The following is an excerpt from my book, Spiritual Awakening, from Chapter 3: Preparing for Your New Spiritual Life... Chpt 3, exercises, activities, and explorations, which begins on page 106. If you don't have a copy of this book, you can purchase one at Amazon, in print or kindle.
"This book is written to help you explore and experiment and discover a spirituality that you might not even be aware of. This book is here to help you embrace your inner pagan, to reconnect with your ancient roots and an earthy spirituality based in nature and magic and inspiration."It is my wish that this beautiful and inspiring handbook & journal becomes your companion as you explore spirituality and seek enlightenment.
Opening your energy centers
Your energy centers are your Chakras, which for our purpose includes the seven main centers that run along the course of your spine and influence not only your physical body but your mental, spiritual, and emotional state as well. When these energy centers are open and working properly, they are in a constant circular motion. When they are blocked, or otherwise not working properly, they can cause problems spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Root chakra: located in the perineum at the base of your spine. The root chakra affects our physical sense of well-being; your basic needs for survival -- food, water, shelter; your sense of safety, the animalistic flight or fight instinct.
To open this chakra 1. Wear red. Put a red lightbulb in a lamp and bathe in it; paint something red – a chair, a table, a steppingstone in the garden, a wall in your house, a small stone to keep on your nightstand.
2. Dance, walk, hike, run. Do something that uses your physical body and exerts energy. Mow the lawn, or rake leaves; go for a bicycle ride; ride a horse; carry heavy stones for a new garden path; help a friend move by lugging boxes for them. Use your body and relish the physical sensation of physical exertion, embrace the sweat and the feel of your muscles in action.
3. Take a shower. Luxuriate in the feel of water coursing over your physical body, washing it, cleansing it, clearing it. Find joy in the feeling of rejuvenation.
Sacral chakra: located in the lower abdomen. If you’re a woman, it would be about over the womb, if a male, over the prostate gland. The sacral chakra affects our sense of sexuality and our ability to freely acknowledge and embrace the idea of “pleasure”.
To open this chakra 1. Carry or wear in jewelry orange stones, like carnelian. Eat orange foods – carrots, pumpkin, oranges; have a glass of orange juice; wear orange clothing; plant orange flowers.
2. Do something that gives you a great sense of pleasure, whether this is eating a banana split, heating up the bedroom with your significant other, or spending a weekend alone at a lake cabin. But the thing is… do something that gives you great pleasure while not feeling guilty about it. It’s okay to indulge your appetites.
3. Do some hip opening exercises or yoga postures, stretching, flexing, gently moving and loosening up this part of your body. Massage it. Yes, that’s right. Animals also have chakras, energy centers along their spines as well. Have you ever wondered exactly why your dog or cat loves to have its tummy rubbed? It will have the same effect on you.
Solar plexus: located about two inches below your naval. The solar plexus holds the place where our self-esteem is grown and nurtured. It contains our creative energy. It’s all about how we express ourselves and how we feel about ourselves. It is where our self-confidence is born, and where we are most vulnerable to negative energies. This is where our healthy ego resides.
To open this chakra 1. Wear yellow. Plant yellow flowers, carry yellow stones, like citrine or topaz. Buy something yellow, gift something yellow to someone who needs a lift. Eat something yellow, like lemon drops, lemon meringue pie, lemon pudding, or yellow apples.
2. Start a journal. This involves expressing your inner most feelings. This will only be seen by you, so don’t hesitate to open up and pour forth all those things you don’t talk about with anyone else. It’s an outlet for great creativity. Paint on its pages, use different colored inks, or make the pages a collage. It allows you to explore your ego and work on how you feel about yourself and your life: What do I love? What bothers me and why? What makes me anxious? What makes me feel nothing, and is this significant? What makes me feel strong? What tickles my imagination? What makes me incredible and unique?
3. Do something empowering, whatever this may be to you: start a group; set a goal; confront an issue; end something; begin something; try a new venture, something that scares you, whether this is rock climbing, or dating, or writing a book.
Heart chakra: located in the center of your chest. The heart chakra connects us with feelings of love and compassion. It’s this chakra that gives us the ability to love and the empathy for true compassion. If this chakra is blocked, the most notable effect will be the inability to successfully ignite or maintain relationships, all kinds of relationships.
To open this chakra 1. Wear green. Paint your nails green, buy a green eyeshadow; plant pots of “green” things – English ivy, ferns, philodendrons; mow the grass; buy green sheets for your bed and snuggle down; eat green things: lettuce, kiwi, string beans, peas, or mint ice cream.
