When is it used?
If you catch yourself longing for the comforting warmth of a fire or the vibrancy of the sun, perhaps it is because you are feeling cold, inactive, lethargic or even depressed. Possibly your mind or heart is clouded with negative emotions or thoughts.
“I am not good enough. I am not loved. I am a failure.“ Such thoughts may be passing through your mind. You might be feeling jealous of others who seem to master life with ease, while everything appears difficult to you. Anxiety, self-doubt, dissatisfaction, feelings of inferiority and confusion are - among others - signs of a left channel that is out of balance.
A simple technique to combat such an imbalance is to use a burning candle to thaw your frozen left energy channel.
How is it done?
You will need a candle in a candle holder that can catch any dripping wax because you will be moving the candle around certain energetic points of your body. There are several ways to use the candle flame during your meditation.
The simplest method is to keep the burning candle on the ground in front of your left hand that is open on your lap. Your fingertips should be pointing to the flame, thus able to absorb the energy of light and warmth from the flame and draw it into your left channel.
Another method is to move the candle up and down your left side. For this use your right hand to hold the candle holder with the lit candle in it. Move it slowly up your left channel, making sure to cross over to the right side of your head at the level of the brain . Then move the candle back down again. You can repeat this movement several times. You can also target a specific Chakra by drawing clockwise circles with the candle flame around the Chakra you want to strengthen. Do this for a few minutes or so.
Note: Watch the flame at all times and be careful not to burn yourself. Not too loose clothing and tied back hair will help to avoid accidents. When keeping the candle in front of your open palm please keep some distance between flame and your fingertips.
Why does it work?
Our left and right energy channel are quite contrary. The thing they have in common is that they can go out of balance. The right channel of action overheats when overused; the left freezes. Both have wonderful, complementary qualities that are expressed in us when both channels are brought into balance.
The greatest quality of the left side is joy, which is the nature of the spirit. The left channel also gives us the pure desire for a higher spiritual life. But when out of balance the energy of the left channel can be self-destructive and very disturbing to the individual leading to minor or major problems like lethargy, dwelling in the past, emotional imbalance or -in extreme cases- to psychological problems and certain illnesses triggered by a disturbed left side.
The energy of light and warmth carried by a candle flame counteracts the frozenness and darkness of an imbalanced left channel. It helps restore the beautiful qualities of the Chakras of the left side: love, joy, compassion, emotional intelligence, satisfaction, peacefulness and intuition (to name a few).