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If we hear a saying enough – especially at an impressionable time and/or spoken by someone we respect – we may accept it without applying critical thinking to determine if it’s actually true. For me, one such saying was, “People don’t change.”
As a young adult I heard it said by a guy I looked up to, and I remember thinking he must be wise. He stated it with triumph and bitterness – as a keen insight that would allow him to never be hurt again.
In writing this article, I googled “people don’t change” and “people can’t change” and got about 4 million hits for each phrase. Clearly this is a prevalent idea. But is it true?
When psychologists Dan Gilbert, Jordi Quoidbach, and Timothy Wilson set out to investigate perceptions of personal change, they discovered something surprising: most people believe that they have gotten all of their changing over with. Interviews with 19,000 participants revealed that young people, middle aged people, and old people all saw themselves as having changed a lot in the past, but believed they had more or less “arrived” at who they would be from now on. The scientists called this the “end of history illusion.” They used the word “illusion” because . . . we’re almost always wrong.
Perhaps this widespread view of ourselves as unlikely to change spills over onto what we expect of others – i.e., that they won’t change either. But we might ask, when someone believes that people don’t change, did it originate as a rational assessment of the likelihood of change? Or did it begin as a way of saving face, as in, “It may look like I got blindsided, but I actually saw this coming – because people don’t change.” Or as ammo for self-punishment, as in, “I’m a fool. I should have seen this coming – because people don’t change.” Or as the basis for blaming others for our pain, as in, “I was relying on you to become different so that I could be happy, but I’m not happy – because people don’t change.”
I happen to be in the business of tracking change. A few folks come to me for health maintenance, but I like to empower people to do most of their maintenance themselves, so the majority of my patient visits are from humans wanting the same thing: change. They want their body to change or their mind to change or their life circumstances to change. Because my task is to help facilitate this change, a significant part of my job is to be a change tracker. As a change tracker, I can assure you, people change all the time, often dramatically. If they didn’t, I’d feel like a charlatan.
But of course, we all have recurring patterns. In Vedic philosophy, these are considered to be expressions of our samskaras – the imprints of past experiences. Samskara literally means “impression” – like a footprint in the sand or a groove cut in the earth – and we tend to fall into them over and over, just as water naturally follows ruts in the land. Likewise, as experiences “flow” through our consciousness, they are manipulated by these contours of our psyche. Our capacity for discernment, called the buddhi, is said to be impaired by the presence of samskaras because they cause us to see things differently than they really are.
Scientists in the field of psychoneuroimmunology discovered that there’s a biological basis for this behavior. The repetition of the same thoughts, feelings, or behaviors strengthens a particular neurological pathway. These neurons “wire together” making a more efficient channel for nerve impulses to flow through, much like a groove in the sand. This increases the likelihood of our continuing to repeat the thought / feeling / behavior and thus to further strengthen the pathway and increase the potential to revisit it.
What can we do about this? There are many useful strategies, most of which amount to the cultivation of clear vision and perspective. Traditionally, this is one of the central purposes of yoga – meditation, specifically – which is said to be like polishing the dirty mirror of the buddhi so that it provides accurate reflections.
Meditation is like walking to the top of a mountain, where we can see the big picture (something impossible to do when we’re stuck in a rut in the ground). Here we can determine our most efficient course of action. Here we see the grooves of samskaras and “fill them in” through forgiveness, love, and acceptance. Here we can see the ways we have changed, and, indeed, see that big change is inevitable for ourselves and everyone else.
Take a few minutes today for a mental fast. Close your eyes and allow yourself to rise above the chattering and judgements, the push and pull of emotions, and perceive what kind of change would bring you into closer alignment with your inner being. Then set an intention to allow this change to happen. Perhaps even ask your highest self to reconfigure you to experience peace more readily. A change is gonna come.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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For her birthday, my daughter received a “magic chakra pendant” which consisted of cheap, dyed crystals glued together to form a rainbow in the shape of a pyramid. Shortly thereafter, she and I were shopping and we saw a set of seven “chakra teas” in a rainbow of boxes. She asked me, “What does chakra mean?” I sighed. It was like being asked, “What is art?”
A couple years ago, I wrote an article for The Dragontree about the throat chakra and received numerous requests for articles on the other chakras. I have hesitated to oblige for a few reasons. First, interpretations of the word and concept vary quite a lot, even within the various Indian traditions where it’s found. Many of the classical writings about chakras are complicated and arcane. And the idea has been widely co-opted by Westerners, sometimes in thoughtful ways, other times in superficial ways. I felt it would be difficult to do the subject justice in the format of a brief article.