2. If you’re in love, but you have never said these words to a particular person, do that. Assuming that you’ve been seeing each other and establishing a relationship, assuming that you either know the other person is in love with you or they have told you so, assuming that you have not been able to bring yourself to say it yet. Do that.
Whether you plan a detailed romantic evening, or you find yourself in the middle of a vendor’s hotdog stand on a street corner, look your person in the eye and say, “I love you.” That big swelling sensation in your chest will be your heart chakra, revving up and spinning wildly, finally open.
3. Do an act of kindness for someone, human or creature, who does not expect it and have not asked for it. Do it quietly, perhaps anonymously, without fanfare, without expecting any acknowledgment at all. That big swelling sensation in your chest will be your heart chakra, revving up and spinning wildly, finally open.
Throat chakra: located at the base of the throat, in the hollow. The throat chakra is responsible for communication, whether our ability to communicate with others, internal communication with ourselves, or communication with Spirit. With the energy of this chakra, we seek truth, and we learn to respond as an individual to our community.
To open this chakra 1. Wear turquois or light blue. Wear it as clothing, or a piece of jewelry. Plant blue flowers; paint your nails blue; buy a blue throw rug for your house, or a blue blanket for your bed. Take pictures of blue things.
2. Sing. If you can’t hold a tune, that’s okay. Sing when you’re alone in the shower and you’re all alone in the house. You (and Spirit) will be the only one to hear you, and you will be opening up and energizing your throat chakra.
3. Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen or spoken to in a long time. Write a letter to someone that you are estranged from. Write a letter to someone you’ve always wanted to talk to but never had the courage. You don’t have to actually send this letter to anyone, unless you want to. But you will be opening up the channels of communication, and your throat chakra as well.
Third eye chakra: located between your eyebrows and just slightly above them. The third eye chakra is the center for your intuition, your psychism, for dreams and visions. This is where that “little voice in your head” emanates from, the one you should listen to.
To open this chakra 1. Wear indigo. Place an indigo sticky jewel between your eyebrows and just slightly above them. Eat purple popsicles; wear a purple sweater; buy a divination tool – a deck of tarot cards, or a pendulum, or something else that appeals to your intuitive instincts.
2. Start a dream journal. Leave it on your nightstand and record your dreams when you awake in the morning, as soon as you can, lest the memory evaporate, as dreams do. If you say you don’t remember your dreams, you will if you begin recording impressions that visited you in your sleep, the smallest of impressions will be a good place to start: the vague feeling of a place, an animal, a food, a physical sensation. When your third eye chakra is cleared and open. You will remember your dreams.
3. Don’t block your daydreams. Don’t deny yourself this amazingly natural tool and instinct. You are not “wasting time” or “spacing out”. This is often your own intuition trying to communicate with you, your third eye chakra working, trying desperately to tell you something you need to know, to show you something you need to see. Allow yourself the luxury of daydreams. They are a necessity. They are so much more than you can imagine.
Crown chakra: located above the crown of your head. It connects you to universal wisdom and Spirit. It is what defines your spirituality, connecting you to a higher consciousness, enabling you to experience enlightenment, driving you to define life questions and seek answers. It drives our quest to connect with God and Goddess.
To open this chakra 1. Wear indigo. Bathe yourself in the deep dark purple of the cosmos. Wear or carry deep purple flowers, buy a purple thermos and drink your water from it daily, eat purple plums and eggplant, get a purple pillowcase to lay your head upon at night.
2. Make a list of three forms of spiritual practices that you know little, if anything, about. Now go and learn what they’re all about: google it; find a book; talk to someone who is a practitioner; find a group, attend a meeting, service, ritual, etc.; perform an act of spirituality, whether it means lighting a candle, composing a spell or prayer, or setting an intention; watch a sunrise, or a sunset, and think about all the sunrises and sunsets that took place before your existence, and before this very day. And now, at this moment, you are watching it with spiritual awareness.
3. Sit in a quiet and serene spot, whether this is the middle of your bed, or under the trees of a lush and magical forest. Ask the universe questions, then be still and listen for the answers.
Quantum physics tells us that nothing that is observed is unaffected by the observer. That statement, from science, holds an enormous and powerful insight. It means that everyone sees a different truth, because everyone is creating what they see.
~ Neale Donald Walsch
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