Imagine the different parts of your body having sources of energy. All of that energy collates into your index figure. The energy is so concentrated, your finger lights up. This is one of the few scenes I remember from “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial”, a classic movie exploring friendship between an American boy and an extraterrestrial left behind. Though it’s a sci-fi film, thinking more watching the movie made me ponder the spiritual depth of friendship, and the power befriending a foreigner can bring to the soul. Now at a different stage of life, I want to look at chakra within different cultures and how harnessing the energy can be expressed creatively through crafts.
I believe aligning the energy inside your spirit can unlock a new journey for each of us to explore. A new purpose where we can impact the culture we are in to express creativity, possibly through crafts. I believe taking a deep breath, taking the time to align our emotional energy with our surrounding energy can bring a deeper wholeness to your being. To recognize the surrounding energy, I believe it’s important to understand the cultures of the past and the present, both of your own culture and the culture you inhabit. Understanding is great, but I believe without a release, this energy can be overwhelming. I believe it’s best to express the energy gained in understanding through various forms of art.
Exploring Purpose
Some of the most ancient stories involve exploration. Around the 8th Century BCE in Greece, a poet by the name of Homer wrote the epics, “The Iliad” and the “Odyssey”. In these epics, we get the first use of the Greek word “psyche”. This word was used to describe the soul or the spirit of a person, especially within the context of life and death. Today the term psychology is the “study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity”1. The evolution of the psyche is something I don’t know and won’t go into, however, I think both definitions can apply to the explorers of the ancient world and their quest for purpose in the world.
Stay Spiritual is a Youtube channel hosted by James and Justin, that analyzes culturally relevant spiritual content. In one of their videos, “Secret Of 7 Chakras And Third Eye Chakra”, they react to a Sadhguru video about the 7 chakras and the unlocking of the third eye.2 After halfway through, James questions if the stages of the seven chakras is where Maslow got his hierarchy of needs from. Justin agrees and mentions the systems present in both spirituality and psychology. James and Justin discuss the progression of the development of the soul, spirit, and mind and question if all the steps are needed for explorers to find their purpose. James and Justin emphasize one stage of chakra is not better than another, the top isn’t always as good as it seems, and it’s possible to achieve self-actualization without comparing your journey to someone else’s.
I believe grasping the highest chakra or self-actualization is about pursuing harmony in your life, finding balance between the Yin and Yang. The ancient Chinese had the concept of “chi”, the vital life force in living things. I believe allowing this energy within you to flow, to gather, and to express itself can bring you closer to your purpose.
One of the highest chakras is known as the Third Eye chakra. Justin comments on how he loves the idea that there is no specific path to unlocking the Third Eye chakra. Justin continues, explaining the beauty of the the Third Eye chakra as an unknown beauty. There seems to be no reason why someone would appear to be so elated, enthusiastic, even tipsy, yet the energy is exuded from their being. James responds with the realization of the Third Eye chakra is realizing there was no specific spiritual path to begin with. From what I’ve heard, I believe the Third Eye chakra is the recognition of respect, strength, and freedom in oneself and in others around them. This intuition gives them new understanding of the life around them, allowing them to express their soul with more direction, and see others attempts to do the same. The Third Eye chakra is one that gives vision into a person’s self understanding needed for the journey of self expression.
Justin makes the point that a lot of spiritual leaders come out of their retreat with a lot of imagination based practices. Justin closes telling how spiritual leaders first lead off with the visualization techniques and transition into encouraging others to just be. James talks about the idea of having both structured and spontaneous spiritual practices, claiming the two can be fun and beneficial depending on the individual. Justin questions if people can be too practice oriented and get stuck in the way of tradition. Justin wonders if Jesus looked back at his disciples and rebuked them for still imitating him when he told them they would do greater things than him. Justin recommends seeing where you fit on the structure/spontaneous spectrum and walk your spiritual journey along this line to hopefully find your purpose. I would encourage you to imagine where you fit on the structure/spontaneity spectrum. Taking the time to understand yourself will give you the freedom and strength to open up your chakras through different practices, like meditation and mindfulness. I hope your third eye is opened and you respect the purpose of all life, especially yourself.
