I'm back

So sorry that I've been away for the past month - travel commitments for work became very overwhelming and made it impossible for me to post.

When I returned, I came down with a bad case of tonsillitis, which seemed to suck the very life out of me.

I'm now on the mend and will start posting again next Monday.

I hope you've all had a magical Christmas.


mich
x.

The Solar Plexus Chakra

“There is a force within that gives you life—Seek that.
In your body there lies a priceless jewel—Seek that.
Oh, Wandering Sufi, if you are in search of the greatest treasure, don’t look outside.
Look within, and Seek That”.

Rumi

Chakra Three: Fire, Ego identity, oriented to self-definition

This chakra is known as the power chakra, located in the solar plexus.

It rules our personal power, will, and autonomy, as well as our metabolism. When healthy, this chakra brings us energy, effectiveness, spontaneity, and non-dominating power.

Chakra Attributes:

• Color: Yellow


• Function: Will, Power, Laughter, Anger, Joy

Healing Essence of the Chakra:

Located above the navel, it corresponds to the solar plexus in the physical body.

This chakra opens the channels of power and acts like a radiant sun, storing power and energy for future use.

By directing the full force of our intention toward our dreams and goals and moving creatively through life, we leave the limiting aspects of our childhood behind.

We are transformed into sacred and peaceful warriors.

Keywords: Leadership, Power, Authority, Integrity, Consciousness, Courage, Action

Affirmations:

• I honor myself.


• I offer my light and service to the world.

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the third chakra:

Excessive Characteristics

• Dominating
• Controlling
• Competitive
• Arrogant
• Ambitious
• Hyperactive
• Stubborn
• Driven (compulsively focussed toward goals)
• Atracted to sedatives

Deficient Characteristics

• Passivity
• Lack of energy
• Poor digestion
• Tendency to be cold
• Tendency toward submission
• Blaming
• Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
• Weak will, poor self-discipline
• Use of stimulants

Balanced characteristics

• Responsible, reliable
• Good self-discipline
• Positive sense of self
• Confident
• Warm
• Energetic
• Spontaneous, playful, humorous
• Able to take risks

Answer the following questions:

1. How do you rate your energy levels?
   
2. Do you take appropriate action when your energy feels diminished?


3. Do you feel the need to conform?


4. Do you seek approval from other people?


5. Do you take responsibility for your own actions, or do you let other people control you?


6. Does shame influence your behaviour?


7. Do you assert yourself without dominating others?


8. Can you stay focussed on activities and see them through to completion?


9. Do you take risks in your life?

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Participant's responses:

1. Hélène Deroubaix
2. Mich

The Sacral Chakra

"Beneath heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water.

Yet for attaching the solid and strong,

Nothing can take its place.

Therefore the soft can overcome the hard,

The weak can overcome the strong,

Under heaven everyone knows this,

Yet no one puts it into practice."

TAO TE CHING

Now we move up to the second chakra, the element of water and our feminine energy.

The second chakra, located in the abdomen, lower back, and sexual organs, is related to the element water, and to emotions and sexuality. It connects us to others through feeling, desire, sensation, and movement. Ideally this chakra brings us fluidity and grace, depth of feeling, sexual fulfillment, and the ability to accept change.

Where the earth is solid and fixed, water is fluid and formless. Where earth is solid and fixed, water is fluied and formless. Water follows the path of least resistance and flows downward, following the shape of earth or being absorbed into it. Where earth provides consistency, water induces changes. And Through change our consciousness begins to expand. Without water, growth is impossible. Water makes life juicy.

Our bodies -- made mostly of water -- are shaped by the structure of bones and muscles, but within these bodlies flow our emotions and desires, our wants and needs, our feelings and sensations.

The Sanskrit name for this chakra is Svadhisthana, which translates as "one's on place". This refers to the personal nature of the second chakra aspects of our emotions and sexuality. It is important that we stand in "our own place" within this chakra and define our sexual and emotional issues in a way that is suitable to our individual characters. If our roots are deep and well-watered, then our fruit will be sweet -- the Sanskrit verb svadha means "to sweeten". From the centre of one's own place, we sweeten life by opening to pleasure.

Pleasure is the motivating principle of the second chakra. Pleasure promotes well-being and is a natural healin force. It teaches us how to open up, how to move, how the reach beyond ourselves. Pleasure comes to us through any of our senses: seeing a sunset, tasting a meal, listening to music, savouring a lover's touch.

The senses are the first gatewa between the outer and inner world. To open our senses is to become sensible instead of senseless. Through the senses we first get "in touch". to be in touch is to know what we feel, to be awake and aware. To be in touch is to be connected.

