True Balance - First Chakra Experience

I have been jotting down notes as they struck me during the past couple of weeks of aspects of my life that I think display First Chakra activity. The book makes it clear that you can expect to be off-balance in this area if you have had major life changes, or if we have lost something that provides us with a sense of belonging or safety our foundation will be upset. I know that while I am working towards rebuilding, I have not completely rebuilt my foundation since the end of my marriage, and I now realise that it is really important that I begin with first chakra. I can go off on "head-stuff", and I'm realising now that I need to really value the basic things I've been doing to look after myself, and build on them. This is going to be a long post, so don't feel bad if you don't read it all. I'm writing it for myself more than anything!

Firstly, I'd like to share the SoulCollage card that represents my First Chakra. I have a strong affinity with Salamander, and feel the energy is very basic, very instinctive, very much about survival.


Following are the notes I wrote during the couple of weeks. I realised that there is much going on that relates to the urge to balance the First Chakra, whether or not I was conscious that that was what I was doing. This really comforts and affirms me, as I feel it means that there is an instinct towards health operating, urging me to do things that support my First Chakra. Did anyone else find this?

Notes on the First Chakra experience

When I started reading the chapter relating to the Root or First Chakra last week, ( or was it even before I’d begun reading?) I became aware that I was doing things that do support the connection with earth, that make me feel grounded and connected to the world. – I found myself dancing in the living-room or kitchen a few times. Usually, I can play music, and sit knitting or reading, but well… I just had to get up and dance.

Food – I’ve been cooking a lot of beans and lentils, earthy food, and making up great bowls of green salad. One thing I started to do lately was, instead of buying a plastic carton of cut herbs at the supermarket, buy a pot of growing herbs, and sit it on the kitchen windowsill. My salads contain fresh-picked basil, parsley, or mint, and even if the pot only lasts a couple of weeks, it costs the same, and gives me the sense of having the real, living plant in my food. I’ve been making smoothies in the mornings, with lots of fresh fruit. Mmmm.

This week, vitally, really importantly for my first chakra – I finally moved on a long-delayed project, and organized a painter to come in and paint my whole house. This is necessary to simply freshen the living-space up, but more importantly, to help clear the stale energy left behind from before my marriage ended. Since first Chakra is the foundation, having a comfortable living-space is very important, and the timing is perfect. I’m clearing and cleaning, and creating a space that will be a foundation for the life I want to be living.

There have been other little things. I was going to the bottle-bank, and I realised that recycling, looking after the environment is First Chakra activity. It’s grounding, it’s connecting to earth. When I bring my kitchen scraps out to my worm-compost bin, and admire the activity turning waste into compost, I get a great feeling. It’s connection. Its grounding.

One of the suggested activities for creating a sound foundation is to introduce live things into your home. I’ve mentioned the herb plants I’ve started to buy, but I also splurged on a beautiful yellow orchid – which came in a pot the very colour I will be putting on my walls in most rooms .


Then, there are ways to awaken and balance the first chakra involving looking after the body – soothing the skin, working on the feet and legs… I began to use a body-lotion again, after simply getting lazy about it for a couple of months. It feels so good to look after myself like this. I have problems with my feet, which I think tells me a lot. They need to be looked after, to form a solid foundation for me, to help me to be “fully grounded and present in life.”

Another remedy for balancing that I find myself applying in my life is using my calendar and diary. When I don’t use them, I don’t know where I’m meant to be, I have a nagging sense that I’m forgetting things, or missing events. When I write plans into them, and consult them, I can arrange my life easily and use up less energy – as getting my schedule mixed up is really exhausting!

Finally, the book speaks about taking responsibility for ourselves as being necessary to balance the first chakra. I was very proud of myself when I went last week to arrange my own health cover! Grown-up at last!

..................................................................................That’s a lot of First Chakra activity.

...................................................................................And there’s MORE:

When I went and got measured for a new bra, I realised that because I usually shop in chain-stores, which only stock certain sizes, I’ve been wearing bras that aren’t my proper fitting for years. And the difference that a correctly-sized bra makes to how I feel is amazing. When I said this to a friend, she said – “Well yes, They don’t call them foundation–garments for nothing!” – and I noticed the word. More First-Chakra self-care, I think!

