Through the Flaming Sword

During the second countdown, I recite to myself an affirmation as I focus on each body area. The intention of each affirmation is tied to the chakra associated with that body region.

Chakras (a Sanskrit word meaning wheel or circle) are nodes in the spirit-body’s psycho-energetic system. In the physical anatomy, each chakra is associated with a plexus of nerves that radiate out from the central nervous chord to a plex of organs and glands. In the psycho-spiritual system, each chakra is associated with an aspect of consciousness.

Buddhism, Hinduism, and western theosophical systems count different numbers of chakras and different psycho-spiritual associations for them. I subscribe to a seven chakra count and the following psycho-spiritual associations, each with an affirmation I’ve devised for myself. I share mine only as ideas to consider. Each practitioner will want to reinforce their own aspect of their spiritual life in their own way, if you decide to take up affirmations at all.

Chakra	Body Region	Psycho-Spiritual Aspect	Affirmation
7th	Above the crown of the head (represented by the coiled nob on top of the Buddha’s head)	Enlightenment	No affirmation. I project my awareness out around me, especially to anyone in the house.
6th	The third eye Between the eyebrows	Openings	I open myself to the openings of the Spirit.
5th	The mouth and throat	Truth, Integrity	I embrace the Word of Wisdom and Truth.
4th	The chest	The emotions	I embrace the love and compassion of Jesus.
3rd	The solar plexus	The ego, one’s sense of identity	I embrace my true self, free of ego-investments and habitual behavior.
2nd	The lower abdomen The reproductive organs	Desire	I embrace healthy pleasure and let go of desires that try to hijack my behavior.
1st	The perineum The legs and feet	Fear and direction, destiny	I let go of the fears and anxieties that try to hold me back and walk with path that has been shown to me.

Notes on the Affirmations

Focusing on real people. With some of these affirmations, I focus on some relationship in my life, in addition to the psycho-spiritual dimension of that chakra, someone with whom this aspect of my spiritual life is especially engaged, in terms of either frequency or intensity, or both.

The Word of Wisdom is one of George Fox’s favorite expressions for Christ and may come from Paul’s treatment of the gifts of the spirit; the word of wisdom is one of his gifts. The Spirit of Truth comes from the gospel of John. For me, the Word of Wisdom and Truth is a spirit of integrity, which I pray will speak through my organs of speech.

The true self. I have a sense of several selves in the life of the Spirit. The true self (for me) is who I am when I’m not running the programs I’ve become conditioned with, or acting out of habit. My public self is how I actually behave most of the time. My higher self is me doing what’s right and not doing what’s wrong.

Walking the path. I end the series of focused affirmations by seeking to align myself with my inner Guide, to sense “where I am going” with my spiritual life and, by extension, with my outward life. I associate “walking” and “path” with the feet, naturally, but I also use this affirmation to sum up the intent of the whole exercise: trying to faithfully follow my Inward Guide as I walk outwardly through the world.