The root Chakra is where we all begin. It is the Chakra of embodiment. It is the Chakra represented by the element of earth. It is the Chakra in which the process of individuality begins in this dimension of space-time. There are many spiritual seekers who follow a spiritual practice that teaches a kind of transcendence of the body. In this way many people become disassociated from the body.
This is why a Hatha Yoga practice is such a beneficial practice of spiritual groundwork. This practice of Hatha Yoga helps to keep the person rooted in this world of the physical. When an individual prays the Lord’s prayer and invites, “As on earth so in Heaven,” one is inviting the experience on non-duality in the body. The balancing and alignment of the root Chakra is the beginning stage of the spiritual journey.
This first stage of the spiritual journey is called the archaic stage of development. The first spiritual task of the new human being is to identify and become embodied as a conscious individual who recognizes that they have a body. At the start of life the infant’s consciousness is so attached to the body of it’s mother that it does not yet see itself as separate from the body of the mother
Red is the color associated with the root Chakra. It is the color of blood. In the theory of Spiral Dynamics of personal and spiritual development the color red is associated with people such as skinheads, warlords, supremacists, street gangs and groups such as the Taliban.
Just as the Klu Klux Klan claimed to be devote Christians the Taliban claim to be devote Muslims. However they are really bullies who get their identity from glorifying in violence and peer approval. This glorifying in violence and peer identity is the undeveloped dynamic of the root Chakra. It’s a very tribal based consciousness. This kind of consciousness operates in my homeland in Northern Ireland in the groups such as the Real IRA and the UVF. These groups include people who are intensely identified with their group and see other groups as a kind of threat.
This root Chakra dynamic requires that the individual maintain strict commitment to the status quo. There’s no questioning the group values. It usually takes some kind of crisis in the life of the individual to make them want to leave this dynamic commonly at the threat of one’s very life. The person who lives from a 1st Chakra level of consciousness is very egocentric. This egocentricity announces that my group is better than your group. It proclaims that my country is better than your country and that my God is better than your God. All forms of consciousness raising tend to be suspect and are made to come into alignment with this 1st Chakra world view even if this means resorting to violence.
Tony Cuckson writes on stages of consciousness and various maps of personal and spiritual development. He explores Eastern ideas of the body’s energy centers,or Chakras with Western psychology and introduces various spiritual practices for Chakra balancing and healing. For more maps of the stages of spiritual awakening visit http://www.tonycuckson.com
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