muladhara
the discernment + choice between evolution + preservation
The world is splitting into two.
It has been for a long time.
This is not new information, there is just more evidence of it as time goes on.
A particular image came to me in November of 2023 as I began to feel the division between my family and I with more acuity. Still, I kept it secret to myself, fearful of what the consequences might be were I to make it known. I hate to hear people call me crazy for what I know to be true.
The image depicts two Earths – one that my nuclear family occupies, the other of me alone.
My mother and father are revealed as down-trodden and worn out. My sister looks across the way with a twinge of hope in her eyes. Perhaps a slight bit of curiosity. However, it isn’t enough to make her leap.
The world they stand in is engulfed with vengeant flames. Earth rages and cries woefully out at injustice… the way she has been stolen from without permission. The way she has been taken exponentially from without any inquiry as to what reciprocity might entail.
Firmly planted on the other Earth, I stand bare feet in the grass surrounded by flower friends that extend their blossoms to me, ensuring I am not alone. I am enchanted by the sun’s warm glow and the moon’s mystic beams. I am keenly aware of the spirals of life – the evolutionary patterns of our souls, the rhythm of the seasons, the dance of the constellations.
When I first drew what I had in mind, my arms were reaching, extending across the abyss to pull my family over to this new world alongside me. Come, come!! It’s way better over here. Trust me!! I promise!!!
All I have ever wanted is for them to be a part of it with me.
But that drawing was some time ago, and when I recently drew it from the current state of my heart, I noticed it had changed slightly.
My arms are no longer reaching; they remain alongside me. My fragmented heart cries tears of grief that are certainly not in vain. They nurture the ground beneath me. They tend to the land. They are an offering and a promise.
I understand myself as a sovereign being just as I understand all others to be. For this, I understand freedom. And while it has caused the heart to splinter, it has cracked more open. These wounds are compost for wisdom.
I have always wondered why this great divide – between Earths – exists, and only continues to increase in severity.
Of the plentiful philosophical debates as to why this is the case, it feels very simple.
There is a fundamental split between the desire to evolve and the desire to preserve. The desire to ask questions and the desire to obey.
The word evolve can lend itself to an elitist tone. Let’s debunk that right now and think of it in terms of Darwinism, in which case, evolution is an animal’s adaptation to a changing environment.
But let’s go a little further, a little deeper in.
What is the split between evolution and tradition? Both beautiful in their own rite.
What is that fundamental component that so dramatically chisels away at the gap between unfolding and control?
Artist Unknown Via Pinterest
It is the feeling of safety, of rootedness, in the body. It is the spirit’s complete anchoring into the physical realm – the one of primal instinct. It trusts. It knows.
This may sound ironic, for one may presume that to be fully anchored is to be deadweight, creating sentiments of heaviness and stagnancy. But it is the complete opposite, for when a spirit does not feel fully safe to be completely in the body, they are always scattered looking for pieces of themselves.
It was not until I did my yoga teacher training that I became aware of how far away I was from my own skin. Any healer could have seen it in me right away. But I was blind to it because I had yet to learn another way.
The inherited survival techniques we have grown accustomed to in the West are a testament to not only our disassociation from the body, but our celebration of it. Do any of the following sound familiar?
Excessive caffeine necessary to move through the day
Excessive screen time / indoor time
Superficial connections… Feeling lonely even though there are ‘friends’ to call on
Exercising to check a box as opposed to celebrating vitality
Mental spiraling and increased heart rate creating anxiety and dread
Numbing out to avoid feeling, potentially through highly mainstream substances such as alcohol or marijuana
Shopping / making purchases to compensate for lacking dopamine
How do we solve for this epidemic?
What is the bridge between the Earth of Destruction and the Earth of Creation?
Artist Unknown via Pinterest
Let’s consult with the Root Chakra, Muladhara.
Located at the base of the spine in the genital region, this energy center is equivalent to the physiological base depicted in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It governs our most primal reflexes by way of its connection to the adrenal glands. For this, I would liken it to the amygdala, the fight-or-flight response of the mind, whereas the root chakra is a consultation with the seat of the soul. Therefore, there is a much deeper, esoteric conversation occurring.
Cyndi Dale further describes the root chakra as the container of “our roots, including family values, beliefs, and heritage; original feelings about ourselves, our right to exist, our right to occupy space, our right to be loved, our right to get our needs met; programming affecting our basic needs, including the needs for money, love/being loved, sex, food, air, water, housing; material energy for achieving life purpose.”
Therefore, if we return to the original inquiry regarding the desire to evolve vs. the desire to uphold tradition, we must consult with the root chakra. What stories does it tell? What was taught to us? By who? And who taught them? Where did that come from?
While these are innocent questions, they may provide complex answers. Regardless, they will reveal the truth. And when this truth causes a bitter taste, there is the desire to ingest something sweeter. There is the desire to evolve.
Being that this is all taking place in the root chakra, the base, the anchor, it will cause tremendous upheaval. The tectonic plates of evolution will shift; the volcano will erupt from deep within and shake the core. It will spew and rage and burn.
It will create new life.
My personal volcanic eruption is in the stage of crawling lava. Thick magma cooling into form. Once it hardens, it will be strong, and I will call it my own. It will be fertile grounds for Spring.
Sprouts will emerge from the black-void-terrain, and I will rejoice.
This.
This.
This is the Earth of Creation.