Nature and energy medicine have been linked together in cultures around the world for thousands of years. In energy healing traditions, imbalances or blocks on an energetic level, which include both our mind and body, are treated. Among the many methods used to do so is contact with natural elements. Historically, each tradition had different ways of classifying the elements – the Greeks used the classical four of earth, water, fire, and air. Hindu systems added a fifth element – ether. Chinese systems included these, and added others such as wood and metal.
In the classic 7-chakra system, each chakra is associated with an element, and we can work with these elements to help strengthen, balance, or clear our chakras. Although the elements vary, the most common mapping is:
1st (Root) – Earth 2nd (Sacral) – Water 3rd (Navel) – Fire 4th (Heart) – Air 5th (Throat) – Ether 6th (Third Eye) – Light 7th (Crown) – Space/Source
Spending time in nature connecting to each of these elements is one powerful way to clear and strengthen the energies associated with the corresponding chakra. However, visualization work is also very powerful – you can connect with the vibration of each element within your mind, particularly if you visualize somewhere you have actually been. By connecting mentally with the energy of the place and its elements, you can actually shift the energetic balance of your subtle body, benefiting both your physical body and mind.
Here’s some ideas for working with the elements and the first four chakras, each of which is linked to one of the natural elements of earth, water, fire, or air:
Root Chakra - Earth
Our root or first chakra is associated with our ability to feel grounded, safe and secure, as well as being physically associated with our bones, adrenals, and immune system.
To strengthen your root chakra using earth try:
· Gardening, or working with plants indoors or out.
· Sitting or lying down on rich, fertile earth, focusing on the feeling of solidity and nourishment beneath you.
· Anchoring yourself into the earth by visualizing tendrils of light extending from your root chakra (at your tailbone) down into the earth beneath you. You can do this even when meditating inside, by imagining the earth beneath the building you are in (I start my meditation each day this way.)
Sacral Chakra - Water
Our second or sacral chakra is associated with our emotions, creativity, sensuality, sexuality, and ability to adapt. Physically it is associated with our reproductive organs, bladder, ovaries (in women), and prostate (in men.)
To nourish your sacral chakra using water try:
· Soaking, standing, or swimming in water. Imagine it cleansing and dissolving that which you do not need.
· Gazing a body of water. Watch the way it moves – the fluidity and adaptability, and the way it parts and moves around obstacles.
· Visualizing yourself sitting on a beautiful beach, preferably one you have been to before. Imagine streams of light flowing between the body of water and your sacral chakra, in your lower pelvis area, cleansing and nourishing your energy there.
Navel Chakra - Fire
Our third or navel chakra is associated with our personal power, will, mental activity, sense of individual identity, and boundaries. Physically it is associated with our digestive system, including our pancreas.
To clear and empower your navel chakra using fire try:
· Standing in the sunlight with your eyes closed and focusing on the heat of the sun on your skin (with sunscreen on of course!) You’ll get your vitamin D quota for the day too.
· Gazing a candle flame, or fire in a fireplace. Allow your eyes to blur a bit, and connect with the heat and movement of the flame.
· Visualizing the sun or a flame in your navel chakra, just below your belly button. Imagine the heat of the flame is clearing away debris, fueling your will, and empowering your sense of personal boundaries and identity.
Heart Chakra - Air
Our fourth or heart chakra is associated with our ability to love and be loved, to connect with people, and to feel compassion, equanimity, and balance. Physically it is associated with our heart and lungs, and with our thymus gland.
To heal and open your heart chakra using air try:
· Spending time in a clean, green park with plenty of fresh air. Focus on breathing in the oxygen produced by the trees and plants around you. Feel the breeze on your face and skin.
· Standing in the wind and asking it to take whatever is blocking your heart with it as it blows through and by you. Ask it to bring in new insight and compassion.
· Visualizing a beautiful light breeze blowing from front to back through your heart chakra. You can also work with breathing exercises – focus on taking long, deep breaths, inhaling healing and compassion, and exhaling anything you no longer need.
Don’t forget to say thank you to Mother Nature when you are done – gratitude can shift our awareness and energy faster than almost anything else. I hope you enjoy these simply ways to work with your chakras and the elements.
~~~~~
On a side note, I’m very excited to announce my first teleseminar – Healing and Empowering Your Sacral Chakra, starting June 4th and running for 6 weeks. The sacral chakra is central to women’s energy bodies, and the focus of many women’s spirituality traditions. In this class – which you can participate in live or through recordings - I will guide you through many methods for working with it. Here is the link to learn more:
Also, I’m doubly excited to announce I will be teaching at a retreat in Bali this Fall, with Cyndi Dale, Chantal Monte, and Anthony J.W. Bensen. This will be an amazing, transformative spiritual adventure - I hope you can join us! ~ Lisa Erickson.
