17. Welcome to the Chakras
Your Body is Ancient Wisdom
Welcome to the Chakra system.
Many of you are probably already familiar with the framework and have had your own introduction to concepts of the system. My work with Chakra comes primarily through the blend of psychology with energy healing. Hands of Light, Light Emerging, Eastern Body Western Mind and the work of Dr. Gabor Mate all support this concept of body/mind connection for optimum health and self-realization.
Combining western psychology and the chakra system brings a greater understanding of self in the world. It includes all levels of our existence, including the spiritual (which is missing from most Western healing models) and provides the greatest amount of flexibility and nuance when walking a path of personal healing. There is no one right way and no one right outcome which gives us the most freedom and acceptance to be who we are.
The body doesn't lie.
According to Dr. van der Kolk, the "Body Keeps the Score". The body is an ancient wisdom tool for discovery of the self and the truth of our experience. The body does not participate in the masks invented to suppress our awareness. The body will always be able to show us the truth and the cost of our trauma reactions.
The body holds our trauma until we are ready to process it in a safe, loving and accepting environment. This is a gift that the body and the Earth offer to us. The Earth takes all the grounded trauma energy into Themselves and transmutes that energy into clarity, understanding and love. This is part of our agreement and accord with the Earth. We are wisdom partners in becoming our full realized selves on Earth.
The Chakra Overview
I understand the chakras in pair partners; where the first three mirror the next three. Everything in existence is a vibration of the source, so it makes sense to me that the 3 lower chakras that make up our physical presence are simply vibrational reflections of the upper three, and so on and so on... Each reflection is a slower, heavier vibration - which creates physical reality.
Physical reality is simply spiritual reality, slowed down to become physical presence.
The following is a quick overview with information that is also shared in the downloadable image attached.
Right-click to download or click button to download the full resolution file.
The Chakras: an Overview
Root (Physical Identification / Earth / Self Preservation) +
Mirror of the Heart (Kinship Identification / Air / Self-Acceptance)
The Root chakra is the foundation of our physical experience. It's where we experience physical safety and the satisfaction of the body needs for basic survival.
The Heart chakra is the root of spiritual safety. It is the center of love, compassion and peace. The heart is our spiritual foundation and the center of unchanging safety.
Sacral (Emotional Identification / Water / Self-Regulation) +
Mirror of Throat (Creative Identification / Sound / Self-Expression)
In the Sacral Chakra, 1 becomes 2 and we enter into harmonizing binaries and balancing opposites. This is the center of unconscious creation and the pleasures associated with the enjoyment of physical being; dancing, touch, sensuality, eating. Joy for self and joy for other is integral to this center. This is not a center for just acquiring physical things - it is the creation of communities, relationship and boundaries.
In the Throat we have the balance of communication. This is the center of expressing Self, expressing truth, asking for needs, holding opposing truths at the same time, expressing relationships, concepts, limits and boundaries. This is the center of creativity and bringing ideas into the world. This is the center of spiritual conceptualization and expression of the boundaries and harmonies experienced in the body in the sacral chakra.
Solar Plexus ( Ego Identity / Fire / Self-Definition) +
Third Eye ( Archetypal Identity / Light / Self-Reflection)
At the Solar Plexus we focus the will and move to action. The solar plexus is motivating energy, doing, achieving, power and Ego. Nothing gets accomplished without the solar plexus fire, but without the compassion and softening of the heart, the solar plexus is an authoritarian, tyrannical nightmare.
The Third Eye is spiritual vision. It is the spiritual direction of will, action, energy and accomplishment. It is the center of your great plan. It is seeing how all the pieces fit together and what actions are most beneficial for all. Spiritual vision can see how it has all been for you and how everything that has happened fits together in perfect harmony. The third eye sees the big picture AND the detail focus. Here there is intuition and spiritual sight - knowing without knowing why and trust in the understanding you can see with your spiritual sight.
Crown (Universal Identity / Thought / Self-Knowledge) + heart + root
The Crown is our Identity point as a soul in the physical plane of existence. The Crown is the center of higher mind, higher self, soul self, unity, wholiness and divine understanding. The Crown is the point at which the collective identity of Wholiness is expressed through a physical body. We tend to think of the root as the center of the physical body, but we have our beginnings as a distinct physical identity in the Crown. Everything that exists in the physical realm have their beginnings in thought. Thought joins with love and acceptance in the heart to create the body. The basis of the physical world is thought and love. The accord between thought and love allows the material world to exist. The root + the heart + the crown.
Pairing + Descending + Ascending
We so often judge everything as better or worse. "Higher" is better, "lower" is worse, one is more desirable than the other and we miss the value inherent in both. There is no separation between anything and higher and lower exist as frequencies of the the same source existence. The binary is holding together as one; positive/negative, higher/lower, slower/faster, heavier/lighter... are all facets and faces of the same energy. It is the same thing, showing up in different ways. The universal energy has different personalities - the same oneness, different vibes.
All vibes are welcome.
It is only our perception that judges the vibes of the universe as better or worse.
We tend to see "spiritual" things as "going up", ascending, climbing, expanding, when in fact both "up" and "down" are happening at the same time. The movement of Universal energy both up and down the spinal column is visualized almost like a double helix - moving up and down criss-crossing the the spinal column and "spinning" our chakra energy wheels. Universal Energy is moving down into the Earth and Up from the Earth into Wholiness.
When we clear out trauma blocks, we allow more energy to flow. We assist the free-movement and flow of Universal Energy down into the Earth and allow more Earth energy to move up through the system into Wholiness. In a very real way, we are hollow reeds of Universal Energy expressing Wholiness through the physical world AND we are the physical world sharing the experience of physical Wholiness in return to Spirit. In everything there is balance and harmony.