However, I’m realistic about modern attention spans. I know that not many people are interested in reading a scholarly work about chakras. But Westerners have a hunger for spiritual connection, and chakras are interesting and might serve as an opening to deeper exploration and insight. So, I figure, if you’re going to read a mediocre article about chakras it might as well be from someone who has had in interest in them for a few decades and possesses a small library of books about them. Even if I have to oversimplify and modernize the topic, I feel there’s still value in opening the door. So, over the following months, we’ll look at what chakras are and how you can grow and heal through an understanding of this system.
First, what’s a chakra? Chakra or çakra – pronounced “chah-krah,” not “shah-krah” – is a Sanskrit word meaning wheel, disc, or cycle. Chakra philosophy, which comes mainly from the Tantrik texts of India, appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, Jungian and transpersonal psychology, and more. Chakras are usually defined as energy centers in the body that influence spiritual awakening as well as psychological and physical function. The number and location of chakras varies between traditions, but the prevailing model features six or seven chakras located along the midline of the body, upon or in front of the spine.
The endurance and spread of this system is probably due to the appealing and accessible way in which it describes different states of consciousness and how we’re influenced by this subtle layer of our being. Here are the viewpoints of a few authors:
Sir John Woodroofe, an early translator of Tanrik texts, described the chakras as centers of “Vital Force” (prana) and universal consciousness.1 He (and many others) saw them as instrumental stations that need to be opened in order to arouse the life force/consciousness called kundalini to move through us and awaken us. (Kundalini is just as dense of a topic as chakras, so please pardon my superficial coverage.)
Caroline Myss exposed millions of people to the concept of chakras through her 1996 book, Anatomy of the Spirit. She writes about them as if there’s a historical consensus supporting her interpretations (there isn’t), which is a bit misleading, but I believe her presentation of the chakras offers a lot of value. Here’s her modern psycho-spiritual definition: “The chakra system is an archetypal depiction of individual maturation through seven distinct stages.” She describes a process of ascension through the chakras whereby, “at each stage we gain a more refined understanding of personal and spiritual power, since each chakra represents a spiritual life-lesson or challenge common to all human beings. As a person masters each chakra, he gains power and self-knowledge that become integrated into his spirit, advancing him along the path toward spiritual consciousness in the classic hero’s journey.”2
Harish Johari, in one of the earliest English language books on the subject – aptly named Chakras – defines them as “psychic centers of transformation that enable one to move toward an enlightened state of being.” As for the translation of chakra as wheel, Johari says, “the word chakra indicates movement. Chakras introduce movement because they transform psychophysical energy into spiritual energy.” He explains that variances in the way energy moves through our chakras produce variances in our psychic state and physiology.4
Just to shake things up, let’s look at some contrasting views. Ken Wilber, a prolific scholar on Eastern philosophy, writes: “The being-consciousness-bliss of one’s formless self is distorted and constricted, and under this tyranny [imposed by a separate-self sense] appears in the restricted forms known as the chakras.” Wilber goes on to explain that the chakras are like knots or contractions in our consciousness, and that spiritual liberation is the untying of these knots, or, more accurately, “not the actual untying of these knots, but the silent admission that they are already untied.” The paradox of the chakras, he explains, is that “They are ultimately dissolved in the realization that they need not be dissolved.”
He claims that the chakras aren’t real, “in the sense that they do not pose a barrier to self-realization, nor do they constitute mandatory stages in an upward climb to liberation,” however, he goes on to say that they can certainly be perceived – as the localized experiences of different states of consciousness.3
In Robert Svoboda’s book, Kundalini, he asks his mentor, Aghori Vimalananda, about the notion that almost all physical and mental diseases are due to ‘blocked chakras.’ Vimalananda replies, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The chakras exist in the subtle body, and their connection to the physical body is very subtle. It is true that both the physical and subtle plexuses may become blocked, but in most people the Kundalini is fast asleep in the Muladhara Chakra [the first or root chakra at the base of the spine], and their chakras are absolutely closed and play no part in their day-to-day lives. . . . As long as you are full of attachments to life your consciousness will never be able to get close enough to any chakra even to smell its fragrance, much less to experience it.”5
So, how do we make sense of these disparate views? I recommend a combination of contemplation of others’ teachings and the guidance of your personal experience (keeping in mind that your personal experience doesn’t make you an authority on others’ experiences). I have encountered many practitioners of yoga, energy healing, and meditation who have had powerful firsthand experiences of their chakras – specifically the experience of an opening or closing, or the blockage of flow and the restoration of flow.
It’s possible that these experiences are occurring on a different plane than what Vimalananda defines as a chakra, but we have to ask if it really matters. I’m inclined to believe that in most cases, it doesn’t. If the chakra system is a useful means for understanding our challenges, knowing ourselves, and prompting growth, isn’t that a good thing even if it doesn’t make us enlightened?
Before I wrap this up, here is a list of the seven primary chakras, some of their characteristics, plus the key virtues and obstacles associated with them:
- Muladhara – at the perineum (between the genitals and the anus). Associated with the earth element, with a sense of security and stability, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the material world.
