"Ah, how do all my senses leap at this sight! I feel the young and sacred pleasure of life quivering in my nerves and veins. Was it a God who traces this sign which stills the vertigo of my soul, fills my poorly heart with joy, and, in a mysterious rapture, unveils the forces of Nature around me? Am I myself a God? All is so clear to me: I behold in these simple lines the revelation of active Nature to my soul. I realize for the first time the truth of the wise man's words: The world of the spirits is not closed! Thy sense is obtuse; thy heart is dead! Arise! Bathe, O adept of science, thy breast, still enveloped by an earthly veil, in the splendors of the dawning day!" - Goethe.

The activity of the human complex is governed by five centers, each designed to run on a particular type of fuel or Hydrogen. However, due to a lack of knowledge regarding the proper use of the centers, they are often out of balance. Each center may attempt to do the work of another for which it is not suited. This leaves some centers depleted of energy while others are overly active from running on the wrong fuel.

Learning to regulate the energy of the five centers is vital to one on a development journey because an imbalance in the centers can prevent normal development.

The Five Centers

The essential functions of the five centers can be easily recognized. The thinking center stores impressions and makes assessments by comparison. The moving center works by imitation and repetition and also controls voluntary movements. The instinctive center regulates involuntary bodily functions such as heartbeat, digestion, and respiration. The emotional center responds to experiences in terms of pleasant or unpleasant. Finally, the sexual center is responsible for connection, creation, and procreation.

The Pentagram

The correct relationship between the five centers can be shown in the following diagram:

One who is familiar with Taoist or Vedic cosmology may recognize this application of the five elements:

The outer circle of the above diagram represents the creative cycle. When read clockwise, one can see how a healthy amount of physical activity in the moving center nourishes and stabilizes emotions. A solid and stable emotional life assists in clear thinking. Clarity of thought aids the instinctive center in maintaining internal balance and harmony. When one's autonomic nervous system is well regulated, one's sexual and creative-vitality flourishes. This, in turn, enhances one's physical vitality, and the circle repeats.

Tracing the inner pentagram clockwise, one encounters the destructive cycle. See that too much repetition and habitual responses in the moving center dulls one's clarity of thought. Too much thinking drains one's sexual and creative vigor. Too much creative expression can leave one feeling emotionally drained. When the emotions are drained, the instinctive center cannot maintain internal balance, which leads to poor physical vitality in the moving center.

The nature of the five elements also offers tremendous insight into how each center should normally function. For example, the moving center, associated with the element of fire, should be active and vigorous in its expression. However, when one loses control of one's moving center, it can consume and destroy all that it encounters, like a raging fire.

The nature of the earth element is solid, stable, firm, and constant - as emotions should be. Indeed, emotional disruptions can cause as much ruin as an earthquake!

Air is clean and clear; it is invisible to the eye and thus allows us to see things the way they are without altering them. Similarly, when functioning correctly, the thinking center holds no bias but simply allows us to perceive things as they are.

Water cools and cleanses, helping to restore and maintain balance. When polluted, it becomes a poison to all that lives within it. Likewise, the instinctive center cleanses and restores the delicate balance of our organism. When it is out of balance, it harms the entire organism.

Finally, the connection between the sexual center and "wood" or life should be fairly obvious. The process of growth and life defies entropy. It creates order out of chaos. It is both the force of creation and procreation.

The Centers and Hydrogens

The centers are designed to operate with specific fuels or Hydrogens. The Thinking Center is designed to operate with Hydrogen 48. The Moving and Instinctive Centers run on Hydrogen 24. The Emotional center also runs on Hydrogen 24 but can run on Hydrogen 12. The Sexual Center was designed to run on Hydrogen 12.

However, because we never received the proper training on using our centers, they tend to run on lower or higher fuels than those they were designed for. Nearly all of the centers steal Hydrogen 12 from the Sexual Center when they are depleted. Consider now the following diagram:

Leaking Energy

Before examining each center's correct function, consider for a moment that one of the common ways each center loses energy is through leakage. The easiest way to see this is through the action of the Moving Center, which is responsible for physical and habitual movements. Throughout the day, the Moving Center loses much energy by holding too much tension in certain body parts and through fidgety or nervous movements.

One powerful exercise to substantially increase your energy that you can begin to use right now is to make a habit of observing your body, its postures, and movements. This exercise should be utterly invisible to onlookers - simply observe. Throughout the day, note how you are sitting, standing, or walking and observe the various unnecessary over-exertions and tensions you hold. Observe any movements that lack fluidity.

It is important at this stage not to try to change anything; simply observe. Over time, you will begin to see patterns of rest and movement that leak energy and sap your vitality. Here is something to consider: "Every thought, movement, and emotion that happens unconsciously drains one's energy, whereas every thought, movement, and emotion experienced consciously adds to one's energy." Bringing your attention to various aspects of your physical expression elevates it from the unconscious realms. By being conscious of the energy you're expending, you create a closed circuit with your awareness and begin to conserve more energy.

In upcoming posts, we will closely examine each of the centers, in turn, to discover how they were designed to function and how to correct imbalances that can hinder one's development.

Many respects,

Pierce!