DESIRE 2-25-11

                You are what your deep driving desire is.
                       As your desire is, so is your will.
                         As your will, so is your deed.
                      As you deed is, so is your destiny.                    

                                              Brihadaranyaka  Upanishad IV.4.5



We need our Desires -- they inspire us to Change.  From the stable atmosphere of Chakra One, Desire urges us to Move.
According to Anodea Judith, "It is the essential thrusting forward that leads us to action."  It is the seed of passion and enthusiasm essential for developing energy and power (preparing us for Chakra Three).
Desire may lead to frustration, we may wail and vent, but the frustration can be tied to important lessons for our growth.  And if we can come to understand the deeper desires, we learn something of our Soul.  Only then can we have the clarity to bring action to our longings.

Intimacy 2-21-11

Human relationship leads into the world of the psyche, into that intermediate realm between sense and spirit, which contains something of both and yet forfeits nothing of its own unique character.  Into this territory a man must venture if he wishes to meet woman half way.  Circumstances have forced her to acquire a number of masculine traits, so that she shall not remain caught in an antiquated, purely instinctual femininity, lost and alone in the world of men.  So, too, man will be forced to develop his feminine side, to open his eyes to the psyche and to Eros.  It is a task he cannot avoid, unless he prefers to go trailing after woman in a hopelessly boyish fashion, worshipping from afar but always in danger of being stowed away in her pocket.

                                                                      C.G. Jung

Thawing Out 2-18-11

Happy Full Moon in Leo!


Today we're talking about movement and change -- two important qualities of Chakra Two.

Where do you feel frozen?  Get into your body and thaw the areas that are blocked, stiff -- turn them back into water.  Be fluid.  Move.  Dance. Let the energy flow.
How are you frozen in your feelings?  What kind of feelings might be operating if they weren't frozen?
How would your life change?

Chakra One was about getting settled and learning to be still, to contain.  Now in Chakra Two we're moving, reaching out.  Let that energy happen from within.  We grounded and stabilized ourselves in One.  There's no need to fear Change.  Welcome it.  Embrace it.  It will stimulate your aliveness!

The Pleasure Principle, root of desire 2-14-11

A romantic Valentine’s Day gettaway -- beloved husband, hot mineral springs, sex, touch, pleasure, emotional bonding -- yes, we are deep in the realms of the Second Chakra.  Sounds good.  But, there are traps here too, danger -- it’s a place we can get stuck -- too much of a good thing.  Addictions live here as well -- and dulality, tension, and opposition.  Water makes life juicy, but pleasure can turn to pain.  Closeness to neediness -- and the shadow of guilt looms as we play in the dilemma of attachment vs. separation.  Successful navigation through the second chakra requires an emotional core grounded enough to be contained, and open enough to flow and connect.

Keep up with our forty day meditation of Sat Kriya to channel second chakra energy to divinity.  This exercise strengthens the entire sexual system and helps one to direct the sexual energy of the second chakra into your own creativity and healing.

Basics - Chakra Two 2-7-11

     Svadhisthana Chakra.  It means "sweetness."
The sweetness of pleasure is the jewel in the lotus of the second chakra.
Chakra One was about the right to have --  Chakra Two is about the right to FEEL.  The main issue is sexuality and emotions.  The goals are fluidity of movement, pleasure, and connection.  The areas of body we're focusing on are the sacrum, genitals, affecting hips, knees, and lower back.  Malfunctions are stiffness, sexual addiction or sexual anorexia, isolation, emotional instability or numbness.  From earth we've moved into WATER.  The animal is the FISH.
Arrange your altar with articles that reflect the element of water -- shells, a cup that holds water or orange flowers -- images of gods and goddesses that are sensual.  However the altar is arranged make sure it brings you pleasure.  Pleasure encourages us to expand, physically and energetically -- we flow outward.  In Chakra One we were consolidating and building, making our ground -- now we change and flow and connect and seek pleasure.

Emotion is the chief source of all becoming conscious.  There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotion.      C. G. Jung

ORANGE 2-6-11

ORANGE is not a wall-flower color.  It's bold, it's out there, it invites a look, demands attention.

