Do you feel stuck, lost or alone in life, or find yourself restless, distracted or excessively busy? Do you have difficulty sleeping or suffer from chronic fatigue? Do you suffer from addictions, such as an addiction to your smartphone?
Traditional shamanic cultures believe uncomfortable symptoms like depression, anxiety and addiction arise out of a loss of connection to one’s soul, that there is a conflict between one’s inner life and one’s outer life.
When we’re constantly searching for information online, playing video games and listening to or reading about what’s going on in the world around us, we’re not paying attention to what’s going on within us. This disconnect creates a void in our lives that causes negative emotions and, therefore, a desire to fill the void with something and, hopefully, feel better. Unfortunately, we end up filling the void with things like drugs, alcohol, food, work, other people and technology and information.
Fortunately, the soul has an innate ability to heal itself. It communicates to us through our bodies, feelings, dreams, relationships, artwork and dance, as well as through energy work, travel and retreats from everyday life and nature, even the stars. We just need to take the time to listen to and reconnect with our souls, on a regular basis.
One way that I reconnect with my soul is through an amazing healing dance practice called Chakradance®, which was founded by Australian Natalie Southgate. It utilizes spontaneous dance, guided imagery, music that resonates with each of the seven main chakras in the human body, and mandala artwork to provide a safe container to go within.
Not only is dance beneficial, physically, regular exercise also increases energy and concentration and decreases depression, anxiety and stress by reducing the brain’s fight-or-flight response, something that the constant interruptions from technology can trigger in us. Spiritually, dance is prayer and a form of meditation that allows us to directly communicate with the soul through our bodies.
Chakradance changed my life. It shifted my energy and allowed me to transition into my own healing practice. The name of my business, Soul Full Wellness, even came to me while I was practicing Chakradance.
When I first started practicing Chakradance, I knew immediately that it was doing something, because I would have vivid dreams after I practiced it, and I would experience incredible synchronistic experiences during the daytime.
For instance, after I practiced the heart Chakradance, I discovered an injured monarch butterfly on the curb of a busy intersection. One of its front wings was broken at the joint, so I bought some Gorilla Glue, and glued the edges of the front and back wings together, so that the front wing would be stable.
I took it home with me to nurse it back to health. I fed it sugar water, and then set it on my knee. It proceeded to walk up my body, and rest on my heart. The heart chakra represents love, compassion and joy, and it is associated with the element of air and, therefore, winged creatures.
The following morning, I placed the butterfly on a flowering tree in my front yard. When I went to check on it later, it suddenly flew towards me. I wondered if it had landed on my head, but when I turned around I saw that it had flown past me. It flew about 30-40 feet out, and then circled around, flew over the cat and landed on the same flowering tree, as if to communicate, “Look! I can fly!”
I felt such a tremendous sense of joy from helping the butterfly. It really was a soul full experience. The butterfly stayed with me for four days (the heart chakra is the fourth chakra), and then it went on its way.
The kinds of experiences you can have when you unplug from technology and plug into your soul are heartfelt, joyful and meaningful.
Technology is not inherently bad; there are a lot of benefits that come from technology. It’s just very important for your health and well-being to balance the use of technology with a connection to your soul, and create harmony between your inner and outer worlds.
