The Seven Week Chakra Challenge: The Bonus Round

Dear Yin Weaver,

This ends the Seven Week Chakra Challenge. To all of you, posters and non-posters alike, thank you for taking part. Many of you left very thoughtful comments regarding your experiences with different chakras. Hopefully these experiences have helped to open a new world to you and a deeper appreciation for your “energy anatomy.”

Now begins the Bonus Round! For the next seven days I'd like you to answer a couple of questions to help you integrate what you've been experiencing these past seven weeks

For starters, what have you learned? The answers may be as simple as "I learned the root chakra is associated with the color red and the quality of safety" or "there are seven main chakras." It may be more personal, such as "I learned I could really feel the energy in my solar plexus chakra" or "I learned I dreamed more when I did a chakra exercise right before going to sleep."

For seconders, how have you grown? The answers to this question will be highly personal. There are no right or wrong answers, just your answers.

For thirders, go back through the various original posts for each chakra, select the exercises you like the most. Here are the links to each one:

Root Chakra

Sacral Chakra

Solar Plexus Chakra

Heart Chakra

Throat Chakra

Brow Chakra

Crown Chakra

This week, give yourself one, big, long, luxurious (like soakin' in a hot bubble bath luxurious) chakra treatment. What did you notice? How did it feel? Were you drawn to one chakra more than the other? What feelings came up? Did any memories surface?

For fourthers, write it all down here. I would love to hear your feedback.

Last but not least, next week I will be starting a new series on another aspect of your energy anatomy--the meridians. Here’s a brief explanation of meridians:

Chinese use the term "jing luo" which means, channels, conduit, meridian etc. According to acupuncture, these are the invisible channels through which qi circulates throughout the body. The acupuncture points (or holes as the Chinese term xue is more aptly translated means) are the locations where the qi of the channels rises close to the surface of the body. There are 12 main meridians, six of which are yin and six are yang and numerous minor ones, which form a network of energy channels throughout the body.

You can read about them here, but I’d rather you come back to my blog for my next seven week series. Each week for seven weeks I’m going to write about two meridians. I am going to offer a simple challenge with each one which will teach you over the course of seven weeks how to trace ALL of your meridians in just a few minutes.

Blessings,
Rose

What's Your Crown Chakra Story? Write your autobiography here...

Dear Yin Weaver,

Apparently I asked the right question yesterday!  Thank you for all your open-hearted replies.  I learned quite a bit from each of you, and it raised a whole new list of questions for me.

How do you let go of fear so you can enjoy the adventure?

Do we need to suffer?  Is it unavoidable?  How do we respond to it?  As a Teacher?  A Betrayer?

What is my body trying to tell me through pain, illness, injury?  Is it a source of Guidance?

How do I experience intuition in my body?

Can I really find everything I need by looking within for guidance? 

What is the balance between looking within and seeking help from others? 

How do I know when to turn to others for guidance?

Food for thought.  You're welcome to comment on any and all of the above questions, AND...your "official" Crown Chakra question today is...

Do you bargain with the Divine? Do you complain to the Divine more than you express gratitude?

I have a daily gratitude practice.  Each night I offer a decade of the rosary for all the blessings of the day, those I noticed and those I didn't.  I then name my "five favorite blessings" for the day and dwell on those in gratitude.  Lastly, I pray the rosary for all those who have nothing to be grateful for today, and for those who have no-one to pray for them. 

I wouldn't say I was a naturally grateful person, but the practice does keep me from complaining.  As for bargaining, I don't think I do that.  If I do, it's very subtle and I haven't caught myself at it yet! 

And you?

Blessings,
Rose   

What's Your Crown Chakra Story? Write. your autobiography here..

Dear Yin Weaver,

Well, I guess I have a lot of shy followers, because I'm not getting any posts here or on my Fan page (OK, Like page). Maybe I just need to find the right question? Or are these questions too personal? Let me know!

Here's todays Crown chakra question: What type of guidance do you fear the most?

Hmmm, that's an interesting question. Compelling, even. Why would I fear guidance? What beliefs do I have about guidance that would make me be afraid of it? I suppose the answer is I fear guidance that stretches me out of my comfort zone and draws me into unfamiliar territory.

Why would that be? Because a part of me fears I can’t handle the truth. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples near the end of his life: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”

But have you ever had a dream where you’re in a familiar setting—say your home—only to discover a room you never knew was there? That’s the good news. Truth never appears until you’re ready to handle it.

And you?

Blessings,
Rose

What's Your Crown Chakra Story? Write your autobiography here...

Dear Yin Weaver,

Here's today's Crown Chakra story question.  Take a few minutes to share your memories here. 

Think of your earliest experience of prayer – who taught you to pray – who explained what God is or isn’t.

Hmmm.  My earliest memories of praying are being tucked into bed by my mother and taught to recite, "Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.  If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take."  That prayer worried me a lot.  I can remember asking my mother what the chances were of--you know--dying before I woke. 

Who explained God to me?  I have a memory from when I was five years old.  I was running around the back yard playing tag with the neighbors and my brothers.  Suddenly, for reasons I can't begin to explain, I ran into the house and plowed into my mother's knee (she was having coffee with a friend), with this question burning to be asked, "What's the difference between omniscience and omnipresent?"  My mother paused a moment and then said, "Well, omniscience means God knows everything.  Omnipresent means God is everywhere."  As she spoke these words I had a vivid image in my mind's eye of the world being a neat patchwork quilt of homes next to which stood all the moms, dads and children.  Over each head a tiny candle flame was burning.  God was everywhere.  God knew everyone.  Made perfect sense to me, and thus satisfied with my impromptu theology lesson, I raced back outside for another game of tag. 

