Welcome friends to Episode #58 of the Own Your Best Life Podcast. If you’ve ever struggled with making decisions, and have been curious about a framework for making decisions, you’re in luck. Today I’m going to introduce you to the chakra system and how it can help you make decisions. Maybe you don’t know what the chakra system is or maybe you have an extensive knowledge of this system – it doesn’t matter. This framework is simple to understand and easy to apply. Let’s get started.

The chakra system wasn’t what I thought it was. When I did my yoga teacher training the summer I completed my MBA at Columbia years ago, I was introduced to the chakra system but like many things, I didn’t really understand the power of this framework until I was ready to understand it. It came back to me again several years ago, I was at a point in my life where I started really seeking a lot more meaning in the immaterial and less in the material. This is really about the pursuit of spirituality. It was when I realized that the material world really couldn’t withstand scrutiny. What I mean by this is that I realized that the pressure would never end, the stress would never stop, the wanting would always be there, and there would always be a “next” as long as I kept thinking that happiness was found somewhere outside of me.

Many of you spiritual achievers may be feeling this way. You did the thing and now what? What happens after this? Why don’t I know who I am or what I stand for? Naturally, as the outside world broke down – I went inward. I realized that there was something about the energetic world I hadn’t explored, the connection in the thing between the outside world and the mind. The world of energy can be explained as the world beyond our sight – the in-between before thoughts become form.

It was after I pivoted my career and decided to complete my coaching certification at Columbia, where I had completed my MBA that I began to train and be certified in the field of spirituality as well. One of these trainings, led by Gabby Bernstein was at a wellness center in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I was really in that process of seeking. I was taking various spiritual classes, diving deeper into texts and books so that I could understand myself and the world completely differently. One night, I had some free time. This wellness center would have different teachers who were teaching courses there offer free workshops so that you could learn more and from other teachers while you were there. This workshop was led by Dr. Anodea Judith, who is one of the leading experts on the chakra system.

After that workshop, I started learning and reading more about the world of energy. Energy healing, energy medicine, and energetic bodies. I know that when we hear about different systems from different cultures or places in the world that it can seem intimidating or weird or strange. What I’ve realized is that it’s all language and context but when you can see beyond language or rituals, you can see what resonates for you. 

You might know a lot about the chakra system. You might know nothing about it at all. What I’m going to share with you is my experience with them and how they can be a wonderful framework for us to run our decisions through, to help guide us when we’re not sure of which way to go or what to do. I hope that, like anything else, you can understand what you need to know to take away whatever it is you need to take away from this. Always question what you’re learning and hearing, no matter who it’s from so that you can make it your own. Doubt is normal, but so is the ability to understand what rings true for you. Let’s dive in to the basics of the chakra system.

I’m going to give you a brief overview of what the chakra system is and how to use it for decision-making. There’s so much more you can learn about the chakras and how to use it for healing among other things. In fact, I was so interested that I embarked on a chakra healing certification so that I could learn more about it, but you can decide for yourself how much you want to know.

The chakra system is at its core, a way of understanding our energetic body. The word “chakra” means “wheel” or “disk” and is derived from the Sanskrit word “cakra”. It traces its roots to the Vedic system – early Hindu philosophy that was passed down orally from generation to generation. Chakras represent energetic centers in our body that are located along the spine and correspond to different body parts, glands and organs. There are 7 chakras that we typically refer to. The root chakra, the sacral chakra, the solar plexus chakra, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third eye chakra, and the crown chakra.

How does this relate to decisions? Decisions are a way for us to bring thought into form. We have choices to make in our lives, many of them that we don’t even realize we are making. We choose what to believe, what this thing means, how to respond, what to say, and to whom. If you struggle with decision-making, it often feels like a waste of energy. We feel spent, confused and like we didn’t utilize our time well – one of our most precious resources. Every day, we place our focus on different things. When we do that, we bring our energy there. As we place our energy upon our thoughts, we give them power. This is why lack of decision-making finesse can feel like a “waste of energy”. You could have done something else with all that time and focused energy.

