Posted by Jackie Gaston
The Gun Debate and Our Collective 1st Chakra
***I want to make it clear from the get go that I am not taking sides on the issue of gun control or lack there of with this article. There are plenty of other places where you can read about and make comments in regard to your feelings on it. I will confess right here and now that I grew up with guns and am pretty proficient at using them but that I don't own one and probably won't ever unless I'm living in a very rural, varmint ridden environment.***
It seems to me that our collective first chakra has it's panties in a pretty big wad over the whole gun issue. Our first chakra demands safety and security. Right now a lot of people in our country aren't feeling very much of either and are locked in passionate disagreement as to what to do about it. Some people think they would feel a lot safer if no one were allowed to own guns, or at least not certain types of guns. Others think they would feel safer if everyone had at least one gun. On both sides and in the middle are people who are afraid to go to the movies or send their kids to school.
There are also people who feel that guns are not the issue at all but rather a symptom of a deeper unbalance. On a very deep level, I agree with them. Feeling insecure and unsafe are signs of a blocked or unbalanced first chakra. When I am working with someone on first chakra issues, the first thing I do is offer them a way to find a feeling of security and safety. To that end, I went looking for evidence that our world is not such a scary place.
I'd like to offer a little reassurance as follows:
The next thing I do when working with someone is to give them some tools to help them manage any emotions that come up. In this instance, I think that it is helpful to turn off the news. We are constantly bombarded with news and arguments on this issue. As I type this, my husband is watching a news program an I'm hearing the commentator rant about it. It is so easy to get caught up in the passion and in the feeling that you're right and the ones who don't feel the way you do are nuts. This serves no one.
If, like me, you find it impossible to avoid hearing or reading about the gun issue, or any other issue for that matter, I hope you can find a way to neutralize its effect on you. One way is to recognize that although the people who are so passionate about it mean well, you, as a deliberate creator, know that it's all a story and it doesn't have to be yours. Find something else to think about. Put on some music. Dance, Sing. Take a shower.
The way to heal our collective first chakra is to heal our individual ones. Concentrating on problems with guns will create more problems with guns and I know that we can do better than that.
The Gun Debate and Our Collective 1st Chakra
***I want to make it clear from the get go that I am not taking sides on the issue of gun control or lack there of with this article. There are plenty of other places where you can read about and make comments in regard to your feelings on it. I will confess right here and now that I grew up with guns and am pretty proficient at using them but that I don't own one and probably won't ever unless I'm living in a very rural, varmint ridden environment.***
It seems to me that our collective first chakra has it's panties in a pretty big wad over the whole gun issue. Our first chakra demands safety and security. Right now a lot of people in our country aren't feeling very much of either and are locked in passionate disagreement as to what to do about it. Some people think they would feel a lot safer if no one were allowed to own guns, or at least not certain types of guns. Others think they would feel safer if everyone had at least one gun. On both sides and in the middle are people who are afraid to go to the movies or send their kids to school.
There are also people who feel that guns are not the issue at all but rather a symptom of a deeper unbalance. On a very deep level, I agree with them. Feeling insecure and unsafe are signs of a blocked or unbalanced first chakra. When I am working with someone on first chakra issues, the first thing I do is offer them a way to find a feeling of security and safety. To that end, I went looking for evidence that our world is not such a scary place.
I'd like to offer a little reassurance as follows:
- According to the National Association of Theater Owners, there are 39,580 movie theaters in the U.S. Most of these have multiple showings on multiple screens every day. Being very conservative and saying that each of these theaters only shows 3 shows per day, that is 43,340,100 shows per year. Take into consideration that there has been a shooting at one show in recent memory, that makes movie theaters sound like pretty safe places to be.
- According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, there are 98,817 public elementary schools and 67,140 public high schools in this country. There are 49.8 million students in these schools and 3.3 million full time teachers. This does not count part time staff and support staff other than teachers. This means that there are more than 53.1 million people in our public schools every school day. Since February 2012, 44 people have been killed with guns on school campuses. That makes schools sound pretty safe,too.
The next thing I do when working with someone is to give them some tools to help them manage any emotions that come up. In this instance, I think that it is helpful to turn off the news. We are constantly bombarded with news and arguments on this issue. As I type this, my husband is watching a news program an I'm hearing the commentator rant about it. It is so easy to get caught up in the passion and in the feeling that you're right and the ones who don't feel the way you do are nuts. This serves no one.
If, like me, you find it impossible to avoid hearing or reading about the gun issue, or any other issue for that matter, I hope you can find a way to neutralize its effect on you. One way is to recognize that although the people who are so passionate about it mean well, you, as a deliberate creator, know that it's all a story and it doesn't have to be yours. Find something else to think about. Put on some music. Dance, Sing. Take a shower.
The way to heal our collective first chakra is to heal our individual ones. Concentrating on problems with guns will create more problems with guns and I know that we can do better than that.
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