Which of Your Body Parts Needs More Amour?

Nick Herbert contemplates his 108 chakras

 Quantum Tantra represents an as yet unrealized new kind of physics that hopes to connect with Nature in a direct and more intimate way than merely "physicists making measurements". Quantum tantrikas seek a new way of knowing the "inanimate world" analogous to the mysterious way we presently experience our own bodies. Systematically experiencing our own bodies could be good practice for some day experiencing the physical world in a brand new (quantum) way.

To that end, Nick Herbert has been developing an original system of body chakras to aid in exploring this great corporal gift we've been given, both for its own sake and in preparation for a new (possibly quantum) way of enjoying our own body and the physical world.

This chakra project began when Nick was studying for his physics degree in the '60s while at the same time working at a psychic book shop (East-West Books) in Menlo Park, California. At that time so many new particles were being added to the physicist's worldview, Nick wondered why the number of bodily chakras had remained the same for centuries despite advances in meditation techniques and yes, the advent of new and more efficient psychedelic drugs.

Nick's immediate goal was to expand the number of classical chakras using two rules: 1. As in particle physics where each (fermionic) particle has an antiparticle, each chakra should possess an antichakra; 2. Each chakra should be represented by its own symbol (preferably some simple geometric form) with its "antichakra" represented by a black-white reversal of that form.

Progress in this program has been reported in three previous blog posts: Sixty-four Chakras, Eighty-four Chakras and Ninety-nine Chakras along with more background and justification for this unusual project. After working and playing with this notion for more than fifty years, Nick has finally decided on a total of 108 chakras -- 108 different places to situate your awareness and your willed action. 108 different playgrounds in which to exercise your imagination.

One Hundred and Eight Nick Chakras

 The lighter symbols are chakras, and the darker versions are antichakras. This convention is maintained for the first 72 chakras but is slightly modified for the rest of the group.

Seven classic Hindu Chakras plus one

The seven classic Hindu Chakras plus a "Ground chakra" added as antichakra to the classic Hindu "Crown chakra" makes Eight Hindu Chakras.

 Eight Spinal Chakras

The Eight Spinal Chakras: "Will" and "Auto" represent the voluntary and involuntary nervous systems as objects of conscious attention. Note the nice chakra and antichakra organization.

Eight Sensory Chakras

 The Eight Sensory Chakras. Note that the Lungs and the Bowels are highlighted as two important ways our bodies interact with the outside world.

Twenty-four Hand & Foot Chakras

Twenty-four Hand & Foot Chakras. Six chakras each: whole hand plus five fingers; whole foot plus five toes. Note that the antichakra of each hand is the corresponding foot chakra.

Twenty-four Arm and Leg Chakras

 Twenty-four Arm and Leg Chakras. Six chakras each: whole arm plus shoulder joint, upper arm, elbow, forearm and wrist; whole leg plus hip joint, thigh, knee, calf and ankle. Note that the leg parts are the anti-chakras of the corresponding arm parts.

Thirty-six Special Chakras

Thirty-six Special Chakras plus the foregoing Seventy-two chakras round out the total to one hundred and eight. The Special Chakras include the two Girdle Groups: Eight Pelvic Girdle chakras and Eight Shoulder Girdle chakras; the Eighteen Cranial chakras; the single Full-Body chakra plus the final No-Body chakra.

Sixteen Girdle Chakras

 

The Eight Pelvic Girdle chakras are antichakras to the Eight Shoulder Girdle chakras. Note that in this system, the sternum is homologous to the sacrum and the two clavicles are homologous to the two pubic bones.

Eighteen Cranial Chakras

 

Eighteen Cranial Chakras. In this special case, the chakra/anti-chakra convention does not apply. Here the light circles/ dark circles correspond to paired and unpaired anatomical forms. For instance there is only one inion and two temporal lobes. The former is symbolized by a dark circle; the latter by a light circle. The cranium itself is single (should be a dark circle) preserving the symmetry: six paired and six unpaired Cranial Chakras.

The final two chakras represent 1. The Whole-body Chakra, experiencing your entire body without breaking it into parts, and 2. Its antichakra the No-body Chakra symbolizing the contemplation of the entire physical universe with a small you-shaped piece cut out of it. 

Purely by accident these 108 Nick chakras correspond to the 108 beads in a traditional Indian japamala.