The pull of the erotic in this chakra represents the universal urge to connect with others. through desire, emotion, pleasure, and sensation, we enter the complex realm of sexuality -- a place where we dissolve our boundaries and enter into intimacy with another. Dissolving is the beginning of our upward journey, whose ultimate goal is to enter mystic union with divine conciousness. While some traditions teach that pleasure is a dangerous distraction on the road to enlightenment, healthy pleasures -- such as touch, play, laughter, sexuality, and experiencing beauty - lead to contentment and peace, rather than an insatiable desire for more. In fact, it is often the denial of these simple, biological pleasures that leads to overindulgence and addiction.

Emtions are a composite of feeling and sensation. They give us a powerful source of information about our well-being. But we must understand the complext nature in order to stay afloat in the watery aspect of the second chakra.

Chakra Attributes

1. Sanskrit Name: Svadhisthana, which translates as "one's on place"
2. Color: Orange
3. Element: Water
4. Function: Desire, Pleasure, Sexuality, Procreation

Interpreting excess or deficiency in the sacral chakra

Excessive characteristics:

• Sexual addictions
• Obsessive attachments
• Addiction to stimulation
• Excessive mood swings
• Excessively sensitive
• Poor boundaries, invasion of others
• Emotional dependency
• Instability

Deficient characteristics:

• Rigidity in your body, beliefs or behaviour
• Emotional numbness or insensitivity
• Fear of change
• Lack of desire, passion, or excitement
• Avoidance of pleasure, fear of sexuality
• Poor social skills
• Excessive boundaries
• Boredom

Balanced characteristics:

• Graceful movements
• Ability to embrace change
• Emtional intelligence
• Nuturance of self and others
• Healthy boundaries
• Ability to enjoy pleasure
• Sexual satisfaction
• Passion

Healing essence of the sacral chakra

Located in our lower belly, it is where we relate to our bodies through the procreative centers. Through a healthy second chakra one can heal relationship problems, transform deep and hurtful emotions, and balance life.

Keywords: Life Energy, Creative, Procreative, Giving, Receiving, Inner Truth

Affirmations to practice this week:

• I make my decisions from a place of hope and faith.
• My creative drive is strong and exciting.
• My sexuality is fulfilling and meaningful.
• I am life.

Those of you who have bought Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Kit can move on to their workbooks, and if you like, blog your responses and link back to this post.

For those of you who don't have the book but would like to know a bit more about the first chakra, visit Anodea Judith's site and answer the questions below:

1. Do you express your emotions clearly and honestly?
2. Are you in touch with what you truly feel?
3. Do you set appropriate boundaries for yourself and in relation to others?
4. What pleasurable activites do you bring into your life?
5. Do you move towards change and new experiences, or are you resistant?
6. What are your passions?
7. Do you value your own feelings and respond to them?

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See participants responses to this post:

1. Mich

The root chakra

"Put seeds and cover them.

Blades will sprout

you do your work."

Rumi

As I'm sure you'd all agree, every journey begins with a single step.

In Chakra Balancing Anodea Judith suggests we take this step by making solid contact with earth, the element of the first chakra. So it if fitting that we begin our journey upward through the chakras by initially going down.

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Located at the base of the spine, this chakra forms our foundation. It represents the element earth, and is therefore related to our survival instincts, and to our sense of grounding and connection to our bodies and the physical plane.

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Ideally this chakra brings us health, prosperity, security, and dynamic presence.

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The root chakra represents how we interface with the physical ealm: our body, home, finances, work, and environment. It represents our physical identity -- the ability to identiy with our body and its needs.

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Increasing your contact with the natural world is an essential part of first chakra development. To treat the physical world as sacred is to honor what you do with your body and environment, the food you eat, the things you buy, and your means of livelihood.

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On a psychological level, the root chakra is associated with the survival instinct and the will to live, hence your basic health and vitality. As te final chakra in the descending current, it is here that you bring things into manifestation or completion. In order to fully manifest, you must be able to ground your energy into the earth.

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Chakra Attributes

1. Sanskrit name: Muladhara, meaning root support
2. Color: Red
3. Element: Earth
4. Function: Survival, grounding

Excessive characteristics:

• heaviness, sluggishness, slow movements
• resistance to change
• overeating, obesity,
• hoarding
• material fixation, greediness
• workaholism
• excessive spending

Deficient characteristics:

• fear, anxiety
• resistance to strucutre
• anorexia, underweight
• spaciness, flightiness, vagueness
• disconnection from your body
• restlessness, inability to sit still
• difficulty manifesting

Balanced characteristics: The following characteristics indicated a balanced first chakra. They are also the rewards that come from first chakra work.

