On the brink of the new year, I feel inspired to share some further points of view regarding the meaning of CD.
The chakra system provides a fascinating tool to clarify relations between body, mind, heart, and spirit. Since CD is so very obviously reflecting imbalance of the 5th chakra (or throat chakra), it is worthwhile to explore the symbolic meaning of this chakra and to see how it is linked to CD.
Generally speaking, the 5th chakra is the center of willpower and self-expression. The spiritual lessons we can learn in this domain are: taking responsibility for our actions, having faith, being truthful, and surrendering personal will for divine will.
We can disentangle willpower and self-expression by viewing these aspects from multiple angles, which are all correlated yet slightly different. Below I am giving you the various angles or sub-aspects that I was able to identify, including a brief description, as well as a few words on what disturbance of the sub-aspect generally entails. I subsequently make the situation of disturbance more specific for CD.
Willpower
The 5th chakra is the center of willpower, where mental and emotional intention are combined into will, giving direction for life.
- Disturbance
One-sided fuelling of willpower, e.g., driven only by the ego and by thinking (mental), or only by fear (emotional). - CD
We are highly disciplined to control life circumstances after having suffered trauma, working around emotional blockages and hurt, living in a planned, strategic, and systematic way. But this apparent control is just an illusion. Our willpower is strongly ego-driven, very one-sided, thus deactivating the natural flow of life. The balance between mind, feelings, and bodily sensations is gone. The aspects of being out of control and of one-sidedness and imbalance are physically reflected in our neck condition.
Choice
The 5th chakra is also about making actual decisions and choices, which are the consequence of willpower. Choice is an act of (will)power, with tangible influence in life. Making conscious choices means taking responsibility for our actions.
- Disturbance
Choices based on fear and lack of self-love, following others in choices, inability to decide, mindless and/or emotionless patterns, escape from conscious choice, addictions. - CD
We make our choices to avoid pain and anger, and to prevent losing control. At the same time we are feeling responsible for others more than ourselves (lack of self-love). Escaping in emotionless patterns and actions, the ego keeps us going on without room for relaxation, flexibility and improvisation. This is mirrored in mindless physical spasms and rigidity in our necks. We got stuck off-center, mentally, emotionally and physically.
Belief
Decisions are usually made with respect to our beliefs, truths, and knowledge. Therefore, we may say that belief is an act of will and in this way governed by the 5th chakra.
- Disturbance
In case of fear-inspired decisions, there is no actual belief in the wanted outcome of the decisions, and this negative belief will create negative circumstances, i.e., will manifest the feared situations. - CD
Our fear to be out of control makes us believe we cannot live in flow, expressing ourselves freely. We believe we are less worth and unable to be who we truly are. We have a rather negative self-image, due to lack of true self-knowledge and self-love. Therefore we believe we have to strive for extreme perfectionism in everything we do.
Self-expression
The 5th chakra stands for communication of our authentic thoughts, truths, and emotions, to others as well as to ourselves. Creativity is part and parcel of communication, especially in oral, written, and musical forms.
- Disturbance
Inauthenticity, dishonesty, lying, yelling, gossip, ignorance, denial. - CD
Agreeableness, not saying what we really want, reduced openness, suppression of emotions in general, difficulty to express negative feelings, in particular anger. Feeling disconnected from our core, not seeing and not showing ourselves as we are, demanding ourselves to be perfect instead of just who we are.
Receiving
Receiving is closely related – in fact almost equal – to expressing. We receive what we express from inside. The 5th chakra is therefore associated with abundance, as well as with lack of it.
- Disturbance
Manifesting negativity in the outer world by the spoken word and other means of expression. - CD
We manifest rigidity in the outer, physical world due to our inner rigidity. Our perfectionism may help us to receive enough abundance in the material world, but that won’t fulfill us. We manifest situations that make us suffer and experience lack due to our lack of self-love.