And I went and had a manicure, which involved having lovely oil massaged into my hands and forearms – being skin-care, this is a First-Chakra self-care activity, surely, too!

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This is probably NOT how I'd intended to post about the book. I'm not really responding here to the questions asked in the book, the self-reflection exercises. It's not that I don't want to, but I was just so taken with the widespread prevalence in my life of 1st chakra-related activity, that's what I wanted to post about. I have posted this before 15th because I'm going to be away (again!) for another week or two, but I'll be reading the second chapter. It will be very interesting to see does it hit me in the same way! And I'm fascinated to see what everyone else has to say about their experience. Chapter 2 here we come!

If you're interested in joining in with the group reading True Balance by Sonia Choquette, go to Melba's blog HERE to see what's happening, and come along! Join in!

Where Have All The Monsters Gone?

Just kidding. They haven't gone away, it seems, judging from what there was to read all over the Sunday Scribblings posts this week. Writing for that prompt, and reading other people's responses to it has caused quite a bit of introspection in me. I keep recognising the shadow of the monster in my thinking, and was really intrigued by the interpretations people made of MY monster. I wasn't quite sure what exactly it represented to me, only that, once I let in a negative thought, I feed it, and it grows and saps my strength. That was the meaning I thought was in what I wrote. Then, someone mentioned the Diet Monster, and I thought "Oh, that must be who my monster really is", but then there's the Procrastination Monster, which I feed all the time, and there's a whole menagerie of others - none of which I've ever named until now as Monsters. So, what to do with this? This awareness (or hint of awareness). I wasn't at all sure.

Then, this morning, writing my Morning Pages, focusing on the things I'd meant to do yesterday and not gotten around to (I got some things I'd meant to do done, but that didn't take up as much writing room), this is what came out (I'm going to transcribe exactly, because it just feels like the right thing to do!) :

Know what? - Suddenly I'm just very pissed off with myself for doing all this. Creating all these situations where I'm trying to figure out why I didn't do what I wanted and needed to do. It's now taking up more time than DOING anything. There's a thought... if I didn't give the "not doing" any energy at all, then I'd probably DO. That is very interesting. That's how I've been feeding the monster. Monster doesn't care what he gets me talking about so long as he keeps me busy NOT changing anything, really. That's what all the monsters are afraid of. Things changing. (I've always known that, haven't i? So why do I let the Procrastination monster - King of the fear-of-change crowd - have such a hold on me? Because I've been fooled into giving him attention. - Feeding him.

I think this is very important. So it's about not letting myself spend time on Why Didn't I? or I should or Why Can't I? But on How will I? When will I? What will I do? No feeling BAD about what hasn't been done.

Does this make sense to anybody? Right now, it feels really like a key for me, because I've spent so much time on (thinking about why I haven't even started) one particular project that it's exhausting me. My home's been needing a makeover from long before my husband moved out. Before he went, I think any change was going to precipitate a landslide of change, and we were all just holding everything as it was, including clutter and familiar STUFF. After he left, there was an initial burst of clearing (thanks to my sister for helping), and at this stage all his belongings have been removed, but there is a psychic energy left that needs clearing, and that means - if I'm not moving house - repainting, reflooring, refurnishing. I can afford to do it (if I don't try to go for high-end-of-the-market stuff). I just haven't gotten going. Any wisdom? Any suggestions?

It just feels good to say this out here. I still don't know why THAT is, but there you are!
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Minutes later: Ooops.. look what I've done. I've just invited all of you to help me feed my monster! Have I? Just when I thought I'd got a grip on this, it slips away.
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Maybe an hour later: That procrastination monster, once he's named, seems to just get smaller and smaller and smaller. I've done two of the things that I've been putting off for (1) months and (2) years. There's a painter coming tomorrow to take a look and give me a quote for the work that needs to be done. And I've arranged healthcare cover in my own name. It was hard to just make the call and say I'm no longer covered under a "family" policy. But I've done the grown-up thing. It's done.