This whole life, from birth to death, with all its seeming accidents and meaningless details, is nothing

else than a process of opening to our higher nature. ~ Bo Lozoff This months issue of The Bridge focuses on Chakras provide a guide for awakening and the chakras. Not many people in the balancing the energy within our bodies. The ~Bhagavad Gita Western world are familiar with chakras. It energies are physical, emotional, mental, is fair to say that chakras are foreign to those and spiritual. When there is an inner The Bridges Mission of us living in United States, even though imbalance within the chakras, it reflects they have been a major part of Eastern belief outwardly in our lives. We have all The Bridge provides reliable, systems for thousands of years. To under- experienced the feeling of being out of timely, and useful information stand the chakras, one has to open up to balance. Oft-times the chakras can be used about reentry and the process of different ways of understanding consci- to identify the source of inner imbalance. By returning to the community. ousness. That is, one has to suspend understanding the chakras and how energy judgment to understand an unfamiliar flows through your body, the stronger is About The Bridge concept. By opening up to something new, your health and well-being. we learn. With that said, what is a chakra? The Community Centers newsletter is produced monthly According to Anadea Judith, a chakra is and will feature topics related to believed to be a center of activity that reentry. receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word chakra literally translates as wheel or disk and refers to a The Bridge Editors are: spinning sphere of bio-energetic activity

and correlates with basic states of consciousness.

You must be still in the midst of activity, and be vibrantly alive in repose. ~Indira Gandhi

Maria Montalvo Carlitta Scarborough

It is easiest to begin to understand the chakras by thinking about how plants convert the suns energy by photosynthesis. The suns energy moves through plants down to their roots, which draw nutrients from the earth. When energy moves back up the plant, it is manifested as growth. We can see the growth through the outward changes in the plant; there are more leaves and flowers. The same thing happens to us. We too draw energy from the universe; it moves down to the root of our being, draws energy up from the earth, and then moves up through us again. Our being grows and flowers as we work to awaken our consciousness. Evidence of our flowering is the opening of our hearts to compassion and of our minds to different perspectives.

Energy comes into us through the seven chakras located from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Each of the chakras has its own energy frequency, the lowest being at the base of the spine and the highest, at the crown of the head. The chakras also radiate light energy colors that make up the energy surrounding our bodies. Most of the time we are out of balance with the energy flowing into our body. We have blocks that trap the energy, which usually is felt on a mental, emotional, or physical level. Learning how to identify the source of imbalance can help you rebalance the energy and find internal balance. It is important to remember that, within yourself, you are in control. Challenge yourself to learn more about the energy centers within you and how to balance them. You might be surprised by how they can help you journey through life.

The Community Center and its newsletter are part of the practice initiative of the Rutgers Center for Behavioral Health Services & Criminal Justice Research, directed by Dr. Nancy Wolff.

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The Chakras and You

The chakras are all about energy and balance. Whenever you are in a state of imbalance, nothing goes right in your life -- not your decisions, choices, or relationships. The chakras help you to identify the source of the imbalance, and with this knowledge you can begin the process of realigning your energy. Lets take an example of an imbalance in the first chakra, the root chakra (see page 4 for a description of the seven chakras), which is experienced as survival insecurity. This type of imbalance is felt as not having enough food, housing, or clothing to meet our survival needs. We see ourselves as victims of scarcity and it can trigger basic survival instincts instincts that seek to dominate the environment to get what is needed and wanted for our survival. Thoughts of getting more of everything begin to dominant our lives. We conjure up schemes to con, steal, and manipulate others to get what we think we need to survive. This often leads to conflicts and consequences in the outer world that are painful and threaten our freedom. The solution to survival insecurity is to ground ourselves in the energy of safety. We are safe when we meet our basic needs through acts of responsibility. The first act of responsibility is aligning our basic needs to the needs of our body, not the desires of avarice. Our body needs roughly 2000 calories of protein, vegetables, fruits, and grains each day. It doesnt need thousands of calories of processed foods, like cookies, honey buns, and chips. In prison, all our basic needs are met, but the desires of avarice convince us otherwise. We may think we need more of everything. But if more is desired, the second act of responsibility invokes that we work for what is wanted. We give up free time to get more stuff. Whether here or outside, any imbalance motivating behaviors to con, steal, or manipulate others to meet our basic needs is driven by an energy imbalance in the first chakra, and this imbalance will persist even if in present in the lap of luxury. The feeling of survival insecurity doesnt depend on outward Page 2 Vol. 3, No. 9 September 2011

accumulation of stuff; it is balanced within yourself by defining our needs simply and meeting them responsibly. The energy of the chakras relates directly to our lives. The lower chakras relate to the lower self: physical, emotional, and mental energy and the higher chakras to the higher self: spiritual. We bring the lower and higher self together through the heart chakra, the energy of compassion.

