There I was again, lying in a heap on my bed, fully clothed, sun streaming in through the window, sobbing.

My partner sat beside me, not sure what was wrong, or what to do to console me. Moments earlier, I had been sitting quietly at my desk in the kitchen looking at my finances, as I did every week. And, just like every other week, the outlook was bleak.

I didn’t know what to do, how to change it, what I had done wrong, or what exactly the consequences were going to be. I just knew that I was completely weighed down with the stress of trying to make ends meet.

The responsibility weighed on my shoulders like sandbags, making my trek up the self-employment mountain slow and arduous work.

I feel a little embarrassed about how many times stress, worry, and fear crumpled me into a sobbing heap on my bed. How many times my partner had to look into my red, puffy, and snotty face trying to understand this visceral reaction I had to money, or rather, my lack of it.

The fear, the anxiety, the physical feeling in my body of impending doom, is what motivated me to take massive action and turn it all around.

I needed to relieve the pain. It was killing me.

The massive action I took was to spend more money. To make a large investment into my personal and professional growth.

So many of my clients come to me with the questions “How do I choose? How do I know I’m making the right choice? What should I do?”

Ultimately, what it boils down to is a deep knowing of ourselves and what we need. Add a generous helping of intuitive wisdom to trump our logical minds and we’re back on track.

We all need the same things. Each of our human and spirit needs is associated with one of the seven chakras in our bodies. Familiarizing ourselves with our chakras allows us to tap into our intuition and gain deeper knowledge of the causes of our life’s struggles.

The primary needs of our seven chakras are:

>> Muladhara (root chakra): the need for certainty, stability, and security.

>> Svadhisthana (sacral chakra): the need for variety, change, and stimulation.

>> Manipura (solar plexus): the need for significance, to feel special, and worthy of attention.

>> Anahata (heart chakra): the need of love and connection, to love, and be loved.

>> Vishuddha (throat chakra): the need to grow, express, and expand.

>> Ajna (third eye): the need to contribute, to feel purpose, and to give beyond ourselves.

>> Sahasrara (crown chakra): the need to feel a connection to divinity within ourselves and all of creation.

When I started experiencing regular sob-fests, I knew I was scared. Scared of the consequences of my financial mess. I was afraid that my bills would not get paid. That I’d have to give up the possessions and lifestyle I loved. Mostly, I was afraid of being a failure and a burden.

I was feeling completely uncertain of my situation. My muladhara chakra was completely out of balance because I had no idea what path I was on.

Muladhadara, our need for certainty, includes our basic survival needs and the need to feel safe and secure. We seek stability, a feeling of being grounded, knowing everything has been taken care of. We want to know our bills will be paid, that our partners won’t leave us, that we have a home to return to each night, that our health is supporting us, and that the world is predictable and understandable.

When our need for certainty is unmet, it’s time to do an inventory of our basic needs. Is something causing intense anxiety or fear? What can we do about it right now to improve the situation?

I couldn’t make a decision immediately when I was crippled by my fear. I had to step out of the fear and into a more grounded and rooted space in order to have any kind of perspective.

To help balance muladhara we can do the following:

>> Fuel our bodies with whole and nutritious foods.

>> Give ourselves a set bedtime and wake-up time.

>> Build healthy and mindful activity into our daily routines.

>> Get rid of unnecessary clutter in our homes and relationships.

>> Let go of anyone who creates doubt about their loyalty or devotion to us and our happiness.

Once I felt more grounded in the areas of my life that I could control, I was able to see more clearly what steps I needed to take to make the biggest impact on my situation.  It was like lifting a fog and beginning to see clearly. Only then was I able to meditate on the intuitive answer to my burning question, “Is this the right choice?”

I let myself drop out of my head and into my muladhara chakra. I knew the wisdom in the answer went beyond simple pros and cons, numbers, or my logical mind. So I let my intuition tell me—does this choice feel exciting and aligned with where I want to go? Or does it perpetuate my fear and my anxiety, making it all feel worse?

I let my intuition tell me if this choice felt exciting and in alignment with where I wanted to go. Or would it perpetuate my fear and my anxiety, making it all feel worse?

The answer was clear—I was ready to take the leap forward and invest in my future!

Making the decision to invest thousands of dollars into my personal and professional development was easy when I recognized which of my chakras was putting me into such a tizzy.

Rebalancing that chakra need, I was then able to take the massive action I needed to turn my situation around.

It brought on ease and confidence, and I haven’t turned back since.

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Author: Christine Guenette
Image: Wikipedia Commons
Editor: Danielle Beutell