Wheels of Life

by Anodea Judith

The simple act of touching is of extreme importance to the healthy functioning of the human organism. The skin can be considered the outer layer of the nervous system. The skin is the boundary of our bodies. Through touch, that boundary is gently broken down, permeated by another, and our whole internal system enhanced and stimulated.

  In laboratory studies with rats, it has been shown that small mammals will choose being touched over eating when deprived of both. When all other conditions are equal, petted rats learn faster and grow faster than those treated coldly.2s

  In humans, those treated with adequate doses of touching and mothering grow to greater emotional stability than those who are deprived. Without touching, the important mind/body interface may remain seriously underdeveloped.29

  Nurturance helps control the production of hormones responsible for growth by stimulating the limbic system of the brain. This also aids in relaxation of the heart and breathing rate, controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

  Stimulation alone is a factor in increasing intelligence and developmental progress in infants. Pleasurable stimulation adds stability and trust to this development.

  It is not only infants that are profoundly affected by the touch of other living creatures. Emotional satisfaction and fulfillment-be it nurturance, pleasure, or sexual release-is generally soothing to the whole organism.

  The first step in learning to work with others is the mutual enhancement of our internal energy. Through these pathways we pave the way for further growth, harmony, and peace. The simple act of touch, of reaching out to soothe, is the healing aspect of the second chakra. We are saying to another, "We are here" We allow ourselves to transcend our separateness, get out of our egos, and feel the sense of connection so vital to our harmonious survival on this planet. The role of the second chakra is an important one indeed. Suppression of this chakra provokes vital imbalances that inhibit rather than enhance the flow of expanding consciousness.

  Anyone can nurture. Everyone needs it. Like watering a thirsting plant, we respond to flow, to movement, to the dance of life in its infinite pleasures and mysteries. Through this act, life is renewed and preserved.

  CLAIRSENTIENCE

  Clairsentience is the psychic sense of the second chakra, the first stirrings of "higher" consciousness and the development of greater sensitivity toward others.

  Clairsentience is the ability to sense other people's emotions, also called empathy. Like the feeling level discussed earlier, this "sensing" does not always become information recognized by the cognitive properties of the brain. It is experienced more as a subtle feeling, as if we were experiencing the feeling ourselves. Just as we can ignore some of our own emotions, many clairsentient people do not recognize the emotions they pick up from others, yet their body and ensuing actions still respond. Still others may recognize the emotions while not understanding that the source was outside of themselves.

  Mothers psychically tuned to their children are the most common group of clairsentients. A child may be at school, away from the mother, and the mother will sense a difficulty in which the child has suddenly found him or herself. The mother may or may not consciously recognize the source of the disturbance, though it affects her nonetheless. Other people experience clairsentience by walking into a party and becoming immediately aware of the expectations and feelings of all their friends that are present. They may suddenly feel expected to act in a certain way. They may also experience abrupt mood changes as they involuntarily take on the moods of one friend or another. Often these people have an aversion to crowds and avoid parties.

  Most people are clairsentient to some degree. The phenomenon usually occurs more strongly in people who have a proclivity for clairvoyance or telepathy, characteristic of the upper chakras. If the upper chakras are not open enough to be conscious of this psychism, the clairsentient is often unpleasantly influenced. Their attention is constantly whisked outside of their central column, and others' difficulties speak more loudly than their own voices. A confusion about the self ensues, especially confusion about the motivation for one's actions. "I don't know why I'm doing this-I don't really want to." "I feel so depressed since talking to Sally and I don't know why." These feelings can often be the result of someone else's moods or wishes.

  Clairsentience is a valuable source of information and helpful in the development of psychism. With conscious attention, it is an aid rather than a detriment. Many people get psychically bombarded by the unconscious broadcasting of surrounding difficulties. For these people, grounding is of utmost importance for it brings our attention into the central line of our body, helping us sort out "whose energy is whose:" Recognition of the phenomenon is the next step. Knowing the difference between your own and another's emotional needs helps to consciously tune out unwanted broadcasts. Many clairsentients feel compelled to respond to the needs they psychically pick up from others and, with recognition, this can become a choice rather than a duty.

  Awareness of the other should be balanced by awareness of the self. The two should never be without a good dose of common sense. Only we, from inside ourselves, can judge.

  CHAKRATWO EXERCISES

  Exercises for opening the second chakra involve working with movement in the hips and lower abdomen. Some are aimed merely at opening, while others are aimed at stimulating and moving energy in and through this area.

  Exercises for the whole body involve touching and nurturance, such as massage and sexual activity. Simple self-nurturing activities such as long, hot baths, showers, or swimming (all having to do with water) should not be overlooked. Nurturing ourselves is the first step in receiving or giving nurturance to others.

  Water Meditation

  Step One

  Water is cleansing, both internally and externally. Begin with a large glass of water, and sit quietly while you drink it. Feel it pouring down inside you. Feel the coolness of it, the wetness, and feel it as it hits your stomach. Imagine it passing all through your body-your veins, muscles, digestive system. Take a wet finger and rub it on your face, feeling the cool, refreshing quality.

