spiritual validation, I don’t know what is.