Today we will take some time to think about “the fool’s” journey through life. This theme is represented in literature with works such as “the Epic of Gilgamesh” and ”Alice in Wonderland,” among many others. Joseph Campbell, an American writer and professor, described it as the archetypal hero story.
These themes are prevalent in our lives as we grow from child to adolescent to adult, gaining insight and experience along the way. We begin our journey as the uneducated novice (infant) bound in pure awareness, with no sense of self – hence, the fool.
Our modern language has negative connotations associated with the word FOOL; however, when examined through experience, we see that societal trappings and norms unencumber the fool. The fool experiences life in all its splendor, tasting experience for what it is. There is no shame, no guilt – only pure being.
As babies, we have no sense of self (as in self-consciousness); purely instinctual beings. Our whole experience is based upon survival- cry to be fed, changed, consoled. All our energy is concentrated in the root chakra. As we grow, we develop a sense of separation, of otherness. It is at this point our energy moves into the sacral chakra. We experience the partition based on sex and slowly become aware of the power sex and sexual identification has in our lives. Like the fool/hero on the journey, we must come to understand that power is limited, controlling, and lacking Love. If our karma in this life allows, we move into the third chakra, some of us developing a stable sense of self, or we become lost in the anxiety of trying to fit in. Most people are living through the energy of the lower 3 Chakras.
Progress moving the energy upwards becomes difficult due to our physical plane of existence constantly telling us we need more to be happy, loved, and fit in. Beings stuck here are trapped by instant gratification-always seeking outside of themselves.
The fool/hero, however, can move beyond the physical plane of power after some time. This shift can happen gradually, or some trauma can rend open the heart instantly, allowing the experience of the power of unconditional Love. This subtle energy will enable us to bridge the gap between the lower and upper chakras.
This Love can assist us further on our foolish yet heroic journey. It allows us to see the world for what is in pure Love. It invites gracious speech and action and opens our intuition to allow a depth of understanding: everything is exactly as it should be every moment.
This is the most difficult pill to swallow. War, greed, and suffering are all intrinsic parts of human existence, and they are the opposite side of the coin of Love, compassion, and empathy.
At a point in history, we began to see everything as duality (Eve eating the apple/Gilgamesh and Enkidu), and we lost the pure taste of awareness.
Those whose karma is ripening for awakening feel the “something not quite right” in how we are told to experience life.
The fool’s/hero’s journey is never straight, and it is a crooked path with many missteps and falls along the way.
Take time to look at your life from the perspective of storytelling. Can you identify early life moments where energy stagnated in the lower chakras?
In working with these ideas, we must remember that we are most likely not fully awakening in this go-round, and we are the fool – just beginning to open our eyes to the light of truth. This is a journey of many lifetimes, unpredictable and long.
With this realization, which cannot be intellectualized, we begin to see the face of god in everyone we meet. No one is better than us, no one less than us. All god, all one; All beings are moving toward the light in their way, in their own time.
The person that cut you off on the highway is god; the megalomaniac, hell-bent on persecuting other beings, is also god. It is all energy in form and all one. Ram Dass says, “ it is all grist for the mill.”
Everything we meet is the path.
Namaste
Tag: chakra
Chakra Balancing
As we continue into week two of our chakra healing adventure, we will begin to look at how an imbalance in one chakra can affect the others. We will be working with the Vishudda (throat) chakra because most of us use our voices every day. The vishudda governs communication in all forms. It is how we express ourselves; how we express our beliefs, emotions, likes and dislikes; it shows up in our tone, inflection, and even our body language.
The Vishudda also links our inner true self with the self we put on display for the world. Most of us lead two lives. Our outer persona typically morphs into what others expect of us (or what we THINK they expect of us.) We have a role to play and show up willing to don what ever hat we have been asked to wear. Then there is our inner voice, the voice of our AUTHENTIC self. It is this voice which we need to bring forth. We need to release the fear of being ourselves.
Vishudda (Throat) /Muladhara (Root)
The root chakra grounds us, connecting us to the rich Earth energies. Support, courage, survival are the key elements of the root chakra. When the Muladhara is balanced, we KNOW who we are; we stand tall, grounded and sure footed in our understanding of our place in the world. When the root chakra is suffering from imbalance we become unsteady and can allow others to overly influence our decisions.
The imbalance of the root chakra can lead to issues with how we communicate because the energies of the root will entangle with the energies of the throat chakra. If we are lacking confidence in ourselves it show up in our speech and body language. We essentially have a hard time being our authentic self.
