There is a belief among people who study or whose culture embraces the concept of subtle energy, that the physical body of a human being has an etheric double.
That etheric body, which comes first into existence, is an energetic mold or blueprint that the physical body follows, according to President and CEO of Astara Greg Toews.
In an interview with Subtle, Toews explained why this concept is important to consider: there is a connection between the subtle energetic (etheric) body and the physical body. “Things happen in the energy body first before they physicalize, be it healing or something bad.”
When asked how an illness could appear in the energy body first, Toews pointed to the glands. He said the human body encompasses different systems — including the endocrine system, which is made up of organs called glands. This includes the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid and parathyroid glands, thymus, adrenal glands and more.
“If you look at it from the point of view of the manifestations in the body, the glands are a really good place to look,” he said.
Toew sees the glands as the physical counterpart to the chakras. Or said differently, the chakras (or energy centres) are the etheric counterparts to the glands. He said the glands have a lot to do with our physiology, while each chakra is like an individual pumping station that pulls in energy and then expels it —“just like your lungs would do with air.”
“It’s doing the same thing with energy or ‘life force’,” said Toews.
According to Astara’s First Degree, Lesson Eleven (Chakras – The Universe Within), the heart chakra superimposes the thymus gland in the physical body, and the right auricle or “pulse point” of the heart. The solar plexus chakra superimposes the physical solar plexus area in our body, along with the great lobe of the liver.
The navel chakra superimposes the physical navel and extends to the spleen, where some of its roots are embedded. A smaller chakra called the meng mein is located directly behind the navel, and can impact the kidneys, adrenal glands, and blood pressure (among other things).
And the basic chakra, sometimes referred to as root chakra, superimposes the prostatic/uterus areas. It is located at the base of the spine and is considered the energetic survival centre of a human being.
“By systematically going through and treating the energy centres or the glands, not only can you deepen your spiritual connection [and] provide yourself with some sort of healing in your physiology — you can also affect your thought processes (how you think),” said Toews.
Esoteric/spiritual texts often describe seven major chakras, including the heart, solar plexus, and basic chakras. Others point to 11 or more, though generally smaller, found throughout the body. Toews said a chakra’s ability to absorb healthy (pranic) energy and pump it out can dictate the health of certain aspects of your physiology.
Take the fight or flight response as an example: it is the physiological manifestation of a perceived stressful or frightening event. In such a situation, Toews said the meng mein chakra could become over-activated during this response moment to help stimulate the activity of the adrenals. At the same time, the basic chakra could become bigger as the person prepares to defend themselves — or run.
“But then over a period of time, that centre that is known as the meng mein is constantly taking energy from your lower [energy] centres and shooting it up to your upper [energy] centres. [And over time] when that becomes over-activated, the basic chakra actually starts to become depleted.”
According to Toews, if the meng mein energy centre is over-activated it begins to shrink the basic chakra, which can result in the adrenals becoming fatigued as the person begins to feel tired. If the basic chakra is not regulated, it could eventually manifest as high blood pressure, migraines, or lower back pain.
The ripple effect continues; it seems the chakras, by extension of their impact on the glands, can also reach other areas and systems in the body, such as the nervous or sympathetic nervous system.
Considering what this system includes, along with the common systems and disorders that affect it (anxiety disorders and chronic stress, for example), it is easy to follow Toews’ logic — how the “things” that first appear in the energy body can create a ripple effect in the physical body. The second part of our series will continue exploring this topic.
Toews is the head of Astara, a mystery school based on the theosophical writings that were given to Earlyne Chaney. These are similar to the theosophical writings of authors such as Alice Bailey and Annie Besant, which are based on the mechanics of how a person can spiritually grow and evolve.