You?

Blessings,
Rose

What's Your Crown Chakra Story? Write your autobiography here...

Dear Yin Weaver,

What's your Crown Chakra story?

Every chakra tells a story. The Crown story will likely relate to your experiences of and feelings about God, the Spirit, the Divine. 

Each day I will post a new question to get you thinking about your story. Write just a few lines here and discover your Crown Chakra Autobiography.

TODAY'S CROWN CHAKRA QUESTION: WHAT ARE YOUR PAST AND CURRENT BELIEFS ABOUT THE DIVINE?

My story?  I read a book recently called Same Kind of Different as Me (an amazing true story about a relationship between a street person and a volunteer in a soup kitchen).  At one point in it, Ron says "All I can do is tell the jagged tale of my own spiritual journey and declare that my life has been better for having followed Christ."  I was raised Catholic but was fortunate enough to encounter Christ when I was seventeen.  It is a relationship that has challenged and transformed my life ever since.  I am still a practicing Roman Catholic, although over the years I have travelled other paths and gathered riches there, especially from the Hindu and Tantric traditions.  A Benedictine Abbot friend of mine says I have the gift of "dual-belonging" because of my ability to straddle and  integrate dual realities.

And you...?

Blessings,
Rose  

The Seven Week Chakra Challenge--Keeping the Light in Your Crown Chakra

Dear Yin Weaver,

We are finally entering the seventh week of our Challenge! Congratulations! This week we will address the Crown chakra. Sahasrara rests at the top of the head. It is also called the Chakra of 1000 Petals, and is often pictured as a beautiful Lotus blossom. This chakra is the most subtle of all the chakras. It is the chakra of pure consciousness, transcendent awareness of, and union with, God.

Maybe you think only yogis sitting in caves who meditate 24 hours a day can open their Crown chakras. I suggest you think of it a little differently. We all have the capacity to open our Crown chakras to the fullest. Your fullest will look different from my fullest. But that doesn’t matter. Let’s see, how can I explain this?

Well, a story comes to mind of one of my favorite saints, Therese of Lisieux. In her "Autobiography of a Soul," she wrote

One day I expressed surprise that God does not give an equal amount of glory to all the elect in Heaven—I was afraid that they would not all be quite happy. [Pauline] sent me to fetch Papa’s big tumbler, and put it beside my tiny thimble, then, filling both with water, she asked me which seemed the fuller. I replied that one was as full as the other—it was impossible to pour more water into either of them, for they could not hold it. In this way Pauline made it clear to me that in Heaven the least of the Blessed does not envy the happiness of the greatest; and so, by bringing the highest mysteries down to the level of my understanding, she gave my soul the food it needed.

Let’s say Heaven is the state of consciousness that occurs when the Crown chakra is open. What does it matter if your Crown chakra is the size of a thimble or the size of a rain barrel? It’s full of the awareness of the "Love in which we are made and the Love in which we disappear!” Blissed-out (blessed) are you! Hooray!

Well, we could all stand to be more blissed-out, don’t you think? Certainly a daily meditation practice will help you reach that goal eventually. But what about something you can do on the quick to support the flow of Crown chakra energy throughout the day? I’m going to suggest Donna Eden’s Crown Pull as our Chakra Challenge this week Here’s out it goes…

• Start with both hands on the sides of your head, place your thumbs on temples and bring your fingers forward to rest your fingertips on your forehead just above the center of your eyebrows.
• Inhale deeply .
• Breathe out; simultaneously press down and pull your fingers from the center of your forehead to the side of your face.
• Place your fingers at your hairline and repeat the pull.
• Place your fingers at the top of your head; breath in and as you breathe out push down and pull your hands apart to just above the ears. Rest your fingers at the crown chakra, and repeat the pull
• Continue these pulls down the back of the head
• Place your fingers at the base of your skull with your thumbs where your head meets your neck. On the out breath, pull your hands apart to just under your ears.
• The final pull – Place your fingers where your neck meets your shoulders and pull forward – over the shoulders. Let them hang while you gently rotate your neck.

Trust me, this is easier to do than it looks like on paper.

Personally, I like to imagine my Crown chakra is an Observatory, and the Crown Pull opens it to take in all the vastness of Heaven pouring its light down on me. But it has practical applications, too. Got a headache? Crown Pull! Need to clear your mind? Crown Pull! You can’t overdo the Crown Pull exercise, so have fun with it.

And as always, let me know what you think.

Blessings,
Rose

Keeping the Light in your Third Eye: Feed Your Imagination

Dear Yin Weaver,

Anodea Judith said this about the Brow Chakra and imagination. 

Beauty opens the imagination. And as Albert Einstein has said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” We must have imagination if we are to envision a future.

That is why I have been asking all my fans to notice something beautiful everyday.  Many of you responded, and here's a composite list of your reflections...

Children participating in story time! And making pictures of blossoming trees!

Redwoods ferns & wild iris

 my 14 month old son kissing the tomato plants good-morning

The sun

spirit

Sunlight!

An unexpected note from someone telling me that my two sons are fantastic!

Every plant and tree that seems to have bloomed at onece.

The redbud blooming right outside my office window

My Grandchildren playing in the sunshine!

A beautiful azalea bush in my backyard.

The sunrise on my morning walk

The tulips, daffodils and hyacinths in bloom.

The sun in the sky.

My cats lazily sunning themselves in the rays falling across the bed!

A blue sky without clouds

One of my favorite Proverbs reads, "without a vision the people perish."  What is your vision today?  If you don't have one, then perhaps you need to open your Third Eye just a little wider.  Watch for beauty.  Let it inspire you.  

Blessings,

Rose