Lisa is a meditation teacher, energy worker, writer, and mom to three. She loves helping people heal and explore the unseen aspects of themselves through chakra (energy center) meditation and related energy body work. She specializes in women's energetics - the distinct characteristics and phases of women's subtle bodies, and the special spiritual doorways available to women through their feminine divinity. In her work she draws on many diverse traditions, including Vajrayana Buddhism, Tantra, Zen, gnostic Christianity, shamanism, yoga, astrology, and several energy healing systems, most particularly the work of Cyndi Dale. She writes on all these subjects at her blog Mommy Mystic (http://www.MommyMystic.com), as well as writing regularly on Buddhism for Bellaonline (http://buddhism.bellaonline.com/Site.asp), where she is the Buddhism site editor. She offers classes, workshops and personal sessions through The Maat Institute (http://www.themaatinstitute.com.) Lisa's column here is entitled, "Women's Energetics."
Read more May 2012 articles by clicking the "Previous" link just below
Grow and Glow With Conscious Intention Healing (Part I)
by Cindy Harpe Hively
I want to share something that is a passion and near and dear to my heart:
HEALTH AND WELLNESS LIVING ... AND AWAP... ("As Well As Possible").
Even though you may be living with a life difficulty, or with an illness, is your life on the "Grow and Glow?" I sure hope so. It is still a new year, a new month, a new YOU.....Yes, it can be a new YOU! All of these growth seeds can be tough to measure, but you know when you have it and when you don't. As we learn from our dis-eases, we can still cultivate what is within to heal and make us feel better, no matter how many tough life difficulties are knocking at our door. It is so true. Along with cultivation I am now living with CONSCIOUS INTENTION HEALING. This has been a challenge, but this practice is providing healing for myself and others.
I have been working on my own life difficulties these last two months and have miraculously seen and felt a shift in healing. I am working on my life intentions and with other women who are challenged with life difficulties of all kinds. Every morning when I wake up I choose my intentions for the day, what am I going to do and how I am going to feel. What will be my attitude and how will I determine what part of myself (mind, body, spirit) I will give my intention to for healing. This is very scientific stuff and as someone who has begun to practice living with intention, I know it works. Here is an example of what science is saying about conscious intention healing. This information wows me because we do have the information now to start healing in new ways.
Your intentions play a vital role in your healing process, as a positive attitude promotes healing. This knowledge is undeniable and instinctive. Medical communities in cultures all around the world have known for thousands of years that a focused positive patient is more likely to heal. Yet using your intentions to assist your healing is not promoted in the Western medical system.
Why is this important aspect of healing overlooked and what can you do about it? Since the 1950s when Watson and Crick solved the structure of DNA, the scientific community has been obsessed with finding a structural biochemical explanation for every biological event. In 2003, the human genome was sequenced and at that time this promised to be the final frontier in molecular biology, which would leave few remaining mysteries. Rather than solving all biological questions, it became very evident that there are many important mechanisms which are poorly understood. Stem cells are particularly effective at highlighting some key concepts that remain unknown. Every cell in a person’s body carries the exact same genetic information, yet the brain cells look and function dramatically different than skin cells.
How is this possible? It turns out that there are proteins that associate with the DNA, and it is these proteins that determine which genes are “turned on” and which ones are not. It is this selective control of the DNA that results in these cells having completely different properties. These discoveries resulted in the development of a new field of study known as epigenetics. This is important in regard to healing because these proteins are incredibly sensitive to their environment. The slightest change in your environment results in significant changes to these proteins, which subsequently influence every aspect of cell metabolism. When you are trying to improve your health, regardless of what the medical condition is, the goal is to change cell metabolism such that balance can once again be restored. Your environment has a significant and detectable impact on changes in every cell in your body.
A crucial factor in your environment is how you choose to perceive events, as your body reacts differently when relaxed as opposed to when it is stressed or tensed. If you perceive a situation as positive and ideal for healing, then this changes the environment within your body. This directly influences cellular events and consequently your health. Know that your own thoughts and intentions influence your biochemistry, thus assisting your healing process. Remember that your cells are conscious organisms doing everything possible to maximize their contribution to your health and well-being. Every cell in your body is functioning together for the benefit of the whole organism: you! This knowledge is very empowering because you have the power to influence every biochemical event that occurs in your body.
