Acting From Our Deepest Motivations

Carl Jung, the Swiss psycho-analyst broke with Freud in 1912 to develop this own theories such as the ‘principle of synchronicity’.  According to Jung, our inner urges are not just to avoid pain and maximize hedonistic pleasure, thoughts that Freud promoted.  If you ever wondered what motivates an amoeba?  This is it.

Our greatest urge, Jung asserted, is toward psychological wholeness and self-actualization of our inner potential.

How does this line up with healing through an energy perspective?

The Scoop on Chakras

Imagine two triangles, one atop of the other.  The lower triangle is resting on its wide base.  The upper triangle is inverted so that its point is perched on top of the point of the lower triangle.

Each of these triangles is divided into 3 horizontal sections.

The Lower Three Chakras

As earthly creatures, we are very focused on survival issues.  The base or root chakra is very much the ‘tribe’ consciousness.  We survive if we have the tribe’s approval and protection.  Being shunned takes on a more significant meaning.  The prominent gland for this chakra is the adrenals.  The maturing challenge here is to move beyond the tribe’s beliefs and still feel safe.

The next chakra up is the sacral or reproductive chakra.  This is another aspect of survival.  It also has to do with nurturing and all aspects of personal relationships.  The physical center that corresponds with this chakra is the reproductive glands.  When we are young we are completely dependant on others.  The first stage of maturing is to become independent. We are socially mature when we are strong enough in ourselves to hold a healthy ‘interdependent’ poise in relationship with others. 

The next chakra up is the Solar Plexus.  This is where the individual asks “Who am I”.  This is the young person’s challenge.  This is one’s relationship with self.  The associate glands are the liver and spleen.

The Upper Three Chakras

On the top of the upper tier is the crown chakra.  This is our connection with the divine.  The corresponding gland is the pituitary gland.

The next tier down is the brow or third eye chakra.  This is the center of intuition and the landscape behind our eyes.  This is our ‘inner self.  The dominant gland is the pineal.

On the lower point of the upper triangle is the throat chakra.  This governs our personal and creative expression.  This is our vocal center; where we write and sing and speak.  It is also the why our life’s work is also called ‘vocation’.  Whereas the brow chakra is focused on inner knowing, the throat chakra is focused on outer knowledge.  The physical gland is the thyroid.

The Heart as a Meeting Point

Where the two triangles meet is the Heart Chakra.  Heart is the go-between.  David Tansley, (a pioneer in the field of energy medicine) referred to it as the center of ‘Harmony through Conflict’.  It is through the heart that we find the balance between the body physical and the body spiritual. The corresponding physicality is the heart and lungs.

Many people are still caught in the lower chakras, focused on survival issues.  They have not yet moved to the upper.  Moving towards pleasure and away from pain is the total experience. 

Many people are not anchored well in the lower chakras.  They may be wonderful visionaries, but their personal lives don’t work and their ideas don’t manifest in the real world.

If well grounded people move into the upper chakras, we begin to entertain thoughts that are what Jung called ‘self-actualization’.  Another way of putting it is we ‘come into our full being-ness.  All our circuits are firing.

This state of being –ness is where we love and respect ourselves enough to care for ourselves; physically, mentally, socially, financially, emotionally and spiritually.  We realize that we must not starve ourselves on any level without experiencing dire consequences.

What’s the deal about suffering being spiritual?

I’d like to mention a twist in the works that I consider to be a spiritual misconception.  This is the whole issue of suffering = spiritual brownie points.

I believe I am closest to the heart of God, when I am joyful, playful and full of gratitude.  Communion with God is the Bliss Zone.  So what’s the suffering bit?  When I find myself at a moral cross-road, I know the easy way; the popular way.  I also feel within myself the right way or rather the ‘righteous way’.  I may suffer as a result of this choice.  That is where I suffer for God’s sake.

A person who functions in a balanced and whole way through the upper and lower chakras may choose to avoid pleasure.  They may actually choose to endure or embrace pain.

So Sigmund, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Keep well_

Nelda