The following post is adapted from THE WISDOM OF THE CHAKRAS: TOOLS FOR NAVIGATING THE COMPLEXITY OF LIFE (Lantern Books) by Ellen Tadd.
The third eye is located in the middle of the forehead and is the chakra of focus and concentration, wisdom, clarity, clairvoyance, discernment, and spiritual perception. Through the use of the third eye, appropriate and wise decision-making becomes accessible and natural. Without the discernment and wisdom of the third eye, the opened crown chakra will promote trust in life but without discrimination, and thus blind faith can occur. This naïve confidence is potentially dangerous and eventually can lead to disillusionment, which ultimately results in a closed crown chakra.
You can see this pattern of blind faith in many kinds of people--spiritual teachers, parents, friends--who follow specific religious doctrines without questioning the accuracy and appropriateness of the information or guidance. At the outset, the trusting follower has an open crown chakra, which creates feelings of confidence, happiness, and inspiration. However, if the third eye is not activated, wisdom and discernment are absent and the lack of integration between the crown chakra and the third eye can result in misplaced confidence in ignorance. Under certain conditions, people can be led into unfortunate or inappropriate circumstances. Eventually if discouragement, fear, or the feeling of betrayal develop, the crown chakra closes.
I call the third eye "the kingpin" of the chakra system. This idea came to me one day when I was bowling with my son and I kept getting strikes. All I needed to do was knock down the center pin and all the others would follow. It occurred to me that the third eye has the importance of the center pin. When the third eye is open, clarity is experienced and all the other chakra centers begin to open and heal as a result.
Activating the third eye is a prerequisite for integrating and harmonizing all the chakras. This center of clarity promotes trust, confidence, forgiveness, emotional balance, and responsible behavior--fundamental spiritual principles that are associated with the other centers. The significance and power of the third eye is clearly expressed in the quote from the Bible, "If thy eye be single, thy whole body will be filled with light" (Matthew 6:22).
The third eye is like a miner's light on the forehead, illuminating each individual's life path in the midst of the world's confusion and complexity. When the third eye is activated, people experience their lives as an unfolding growth process and are able to view the process and potential of others with clarity and perspective. These perceptions enhance the ability to sustain trust and an open crown chakra.
From the third-eye perception, it becomes possible for each of us to grow and evolve without being judgmental or becoming caught in emotional reactions. This center of clarity helps us to recognize each person's underlying positive value, regardless of what appears on the surface. By using the third eye we become more aware of each person's spiritual essence, as well as our own, and are able to see that behavior is the manifestation of an individual's stage of development in the process of growth and spiritual evolution.
Follow Ellen Tadd on Facebook.