Simple Grounding & Chakra Clearing Meditation

The beauty of this meditation is that it doesn't have to be long, need tools other than your mind, can be done any time, anywhere without anyone else knowing you're doing it. You need to do it, at least briefly, whenever you feel overwhelmed, fuzzy, dizzy, or need extra strength or energy or clear thinking.

I learned about chakras through Reiki. There are many but we're generally concerned with the 7 major ones. They push vital energy throughout the body. Negative thoughts clog your chakras & restrict the flow of energy. For full vitality, your chakras need to be clear & balanced - as in, all the same size, and clear colors. The root chakra spins slowest and crown chakra spins fastest. They spin in a clockwise direction. If you were above your body looking down through your head, your chakras would appear as spinning fans lying flat in your body. In other words, you'd be seeing the fan from the front. If you were standing in front of someone, it would be like seeing just the outer rounded edge of the fan.

The first is the root chakra, located at the base of your spine. The rate it spins creates a ruby red color. It relates to security issues like finances, career, home, family, physical safety, possessions. The second is the sacral chakra, located half way between your naval and the base of your spine. The rate it spins creates a beautiful orange. It relates to cravings for physical pleasures, addictions, your body (sleep, appearance, thoughts of self). The third is the solar plexus chakra, located behind the naval according to Doreen Virtue. I often find information saying the sacral chakra is more there and the solar plexis is under the breasts. Where it is, is not so important right now. Go by feel and approximate location for this. The rate is spins creates a brilliant yellow like the sun. It relates to feelings of power, control. Fourth is the heart chakra, located in the center above the breasts. The rate it spins creates a beautiful shade of green. It relates to relationships, attachments to people, love, forgiveness or unforgiveness. Fifth is the throat chakra. The rate it spins creates a beautiful sky blue. It relates to speaking your truth, communication issues, asking for your needs to be met. Sixth is the third eye, located in the center of your forehead above your eyes. The rate it spins creates a pure, deep indigo blue. This is the portal to your truest & highest self, the true you. It relates to your past, future, & beliefs. Seventh and last is the crown chakra, located inside the top of your head. The rate it spins creates a vivid royal purple. It's essential to "clear knowing," intuition, receiving messages from God and the angels, spirituality, trust.

The meditation is to start with the root chakra. Visualize it glowing clear red, at the proper speed (just think proper speed), completely clear. Then visualize sending it's energy through your feet, down into the ground, to the center of the earth, and anchoring it at the center of the earth to ground you. Do the same thing with each chakra on the way up, and picture them the same size (whatever that is) as the first chakra - orange, yellow, green, sky blue, indigo, and royal purple, from approximately the appropriate locations.

With this meditation you're doing three things at once. You're working to clear each chakra energetically, and to make them all the same size. This facilitates the best flow of energy throughout your body and spirit. If they aren't clear or all the same size, you have restricted flow of energy which leads to problems. We all have negative thoughts and problems at times but the accumulation of them clogs the chakras and causes some to shrink, restricting flow. The reason I told you what issues relates to each chakra (really in very brief and general terms) is to give you an idea of how different ones can be affected by different problems or negative focus. Personally, I have trouble with my first three chakras and the throat chakra. Since you know certain things about me and my concerns, you can figure out a lot of why. The third thing this does, is ground you, hence calling it a grounding meditation. It grounds your energy flow. So you really create a lot of good with your intent and mind, in this very simple, quick process. If you have any questions, let me know. For further information you can certainly Google chakras, although there's so much information out there that I don't recommend it.

This comes to you from an email I prepared for a friend, after walking her through this last night. She's never heard of chakras before so needed to have this spelled out for her so she can do it on her own, frequently. I'm going to try to give you more regular blogs from now on, but college is in session and again I've got a job now.

Where We Dwell, We Create Our Reality

Most people hate this idea but it's entirely true. We do create our own "reality." It's based on where and what we dwell on in our thoughts and spirit. We all attract more of what we dwell on, and create a state of being based on that. If you dwell on the wrongs done to you, without meaning to, you create and attract more of the same. We've all had people wrong us, and "fate," karma, life. No one is without hardships, some more than others. Those who are "down and out" just seem to sink deeper and have more and worse things happen. That's because that's where their minds are and what they've begun to expect out of life and others. Even the "haves" have a lot of problems and issues depending on what they value and care about. Recently I've been around some very negative people, which has prompted this topic. One person has had people stealing from him. Now he sees thieves around every corner, accusing those who are innocent, imagining things stolen when nothing has been. He's so concerned about it that he's driving away those who would help him. It's very sad to see him so focused on this that he drinks away his days off. He's miserable. He's got a great job he loves with a great salary, a large home, lots of really nice things. Yet he lives very small, because he's not trusting or loving, sees "bogeymen" around every corner waiting to steal his possessions. In part, he's dwelling on the possessions, and the things wrong in his life rather than making positive changes.

