At the most basic level, your body is made up of energy.  That energy organizes itself into the physical body you are looking at in the mirror every day.  But before that energy organizes itself into physical body parts, it organizes itself into meridians and chakras.  These chakras are centers of energy that lie along energy channels and each one holds a very specific vibration and has a specific purpose.  Each chakra is a specific expression of Prana (otherwise known as life force or source energy). The chakras look a bit like funnels of energy or vortices.  They both absorb and emit energy.

When a chakra is out of alignment, meaning it is not letting life force in or is out of alignment for any number of reasons, it starts to affect your equilibrium.  It becomes a serious imbalance within the system. When chakras are out of alignment, they appear small and do not absorb or emit much energy. They also change in their color, patterning, texture and sound.

The traditional name for the Third Eye Chakra is Ajna.  In Sanskrit, this translates to “perceive” or “beyond wisdom”.  This name alludes to what this chakra is all about. It is primarily about clairvoyance.  It is located just above your brow ridge, at the lower center of your forehead. Most people have an ever so slight indentation at this location that correlates to this chakra.       

This chakra is the 6th chakra in the primary chakra system.  This is why people refer to intuition as the sixth sense. When this chakra is open, we not only see, but also understand both our inner and outer world. Fitting in nicely to the theme of clairvoyance, this chakra governs clarity, intuition, self-realization, observation, astral travel, lucid dreaming, concentration, witnessing and imagination.  It is the seat of the conscience. This means it governs not only awareness of what is truly happening, but also what it means.

What I find to be the greatest implication however for the opened third eye chakra is that it governs the transcendence of duality and polarity.  Like the heart chakra, it is a unifying chakra.

Most of the time, we are so identified with ourselves that we are stuck in the ego.  We are stuck in our self-concept and in the way that only we see things. When this chakra is open, we are no longer limited in this way.  We begin to see the world through other people’s eyes. We can understand perspectives that are totally opposite to our own. This ends the polarity and creates unification between different and even contradictory perspectives.  When this chakra is open, this sight that is able to include polarities even unifies the right and left hemispheres of a person’s brain. This ends dualistic and disunited thinking. The consciousness that is associated with the third eye is a bit like a razor blade of light that cuts through illusion.  Because of this, it can dismantle any limiting thought.

It is obvious knowing all of this then why the third eye chakra has been the part of our being most associated with psychic abilities.  True sight goes far beyond the limitations we associate with our physical reality. It goes beyond both time and space.

The crown chakra is not associated with any element, because it represents nothingness (pure potential energy) as opposed to everything-ness and therefore it  is associated with the absence of light, the third eye is associated with the element of Light. Light is considered to be the combination of all the other elements, fire, air, water and earth. The third eye chakra is also associated with the color indigo.    

It must be said that it is often difficult to assign parts of the body to specific chakras because the energies organizing themselves through different chakras tend to co-regulate certain parts of the body.  For example, the Third Eye Chakra together with the Crown Chakra, govern the pineal gland, a bit like a king and queen in perfect balance of power would govern a kingdom. The pineal gland is a part of the human system that deserves its own episode; it is so central to the human capacity or inability to perceive beyond the physical reality.  It is our desire to make things black and white that make us want to say that a certain chakra governs a specific part of the body and no others.

That being said, the third eye chakra greatly influences the pituitary gland in conjunction with the throat chakra, the hypothalamus, eyes, frontal sinuses, many parts of the brain, especially the outer portions of the brain, the skull, the ears, nose, endocrine system and parasympathetic nervous system.  

When this chakra is out of alignment, some things that are most common to experience are seizures, dementia, hallucinations, disassociation, confusion, eye problems, hormone imbalances, all kinds of sleep disturbances, black and white thinking, no sense of direction is loss, headaches and migraines, prejudices, strokes, brain tumors, sinusitis, paranoia, delusions, anxiety, depression, cynicism, closed mindedness, denial, scull, scalp and hair problems, ear problems, learning disabilities, loss of conscience, rigid perspectives, lack of ethics, mental illnesses, disturbances in appetite and temperature regulation.                    