Universal consciousness descends through the heart bridge into our physical bodies. The Heart is the bridge between our Spiritual and Physical selves. Our personal consciousness expands while we are on Earth in our physical bodies of land.
The whole system is working together and the goal is harmony and balance within each level and with the whole: in each chakra, within the personal system as a whole, within partnership and relationship with others, with the family, within the community, within relationship with other species, within the state or province or region, within the country, within the continent, within the planet, within the galaxy, within the cosmos and on and on expanding into infinity... etc.
This harmony and balance goes inside and smaller as well - our existence is infinitely large and infinitely small. We are in relationship with our bodies, our organs, our nerves and blood vessels and membranes and cels and atoms and particles and on and on, smaller into infinity. Yes, existence is both infinitely larger and infinitely smaller. Our identity point is the exact middle perspective in larger and smaller infinity.
This is all happening at the same time and our personal healing work ripples out into both the larger and smaller systems and impacts the totality of the Wholiness. Every release of a trauma block is a release for the atomic and the galactic realms. Everyone and everything benefits from all healing. It is a gift we give to ourselves and the world.
We are evolving collectively; personally, and as a species, a civilization, a planet and a galaxy. We are evolving collectively through the chakras. As a planet we experience healing, clearing, balance and harmony of a chakra together.
There are as many different focuses here as there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the world. We are evolving collectively, but everyone comes with their unique focus and interest. Some people have a focus on galactic and archetypal energies. Some are focused on sciences and development. Some are focused on civilizations and social communities.
The opportunities and focus are endless and infinite in variety. What they all have in common is the driving desire and need of each individual to feel that they are connected to and expressing in the world the particular focus of their soul.
This is the 'follow your bliss', find your passion kind of thing.
It doesn't have to be connected to a livelihood or work. We do have to follow it and work with bringing it into the world because that is our soul purpose and we will not experience true fulfillment and satisfaction until we are expressing soul in the world, whatever that is for you.
Expressing our authentic self in the world is our soul purpose. That's the root of it all and listening to our body (root) is the first step.
In prep for the Practice
For the next week practice being in presence with your body in the world. Reflect on your life and make a body connection between your life experiences and the corresponding chakra based on the information here and the download image attached.
The life experiences don't have to be big or traumatic, they just need to be memorable. We are not looking for accuracy or diagnostics, we are simply habituating ourselves to see the body as a wisdom tool of experience in the world.
As an example:
When in emotional pain (a break-up, disappointment, rejection etc.), our hands and arms can go cold - up to our elbow or even to our shoulders. Hands and arms are connected with the heart and our ability to both ask for (reach out and pull in) and offer (reach out to give away) comfort, love, support and nurturing.
The cold is the body's awareness of our mind’s attempt to numb feeling the pain and the loss. By numbing and freezing the pain, we also numb the ability to give or receive comfort. Giving and receiving are halves of the same whole, suppressing one, suppresses the other.
When we recognize a body response to an emotional situation, it's necessary to give ourselves self-care. This is a necessary act in the process of becoming self-actualized adult people. Self care in this example could be as simple as the small comfort of blanket or wrap for the cold body parts. We could hold our hands together or wrap our arms around ourselves, to warm us up and literally comfort and support ourselves.
The first and second chakras are so tightly intertwined, it’s hard for me to see them as separate.
Our ability and openness to feel our feelings is directly related to our ability to feel safe in a body and fulfill the needs of the body.
The body’s primary vocabulary is feeling and the two are fite fuaite.
Any act of self comfort while in a body response is building trust with ourselves to take care of us in our times of need. Providing self care and love and support builds a foundation of confidence and trust in our own ability to be enough when we are in emotional crisis. I'm not suggesting we shouldn't reach out to loving, supportive members in our lives, because that is also self-care. Knowing we have the basic tool kit of emotional 911 support for ourselves when we need it goes a long way to creating safety in the first + second chakra.
Another example of a body response to an emotional situation is the "choked up" sensation that prevents us from speaking our truth or our needs. We may have trouble articulating our boundaries or supporting our boundaries or standing for our value or expressing our needs to others. What chakras are involved in these responses?
Self care for "choked up" can be to practice asking for what you need, asking for what you want, practice saying boundary defining statements.
Practice saying "no thank you", simply and politely. We are not required to explain ourselves, and our worth is not rooted in always being available to others. Grounding is important for all the chakras and standing in our ground on our own two feet is vital for anyone with boundary issues or trouble with vocalizing their needs to others. (Grounding exercises are outline below).
Be aware of your body sensations. Be aware of where in your body you feel the sensation. For many of us who have ignored the body for most of our lives, it may be a slow start to begin to recognize that your body is communicating with you at all. That's okay. Just start. Start now to bring awareness to your body and the sensations that it is giving you.
What does the sensation feel like?
Where is it in your body? Describe what it feels like.
Are there thoughts or feelings coming up in association with the feeling?
Are you being reminded of events or things that happened in the past?
Try not to analyze or "make meaning" out of the body feelings and the attendant thoughts and memories. For now, the best for us is to observe and record, observe and acknowledge. That's all that's required.
The Practice
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Download chakra image and review.
Go about your life being aware of your body as outlined in the section "For the Practice".
Consider the events, issues and upsets in your life; what chakra(s) are associated with them?
How do the rights and the challenges of the chakras apply to these patterns, events and situations?
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In the mothaitheacht state one at a time, direct your attention to each chakra affected and listen to what your body is telling you. What does your body say?
Record in your journal everything that comes to you when you begin dialogue with your body.
Try not to judge or analyze, just observe and record, observe and acknowledge.
It may be difficult in the beginning because your body and your mind speak different languages and it will take time to come to a place of mutual understanding.
The important part is the beginning, and being earnestly interested and curious in what your body would like to say to you.