“Know what needs to change for your particular imbalance to be corrected efficiently. Know that metabolic processes are dynamic, allowing change to occur, then use your intentions to manifest this difference.” –Adam
Your intention is what your focus is for that day. The idea is to set your intention in the morning and then be that throughout the day. Rather than just let stuff happen to you and your negative feelings react, you can control them by focusing on what your intention for that day is. For example what would your day be like if you were to choose to be peaceful for the day, to focus on being peaceful in everything you do? You might wake up and have a day ahead you are not particularly looking forward to, but what would it be like if you chose to be playful instead of, perhaps, resentful? What difference would that make?
Intention is also where you support you in becoming the most powerful version of yourself you can possibly be. It is empowering you to live the life you want to live. Whether you want the intention of fine-tuning your body, focusing your mind, healing your pain, mastering your emotions, or reaching greater spiritual heights, with setting your intention, and with practice, you are starting a new way of thinking and living. There are days I feel so excited because my mind, body and spirit supports me on my journey.
The connection of Body, Mind and Spirit is undeniable. Recognizing this truth, you are able to assist your own being in perfecting the art of using intention, an empowerment of the mind, to create your physical reality with deliberate purpose. Our body is the first place our thoughts manifest in the physical world. When we use our mind, we affect our body. With focused positive intention, we consciously shape our body, our relationships, and our life. With a strong spiritual foundation, which means you are grounded in love and compassion for yourself and others, you are able to connect mind to body.
The intelligence of the body is often overlooked in Western culture. As important as it is to master the mind, it is imperative for us to ground and center ourselves in our bodies so that we can most effectively utilize this intelligence. When was the last time you stopped to feel your heart beat inside your chest? Do you feel the subtle effects different foods have on your body? While we are shifting quickly, we are largely a society of people disconnected from our bodies, enduring greater occurrences of obesity, sky-rocketing stress levels, and evermore devastating disease gone awry.
Looking back in my life, I can see where experiences have brought me to the place of illness, sadness, and lack of trust. I have been revisiting these experiences with the Intention of forgiveness for myself and others, to heal. This disconnect from our physical bodies is evident in our relationship to the larger body that houses us, the Earth. It is time for us to embrace a new way. I invite you to discover this ever-expanding community of conscious Intention, to get clear on what you want and who you choose to be and to step into full alignment with your goals and your destiny. Together, we will manifest our biggest, brightest imaginings.
So what to do? What happens when we set intentions, we can cultivate infinite growth and healing; we realize we can be changed and we have the power within to change. I know some things are harder than others. This is a practice. What I am talking about is a life long project. It requires a wise heart, mindfully understanding why we have held onto beliefs that do not serve us well, and how to let them go with conscious intention.
Put on your "Scientist Lab Coat" and study why you may hold onto these thoughts and mindsets. There are people that are doing this now (in many ways). Sometimes it's not easy to gratify easily attainable wellness. It is a new way of living. Here we have another reason to practice turning the microscope lens within. Over time, it will become easier to react to such desires and really begin to act in a way that brings true growth, by practicing Intention Healing. ("Practice makes progress not perfection," as Jan Lundy would say.)
Can you imagine how your life would change if you start this very instant observing mindsets in your life that will lead you to wellness by setting conscious intention. And then, who knows what will emerge! They say the future is already here, just not evenly distributed yet.
Below are a few "Glow Growth Conscious Intentions" I am working on this year. What are yours?
- Grow in generosity (give more of myself)
- Grow in compassion (connect more deeply with myself, people/planet)
- Grow in physical health (deeper care for 'lifestyle habits')
- Grow in mental health (deeper knowledge/understanding of the world)
- Grow in family/community (build more and deeper ties with others based on shared values)
- Grow in balance/wisdom (continual movement towards deeper harmony within and without)
- Grow in fun! (deeper joy at every moment)
Now go get your GLOW on and begin your new GROWTH with INTENTION.
