Step One: Thought-Balancing Your Root Chakra


Your Root Chakra: Your right (and obligation) to be Self-ish
by Tomas Martin Bell, OpD 
Co-Host, Circle of Angels Radio

Claiming your Roots and your right to exist begins with affirming the right of every other living creature to exist in a world of freedom. If you want to balance your Chakras, you must be willing to balance the Chakras of the entire existent world around you.  You must abandon any ideas that cause you to live in a hell of illogical thinking and reason-less justification when it comes to causing others pain and depriving others of their right to exist without pain.

This week Circle of Angels Talk Radio broadcast the first of seven shows focusing on the Chakra Energy System.   Our first show served as an introduction to the idea of the Chakra and exposed listeners to the theories related to what is known as the Root (or Base) Chakra.  In order to give our audience the most information about the Chakra system, we’ve teamed up with our sponsor, A World Apart, LLC and Tranquil Oasis Holistic Living Community to help us spread the word about the importance of balancing the energies of the Chakras both for the individual and the world at large.  This week we focus on the Root Chakra

This Chakra affirms your right to exist.  It deals with tasks related to the material and physical world and your ability to stand up for your self as an entity that exists and has the right to continue to exist and thrive.  Your Root Chakra can be out of balance when you experience needs having to do with your material survival or impediments to your right to thrive.  The Root Chakra has power when you make a conscious decision to ensure your existence in this world by employing the energies of your self to continue your own healthy presence while committing to ensure the healthy presence of all life. 

Circle of Angels Radio co-host, Sherry, often refers to the oxygen mask on an airplane when discussing the health of this Chakra.  Why?  Think about it.  The airplane is that which lifts you to new heights and takes you to new destinations (much like the physical body is the vehicle that takes your spirit to the peak of the mountain of thought).  If, heaven forbid, there is a problem during your flight anyone who has traveled by air knows the ‘drill.’  An oxygen mask will fall from above your head (in the same way that during times of turbulence in life, higher thoughts---reason and logic---descend to help you think through the storm).  If the passenger next to you has trouble with their mask, you can’t help them until you first place your mask securely on your face.  If you don’t, you place both of you at risk.  You have to ensure that you can breathe and survive because if your air runs out before you help the person near you, you could both suffocate.  This sounds like a common sense idea with which most people would agree. 

In order to help the world around you, it is necessary to commit to ensuring your own ability to breathe in the life-giving energy of existence (and the divine thoughts of intelligence).  This is vitally important during times of stress.  The lesson of the Root Chakra teaches us that we must connect with those root ideas and material necessities that help us to animate our presence in the world.  Imbalances and inabilities in life can often be traced back to the roots of our own thoughts.  Balancing the Root Chakra involves ‘pruning’ our thought tree.  As above so below, says the spiritual formula.  The Root Chakra theory ties our head (above/thoughts) with our feet (below/body).  Many people teach the Root Chakra and connect it with material balance only.  So, there is enough material out there on this side of the Root theory.  Today I will focus on the intellectual side of the Root imbalance.  

Is it good or necessary to be selfish?

If there is one idea that has become the ‘enemy’ of the ‘ethical’ person it is the idea of selfishness.  For the most part, humans are taught during their youth that to be a good person is to be a ‘self-less’ person.  The ‘good’ person is the person who ‘puts others first’ and is ‘self-sacrificing,’ right?  Certainly I am not going to disagree with the core idea that supports the value of caring for others and doing what’s best for the community at large (especially since I am about to tell you that to balance your Root Chakra you must commit to universal balance), but the idea of self-sacrifice flies in the face of common sense---at least when discussing the idea of one’s right to exist as affirmed by the Root Chakra theory.  When discussing the Root Chakra and the ideas and energies that balance the Root, I think we have to take a ‘hard look’ at the idea of selfishness. 

Now, let me frustrate you a little by saying that in order to justify being selfish, you must understand that every right you claim, you must freely give to every other person in life.  I support the idea of serving the self first so long as every person has the same experience of life that you seek.  You want freedom, love, and prosperity? Great…then first you must be willing to live in a world where every other living creature has the same rights.  This may call to mind some religious ideas like ‘do unto others as you would have done unto you…’ however, I want you to divorce yourself from the ideas of any religious system when synthesizing the ideas presented here.  Why? The Universe is a place of logic and reason.  The Universe is not a place that embraces sentimental and false morality. 

