Using chakras as a tool for growth
by Catherine Potter
Do you feel unsupported? Do you sacrifice too much for others? How easy is change for you?
These sound like questions you might find on a psychologist’s questionnaire. However these are really some of the classic questions that are looked at when dealing with the root, navel and solar plexus chakras.
Although chakras have been receiving more attention in the west in the last 20 – 25 years, they really originate from an ancient Indian system of healing that’s roots actually go back to before 2,500 B.C.
Chakrasare vortices (disks) of energy located in our etheric body. There is a vertical line of energy that moves along the spine from the trunk to above the head. The seven major powerful points of energy (chakras) connect along this line to the nerve ganglia and have an impact on a specific endocrine gland. These sensitive points receive and store information and are affected by our thoughts and emotions thereby directly affecting the physical body.
The chakras are usually thought of as lotuses with different numbers of petals. The petals increase in number as they ascend indicating the increasing vibrational frequency of the chakra.
My study of the chakras began in the late 1980’s. After several years I began integrating some of the information into both my personal and astrological work realizing that the chakra system provided an excellent format for self development and the study of the more esoteric principles that support spiritual awakening. This then led to an experiential course I developed (which I now teach at Northern Star College) using the chakra system as an aid in one’s self-exploration and realization.
I believe that our outer reality is based on the clarity of our inner perception - what we believe we create. My own journey and work with others consistently gives me concrete proof of this. Throughout my life I’ve learned that things thought to be out of the realm of possibility are simply concepts that I’ve been unable to grasp because of my own limited, cloudy, perception.
When we take the time to clean our inner house, owning our strengths and shadows, learning how to observe our emotions and attractions rather than live out our emotional dramas, we dissolve much of that cloud and begin to see things with greater clarity. What once was considered mystical becomes mundane, extraordinary becomes normal and extra-sensory becomes commonsense.
As we see the world through clearer vision we work with natural laws rather than man made laws because we understand the interconnectedness of all things.
When working with the chakras what we aspire to experience is balance within all the chakras as they are interconnected with one supporting the other. As we journey along on the path to self realization there is a tendency to overemphasize some and underemphasize others which creates imbalances in our mental/emotional/physical bodies.
Some people think life in the upper chakras is more spiritual and look with disdain at the world of manifestation. Others like life in the lower chakras where things seem to make more sense and are tangible. Either position is one of imbalance and limitation.
Some people feel that chakras are closed or open. I think they are simply an accurate gage of where we focus our attention.
As we begin to make the journey inward we need to allow ourselves to become curious and question why we keep getting attracted back to a limited range of life experiences. Along the way we need to let go of the judger and let the observer guide us knowing we can use discernment rather than judgment to keep us on track. There is a whole world beyond the known just waiting for us to dip our hands into and begin to create from.
The three lower chakras focus on the world of form, five senses, tangibles and tend to be instinctive in their nature.
ROOT CHAKRA
Each one of the chakras has a law/right that governs it. The right associated with the root chakras is the right “to be and the right to have”.
If from the time we laid in our mother’s womb we learned and understood that we are simply a part of nature and just like a tree knows it has the right to the sun and rain for nourishment so do we have the right to be supported and nourished, all would be well in our world.
Chances are you didn’t learn that in the womb or in your early environment/teachings simply because we generally live in a society that is disconnected from knowing it’s wholeness. Therefore it teaches from a survival perspective. If you couple this with the knowledge that the origins of the root chakra are ancient and it holds within its memory life at a survival level, you can begin to understand the complexity and the vast amount of information that sits beneath the threshold of our conscious awareness at this our root/foundation level. So until we’ve begun to houseclean and shed some light on those hidden instincts this very powerful center brings up issues around safety and survival.
A person with a healthy root chakra will feel strong and supported in themselves and the world. They will have good health and the ability to manifest so that their needs are taken care of. When challenges exist at the root a person may experience health problems and the inability to support themselves or feel supported in the world. Then life will feel like survival of the fittest. It will feel like a dog eat dog world. The question of course is: “Are you the dog that eats or gets eaten”?
To gain clarity in this chakra consider what happens for you when your survival instincts get triggered. Do you dominate or let yourself be dominated as a way to survive? It’s all the same thing, just different ends of the stick. If survival themes keep reoccurring in your life it’s an indication that there may be a wound or misunderstanding that exists for you at the root/foundation level. As you explore this idea remember to observe and not judge.
NAVEL CHAKRA
As we are expelled from our mother’s womb we begin the journey to individuate. In order to do so we must pull in the “other” (things different from us) so we may eventually know self. So begins the dance of attraction and duality.
