COVER STORY
The Aura of Flora and Fauna
We humans are not the only ones who can vibe. Vibrations on a subtle level exist in animals and plants too and can be picked up by them as well, says Charles Shahar, while elaborating on their life-giving (pranic) benefits for this planet
We are obviously not the only living creatures on this planet. There are countless species in this earthly existence. Many people wonder about the role of animals in manifestation. Most of us have strong attachments or sentiments regarding animals, whether through having a pet or just simply enjoying their company. In this article, I want to look at some questions regarding animal and plant life related to the subtle dimension. By subtle dimension, I mean those planes of existence that cannot be registered by our physical senses but which interpenetrate the physical sphere.
In this article, I will use the term ‘vibrations’ a lot. Vibrations are subtle emissions or radiations of energy. Depending on their plane of existence, they can relate to vital (pranic) energy, emotional (astral) emanations, or mental vibrations. These subtle emanations of energy are picked up mostly by the subtle sense organs, namely, the chakras.
The chakras are energy centres, whirling discs of light. They process and absorb energy from the subtle spheres and transmit energy from a person to their external environment. There are seven major chakras, located at the base of the spine, the sacral plexus (lower abdomen), the solar plexus (upper abdomen), the heart (centre of the chest), the throat, the brow, and the crown of the head. In the following presentation, I will be looking at the chakras specifically as they have developed in the animal kingdom.
Animal vibrations
Animals are sentient beings and should be treated as such. Although they cannot necessarily talk, they have their own sensitivities and ways of communicating that go well beyond words. In fact, they respond to vibrations in much the same way as humans. Dogs and cats, for instance, can easily pick up emotional vibrations in a home. They can become depressed or excited, depending on the vibrational disposition of their owners. They can even project prana or healing vibrations when the owner is ill or feeling miserable.
Many owners actually get energy from their pets. It is not uncommon for lonely, single, or elderly people to choose to live with an animal for this reason. Because of mutual devotion or affection, both parties will benefit from the relationship. The animal will rarely become depleted themselves, although it does happen that if the owner is exceptionally needy or sick, the animal will begin to show the wear of the experience.
There is often a special communication between an owner and their pet, and a lot of it happens on a subtle level. Because they are sensitive to subtle moods and emotions, an animal will seem to know exactly when its owner is feeling down. It is not uncommon for animals to anticipate when their master is about to enter an apartment, and they will wait faithfully by the door. They may know when their owner needs to wake up in the morning, and their intuition is usually uncanny that way, even if the hours involved keep changing.
Animals have a subtle nervous system which can be damaged or abused. Those with particularly delicate subtle bodies include horses, birds, and certain breeds of dogs. I have seen a pigeon become cataleptic (paralysed) when confronted by a cat that was pawing at it. The vital fluid drained from the bird, and it died from shock an hour later despite my best efforts to save it.
Children are not always good companions for animals. Animals pick up on scattered vibrations and become unsettled themselves. In fact, if a child is particularly rough with them, especially in the animal’s first few months of life, the trauma to the subtle body can be severe and cause neuroses later on. Because they are sensitive to scattered vibrations, animals may also be jittery in crowds, busy streets, and sporting events.
Animals are often particular about the kind of vibrations they enjoy. Some people will make them uneasy by their presence, and the animal will seek to avoid them. There is something about the subtle field of these people that they will find disturbing; it may reflect stress, fear, or aggressiveness. I have found that most animals (at least domesticated ones) will be attracted to vibrations which are subtle or refined, and they also have an affinity for places where people meditate or do spiritual practices.
Some animals have grosser vibrations than others. I don’t want to belabour the point about meat-eaters, but generally, carnivorous animals in the wild will have less refined qualities than plant-eaters. One can sense this mostly by their smell, which is offensive. A meat-eating animal that is domesticated will have less of these grosser qualities because they are more exposed to human vibrations.
The grossest vibrations of any animal belong to the scavengers. Birds such as vultures, for instance, have a very coarse energy, and the fact that they feed on putrefied meat does not help. Grosser level vibrations are also found among animals that spend most of their existence underground or mainly in the dark. Certain burrowing animals, such as moles, and mammals, such as bats, are included in these categories.
It is also interesting that a person who spends a lot of time with animals in their own environment will begin to take on some of their qualities. They may become grosser themselves, as evidenced by their consciousness, and on a more basic level, by their appearance. Their aura will become coarser, and they may seem more aggressive and less tied to human courtesies or conventions. Naturalists who spend many years with wild species will sometimes develop these tendencies, but I have also seen it amongst stable hands, for instance.
Animals that have a strong sense of community will have a ‘group aura’ around them. Particularly strong fields are found around elephant and cattle herds as well as colonies of ants and bees. The group aura extends somewhat beyond the proximity of the troupe and is used for protection, as an early warning system. It is also meant to repulse non-group members from the same species. An interloper will send shock waves through the field, which will unsettle the herd, forcing them to react.