Unfortunately contemporary religious systems have perverted the truth presented in many sacred texts by creating a God that is emotional and illogical.  The God of religion is a childish and impotent idea compared to the Universal reason which fuels the phenomenon of existence.  Why do I attack the idea of the God of religion in this stream of thought? I don’t.  The God created in the religions is an emotional character having many useful functions. One such function is to challenge our commitment to universal logic in the face of emotional illogic.  I love the God of religion because it serves its intended purpose.  In this stream of thought, I have no need for the character of the emotional God.  So, I am not attacking that God, I am simply dismissing it as irrelevant to our discussion.  I ask you to do the same. This is not a religious text.  If you judge it as such, you’ll throw all your chakras off balance. 
  
In order to balance your Root, you will need to develop a healthy ‘self-ish-ness.’  You will have to learn to respect the idea that the ‘self’ is your own epitome of existence.  Your self is the idea-microcosm of the macrocosm of life.  How you view your self determines how you view the world around you.  Your perceptions determine your reality.  This is important because the world we experience is the sum of the perceptions of all living-thinking creatures.  We experience each other in a world of shared-reality.  The theory of the Root Chakra (and the Chakra system in general) presupposes that there is one universal Root Chakra.  Each of you is a facet of the universal root chakra.  Balancing the individual requires a thought-energy empowered to balance the whole. 

Developing a healthy self-ish-ness has to do with developing a sense of the ‘universal self.’ What you think about your ‘self’ affects the thought-waves that build the universal  experience of the great ‘self.’   We can’t get to a place where we can discuss the higher thoughts of true ethics until we first explore the imbalance related to our core or root ideas about the self and its right to exist and thrive.    

The image of roots can call to mind the image of the web.  Pull one part of a web and the entire structure is affected.  When your Root Chakra is not balanced assume that to effectively balance the chakra you must commit to not throwing the universal root out of balance.  The thought inventory exercise that follows will help you to determine whether or not you are aiding the process of balancing the universal root chakra or throwing it out of balance.

Balancing your Root by exploring your ideas about life it-self

Let’s take an inventory of your ideas concerning your own existence and then we will relate your answers to a set of Root Rules that you can use to balance the energies of the Root Chakra:

    Decide whether or not you are of value to the world.  If you are of value to the world, commit to remaining in the world and participating in the evolution of the world and the development of society.  If you decide you are of no value to the world, it’s time for you to reach out to some practitioner (be it a clinician or spiritual advisor) who can help you understand why you have determined that your life is not necessary.

   Decide whether you want to ‘survive’ or ‘thrive’ in life.  If you choose to simply survive, understand the implications of that choice.  You will be given what you seek---only what you seek.  If you decide to thrive, commit to ensuring a firm foundation in life that provides you with all the basic needs of existence as a human person.  This means you must embrace your self and care for that self, first...then follow through by caring for the universal self.   

3    Collect your thoughts about what it means to be alive in this world.  What does that mean?  Answer the questions below to help identify the ideas you hold which give power to your Root:

Do you believe that this life is a struggle?

Do you believe you are in competition with other humans for those material things which sustain your life?

Do you believe that life itself is short and ultimately ends in permanent non-existence?

Do you believe that it is permissible to deny certain people basic necessities of life…for example those people who break human laws?

Do you believe that every person is of value to the world?

Do you believe that pain and suffering is a natural part of life?

Before we create our Root Rules, let’s take a closer look at your answers to the questions we listed in the section above:

If you believe that life is a struggle, you are experiencing an imbalance in your Root.  The Root Chakra affirms your right to exist.  Existence is not a struggle.  You simply exist.  You put no effort out in order to ensure your existence.  To exist is a ‘gift’ given to us from the Source of Life.  If life is a struggle in your mind, we must first break down some of the terrible psychic programming that has been put upon you by the systems of the world.  Whether those systems are religious, societal, or familial…if they have implanted ideas in your mind that make you believe that life is a struggle, we must abandon those ideas before we can balance your Root Chakra.  (more on this idea later in the series)

If you believe that you are in competition with other humans for your material sustenance, then we must root out that idea as well.  Competition is an idea created by societal systems, not nature.  Not even Darwin would agree that any creature is in danger of not existing due to a lack of renewable resources.  Everything is energy.  Energy cannot be destroyed therefore all that is needed for material survival exists now and will always exist.  If you decide life is a competition, you have also decided that life has losers.  This places you in a terrible mental state.  The goal of life is to exist. If you exist, you win…congratulations.  Competition is an illusion---more, a delusion.  Take yourself out of the mode of competing and you take yourself out of the system of winners and losers. 

