Actions V Intentions For the Fiftieth Time

People are watching what we do.  They judge us by what we do.  I was under the illusion that people judged me by what I said I was going to do.  Even worse, I hoped that they judged me by what I was thinking I was going to say that I was going to do.  I was a hell of a guy in my own mind and it was just too bad that you didn't live up in there, too.  What we say and do matters, even if we don't realize it.  It's not the intention that matters - that's just a starting point.  But, hey, even failure is part of recovery.  Failure doesn't define us - it's what we do afterwards that defines who we are.

The Toltecs have their own take on this: "Many of us have spent years creating stories about ourselves based on other people's ideas and expectations, then we struggle through life trying to live up to these false images that we agreed to.  But there comes a point when you say to yourself: "This is who I am - no story needed."

I've added a guided meditation to my morning Quiet Time routine.  Some of them are good, a few are great, and some of them rub me the wrong way.  The quiet, breathy, murmuring voices, using words like gently and nourishing.  Yeech.  "Mindfully take a gentle, nourishing breath of clean, energizing air."  Brother, give me a break.

And how about chakras?  I try to keep an open mind on matters of spirituality but the chakras are more than I can handle.

1. Root Chakra  — Base of the spine
   • Associated with survival, stability, grounding.
2. Sacral Chakra  — Lower abdomen
   • Associated with creativity, pleasure, emotions.
3. Solar Plexus Chakra — Upper abdomen
   • Associated with confidence, willpower, personal power.
4. Heart Chakra — Center of the chest
   • Associated with love, compassion, connection.
5. Throat Chakra  — Throat
   • Associated with communication and self-expression.
6. Third Eye Chakra  — Between the eyebrows
   • Associated with intuition and insight.
7. Crown Chakra  — Top of the head
   • Associated with spirituality and higher consciousness.

From a spiritual perspective, practices such as meditation, yoga, breathwork, chanting, and visualization are often used to balance or awaken the chakras.

From a scientific perspective, chakras are not recognized as physical structures or measurable energy centers in the body. They are generally understood as spiritual, symbolic, or psychological concepts rather than anatomical ones.  In traditional Tantra, chakras were primarily tools for spiritual transformation and meditation, not simply centers associated with personality traits or emotional wellness. 

One thing I find fascinating is that the concept of chakras is found in many original texts but they've changed and modified over the centuries - at their essence the same but morphing into many different forms.  A relatively modern invention is assigning colors to each chakra center.  In my background the Bible is the Big Kahuna; a book that is essentially the same but has changed and been modified over the centuries as well.  So wherever your spiritual traditions or practices lead you let them lead away - you can find spiritual mentors or advisors that help immensely but at the heart of the matter they're human beings, too, with all kinds of prejudices and shortcomings.  Beware the teacher who is cocksure that they're all that and never wrong.  These people, in my estimation, can be the biggest fuck-ups out there.

Here's a visualization technique I like: A blue sky with clouds drifting across it.  The sky is my mind - always there, never changing - and the clouds are my thoughts - coming and going, changing constantly while not affecting the essence of the sky itself.  Within the sky but not the sky.