Balance and You

A popular one-legged yoga posture called the tree pose provides a good demonstration of balance. To try the tree pose just stand tall and erect with your weight equally distributed on both

We can use this notion of balance in our daily lives. Every day we are making adjustments as we try to find the center of balance within ourselves. Like with the tree pose, we need, first, to know that balance is possible and, second, what it feels like to be in balance. From there, we learn to focus and trust that we can return ourselves to the point of balance when something changes. Life is truly a balancing act! Our job is to be vigilant to it and to hold ourselves on the wire by keeping the energy running through us unblocked and moving towards growth. We will always be faced with challenges, decisions, and issues (i.e., the winds of change); it is all a part of life. When we begin to see our life metaphorically as getting into the tree pose returning to our inward center of balance we are able to make adjustments easily and without fuss.

Meditation for Filtering Unwanted Energies

Sit on the floor, in a chair, or lay on your bed or floor. Position yourself to be comfortable but alert for the next 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure that your spine is straight. Be still and focus on the movement of your breath. Once you are centered and calm, on the in-breath, visualize a beam of white light entering your body through your crown chakra at the top of your head. Just feel the energy as it travels down your body from the top of your head to the base of your spine. Allow the energy to collect at the base of your spine as you hold your breath. With the out-breath, the energy travels back up your spine. As it passes through each chakra, the light getting darker as it cleans away the impurities held within the lower chakras. When the energy leaves through the top of the head, visualize the light as a dark, muddy color. Repeat this process several times as you bring in healthy energy with the in-breath and let go of unhealthy energy with the out-breath. If you are interested in learning more, make a Community Center appointment. We have a variety of guided meditations and books on the chakras that available for your exploration.

feet. Shift your weight to your left foot so that your right foot bears no weight. Now bring your right foot up and brace it against the inside thigh of your left leg. Stretch yourself downward and upward simultaneously to avoid throwing your hip out to the left. Let go of your leg and bring your palms together in front of your chest and raise them above your head. Feel for the point of balance from inside your body. At first you will feel wobbly, off center, and not sure of your footing. As you continue to feel for the balance to achieve this pose, you constantly realign your weight. And, you will make minor adjustments with your feet and toes to maintain your balance once you find it. Do not struggle to find the balance. Let your body lead you to it. No matter how still you may feel while balancing on one foot, you will notice yourself making tiny movements that adjust and readjust your weight.

Q&A
Chakras for Beginners Balancing your energy requires intention A:
can be balanced and (b) aspire to sustain that inner balance through adjustments on the inside. For example, if you feel guilty about saying no to others who are trying to manipulate your generosity, then you are experiencing an imbalance in your Third Chakra, the chakra of will power. The under-expression of will power causes energy to be blocked in the identity of a victim, which is often associated with low self-esteem and self confidence. Energy can be rebalanced by centering your awareness on the inner self that is separate from the outer world. From this center, you choose when and to whom you say yes and no. No guilt. Setting boundaries is an effective way of guiding your will power to honor and keep true to your inner self. Energy balance is sustained through meditation to cleanse the energy flowing in and through the chakras and mindfulness to sense imbalances resulting from life experiences and to make adjustments to keep focus on the true inner self. With practice we learn to trust our ability to right our balance, life becomes easier and less stressful. We simply allow the energy to flow through us without fear.

Q: How can I balance my energy?

A Guide to Balancing Your Energy Chakras In terms of intention, you and practice. must (a) know that the energy within you David Pond
Chakras for Beginners is an easy-to-read introduction to understanding the chakra energies. The author, David Pond, stresses the importance of having balance within to achieve happiness. According to Pond, we need to learn how to be happy and fulfilled within ourselves, and then our outer world will conform as a reflection of our inner world. The chakras are a map to your inner world your relationship to yourself and how you experience energy life. Pond opens the book with a story about his path of discovering the chakras and their value in his life. Prior to learning about the chakras, Ponds life was characterized by inner turmoil, confusion, and unhappiness. Through this book, he teaches us what he learned. It begins with an introduction to the seven chakras and their relationship to our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. Following this, the focus shifts to showing us how to align our chakra energies to enter into balance from the inside out. Chakra for Beginners offers practical activities, meditations and visualizations to activate our energy centers to become balanced. The book provides an insightful way of connecting daily with life in a balanced way from an energy perspective. Many of the examples can be directly applied to the prison setting. Pond gives us a profound mantra to live by There is no way to balance, balance is the way. David Pond is a professional astrologer, national speaker, yoga teacher, writer, and guide for spiritual journeys to sacred sites around the world.