Cindy calls the Roanoke Valley in Virginia her home. She is surrounded by beautiful mountains that inspire and heal her everyday. Having worked twenty five years in the retail industry, she moved up quickly and loved her career, but had to quit work due to chronic illness. She is on a healing journey through Metta meditation, mindfulness practices and self compassion. Cindy's heads up the "Mindful Living" department here. She also writes here: "Awakening The Woman Within" with Goffstown Today, www.Goffstowntoday.com Simple Steps Real Change, FB page http://www.simplestepsrealchange.com Psychological Health of Roanoke, VA, www.PsychHealthRoanoke.blogspot.com Cindy (Harpe) Hively FB page, http://facebook.com/cindyhivelybc
Femininity & Mothering There are moments in life when I feel complete and at peace…like I am doing exactly what I was meant to do at that very moment in time. I had one of these moments yesterday. It occurred while I was rocking my sick daughter to sleep. Cradling her in my arms, softly stroking her curly brown hair, feeling the heat of the fever emanating from her forehead, I just breathed. I kissed her head. I held her tight. I hummed her favorite lullaby. At this moment in time, I was the very best version of my sacred self. I was love. I was kindness. I was gentleness. I was tenderness. I was embracing and emanating my femininity through motherhood.
I believe femininity and mothering go hand in hand. Intuition, gentleness, compassion, love, tenderness, generosity, and wisdom-- words I use to define femininity, I also use to define mothering.
As I rocked my 4 year old daughter, I wasn’t saying a word-- but I was saying so much. Through the silence, I knew she heard:
~I love you beyond words.
~I’ll always protect and take care of you.
~You can trust me.
~You’re my greatest miracle.
~You deserve love.
~You’re safe. Everything will be okay.
In this moment, I was a center of love and kindness. My natural essence as a woman and a mother was being honored as I radiated love directly to my child.
Because We are Women, We Are Mothers I don’t believe that you have to birth a biological child be a “mother.” As I mentioned before, all the characteristics that define femininity, define mothering. Because we are women who are divinely feminine, we instinctively mother our friends, our parents, our pets, our partners, our biological children, our adopted or step children, our natural world, and most importantly-- ourselves.When you embody feminine characteristics that are your birthright like gentleness, compassion, love, tenderness, generosity, and wisdom towards the ones you love, you silently whisper to them: “I love you beyond words. I’ll always protect and take care of you. You can trust me. I believe you are nature’s greatest miracle. You deserve love. You’re safe. Everything will be okay.”
However, as women, we tend to project loving kindness to those we love while forgetting how important (ahem-- critical) it is for us to “allow [ourselves] to bathe in the warmth and acceptance of loving kindness as if [we] were a child held in a loving mother’s or father’s arms.”(Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go There You Are). We forget how important it is to mother ourselves so that we can better mother those in our lives that we love the most.
Mothering {Yourself} As a mother and a woman, it is imperative that I practice loving kindness toward myself. “When I can love myself, with all of my imperfections, I can love my child, friends, acquaintance, and all beings” (Jacqueline Kramer, Buddha Mom). Understanding this basic truth, I hold tremendous power. See, I am a mother of three impressionable young girls who are watching my every move. They are learning how to treat themselves as women by witnessing how I treat myself. Even more importantly, having felt the power of extending this loving kindness to myself, I am acutely aware that if I don’t do this for myself, I’d be less able to sit quietly, without my mind racing, to comfort my sick daughter. I am certain that the amount of love she felt radiate to her in that moment was in direct proportion to the amount of love I continually radiate to myself.
I know--easier said than done. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t attempt to try and make this type of meditation part of our daily habits. For it first to become a habit, we have to feel its power. We have to experience how it feels to say to ourselves and truly believe: “I love you beyond words. I’ll always protect and take care of you. You can trust me. I believe you are nature’s greatest miracle. You deserve love. You’re safe. Everything will be okay.” As women, one of the best ways to embrace our divine femininity is to continually direct kindness, love, compassion, gentleness, and generosity towards ourselves while we “mother” those we love.
Jennifer Niedzielski is a teacher, writer, mother of three young daughters, and the co-founder of Mindful Moms Network™. After teaching in the traditional classroom setting for over 12 years, she is transcending classroom walls to inspire and teach women how to reclaim their calm and take exquisite care of their mind, body, and inner-selves amidst the chaos of mothering. Through Mindful Moms, it is her intention to create a nurturing and supportive community for moms that encourages Inward Development through the Art of Mothering.
Are you a woman feeling like there is no you? You feel as if you are losing yourself or that you are an empty vessel just serving the needs of others? You feel like the world would suddenly cease to exist if you were not there to fix things and set them right? You feel if you didn't do these things for others nobody would love you, recognize you, or respect you? You feel like nobody really cares about your needs, they only care about their own?
These are telltale signs that you are burning out and you need to cut back on your activities. If no one else will consider your needs, you need to consider them yourself. You need to take charge of your life and do the things you want to do and not what others demand of you. This is what "self compassion" is all about. The practice of saying "yes" to yourself and at times saying "no" to others will actually enhance your essence of being the woman you are meant to be for yourself and others.
