Last week I introduced the concept of the chakras, the seven "wheels of energy" (in ancient Sanskrit) that manifest health or dis-ease in our physical and energetic bodies.Today, it's all about the Root Chakra, which is located at the base of your spine, at your tailbone. Might you have any Root Chakra issues on occasion?
Emotional symptoms associated with imbalance:
Physical symptoms associated with imbalance:
The Root Chakra is where we hold tribal issues. To help explain what that means, let's go through some specifics.
The color is red. As in blood (blood ties, blood vengeance, blood brothers, bloodlines)
The element is Earth. As in where roots go.
The seed sound is "lum" (for meditation purposes, those of you taking part this month in Mel's Happiness Challenge).
The verb is "I have."
The sense is smell, the most primitive of our senses.
The endocrine glands most affected are the adrenals ("fight or flight")
The root chakra has to do with survival, grounding, security, and safety.
Christian Sacrament: Baptism. The symbolic meaning is to welcome you into the community -- the tribe -- of Christ.
Jewish Sefirot: Shikhinah, the mystical community of Israel. Its symbolic meaning is similar: to welcome you into the community of humanity and the spirit of Earth.
Healing thought: All is one.
And lest you think this is just an ancient thought with no relevance in the modern world, the same idea occurred to Abraham Maslow in 1943 when he put First Chakra issues on the first step of his hierarchy of needs.
We pick up our tribal thought patterns by osmosis -- they are practically in the air we breathe. These beliefs are questioned only as we begin to live more mindfully and consciously, choosing thoughts and beliefs that serve us and discarding the ones that don't.
And tribal messages DO serve us -- or at least they did at one time. We NEED to know certain things to live in the harsh world of scarcity, where strangers bring harm and our ways are best. Think Cro-Magnon man. Think tribes in the bible. Think Native Americans and Europeans. Think Palestinians and Jews, Tutsis and Hutus, Croats-Serbs-Bosnians, Sunnis and Shiites.
Here are a couple of messages I've plucked from my awareness this past week. Do you carry any of them?
Are these beliefs absolutely true, or just tribally true?
And do they serve me now? Actually, it would be quite freeing to release some of these thoughts. Maybe I already AM rich enough and thin enough. Maybe I could choose NOT to dread my children's teenage years. I'd like to think compassion is equally important as justice, and that all people have value, not just those who procreate. Since the only alternative to age is death, maybe I'll embrace age, wrinkles and spider veins and all.
I'm a grown-up now, and I can choose which beliefs to hold and honor. I'm thankful to my tribe for guiding me as I learn to survive on my own, but I no longer need it to control me.
Individuals can outgrow a belief, and so can an entire tribe. Dr Caroline Myss* has a dramatic example of the The Tribe outgrowing a belief. I'll arc the decades-long experience into just a few story boards:
In October, 1929, the American economy crashed and the Great Depression began.
Americans described themselves as being "crippled" economically. With the double whammy of a drought and bad farming practices, we also became agriculturally "crippled."
There was a polio epidemic in the 1930s and 1940s. Children absorbed the tribe's energy and were susceptible to the viral disease as well as the economic dis-ease.
We elected to the Presidency FDR, "a living symbol of both physical weakness and indomitable resilience."
A tribal event, WWII, brought pride and power back to the country. We were "on our feet" again . We had shifted from feeling powerless to feeling powerful. Soon after, Jonas Salk discovered the vaccine for polio.
So. What tribal beliefs do you carry that no longer serve you? What would you like to shift in your life?
The paintings for this series were created by Lisa Brown-Olsen. Her work is featured at Green Mountain Yoga. Check out GMY's online store, where you can also find chakra balancing jewelry by Mindy Arbuckle, owner of Green Mountain Yoga.
6 comments:
This hits home and makes me think about the beliefs that rule my life. Should I let them?
Some of them, yes.
Some of them, no.
And some of them, I probably should, but I'm not ready to let go . . . yet.
It also helps me understand the hurts of those around me, allowing me to be more compassionate of their situations.
Thank you for the thoughtful, helpful information. I look forward to reading more next week!
This is a good one for me right now. My primary tribe visited this weekend, and one member is still at my house (indefinitely, it seems. yikes.). I'm seeing and feeling and hearing some things that make me very uncomfortable, and which I don't want to perpetuate, and yet I'm nervous about alienating the tribe, especially at such a transitional time.
Thank you for these thoughts.
This is interesting timing. I have been thinking about how I have let go in my belief that there is a god or some kind of guiding force. So many people lately have posted about how their god has let them down and it is heartbreaking. A post is brewing on the subject, but I've got to figure out how to narrow it down to a manageable level.
I think Tami had a good point too. If you can understand other people's unquestioned or tribal beliefs, you can have more compassion and understanding.
Great post.
Tami...knowing that you can let go when you're ready it a GREAT first step. And I agree. Most people tend to do the best they can with what they have. This is why compassion and empathy are important.
Furrow, what an interesting time for you, as you transition from being a Receiver of tribal messages to a Sender of tribal messages.
Kami, I can't wait to read more about your thoughts on this.
Wow. Lots to ponder here...got any insights or tips for releasing energy or blockages around the neck? I'm holding something there that I'd love to shake loose in a big, big way.
As for tribal beliefs that need to be released, here's one I hear a lot around my house: "we'll have more clarity on the future and our finances next year" (a part of me doesn't want to fully accept there will never be clarity or enough in the savings account so instead I keep procrastinating about a decision I more than likely could make today!)
P.S. Thanks for the link on the book promotion!
I love your insight on the chakras, especially this one on the first chakra.
Just this morning I experienced a shift in my first chakra. I made the decision to release extra career responsibilities that were NOT in line with my purpose. Even though it meant letting someone (from my tribe) down, I still held true to what I needed.
As soon as I let go, my lower back (which has been hurting for the past several months), felt better. If you asked me today if I was someone with back problems, my answer would be NO.
I love it when the universe responds so directly to me...and in such a positive way.
I'm off to do some heavy lifting and some back-bends (just kidding!)
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