~ Namast

The Grace Card

Howard A. Klausner

The Grace Card is an inspirational and powerful movie about Mac, a police officer who lost his son in an accident. Mac becomes very angry with God after the death of his son. After the accident and the years that follow, Mac grows bitter, resentful, and even intolerant. He doesnt monitor his words or actions and is extremely hurtful towards his wife and other son. So much so that the risk of losing them increases with each hurtful word. At work, Mac is assigned a new partner, Sam, who is also a part-time pastor. Sam can see past Macs anger and into his pain. But Sam also can see Macs destructive ways. Their start together as partners is rough; they have strong differences of opinion. Conflicts grow as Sam sets boundaries on Macs unacceptable behavior. In terms of the chakras, Mac is experiencing energy imbalances in his lower three chakras, and the blocked inner energy is wreaking havoc on his outer life. With encouragement and support from Sam, Mac lets go of anger and rediscovers his heart and compassion. Mac remembers his love for God, and returns to church and his family. This movie is a testament to the power of forgiveness and the healing balm of compassion.

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The Soul of Yoga

What is the soul of yoga? Follow your heart into the center of the pose and find in the midst of detail and precision, in breath, alignment, balance, bliss, fear and sadness at the very core of all of this is love. Touch upon your truest nature even once and the experience of what you really are sears the psyche life the surface of the sun. The soul of yoga, the gift within the pose is the moment of communion, resting in pure essence, the awakening as if from sleep to the face of unmistakable divinity; the ineffable wonder and living reality of spirit oh, yes the soul of yoga is love.
Donna Faulds, Go In and In: Poems from the Heart of Yoga Nebraska, Morris Publishing, 2002.

In the SPOTLIGHT

Good news from Jamie JohnsonJamie reports that her speaking engagement at the Reentry Task Force in Essex County went excellently. She received a lot of feedback and numbers, and will next speak to a mentoring group in Trenton October 1st. She will talk about how her mentor changed her life, and the program worked to help her in her transition from life inside to life outside. Advice from Jamie: Definitely take advantage of anything that is offered. Mentoring was very beneficial for me. I built a relationship with a person that cares. Often times, we burn bridges and that [support] is important. She further states that her mentor is, very supportive make sure you have things set up for yourself. My mentor met me at the gate. The mentor is still here 100%, if I need her. I am not out here on my own. Jamie Johnson, released from EMCFW in April 2011, secured a job 2 weeks after being released. She is working part time and is about to move into her own place for the first time. I am living a clean and sober life and I feel good about myself. I was accepted to culinary arts school full time and life is great! Keep up the good work, Jamie!!!!!

Chakra 1 2 3 4 5

Drive and Location survival, self-defense base of spine

pleasure under naval power and ego power solar plexus Love and compassion center of chest creativity and devotions throat Transcendence, wisdom and self-realization third eye spirituality/enlightenment crown of the head

Core Issue find a place on earth

sensuality/sexuality will power, initiate activities and set boundaries open heart to all; non-competitive speak your truth be an inspiration to others connecting with Divine intent

Perspective
animal instinct; separate sense of self emotional self principles; what you stand for cooperation unique world-view beyond cultural conditioning transcend polarities; insightful seeing thought the eyes of the Divine

Level of Consciousness safety; connection to body and earth

awareness of magnetic energy looking for opportunities for assertion of will being at peace detach and observe objectively intuitive inner guidance from aligning with larger reality experiencing all of life as spiritual

Unbalanced
Insecurity, fear hedonistic/indulgent lust and addiction power conflicts bleeding heart inadequacy or insensitivity spacing out; illusions shopping list mentality

Task
to be full in the body to enjoy life learn to choose wisely joy to be authentic to be able to direct imagination surrender

Source: Pond, D. (2010). Chakras for beginners (pp.160-161). Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications.
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