in this post, we will be looking at the third eye chakra, located at your forehead, between your eyebrows.

the 7-chakra system works both upward & downward. the upper chakras build on the lower chakras & send energy back down. the sixth stop along the spine, after the throat chakra, is the third eye chakra. balancing your sixth chakra is essential for balance in all other chakras.

third eye means intuition & logic, wisdom & insight, imagination & reality, vision & self-awareness.

with your needs (first chakra) & desires (second chakra) balanced, your sense of self in the world (third chakra) established, your connection to self & others cultivated (fourth chakra), and your own self-expression realized (throat chakra), your attention can turn toward the more subtle realm of intuition, spirituality, & wisdom. the third eye chakra connects your own inner consciousness with the outside world in a way that provides non-visual sight. it allows you to see the deeper meaning behind events in your life and the world around you and to have a sense of the way that things might unfold. you can recognize patterns and their significance, and see through deception and illusion.

some signs of third eye chakra imbalance include:

out of touch with spirituality & the bigger picture
lack of vision for one’s goals or path
using intuition and empathy for manipulation
lack of depth in communication, or insensitivity
out of touch with mind-body connection
excessive day-dreaming and fantasy
judgmental and egotistical behavior

the third eye chakra is all about the balance between right & left brain, reality & imagination. balancing your sixth chakra involves a combination of opening your mind, grounding yourself, and exploring your intuition.

how do you open & balance the third eye chakra?

meditate and/or pray. creating a space for meditation and/or prayer in your daily routines helps you stay in touch with your spirituality, your intuition, and your inner wisdom. turning inward and toward the divine can help you orient yourself toward your life’s purpose in every day moments.
listen to your gut feelings. these are messages from your intuition. although intuition can sometimes get clouded with personal bias, fear, or other emotions, in general your gut knows what’s up. the more you take note of what it’s telling you, the more it will feel like it can speak up when there’s something worth noticing. there are actually about 100 million neurons in your gut!!
explore other people’s perspectives. have real conversations with others to learn about perspectives that are different than your own. read a book or watch a film from another time or another country to see what someone else’s experience of the world is like. these experiences open your mind!
practice mindfulness. stay grounded in the here & now by cultivating a mindfulness practice. this can be as simple as picking any time in your day to check in with your body, the space around you, and the present moment. use this time to let go of day dreams, worries, and fantasies.
give your self-talk a makeover. examine the language that you use with yourself, on the surface and deep down inside you. are you kind to yourself? forgiving? loving? try to reframe the way that you speak to yourself as though you were talking to someone you truly love. this will help you align with your purpose and bring in more light to share with others, too.
take time for self-reflection. pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and actions throughout the day. this will help you to heighten your self-awareness, increasing your ability to see the world from other perspectives, examine your own beliefs, and get to know your higher self as separate from these passing parts of you.
start a dream journal. dreams are a portal into our subconscious and intuition. although they can contain a lot of silly imagery, they often carry wisdom and insight as well. start writing down significant dreams and reflecting on what they might be trying to tell you. the more that you write them down, the more you will remember them!
wear deep indigo & purple. deep indigo & deep purple are the colors of the third eye chakra. wearing them or surrounding yourself with these hues can help open this chakra. some of my favorite third eye stones are lapis lazuli and blue tourmaline.