QUOTE(telempath @ Nov 18 2007, 08:13 PM)

But, I would like to hear some more of your thoughts on the matter.
I'm well aware of the biomechanical aspect of the body and how it processes the movement of energy in itself. Where exactly the intention to do those things comes from is a debate that I doubt we will resolve here, when it has been going on since the dawn of science.
I referenced, because you mentioned chakras in relation to psionics, only the seven major chakras. There are, in my experience, 13 of them, six of which are concerned strictly with the connection of the subtle body to that which encompasses it. That is not even to consider the secondary centers located at each of the joints in the body, and the tertiary centers commonly called accupuncture points. The Nadis are concerned with how energy goes from one center to the other. Esoterically speaking.
Biologically speaking, it is understood within the paradigm of vedic science that these various major and minor energy centers in the body govern and direct the physical body on all of it's levels. Consider your point of view in relationship to your body. You do not have to think hard about doing anything with it, you simply do things. You are using intention, will, and energy to do them, but it is all a smooth process.
While our modern science understands the mechanics of how the body functions, what we talk about when we consider chakras and subtle bodies, is why it functions at all. Why the body identifies itself as an individual, has a unique point of view, and has spiritual experiences sometimes related to itself and sometimes to something greater. In time, our scientific society may well pick apart and categorize these 'subtle energies' around the time that the prove conclusively the existence of Psi energy, perhaps, through empirical observation rather than through intelligent inference. The idea of chakras and subtle bodies will still be Laughable to most scientifically minded individuals, but realistically only because they prefer to think that they have discovered something new. The vedic holy books described a universe composed of vibration thousands of years ago, and today it is a prominent aspect of many of the newer scientific theories. While I do not take anything that I have read in 'ancient books' at face value or as canon, my experience with chakras - mine and those of other people - have demonstrated to me that they can affect brain activity, quality of life in general, and physical systems as well.
Could it be psychosomatic? I thought for a time that it was, but then I read about the system - after I had been exploring it myself haphazardly for some time. At that time I was no where near as talented as I am now.
A great misconception westerners have about chakras is that they
are the systems of the body. That comes from a classical western belief that the self is contained in the body, that it is the place from which we operate. It is not. While it houses the point of view that we believe to be central, that is only because we are not accustomed to experiencing a non-physical point of view. We are more complex than this, and just as the nervous system is only one system in the body, the physical body is only one system in your total being. You yourself have said that you can connect to and look at systems outside of yourself - molecules, cells, etc. You no doubt experience that in your mind, but what part of you is looking? It has been proven rather conclusively my many studies - though their lack of bias is, in my opinion, probably suspect - that brain activity does not extend far enough from the brain to be interacting with objects outside of the physical body. While many studies apparently seem to have proven that psionic abilities to exist somehow, no one can say exactly how so far - psi is just a theory. Until it can be measured, documented, obvserved empirically, that is all it will ever be. However, if the vedic philosophers had a good intuition about how the universe is put together - albeit described through symbolism and illustration rather than equations - perhaps the idea that there are non-physical elements to our total makeup bears some consideration as well.
I am proposing that what is called 'psi' is a subcategory of the subtle energy system generally. The subtle bodies, and the energies that they process, are as varied as the systems and proteins of the physical body.
So, when I say that I am using chakras now to observe, analyze, respond, and act, I do not mean that it is not my brain doing it, but that the processes going on in my brain are governed by an energetic actions within my subtle bodies. If that energetic action was interrupted, so would my physical actions be interrupted. It is energy, and it does do work - it is the energy of your intention to do anything, and the precursor to that, and so on. The origination point of every intention, and every consequence of those intentions, is far beyond the physical body.
It is always difficult to discuss these systems with people heavily steeped in scientific theory. There is a certain pride to the western scientific mind, such that I have never met one to date who did not feel that the vedic/eastern theories somehow must usurp our scientific understanding of how the physical body operates. It is simply not the whole picture.
And of course, it is a spiritual thing. But that does not mean it is not scientific, observable, and able to be experimented with - with repeatable, calculated results. The world, in one line of opinion, and everything in it is spiritual in nature. Of course, each individual may believe that or not. Many do not. But, they none the less live by the same rules as those that do, and can be affected by those rules regardless of their lack of belief.
Which, I suppose, all may sound as though I'm trying to convince you. I'm not - it wouldn't matter - but if you want a more detailed and traditional look at the subtle systems of the body, there are books on vedic science that I'm certain you can get your hands on, far better articulated by people who are far more familiar and experienced than I am. What I know is my own comparably limited experience confirmed by a great deal of theory. Once I confirmed all of my experiences with my subtle body, I gave a bit more credit to the rest of the theory.
peace