In this article, I’m going to go into signs of an underactive crown chakra, reasons for this, and how this can be fixed.

There are 3 sections in this article:

• Signs of an underactive crown chakra
• Most common causes of underactivity in the crown chakra
• Ideas for rebalancing an underactive crown chakra

Before I get into the ‘meat’ of the article, just a quick summary of what the chakra system is and the place of the crown chakra within it:

The chakra system is a concept from both Hinduism and Buddhism. It involves 7 energy centres located within the body along the spine where we are believed to receive, process and assimilate vital life energy from Source/God/Spirit. Each chakra is associated with a particular function or area of life. The word ‘chakra’ means ‘wheel’ in Sanskrit and is seen by clairvoyants as a spinning wheel of energy that when healthy, distributes life force energy freely.

The crown chakra is located at the top of the head.

This chakra is associated with our sense of spirituality, and our relationship with a higher power (whether that is our higher self/soul or God, or both.) It is also where we integrate awareness about our soul’s path and plan for this lifetime.

When a person’s crown chakra is balanced, it manifests as a sense of security and faith in the world, and a belief that a larger force out there has our back.

A balanced crown chakra also endows us with the knowledge that knows we are more than just this body, in this life. It enables us to connect with people, soul to soul. It gives us a sense of awe, spiritual humility and openness. When the crown chakra is in balance, we are not terrified of death and we know that it is not the end.

Now here are some signs of an underactive crown chakra:

• No sense of spirituality or feel for the mystical side of life. No openness to it. The belief that one is simply living in a meat suit on a rock that is flying through space, and that’s all there is to it!

• Dismissing synchronicities as coincidence; inability to feel awe/wonder, and cynicism about mystical experiences

• Spiritual arrogance or rigid atheism — the certainty that death is the end, dismissive of others’ spiritual beliefs and an ‘I know better’ mentality

• A fear of death and no willingness to look at one’s own mortality — this may manifest as avoiding conversations about death or panic at existential questions

• Anxiety, controlling behaviour and fear — feeling that there is no spiritual force that has one’s back, so therefore one must try to control everything. An inability to surrender and trust

• Diminishing other peoples’ spiritual experiences. Telling people their spiritual experiences are just their brain chemistry, mocking others’ spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer, needing to ‘explain away’ the inexplicable

• A sense of meaninglessness – a “what’s the point?” feeling, with life feeling hollow even when one is externally successful

• A deep sense of spiritual isolation – feeling alone with no sense of connection to something greater.

Now let’s look at why so many people in Western cultures have an underactive crown chakra.

Reasons for an Underactive Crown Chakra

1. The rampant materialism in our modern culture

Western societies have been rapidly secularised over the last 100 years and at the same time, we have begun to worship and exalt the acquisition of stuff, productivity, achievement and celebrity. This lack of spiritual focus in our lives and societies is reflected in the functioning (or rather, under functioning) of our crown chakras.

There is also a “prove it” mentality that diminishes spiritual and mystical experiences.

And then many are so addicted to their devices that they do not have the bandwidth to ponder spiritual questions or get still enough to do so.

2. Wounds and traumas connected to a religious upbringing or experience within a religion

Here are some common religious based experiences that can negatively affect the crown chakra and cause it to become underactive:

• Spiritual abuse (manipulation by religious leaders)
• Shame-based theology (“you’re inherently sinful/broken”)
• Punishment for questioning/doubt
• Being taught to believe in an angry or punishing God.

3. Faith-shattering traumas

Traumatic experiences that a person simply cannot accept — i.e. “this was not supposed to happen to me” and blames God for, can impact negatively on the crown chakra. In this category falls anything where we feel God has forsaken us.

These can include experiences like:

• The loss of one’s child
• A terminal diagnosis (self or a loved one)
• Unanswered prayers during desperate times
• Natural disasters destroying everything

These faith-shattering traumas can also have their origins in past lives. I often read on peoples’ karmic complexes (aka past life blocks) in my readings, and it is not uncommon to find that the crown chakra is being impacted negatively by a karmic complex. The reason for this is very often a trauma that damaged a person’s sense of faith. For example, for souls who died in the Holocaust — if there is a karmic complex connected to such an experience, there will often be an element of ‘I was abandoned by God’ to the complex which shows at the crown chakra and which can affect the person’s spiritual connection and spiritual life in subsequent lifetimes unless the karmic complex is resolved.

Now let’s look at how you can balance an underactive crown chakra.

Here are some ideas:

• Begin a mindfulness meditation practice
• Spend time in nature — especially under an open sky
• Heal past traumas, especially ones connected to religion
• Heal past life traumas (I have an article on resolving karmic complexes here)
• Seek out experiences that inspire wonder and awe (art, natural beauty or music)
• Study near-death experiences (this is my favourite YouTube channel with accounts of NDEs)
• Practice surrender in small ways: letting go of minor control and allowing for uncertainty. This builds capacity for spiritual trust
• Try consciousness-altering breathwork, such as Holotropic breathwork or pranayama.