All Energy Maps Are True, but Only Some Are Useful.

3, 5, 7, 9: any number of chakras is just fine. Energy maps of the human body are as real as, and not real as, swim strokes.

Energy maps, such as chakras, are real in the same sense that swim strokes are real. They are a capability that can be developed, there are certain forms that have been discovered over time to be particularly useful, these forms are quite distinct, and these forms are not an inherent reality of the human body, but successful forms fit well in the context of the human body.

To develop a swim stroke, such as the crawl, the butterfly, or the backstroke, is to organize the experience of the body in the world. Each of these strokes is quite distinct — it is difficult to create a stroke that is half-way between the butterfly and backstroke. On the other hand, each of these strokes has variations, each of which may be useful. For example, pull elbows high, or not? Within the landscape of all possible ways of the human body moving, our culture and key innovators over the ages have discovered certain possibilities that stand out as powerful. We have no reason, however, to imagine we have discovered all the swim strokes that could exist.

At first, one engages with a swim stroke mechanically, but eventually, when a swim stroke is mastered, it is no longer something conscious. It “just what one does”.

Energy maps of the human body, like chakras, are forms of shaping attention within the sensations of the human body and creating artistic perceptions with those raw materials. This is an art of perception, on the canvas of the human body. There are two aspects to this perceptual art: bottom-up and top-down.

The bottom-up aspect is analogous to wine tasting, or fine discrimination of any sort: initially, drinking wine is an undifferentiated experience. By seeking to experience the flavor sensations (hints of leather, tannin, acid), the perception of certain sensations becomes more prominent and distinct, until one pre-reflectively tastes these aspects of the wine. By paying attention to certain sensations in preference to others, incredibly strong perceptions can be created: it can come to seem obvious that a wine is “leathery”. Similarly, by gaining greater discrimination, for example, among the variety of sensations in the gut, tacit information is brought forth that shows how the gut is informing the actions of the whole body. One develops a “gut feel” that is a prominent and trusted experience of interpretation of what is happening.

The top-down aspect is analogous to landscape painting: various aspects of the landscape can be made more prominent, or can be approached stylistically, using blurry watercolors, fine pencil, thick acrylic paint, and so on. In the human body, bottom-up sensation can be modified with top-down metaphorical perception: you could feel the sensation of a heart as if it was a glowing hot ball, as if it were a vaporous cloud, as if it were shining in all directions, and so on. By engaging with experiential metaphors such as these, they become a pre-reflective reality, a way of experiencing the world that has a particular flavor and texture and is informative and guiding in particular ways.

There is a huge landscape of sensation available in the body. In this continuous and diverse landscape, one can focus on classes of sensations, gather sensations together or make fine discriminations, and mix in experiential metaphors to create a variety of energy maps. For example, paying attention to sensation in the head, heart, and gut creates a three-chakra map. Adding in the throat and the bodily base creates a five-chakra map. One can pay attention to these sensations in the spinal line, in the frontal line, or in the center of the body, each one creating a different map. Every description of the “energy systems” of the body reflects a way of perceiving the body that was found by some to be a useful cultivation.

From the subjective side, historically, some patterns of paying attention to sensations mixed with metaphorical perception have demonstratively been able to be developed to a degree that significantly change personal experience. A radiating heart may just feel better than a non-radiating heart. Additionally, it may texture the field of perception such that the environment is interacted with in a more relational manner.

These changes in manner of interaction with the world can be very physical. For example, if a sensation of energy flowing into the ground is developed, then this may orient walking to transfer weight solidly into the ground through skeletal alignment. Developing perceptions such as these tend to be far more effective in creating subtle bodily change than acquiring analytical knowledge about such matters as the physics of weight transfer in the skeleton.

All energy maps are true in the same sense that what you experience is true: if they are developed as experiences, then they will be true for you. But only some of the potential energy maps you could develop will actually be useful in your life. Like singing styles (opera, throat singing, rock, screamo...), there are numerous interesting ways to use your body that have been culturally discovered. It can be quite delightful to develop the capability to experience an energy system. No one needs, however, to be aware of or develop any particular energy system. The ultimate question before engaging is how do I expect this energy map will change my experience of and capabilities within the world?