Our speech may begin to be colored with words of appeasement in difficult situations if the root chakra has been weakened. If we are unable to stand up for our truth, we may then have feelings of shame or inadequacy. If the root chakra is carrying an excess of energy, our speech can become clipped and insincere and we begin to dwell in the realm of the ego.
Return to Balance
In order to balance our root chakra and bring authenticity to our voice we need to ask ourselves the following questions:
Who am I?
What do I value?
Do my words, tone, and body language resonate with my inner truth?
Additionally, we can practice energy work to align our root and throat chakra.
Try this: Stand tall, barefoot in the grass. Relax your shoulders and your jaw. Take a few deep breaths and feel the Earth energy flow in to your body. You are rooted to the Earth energy, you are grounded and supported. Breathe in slowly and feel your breath swirl down your throat bathing your throat chakra in healing energies. Exhale fully, emptying the stale breath from your lungs. As you exhale, feel your throat relax and open as all of the stale breath (energy- thoughts and emotions) leave your body. Repeat these slow deep breaths; breathing in strength and truth; breathing out what no longer serves you.
This exercise can be repeated daily, strengthening our awareness of the flow of energy within the body while balancing our root and throat chakras.
If you are interested in deepening your practice or learning more about Reiki training, please contact me.
Namaste.
Well-being
As summer begins to wind down, I notice that I haven’t been as mindful with regards to what I am taking in. As the days get shorter, they also seem to get busier, more hectic, less intentional. I notice this shift in awareness about 4 times a year, usually prior to the solstices and equinoxes. This shift in awareness indicates time for intentional change.
I have been aware of my natural cycles for most of my adult life. This is in part due to being diagnosed with endometriosis and adenomyosis in my mid 20’s in addition to suffering from debilitating migraines. I had to become acutely aware of my body’s cycles such as sleep cycles and how my eating habits affected my day to day pain levels. It was during this time that I developed a more holistic approach to my life.
I became a vegetarian. I started practicing yoga and meditation. I shifted my life from pain and anxiety to fulfillment and joy. Learning how to relax, find peace during difficult moments, and how to heal from within. I then studied with Usui Reiki Master Christine Brown. I completed my training and began practicing as an Usui Reiki Master Teacher. This experience allowed me deeper insight to the mind body connection. I thrived; up until about 4 years ago.
During my 30’s I was able to manage the endometriosis with diet, exercise, and acupuncture. What I perceived as the downward spiral of my health began slowly over the course of months in my late 30’s, with symptoms such as increased pain, heavier flow, and more migraines. Suddenly, how I’d been managing my symptoms wasn’t working anymore. The endometriosis had reached my diaphragm and I began having a hard time breathing at night and was forced to sleep sitting up. After a trip to the ER for what my doctor thought was appendicitis, it was found that I also had Degenerative Disk Disease. After getting the results from the ER, my doctor decided to run a ton of blood work. I had to go back on the IUD to control some of the symptoms. It was also found that I had Mono. Due to the mono diagnosis, I could not continue with my normal workout routine of Pilates, yoga, and weight training for 8 months. My pain management routine was out the window.
Fast forward to summer of 2020. Mono over with. Fitness regime back on point and still debilitating pain. I was using a cane to walk off and on for almost a year. Getting up was a struggle. Going to the gym require Motrin and stubborn dedication. I had found a new OBGYN a year earlier and she was(is) amazing. Tons of information regarding symptoms and treatments. After many months of research and discussion, I decided to try Lupron in addition to the IUD. Lupron puts you into a menopausal state. It is also used to treat various cancers, so not to be taken lightly. I was very reluctant but could no longer mentally deal with the pain. It was affecting my day-to-day life. So, Lupron. Where to begin. It’s a 3-month dose. the first month is rough. I wound up with having about 6 weeks pain free. Amazing. Then I was due for the next shot, and the cycle begins again- a very rough first month followed by 6 weeks of minimal pain, but the MIGRAINES…
At the time of writing this have been off of Lupron for 4 months. After the second shot my migraines double, then tripled. I was experiencing multiple migraines a week and could not get out of bed.
The side effects are more than I can deal with. Although my pain has returned, I can at least, slowly get out of bed. I also KNOW that all my pain is from the ENDO! So now I can focus on shifting my diet towards less inflammatory foods and shifting my mindset back towards ease with practices which foster flow.
So here I am. The beginning of a 21-day Chakra Cleanse. By getting back to basics of my personal energy I can reestablish healthy habits. By taking the time each day to sit in stillness, feeling the flow of energy though my being, I notice subtle imbalance. Over the course of 21 days I can shift this energy, releasing what no longer serves me and experience atonement (at-one-ment).
