The third, or solar plexus, chakra, is the seat of our power--or at least the seat of our recognition of power. Remember, with any energy in our lives, it's not so much about its absence or presence as it is about our connection. Energy simply flows, and if it isn't flowing, or isn't flowing in a way that works for us, it's usually because there's a blocked connection of some sort. Often the complications in our chakras are comparable to a dam holding back water. Power through the dam, and things start flowing freely (and stop backing up and flooding other areas!).
An out-of-balance third chakra often is connected to an imbalance of power in our lives (I say "connected" with regards to chakra imbalances because it's not always clear which came first--the out-of-whack chakra [causing the energy imbalance in our outer life] or the out-of-whack life [causing the energy imbalance in the chakra]). It's often the case that chakra imbalances, especially severe ones, can be traced back to events happening in particular timeframes of our early lives--and if you look at childhood development timelines you can often see why. Third chakra imbalances often date back to the ages of 2 1/2 - 4 1/2 years: the time in which children develop personal power and a recognition that they are separate bodies from others. Think the terrible twos, here....
Back to the chakra. Loosely paraphrasing Anodea Judith from her work Wheels of Life: Feeling powerless is failing to consciously use our will. It's not that we're lacking in will, it's that we're applying it in directions that don't serve us. Yes, this can be a big hurdle. Yes, this can be overwhelmingly because of myriad issues that drive us into choosing to respond in accordance with someone else's will, rather than our own real purpose. Yes, yes, yes. Tons of reasons. But I think it's important to realize that our own purpose is there, just waiting for us to take a shot at tuning in. If you feel out of control, powerless, and weak, or simply (if such a thing is simple) stuck, you want to take a look at your third chakra.
This is a chakra to pay attention to with your daily energy clearing as well, especially if you spend much time around other people engaged in power struggles, because this is where those sit as well. This is the chakra associated with the physical element of fire, and as such it's the seat not only of power, but of transformation. It's where we focus when we're doing centering exercises, and if you've ever engaged in a battle of wills and lost, feeling like you've been kicked in the stomach, this is the place. You want this chakra clear and working for you so you can keep healing.
If you need, check back to the post on the root chakra from last week for details on the visualization process we're working with right now. To help boost the energy of the clearing of this chakra, I do suggest running through a grounding/centering exercise first, then visualizing the white light energy of your spirit-aura. When you trance, you'll be looking for a yellow glow just below your rib cage. As you go through the visualization of clearing and balancing this chakra, pay attention to any feelings of anger or fear that may come up. Let yourself breathe through them (literally--give it a try and you'll see what I mean), visualize the white-light energy dissipating them, just as you did when we started on the clearing of personal space. Be willing to let them be too much to deal with in one sitting--sometimes deep issues can be overwhelming. (Note: most of us know if we have serious issues. DO find a qualified counselor or medical professional to work with. Energy work, especially on your own, shouldn't be a substitute for professional help on physical, mental, and emotional issues.)
Continuing the list-o-gemstones: good gemstones to work with for the 3rd chakra include citrine, amber (not actually a stone; amber is a resin), topaz, and again, tiger's eye. My personal favorite is citrine for this work, but amber is also excellent for helping increase personal power.
If your 3rd chakra issues are related to over-powering, and you find yourself downsizing the chakra in your visualization, adding water to your environment, adding tonglen meditation, volunteering in settings that help you exercise compassion...all excellent ways to help bring that into balance. Also recognize if the over-powering is related to fear. Clearing and balancing this, along with the other two lower chakras, can help heal this life imbalance considerable.
The more I think about the chakras as I'm posting these, the more I'm conscious that we're just scratching the surface here. If you have any questions about a particular chakra, feel free to post them in the comments or email me privately at conscioussanity@gmail.com.
Have an amazing and blessed day!
Showing posts with label center. Show all posts
Showing posts with label center. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
The root of it
Just in case you aren't familiar with the chakra system, here's a quick explanation: chakras delineate areas of, shall we say, more intense energy concentration. Everything is energy, connected by a flow of energy, and chakras are sort of like train stations, where energy of a particular type is concentrated and from where it primarily stems. We usually refer to chakras as though they are completely within our bodies, but a) there are chakras located completely outside our physical form, b) there are chakras not specifically residing in or around humans and c) just like that train station, the chakras have openings of sorts that allow energy to flow into and out of the world around us. Literally, this is where things can get messy.