This is our water chakra and water tends to absorb things including life experiences and people’s energy we encounter. Both of these leave lasting impressions on us thereby creating future attractions. If early on in our journey it was explained to us that people and experiences have different qualities to them, some enhancing and some damaging, we will have clearer waters. This will largely depend on our early role models. If they didn’t possess that awareness they weren’t in a position to pass it along.
The right associated with this chakra is the right “to feel” and to experience our ever changing, fluctuating emotional self. Here is where we create through our desire for experience and self knowing. In this chakra we go beyond our survival needs to things we want and desire. Depending on the quality of those earlier experiences that where impressed on us, those desires can lead to joyful sailing on clear waters or feeling like we are attempting to steer our boat in the middle of a typhoon.
This chakra holds the root of many addictions as we try to feed our pleasure center. The navel is where we also experience our sensual, sexual self, the desire to create, procreate, the need to nurture and be nurtured, to feel connected and to change. People who are clairsentient are strongly connected to this chakra. The information they receive is picked up through senses and feelings. However the clarity of the information will depend on their own emotional clarity and boundaries.
As you explore this chakra question how comfortable you are with expressing your emotions, desires, sexuality, playfulness and creativity. Do you have healthy boundaries and know to say ‘no’ to things or people that are harmful to you? Are you able to be open to change yet not constantly be in a state of chaos? Observe and don’t judge.
SOLAR PLEXUS
Fire within, fire without. The solar plexus connects us to our fire center, our passion, our ability to confidently make things happen and to manifest our desires in the outer world. It’s also the source of our vitality so what we’re looking to experience in this chakra is a nice steady flame, not a forest fire nor a little matchstick.
If the solar plexus is functioning well we will take actions that burn away accumulated clutter (mental/emotional) and move upwards and onwards to a more satisfying life and the beginning of greater vision.
Although still instinctive in nature the mind begins to function better here as we attempt to rise above our survival instincts and emotional attractions placing us on the path towards clarity. One of the challenges of the solar plexus is getting over stimulated, taking on too much, burning too hot and then burning out.
What happens when our fire poops out on us after we’ve consistently been overdoing? We don’t have the energy to digest our experiences or food. Then we crave stimulants to get us going and things to help us relax. We go into a condition of burning too hot or don’t have enough heat to keep us going and fall into lethargy. We walk around tired and mentally sluggish without the passion to take us where we want to go. Our vision fails us both literally and symbolically.
We live in a society that is constantly on the go and demanding, which is hard on both the root chakra which likes things to be slow and steady and the solar plexus which burns itself out. We want fast foods that we eat while we drive our cars hurrying along to our next appointments with our cell phones on and possibly even trying to watch our mini TV’s and if the idea of that doesn’t place a knot in your poor, overworked, agitated stomach I don’t know what will.
To figure out how healthy you are in your solar plexus look to see how healthy your digestion is, assimilation and elimination. If you don’t have healthy fire none of them will work well. Are you unable to slow down and relax without help from pills, alcohol or doing something to exhaust yourself until you collapse? On the other end of the scale do you need to stir up your passion and confidence and learn how to take action in your life?
Part II: Heart and Throat Chakras will be featured in Mosaic’s ezine at the beginning of August.
(This series of Catherine’s chakra articles were first published in Mosaic’Magazines' Spring, Summer and Fall 2005 issues. © Mosaic Magazine.)
ROOT | NAVEL | SOLAR PLEXUS | |
Sanskrit Name | Muladhara | Svadhistana | Manipura |
Meaning | Root / Support | Sweetness | Lustrous Gem |
Location | Midway between anus and genitals | Lower abdomen, genitals, womb | Solar Plexus |
Element | Earth | Water | Fire |
Function(s) | Survival | Desire, pleasure, sexuality, procreation, creativity | Power, will, energy |
Glands | Adrenals | Ovaries, testicles | Pancreas, adrenals |
Body | Large intestine, legs, feet, knees | Womb, genitals, kidney, bladder, circulatory system | Digestive system, muscles |
Color | Red | Orange | Yellow |
Seed Sound | Lam | Vam | Ram |
Petals | Four | Six | Ten |
Sense | Smell | Taste | Sight |
Metal | Lead | Tin | Iron |
Food | Proteins / Meat | Liquids | Complex carbohydrates, starches |
Stones | Ruby, garnet, bloodstone | Coral, carnelian | Amber, topaz |
An Astrologer since 1986, Catherine is also a Hypnotherapist and Meditation instructor. She brings her unique counseling and teaching style to The Northern Star College of Mystical Studies. Call 780-447-3667 or visit www.catherinepotter.ca or www.northernstarcollege.com
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