I know many who are locked in their dramas. That's where they dwell so they attract more drama. They attract and create it. Whether you realize it or not, you get what you expect to get. No matter how miserable you are because of family or friends that have or are wronging you, there are ways to get out of that. All you have to do is switch your attitude and focus. You have to truly forgive, try to understand, have empathy for those who have wronged you. Forgiveness is for yourself and your benefit, not others. It doesn't matter how badly they've wronged you, how often, or even if it's continuing. Granted, it's harder to forgive when it's ongoing. You can forgive all past wrongs and the person(s) but you have to keep forgiving new behaviors when it's ongoing. But it truly can be done, I can assure you. I managed to forgive my mother even as she continued to verbally and emotionally abuse me while in my care and dependent on me. I took care of all her basic needs during this time, despite the way she was treating me. I came to understand that I couldn't change her or her behavior, only myself. I could change what I did in response to her. I could change my actions and attitude toward her, and my responses. I chose not to internalize or take personally the treatment or things she said about me. I chose to chalk it all up to her dysfunction and unhappiness rather than take it as truth, as reality. I didn't allow it to sink in and affect me. I didn't even bother to rebut it in my mind - I let it all bounce off. Instead, I internalized the unconditional love of those around me, and God.

Being a primary caregiver for a parent or parents is one of the hardest jobs in the world and I hereby acknowledge all those who choose to do it. It's worse when the parent(s) are abusive in their old age, worse still if he/she/they have been abusive as you were growing up. I won't tell you that I always handled my mother with grace, but I will say I did the best I could. I'm not sure that I love her, and I certainly don't respect many of her life choices, but I tried to always treat her with respect. It was a very difficult but healing time for me, and I know myself well. That was necessary for dealing with her. It's a key to living with abuse, key to the ability to not internalizing the messages. Forgiveness doesn't mean condoning the behaviors. For true forgiveness, you have to come to understand the person and the reasons. In my case, I've come to understand that my mother lost her father when she was four, was primarily raised by her grandparents, without her mother. My grandmother had to work and back then it was common to send children to live with relatives under such circumstances. For whatever reasons, including that and a hard, cold grandfather, my mother has several clinical disorders. She is perhaps bipolar, has a Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder, Narcissistic Disorder, and several more I don't have correct names for yet. I believe she's a lot of the reason I've chosen to study psychology. Certainly my experiences have led to my need to heal and help others who have suffered abuse and/or are living dysfunctional lives. This is so many of you. Anyone who is choosing drama is choosing dysfunction. If you have children, you're affecting them too, no matter how good a parent you try to be or believe you are.

Once I really came to an understanding of my mother and her behaviors that affected me, I was able to see that she did the best she could with what she was dealt. That's part of what's necessary for forgiveness, of self and others. I was also better able to look at my own parenting and forgive myself for my mistakes, which were many. Again, it's not about condoning, but forgiveness is necessary for a positive self image and positive life. The more I forgave her and myself, and understood, the more I was able to accept the love of others and her. I was also better able to understand and love myself. All this enabled me to emerge from drama. Now I have to say that we all have drama at one time or another. In healthy individuals, it's often short lived and usually handled well. You learn to make choices about how you handle the dramas, and eventually gain the mastery to control even your responses. Most of the time now my response is prayer, which leads to calm, and the clear thinking necessary to handle the situation with the least amount of problem and impact. This should be your goal. I can't begin to tell you how much easier and more joyful life gets the more you master this! From the other side of all those dramas, I can tell you that all the work to get yourself and your choices under your intent and control are so worth it!

