SELF-ESTEEM
Let a man know his worth, and keep things under his feet.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson"
The third chakra attributes of power, will, vitality, and self-discipline are ultimately based on self-esteem. When our self-esteem is high, we are confident, assertive, proactive, disciplined, and basically excited about life. When self-esteem is low, we are filled with doubts and selfrecrimination that act like check dams for the psychic momentum needed to get something done. If there are too many check dams, we lose our momentum entirely, and end up in a state of inertia. Once we find ourselves in that puddle of inertia, the self-doubt and recrimination only get worse, and the cycle can become paralyzing.
Then the demon of shame has entered the third chakra, and perhaps even taken over. Shame is the antithesis of self-esteem. It collapses the middle section of the body, depriving it of energy. It interrupts the fluidity coming up from the base, and overplays the constricting mental energy coming down from the top. Instead of moving outward, the energy turns against the self.
Self-esteem comes from a realistic sense of the self. Initially this comes from the body and the physical identity. This gives us our edges and boundaries. Next it comes from the second chakra and our emotional identity, which brings aliveness to our experience of self, and keeps us happy and in touch. Thirdly, self-esteem comes from trial and error as we reach out, take risks, succeed and fail, and in doing so, gain a realistic sense of our own abilities. Through self-discipline, we hone our skills. These form the foundation for self-esteem.
Our concept of self is further illuminated by interactions with others. If we are loved and accepted by others (fourth chakra) and feel we have something to give, we are more likely to love and accept ourselves. Through communication, we can get honest feedback about how others perceive us, and are able to communicate the interior of the self. And through the upper two chakras, we get the transpersonal elements that hold the self in a larger matrix.
Self-esteem forms a good foundation for opening the heart and maintaining successful relationships. If the lower chakras have done their job, then our partner doesn't need to make us secure, interpret our feelings, or bolster our ego. We can then move more completely into the delightful experience of love.
BREAKING POWERLESSNESS
Limitation is the first law of manifestation, therefore it is the first law of power.
-Dion Fortune12
Power, like any muscle in the body, must be developed consciously. In keeping with the well-known expression, "Knowledge is power," most powerlessness is the result of ignorance about how to behave effectively. It may be simply lack of awareness or attention. Increasing our awareness increases our power. Therefore, such things as meditation can help. As we raise energy up the spine, and as this energy pierces this third layer, feelings of power will naturally ensue. However, mere meditation is not enough.
The following are some simple concepts related to the development of the third chakra, followed by some physical exercises for opening this center.
Breaking Inertia
Do something different. If you are sluggish, get moving. If you are hyperactive, be still. Break boring repetitive patterns, and choose a challenge. Overcoming difficulties increases strength and confidence. Power is seldom developed by clinging to security. Give up being safe and your power chakra will awaken more quickly.
Avoid Invalidation
Criticism from those who do not understand your situation can sometimes be more detrimental than helpful, especially if you are a sensitive person who takes it to heart. Often when we are undertaking something new and uncertain, invalidation can be an instant power-crippler-stopping the sensitive person dead in their tracks. Remember, as Albert Einstein said, "New ideas meet their greatest opposition from those who misunderstand them."
Wiring and Resistors
Make sure that your energy travels in complete circuits-that what you put out has a way of coming back. Make sure that this energy is not unnecessarily caught up, interrupted, dissipated, or fragmented. Use the flow and momentum of the second chakra to fire up the will.
Effort and Resistance
Both effort and resistance are tiring and wear down our energy. They are both a sign that our power is not flowing harmoniously. When you find yourself straining with effort, stop. Think about what you are doing and imagine doing it without effort-smoothly, enjoyably. Ask yourself why you are so attached to this particular thing. Ask yourself why it's taking so much effort-what's missing that would make it flow smoothly?
If you are in constant resistance to some force, stop. Ask yourself why this force is manifesting in your life at this time. Resistance is often fear, the opposite of power. What is it you are afraid of? Imagine what would happen if you stopped resisting? How can your will protect you with less effort or resistance?
Breaking Attachments
Energy that is directed toward something that is not manifesting is energy that is "hung up," caught, or otherwise useless. If, after reasonable effort, something is not working, let it go. The energy you feel when the attachment no longer has control over you can be exhilarating. The more you release, the less friction there is on your energy. The lighter you become, the more you move toward spirit and away from matter. Be careful not to go too far, however, for the Earth plane is where the power manifests, and without some solidity the power may become too diffused.
Attention
Attention focuses energy. Pay it when it needs to be paid. Give it to yourself. Give and accept it from others. Notice where it goes. Where the attention goes, the rest of the energy will surely follow.