  Step Two

  The next step is to clean yourself. This is a ritual water cleansing and should be both thorough and enjoyable. You can use a shower, a bath, a lake, stream, or even a hot tub. Make sure the area around you is clean; it is hard to feel clean in a dirty environment.

  If it is a bath or shower you are choosing, pick your favorite towels, soaps, and lotions and have them nearby. If it is a stream, have a smooth, flat area where you can lie out to dry. If a hot tub, arrange for some privacy for yourself afterward.

  As you soak yourself in water, go through each part of your body, saying: "Now my hands shall be clean; now my feet shall be clean; now my face shall be clean," etc. Become one with the water. When you are through, visualize the water taking away any negativity you don't want in your life. If you are in a natural environment, you could throw something (non-polluting) in the water to signify that negativity; if you are in an urban environment, some symbolic liquidcan be thrown in the toilet, or down the drain.

  As you lounge in your bath with the water around you, think of the ebb and flow of cycles in your life. Look at yourself as an instrument of movement. If you were to stand back and look at yourself from another dimension, what patterns would you notice in your movements through life?

  Think of the things you would like to get rid of in your life at this time-habits, tendencies, hurts, or fears. See them flowing out of you, through your grounding cord, like a river flowing out to the sea. Imagine the rain coming down and refilling the river with fresh water, replenishing it.

  Then think of the things you would like to have come into your life-new patterns, people, or events. Imagine a waterfall over your head, pouring these blessings upon you. Feel yourself taking them in and letting them flow through your whole body.

  Yemaya is the African Goddess of the sea, the great Mother. "She is envisioned as a large and beautiful woman, radiant and dark; nurturing and d
evouring; crystal clear and mysteriously deep."" She is the nurturer, the consoler, the healer, the maternal one whose belly is as big as all life. As you sit in your bath, imagine yourself being rocked and nurtured by this great sea-mother. Feel yourself in the womb of the Goddess, about to be born. Ask Her what purposes She has for you in this birth. Ask Her for help in making your birth smooth and easy. Accept Her nurturing. Take it into yourself, and imagine sharing it with others. Thank Her for your birth.

  Dress yourself in clean clothes. Pour yourself another glass of water, and drink it silently, thinking about the cyclic nature of water, and how you fit into those cycles. If possible, visit a large body of water soon.

  The Goddess Pose

  Lie flat on your back and relax, especially in the legs, pelvis, and lower back. Bend your knees, bringing your feet in close to your buttocks.

  Slowly allow your knees to part, allowing the weight of the legs to stretch the inner thighs. (See Figure 3.7, page 139.) Try to relax. Do not push your legs farther than is comfortable. Hold this position for two minutes or more.

  Bring your knees together again. This should be done very slowly and smoothly, at all times breathe deeply and remember to relax. This puts you in touch with your sexual vulnerability, which paradoxically must be understood before you can fully open yourself up on this level.

  From this pose you can then slowly open and close the legs, breathing in as you open and exhaling as you close. This may produce a kind of quivering vibration in the legs and pelvis.

  Pelvic Rock I

  Starting on your back with legs bent, slowly begin to rock your pelvis upward and downward with each breath. Inhale fully into your chest and belly (see Figure 3.8, page 139), then exhale fully. At the end of each exhale, push slightly with your feet so that your pelvis comes off the ground, pushing the small of your back into the floor beneath you. (See Figure 3.9, page 139.)

  Pelvic Rock II

  On a soft surface such as a mattress, do the Pelvic Rock I sequence, but this time moving the pelvis up and down more quickly and with as much force as possible. (See Figures 3.8 and 3.9, page 139.) Let yourself make any sounds that are natural. This helps to release blocked energy.

  Hip Circles

  From a standing position, bend your knees slightly, and drop your pelvis forward, so that it is directly in your central line of gravity.

  Keeping the knees bent and flexible, rotate the pelvis in smaller, then larger, circles. (See Figure 3.10, page 140.) The head and feet should remain in the same place while the pelvis alone does the moving. Try to make the movement as smooth as possible.

  Scissors Kicks

  This exercise helps to move energy through the pelvis, often into the upper chakras. It is a classic, strong Kundalini-raiser with powerful results. It is important not to strain and to avoid sore muscles. Stay in tune with the body.

  Lie on your back and relax. Lift your legs six to twelve inches off the floor and spread them apart.

  Bring the legs together again and then kick apart again. (See Figure 3.11, page 140.) After about five of these, I'm sure you will want to rest.

  After resting, bring your legs (knees straight) perpendicular to the floor and spread apart. Bring them together and down. Repeat until tired. Raising the legs should be accompanied by an inhale, while lowering the legs should be accompanied by an exhale.

  FIGURE 3.7

  Goddess Pose.

  FIGURE 3.8

  Pelvic Rock I.

  FIGURE 3.9

  FIGURE 3.10

  Hip Circles.

  FIGURE 3.11

  Scissors Kicks.

  Walking from the Pelvis

  Have you ever seen jazz dancers? This walk is like the movement of a jazz dance.

