Chakras & All the less / MORES

As part of my one-woman campaign to spread this vital information about the human energy system, I created a Compendium of information on the chakra system. You will never find it in a bookstore or online, but you can, for a donation, request a copy here.

As part of that process, I realized that I used all sorts of words like spirit, soul, archetype, incarnation that most of us assume we understand. But do we really? We don’t. Not really.

So I created The Unapologetically Eccentric Glossary. Here’s part of the introduction …

These are definitions that I have developed over 40 years of practice with actual persons and their struggles. They are things I say aloud to clients/patients to make sure we’re on the same page. What’s important, though, is not that you agree with my definitions. What’s important is that you give some serious thought to these sorts of words, figure out what you believe about them, and are able to articulate them clearly to yourself or to persons who come to you for care.

So just as it is supremely important to remember that the chakras are best considered as a system, and are meant, at all times, to work together, it is also incumbent upon each one of us to learn and know the vocabulary that best fits our belief systems.

For the next few weeks, I’ll be putting together all these definitions for each chakra. It’s important to see how these pairs work together, mostly because humans are very bad at not doing things.

That’s why the less/MORES have two sides: something to stop, and something to start which replaces whatever you’re stopping.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is less/MORE.

Below you will find a long, long post which comprises all the Chakra less/MORES.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is complain less/THANK MORE.

Complain less means hush up your inner critic.

Is he helping? Is she? Really?

No one I know feels happy in the face of their inner critic. Put her down for a nap.

The unwelcome consequence of focus on complaint is that it shuts down your ability to receive by filling up the space with what you don’t want.

It’s similar to applying your faith to what you fear. What happens? The big scaries get bigger and scarier.

THANK MORE means switch your emotional thermostat to gratitude.

You can always find one thing to be grateful for, even if it’s just your next breath, or your big toe.

Focus on gratitude creates momentum for good things to happen and keep happening.

When you focus on gratitude, even if you’re surrounded by whiners and complainers, slowly but surely, the energy in a group will shift. Just stay with it in the face of their negativity.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is transact less/DISCOVER MORE.

Transact less means quit playing emotional economics.

Namely, if I do this for you, you owe me.

No one likes to feel a favor turn into a business deal.

Focus on the person, not the action, noting that it’s not always the other person in need. Sometimes it’s you.

DISCOVER MORE means bring your A+ curiosity game to the table.

Be open to learning about whatever is happening between you and another person. Focusing on what you can learn opens possibility for both of you.

As brilliant lyricist Howard Ashman wrote, “Don’t it go to show you never know?”

It’s true. You never do.

Think of a time when something you encountered utterly surprised and delighted you — just because you were open to it.

You can live all of life this way if you so choose.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is control less/ENCOURAGE MORE.

Controlling less means you probably feel power-challenged in a given situation. It can also mean you’re afraid.

Please remember that even though we humans live as if we need control over our reality, the fact of the matter is that control is not within our capacities, not really.

In fact, the only thing any one of us can control is what happens between our own ears. That’s where dominion (from scripture) begins and ends.

One of the hardest things in the world is that we’re told we need to control things, and when we discover that we can’t, we feel betrayed.

Instead, focus on letting go and making space for something you don’t expect.

The saddest thing in the whole world is no surprises.

ENCOURAGE MORE means be your own best cheerleader by coming from the heart when interacting in power scenarios.

You can also cheerlead for others here.

Focus on feeling good, helping others to feel good, and delightful surprises.

Human beings, whether we like to think so or not, can be delicate creatures. It’s so much easier to hurt others when we are dismissive or minimizing.

Encouraging takes a little effort, but it’s so worth it. So worth it.

Think back to a time when one small word of encouragement made the difference for you. You can give that to others every day if you choose to.

Do it. Choose to encourage others.

Unsurprisingly, you’ll discover that it also encourages you.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is hate less/EMBRACE MORE.

Hate less means you have judgment — and often pre-judgment, aka prejudice — in operation.

You can’t hate without rejecting. Not possible.

Instead, focus on moving past that judgment and opening your heart.

You’re not the judge & jury anyway.

Besides, adding to the hate in the world is a terrible idea — there’s enough already.