Strengthening Purpose
Strength is understood and expressed in a myriad of ways. Some cultures exemplify strength through athletic prowess. Others exemplify strength through military oppression. In E.T., the extraterrestrial’s strength was seen in its telekinesis, healing, etc. I believe it’s important to understand what a culture understands as strength and how they express strength in community. Music is one way you can understand a culture without understanding the spoken language. Music can be a sound of rejoicing or a sound of sorrow and everything in between. Music shares stories, telling the history of humanity. Similar to E.T.’s telepathy, music can convey thoughts and emotions that can startle the audience through its strength.3
Disclaimer, I do not read, write, or speak Arabic. Nevertheless, I watched a video that translates to “A Yemeni song praising the Algerian army, the descendant of the Liberation Army”.4 Cultural Diversity posted the video, a channel based in Algeria. Though I don’t speak Arabic, I want to talk about the video in terms of its music and its moving images. The video appears to be a promotional video of the military. Fighter planes, tanks, and soldiers flash across the screen followed by Jet streams and explosions. The soldiers in the video are all men, shown in intense training, pulling trucks with their neck and breaking stones on their abdomen. I believe the message the video is conveying is clear. The Algerian army brings freedom. The Algerian army is resilient. The Algerian army is purposefully strong.
The music accompanying the moving images compliments the images well. I’m not a music scholar, but I would describe the tone of his as an authoritative treble. The song starts with a call and response that invigorates energy into my soul. The music transitions to the main singer vocalizing and background singer chanting sporadically. The song raises the intensity of the video, bringing life and energy to the powerful military. The song reminds me of a war cry. The music reminds me of sounds of freedom. However, the art expresses perseverance, identity, and unity in a different culture than my own, giving me a new perspective on what liberation with a purpose could look like.
Creating Purpose
Elliot and E.T. explore their area to have lots of memories. The more time they spend together, the stronger their bond becomes. They create an unforgettable intergalactic friendship. The “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” movie poster even depicts the two friends’ hands touching.5 There is something powerful about the human sense of touch. Feeling adds an intimacy between two objects that brings stronger connection and purpose. I believe this is the same with hands-on work. I believe, creating art with your hands can bring a different level of personal and artistic expression.
Owls are symbols for wisdom and intuition. Their call, which sounds like the English “who”, is unique to their species. It makes me question if true wisdom and intuition comes from the questions you ask, opposed to the answers you have.
I attempted to make a paper owl to try to understand the symbolism of an owl. I based it off a short by Artistic Expression, a channel dedicated to discovering and exploring beautiful and creative painting and drawing.6 First I cut out the head of an owl, a circular head with pointed ears on the top left and top right of their head. I colored the top of their head black and left a semicircle on the bottom white. I drew some “X”s to create a feather-like appearance. I then cut out two little circles to put on the black part of the head for the eyes. I colored on the pupils and cut out a yellow triangle for the beak. I then cut out two black wings and glued them to the back of the head. Lastly, I cut out two more black pieces of paper for the feet. My spirit was lifted after seeing all the parts come together to make a cute owl. I didn’t copy the video exactly and I felt better creating the owl with my own touch. The freedom to create my own way gave a small boost of strength, respect and confidence in myself. I felt like I moved one step further in my self-esteem journey. I believe I moved one step closer to opening my third eye chakra.
I strongly believe embracing creativity allows us to be the best version of our unique purpose. Depending where you are on the spiritual spectrum, I believe creating can be more than an activity. I believe creating can give us a glimpse into the spiritual. Additionally, I believe creating can help us understand other cultures, especially through symbolism that you and others use. I believe creating can bring spiritual insights into our physical world, bringing purpose to reality.
Reaffirming Purpose
Be yourself. Try unlocking your purpose. Be persistent. Mix in both structured and spontaneous practices. Seek the strength found in your culture as well as others. Ponder the symbols art can create. Weave them together to be confident in your purpose. Then do it again.
Bibliography
- “Definition of PSYCHOLOGY,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified September 26, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychology. ↩︎
- Stay Spiritual, “Secret Of 7 Chakras And Third Eye Chakra | New Sadhguru Reaction Video,” YouTube, September 10, 2024, accessed September 11, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sykx-Bjh0e0. ↩︎
- “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, last modified May 19, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.T._the_Extra-Terrestrial. ↩︎
- culturaldiversity, “أغنية يمنية تتغنى بالجيش الجزائري سليل جيش التحرير,” YouTube, n.d.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEZDLav85g0. ↩︎
- “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” ↩︎
- Artistic Expression, “Let’s Make a DIY Paper Owl,” YouTube, n.d.https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2QzaYg2-Rzk. ↩︎
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