We all live within four bodies but usually only focus on the Physical one.

Imagine you are more than just your Physical body. You live in an Emotional, Mental and Spiritual body as well.

Our subtle bodies surround our physical body in layers. These three other bodies are fed and connected to the physical by our Chakras. This creates our Aura or Energy field.

Our four bodies go through a maturation process as we age.  The physical body matures at 16 years, our emotional body matures by age 21 and our mental body matures by mid to late 20’s or mid 30. Once we are spiritually mature we are 38 – 40.

Each Chakra is a double back to back vortex associated with a certain gland and nerve plexus in the Physical body.

Chakras drive information up and through our subtle bodies with a push and pull of their dual vortex action. We process our experiences and environmental data through our Chakra ‘databases’.

The information arrives in our system of consciousness at the Root as a CONCEPT. Root is connected to the Physical Body.

If our systems are healthy we can pull the information up into the belly and we find we get a certain initial gut feeling about this concept. We encounter sympathy. This engages our first subtle body the emotional one.

Next the information moves to the solar plexus activating our mental body and we form an opinion. We feel empathy. Ego resides here and one can easily stay stuck here as our society values the intellecthighly.

These lower chakras are feminine energies. The physical, emotional, mental qualities. The place of sympathy and empathy. If we draw the information up to the heart we engage our heart or compassion.

Here we meet our masculine energy. Our Spiritual body.

Think of fairy Tales where the Knight saves a damsel from some drama. You can save yourself.

Symbolically, the female and male now can connect in the heart.

The importance of responding from our Spiritual body is using compassion over sympathy and empathy. This is crucial to maintaining healthy relationships. It is the most mature response we can give.

Compassion empowers the other with your belief in their ability to rise, rather than disempowering them with your worry, doubt, fear, pity and ultimate interference. Then we get caught up in mental and emotional games.

However, I am prone to believe that humanity is being manipulated on many levels. I see it reflected in our day-to-day living and of course social programming. We are trained to be good cogs in the machine so to speak.

Our societies and cultures tend to keep us in states of using sympathy and empathy and not teaching us too much about using compassion.

But isn’t it good to be sympathetic and empathetic as well as compassionate with other people you ask? Of course, however to use compassion is to use the highest frequency tool at your disposal. It’s the healthiest choice for all.

When we communicate with other humans we are essentially throwing out hooks and trying to connect. As we throw out hooks, we also receive hooks from others. You control where you take the hooks in.

When we are connecting from our Emotional Body or Sympathetically, we are connecting second chakra to second chakra. “Poor you! Let me take your burden”. Over functioning ensues. Exhaustion is the result.

When we are connecting using our mental body or empathy, we create a feedback loop from second chakra to third chakra being projected back to second chakra.

The image below is a simple example of the relationship to these energy flows. We see connecting at belly or 2^nd Chakra uses sympathy. Projecting back through mental body 3^rd Chakra is empathy. Both are not using the spiritual heart connection, so are a churning energy drain, unhealthy and not productive. Re-circulation through emotional body to mental body and not being processed up through the heart.

Here we have exhaustion but also confusion of ownership of the problem. Blurring responsibility and boundaries. Guilt and resentment ensue.

When we have 4^th Chakra heart hook up, we respond from our Spiritual Body, or heart chakra, with compassion. Here we can say “You Got This’ to the other. A positive boundary is now in place. Both know who is responsible.

Now we can encourage and empower.  We are most of service to the other by believing in them. Showing understanding and reminding the other of their own ability to cope is paramount. You can support and uplift the other spiritually, keeping yourself free of responsibility for their problem. All by responding from our spiritual body, our heart with compassion.

Empowering the other clearly defines the boundary/responsibility for the problem, as well as infuses the one in need with confidence and energy to solve their problem. Bolstered by support and the belief the other has in us, we are more confident in our success.

Society wants to steer us in the direction of always using sympathy and empathy over compassion. The news is always full of things you’re supposed to feel bad about. We play the Martyr and the Victim so often in our day-to-day life. These are the socially acceptable roles that we can default to and they are as energy vampires. Time for health and function.

Learning to take the hooks others throw at you in at your heart, activating your compassion, is key. It takes practice. Years of cultural and societal training to activate your belly and your mind will try to override the higher frequency of the heart.

Now you have awareness, perseverance is all you need, perseverance and practice.