Venture Fourth Weekly Work
Week Nine Part 2

Dear friends,

It's hard to believe but the next intensive is in just over 6 weeks, so I want you all to begin to do more specific preparation. Below is some additional information for this coming week and the time beyond. This assignment is for the long term, in addition to your weekly focus, this week on integrity and the week of Oct. 11, back to the book and "Order."

Our intensive 2 work takes 3 directions. Please look at the brief introductory material on Intensive 2 in the Course Guide or the DSC site. The first area relates to consciousness.

If you have not already so, please read the book, Putting on the Mind of Christ, by Jim Marion, Hampton Roads Publishing Co. 2000). Parts 1 and 2 (through page 114) of this book are assigned reading, not optional.

The attached document from Aaron, VF Consciousness, contains some information on consciousness and also material on the chakras. Please read the whole talk. Please also read Carla's material on the DSC site/ archives/ VF/ readings/

Chakras are the second area of focus. Along with the reading, I'd like you to spend some time each week meditating with the chakra and getting to know what each is about. How does it feel when one is closed or open? What supports opening? Below is a brief paste of basic chakra information. We'll discuss this more in the coming weeks. For now, just deepen your familiarity.

Chakras

The chakras are energy centers of the body. There are many of these centers along organ and junction meridians. Seven which lie along a central meridian from crown of head to base of spine are the primary chakras. Each has a color and tone especially related to it. Each is the energy center for primary issues/ functions in our lives. These chakras are:

Base: (at base of spine) Red. Personal survival; fear; taking care of the self; sexuality

spleen: (near navel) Orange. Sexuality/creativity/ personal relationships. Personal emotions, sorrow, weakness. Reaching out to others. Energy and relationship. Embracing life.

solar plexus: (just below rib cage) Yellow. Societal relationships. Power issues (also base) . Anger/ fear/tension. Discipline/ commitment/will.

Heart: Green. Transpersonal love. Ego no longer center. How best to serve. Compassion; openheartedness; love; happiness.

Throat: blue. Spirit communication (communication with higher self, with God.) Revelation of spirit.

Third Eye: (forehead, between brows) Indigo. Unity with spirit. Pure light. Deep insight.

Crown: (top of head) Violet. Pure being, empty of self.

The three lower chakras center on issues of fear, energy and power. The conscious self is drawn and redrawn into these centers where our human issues lie. The upper centers focus on the spiritual aspects of our being. Some of us tend to want to pull our energy to the upper centers, to want to develop our spiritual side and ignore the pain of human issues. Then spirit becomes a hiding place and we cannot fulfill the potential of the incarnation, to develop fully as humans. It is in these issues that we learn true compassion and unconditional love.

Sometimes the chakras are said to be "open" or "closed." The energy center itself does not open or close but is always open. We may experience it as more open or closed but such phrasing is a metaphor. There are energy meridians or channels. Think of them as a train track. The track always exists. Upon that track runs a train, the prana or life energy. The train must have locomotion. The Tibetan system refers to this push as wind so we'll use that as a handy label. When there is no wind, or when the train is derailed, we experience what some people call an energy block. When we look deeply, we may experience that we are not allowing the wind to move the energy, or that the energy feels derailed from the track.

There are numerous meditations which work directly with the chakras and energy system which can help us move into deeper touch with our body energy and allow ourselves to experience the fullness of it. We'll do one of these meditations tonight. We begin by sitting straight, in meditation posture. Erect spine is especially important here. Then we visualize a brilliant light and draw it in through the crown of the head, drawing it all the way to the base of the spine. Visualize it as red light. With each inhale, let red fill the base chakra. With each exhale, let red expand throughout the body. Fell the chakra spin and fill with energy. When you are ready, reach up again and draw in orange, letting it come to the spleen chakra. Same breathing and visualization. Continue with each chakra and color until all seven colors are spinning and pulsating within their energy centers and you feel highly charged with this energy. Then, with the next exhale, gently breath it all out through the crown of the head. The effect is like a fountain, colored energy/light pouring out. Let it rise and then fall over you, over head and body. With the next inhale you can begin again.

This practice may be done with all the centers or you may focus on one color and center. We find that where one of the issues mentioned in the above list is predominant for us, we are often not experiencing the energy flow of that chakra. We can't "fix" this issue by changing the energy, forcing that on ourselves. Work with that particular chakra as described in the above meditation practice, combined with insight meditation, can help us understand our resistance and fear which have led us to not experience the openness of that chakra, and can guide us into allowing resolution of the issue.

Third is our work to prepare for the Intention Ceremony. Please begin to reflect ever more deeply, what is your intention in your life, your practice? It is not necessary to think of this as a formal Bodhisattva Vow ceremony, though you may think in that direction if you wish. The taking of a vow, or stating of Intention is just for you, to use as a support. If I state my intention to do no harm, or take the precept to non-harm, I'll think twice before slapping at the irritating mosquito. This works the same way.

I want to share with you an experience I had of the taking of this vow, as written in my journal. This attachment is taken from the new book, Manna in the Wilderness (not yet published). This is my experience; you will experience it in your own unique way.