There are a lot of chakras of importance, and we're going to start with the 7 most familiar ones, all located within the human body and primarily engaged for most of us in helping us deal with the day-to-day. The first, base, or root, chakra is roughly located at the base of the spine. It is concerned with matters of survival, and as such, the Incan shamans would equate it with the level of seeing with the serpent (I promise, one day soon we'll get into the four levels of seeing): it's really about "who am I in the world" -- the psychological component of this is "do I deserve to be in the world" -- food, shelter, clothing, physical safety, etc. Off balance, it can result in poverty or fear-driven greed, constant fear of physical harm, being a bully, and so forth. In a sense, it doesn't matter how it manifests in your life because your goal is to keep that energy clear and flowing under all circumstances and in all settings anyway.
One simple way to clear the energy of a chakra (we'll get into more complex ways after we cover all the physical body chakras) is through visualization. Imagine the chakras as a rainbow ladder: the root chakra is the first rung, and the associated color is red. To use visualization to clear this chakra, go into a light trance, and if you like, increase your connection by first visualizing your body filled with the white light of your spirit energy. Imagine you are looking directly down your spine (I find this rather easier to visualize than working from, say, a ground level view!). Right around your tailbone you should see a red ball of energy. Spend a few moments paying attention to it--its color, its size, its shape. Now imagine it perfectly round, clear red, and spinning smoothly. If it seems too large, like you have an over-focus one way or another on survival issues (this can include being too generous, too), feel free to shrink it. If it seems too small, like the Grinch's heart (or heart chakra, perhaps?), breathe into it, rather like a balloon. When it reaches "just right" in all ways, or a point you are comfortable with, hold that image for a few moments, then take a deep breath and open your eyes.
Over the next several days after doing this exercise, I do encourage you to pay particular attention to what is going on in your physical / survival reality. Remember our comfort zones are often ready to reach out and pull us back from our progress. If you are not familiar with chakra work, you'll want to repeat this frequently. If your chakras are reasonably in order, not so much. You can also augment the clearing and strengthening by setting root-chakra oriented gemstones around you -- an ideal number would be four, one to each side of you during your meditation. Some good ones are garnet, tourmalinated quartz, onyx, obsidian (especially snowflake obsidian), ruby (raw rubies are inexpensive and easy to find at metaphysical shops), or smoky quartz. Try with and without the stones and pay attention to their effects to find what works best for you. And, of course, you can always use clear quartz. If any of this makes you feel unsettled and ungrounded, go ahead and take a minute to do some grounding (see my earlier post on this for ideas).
You may want to keep a journal associated with your energy work so that weeks, months (or even just days) from now, you can look at how things are changing.
There are a lot of chakras of importance, and we're going to start with the 7 most familiar ones, all located within the human body and primarily engaged for most of us in helping us deal with the day-to-day. The first, base, or root, chakra is roughly located at the base of the spine. It is concerned with matters of survival, and as such, the Incan shamans would equate it with the level of seeing with the serpent (I promise, one day soon we'll get into the four levels of seeing): it's really about "who am I in the world" -- the psychological component of this is "do I deserve to be in the world" -- food, shelter, clothing, physical safety, etc. Off balance, it can result in poverty or fear-driven greed, constant fear of physical harm, being a bully, and so forth. In a sense, it doesn't matter how it manifests in your life because your goal is to keep that energy clear and flowing under all circumstances and in all settings anyway.
One simple way to clear the energy of a chakra (we'll get into more complex ways after we cover all the physical body chakras) is through visualization. Imagine the chakras as a rainbow ladder: the root chakra is the first rung, and the associated color is red. To use visualization to clear this chakra, go into a light trance, and if you like, increase your connection by first visualizing your body filled with the white light of your spirit energy. Imagine you are looking directly down your spine (I find this rather easier to visualize than working from, say, a ground level view!). Right around your tailbone you should see a red ball of energy. Spend a few moments paying attention to it--its color, its size, its shape. Now imagine it perfectly round, clear red, and spinning smoothly. If it seems too large, like you have an over-focus one way or another on survival issues (this can include being too generous, too), feel free to shrink it. If it seems too small, like the Grinch's heart (or heart chakra, perhaps?), breathe into it, rather like a balloon. When it reaches "just right" in all ways, or a point you are comfortable with, hold that image for a few moments, then take a deep breath and open your eyes.
Over the next several days after doing this exercise, I do encourage you to pay particular attention to what is going on in your physical / survival reality. Remember our comfort zones are often ready to reach out and pull us back from our progress. If you are not familiar with chakra work, you'll want to repeat this frequently. If your chakras are reasonably in order, not so much. You can also augment the clearing and strengthening by setting root-chakra oriented gemstones around you -- an ideal number would be four, one to each side of you during your meditation. Some good ones are garnet, tourmalinated quartz, onyx, obsidian (especially snowflake obsidian), ruby (raw rubies are inexpensive and easy to find at metaphysical shops), or smoky quartz. Try with and without the stones and pay attention to their effects to find what works best for you. And, of course, you can always use clear quartz. If any of this makes you feel unsettled and ungrounded, go ahead and take a minute to do some grounding (see my earlier post on this for ideas).
