Chakra Healing for Vibrant Energy. Michelle S. Fondin

Emotional and Energetic Body

      When it comes to mental and emotional healing in the first chakra, you need to think about three basic thought concepts: worry, trust, and security.

WORRY

      We all suffer from worry at one time or another. It’s not always easy to delve into the past and think about our development of trust and security, but it might be worth doing this if you struggle with issues of trust or worry. Concern is valid at times, such as when you have difficulty paying bills on time or your marriage is on shaky ground. Yet worry isn’t warranted if you can do nothing to change the situation.

      In many different religions and spiritual practices we’re warned not to worry. In the Bible, Jesus says in Matthew 6:27, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” In all 12-step programs, the meetings conclude with the Serenity Prayer:

       God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

       The courage to change the things I can,

       And the wisdom to know the difference.

      Worry is a blockage in and of itself. It blocks the flow of energy to creative solutions. Worry causes us to act out of fear instead of love. When we act out of fear — or rather react, in most cases — we usually create new problems and obstacles.

      Maybe you developed worry from your upbringing — maybe your parents constantly worried. Or perhaps you developed worry from uncertain circumstances in your past, such as parents divorcing, poverty, or a dysfunctional family home. Whatever the case, you have the power to change it now. You can start by saying the Serenity Prayer to yourself daily and truly thinking about the things you can change versus the things you can’t.

TRUST

      If you didn’t grow up with a healthy sense of trust, you may find it difficult to trust others and your environment. There is no magic bullet to building trust back to a normal level. But if you’re open to learning, you can take baby steps toward its attainment. As you think about the concept of trust, think about things in the environment that are certain. For example, you can trust that the sun will rise each morning and set each night. You can trust that you have twenty-four hours in the day. You can trust that there are four seasons and certain celebrations or milestones on the calendar. You can trust that your body will need between six and nine hours of sleep per night, depending on your personal needs. You can trust that you will need to eat about three times per day and that if you follow the principles of healthy living, your body will perform for you.

      Think about all the things you already trust but take for granted. For example, do you have a bank account? Do you deposit money into it? If you do, you trust that the bank will eventually give you back the money when you need it. Do you drive a car? If so, you trust all the other drivers to stay in their lanes and not run into you.

      When it comes to people and loved ones, first try noticing little things you trust. When a boyfriend shows up on time for a date, you learn to trust him. Or when a new friend remembers it’s your birthday, you begin to trust that she cares for you. Do you see how trust is a flowing dynamic? We tend to overlook the little gestures in relationships, even though trust building is usually an accumulation of a lot of little things.

      When you approach “feeling” concepts such as trust from the perspective of the first chakra, you might believe that things are cut-and-dry. Instead of trust being a flowing quality, it stays concrete and categorical. Take for example a two-year-old child, who can change like or dislike of a person depending on an individual experience. If a parent takes away a toy because of bad behavior, the small child might shout out, “I hate you, Daddy!” In that moment, the child feels hate because of a single experience that was displeasing to her. First chakra people behave in a similar way. They tend to be more rigid when it comes to deeper concepts like trust.

      But as you move up the chakras, you will notice that things get a little fuzzier, without well-defined boundaries, when it comes to emotional matters. For now, allow yourself to be open to taking steps to trust and see where it takes you.

SECURITY

      Tied into trust, feelings of security or lack thereof can be a problem in first chakra balancing. When you experience life through the first chakra alone, you might think you have to do it all alone. You might fall under the illusion that the world is a scary place and you have to fend for yourself or else you will die. (That is, by the way, the essence of survival of the fittest.) Until you can begin thinking otherwise, try living in the present moment. Present-moment awareness is not even a spiritual practice at this point. It simply means looking around you and looking at yourself. Are you living? Are you breathing? Do you have clothes on? Did you have a meal recently? Do you have a roof over your head? Are you okay right now? If so, you are secure.

      If you’re in a precarious situation, such as being homeless or in an abusive household, go back to the Serenity Prayer. Is there something you can change about your situation? Is there someone you can reach out to?