Chakra Pathways Practice

Throat Chakra Activity #1: Lying becomes a reflex in active addiction, often happening even when it isn't necessary. To unblock the throat, we have to catch the lies in real-time because we cannot fix what we fail to acknowledge. To do this, we will be tracking the "Micro-Lies." Open your dedicated chakra journal or your preferred outliner app, or even a floating notes widget on your phone so it is instantly accessible. For the duration of this module, log every single time you tell a lie, minimize a truth, or omit important information. Even if it is as small as saying "I'm fine" when you are actually having a craving, log it. Do NOT judge the lie; just record it. Example: "2:00 PM - Told my mom I was just tired, but I was actually feeling triggered and anxious." When we wrap up this chakra, review the list and reflect on how much energy it takes to maintain these fabrications.

The Throat Chakra, governed by the color blue and the element of sound/ether, is the center of communication, self-expression, and absolute truth. Addiction thrives in secrecy, deception, and lies—both to others and to oneself. The Throat Chakra becomes completely blocked by these lies. Healing requires breaking our secrecy and owning our narrative with uncompromising honesty. We will strip the addiction of its power by dragging it out of the shadows and into the light through spoken and written truth. his involves catching and stopping “micro-lies” in real-time, vocalizing hidden struggles, and reclaiming the authentic voice and boundaries that the addiction suppressed.

The 7 Main Chakras: 1- Root Chakra (Muladhara): Located at the base of the spine. Color: Red. Meaning: Grounding, stability, and basic survival needs. 2- Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana): Located in the lower abdomen. Color: Orange. Meaning: Emotions, creativity, and sexuality. 3- Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura): Located in the upper abdomen. Color: Yellow. Meaning: Personal power, self-esteem, and confidence. 4- Heart Chakra (Anahata): Located in the center of the chest. Color: Green. Meaning: Love, compassion, and connection. 5- Throat Chakra (Vishuddha): Located in the throat. Color: Blue. Meaning: Communication and self-expression. 6- Third Eye Chakra (Ajna): Located between the eyebrows. Color: Indigo. Meaning: Intuition, imagination, and clarity. 7- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara): Located at the very top of the head. Color: Violet or White. Meaning: Spiritual connection, awareness, and universal consciousness.

Higher Heart Chakra Wrap Up: Before moving up to the throat, where we will give voice to our truth, ensure the Higher Heart is clear by asking yourself the following questions: 1. Can I identify the difference between feeling guilty about an action and feeling shame about my core identity? 2. Have I written out my deepest regrets and actively applied the "doing the best I could" forgiveness mantra to them? 3. Have I written and destroyed my unsent letter to release trapped resentments?

Higher Heart Activity #4: The Higher Heart vibrates at the frequency of aqua and turquoise—colors that represent deep, healing waters and truth. We are going to physically enact the "washing away" of shame with watercolor pencil blending and flow. Using watercolor pencils or a combination of ink and water, draw an abstract shape or a mandala focusing entirely on shades of turquoise, teal, aqua, and soft pink. As you lay down the dry pigment, think about the heavy, crystallized shame you have been carrying. Then, take a wet brush and activate the watercolor pencils. Watch as the harsh, rigid lines dissolve and blend into a smooth, flowing wash of color. Let this visually represent your rigid shame dissolving into fluid compassion. If you have one, keep a piece of Amazonite, Aquamarine, or Turquoise on your workspace to anchor the intention of gentle truth and deep healing. Anytime the shame spirals try to return, visualize the harsh lines of that thought dissolving under a wash of turquoise water.

Higher Heart Activity #3: Early recovery is not always the time to make direct, face-to-face amends—sometimes that causes more chaos. However, the energy of the resentment or regret must still be released from the Higher Heart. One way to achieve this energetic closure without external confrontation is by writing a letter that will never be mailed. Choose one person whom you deeply hurt during your addiction, OR one person who deeply hurt you and contributed to your need to numb out. Write them a letter holding nothing back. Express the anger, the sorrow, the apologies, and the pain. End the letter with: "I release the energetic cord between us. I reclaim my own energy, and I leave you to yours." Repeat this phrase to yourself, silently or out loud, while you then destroy the letter: burn it safely, shred it, or tear it into tiny pieces and throw it away. The act of destruction symbolizes that the energy has been released from your body.

Higher Heart Activity #2: We often hold onto our own shame as a twisted form of punishment, believing we don't "deserve" to heal. We are going to complete a radical forgiveness inventory to force the release of that energetic weight. Remember, you cannot hate yourself into a better version of yourself. Grab your dedicated chakra journal or preferred app and write down the three to five things from your active addiction that you feel the absolute most shame about. Be brutally honest. Get them out of the dark and onto the paper. Next to every single item, write this EXACT phrase: "I was in pain, and I was doing the best I could with the coping tools I had at the time. I now choose to learn better tools, and I forgive myself for this." Read the list aloud (and yes, you will repeat the sentence after every item). Hearing your own voice grant you forgiveness is a powerful somatic trigger for the Thymus gland area.

Are you the kind of person or know of someone who can see the chakras around people? I find that so fascinating that people can see other people’s auras!

Higher Heart Activity #1: To heal the Higher Heart, we must completely separate two concepts: Guilt ("I DID bad"; motivates change) and Shame ("I AM bad"; drives back to addiction to cope/numb ourselves). To do so, we will be filtering our self-talk by keeping a reframing ledger. In your dedicated chakra journal or digital app, create a two-column list. In the left column, write down the shame-based thoughts that trigger your desire to use or check out (e.g., "I ruined my family's trust. I'm a monster." or "I wasted five years of my life. I'm a failure."). In the right column, actively translate that statement into guilt or objective reality (e.g., "I broke my family's trust, and I feel deep remorse for that action." or "I spent five years in active addiction, and I am now choosing a different path."). If you desire, you can also either write down or affirm verbally to yourself: "I am willing to take responsibility for my actions without destroying my own soul in the process. My mistakes are not my identity."

Also, I feel like I'm always apologizing, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry, once again, for the lag in between chakras. Where I live, we got hit with the first real heat wave of the Summer, and the heat profoundly affects my ability to function because of some of my chronic illnesses. I've basically spent the past few days in bed--not because I wanted to, but because I couldn't do anything else. We also do not have any type of cooling system in the home, but thankfully my uncle did just buy us a couple of fans! I am so grateful for that!