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The third chakra is where peaceful awareness surfaces and one discovers that peace within. Here lies experience of freedom from guilt and obsession and addiction, negativity and self-centredness. So- how is it possible to just "turn within" and find peace? We have a profound pointer in Deepak Chopra's book "How to know God" where he says:- "The first solid research on the Restful Awareness Response came with the study of MANTRA meditation in the 1960s and 1970s. Until then, the West had paid little scientific attention to meditation. It didn't really occur to anyone that if meditation was genuine, some shift in the nervous system must accompany it.
Early experiments at the Meninger Foundation however, had established that "some Yogis could lower their heart-rate and breathing almost to nil. Physiologically they should have been on the brink of death - instead, they reported intense inner peace, bliss and oneness with - God. Nor was this phenomenon simply a curiosity from the East".
So, in the third chakra we can find peace, since there is a scarcity of peace in the so-called "outer world", it is essential to be able to go inward where all struggles cease. It is surprising how many people refuse the invitation to go within where they can find the solution to all life's problems.
Here is the place where it is possible for an over-active, excited mind to find rest and calm and detachment from all that's happening in the material world, and take over the role of witness - rather than be personally involved in absolutely every outer event - a kind of spiritual anaesthesia.
By deciding to move into the third chakra, one can alleviate pain in the most spectacular manner and escape being caught in turmoil. One can create one's own world of inner quiet and solitude instead of filling our brain with thoughts and memories and desires and negative emotions, we begin to focus our mind on something completely different. We can enter into the very core of our being and become capable of remaining "centred", and when that happens, we are not at all thrown off balance by the storms of this world and the happenings around us, and wars and rumours of wars. We remain conscious of the Self - even though we are surrounded by chaos and turmoil. Happy is the man or woman who finds this centre, because this is where peace exists. It is an inbuilt refuge from the "normal" human state of fear and confusion.
Being in contact with the Silent Witness within we become the Silent Witness, and that is when we realize that we don't have to identify ourselves with or get caught up in all the useless pursuits of the rest of the world. That is what all the useless pursuits of the rest of the world. That is what exists within us, which is our very own Self, quite independently of any experience we have ever been through.
When Christ says "go within in order to find the Kingdom of Heaven" He is not advocating that we become introverts, however tempting that may be but that though we are "in the world" i.e., we need not be "of the world" i.e., we need not get involved in all its unnecessary shenanigans. We can still interact with our fellow human beings and the environment without losing contact with the indwelling Higher Self. We can enjoy everything that has been put in the physical world for us to enjoy and to help us survive in our physical survival, without becoming enmeshed in it like a fly getting caught on sticky honey fly paper.
There is a difference between introversion and contact with the Higher Self. Introversion is not necessarily indicative of a spiritual state because it rejects all external life as value-less, which is equivalent to hiding one's light under a bushel which Christ warned us against. Introversion should obviously not be based on disgust with the world, or considering everything we call "material" or "physical" to be corrupt. It is not that we need to place negative values on everything that is not "spiritual" but to enjoy what is there without attachment. It is to be aware that at a deeper level what we see as "material" is nothing other than a manifestation of spiritual energy - and to be happy and thankful for all the beautiful things that have been put at our disposal to help us evolve. We should not confuse rejection with renunciation; rejection is a negative attitude which can have dire consequences, whereas renunciation is entered into with a loving awareness and a conscious choice of one's ideal.
WHO is it that rejects? The Soul does not reject, but rather ego that rejects - because it considers that anything other than itself is "unsuitable" "undesirable" "not good". Ego can convince itself that the world is an awful place to be in, whereas the spiritual person sees God, (the greatest good) enfolding all created things and residing within every particle of the universe, Ego picks and chooses and labels things saying "this is good, this is evil - whereas true renunciation is renouncing all that which is not REAL. It is to be conscious of and accepting of the Reality that lies beyond the material world. Even a multimillionaire with everything in his possession, can live as a renunciate, provided his sense of values are right, and he has real insight.
On the other hand we know that there are very many selfish, greedy and cruel people who consider themselves to be religious - among them monks and nuns of this world - even though they live a cloistered, sheltered life. They could be very far from real renunciation, whereas someone could be a complete extrovert, laughing and joking and immersed in numerous activities, may be far more spiritual, providing none of that manages to make them lose contact with their Higher Self, and detract from the inner search - It all depends what one is really after. Are we after achieving union with God or are we after immersing ourselves in the material world and having a whale of a time regardless of what happens in the eternal long run?
Now in chakra number three we have what is known as the "ocean of restful awareness" which manifests itself in a personality that is capable of enjoying inner solitude and being self sufficient and happy in whatever state one is in. Although we do see Uri Geller smiling and happy whenever he achieves the results he's after, we cannot say, from outward observation, that he is a restful person. As has already been mentioned - Uri cannot sit still for very long - because the Energy active within him is so prolific and so strong - that he has to walk the dogs or go jogging or use his exercise bike or work at his computer or something else. In order to be happy he has to be constantly active both physically and mentally and the last thing one can possibly feel in the presence of Uri Geller is the product of "restful awareness".
It is impossible to sit with him in silence for a quarter of an hour. He is compelled to communicate what he is thinking and feeling and desiring at any given moment - His brain is seething with endless hours of Television viewing in order to keep up with world affairs or find material that might be used in the current psychic thriller he might be working on at any given moment. His son Daniel, twenty years old now - can be calm and smiling happily, listening to an ongoing conversation, content to take a back seat and observe events as they unfold - in complete contrast to his father - Uri goes to bed late - he gets up early - so that even at night, his period of restfulness is shorter than the average person's need for solitude and rest and peace and quiet.
As for the world of inner solitude, he seldom mentions it. Of course - one cannot judge from the outside whether he enjoys this inner solitude - but there is not much sign of it on the outside.
We are also taught that in chakra number three, self-sufficiency is a quality that is developed. We can perhaps concede that he has now reached a state of self-sufficiency in that he has faith in himself and what he does. It is difficult to imagine him wishing to be someone else or doing something different because he actually does everything he wishes to do and enjoys the powers that he has been given. He is at any rate always happy to exhibit them and never misses an opportunity to demonstrate them whether at a private party, social fathering or in public.