Big and small cats have an uncanny ability for vibrational camouflage, which explains how they can get so close to a herd of prey without arousing their attention. This has to do with a certain kind of inner discipline that relates to more than just physical stealth. They don’t wear their emotions on their sleeve as dogs tend to do, and hence they are ‘quieter’ on a vibrational level as well.
Conversely, one can easily get vibed by animals. A dog’s growl, for instance, sounds particularly menacing because the animal is projecting intense vibrations into the ether, which are actually meant for your solar plexus. That is why, even a little poodle can seem downright frightening. Although cats can hide their feelings, they are also amongst the most vibrationally vociferous of animals. When riled, for instance, they will hiss and growl, and one can actually see ripples of vibrations eject from their body.
Cats can vibe in other ways. They have a sense of anger, revenge, and enmity. Like humans, these emotions have their vibrational counterparts. They will express their displeasure on a subtle level, such that even if they are located in another part of the house, the owner who is being vibed will sense their displeasure. Other particularly intense vibrations occur when a female cat or dog is in oestrus, in which case sexual vibrations, in the form of heat in the ether, will attract the males, whose second chakras are sensitive to these cues.
Animals with no backbones do not have a subtle nervous system. They basically have one chakra, which has a very rudimentary structure. Their awareness is the most primitive of animals, not much beyond the survival response, and just above that of plant life. They are still sentient forms, however. Animals that have spines, or vertebrates, do have a chakra structure, and the development of this structure determines how conscious they are.
Animals have certain chakras which are more differentiated than others, although the higher centres related to abstract reasoning and communication are not developed. For instance, a dog or a cat will have more development in their first to fourth chakras. That their heart chakra is somewhat open should not come as a surprise. A dog will love their master unconditionally and will seek affection and attention. Although speech is not possible for these animals, the throat chakra has some activation because it is related to hearing as well.
The sixth (Ajna) chakra is underdeveloped, although it is more evolved in certain animals than others. For instance, cats have the capacity for clairvoyant vision, which is related to this chakra. A cat will see subtle energies (i.e., disembodied souls) that are not perceptible to most humans. In some cats, this ability is highly developed, and they will often seem jumpy and excitable for no apparent reason. In fact, they are usually reacting to the presence of spirits around them.
Animals do not have a developed seventh chakra, nor is their subtle nervous system built like a human’s, meaning that the Kundalini (consciousness) cannot rise in the same way. The fact that the human backbone can remain erect is an important element of our spiritual development. Even the primates, which are the closest living relatives to humans, do not have the possibility for transcendence, which is a distinctly human capacity.
Almost all fish (i.e., non-mammalian water dwellers) have only three active chakras, as do cold-blooded reptiles. Birds have a fourth chakra, and often a developed fifth chakra. All four-legged mammals have at least four developed chakras. Dolphins and whales, which, in fact, are mammals, actually possess an Ajna centre. Any animal with a sixth chakra can think, although their faculties for abstraction are limited. Likewise, elephants have relatively evolved fourth and sixth chakras, as do horses.
All of this suggests that animals do have consciousness, although perhaps not as differentiated as that of humans. Some animals have distinctly humanlike qualities. We pick up on their intelligence and are impressed by its depth. Animals who spend much time around people and appear to take on their traits will likely reincarnate as humans. Evolution is not confined to just the physical sphere but relates to the progress of the individual consciousness also. It is very rare, however, that a human will regress and reincarnate as an animal.
Plants and their vibrations
Plants respond to many different levels of vibrations. For instance, they will react to positive and nurturing energy. When people care for and fondle their plants, they are injecting them with prana. Sometimes, talking to the plant will seem to actually affect their rate of growth, and again, the person is projecting vital energy. You can see that the healthy plant has a kind of shimmer or aura about it, which is the vital (pranic) field that surrounds it.
Interestingly, plants are highly sensitive to the pranic dispositions of the people around them. For instance, I know of a case where a plant (which sat on the desk of its owner) started to deteriorate when the person became ill. Whenever she was at her workplace, the individual was unconsciously drawing vital energy from the plant. An alert colleague understood the situation and promptly moved the plant to another area, and within a few days, it recovered.
Plants are also sensitive to emotional energies, which they pick up as vague impressions. Some people have a natural affinity for plants, and it is partly because they can send sympathetic vibrations that are sensed. Trees that are about to be destroyed will develop kinks in their auras, since they respond to bad intentions. They will also send ‘distress signals’ in the ether, which can be picked up by other trees.
A tree is a special plant. I have difficulty watching people abuse trees by carving on them, peeling their bark, and so on. As to whether trees feel pain, I am not convinced that they do, although they do react in the sense of a subtle chemical reaction in their aura. When whole forests are logged or destroyed, a kind of hole is created in the ether.
