Chakras, What are they and how to work with them? Options

Ive been reading about the chakra's and am not exactly confused but then am not finding out what I want to know about them. It would be healpful to know other peoples oppinions? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused012.gif)

For example is it right to think that they are energy centers of our being that deal with the flow of information with the out side world? Ive read that we can protect them with covering them with leaves. And to stop them from working is to picture them as a flower closing up. And of course to open them again would be to open the flower. Ive read someone's topic on chakras and they mentioned...

"Imagine a lotus flower growing up from a seed in the earth through the chakras. Grip the stem with a light root lock at the Muladhara Chakra at the base of the spine. Then steady the stem with a light diaphragm lock and neck lock. Now, Imagine a Lotus Flower blossoming open at the crown. You can visualize a beautiful violet color in the middle of the flower getting lighter at the tips of the petals. Visualize two pathways on either side of the spine like the double helix of a DNA molecule. Spiral the inhale down either side of the stem as the lotus closes and exhale up through the center as it blossoms open. Inhale think Sat Nam. Exhale Wah Hay Guru. Time open."

Another recent idea I had for some reason although not too sure what I was doing or why but I formed a couple of pink astral energy balls and absorbed them to the heart and solar plexus, not sure if this would work. I guess the idea was to form an emotional understanding between me and the persons involved.

Something else ive been wondering is about telepathy sort of as a chakra, picturing a black lotus flower opening or closing, im not too sure why this is but i had an experience a while ago and wanted to shut down telepathy but hadnt actually done so, so i dont know if this would work. I just pictured it one day but dont realy know why black or even if it would work.

So many people have different ideas on the chakras im not too sure what to do. But then again there are things missed from what we can do or i havnt found what im looking for. I wonder how they came to their opinions. Often the colors are different too. Any help here is greatly appriciated.

Thanks.

This post has been edited by Coffee: Oct 5 2006, 11:14 AM

Not too sure about this right havent been succesfull in finding much info but the way I see it right, your meant to picture a chakra as a flower because of the way the light works with flowers. Basically when we hurt we close off from life, the same as if it's getting dark with a flower (dark being evil or of course hurt). Other things can happen too like being died out in some way etc. So in order to let light (happiness) in you would want to open your chakras more. Im not too sure however what this would do to someone, if it would cause more hurt once you get hurt again or would you be more forgicing? Also still not sure if the chakra's deal with life in a psychic way or is it face to face contact or both?¿

This article tells you how it is with the outside workd...
http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/chakras.html

In the first post it says about seeing the ability of telepathy as a chakra although im not too sure if it would work in the same way with the light but then again the situation is emotional too, do you want to hear it or not? Hope someone has read this message and tried it out though! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bigwink.gif)

This post has been edited by Coffee: Oct 15 2006, 04:41 PM