Jed Schwartz presents: “A Brief Discussion of Some Relationships of Jin Shin Jyutsu to the Chakras” in The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, issue Number 77, Summer 2012:

***********

Jin Shin Jyutsu is a way to understand all the connections that create the universe…that we are the “microcosmos” that relates to the “macrocosmos”. by knowing ourselves, we can then know the entire universe. Another illustration of this is the chakra system expressed in yogic philosophy. Just as the Kojiki is the Record of Ancient History of Japan, there exists in the Hindu religion the Upanishads [literally meaning “to sit near the (Truth)”], philosophical texts relating the ancient story of the world from northern India.

Within the Upanishads the explanation of the chakras is told as an expression of the creative life force and life purpose. Just as with Jin Shin Jyutsu, it is the story of our evolution from Spirit to matter, from heaven to earth, from the top of our head to the bottom of our spine and back. The yogis understood that we evolve through the seven worlds (chakras) to connect back to the Source, the Light, which is expressed as the goddess Jyoti (meaning “light”), residing at the top of our head. In Jin Shin Jyutsu, the creation of the human being is seen through the six depths, with our Seventh Depth expressed as the light of the sun that descends around us.

The Sanskrit word chakra means “wheel” or “psychic center”. To understand this system, we need to look at the energy that flows through the body to create these seven wheels of life. The energy that flows through the spine is called the kundalini and literally means “coiled”. This “corporeal energy” lies coiled at the base of the spine. It is envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent, and sometimes is referred to as Shakti (the divine feminine creative power). The kundalini resides in the sacrum in three and a half coils and has been described as a residual power of pure desire. This power of the Serpentine Goddess, lying coiled at the base of the spine, waits to become awakened so that she may rise upward on her journey home. This is similar to the story in the Kojiki of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, who hides in a cave after being tormented by her brother, taking light and life with her. She hides in the cave until cajoled to come out and then returns to the sky, to bring light back into the world:

When her brother, the storm-god Susanowa, ravaged the earth she retreated to a cave because he was so noisy. She closed the cave with a large boulder. Her disappearance deprived the world of light and life. Demons ruled the earth. The other gods used everything in their power to lure her out, but to no avail. Finally it was Uzume who succeeded. The laughter of the gods when they watched her comical and obscene dances aroused Amaterasu’s curiosity. When she emerged from her cave a streak of light escaped (a streak nowadays people call dawn). The goddess then saw her own brilliant reflection in a mirror which Uzume had hung in a nearby tree. When she drew closer for a better look, the gods grabbed her and pulled her out of the cave. She returned to the sky, and brought light back into the world.” – Kojiki

To be continued…