Find Your Light

“It is not so much a matter of trying to get somewhere as it is removing the blocks to seeing that we are already there.  The goal is not to climb to the crown chakra as quickly as we can, thinking our journey comes to an end in some conceptual enlightenment, but to be as conscious as possible about the entire journey – to bring as much depth and wisdom as we can to each and every level” Anodea Judith 

Coming up past the crown of the head, we arrive at one end point of our chakra journey.  We reach up to find the crown chakra.  I won’t refer to it as the end as our energies are continually moving up and down, around and through all of our chakras in continual motion and action.  We can never truly arrive as the minute we feel that we have reached a destination, or learned a lesson or acquired some knowledge, we come to a new beginning with so many more areas to explore. 

The crown chakra or 7^th chakra moves past the body and has the highest, most subtle vibrational energy.  It has no density and is just pure light.  It is our connection to the divine.  It gives us true insights, allows us to experience the mystical and magical and gives us a profound sense of knowingness, inspiration and possibility.  It’s our awakening to our true spiritual nature – who we are, who we are meant to be and who we have always been.  

The Sanskrit term for this chakra is Sahasrara which means “one thousand petal lotus.”  The lotus flower is a symbol of being fully enlightened, and the one thousand petals signify that this energy center is abundant, vast and limitless.  Sahasrara is also referred to as the center of bliss because it is where we feel oneness and interconnectedness with everyone and everything.  There is no intellectual knowing at this level – it goes beyond our ego and self – there is just an innate knowing that there is a deeper meaning for ourselves and for our world. 

Working with Sahasrara and “reaching” enlightenment can feel like an impossible task.  For most of us it will be a very long journey that will involve many challenges and tests.  Sahasrara can often only be activated and reached when all of the other six chakras are balanced.  We first needed to be grounded, have a handle on our emotional lives, recognize our power, feel the wonder of love, find our voice, and create our vision before we can reach up to see our divinity and how amazing and powerful we are.  Sometimes we can see a glimmer of our divine nature within one of these centers.  We need to embrace the idea of surrender and have a willingness and ability to let go to even reach up this high.  Just accept that with every yoga practice, or other practice that we do, we are getting closer to this state.   If our efforts make us feel better at some level, then this is an accomplishment in itself. 

I was having a conversation with a student the other day and this idea of the crown chakra and spirituality came up.  We were talking about how it is so ingrained in our society and our culture to look for a master or for a guru or for someone or something outside of ourselves to tell us what to do, where to find answers or to give us solutions.  Even in our yoga practice, we try to find someone who can tell us how to do the poses, how we should practice, or what path we should follow.  The physical postures of yoga are only part of it though.  There are so many other things we need to incorporate for wholeness such as mindfulness, being kind to ourselves, diet, compassion, service, etc.  So, how can we figure out this whole picture?  How do we know what we are supposed to do?  This is where the crown chakra comes in.  This center is our connection, but it is also our reminder.  It is reminding us that we are all we will ever need.  The answers are within us.  The path we need to take is within us.  What we need to know at this moment is available for us at any time.  It is up to us to gain access to it and to figure out for ourselves how to do this – the way that will work for me, may not be the way that will work for you. Each and every one of us has this divinity inside.  We are the answers we’ve been looking for.  With the crown chakra it’s a matter of sorting through all the other stuff – the stuff that distracts us, that takes us away from ourselves, that provides the illusion that we are less – to remind ourselves of the truth . . . we are THE only thing/expert/guru/guide/path/answers that we will ever need.  I’m starting to make that connection intellectually, but the crown chakra isn’t about using our intellect.  It’s about truly understanding, feeling, trusting, believing and really knowing this truth.  I’m not quite there yet.  But, . . . . I’m willing to continue working on it ; )

Have a wonderful week of remembering how truly amazing, powerful and wonderful you are.  Be the light!

Roxanne