The idea that chakras are actual physical "things" is extremely doubtful (kundalini is a real thing though - and don't argue with me :), but as a model for psyc

The idea that chakras are actual physical "things" is extremely doubtful (kundalini is a real thing though - and don't argue with me :), but as a model for psychological processes and insights, the chakra system is superior to anything Freud concocted. I'd recommend Anodea Judith's "Eastern Body, Western Mind" for a solid introduction - she has a master's in clinical psych and it's a good book that isn't all new age BS, though you do have to be willing to try and understand how metaphors work... it's just a model, much like software is really only insubstantial thought-stuff that through the interface of hardware, actually can interact with the world. The problem with a lot of "New Agers" is that they can't think abstractly - they are like the early Christians who got laughed at by the pagans for believing their version of the "dead and resurrected god" myth was the literal truth. But from a psychological angle, such a myth is very informative about something part of the "human condition".