Page 243 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

t he s ev e n c ha kr a s
creas, adrenals, upper intestines, gallbladder, liver and the middle
spine, located behind the solar plexus” (Myss 1996:167). According to
Myss, this center is related to our personal power, the magnetic core
of the personality and ego. It is tied to symbolic and energetic pulls
between the external world and internalized self. This is the site where
primary fears are held, “such as rejection, criticism, failing to meet
one’s responsibilities; all fears related to physical appearance, aging,
fears others will discover our secrets” (Myss 1996:168). The primary
strengths from this energy point are “self-esteem, self-respect, and self-
discipline, ambition, the ability to generate action, to handle a crisis,
courage to take risks, ethics, strength of character” (Myss 1996:168).
The color associated with the third chakra is yellow.
Carative Factor/Caritas Process 5 is most strongly associated with
this energetic field: promotion and acceptance of the expression of
positive and negative feelings.
These three lower chakras are associated with basic biophysi-
cal needs—elimination, food and fluid, ventilation, sexuality. These
basic needs are associated with sources of energy from Mother Earth,
energy from earth itself as the ground of our Being.
These needs incorporate intimacy, sensuality, body movement,
opening the body energetically for freedom of movement, ventila-
tion, and breath, thus also affecting the ventilation need. The solar
plexus is the center for the expression of feelings, emotions, fear, anxi-
ety, resentment—stored emotions with a need for expression, the so-
called gut emotions.
I resist categorizing the basic needs into lower biophysical and
higher-order needs; however, for study and learning purposes, some-
times one must explore the foundational parts even while holding the
whole/hologram as background. All biophysical human needs can be
framed holographically as those needs that are foreground and basic
for human survival and that are instinctual and organic; however,
every basic biophysical need has a metaphysical overlay, reflected by
the chakra system.
Regarding these identified biophysical needs, we share them with
animals as basic survival instincts. These basic needs are primal, pri-
mordial, instinctual, often involuntary, and essential to our humanity.

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