| Meridians: The meridians are energy pathways that serve as the body’s energy
"bloodstream." Each meridian runs both along the surface of the skin, where its
flow can be most readily influenced, and deep into the body, where it brings the energy to
at least one or more organs or physiological systems. Meridians bridge mind, body, and
spirit.
The 14 meridians include 12 connected segments
(often named after one of the primary organs they govern) and two energy pathways called
Central and Governing. The 12 meridian segments are, ultimately, a single complex pathway
bringing energy to the body’s organs, muscles, and cells. The meridians look to me
like a network of colorful streaming ribbons throughout the body.
Chakras: Situated
along the spine are seven major chakras (additional "minor chakras" can also be
found throughout the body). The chakras are like pools or swirling disks of energy that
bathe and fuel the organs in their proximity. They govern the endocrine system and carry
information about the person’s history. They also encode and process physical,
mental, emotional, and spiritual experiences. Each major chakra has seven layers, with its
deepest layers reaching almost into the Basic Grid (see p.13) and its outermost layers
touching into the aura.
Aura: Like the
Earth’s atmosphere, the aura surrounds and envelops the body. It is the body’s
outermost energy system, composed of seven layers or "nested auric fields"
(think of Russian dolls) and seven concentric bands from the bottom to the top of the
body. Each layer and each band serves a different function—but
ultimately the aura acts as:
a filter to protect the body from toxic or disruptive energies, and
an antenna bringing in beneficial energies.
The aura processes necessary nutrients from the environment, such as
sunlight, and helps harmonize you within the magnetic field of the Earth. The proper
functioning of the aura greatly impacts physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Radiant Circuits:
The Radiant Circuits (called the Strange Flows or Extraordinary
Vessels in ancient Chinese medicine) are subtle energy flows that support and assist all
other energy systems, especially the meridians. Highly responsive to thoughts and
emotions, they fuel joy and other positive feelings. Stimulating the Radiant Circuits can
activate inner joy as well as the inner physician, which then continues to do the work of
inner healing and balancing.
The Radiant Circuits are more ancient (in terms of
evolution) than the meridians, and are not confined to fixed pathways like meridians.
Instead, they move instantly where needed with a radiant glow that attracts vital energies
from the environment and activates healing from within.
Triple Warmer: Triple
Warmer is both a meridian and a Radiant Circuit, but it also plays so many other roles
that I often speak of it as a separate and independent energy system. Specifically, it
governs the immune system, the fight-flight-or-freeze response, and the body’s
survival habits.
As a meridian, Triple Warmer energy follows its
pathway, but the flow varies tremendously. Sometimes it has a thick, slow, sludgy movement
and sometimes it shoots forward with great bursts of hot energy. Triple Warmer usually
looks reddish-brown to me, sometimes with a yellow spark at times of great bursts.
As a Radiant Circuit, its energies can go anywhere in the body, and it
is capable of siphoning energy from any of the body’s meridians (except Heart) if it
needs their energies. As the guardian of the body’s habits, it allows the person to
go into "automatic pilot" mode for routine processes. It also plays a gate
keeping role, directing the immune system regarding what to assimilate and what to block
or fight.
Celtic Weave: This
energy system is similar to the weave of a cloth or basket that helps create a container
for all your body’s energies. It is also like connective tissue that extends
throughout your energy body.
Whereas meridians can be compared to streams and the
chakras to pools, the Celtic Weave is comparable to a web. It draws all of our energy
systems together into a network of communication through a criss-crossing dance of large
and small figure 8s and sometimes other geometrical shapes, as well.
Crossover patterns found in the Celtic Weave reflect basic forms found
in nature. The healthier the body and its energies, the more prominent the Celtic Weave
will be. Strengthening the Celtic Weave is a good way to end any healing session. It
reinforces and "locks in" the gains.
The Five Rhythms: Moving through all of the body’s energies is a complex set of pulses
called the Five Elements or Five Seasons or Five Rhythms. These are underlying energy
patterns that flow through and leave their imprint on all of the other energy systems. The
Five Rhythm Model, based on ancient Chinese medicine, reflects the rhythmic pulse of all
life that influences human events and cycles. Each meridian vibrates according to one of
these Five Rhythms or Elements—represented by the metaphors of Water, Wood, Fire,
Earth, and Metal. The Five Rhythms provide a lens for understanding and working with
chronic health issues, behavioral patterns, and emotional challenges.
The Electrics: The
Electrics, like the Celtic Weave and the Five Rhythms, is a system that acts on all the
other energy systems. That’s because the Electrics are comprised of the electrical
dimension of each of the other energy systems—from the Aura down to the Basic Grid.
The Electrics help to charge and connect the cells, organs, and other energy
systems at an electrical level and both affect, and are affected by, the nervous system
and the heart. Electrical energy is the densest and most easily measured of the
body’s energies.
The Basic Grid: Embedded
throughout the body is a matrix or grid pattern. Dense and slow-moving, it is the
foundation of the other energy systems and the innermost energy of them all. Just as the
skeletal system provides the body’s basic structure, the Grid provides the basic
structure for the body’s energy systems. It also directly supports the bones. If
there is a break in the Grid, people cannot fully thrive and will have a difficult time
mustering their energies or healing completely, physically or emotionally. If the Grid is
healthy and strong, all the body’s energies are supported. |
