Uncommon Courage

My previous blog post connected "wholeness" with "courage". I must admit that connection hadn't occurred to me prior to writing the post. So I want to explore that connection here.

Geocosmysticism holds at least three notions together: cosmology, planetary consciousness and the embrace of mystery as core spiritual principles. Within the "planetary consciousness" component can be contained much of what we consider "material reality" - biology, embodiment, the human experience of living, loving, dying, Earth sciences and human knowledge in general. I would also include what have been referred to as "matters of the heart", sentiment, aspiration and even moral philosophy. Note that I am avoiding the word "feeling" here. That word, in my opinion, is used indiscriminately these days. The meanings it contains are rich and important. However, they have also become diluted through over-use. A topic for another day ...

So ... the word "courage" emerged about 600 years ago to refer to just about anything having to do with "the heart" (the French word for "heart" is "cour"). Only later did it become synonymous with "bravery". So, consider this. What if "heart" refers less to simple emotions, less to the muscle that pumps blood, and rather points us toward the mid-point in the Ayurvedic model of "chakras"?

A person of uncommon courage, as I see it, is a person who lives and acts boldly every moment, in alignment with the flow of energy moving in the seven chakras, or energy centers. In my judgment, it is this alignment that constitutes personal wholeness. I attribute the following aspects of courage with each chakra (I find it helpful to consider them in reverse order, from high to low):

Chakra #7 - Mind, Consciousness
Chakra #6 - Radiance, Beauty
Chakra #5 - Voice, Movement
Chakra #4 - Compassion, Connection
Chakra #3 - Passion, Full Range of Gut-based Feeling
Chakra #2 - Flow, Rhythm
Chakra #1 - Ground, Locus, Stance

Now, some folks think of these chakras literally, and some consider them metaphorically, and some just dismiss the whole model as "new age" nonsense. I happen to find them useful as a frame upon which to experiment with systematic geocosmysticism. Oh, yeah!

"Wholeness" is an ideal. "Courage" is both the means and the end of the pursuit of "wholeness", which, although an ideal, is never beyond approach. Forward, march!