I like the chakra system and think about it often. I know it’s not an exact science (heck, even science isn’t an exact science) and there are variations, yet I’ve come to understand an energetic system that makes sense to me based on what I’ve learned from others and what I’ve learned from myself through experience.
(If you have no idea what chakras are, take a moment to read the article HERE and then come back.)
The seven chakra model is one that works well for me though I know there are other models. Seven has always been a familiar number for me and I like thinking of the three lower chakras as our earthly, physical plane chakras and the upper three chakras as the spiritual, metaphysical chakras. The middle, center heart chakra is where all the alchemy and transformation happens. I’ll tell you more about that in a minute.
When I was walking my dog Coco this morning I was thinking about my chakras as I often do. I looked down at my body and I could literally see the regions of my lower three chakras. I could partially see the region of my heart chakra. I could not see the regions of my upper three chakras. This affirmed for me in a new way that the lower third (and a half) is all about our tangible, seeable life and that the upper third (and a half) is all about our invisible (but very real) life.
It is my impression that our ego resides in our third or solar chakra and keeps a satellite office in the brain. As we come into this world and individually evolve through our chakral ladder we move from tribe (root) to family (sacral) to self (solar). The ego has a very important job in our development. We have to know the self and have to learn to value the self. Our “gut instincts or intuitions” are informed by the solar chakra of self. This is a wise system. The problem happens when people get stuck here and don’t evolve.
There are many teachers, leaders, and gurus who inform us that the ego must be dropped and left behind or overcome. Like wisdom teeth, an appendix, a gall bladder, or tonsils, I don’t believe that there are any extraneous body parts or chakras. I don’t believe that the ego must be left behind. It served us well as children and serves us well as adults when it’s part of a developed, evolved whole chakral ladder.
Our sense of self-preservation and self-concern in this physical world is protected by the ego. When people get stuck here they forget (or never learn) that life isn’t only about the self. This is where the ego gets a bad rap. In people who don’t evolve past the solar chakra, they are slaves to the ego. They become egotistical, self-centered, narcissistic, bullies, and immature adults. The only way to move past this level is to enter into the heart chakra and bring down to Earth the elements and natures of the upper three chakras: truth, insight, and a spiritual connection to GOD (Get Own Definition…whatever “that big thing” is for you).
When we can temper the ego with metaphysical energy it becomes an active part of a holistic system rather than the driving force. Don’t abandon it. Nurture the ego. Let it protect you in this physical world. Let it alert you to dangers and then use the power of your heart to respond. When it feels like you’ve been punched in the gut, don’t punch back. Use the information to your benefit and respond with love…for yourself and the self/message you wish to be in this world.
A healthy ego (solar chakra) is our lower intuition. When chronically ignored, wounded, or stagnant, it operates from fear. The truth of our soul and our upper intuition are guided by love. When we can bring down spiritual insight (All is One) through our heart and into our solar chakra, it operates as our inner sun so that we can let our light shine.
Rather than thinking that the ego is the solar chakra gone awry and calling for its abandonment, realize that without spiritual influence, the ego is simply doing its physical job. When ego gets out of hand, don’t abandon it. Rather, nurture it. Get upstairs in yourself. Journal. Imagine. Day dream. Pray. Meditate. Commune with nature. Sing. Change your food (see chapters 5-7). Reorient yourself to the cosmos. Find your place again and allow your ego to return to its un-inflated, functioning place in your full physical/spiritual experience.
I, for one, am in favor of keeping the whole system intact and functioning well rather than removing a piece like an infected appendix and tossing it out as though it had no reason for even being there in the first place. Prevent your ego from getting infected. Practice inner, metaphysical work. Let your light shine. Know thyself….all of yourself. The only “bad” ego is an unloved, un-embraced ego.
Footnote: It’s challenging for me to write about the chakras without wanting to write 600 pages. There are so many moving pieces and, for me, chakras don’t behave linearly. Each chakra is influenced in different ways by the others which makes writing about one almost futile. However, this post is a snapshot and serves simply to begin the discussion that illustrates a point that I’ve been wanting to make for a while: love your ego, don’t let go of it.
Additional Resources
• Navigating reality Inside Reality…and How to Eat Accordingly (sometimes I’m amazed that I wrote this)
• Why You Need to Know About Your Chakras
• Falling in Love with a Chlorophyll-Rich Diet (heart chakra info)
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