The Sounds of Silence

The root of all problems?

It is indeed a paradox that the root chakra is the resting place of our Kundalini, or massive spiritual energy, and at the same time it binds us to the earth energies that keep us from realizing or awakening this sleeping giant. The lessons to be learned from and the benefits of a hefty dose of meditation on this chakra’s seed sound are many.

In the beginning, as spiritual beings began to manifest as human animals—long before we were at the top of the food chain—an intense, active survival instinct was a welcome gift to keep one from becoming a dinosaur’s TV dinner. At the same time, the concept of tribe was healthy, as there was safety in numbers. In addition, this tribal connection allowed for successful procreation and the advancement of the survival of the fittest prototype.

I would at first assume the sympathetic nervous system did its job for fight or flight and then was let go to come back another day when needed. Contact with the simplicity of nature is evident, though I’m not implying that life was not tough. I am saying that life relative to that of the everyday Western man or woman of today was not stressful. Do you understand the difference? We never get down time; the sympathetic nervous system is always on overdrive. We mostly live in densely populated areas with an abundance of noise and traffic. We work long hours to find that we have overextended our credit and worry how to pay the next bill. The list could go on and on.

We simply do not relax. Let’s use the analogy of a hunting cat in the wild or even that of a pet cat you can observe. A cat will patiently stalk its prey and, when the time is right, make its move. This strike may or may not be successful. But notice that if the cat misses its intended meal, it does not get angry, scream, yell, flip off other cats on the way home and then treat its family badly. It may just walk off and nap in the sun. Then, if the opportunity should arise for another meal, it will again patiently resume the hunt. Today we don’t get that nap in the sun. Meditation with the first chakra will be that nap.

On the back of each shirt in my line of yoga wear we have the motto “breathelaughlove.” To help heal the root chakra, we must remember to laugh. The seriousness we apply to our life situation is indeed laughable.

Remember the spaciousness of the universe I described in the beginning of this book? Let’s look at it from another angle. Take a baseball and drop it in a field in the middle of North America. That baseball represents the size of our solar system, and North America the size of our galaxy. Now, remember, there are hundreds of billions of galaxies. In a word, Lighten Up! 

Let’s look at the association in this chakra with our identity or purpose in life. Does that leave you with a little stirring down below? In days gone by it was “Me Tarzan, you Jane.” That certainly sounds simple, doesn’t it? What about today’s family as well as the workforce? We tend to be a people who strongly identify who we are with what we do. Now, the reality of this could not be further from the truth, but in my opinion that is a lesson most of us must unlearn by exploring the sounds.

Role-reversal for men and women is rampant. Economic reasons have forced us into a two-person head of household, and oftentimes the woman’s income eclipses the man’s earnings, or if he should lose his job, he has to look to his spouse for full financial support. On the flip side, what has happened to the “Knight in Shining Armor” tale and how does that affect the woman’s first-chakra identity issues?

You can go to school and study for 10 years to “be” this or that and in a heartbeat have your job skill be replaced by some technology or simply become obsolete. The lesson in this chakra is to find that you are all you could ever be at this very moment. You don’t need to add to the trophy wall or keep looking outside of yourself. It’s time to come home, use the sounds and remember whom you really are.

Yes, there are few among us who don’t have to work. But if you, like most of us, are among the workforce, remember you are not your work; it’s just a job. You are trading energy of the mind or body for the energy of money, no more than that.

Let me address one more issue with this chakra, and it’s a biggie—that of our belief systems. The beliefs that you have been taught all of your life from your parents, friends, teachers, history books or media are all anchored here. Notice the word belief. What does it imply? Defined it means “an acceptance of something to be true.” I love to explore this area because all of my life I’ve questioned beliefs. We come into this world and are sold a bill of goods by our families, churches or countries about what is good, bad, up, down—whatever it may be.

But if you look closely at almost all of these beliefs, they are simply control mechanisms designed to make you an obedient person who doesn’t make waves and who conforms to whichever little group you belong to. And when we do belong and we get caught up in the group energy, boy do we believe. We as humans will take it upon ourselves to kill someone who does not share or conform to our beliefs. I know we’ve all seen enough war to know that’s a truth, not a belief. We will excommunicate a family member and never speak to him or her again if he or she should stray from our beliefs. The insanity is that so often the bulk of this physical, intellectual and spiritual violence is done in the name of God. Or I should say in the many names of God.

When you work with the sounds, you will come to know that beliefs are just that, an opinion of what is true. And I’m sure you know that there are as many opinions as there are people. As you explore more deeply, you will find the ability to be more fluid with beliefs, and you will no longer feel the need to defend them. At the same time, working in the space of silence you will begin to discover the real truths. A truth is an absolute, a knowing.

The blossoming of this chakra is to get beyond the beliefs—to rest in the knowingness that being separate from the rest of humanity to feel better or different or safe is ego, not truth. We are all part of the whole. You cannot remove yourself from this truth. If the sun should die tomorrow, you will soon follow. We are in a quantum energy soup