It does not mean you have to stop everything ... as helping others is a very important part of who you are as a woman. However, balance is a very important part of being healthy. In order to help others you have to first help yourself.
Many of us, from childhood on, are taught by our mothers that saying yes is right and saying no is wrong. We learn that acceding to demands allows us to avoid conflict and criticism, please people, earn praise, and prove that we care for the important people in our lives. Yet the right to say no is intertwined with the ability to make choices. When we sense we are limited in our options, compelled to say yes even when doing so is not in our interests, we are effectively robbed of our ability to choose. Growing out of this tendency to say yes even when we desperately want to say no can be challenging because we suspect that others will reject us for our assertiveness. But the reward we receive upon facing this challenge is true freedom of choice, love, joy and contentment.
When others, even friends and family, ask you to take on work or do favors, consider their requests carefully. If you feel pressed to say yes, consider whether you are saying yes out of a desire for approval or to ward off disapproval. Remind yourself often that the ability to say no is an important aspect of well-being, as it is an indication that you understand the true value of your energy, talents, and time. As you learn to articulate "your personal power" by saying no, you may feel compelled in the beginning to explore what you may feel the consequences are of the word by responding negatively to many or most of the requests put to you. The word “no” may even become your default response for some time. When you see that life moves forward without interruption, however, you will grow more comfortable saying no and will resume making decisions from a point of balance.
There is nothing inherently wrong with acceding to the requests others make of you, provided these requests do not infringe upon your health or your happiness. Keep in mind that it is only when you feel you have the legitimate right to say no that you can say yes with utmost certainty, sincerity, and enthusiasm. While saying yes to others under the circumstances where you embrace the opportunity, you can feel good about offering yourself when your reasons for doing so are rooted in your individual values, self compassion and your appreciation for the joy that is before you.
A Definition of Self-Compassion
By Kristin Neff, Ph.D., author of Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind
Having compassion for oneself is really no different than having compassion for others. Think about what the experience of compassion feels like. First, to have compassion for others you must notice that they are suffering. If you ignore that homeless person on the street, you can’t feel compassion for how difficult his or her experience is. Second, compassion involves feeling moved by others' suffering so that your heart responds to their pain (the word compassion literally means to “suffer with”). When this occurs, you feel warmth, caring, and the desire to help the suffering person in some way. Having compassion also means that you offer understanding and kindness to others when they fail or make mistakes, rather than judging them harshly. Finally, when you feel compassion for another (rather than mere pity), it means that you realize that suffering, failure, and imperfection is part of the shared human experience. “There but for fortune go I.”
Self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time, fail, or notice something you don’t like about yourself. Instead of just ignoring your pain with a “stiff upper lip” mentality, you stop to tell yourself “this is really difficult right now,” how can I comfort and care for myself in this moment? Instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect? You may try to change in ways that allow you to be more healthy and happy, but this is done because you care about yourself, not because you are worthless or unacceptable as you are. Perhaps most importantly, having compassion for yourself means that you honor and accept your humanness. Things will not always go the way you want them to. You will encounter frustrations, losses will occur, you will make mistakes, bump up against your limitations, fall short of your ideals. This is the human condition, a reality shared by all of us. The more you open your heart to this reality instead of constantly fighting against it, the more you will be able to feel compassion for yourself and all your fellow humans in the experience of life.
Learn more about Dr. Neff's book, Self Compassion, at her website: self-compassion.org
I invite you to enter the Healing Womb, sanctuary of spirit, of love, of holding; a virtual living room, where friends gather for thirty quiet minutes every other week and connect to the nurturing flow that this life offers us through heartful, mindful awareness in the comfort of our own homes.
Even if you are not living with a chronic illness, healing is a broad term. We all have some healing to do.
My thoughts on healing: In my experience, healing does not always involve a "cure". It happens daily to people with horrendous illnesses. Healing for me is a balanced state of mental, spiritual and emotional well being that allows for comfort in an uncomfortable body and mind. If we can learn to be with this moment, what ever “this” moment looks like, then the fears that are tangled up with pain, the anxieties that tend to tip us off center, gently reach equilibrium again, at least temporarily.
Then for a breath... maybe ten breaths,
we can experience relief and peace
...and begin again.