Grounding
We must be able to direct our attention to the here and now in order to manifest power. Grounding brings us into the present, into the power within our bodies, and consolidates and focuses our energy. Even though we are rising beyond this chakra, we never overcome the need for this simple practice.
Anger
Releasing blocked anger in a safe and effective way can sometimes help to unblock the third chakra. This is best done in conjunction with grounding and is an excellent way of using the energy within you to bring about change-at least in your state of mind, if not in your circumstances. Blocked power is very often blocked anger. Anger is a potent and cleansing force, but it is hard earned and should be spent wisely. It's not worth damaging loved ones for things we need to work out within ourselves.
Increasing Information
Knowledge is power and the more we learn, the more we can do and the fewer mistakes we theoretically make. Learning, under any circumstances, helps to increase one's power.
Love
Love is the unifying force that ties us all together, inspires us, and gives us strength to keep going. It is exhilarating, cleansing, energizing, healing, and feeds energy from the upper chakras into our third chakra. It gives us validation, contact and purpose, strengthens self-esteem, and inspires the will.
Laughter
Taking things too seriously can really make us lose touch with our power. If we can laugh at a situation, we have power over it. Whenever things seem at their worst, remember to laugh at yourself.
Take Care of Yourself
If you don't, no one else will. You know what you want and need better than anyone else. If you care for yourself, this decreases your need to get it from outside and need is often inversely proportional to power.
Empowerment Meditation
Think of a time when you felt powerless or victimized. Go back to that time and feel the fear, the hurt, the anger. Feel yourself at that stage of your life, as a young child, teenager, adult .... Let your body express the shape of your feelings at that time. How did you walk? How did you carry yourself? How did you speak?
Take a moment to step outside of this picture and examine it from a distance, as if you were an onlooker. See if you can be compassionate with yourself, accepting, noncritical. If you can, then next, see if you can laugh at yourself and become amused
at the pathos, the pain, the seriousness.
Next, go back over the scene and replay it with a different outcome. Imagine yourself doing something that changes the situation: get mad, fight back, run away, laugh, stand firm-whatever you would see as an action of power. If you need to call in helpers, spirits, or friends, feel free to do so. Use whatever it takes to turn the situation around.
When you have resolved it, pat yourself on the back. Feel the sense of wholeness and satisfaction, and try to bring that through to your life right now.
Next, ask yourself if there is anyone you are currently blaming for the circumstances in your life. How much power are you investing in them? As an act of reclaiming your own power, write their name on a piece of paper and set fire to it, saying, "I hereby release you from responsibility for my life and its failures. I now take that responsibility myself." As you take back the energy, you are empowering yourself.
CHAKRA THREE EXERCISES
Breath of Fire
This is a rapid diaphragmatic breathing, designed to clean toxins from the body, raise internal fire, and stimulate the ascending current.
Sit in an upright, comfortable posture with back straight and legs relaxed.
Using the muscles of your abdomen, SNAP in your diaphragm, causing a quick exhale to escape through your nose. Keep the mouth closed.
When you relax the abdomen, air will naturally enter your nose and chest, causing an inhale. You need not force this inhalation.
Then SNAP the diaphragm once again, followed by relaxation, causing another exhale and inhale.
When this process is comfortable, repeat quickly, causing several quick, sequential exhales. Do in sets of fifty or so, with a long, deep breath at the end of each set. Three sets of fifty or more make a good place to start. After a while you can pace yourself according to what feels right. Increase the number and the speed as the muscles become acclimated.
Jogging
Running is intense, high-energy physical exercise that gets the heart pumping, the lungs breathing, and the blood racing through the body. Of all the physical energizers, jogging is probably the best overall toner for overcoming inertia.
Stomach Crunches
As American and non-yogic as this may sound, ordinary sit-ups increase the muscle tone over the third chakra, and help tone the digestive organs.
Begin on your back, with knees bent and feet parallel. Lace your fingers behind your neck.
Tighten the stomach muscles until the head has lifted a few inches off the floor, exhaling. You need not sit all the way up. The muscles do their work in the first few inches of contraction.
Inhale as you lower your head, exhaling as you exert. Repeat as many times as you can, increasing the number over time.
The Woodchopper
The associated tone of the third chakra is a loud "ah" sound. This should accompany the motions in this exercise. This is also an excellent anger release.
Stand with feet planted firmly in the ground, with heels about two feet apart. Raise arms together, over the head, with hands joined. Arch your back slightly. (See Figure 4.3, page 178.)