Perception
Like receiving, perception of the outer world (as well as of the self) is the flip-side of expression of the self. Perception is the inward component of communication, like listening and clairaudience, and therefore also ruled by the 5th chakra.
- Disturbance
Fear that others, i.e., the external world, have authority over our life. Fear of being out of control. Judgment and criticism. - CD
Focus on the outer world, wanting for things to happen outside us, taking care more of others than ourselves, fear of conflict, social phobia. Fear of losing control. Perfectionism, which drives us to judgments and criticism, constantly blaming others and ourselves. Open, unbiased and flexible perception of, and orientation on, our world has become impossible. We lost all flexibility in our center of perception, getting stuck, even physically.
Gateway
The 5th chakra constitutes the doorway between body and head, between heart and mind. It borders the domain of the upper chakras, which govern spiritual growth.
- Disturbance
When the 5th chakra isn’t open, a disconnect between heart and head will obviously lead to stuckness, lack of flow. Emotions and mind are not aligned and out of sync. - CD
We are living in our heads, we lost the connection with the rest of our body. Our physical body literally shows us the disconnect in the neck, shows us the blockage in this channel between heart and head, between the physical and the mental – as well as the spiritual.
The antidote to the above described CD problems is easily defined.
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Resolve trauma and emotional blockage
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Face and transcend fear, anger and hurt
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Identify and transform negative beliefs in order to have faith
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Stop blaming others and take responsibility for your own choices and actions
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Allow mental processes to become supporting instead of leading
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Reconnect with your body, feel its sensations and its needs
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Identify the choices in your life that weren’t authentic (‘confession’)
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Identify your own truths and communicate them
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Know yourself and accept yourself the way you are
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Release judgment, embrace gratitude and compassion
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Understand that your outer world is a reflection of your inner world
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Realign with your core self, i.e. with your divine will, with natural flow
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Do and say what is authentic for you: be creative, follow your passions
It thus appears that the 5th chakra with CD is calling us to grow spiritually. Within this framework, I came across an interesting piece of information, which might provide another link to CD. In the neck, at the base of the skull, another lesser-known chakra has been recognized: the alter major chakra. It is said to energetically interconnect the higher, spiritually oriented chakras. (The 6th chakra accesses our inner world, and the 7th chakra provides a view of our outer world.) When the alter major chakra is opened, it shows us oneness, i.e., reveals that our inner and outer worlds are reflections of one another. It powers our instincts, our knowing without thinking. It provides a channel to the cosmos, to the collective consciousness. Opening this chakra allows us to make a dramatic shift in awareness.
In my search for transcendental consciousness, I have recently experienced authentic self-expression. Thanks to this experience it has become so clear to me that authenticity had been lacking in my life. Prior to getting CD, I used to make my decisions based on reason only, I used not to listen to my heart, I used to ignore my emotions and bodily sensations and I have therefore not been able to show myself as who I truly am, not even to myself. I knew that already on a mental level, but now I also felt it so clearly. During the transcendental experience, I sensed and saw an intense flow of energy, of my own spirit or life force, going through my body, freely, without any emotional blockages. And then I started speaking like an oracle. The words were coming from the core of my being. It felt so good to use my voice and to enjoy its vibration. It felt so great that the things I was saying were completely authentic. I didn’t need to use my mind at all, to say what I said. The words and sentences just gushed out in an automatic stream, straight from my soul, from who I really am, with exactly the right intention and intonation. My body, mind, heart, and soul were one. I was playing, composing, sketching and painting with words. I was at home with myself, I was connected with all that is, and I felt an intense love.
Now that I have experienced this, I know exactly what it feels like to be healed, to be whole again. Once I am able to be this authentic all the time, CD will be gone. The remainder of my emotional blockages, i.e., trauma, needs to be cleared for that. Having said that, I realize that resolving CD hasn’t been my main objective for quite some time now. I just want to be emotionally free and to be and to love who I truly am.
I wish you all an Authentic You!