The bottom line is that our perceptions create our daily reality. These include perceptions about others, things that happen to us, our current circumstances. Every time I get stuck in a feeling of lack, I totally begin to live that. I start living very small, and the more it goes on the smaller my world gets. Without changing any of my circumstances, when I concentrate on the abundance in my life, I begin to live large. I live in gratitude, and great things start happening. I'm also able to do and accomplish so much more. That in turn changes my circumstances for the better, at least in part. Eventually, with steady gratitude, intent, and focus on the good things in my life, I've been able to improve my circumstances. It so seldom works the other way, and when it does, you don't recognize all the wonders and blessings around you. You miss most of the good stuff and end up dwelling on what you don't like. That just brings more of the same. I've seen it work for the good in my life and those of some close to me. I've seen dwelling in the drama and lack work more of the same for many others. I've seen enough of it to tell you absolutely that it's a law of the universe. It's that "what goes around comes around" in a way you never think of it. What goes around inside of you comes around back to you from all directions in unforeseen ways, in waves. Often I talk about the many blessings bestowed on me by surprise, from God and others. I'm so very grateful, and I recognize and acknowledge, fully internalize even the smallest of them like finding a dime. With God's help, and by doing the self work, I've come to create a reality for myself of grace, peace, blessings, and love. I so seldom have drama in my life, only grief over the drama in the lives of those I love. I give that to God too, daily - then watch Him work! I love to see the progress.

When you have the "everything happens to me" or "everyone uses (or abuses) me" attitude, you only create much more of that in your life. You are actually causing it by sending out those vibes - you're attracting it. It's hard to get out of that, and only forgiveness and intent can accomplish it. You do have a choice though, and any day you start is the day your life begins to get better. It can be today, tomorrow or next week. How much longer do you wish to suffer? The progress won't be constant or steady. You slide back into old patterns of thinking and feeling quite easily. But at any point you can set intent and begin working on yourself. You can only change yourself. You can't change how others treat, think, or talk about you directly. But you can do so much indirectly to affect others, by how you affect yourself. Changing yourself is work, but we're capable, with determination and understanding. Most of my readers are women I believe. The good news is, it's far easier for women (and enlightened, determined men) to do this than it is for most men. The bad news is, women are also more prone to live in drama, so it's a good thing it's easier for us to change this. As I said, progress isn't steady or without interruptions. It's like most things - at first perhaps one step forward then one step back. But with intent and work, it becomes two steps forward and one step back. With practice, it then becomes many steps forward and only a few back.

You are going to get what you expect in most cases. I expect honesty, kindness and consideration, respect. I expect those around me to love me and appreciate me. I expect good things to happen to me every day, and opportunities to help others improve their lives. That's what I get most days, and in abundance. Yes, I have people use me and take advantage of me all the time. That's what happens to extreme givers. I've learned to set boundaries within myself and enforce them kindly but firmly with others. I value myself and know the value of my time and attention, help. I refuse to be used by those who wish to remain in their dramas, or who want to have me solve their problems. Those who don't do the work don't receive my help as soon as I identify that. I can tell you how to do it, and be your cheerleader along the way but only you can change your thoughts, actions, and choices. It's not my job in life to push you along, and it's impossible to do it for you. Without announcing it, I cut loose those who aren't doing the work. I leave the door open in this way. I give second chances, because people often are taken low enough that they're eventually willing to listen and do the work. But if you're not doing the work and still coming to me, you'll suddenly find me unavailable for long periods. You won't be able to reach me by phone, any private messages will be very briefly answered, etc. That's the way I've chosen to enforce my boundaries and guard my energy and time, my patience. That way, I have those resources for those who really want the help and will do their part. (Please don't imagine whether I'm setting these limits with you or take this personally. This is not directed at any one person. Now that I've started college, there are times that I get too busy to be on Facebook or on the phone much. Over the holidays, I didn't respond to a text from my soul daughter for a day or two. Those of you who are very close to me, you know that you are. When I'm slow to respond, don't think of what I just wrote about boundaries - do as she did. She's very secure in her relationship with me and got a response by telling me she's worried that she hadn't heard back from me. I responded as soon as I saw that.) So again you see that with my attitude (my worth and value to others) I control my reality. I avoid most drama because I don't let those locked into it to latch onto me and bring it in. My attitude is: those who I'm helping through their dramas are clients, and those who are further along are friends. How close to me you get depends on how evolved you are. I help evolved friends regularly, by the way, but they also help me. It's a very healthy give and take. This is part of what I've created and ordered in my life. I am often the "go to" listener for many. Those who are evolved and have done the work still need me occasionally but it's not taxing because it's reciprocal and not constant in any one of them. So I am able to help many people regularly, and in turn, receive the occasional help I need.

If there's anything in your life that you don't want, especially the things that keep happening to you, I can help. It's time to make the changes you need to stop these things from happening. You actually do have the power to control much of your reality by controlling your attitudes, thoughts, and intent. I can teach you if you're ready.