You may want to keep a journal associated with your energy work so that weeks, months (or even just days) from now, you can look at how things are changing.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Meeting the center
One of the most powerful tools for living consciously is, of course, meditation. But there's another simple tool you can use to start, and use throughout, your day even when you a) don't have time to meditate, b) can't get your brain to shut up during your meditation, or c) whatever your reason is for not meditating.
The tool (practice) is called "grounding and centering," and it's just as handy for getting your toddler to calm down as it is for getting your inner toddler to calm down. The practice. common to several religious traditions, is used to sharpen focus and open yourself up to divine intervention/guidance.
The two parts can be done together or separately as you need, and only take a few minutes (less time with practice) to bring you back to yourself, regardless of the distraction.
Grounding: the practice of grounding involves feeling yourself connected to the earth (thus enhancing stability). A good way to start is to imagine yourself sitting on the ground leaning against a tree or large boulder. Feel how strong that is, how rooted. In your imagination, now, let yourself merge into the tree or boulder. Now you are the one who is rooted. Just the imagining of this can relax your body.
Centering: centering can be used to focus when your mental energy is jumping all over the place, or when you're feeling attacked and you need to present a clear case (attacks of nerves count). This practice uses the traditional 7 chakras as a guidepost: you're looking for the solar plexus chakra, which can be imagined as a clear yellow light (it is, of course, located roughly at the solar plexus, or right about the center of your body). Of the many areas governed by this chakra's energy, the one that deals with will/focus/personal boundaries (depending on your situation) are what you're looking for. Mind you, it works just as well even if you think the chakra system is a bunch of hooey. Locate this center, imagine the yellow light. Now imagine the light spreading throughout your body. The brilliance loosens up all those irritating little energy blocks that are keeping you scattered. When your body is full of yellow light, start to pull it back in to your center. When it's back in place, in a nice, bright, yellow ball, take a few deep breaths.
Used in the morning, the dual practice is one way to get the day off to a clear-headed, focused start. During the day, when demands on your time start to pull your focus off your path, you can use one or the other or both to walk yourself back to where you need to be.
The tool (practice) is called "grounding and centering," and it's just as handy for getting your toddler to calm down as it is for getting your inner toddler to calm down. The practice. common to several religious traditions, is used to sharpen focus and open yourself up to divine intervention/guidance.
The two parts can be done together or separately as you need, and only take a few minutes (less time with practice) to bring you back to yourself, regardless of the distraction.
Grounding: the practice of grounding involves feeling yourself connected to the earth (thus enhancing stability). A good way to start is to imagine yourself sitting on the ground leaning against a tree or large boulder. Feel how strong that is, how rooted. In your imagination, now, let yourself merge into the tree or boulder. Now you are the one who is rooted. Just the imagining of this can relax your body.
Centering: centering can be used to focus when your mental energy is jumping all over the place, or when you're feeling attacked and you need to present a clear case (attacks of nerves count). This practice uses the traditional 7 chakras as a guidepost: you're looking for the solar plexus chakra, which can be imagined as a clear yellow light (it is, of course, located roughly at the solar plexus, or right about the center of your body). Of the many areas governed by this chakra's energy, the one that deals with will/focus/personal boundaries (depending on your situation) are what you're looking for. Mind you, it works just as well even if you think the chakra system is a bunch of hooey. Locate this center, imagine the yellow light. Now imagine the light spreading throughout your body. The brilliance loosens up all those irritating little energy blocks that are keeping you scattered. When your body is full of yellow light, start to pull it back in to your center. When it's back in place, in a nice, bright, yellow ball, take a few deep breaths.
Used in the morning, the dual practice is one way to get the day off to a clear-headed, focused start. During the day, when demands on your time start to pull your focus off your path, you can use one or the other or both to walk yourself back to where you need to be.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Meditation cycles
Last night, someone raised an interesting question about the thoughts that come up during meditation. In essence, he wanted to know what thoughts are worth pursuing, or do we dismiss them all as chatter.
Meditation is a cycle. We breathe, clearing the mind, so that the parts of ourselves we've been hiding can surface. Insight meditation (vipassana) is where/how we explore those hidden parts...clearing them, and then we return to a clear center.
Meditation is a cycle. We breathe, clearing the mind, so that the parts of ourselves we've been hiding can surface. Insight meditation (vipassana) is where/how we explore those hidden parts...clearing them, and then we return to a clear center.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)