“I am rooted, but I flow.”
Virginia Wolfe
If you would like to join me in the 21 day chakra cleanse, please follow @bliss_awakening on Instagram.
Namaste
Midsummer Magic
The harvest is upon us as the days slowly shorten and we begin to prepare for cooler, darker days ahead. Yet now we are in the midst of abundance, a time of plenty as traditionally midsummer was the first harvest of the year. This is a time of gratitude for the nourishment which has been provided by Mother Earth. A time to appreciate the seeds (bija) we have planted in the fertile valleys of our mind which have come to fruition. It is a time of gathering with family and friends and breaking bread.
In Celtic lore, the god Lugh was associated with the harvest, and a celebration bearing his name, is celebrated to this day. Lughnasadh (midsummer; August 1st), was celebrated as a harvest festival which included athletic games, ritual ceremonies, and bountiful feasts. It is celebrated today with feasting, songs and fresh baked breads and fresh picked corn can usually be found on the menu.
So many of are are blessed with abundance and have never known need or want for food, shelter, or LOVE. We can make this a time to practice gratitude for our many blessings. Break bread with friends and family; express you gratitude to someone who made a difference in your life, share your good fortune by donating time or money to a local charity, find some way to give back. Harvest time is a time of plenty and thanks.
Live simply so that others may simply live.
Ghandi
So now for some Midsummer Magic! I would like to share with you a simple Lughnasadh Chakra Clearing to help you feel the soul filling gifts of abundance and gratitude.
In case you are new to Chakras or need a refresher I am happy to oblige!
CHAKRAS
Chakra is the Sanskrit word for “wheel.” These “wheels” are the energy centers of the body. They are spinning vortexes of energy situated in a column along the body from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. There are seven major chakras and each corresponds to various glands of the endocrine system and governs the energy of certain organs. Each chakra is associated with one of the seven colors of the rainbow and seven specific musical tones (harmonic resonance). They are the embodiment of spiritual energy on the physical plane.
Energy created from emotional responses to physical stimuli run along the chakras and “feed” our cells tissues and organs. Like our unseen breath, which nourishes the body with life giving oxygen, the unseen energy we create can nourish us or deplete us.
Try this:
The next time you experience a strong emotion, take careful note of how your physical body responds. Does you heart rate go up? Do you feel warmth in you arms, face etc?
This is the emotional energy manifesting as physical sensation. Prolonged emotional responses such as anxiety will manifest physically as ulcers, headaches etc. This is why it is important to be aware of your body’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states.
Having balanced, unblocked chakras, assists in keeping the rest of the body in balance. Based upon the location in the body, the chakras relate to certain states of consciousness, emotional function and philosophical constructs. Lower chakras govern the more practical, physical aspects of our lives like survival, stability, trust; while the upper chakras govern spiritual aspects, symbols, and concepts. Together, they provide the body-mind, physical-spiritual connection.
Midsummer Chakra Clearing
Sit comfortably and take a few deep breaths to relax yourself. Continue to breathe slowly and evenly while completing the following exercise.
Root Chakra
While visualizing the color red, say to yourself, “I am grounded, my roots grow deep absorbing the fertile life giving Earth energies.”
Sacral Chakra
Visualize the color orange and say “As Mother Nature creates this bountiful harvest, I too, create my life every day. The Universe supports my natural creative state.”
Solar Plexus Chakra
Visualize the color yellow and say “As the sun shines its life giving light, I to radiate light. My souls shines with sacred universal light and love.”
Heart Chakra
Visualize the color green and say “My heart is full of abundance. My life is full of abundance. I am part of the Universal cycle of unconditional LOVE.”
Throat Chakra
Visualize the color blue and say “I honor my voice. I nourish myself with the divine enenergies and release what no longer serves me.
Third Eye Chakra
Visualize the color indigo and say “I honor my intuition. I know I am part of something greater than myself. I am energy in form. I am abundance.”
Crown Chakra
Visualize violet light bathing you from above. You are surrounded by an ethereal radiance. You feel deeply connected to everything. Repeat to yourself “The Universe supports my BE-ing. I am LOVE.”
Take a few moments to breathe slowly and deeply, feeling yourself settle back into your body. Feel the flow of breath and the calming, balanced energies created during the meditation.
If you would like more information about Chakras or energy healing please contact me.
Blessings, Love, & Light on this bountiful Midsummer.
Namaste🙏
Dandelion Doorways 