Do trees have consciousness? This is a difficult question, depending on how one defines it. Consciousness is everywhere. In the case of plants, however, they do not have a subtle nervous system, in the same sense that animals do, and, therefore, do not have a sense of an individuated existence.
Plants are healing in their own right. A tree will radiate prodigious amounts of prana, particularly if it is older, and has had the opportunity to store such energy. The prana of a tree is concentrated in the sap and radiates outward through the branches. A budding tree will be particularly full of prana. Ill people should spend time near the larger, more ancient trees. Through an effort of will, one can draw the prana from these plants. There is so much there that the tree will not be depleted at all. In fact, I actually recommend tree-hugging as an activity. Ask the tree to share some of its energy when you do it, and see what happens.
Certain forests are particularly abundant in prana. One has but to sit inside them and absorb their energy. If you know of such a forest, it is a great place to go when you are feeling depleted. I find pine forests to be exceptionally healing and teeming with prana. In fact, sitting in them spaces me out, and I end up having great meditations there as well.
Let’s find out more about the pranic qualities of plants in the next section.
Prana through plants
We not only eat plants but absorb their energies in other ways. Flowers inject prana into any atmosphere, and that is why we pick them and take them home. A flower is not only pretty to look at, but, before it degrades, it brings an element of life and vitality to a place. Bringing flowers to a hospital room, for instance, is a great benefit because they energise the air, and the patient will unconsciously draw healing energy from them. No plastic bouquet will have the same quality, which suggests there is more than just decorative value here.
When we smell flowers, we breathe in prana. In fact, the smell can be quite intoxicating because it is the subtle nectar of the life force that we are inhaling. This is why bees and other insects are so highly attracted to flowers: particularly, their pollen radiates prana. Plants have developed all kinds of adaptive mechanisms, but it is the ones we can’t see that relate to the delicate energy interactions between the various levels of nature.
There are different types of prana producing plants. It is often the flowers with the largest or most elaborate petals, such as hibiscuses or orchids, which exude the most amount of prana. But lilies, roses, and many other types of flowers do so as well. In fact, until they start to degrade, flowers literally radiate in the subtle field. A flower shop will have an intense glow around it. To walk into a flower shop with subtle vision is remarkable, as the air is luminous and quite intoxicating.
It is interesting that a cactus plant will not radiate as much energy. Although these plants are hearty, they survive by siphoning off the prana from the desert atmosphere and exude little energy in return. They emit prana the most when their flowers blossom in spring. Other types of plants that do not radiate much prana are fungi, such as mushrooms.
Weeds drain energy from their surroundings. This is true, for instance, of ragweed, dandelions, and common thistles. In a weed-infested area, the plants around them die off because weeds are miserly for prana; they feed off the vitality of other plants, and, as such, are the parasites of the plant world. A garden that is filled with weeds will seem to have a darker, more depleted energy about it.
Simply walking down a few blocks of a city neighbourhood, one can sense that the flow of prana is very much influenced by the trees and green spaces there. Trees filter the air and exude energy. Although in winter (in cold lands) they may lose much of their vital capacity, in spring, they literally explode with pranic emanations which light up a city block. The difference is striking when compared to streets that are bare of significant plant life.
Examine the trees in spring, when the blossoms are first appearing. At that time, there is a translucent aura which can be seen around the foliage, particularly after a rain shower. The air around the trees seems to shimmer, and the fragrant scent suggests that prana is in the air. It is more than just the physical smell; it is the effervescence of the life force that is represented here.
Particularly, the older trees are great storehouses of energy. You can actually feel their vitalising presence when touching them. As I mentioned above, the effect of physical contact, even by simply putting your arms around them, can be a very soothing and grounding experience. The trunks and branches of oak trees, as well as maple and pine, have this quality. Other trees such as poplars and redwoods are also full of prana. For people who are sick or infirm, it is beneficial to spend time near their healing vibrations.
I once sat and meditated in a pine forest for more than an hour. It was a very cleansing experience. It was almost like my aura was awash with prana, and as I drew breath, I could feel the vital energy coursing through me. I felt a tingling in my skin, my lungs opened, my mind seemed to clear, and my thoughts became very lucid. I was getting high on prana!
Plants act as energy generators, and they filter poisons from the air. But there is a certain ratio of green space to city environment, beyond which the trees themselves will be overwhelmed by grime and pollution. Many forlorn and sickly looking trees can be seen along busy streets and thoroughfares. If they are wilting under the pressures of such a toxic environment, imagine what this is doing to the pranic field of the human organism as well.
The subtle world is much more dynamic and information rich than the physical. As one becomes subtler and more sensitive by doing meditation, connecting with one’s heart and being in the present moment, gradually the veil begins to lift and the vibrational reality of the world begins to unravel. It helps you connect with the greater reality of the cosmos, where everything is energy and vibration. Plenty of new knowledge, hitherto unknown to us comes rushing into our lives and we start connecting with our world in ways we had never in the past.