One thing I need to reiterate before continuing is that people in the spiritual field have become preoccupied with the idea of balance.  They try to achieve equilibrium through control. An adjunct to this idea is the concept that chakras can be too closed or too open. Though logical, this is inaccurate. If your chakras are fully open you will experience your being naturally coming into equilibrium.  So disturbances in the chakra system are not caused by the chakras being too open, they are created by blockages that prevent the full opening of each chakra.

All that being said, how do we open our third eye chakra and bring it into alignment?

1. Commit to the path of integration.  This chakra is inhibited by duality and polarity.  It is inhibited by identifying with a singular perceptual reality.  For more information on this as well as what to do about it, watch my video titled: Fragmentation, The Worldwide Disease.
    
2. Commit to the path of self-awareness.  We must do this to break through our own limitations of perception.  Our own projections, our own fears and our own limitations color the truth of what we are perceiving.  The door really is wide open for misinterpretation when there is a difference between what you are able to perceive vs. what the universe at large is conveying.  So stretching your perspective, no matter how uncomfortable that may be is the order of the day. The more aware we are of ourselves, especially our own limits, the less likely misinterpretation or false sight will be. 
    
3. Literally ANY practice that enhances your awareness and expands your perspective is going to open your third eye chakra.  Here are just a few examples: Meditation, Learning, Chanting, Visualization, Exercises that enhance intuition, Self Questioning, Divination, Lucid Dreaming or dream work, Channeling, Yoga, Focus exercises, Mindfulness Techniques, Art and Breathwork.  There will not be a video I have created or ever will create that will not assist in the opening of the third eye chakra.
    
4. Nothing clears the third eye chakra quite like shadow work. Illusion is the nemesis of the third eye chakra up until the point that one develops a consciousness high enough that their consciousness includes illusion as part of itself.  That is not a statement most people will get for a while and I have to leave it that way for now. Shadow work is the work of making the unknown or subconscious known and seen. If you would like more awareness about this, watch my video titled: What is shadow work.
    
5. Any practice that enhances your intuition and imagination will open the third eye chakra.  In my opinion, the most important first step to take in this direction is to really develop your capacity to feel.  Information that is coming from beyond the normal senses will still be translated through your body and most of us are so dissociated from our body (especially the way we somatically feel) that we never notice that information when it occurs.  For this reason, I suggest you watch my video titled: How To Feel.
   The next best practice is creating.  This could be as simple as creating art.  When we are creating we are in a state of non-restriction.  For example, we do not do art because it makes logical sense.  It is inherently an intuitive process in which we let our imagination loose.  For most people, before they start actually visually seeing information beyond the normal senses, they will begin seeing it in the minds eye.  If you cannot be imaginative, the mind’s eye is so limited it will not be able to accommodate those images that exist beyond normal sight. It would be like fitting an ocean through a straw.   
    
6. Get away from or limit your exposure to the frequency of electric and magnetic fields as well as radiation to the best of your ability in any given situation.  Cell phones, electric wires and computers for example. These interfere with the entire energetic system of a human being, but especially, the third eye chakra.  
    
7. Get sleep.  Easier said than done for some of us, but this needs to be a priority.  So many things are happening during sleep that relate to our awareness. Lack of sleep effects the third eye chakra immensely.  Get this sleep in alignment with your circadian rhythms. For most people, sleep should coincide with the cycles of the earth and sun.     
    
8. Star Gazing.  For some of you, this will graduate to sun gazing.  The sun is a star after all. Stargazing is to your third eye chakra, what a long handle bottle cleaner is to a bottle.  It flushes out the things that inhibit the flow of consciousness into this chakra. It forces entrainment with a frequency that transcends human perceptual limitations.      
    
9. Silence.  Silence can be used just like fasting for the third eye chakra.  It has a way of clearing the space and information inundating the chakra system and senses so as to make space for us to simply be and simply witness in a state of aware presence.  This enhances our awareness and leads to clarity. Many of the sages of the old world went into periods of silence for this very reason. It creates not only deeper internal peace but also deep inner listening.
    