Making the "ah" sound as you descend, swing the whole upper portion of the body downward, bringing your hands between your legs and through. (See Figure 4.3, page 178.) The motion should be smooth and rapid, and emit as much force and power as is possible.
Repeat five to ten times in a session and feel the energy break through into your upper body.
FIGURE 4.3
Woodchopper.
FIGURE 4.4
Bow Pose.
Bow Pose
Lie on your stomach, hands to the side, and relax. Take a deep breath and bend your knees and reach for your ankles. (If you can't reach, you can use a strap to bridge the difference.)
On an inhale, lift your head, press the sacrum down, and arch your back by lifting the chest and pulling on the ankles. Let your arms pull your shoulders back, and balance on your belly. (See Figure 4.4, page 178.) Breathe deeply.
Let your hands do the work of maintaining the arch while you relax the rest of your body as much as you can in this strange position.
Belly Push
From a seated position, push both feet out straight in front of you, with your palms placed on the ground by your hips.
Push your pelvis upward, approaching a slight arch from your feet to your head, pushing, especially through the solar plexus. (See Figure 4.5, page 180.)
Slowly relax and return to a seated position.
Pike Pose
Hard to maintain without practice, this little gem tightens tummy muscles and develops balance and self-control.
Resting on your back, bring your feet and legs up (knees as straight as possible) and your torso up, too, making a vshape with your body. (See Figure 4.6, page 180.) Hold as long as possible, then relax.
For an easier version, try lifting one leg at a time, or placing your feet against a wall, so that you focus more on belly muscles than on the thigh muscles that may not be strong enough.
FIGURE 4.5
Belly Push.
FIGURE 4.6
Pike Pose.
Making the Sun
The arms play an important part in the activation of power, for they make actual contact with the world. It is through the arms that we do, and doing is what the third chakra is all about. The strength of this exercise is that it involves visualization as well as physical movement. It works on moving energy from the heart and solar plexus out into the arms and hands.
FIGURE 4.7
Making the Sun.
Stand upright, arms over your head, feet shoulder-width apart.
Take a deep breath, stretch your arms and fingers up as far as you can, and slowly bring them down to your sides, palms facing downward, arms reaching and stretching outward as long as possible at all times. (See Figure 4.7, page 181.)
About halfway down you should start to feel as if you were pushing against some invisible force. As you do this, imagine yourself as the center of the sun, your arms describing the circumference. As you feel the force you are pushing against, imagine it to be some block that you are working through. Feel your hands pushing it away. Imagine the tendrils of energy streaming out through your fingers, and when the circle is complete, take a moment to feel and imagine the solar glow around you.
Power Walk
Stand erect with arms bent at the elbows and hands in a fist at the chest.
Take a step and push one arm outward, as if you were pushing away obstacles. Then release the other arm.
Repeat.
Pretend you are clearing blocks out of your immediate vicinity as you do this, and ridiculous as you may feel, use words like "OUT" or "GO AWAY" to emphasize the action.
Laughing Circle
This is a children's game, done with a group of at least three, but better with four or more.
Everyone lie on the floor, each with their head on another's stomach. One person begins by saying an expulsive "ha" three times, followed by the next person and the next. As our heads bounce on the stomach below us, it's only a short time before the "ha's" become "ha-ha's" and uproarious laughter.
Basically, anything that gets the energy moving rapidly is good for the third chakra. The important thing is to overcome inertia. Once this is overcome, it becomes the domain of the will, where the combined force of desire and understanding channel the energy into action. It is an exhilarating step in the growth of our consciousness.
ENDNOTES
1. William Buck, Mahabharata, 49.
2. The crucial events in cell metabolism are the release of hydrogen atoms which are then transferred through compounds to oxygen, forming water. Energy is stored in the cells in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which requires a constant supply of oxygen to convert it from its lower phosphate form (ADP adenosine diphosphate) to the energy rich ATP. As our muscles do work we use the third phosphate, which must then be recycled to join again with oxygen to become ATP.
It is intere
sting to note that hydrogen, relating to the third chakra (as in the sun) and oxygen, relating to the fourth chakra (as in the breath) are metabolized through action releasing water, an element of chakra two. This expresses on a chemical level the condensation process of descending through the chakras.
3. This can also relate to the first chakra needing extra weight for grounding. Normal grounding channels may be blocked, or a second chakra deficiency may exist as a way of warding off sexual feelings or advances.
4. While there seems to be no direct correlation here, it is interesting to note that the Nazi swastika represented some of the worst abuse of power we have known in human history.
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