Details:
We will gather on alternate Fridays at 11am to 11:30am, Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) starting on February 10, 2012. Recognizing that no day or time will work for everyone who is interested in joining, I will record each call and provide a link on my blog later in the day for you to listen to when it is convenient for you. There will be several of us on the call at one time so, energetically you will feel our presence even on a recording. If you want to be part of the circle but can't attend at that time, let me know and we will hold your "place". I'll say the first names of everyone in attendance and those whose hearts are with us at the beginning of each call. In this way we will know that we are not alone, that we are part of a community; I believe a sense of connection is vital to healing.
Nature is full of cycles. We have just passed through Solstice, which for those of us north of the equator officially ushers in Winter, and for those in the south, announces Summer. Each season of the year represents a different phase in the ongoing natural cycle – birth (Spring), maturity (Summer), aging/release (Fall), and death/transformation (Winter).
Our own lives mirror this cycle – over the course of a lifetime, and in smaller versions within each year and month. Our spiritual growth is a continuous cycling through these phases in the form of new realizations, maturing wisdom, release of old patterns, and personal transformation. Most world religions have holidays, rituals, contemplative practices, or retreats that are tied to each of these phases.
In women’s spiritual traditions, the cycles of our bodies are linked with these cycles as well, and we can deepen our spiritual practice by embracing this link, and working with it in our lives. Biologically, our life phases are defined by our procreative phases –the onset of menstruation, our fertile years, peri-menopause, and post-menopause. In women’s energetics – the energy body teachings drawn from energy healing and spiritual traditions – there are energetic shifts associated with each of these phases:
- Our entrance into womanhood with the onset of menstruation signals the first opening of our 2nd chakra, or sacral energy center, in our pelvic area. This is the seat of the kundalini, or spiritual life force, in women. Much of our teen and early twenties is spent learning to deal with this energy, and particularly its sexual expression.
- Our mature, ‘fertile’ years are our birthing and nurturing years, when our creative abilities manifest as children, career building, artistic creations, service projects, building a home, or whatever we apply ourselves too. Energetically we go through many sub-phases during this time, often working on issues associated with one or the other energy centers (chakras) as we experience challenges in our lives.
- Our transformational, peri-menopausal years, which science is realizing can span our entire 40s or even longer, spiritually represents a time of shedding old conditioned identities, and owning a new definition of ourselves. Often this is a tumultuous time energetically, as we strive to redefine ourselves, and literally remake ourselves.
- Our ‘wisdom’ years, in our post-menopausal phase, are ideally a time in which we can fully own our power and accumulated wisdom. Energetically, it is again a time of manifesting, but also a period of increased stability, as we integrate our intuitive and intentional aspects.
Up until the final phase, we are also dealing with the mini-cycle of menstruation, which has its own energetic phases:
- The first half – from the end of menstruation through ovulation - represents an outward, manifesting, intentional movement of energy. We are most effective at accomplishing goals and interacting with others during this time.
- The second half – after ovulation through menstruation - represents an inward, contemplative, intuitive energetic movement. This is a time when we need to honor our need for solitude and contemplation to the greatest extent possible.
To begin to work with these phases and cycles, spend some time contemplating where you are, first in your overall life phase, and then within your monthly cycle of outward/intentional and inward/intuitive movement. It’s worth noting that many post-menopausal women feel that they also have a similar outward/inward cycle, sometimes consciously connected to the cycles of the moon, and in other cases just a personal rhythm that reveals itself over time.
Consider first if there are any ways you are resisting honoring the phase you are in. Are you wishing you were in another life phase? Can you see the challenges of this phase as potentially opening doorways to new wisdom for you? Can you identify and appreciate the gifts your current phase has to offer? Can you sense yourself as engaged in a natural, ancient, sacred cycle of birth, maturation, release, and transformation?
Now think back to the prior phases of your life, and consider the energetic themes listed above. Do you think you were able to successfully learn the lessons of those phases? Are there any experiences or challenges that you feel you need to revisit for yourself, to re-frame and understand in the greater light of your current maturity? Often we hold on to self-blame, regrets, or anger from prior phases that inhibits our ability to fully claim our power in our current phase.
When working with your menstrual cycle, or your natural outward/inward cycle if you are post-menopausal, consider how each phase manifests for you. Do you suffer from intense PMS? Because this is our most sensitive time energetically, our symptoms can often be compounded by a high level of activity or social interaction during this time. Experiment with adding just a little more space for yourself during each day of this part of your cycle, whether engaged in explicit spiritual practice or other self-nurturing activities. Likewise, think of ways you might harness your greatest creative potential at the height of your cycle each month.