  While bending the knees and keeping the pelvis very flexible, walk with your weight low and swing your hips in an exaggerated motion. What does it feel like to move from this level? What does the motion feel like in your body? Allow your whole body to swing freely as you walk.

  Emotional Release

  There are many exercises using breathing, massage, and various postures that facilitate the expression and release of emotions. These are quite powerful and should be undertaken only with an experienced therapist. Reichian bodywork, bioenergetics, and rebirthing are three such disciplines. If you are interested, find books or therapists who can tell you more.

  It is important to remember, however, that any emotions that arise during these exercises should be processed-that is, moved out. Crying, yelling, kicking, or merely asking someone to hold you are all acceptable and encouraged ways of working through the blocks that may reside in this (or any) chakra. It is good to find friends who can work with you and provide the nurturance that is needed.

  ENDNOTES

  1. A. Eddington, "The Nature of Physics," as quoted by Richard M. Restak, M.D. in The Brain, The Final Frontier (Warner Books, 1979), 35.

  2. Dion Fortune, The Cosmic Doctrine, 55.

  3. Georg Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel, as quoted by Jack Hofer in Total Sensuality (NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), 87.

  4. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 1274, if.

  5. Ibid., 1279.

  6. Ibid., 526.

  7. Andre Gide as quoted by Jack Hofer, op. cit., 111.

  8. Bloomfield, Transcendental Meditation: Discovering Inner Awareness and Overcoming Stress, 78-82.

  9. Theresa Crenshaw, M.D., The Alchemy of Love and Lust: How Our Sex Hormones Influence Our Relationships, 276, if.

  10. Bloomfield, op. cit., 43-45.

  11. Alan Watts, as quoted by John Welwood, Challenge of the Heart, 201.

  12. Alain Danielou, The Gods of India, 313.

  13. Douglas and Slinger, Sexual Secrets, 169.

  14. James Prescott, "Body Pleasure and the Origins of Violence," The Futurist.

  15. Margaret and James Stutley, Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism, 123.

  16. Ibid., 300.

  17. Philip Lansky, "Neurochemistry and the Awakening of Kundalini," Kundalini, Evolution and Enlightenment, John White, ed. (NY: Anchor Books, 1979), 296-7.

  18. Ibid., 296.

  19. This does not include gurus, who have entered an entirely different level of consciousness than the average Westerner, though many gurus have inappropriately transgressed sexual boundaries, indicating there was some kind of flaw in their practice of celibacy. See Kramer and Alstad, The Guru Papers: Masks ofAuthoritarian Power.

  20. Twenty years of personal experience doing private and group therapy and teaching.

  21. Wilhelm Reich, The Function of the Orgasm, 84.

  22. Ibid., 110.

  23. Douglas and Slinger, Sexual Secrets, opening quote.

  24. Stutley, Dictionary of Hinduism, 298.

  25. Monier-Williams, Sanskrit English Dictionary, 435.

  26. Lizelle Raymond, Shakti-A Spiritual Experience.

  27. Ashley Montagu, Touching, 208.

  28. Ibid., 12 ff.

  29. Ibid., 208.

  30. Luisah Teish, Jambalaya, 118.

  RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENTAL READING FOR CHAKRA TWO

  Anand, Margo. The Art of Sexual Ecstasy: The Path of Sacred Sexuality for Western Lovers. LA: J.P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1989.

  Bass, Ellen and Laura Davis. The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse. NY: Harper & Row, 1988.

  Douglas, Nik and Penny Slinger. Sexual Secrets. NY: Destiny Books, 1979.

  Eisler, Riane. Sacred Pleasure. SF: Harper & Row, 1995.

  Feuerstein, Georg. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy. Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1998.

  Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence. NY: Bantam, 1995.

  Sanders, Timothy L. Male Survivors: 12 Step Recovery Program for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1991.

  CHAKRA THREE

  Fire

  Power

  Autonomy

  Will

  Energy

  Metabolism

  Technology

  T
ransformation

  Self-esteem

  Chapter 4

  C HAKRA

  THREE:

  FIRE

  OPENING MEDITATION

  expanding, breathing, stretching, flowing. Into form, we invoke life. Its spark from the fire of the place between-between ourselves and others, between past and future, between the known and the unknown.

  We move and dance, pleasure singing through us as the dance of life burns its way through our fears and our pains. Feel the warmth of pleasure melting tension, pulsating, growing-the rhythms lifting and moving, healing and soothing, warming and cooling.

  From a place of infinite movement we call on the Self. We call on the Self to awaken to another part of the journey. We call upon the Self to awaken to the sun, the fire, the warmth, the transformation. We call upon the Self through our will, and it rises to our call.

  We reach for the sun and call upon the yellow ray. The ray of life, the ray of creation, the ray of consciousness, the spark of fire .... We call upon the flame to burn within us and temper our passions into strength. With strength we fight the dark, pushing and straining, to realize it is part of ourselves, part of our strength, part of our fear. We laugh, and put down the fight, merging, becoming whole, becoming stronger. We pass between the pillars of light and dark, honoring both ... and find ourselves in a new and glorious land. A land of bustling activity, teeming with life, sparkling like stars with shining rivers of light reflecting the sun.