Years and years ago, I had a boyfriend who, whenever anyone said the word hate (and we do all the time: Dontcha just hate it when …), he’d say, “Ouch.” It was a powerful lesson.

EMBRACE MORE means be willing to have new experiences even if they include people and things you don’t know.

Everyone is a beginner sometimes.

How do we forget this so easily?!

In fact, I would submit to you that allowing yourself to be a constant beginner is one of the many ways to stay vitally interested in life and therefore vitally alive.

Focus on the big picture and let the feeling saturate you. Who knows? You might feel embraced as well.

Criticize less means you’re using your voice to find fault.

Why?

Often we do this to build up ourselves at the expense of others.

In a sense, this sort of behavior is a form of scarcity consciousness on the order of: if I praise you, there won’t be enough left for me.

Really?

How about all those camps and after-school programs that find a way to give ALL the kids ribbons and not just the winners?

Focus instead on looking for one thing you like about what is in front of you. Opinions are cheap, and we all have them. Use yours for good.

CELEBRATE MORE means you can still be discerning, and you get to choose how much you say about any given thing.

Even if you don’t enjoy something, you can still celebrate the joy of the doer in the doing of it.

No one starts out as Rembrandt. Not even Rembrandt.

I am acquainted with an artist who went through life criticizing the work of other artists severely. When he figured out that he wanted praise for his work, he started praising the work of others, and everything changed. Just sayin’

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is assume less/LISTEN MORE.

Assume less means you think you know something that you actually might not know.

There’s a word for this, one we usually don’t like: prejudice.

Take it apart pre- = before + -judice = judgment. Thus, to judge before … what? Experiencing.

Best to check your assumptions at the door.

Instead, focus on what you can learn now. Also, assumptions have a way of severely limiting your world.

LISTEN MORE means openness requires some willingness to let go of previous experience and all pre-decision, and instead make yourself available to a new experience which might both surprise and delight you.

Focus not on what you already know; listen for what’s new.

Some of the most dangerous words in English are: But that’s the way we’ve always done it.

Really? Because, tell the truth now, how’s our social structure working for you right now? Are you pleased with our culture?

One of my favorite quotes about listening is, uh, well, mine. It’s from my intuitive translation of the Tao Te Ching, Tao for Now, and it goes like this:

Two ears, one mouth. The ratio matters.

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is hoard less/SHARE MORE.

Hoard less means you’re clinging to something — whether it’s “good” or “bad.”

To co-opt a truism: Minds are like parachutes; they work best when they’re open.

Instead, shift your focus onto whatever’s in front of you, and forget yourself for a moment.

It doesn’t matter what it is — a leaf, a blade of grass, a squirrel, anything will do.

Whenever you hoard, you break the principle law of prosperity, namely, The Law of Circulation.

Give away whatever you’re hoarding, [here’s a hint: it’s not always something tangible] and see the magic that happens.

SHARE MORE means you have an abundance that you’re forgetting about.

Humans do this all the time.

It might just be smiles, but that’s enough to give. Saint Mother Teresa said, “Peace begins with a smile.”

Focus on what you can give, not what you can get. It will always make you feel better.

Start with oxygen … and go from there …

Today’s Chakra Vocabulary Word is judge less/ACCEPT MORE.

Judge less means you stand a chance of learning something if you can get out of your own way.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as judgmental, check out the roots of the word prejudice. They mean to pre-judge.

Have a look at that judgment that’s blocking you. Is it actually yours, or did you learn it? Do you want to keep it? Or let it go? Or revise it in some way?

Focus on impersonal interest in the subject, namely, curiosity. Subtext: educate me.

ACCEPT MORE means you’re open, receptive, and willing to learn, grow, heal, and a whole host of other goodies if you’ll just say Yes.

Think of the people you know. Aren’t there some whose go-to answer to everything is No? Sure there are. In fact, one of them might be you.

What if you changed your mind about your consistent No?

Stretch yourself a little.

Focus on letting more in, making room for it.

It might change your whole worldview. Actually no, it will.

Working at the level of energy is so much more efficient than working from outside in. When you source the energetic cause behind whatever is showing up in your life, and change that, the outer form will change. No exceptions.

Keep looking. Keep listening. Keep asking. All, all, all shall be revealed.

Blessèd weekend. Monday, we’ll put all of the chakra triptych together.