If these cycles have not yet revealed themselves to you in your own life, consider keeping a little diary for a month or two focused on how you are feeling in terms of inward vs. outward expression each day, and note where you are in your biological cycle.
Just noting our life phases and cycles can be a big step towards beginning to honor ourselves and our lives as part of something larger. We can begin to sense the rise and fall of our own energetic patterns, and work with these spiritually. Instead of the passing of time being something we rail against, we can truly begin to honor our sacred cycles, and where we are in them.
Lisa is a meditation teacher, energy worker, writer, and mom to three. She loves helping people heal and explore the unseen aspects of themselves through chakra (energy center) meditation and related energy body work. She specializes in women's energetics - the distinct characteristics and phases of women's subtle bodies, and the special spiritual doorways available to women through their feminine divinity. In her work she draws on many diverse traditions, including Vajrayana Buddhism, Tantra, Zen, gnostic Christianity, shamanism, yoga, astrology, and several energy healing systems, most particularly the work of Cyndi Dale. She writes on all these subjects at her blog Mommy Mystic (http://www.MommyMystic.com), as well as writing regularly on Buddhism for Bellaonline (http://buddhism.bellaonline.com/Site.asp), where she is the Buddhism site editor. She offers classes, workshops and personal sessions through The Maat Institute (http://www.themaatinstitute.com.) Lisa's column here is entitled, "Women's Energetics."
Not to drag you down or burst your holiday joy bubble, but are you aware of how many people struggle with sadness this time of year? You, in fact, may be one of them. And, if not you, I’m willing to bet that someone you know is struggling with “the blues” right now ...
The reasons for sadness are myriad. We may have lost someone we love in the past year and their absence weighs upon our heart. We may be experiencing financial woes and can’t do all that we’d like to in terms of giving, traveling, entertaining. We may feel lonely and isolated with no one to share a holiday celebration with.
Or—and this is the category many of us may find ourselves in—the “season” has become too much to handle and we’re feeling stressed. Sadness can be a symptom of undue stress.
So, here’s the rub. The season is short. The feelings are deep. We may feel like we should “snap out out of it,” so we don’t lose time, disappoint others, or miss out on the celebration of the season altogether. What’s a woman to do?
My solution? Get connected with your calm, clear, wise self through simple practices that root you in feelings of simple happiness.
After all, sadness is a “mind state,” a unique combination of body sensations, thoughts, and emotions. We can observe these and successfully transform sadness if we know how.
Sadness is a state no different from anger, fear, worry, jealousy, or any other strong thought/feeling pattern. We just need to know how to respond to it. Not react, but consciously respond with clarity and wisdom. And when we do, our life can look and feel completely different. Literally (unless we are chronically and medically depressed), we can begin to be aware of sadness-tinged thoughts and feelings and shift them. We do this with conscious awareness—recognizing them and then choosing to turn ourselves in a different direction.
We can do this by using gladness-infusing practices. Here’s one for you to try. It’s an enjoyable and easy-to-use practice. You might be surprised at how simple it can be to shift from sad to glad—in nanoseconds. Try it and see!
“Play I Spy”
I invite you to join me in a game of playing "I Spy" to uplift your spirit.
Do you remember the children's game "I Spy”? I often played it with my brothers and sister in the car while traveling. It helped pass the time. It helped us hone in on our world—to pay attention to the majesty and delight all around us.
"I spy with my little eye ... a cow!" someone would say. "I spy with my little eye ... something purple!" and you'd have to guess what it was.
Want to play? Step outside. Take a breath. Take several. Look around.
Then focus on something, see it clearly. Allow it to touch your heart, to open you to yourself and to the beauty of this world. An "I spy" mindset can provide a new view of reality.
Allow your eye to roam around some more. “I Spy” something else and see it clearly. “I Spy” again and get in touch with wonder. “I Spy” once more and feel gratitude.
The Buddha said, "If we could see the miracle of one flower clearly, our whole life would change."
I believe this to be true. And it’s also true of sadness.
"Gladness can be mine, one choice at a time," is a wise mantra for the holidays, don't you think?
If you enjoyed this simple sadness-shifting practice, you may want to take advantage of our new 30-day E-course sent directly to your Inbox each day: “What To Do When You’re Feeling Blue: 30 Days of Insights and Practices to Change the “Hue” of Your Life.”
It’s co-sponsored by Buddha Chick Life and AwakenedLiving.com (Editor, Jan Lundy’s official website) and you can learn all about it HERE.