- Svadhisthana – at the genital region. Associated with the water element and with creativity, family, procreation, and [Myss:] with lessons related to sexuality, work, and physical desire.
- Manpura – at the level of the navel. Associated with the fire element and with transformation, will, and [Myss:] with lessons related to the ego, personality, and self-esteem.
- Anahata – at the level of the heart. Associated with the air element and with balance, love, compassion, connection, and forgiveness.
- Vishuddha – at the level of the throat. Associated with space and with communication, self-expression, and creation through the word.
- Ajana - at the level of the “third eye.” Beyond the elements, it is associated with self-realization, vision, knowing, projection, intuition, and insight.
- Sahasrara – at the top of the head. Sometimes considered not to be a proper chakra, it is associated with oneness with Absolute (God) Consciousness and [Myss:] lessons related to spirituality.
Next time, we’ll discuss the first and arguably most important chakra for the average human – Muladhara – which is often said to be an expression of our sense of foundation and our ability to trust that our basic needs will be met. In the meantime, consider meditating on these concepts. Have you ever had a sense of one or more of your chakras? Have you ever experienced a shift in one of these places that brought about a change in your body, mind, or broader consciousness?
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
References
- Woodroffe, J. G., & P. (1931). The Serpent Power: Being the Shat-chakra-nirūpana and Pādukā-panchaka; Two Works on Laya yoga. Madras: Ganesh.
- Myss, C. M. (1996). Anatomy of the Spirit: The seven stages of power and healing. New York: Three Rivers Press.
- White, J. W. (1990). Kundalini, Evolution, and Enlightenment. New York: Paragon House.
- Johari, H. (1987). Chakras. Energy Centers of Transformation. Destiny Books.
- Svoboda, R. E. (1995). Aghora II: Kundalini. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life Publishing.
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Every year we collect more and more stories from people who have used the Dreambook to achieve clarity about what kind of life they want to create and then made it a reality. Maybe because of the craziness of 2020, there’s been a big surge of interest in the book this year, so I decided to share a little about what makes it special.
In a time of such uncertainty, many of us tend to abandon long-term and even medium-term plans, just focusing instead on getting through each day. Unfortunately, this isn’t really the same as living in the present moment, and that’s where the richness of life dwells. If there were ever a time to live for the present, it’s now.
While the Dreambook is designed to help people with 1-year, 3-year, 10-year, and lifetime goals, our overarching intention is to help people enrich the journey rather than the destination. The journey is always happening, so it needs to be as full of the good stuff as we imagine the destination will be.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s discussion on washing the dishes is one of the most quoted passages on the topic of mindfulness, but I could hear it and share it a million times: “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes. . . . If while washing the dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not ‘washing the dishes to wash the dishes.’ What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes.”
The consequences of mindlessly washing the dishes may be minor, but what about the consequences of mindlessly eating, mindlessly doing our job, mindlessly playing with our kids, or mindlessly conversing with our partner? A life without our presence – because we’re just trying to get through it – is devoid of the magic, connection, and grace that make it worth living.
There are a number of ways to change this outcome-focused orientation. One of the most potent, which we share in the Dreambook, is identifying your life purpose.
When you have a purpose, you’re conscious that you’re serving a bigger function than meeting your own needs. When you’re “on purpose,” energy arises to support your work. Opportunities appear everywhere. And, most importantly, you spend more of your life right here, right now, alive and clear.
Various methods exist for determining your life purpose, but when it comes down to it, it’s a matter of intuiting what you’re meant to do, feeling it out, and choosing to pursue it. It’s okay if you later decide to modify that choice.
We have a more involved process in the Dreambook, but for today let’s see what comes to you with just a few minutes of contemplation. Grab a pen and paper and write a few sentences in response to these questions:
What times and places in your life have you felt you were making a meaningful contribution?
What inspires you?
What would people say your strengths are?
When/how do you feel called to serve humankind or the planet?
What are your highest values (e.g., kindness, generosity, honesty, service, integrity, beauty, etc.)?
Based on these responses, craft a statement that conveys how you intend to serve the world. Here are some examples:
- My purpose is to help people heal through creative expression.
- My life purpose is to build healthy communities.
- My purpose is to help people use their voices and awaken their power.
- My purpose is to facilitate playfulness in adults.
- My purpose is to teach people how to live in harmony with the environment.
- My purpose is to help people actualize their potential.
Don’t worry about getting the statement perfect on the first round. For now, choose a statement of life purpose and read it out loud and with intention. How does that feel? Ideally, making this statement should feel powerful and right, or as my friend Reuvain puts it, it should feel like a “Hell yeah!”. It might even give you goosebumps or tingles. If it feels a bit intimidating, that’s ok, too, as long as it also feels true.