What we don’t realize is that decision-making can be our forte. It is a natural expression of our body of experiences, knowledge and intuition. We admire those who make decisions with ease and confidence. We want to be one of those people who seem to know what to say and when. They just seem to effortlessly glide from one decision to the next. My question is, “Why can’t that be you?” It can be.

It doesn’t matter if you’re making a personal decision or a professional decision, we can relate all of these to the chakras for a holistic understanding of what it means to move quickly and accurately. Here are 7 questions that if you can run through while making a decision, will help you unblock and align the chakras – meaning that your energy is completely fluid and able to be expressed from thought to action.

The 7 questions:

1. How does this impact my sense of security? The root chakra represents a sense of safety and groundedness. It’s the sense of knowing that this decision makes sense for us security-wise and that we can bring it into the real world from an idea. The trick here though is understanding where security comes from. We sometimes think that security comes from money, power or status – but it may not so question this here when you think about it. Security can also be a sense of freedom that comes from realizing that you create your own sense of security internally.
2. How does this decision affect others? The sacral chakra is about creativity, pleasure and our relationship with others. Will our creation, when expressed bring us and others satisfaction?
3. Will this decision bring me power? The solar plexus is our center of confidence and self-empowerment. It is where our force of action and discipline creates a sense of power. This doesn’t mean power over others, but a sense of agency in your own life. Personal and self-power.
4. Is this decision an act of self-love? The heart chakra is about compassion, kindness, acceptance of ourselves and others. We don’t often realize that these altruistic tendencies actually start with less judgement and more love towards ourselves. When we can see ourselves as whole and complete, we don’t make decisions from a place of ego, lack or fear.
5. Does this decision represent my ability to keep my word to myself? The throat chakra shows us that our words have power and that what we speak into our lives becomes true. When we act in integrity with what we believe and we say what we mean, we become people who keep our words to ourselves. We are clear and energy isn’t wasted in half truths or indecisiveness.
6. Does this decision come from a place of wisdom and truth? The third eye is our connection to wisdom, intuition and deeper truth. It’s about going beyond the superficial and using principles and values to guide our decisions. 
7. Do I have faith that this decision will be supported by the Universe? The crown chakra is our connection to divine, whether it means the Universe, Nature, God, Gods or your highest self. When you are able to have faith that this decision is supported by universal energy, you allow decisions to not feel like they are a burden – rather than a natural expression of your most divine and authentic self.

When you can answer yes to these questions, and feel aligned with each of these – you know that you’ve aligned your energy and your power. From thought to action. From source to creation. The chakras are a way of understanding that we are spiritual beings that are bringing about change into this world through expression and creation. Decision-making goes from a tedious, doubt-filled exercise to an experiment in self-expression and listening. Our ability to be clear of mental clutter and noise allows us to make decisions quickly and increase our decision velocity – the accuracy and speed of our decisions. Whether you come to this from a place of chakra understanding or not is not the point. This system is a guide for asking yourself the questions that allow you to run through different points of focus for the way we live.

Let me know what resonates with you and how you use this. In this month’s Leadership group coaching, we’ll be covering how to take aligned action and bridge the gap between your intuition and vision to the practical world – where action matters. This closes the gap between our desires and what we are currently experiencing. This coming week, we’re diving deeper into the chakras and workshopping our decisions and actions we currently have on our plates. If you enjoy these kinds of topics, you can go to www.mayempson.com/contact to learn more.

If you’re interested in reading about Chakra healing, here are a few additional resources:

• Chakra Healing: A Beginner’s Guide to Self-Healing Techniques that Balance the Chakras by Margarita Alcantara
• Charge and the Energy Body: The Vital Key to Healing Your Life, Your Chakras, and Your Relationships by Anodea Judith Ph.D. 

Disclosure: As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn small commissions from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.

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