First Chakra Energy

Life Changes

“No one begins life as a conscious 'individual' with conscious will-power. That identity comes much later and develops in stages from childhood through adulthood.”

Caroline Myss, Ph.D. (Anatomy of the Spirit)

When I'm trying to figure out the meaning of something that's going on in my own life, or that of a friend, I go back to Caroline Myss and energy anatomy. At the moment, I have a friend who's clinically depressed. She's coming up on a big life change, graduation from college, and instead of being excited, she feels utterly unable to face the future. Have you watched that video that's gone viral on YouTube of an African elephant climbing on top of a car full of passengers? That car is going nowhere but down. Depression is like that. My friend cannot see her way forward because of the elephant sitting on her head.

We classify depression as a mental disorder, and we treat the brain to help it heal, but depression indicates a problem in the first chakra; the one at the very tip of the spine. It is the tribal chakra that connects us to the earth, our family, and the greater human community. When we feel we have no ability to stand up for ourselves, no connection to other people, no ability to provide for life's necessities, and no place to call home, that's energy being lost from the first chakra. If we only change the brain chemistry and do not address the root of the problem, true healing will not occur.

Big life changes of any sort, even the positive ones we desire, can produce terrible insecurity. What's next? What if I fail? What if this turns out to be a terrible mistake? I remember the first time I found I was pregnant. I wanted a baby, was actively trying to get pregnant, and yet, when the test came back positive, I felt terrified. I remember my doctor taking one look at my face and saying, “I don't know whether to congratulate you or offer my condolences!” Indeed, I didn't know which either.

Life change is something that shocks the body's energy system. It has to be accommodated, and to do that we must first be conscious of what is happening. We must prepare ourselves emotionally, be gentle with ourselves, not judge the feelings but acknowledge them. We're going to be okay. There is truly nothing time and love can't heal.

                                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                                       Jane