I was so happy to see that December’s theme for Buddha Chick Life was "Enjoyment and Delight" because enjoyment and delight are central energies of the second or sacral chakra, and this chakra is also the center of a woman’s energy, or subtle, body. Although the holidays should be a time of great enjoyment and delight, too often they can begin to feel like burdens, especially for women. So much planning, shopping, cooking, and coordinating. So much money spent! Where is the joy, the soulfulness?
Connecting with your sacral chakra, and making a special effort to clear and nourish it, can be a wonderful way to open yourselves to the true spirit of this season. It is also a great way to generate momentum for your New Year, as this chakra is also associated with creation, and our ability to manifest the lives we want and need.
Your sacral center is your womb energy center, located deep in your lower belly, or pelvis area. From an energy healing perspective, this chakra rules your reproductive organs – your uterus, ovaries, etc. – as well as your bladder. From a spiritual perspective, it is the seat of a women’s kundalini, or spiritual life force. Since this chakra resides in your energy body, it is intact even if you have had a full or partial hysterectomy.
Women sometimes have difficulty accessing the power and joy of this center, because of social conditioning, and the shame that they have been made to feel about their sexuality, menstruation, and even their reproductive function. But connecting with this center, and freeing up its energy, is central to our health and well-being. Almost every health condition a woman will face has some hormonal component, and this chakra is intricately linked with hormonal function. On a spiritual level, our connection to creation – whether procreation, or creative expression – is at the heart of feminine spiritual traditions.
In addition to creativity, this center is linked with emotion, and our ability to feel passion and joy. It is the seat of our sensual selves - the part of us that loves a warm bath, a colorful painting, or a cool breeze on a walk through a park. It is of course also linked to our sexual selves, and our ability to own our sexual energy – a force that radiates our being and awareness all the time, not only when we are sexually engaged.
Of course both men and women have sacral chakras, just as we all have brains, hearts, and stomachs. But this chakra functions differently in men and women, just as our reproductive organs do. In women, it is the seat of our kundalini, and so its health and vibrancy is especially linked to our ability to access our deepest passions and manifest the lives that we want.
Here are some easy ways to connect with and care for this special energy center within your being. See if you can weave some of these into your busy holiday season, and connect with the joy and pleasure seated there:
- The sacral chakra is associated with the element water, so connecting with water in any way has a beautiful, cleansing affect. Try taking a warm bath, walking or meditating by water, or even drinking a glass of pure water with full focus and attentiveness. See if you can feel a resonance between your lower belly and water. Even visualizing yourself seated near a lovely pond or lake can have this affect – our minds can connect vibrationally to energies even when we are not there physically.
- The sacral chakra is also connected with our sensual selves. Any pleasing tactile or sensory experience will awaken the delight that emanates from this chakra. Set aside time to gaze and enjoy holiday lights, decorations, and candles. Sit by a fire with a hot cup of tea and truly feel the warmth and power emanating from the flames. Indulge in music, foods, fabrics, sights and smells that you love. You don’t need to overdo it - when you are fully engaged, it doesn’t take much of something to awaken your connection to sensual pleasure.
- The sacral chakra is also connected with the color orange. Although this isn’t traditionally a color associated with this season (and it’s a hard color to pull off in clothing!) see if you can find ways to bring a little orange into your world – an orange blanket perhaps, towel, or candle.
- Orange foods are also considered nourishing to this chakra, so consider having an orange a day, orange-spiced tea, or building other orange foods such as sweet potatoes or carrots into your diet. Other foods that nourish this chakra are tropical fruits (regardless of color), and foods rich in essential fatty acids/Omega-3s (flaxseed, certain nuts, fish). Incorporating these foods into your diet can also help decrease the chances that you will overindulge in sweets and high-fat foods, because your sacral center will be well-nourished, which cuts down on cravings.
- Dance! Turn on some music and dance around your house for a minute or two. There is nothing more joyful or sensual than dancing, when we truly feel it from our cores.
- Finally, consider meditating on your sacral center. Simply holding your hands over your lower belly, and breathing into this space, will help you connect to this chakra within yourself. Moving from this to focus on your heart, and then your ‘third eye’, as described in the meditation I posted last month in the article Understanding Your Feminine Energy Body is also a beautiful option. Keep it simple and accessible – this chakra is about intuitive connection, not technique.
These are all simple and fun ways to connect with and nourish the energies of your sacral chakra. Taking time to do so will help keep this energy flow open at other times of your day, enabling you to truly enjoy the season. Happy holidays and New Year!
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