Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Heart Chakra

Hi Folks !


Welcome to the Fourth Chakra energy of Love!

I read something beautiful about this -
The Heart Centre is the Seat of the Soul in the Hour-Glass of Time!
It's the zero point !

Beautiful, isn't it?

After the fears of survival of the Root or The First Chakra, the tensions of security of the Sacral or The Second Chakra and the turbulent mind -games of The Third or the Solar Plexus Chakra, we move up from the physical and mental to the emotional.

In its upward journey, the soul has spent hundreds of lifetimes getting over the sheer, basic traumas of surviving hostile landscapes both outside it and inside its mind.

Next, it has clung to 'likeminded' groups or religions or communities or land to feel safety in numbers.

Then it has graduated to learning, executing and enjoying power-games. Controlling hundreds or millions of minds and thoughts. Its a heady feeling and a soul spends hundreds more lifetimes sharpening its ego.



But, at the same time, a dissatisfaction has also started to set in. Those moments of love and affection, of giving and caring and receiving the same, linger longer and longer in the otherwise prosperous but barren landscape of the mind.



Could there be something more to it?!



There is no 'this one exam to pass' to get into the next class.
All the subjects are being learnt at the same time, its just the attention one starts to give to particular thoughts, starting to accept that one feels better by doing certain things or when someone does them for us and that this 'feeling good', this intangible happiness felt 'somewhere inside' is really, very important.


The Heart Chakra is that half-way point between the earthy, tangible lower 3 Chakras and the upper 3 Spiritual Chakras.

It is from here, that one learns how to operate from Love, and not from fear.

The entire range of emotions from love, affection, liking, hate, anger, envy and power too, is the realm of this Chakra, but in the context of the individual.

The energy here teaches one to explore oneself, within oneself and throw out the hurtful debris. To LET GO and MOOOOOOOOOVE OOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNN !

When (not 'if') one learns the lesson, the way is only up.

This Chakra makes us examine our beliefs. Usually, we don't like what we see of ourselves and hurriedly put a lid on it, leaving the whole cauldron to fester and stew and erupt at the silliest and most inopportune times.

Then we put a tighter lid with the help of pills and therapy and a range of 'mood lifters' which are actually depressents.

What is needed, is to take a step back and examine how this energy works.

It involves beginning to be as honest with oneself as possible.

Examine one's own belief systems to check if they make us happy.
If they are not, throw them out.

Go more by the heart and a bit less by the gut, which operates out of fears.

If you keep going by the gut-feelings, you may get a name, make money but find yourself lonely.

The heart requires give - and - take to blossom.


Ego is difficult to accept in oneself because it is so fragile and we identify so much with it-

Instead, identify with your heart.


Now a difficult question to answer, for most -

Do you love yourself?
Do.

Take a dispassionate view.

Are you too harsh on yourself?

Demand a lot out of yourself?

Do you enjoy doing what you have punished yourself to do?

Relax!
Give yourself a warm, lovely hug.

Spring - clean your heart.

Learn or acknowledge the mistakes of the past, keep just the positive lessons from them and throw out all the painful memories.

The lessons are the fragrant flowers.

The whole lot - it's like the free- floating ice-berg.
Grief!

If you are lonely, find it difficult to forgive, cannot empathise with other's problems or pain, are stuck in the past, your Heart Chakra is not open enough.

If there is possessiveness, jealousy, then it is overworking.

When you strike a balance, you do so for the lower 3 and the upper 3 Chakras too.

So be aware, be conscious.

Its not difficult, its the most natural thing to do, actually.

Meditate on your Heart.

Breathe normally, if your breath slows down, let it.

Feel your heart inside you, working incessently.

Feel calmness spreading with every in-breath.

All anxiety and tension seeping out through the out-breath.

THANK your heart. Love it.

Stay with it.

When you finish, before getting up, distribute all the calmness and quiet joy to whoever flashes in front of your mind's eye.

Be happy !

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The Sacral and Solar Plexus Chakras

Hi folks !

Life's getting better?!


I take it that you have started thinking seriously over your ROOT or THE FIRST CHAKRA and are spending some time meditating over it.

If you have, you will have started to feel calmer.



Let's recap this.

The ROOT CHAKRA is about our feelings of Safety, Security,Survival and our grounding in the physical world. Its about understanding and conquering our fears, about rooting them out of our minds and feeling lighter and more open to life.

Even if certain things seem illogical and unjust, we have to trust that there is a bigger picture which we are not aware of right now, and also that we will get to it.

Sooner, if we are open to accepting it.

The SACRAL or THE SECOND CHAKRA is just below the navel and is about feelings, relationships and sexuality. After getting over individual fears, this is all about creating partnerships and sexual and reproductive capacity.

The energy of this Chakra ensures that we learn our chosen spiritual lessons through our relationships. It gives us the wisdom to see an enhancing one through and teaches us to close one which is sapping and debilitating. Even a failed relationship teaches lessons which are valuable for our overall growth. We have to start again with faith and not fear.

Most of our digestive problems can be traced to a Sacral which is not functioning correctly, which is blocked. It also leads to depression and problems related to the sexual organs like impotence and infertility.

An overactive one would lead to dissatisfaction in these same areas.



The SOLAR PLEXUS is our THIRD lower CHAKRA and it is the seat of emotions and ego.



Remember your stomach curling or feeling a pit right in your stomach ? Thats because it's the core of our being and diligently stores all the emotons felt. Mainly, all the fears. This is also the reason why this is the seat of our self-esteem and self-respect.



A properly functioning Solar gives us a sense of personal power and well-being. When blocked, there will be anger and fear and painful consequences.



An overactive one would throw us off-kilter too.



The 3 lower Chakras ground us to our reality, to mother-earth. These are the three that we work out of fear. Fear or sheer basic survival, of sexuality and reproductive ability and of self-esteem. They hold all the basic issues essential for our physical survival.



Many who are attracted to the spiritual path, tend to ignore their physical and mental needs. They may not invest enough in a relationship, or if it has not worked out, they are unable to let it go. They push it deep into their mind's dark recesses and think their brand of spirituality will help them 'get over it'.



No brand of spirituality can do that.



One should not try to 'get over' anything.



'Go 'through' it.



The longer you take to face these issues, the deeper they go and fester painfully until they explode.



Feel them, learn to watch them dispassionately and let go.



Meditate.



Meditate.



Meditate.



The chakras above these pertain to the emotional and mental energies.From tangible, we move to the intangible.



ALL the chakras function all the time. Like many parts of our body work at the same time. Without waiting for our permission, to the best of their abilities.



Overeating and starving will cause harm.



Similarly,an uncontrolled or tightly leashed mind is going to upset the Chakras and consequently cause physical, mental and spiritual harm.



So become aware and remain aware.



With the 4th Chakra Energy of Love-