The beginning: working with the Root Chakra (Photos)

It was April 1stof this year when I started my Chakra workbook “The Sevenfold Journey”. The book I’ve carried with me for close to 20 years, always with the intention of ‘one day’ actually doing the work. No time like 2010, which was predicted to be a very transforming year. I suppose it’s just not my style to start anything quietly or mildly. That morning was an interesting one as I tried to set my space as positively as possible, given the chore I had to do that day: go to court to pay a speeding ticket. Nothing anyone enjoys, especially when you feel it was given unfairly. Especially if like me, you believe patrol cars should be patrolling, not sitting like a spider in its web on the side of a road.

Knowing that it was the first real day of Chakra work I’ve ever consciously done on this level, I decided I would not let the court thing ruin my special day. It was not easy, the closer the clock got to noon, the harder it was to stay calm. I lost enough control that I slammed a door in anger…on my thumb. Not “oops I was shutting the door and didn’t move my hand fast enough, oh that smarts” kind of slam. No, this was an “I am going to kill something!” kind of slam and the cabinet was my victim. My intention wasn’t to destroy anything; I was just caught up in the moment of anger & frustration. I suppose my habit of slamming things-especially doors-has its roots in my childhood. I would storm off to my room to get away from my brothers teasing and when I would try to slam my door, there they were, holding it with their superior strength, grinning ear-to-ear “Don’t slam the dooooooooooooo-ooor!” Maybe I just do it because I CAN.

Trees rooted in stone

Photo credit: 

Michelle Cole

My Root Chakra is my connection to my right To Be, To Have. It is where I connect to the understanding that I am connected to the Universe in a way that will always provide for my basic needs: Love, Comfort, Shelter, Food, Joy, Friendship, Family, and Community. When I started thinking about how many times I have found myself in a tough situation, where the worst-case scenario could have meant being homeless with nowhere to go…the worst case never has happened. When I have suddenly found myself without a job, I find one within days: ALWAYS. When I am worried about how I’m going to get rent or the mortgage paid: it always gets paid. And don’t get me started with Love. As a human being I have every right to be treasured by at least one person. As much as I dreaded break-ups, I always survived and found it in my heart to give it 100% to another man. Being broken doesn’t mean being lost, at least not forever.

Our homes are reflections of ourselves: literally. Not only by the choice of artwork, colors, textures and furniture we fill them with, but the state in which we care for these things. Since starting my Chakra workbook my home has been undergoing a slow transition to become more of a true reflection of who I am, where I am energetically & emotionally. Our homes are our sanctuaries and yet they so often become prisons to our ideas of what we need to be doing with our time when we are there. I’ve made more effort to create a space that honors creativity and the sacred. I decided it was time to look at my frustrations where my home was involved, especially in regards to the cleaning of it. Doug was open to helping me, so I created a list of priorities and asked him to help me make sure certain things were done every day or weekly. I’m lucky that I have an amazing husband who is always willing to help and oh-so-patient with this journey of mine!

Starting the work of balancing, opening and repairing my energetic self showed me right away what it means to be honest with oneself with acceptance and to understand the process of letting go of old, old habits. Ways of reacting to a life long string of events: this is the healing of energy work. Being able to heal myself has to include loving myself, honoring myself and living from a center of love and compassion. Which means having compassion for myself as well as others and especially to be less harsh in my judgment of myself. I have recently experienced things that seem to be little ways for the Universe to allow me a glimpse of my potential. In having compassion for myself I found more for others. I began to make conscious efforts to avoid saying negative things about anyone; if ever I had a negative thought I did my best to keep it to myself. Once a co-worker who quit in a rage named me specifically as the ONLY person who didn’t piss him off. I don’t believe it, I work with some really nice people, but it was funny that after I made an effort to be more compassionate that was said!

