General Symptoms of Energy Cords

• A lack of energy or vitality which does not respond to the usual remedies.
• Constant thoughts about a specific person (s), place, or thing.
• Feeling drained after a conversation or a meeting with a particular person.
• An inability (or finding it a challenge) to resolve the past and to live in the present.
• A lack of clarity regarding your life's purpose.
• Consistently feeling un-centered or "not yourself."

Additional Information on ECR[P]


Types of Energy Cords

There are hundreds of types of energy cords, all of which fall into a larger umbrella category of one kind or another. Dean Ramsden defines the most common energy cords best. In laymen’s terms, Ramsden classifies and characterizes them as follows ...

1. Junk Cords: analogous to "junk mail" or e-mail "spam", junk cords casually hook into the lower chakras as part of a failed attempt to probe or control us in some way. I call them junk cords because they remain hooked into the surface of a chakra long after the probing from another has ceased. I often find excessive junk cords in clients with unexplained fatigue or who struggle with personal boundaries.

The classic example is the salesperson or telemarketer who tries to "hook" you into making a purchase you do not wish to make. As you walk away you feel affected or invaded in some way you can't put your finger on.

2. Transitional Cords: these are "feeler" cords that attach and detach rapidly, as we explore a connection with another person. They function to orientate ourselves to another, allowing us to receive or download information to this person, or to focus the transmission of meme-tic thought-forms. Feeler cords touch us when the other is objective and curious, but not interested in forming a personal or permanent relationship with us.

All of us have experienced this as we ask for driving directions, or listen to a theatrical performance or lecture. It is a passive and yet focused way of connecting with others, one that does not infringe on our or another’s personal boundaries.

[Because] transitional cords do not linger we have no need to detach them. However, extended or intensely curious attention will overcharge our chakras, producing such phenomena as stage fright, fear of public speaking, or shyness. Learning to tolerate being "seen" by others - warts and all - is an essential skill for the empowered individual. This is what allows us to make a stand for something important, or to make a verbal statement of intent, or a request for a change.

3. Attachment Cords: when we do accept or initiate personal contact with another we send attachment cords deep into the inner structure of the chakras, forming permanent or semi-permanent links to others. Typical examples of this are the bonds we form with parents, siblings, family members, and our children. We also attach these cords to long-term partners as well as others with whom we have bonded in an emotional or sexual way. These cords transfer both healthy and unhealthy energies from one to another, influencing us at many levels of consciousness.

An example of this is seen in the psychological concept of transference. For instance, if I am dependent upon my job I will probably cord with my boss in ways that are reminiscent of similar dependent relationships with male authorities from my past. As another example I may meet a man whose behavior triggers memories of the way my father acted towards me, and my interactions towards this person will be tainted with the unresolved feelings towards my father. I may find myself arguing with this man similar to the way I argued with my father during my upbringing. This indicates that I am in "transference" with him; my attachment cords are distorting my present experience by bringing in the past.

[Because] attachment cords can go through the chakra and deep into the sushumna, and even wrap around organs, it may be necessary to remove them. An alternative approach is to "graft" a new experience onto the cord, effectively "re-programming" the cord and adapting the experience in service of the individual rather than to her detriment. Chakra cord **grafting can significantly change the impact of toxic or unhealthy attachment cords, and can re-write the relationship.

4. Heritage Cords: just as our bodies contain genetic coding from our ancestors, our chakras contain unresolved or habitual relational cords from past family members. Often we find ourselves repeating family patterns stretching back many generations. Just as a parent may hear herself speaking to her young child in the identical way her own mother spoke to her, so family relational patterns are held within heritage cords, unconsciously affecting the choices we make in our lives. By bringing these patterns to our awareness, and by re-patterning heritage cords, we can heal the past and begin to make new choices.

Work with heritage cords is indicated in such situations as dysfunctional partnerships or where we find ourselves repeating a common family pattern, bound and controlled by our family situation.

Working with heritage cords is similar to techniques used with attachment cords, except for the important distinction that the patterns involved will probably be linked deep into both the family and cultural matrix of the person. This makes repairing the damage and reprogramming the cords much more difficult. Ideally, heritage cord work is done in a group setting, which allows for a recapitulation of the original family-based pattern. However, slow and persistent changes to heritage cords (coupled with current-day attachment cord work) can erode the grip of the familial past and allow an individual to transcend chronic family patterns. These patterns are popularly known as "karma" or destiny, implying that our future is written ahead of time in the heritage cords of our ancestors.