Page 244 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

t he sev en ch akra s
Within a professional Caritas Consciousness, there is an honoring of the
embodiment of spirit within each need. Every individual need affects
and is part of the whole being of the person, and the person’s whole
being can be reflected in any one need. While there may be a present-
ing need, the whole is always present as background to the need pre-
senting itself in a given moment.
For our purposes here, the foreground can be the need for food
and fluid, elimination, ventilation, activity, and sexuality. These are the
most basic survival needs and those closely aligned with the first three
chakras.
These basic survival needs are primarily associated with the first
three chakras. But once we move to the fourth chakra, we are evolving
toward deeper dimensions of our humanity and our connection with
higher spirit-filled awareness, beyond the physical realm.
As we move beyond these most basic survival-instinctual–level
needs, we can identify other human needs—also basic but at a different
level, beyond physical survival and for survival of the spiritual self, in a
way. Other needs beyond the basic survival-instinctual needs are those
always present in the human, those influenced by cognition, reflec-
tion, emotions, desire, evolving consciousness, self-awareness, will,
and so on. Examples include the need for self-love, self-esteem, self-
control, self-knowledge, self-caring, self-fulfillment, self-awareness,
self-acceptance, self-growth, autonomy, relationships, love, connec-
tions, and so forth. The evolved human then moves toward the fourth-
level archetypal awareness of the energetic life force source.

human Evolution—highEr-ConSCiouSnESS EnErgy SyStEmS
4. Fourth chakra: heart chakra—this energetic point is connected with
love, compassion; moving from ego-centered, physical-emotive, fear-
motivated human to heart-centered human; open to that which con-
nects one with the greater source of life. Here we are moving from the
dominant physical plane to a higher/deeper spiritual awakening of the
senses and sensibilities. The heart chakra includes the heart and circu-
latory system, lungs, shoulders and arms, ribs and breasts, diaphragm,
and thymus glands (Myss 1996). It is linked to feelings of forgiveness,
hope, and trust as well as love, commitment, and compassion. A closed

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