So what might that say about second chakra?
That it makes itself known?

This is the center of sensation and feeling, emotion and pleasure, intimacy and connection, movement and change.

Many of us carry wounds to this chakra and this inhibits our life energy to have passion and pleasure and to live creatively.

Let's dive into the waters of the second chakra and begin to heal.  Starting with some movement to open the body and free any stuck energy:
Goddess Pose:  On the back, draw the soles of the feet together, let the knees fall open and allow you to experience a state of vulnerability and receptivity.
Pelvic Side Rolls:  In the same position as above, move the hands to the open knees and begin to rock sideways, opening one side, then the other.  Next try the posture with straight legs, side to side.
Child's Pose--Open Hips:  Turning over into Child's Pose, curled over knees, head to floor in front--but open the knees as far as possible, to open the hip joints.

And remember, Have fun and enjoy the postures -- this is about sensuality!

Chakra Two 2-4-11

Congratulations!  We've completed forty days of of Chakra One and now begin our second of eight forty day meditations.
The shift we make today is from Earth, Grounding, and Stability, where our concern has been with survival and structure, to the element of Water, where we cultivate Feelings and Emotions, and where our focus will be on Sexuality and Pleasure.

The following is a list of the basic issues of the second chakra to keep in mind:  Change;  Movement;  Flow;  Sensation;  Pleasure;  Emotion;  Need;  Desire;  The Shadow;  Guilt;  Duality;  Sexuality.

Our meditation for the next forty days is Sat Kriya -- for channeling second chakra energy to divinity.
Sit on your heels and stretch the arms over the head, keeping the elbows straight.
Interlock the hands, extending the index fingers so they are pointing straight up.
Begin chanting the mantra "Sat" as you pull in slightly on the rectum, sex organs, and navel point, pulling the energy up from the earth.
Chant "Nam" as you release the locks, and feel the energy go out the top of your head.
The "Sat" is chanted from the navel and is a shorter, more powerful and emphatic sound.  "Nam" is more prolonged, relaxed, and releasing.

More to come!
Think movement and change!
Commit!

Through the Red Door 2-3-11

This should have been the first photo of the series of Charka One, but I only just found this door a few days ago.  The secret red door!  Who knew???  It was in my husband’s woodshop covered by long drapes.  We have been slowly working toward using this walled off area separate from his main shop, as a studio for ourselves--a clean space for art projects and the like, not covered in saw dust and wood chips.  And there it was!  A bright red door hiding under the drapes.  Immediately I thought of the first chakra, not exactly a new thought for me during these last several weeks, as my husband could probably tell you!  

  

So Metaphorically, what does that mean?  

That we’ve discovered and entered through the red door.   We’ve begun a jouney, stepped across a threshhold.  We’re on a jouney of developing consciousness, challenging ourselves by entering the territory of red and all the qualities first chakra contains -- the root, earth, foundation, solidity, mother, trust, nourishment, matter, manifestation, abundance.  All the things we’ve been immersed in for the past forty days.  We’ve done yoga to help stimulate the first chakra.  We’ve done the meditation for rejuvenation.  We’ve examined, thought about, wrote about, our fears, demons, resentments and rigidities. 

And so we’ve Survived -- we’ve met our basic needs -- we can move forward.  We’re ready, prepared, to push further -- from the world of the physical, the place of one, to the less exacting world of feelings, emotions, creativity, flow, the world of duality and opposites.

And tomorrow I get to change my toenail color from red to orange--and tie an orange string alongside the red one on my wrist!  I’m excited.

Ancestral Roots 2-2-11

Happy New Moon in Aquarius!


Today I'm thinking about ancestral roots.  Look back and forward in your family of origin.  We're still in the root chakra (for a few more days) and now is the time to think about the values of the family you came from -- and what you too contribute to the next generation.

We gain nourishment, power, stability, and growth from our roots.  Our roots are made from our guts -- the memories of our past, our racial and cultural heritage, and the indestructible fabric of our being. 




I continue to thank Anodea Judith for all her extensive writings on the chakra system.