If it doesn’t feel like a “hell yeah!” change some of the wording. Consider making it less specific. For instance, if a statement such as, “My purpose is to help children to become healthy adults by learning to process their emotions” doesn't feel as inspiring as you hoped, you could start by broadening it to something like, “My purpose is to help children process their emotions,” or even just, “My purpose is to help children.” Just get it as accurate as you can manage and then write it down. I recommend writing it in a special way on a nice piece of paper. Put it somewhere where you’ll see it and say it every morning.
More importantly, try to keep it in mind throughout your day, applying it as often as you can. Use the Dreambook to integrate it into your weekly planning process and your goals. You can also use the Habit Tracking function to help you remember and assess your progress.
What changes when you’re on purpose? Is it easier to make decisions? Do people respond differently to you? Is there more energy available? Consciously living your purpose is the only way to know if it’s right. As you live your purpose, you’ll get insights that will help you refine your purpose statement. I’d love to hear about your experience with this process.
Be well,
Peter
P.S. My life purpose to love, heal, and awaken myself and the world. I hope I’ve served that purpose today!
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If we hear a saying enough – especially at an impressionable time and/or spoken by someone we respect – we may accept it without applying critical thinking to determine if it’s actually true. For me, one such saying was, “People don’t change.”
As a young adult I heard it said by a guy I looked up to, and I remember thinking he must be wise. He stated it with triumph and bitterness – as a keen insight that would allow him to never be hurt again.
In writing this article, I googled “people don’t change” and “people can’t change” and got about 4 million hits for each phrase. Clearly this is a prevalent idea. But is it true?
When psychologists Dan Gilbert, Jordi Quoidbach, and Timothy Wilson set out to investigate perceptions of personal change, they discovered something surprising: most people believe that they have gotten all of their changing over with. Interviews with 19,000 participants revealed that young people, middle aged people, and old people all saw themselves as having changed a lot in the past, but believed they had more or less “arrived” at who they would be from now on. The scientists called this the “end of history illusion.” They used the word “illusion” because . . . we’re almost always wrong.
Perhaps this widespread view of ourselves as unlikely to change spills over onto what we expect of others – i.e., that they won’t change either. But we might ask, when someone believes that people don’t change, did it originate as a rational assessment of the likelihood of change? Or did it begin as a way of saving face, as in, “It may look like I got blindsided, but I actually saw this coming – because people don’t change.” Or as ammo for self-punishment, as in, “I’m a fool. I should have seen this coming – because people don’t change.” Or as the basis for blaming others for our pain, as in, “I was relying on you to become different so that I could be happy, but I’m not happy – because people don’t change.”
I happen to be in the business of tracking change. A few folks come to me for health maintenance, but I like to empower people to do most of their maintenance themselves, so the majority of my patient visits are from humans wanting the same thing: change. They want their body to change or their mind to change or their life circumstances to change. Because my task is to help facilitate this change, a significant part of my job is to be a change tracker. As a change tracker, I can assure you, people change all the time, often dramatically. If they didn’t, I’d feel like a charlatan.
But of course, we all have recurring patterns. In Vedic philosophy, these are considered to be expressions of our samskaras – the imprints of past experiences. Samskara literally means “impression” – like a footprint in the sand or a groove cut in the earth – and we tend to fall into them over and over, just as water naturally follows ruts in the land. Likewise, as experiences “flow” through our consciousness, they are manipulated by these contours of our psyche. Our capacity for discernment, called the buddhi, is said to be impaired by the presence of samskaras because they cause us to see things differently than they really are.
Scientists in the field of psychoneuroimmunology discovered that there’s a biological basis for this behavior. The repetition of the same thoughts, feelings, or behaviors strengthens a particular neurological pathway. These neurons “wire together” making a more efficient channel for nerve impulses to flow through, much like a groove in the sand. This increases the likelihood of our continuing to repeat the thought / feeling / behavior and thus to further strengthen the pathway and increase the potential to revisit it.
What can we do about this? There are many useful strategies, most of which amount to the cultivation of clear vision and perspective. Traditionally, this is one of the central purposes of yoga – meditation, specifically – which is said to be like polishing the dirty mirror of the buddhi so that it provides accurate reflections.
Meditation is like walking to the top of a mountain, where we can see the big picture (something impossible to do when we’re stuck in a rut in the ground). Here we can determine our most efficient course of action. Here we see the grooves of samskaras and “fill them in” through forgiveness, love, and acceptance. Here we can see the ways we have changed, and, indeed, see that big change is inevitable for ourselves and everyone else.
Take a few minutes today for a mental fast. Close your eyes and allow yourself to rise above the chattering and judgements, the push and pull of emotions, and perceive what kind of change would bring you into closer alignment with your inner being. Then set an intention to allow this change to happen. Perhaps even ask your highest self to reconfigure you to experience peace more readily. A change is gonna come.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
[post_title] => Can You Change?
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