The Back of the Neck Center may or may not be related to the Base of the Neck Centre or Ta Chui referred to by Mantak Chia. The difference is that the Back of the Neck Center is said to be located at the centre of the back of the neck, around the third cervical vertebra, in contrast to the Base of the Neck center at the seventh cervical vertebrae.
This centre serves as a connecting point with channels and energies from the hands, arms, and legs. Psychologically, it is associated with the one's sense of self, and one's association with one's profession and peers and with society as a whole [David Tansley, Radionics and the Subtle Anatomy of Man ; Barbara Brennan, Hands of Light ].
The Back of the Neck Chakra, which can be consiered the external counterpart of the Vishuddha chakra of Tantra, is located between the second and third cervical vertebrae, at the middle of the back of the neck. It is said to be a mental centre [Aurobindo, pp.364-5] and to connect with the Brow Chakra at the front of the head [Paulson, p.90].
Correspondences:
Spokes/Petals: Hindu Tantra - 16; Tibetan Buddhism - 16; Tansley - 16; Paulson - 16
Element: Hindu Tantra - Space (white ovoid)
Colours: Hindu Tantra - White or Smoke coloured (petals: smoke-coloured); Tibetan Buddhism - Red; Paulson - Silvery Blue.
Associated Psychological states:
Open and Balanced: You are easily able to express your ideas in life through word or deed [Aurobindo, p.326]. You are comfortable with your sense of self, your association with your profession and peers and with society as a whole [Tansley , p.42; Brennan, p.77].
Overactive: You tend to be a "high flyer" or high achiever; you are only concerned with achieving and succeeding in the world, at the material and social level.
Blocked: You are and dissatisfied with your life, and suffer from lack of self-esteem, which you may deny or conceal with pride [Brennan, pp.77-8]. You don't feel comfortable with yourself or with what you have achieved in the world. You may also suffer from asthma, laryngitis, and other respiratory problems [Tansley p.42]
The Back of the Neck Center
The Back of the Neck Center may or may not be related to the Base of the Neck Center or Ta Chui referred to by Mantak Chia. The difference is that the Back of the Neck Center is said to be located at the center of the back of the neck, around the third cervical vertebra, in contrast to the Base of the Neck center at the seventh cervical vertebrae.
This center serves as a connecting point with channels and energies from the hands, arms, and legs. Psychologically, it is associated with the one's sense of self, and one's association with one's profession and peers and with society as a whole [David Tansley, Radionics and the Subtle Anatomy of Man ; Barbara Brennan, Hands of Light ].
The Back of the Neck Chakra, which can be considered the external counterpart of the Vishuddha chakra of Tantra, is located between the second and third cervical vertebrae, at the middle of the back of the neck. It is said to be a mental center [Aurobindo, pp.364-5] and to connect with the Brow Chakra at the front of the head [Paulson, p.90].
In Shakta Tantra this is called the Talu or Lalana Center, in Taoism the Heavenly Pool.
There are actually three chakras here. As with the Base of the Head center, which serves as a bridge that allows the ascending chi of the spinal region to rise to the top of the head, the three chakras located along the Soft Palate (the roof of the mouth) mediates the descending Chi energy.
According to C. W. Leadbeater
"The fifth center, the laryngeal (see above illustration), at the throat, has sixteen spokes, and therefore sixteen apparent divisions. There is a good deal of blue in it, but its general effect is silvery and gleaming, with a kind of suggestion as of moonlight upon rippling water. Blue and green predominate alternately in its sections."
The Chakras, Quest Books, Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, Ill. p.13
The Throat chakra would seem to rule the faculty of speech, being midway between the heart and the tongue. It is also associated with clairaudience (hearing spiritual voices), and with hearing sounds, words, and music, and with taste, smell. Another function associated with this chakra is taking in and assimilating of physical and emotional nourishment. On the gross level this manifests as sensuous desire and enjoyment for food. This chakra could be associated with the astrological sign of Taurus, which in current astrology is said to ruled by the planet Venus.
In Tibetan Buddhism, this chakra is associated with the dream state of consciousness. Both Tibetans and Taoists use this chakra to access the dream state and develop the faculty of lucid dreaming.
In the Heschyastic system though, the buco-laryngeal center: "the commonest thought, that of the intelligence, expressed in conversation, correspondence, and the first stages of prayer." [Eliade, Yoga, Immortality, and Freedom, p.410]
When this chakra is open and functioning well, with a strong flow of Chi, one finds it easy to express oneself, and one's speech is clear and smooth. When it is blocked, not only does one find speaking or getting the right words out difficult, but one also feels an unwillingness to change.
When there is an insufficient flow of love or emotional nourishment to the Heart-chakra, the person may try to compensate by desire for physical nourishment through the Throat Chakra. Problems with gluttony or compulsive eating would then result. When there is also a negative functioning in the base-of-the-neck chakra (negative self-image) the result could be bulimia and anorexia.
The Mouth of God Center
Called in Chinese the "Jade Pillow" (Yu Chen), and referred to by Mantak Chia as the Small Brain (Cerebellum) Center, this chakra lies at the opening of the base of the skull, above the first cervical (neck) vertebra. It is part of a pump that draws spinal fluid and chi energy upwards, as well as promoting yin energy and helping to balance the yang energy of the Large Brain (Cerebrum). [Chia, p.214].
This very important center connects with the Crown Chakra at the top of the head [Paulson, p.70]. Ann Ree Colton calls this the "Mouth of God" or "Bindu" Center, and identifies it with the Medulla oblongata at the base of the skull, in the proximity of the brain stem. This is the center where one connects with the cosmic mantra or "logos" [Colton, Colton, The Third Music , p.272]. It also controls the in-and out-breath, hence the association of breathing, sound, and mantra [Colton, Kundalini West, p.38]. Ann Ree Colton adds that this center can be damaged through excessive drug-use, leading to mental unbalance [Colton, The Third Music , pp.58-9]. Due to the association with the breath, one could suppose that asthma, laryngitis, and other respiratory problems could arise from an imbalance here [Tansley, Radionics and the Subtle Anatomy of Man, p.42]