Of course, that first day had its challenges-without a doubt. The throbbing did not subside until much later that night. I ran my errands, stood in lines, dealt with traffic and rude people (the woman who took 2 weeks of my pay for one moment of passing a ‘slow-poke’ made a snide comment about “Nobody whines in here, at least not on OUR side of the counter! Hahahahah” while I was waiting in line. (Yes, very funny) Once I left the courthouse it was more of the same, but I managed to keep a lighter outlook. I made the best of it, taking deep breaths and thinking, “It’s over, it’s done, let it go and get on with your day!” The excitement of going to the fabric store to get something for my 1stChakra alter was soon dulled by the throbbing thumb that hurt far more than I thought possible. That, and the fact that as I was searching for the right fabric I had passed the cutting counter with no one in line and 5 minutes later I was #14. So, I started writing in my 1stChakra journal. Made the best of every situation that crossed my path and all with the throbbing thumb of my own doing. I think maybe it was my body’s way of saying “HEY! Don’t forget, today is a big day…you’ll remember it for a lifetime!” Yea, well I wouldn’t be surprised.

I combined some of the movement work from the workbook with energy work I’d recently learned and also Belly Dance moves: trying to create a full energetic/physical connection to the work. It was a good month for me, while it started out with a bit of challenge, not to mention physical pain; I was able to take what came across my path a little easier than before. I decided to really let go of all my fear and worry when it came to providing for my family. To trust in the Universe that I will always find a way to get through whatever I put in my path: I don’t believe in accidents or coincidences. If you can find a way to accept that you had a hand in the joys & sorrows you’ve experienced during your lifetime, it will free you forever from being a victim of anything or anyone.

Easier said than done.

My first alter had Genesha for new beginnings, my Goddess (The Source) and my cauldron among other symbolic things. I decided to use the cauldron as a source of transforming an old way into a new way of being. To transform rage into acceptance & peace I offered the ticket to the fire with a pinch of intention. I mentioned something about needing to accept my incarnation as a human because “Sometimes it feels like such a waste”. I placed some items related to my horses to remind me to put more effort and energy into my relationships with my horses. I placed a very well used, shows-its-age incense burner behind my Source, to remind me to honor the past but not live in it. (As Wendy Rule says in one of her songs “Memories heavy when it’s held too tightly”) I also have a link to the ancestors of my mothers’ blood: a kitty doily that Voa (my great grandmother) had made. She was my oldest living link to the past: which was much on my mind in those months after my reading with Dana

Also during this task of undertaking a full Chakra exercise, I managed to wrangle my dear friend Mary into letting me practice teaching Belly Dance with her as my first real student. The nerves and worry I spent in the days, hours and minutes leading up to this first lesson dissipated instantly when we stood facing each other-me in my costume. Perhaps it was her own nervousness that made me realize how silly it was to fear anything from dancing with a friend. Friends don’t judge you, your body or your dreams: they support you and that means accepting you as you are. Mary is the first friend I’ve had in a long, long time and I am so blessed with the feeling of sisterhood she brings.

My favorite part of our Belly Dancing together was during the cool-down. There is a move where you bend and stretch your arms out, slowly moving from one side to the other-sending out Goddess Love Energy to the world. It was so calming, so soothing to do this with the mirror provided by Mary, each basking in the energy of the other as it extended out to a world so needing this kind of loving, healing energy. Ever since, I carry a vision of one day filling my stone circle with friends who are all more like sisters to me, and doing this.

It was also during this month of bringing conscious awareness to my Root Chakra that I made the extra effort to enjoy my job. Not always easy, but the potential is already there for fun. I was starting to feel a touch of what everyone else was dealing with: congestion, coughing, sinus issues, etc. Adding to the challenges were the additional hours I worked due to being a little short of staff. I spent a lot of time that first month in my car during my breaks: balancing my chakras and meditating.

Although there are so many things I never had a chance to explore from the workbook in relation to my Root Chakra, I think I did a pretty good job of it all! I started the work thinking that with any luck I would one day help guide others through the Sevenfold Journey, but it wasn’t long before I realized I would be repeating the process next year simply for my own growth. Which is what I always hear: the opportunities for growth in our lifetime is limitless. Limitless possibilities and we get to decide where to put our energy: into fear based actions or love-based actions. Enlightenment can be that simple, it’s living it that takes work.