10. Expose yourself to sunlight on a daily basis.  Direct sunlight is best for the body. It can be indirect sunlight for your eyes.  Take the sunglasses off. Sunlight coming in through your eyes stimulates this chakra as well as the glands associated with this chakra.  
     
11. Stimulate this chakra with sound.  The sound that stimulates this chakra best is Sham.  Another one that is great is Thohhh. Alternatively, Aum or the simple sound mmm works very well for this chakra.  Toning with this sound is very effective. Play with the pitch and tone of these sounds until you can feel it vibrating the area of your body associated with the third eye.  You can find binaural beats or different harmonics on the internet designed specifically for this chakra. You can also expose yourself to crystal singing bowls designed for this chakra.
     
12. The third eye chakra is a bit different in that it can be stimulated by the color indigo, but it is most stimulated by a bit of everything at once.  This chakra likes the idea of the rainbow. This means being in environments with all the different vibrant color varieties, eating a meal that includes all the colors in the spectrum, decorating your surroundings to be a riot of color instead of monotone.  
     
13. Eat a vegan diet.  Do not eat any processed foods or pesticides.  Don’t eat refined sugar, including alcohol, which is treated in a similar way as refined sugar is by the body.  Do not take calcium supplements or foods with calcium carbonate. If you feel you need calcium, take it in the form of sesame sees, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, kale, and broccoli.  Limit consumption of fluoride, this includes not using fluoride toothpaste and not drinking water or eating things with Fluoride, Chlorine or Bromide in it. The denser a food is and the more grounding of a food that you eat, the less this chakra is stimulated.  And make sure to include apple cider vinegar, foods rich in iodine like seaweed, goji berries, ginseng, ginko biloba, gotu kola, cranberries, green beans, spirulina, chlorella, kale, and prunes. Eat foods high in magnesium, not magnesium phosphate. Also eat tamarind fruit, raw cacao, coconut oil, lavender, blueberries, eyebright tea, calendula tea, elderberry, rosemary and parsley.  The more natural a product is that you are using or eating, the better it will be for you and for the third eye chakra. Also, do not eat or drink out of plastic and never, ever use a microwave.
     
14. Fasting.  No chakra responds to fasting as well as the third eye chakra.  This is why so often people on vision quests either fast completely or intentionally restrict their diet.  Fasting should never be used as a tool of escapism, rather as a tool for assisting awareness/perception. Make sure you fast in a healthy way.  It is not healthy if you use dieting to stimulate this chakra to such a degree that you start to disassociate from your physical embodiment and life on earth, including your lower chakras, which is easily done.
     
15. Use essential oils to help your third eye chakra align.  My personal top picks for this chakra are: Elderberry seed oil, Almond Blossom, Pine, Jasmine, Juniper, monkshood, Lavender, Lupin, Hyacinth, Palo Santo, Manuka, Nutmeg, China Aster, Rosewood, Frankincense, Myrrh, most all fruit essential oils, Vanilla, Galbanum, Carrot Seed, Sandal Wood, Angelica, Clary Sage, Rosemary and Bay Laurel.
     
16. It is your personal choice (and be very aware of the legality of such a decision), but the shamanic medicines that have been associated with spiritual awakening for thousands of years such as Ayahuasca, Peyote, Psilocybin mushrooms and Iboga to name a few, force the opening of this chakra.  And though they influence every chakra, they tend to have the most effect on demolishing the blockages associated this chakra.
     
17. Bring certain mineral spirits into your life.  In my opinion, the absolute best mineral for the third eye chakra is moonstone.  Other stones that also intensely stimulate the third eye chakra best are: Tanzanite, Opalite, Glass, Iolite, Indigo Kayanite, Star Topaz, Danburite, Herkimer Diamond, Opal, Blue and Purple Fluorite, Alexandrite and Labradorite, Moldavite, Petalite, Azurite, Sapphire and specific Sodalite stones.

By intentionally doing things which enable your third eye chakra to come into alignment and open, you will be setting yourself up to live a life of clarity.  You will be aligning with a life where your heightened awareness can prevent the suffering that has been so central to a human life for thousands un thousands of years.  You will be letting intuition lead you on your true path, a path of creativity and possibilities. And everyone who is around you will benefit by it.