Part 2: Is Your Fire Energy (Third Chakra) Damaged? Some Mystical Musings
I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
-Lucille Ball, actress/comedienne & movie studio owner
I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.
-Oprah
I am intuitive, and this article is based on that, as such it may read very free form and non-linear. I’ve been drawn to explore Fire energy. As mentioned in part 1, within our body is the subtle body where the chakras (energy centers) are located. The 3rd chakra called “manipura” governs fire within the body, so anything to do with heat or transformation (like digestion, is transformation of solid food to subtler agents of nutrition.) Manipura means “city of shining jewels,” or Mani Padma-the Jeweled Lotus.
According to Swami Saradananda author of [amazon_link id=”1844834956″ target=”_blank” ]Chakra Meditation,[/amazon_link] “this is the body’s stronghold-it’s fortress.” She continues
“it is where we store our most precious asset: our sense of self.”
Your sense of self-esteem and self worth and ability to set healthy boundaries, and will power are all governed by the energy of this chakra. Gururattana, a senior kundalini yoga teacher states that the gifts of our fire energy are: adventurousness, vitality, optimism, self-confidence. A strong and healthy 3rd chakra allows up to blaze new trails. Think:
Transformation.
Transformation is the underlying energy to break and create new habits. The perils of fire include, a continuum from irritation, frustration, lack of sensitivity to anger, defensiveness and full out aggression. When we find we are regularly embodying these characteristics, as yogi’s we should realize “We are angry because we are not expressing our Soul Identity, (which is) our unique and specific expression, the reason for being embodied,” says Gururattana.
Very important too is the flip side a collapsed 3rd chakra would manifest as depression or complete lack of will/drive or enthusiasm.
Each chakra upt till the 6th governs an element and the 3rd chakras element is
Fire.
Temple of Dendur at Met Museum, NYC
Personal Interest in Ancient Egypt
So I was reading and feeling drawn to Ancient Egypt, I”m fascinated by a female ruler Hatshepsut, who ruled as a pharoah rather successfully it seems. Recently I found a book about her laying by itself on a library table, facing me: or a friend will jsut have seen a documentary on her the day before my finding said book. My interest in Egypt goes beyond her, as I’ve been told of past lives there. Some other odd things are, while in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC-they have a huge open pavilion into which they have moved a portion of an Egyptian temple-The Temple of Dendur. Whenever I walk into the space I get an incredible sense of energy and tingling in my upper chakras. This happens now and years ago when I regularly visited the museum.
And then there is the weird incident just outside the same museum. There is a large (71 ft.) monument, an obelisk. “The obelisk was erected in Heliopolis around 1500 BC and was moved to Alexandria around 12 B.C. by Rome’s Augustus Caesar,” according to Central Park Blogger. Anyhoo, years ago, I was walking in Central Park and came upon this monument, which I had never seen before. I felt fascinated by it, and stood there taking in the whole thing, then moved closer to look at the markings. At one moment the Sun lined up with the tip of the obelisk and the rays seemed to be emanating from it. It was wild, I mean what are the odds? I got same “funny” feeling of like a bit of awe in that case.
Connection between the Civilizations of Ancient Egypt & India?
So this general interest in ancient history is sparked by energetic sense of resonance, which led me to a site talking about Ra the Egyptian sun god. As I said I’ve been finding that my own third chakra needs to be balanced, after some trauma and most likely even past life influences. As I read about “Ra” or “Re” I realized that that sound is the sound for the 3rd chakra-Ram (pronounced like Rah-mm) Awfully close I thought, given both are linked with solar, sun, fire, Ra and Ram. I began to wonder if these two ancient civilizations where in contact and if indeed Yogic ideas teachings might have some origins in Egypt, mixing with the wisdom of India, so many centuries ago.
More coincidences:
The word “Om” or “Aum” which in Hindu and Yogic teaching is the ultimate mantra and basically the sound of creation, sounds alot like the Egyptian creator God “Amun” and even the holy words Amen. “Later, Amun was more closely associated with the Ram” and again… interesting the assoicated animal with the 3rd chakra is….the Ram! In order to manifest, to use the new agey term or more plainly to get what we want, to acheive our goals we need a strong, balanced Manipura chakra!
There are a few web sites among them a yoga organization- http://www.yogakriya.org/php/pujananda/meanderings7.php and Beth Lapides (a comediene) : My Other Car Is A Yoga Mat, who is a yogini, makes the same connection (in a very humorous way.)
Follow this blog for part 3, on this exploration of the 3rd chakra, and the fact that we as a Human family are evolving to the fourth chakra the heart: Anahata.