If you believe that life results in death, you don’t understand the nature of life.  I won’t have the space to develop this idea in this article, so a brief exploration will have to suffice.  ‘The tree produces fruit of its own kind.’ This is a saying we find in many sacred systems of knowledge and logic.  Your enemy is lack of reason.  Your friend is logic.  If you are one who is part of that which we call life, you are fruit of the tree of life.  The fruit of the tree contains within it the seed of the tree.  The seed of the tree of life produces more life.  Life cannot produce death.  If you believe that you are a limited ‘thing’ that will eventually ‘not exist’ there is very little I can do for you to help you balance your Chakras. 

One of the most dangerous lies taught to human children is that they will one day not exist.  Decide that you are an eternal being and then never permit any person or idea to strip you of your right to exist eternally.  If your church or your family has taught you that there is some great being in the sky controlling all existence and that it is possible for this being to snuff you out if you do something wrong…walk away from those people and ideas.  Please. The most effective way to balance your Root Chakra is to understand that your right to exist is perpetual.  You are in the heaven of religion right now.  You exist and existence is the free gift of that which we call God. No one can take that from you.  No one.  Look at that I told you this wasn’t a religious text, then I preached at you. I must have caught the Holy Spirit for a minute.  Let’s blame God for that slip up.  Now back to our show…

If you believe that it is permissible to deny certain people basic necessities of life (even those who break human laws) then you miss the point of eternal existence entirely.  We are all in this together and we are all eternal.  The criminals of our day, too, are eternal creatures.  This means that we must---MUST---begin to shift our understanding from the ideas which make us ‘punishers’ and ‘accusers’ to the ideas that make us ‘rehabilitators’ and ‘affirmers.’  The vengeful ideas you hold will determine your own lot in life, not the lot of others.  You must abandon the desire to punish and deprive others.  Certainly that doesn’t mean I think we should all tolerate violence, abuse, or crime.  It does mean that we must begin to understand that we are all a human family and we must eliminate the situations that lead people to crime instead of punishing those who commit crime without any love or compassion for that person.  I promise you solemnly, until no one hungers, there will always be ‘crimes’ committed by those whose needs are not met. 

Balancing your Root Chakra includes a commitment to balance the Root Chakra of the world by shifting your thought energy and using the power of your belief system to bring about universal commitment to giving all people---all life---the respect of co-existing. 

Every person is of value to the world. Every person has the right to exist and function in their own way to bring light and beauty to existence.  The lesson of the Root Chakra is one that first forces you to decide that life is worth living and that you are not the master of life.  You are not the ‘boss’ of existence and in order to claim your right to exist you must---MUST---respect the right of others to exist.  If you compete and deprive others (or believe that those ways are acceptable), you create a path of winners and losers.  You will place yourself in a cycle of death and rebirth into a system of winners and losers.  You will trap yourself in your own hell of torment and competition.  Stop.  For the sake of your own existence---STOP.  Wake up to the fact that to take Root in this life is to take responsibility for the root of your thoughts and ideas.  Balance your root by being selfish enough to commit to a path of eternal existence, but understand that you will eternally exist in your thoughts and ideas. If your thoughts and ideas accept that suffering and competition is simply part of existing, you have paved your own road with thorns. 

Root out ideas that permit any world to exist that does not give universal respect to the life of all.  Then commit to living as the microcosm of that perfect world.  When each of us produces thought and action from a balanced root, we will see the tree of life flourish.  

Create a Root Rules list for your everyday existence

      What can you do each day to ensure that your thoughts and actions create a world where no one is deprived of their right to exist and flourish in freedom?

      What can you do today to eliminate the thought-pattern of competition that creates losers in life?

     What can you do today to plant seeds of thought that will grow into idea trees that will produce fruit to feed a future generation, ensuring that healthy universal existence thrives?

      What can you do today to fulfill the basic needs of your material existence without depleting the resources needed to sustain others? Will you give in proportion to what you receive to create the kind of synergy needed to sustain all life?

Use the questions above to create your own plan to balance the thoughts that fuel your Root Chakra.  If these ideas are of value to you, share this article with your loved ones.  If you have any productive thoughts to add to this article, feel free to add your comments below.  We may use your thoughts to help us develop the ideas we present here.

Tomorrow I will offer you an article that discusses how Nature Therapy can help you get to a place of personal balance in your material Root Energies.  Until then, I honor the divine life within you.  Be at peace.

+Tomas