• Groundedness
• Physical health
• Being comfortable in your body
• A sense of safety and security
• Stability and solidity
• Right livelihood
• Prosperity
• Ability to be still
• Presence in the here and now

Healing Essence of the Chakra

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Located at the base of the spine, it governs all aspects of grounding, inner security, sexuality, and safety issues brought from childhood or past lives. Becoming conscious of the first chakra allows one to tap into a life affirming power that is deep and profound.

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Keywords: Grounding, Sexuality, Life Affirming, Primal, Foundation

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Those of you who have bought Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing Kit can move on to their workbooks, and if you like, blog your responses and link back to this post.

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For those of you who don't have the book but would like to know a bit more about the first chakra, visit Anodea Judith's site.

Affirmations to practice this week:

• I enjoy being in my body and I nourish it each day.
• I am connected to the earth and the safe foundation it provides for my future growth.
• I believe in my abundance.

You might want to answer these questions:

1. What is your relationship to your body, diet and exercise?
2. Do you suffer from any physical ailments?
3. Is your home environment nurturing & clean?
4. Are you on top of your finances?
5. Are you satisfied in your work?
6. How regularly do you spend time in nature?
7. Does fear hold you back in your life?
8. Can you take care of details and stay centred?

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See participant's responses:

1. Mich
2. Angela Eclectic Recovery (see response in comments section)
3. Hélène Deroubaix
4. Anna

Chakras

The word ‘chakra’ is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.

I believe Chakradance™ explains it best:

“A chakra is a spinning vortex of energy. A human being’s energy field is complex and multi-layered, and includes subtle energies which western science has only recently begun to detect. Chakras are the energetic gateways through which our various subtle energies interflow. Like electricity, chakras are invisible to the naked eye.

Every human being has 7 major chakras and many hundreds of minor ones. Together, they are the network through which mind, body and spirit interact as one holistic system.

Each chakra represents an aspect of consciousness vital to our lives (safety, sexuality, power, love, communication, intuition and self realisation). Physiologically, each chakra is connected to physical organs and endocrine glands, the health functions of which are directly affected by the state of the corresponding chakra.

We can think of the chakras as energetic floppy disks, each containing vital programmes influencing the various aspects of our lives. Some of our programming may be positive, affecting our health, emotions, thoughts and behaviour in a positive manner; others may be negative, having the reverse effect.”

The ideal state is where the chakras are balanced. To find out what the state of your chakras is, do the chakra test.

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See participant's results here:

1. Mich
2. Hélène Deroubaix

Welcome to the journey!

"It is the tremendous experience

of becoming conscious,

which nature has laid upon mankind,

which unites the most diverse

cultures in a common task."

Carl G Jung

Welcome to the start of our journey, as we work our way through Anodea Judith's Chakra Balancing kit.

In the Chakra Balancing Workbook, Judith says the Chakra System is a map for the journey through life. Its seven rainbow colours represent the full spectrum of human possibility that stretches from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from Earth to Heaven, forming a bridge and describing the steps between them.

This map is an archetypal formula for wholeness that addresses the full spectrum of human possibility.

To navigate its territory is to take an exciting journey of awakening -- in body, mind, and spirit.

THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE SOUL

"There is a bridge between time and eternity; this bridge is the individual soul, the Jiva."

Chandogya Upanishad

There are many challenges on this journey.

Try something new, and you might feel buterflies in your stomach. Try to speak up, and you might get a lump in your throat. Fall in love and you might feel your heart leap with joy and fear. These are all common activities that happen through your chakras. They occur for most people quite by accident. Sometimes the experiences are better than others.

Learning about the chakras gives you access to your programmed responses so you can minimise their negative effects and maximise their positive ones. But furst you need to understand just what the chakras are and how they work in your energy body.

The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centres correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.

You can read more about Anodea Judith and the chakras here and and you'll also find some articles.

Those of you who have the kit, begin with CD one. Part One takes you on a journey through the general territory of the chakras. Its purpose is to make initial contact with your own energy centres and their and their contents.

Next week we'll explore how to deepen your connection to your first chakra.

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Read participant's responses:

1. Mich

Update

Just a quick note to let you know I've had a family emergency to deal with.

I'll make the first post on the Chakra Balancing series when I get up in the morning.

Thanks for you patience,
Michelle