Getting Your Needs Met

What Do You Need? What Do You Want?

What is the difference between Need & Want?

From a chakra perspective: Needs are of the Root Chakra. Wants are of the Sacral Chakra. These impulses drive and motivate us

on deep & primal levels

and greatly influence the vitality

of our body, mind and spirit.

Abraham Maslow defined

a Hierarchy of Human Needs that lists physiological needs

such as food, water, shelter and sleep

as core motivators in life. Once these base needs are met, we are then motivated

to attain higher level needs such as esteem, love & actualization.

Maslow points out we do not advance through these levels in order,

one after another. Many of us oscillate back & forth

through these layers

throughout the course of our lives, with very few of us reaching

top levels of actualization.

Maslow’s model is similar to the Chakras

in that the stronger your foundation,

the more you are able to rise up into

higher frequencies of consciousness,

expanding into wider levels

of liberation and freedom.

Working with the Root Charka,

which is located at the base of your spine

and governs the manifest, physical realm,

calls for you to examine how you get

base needs met in life.

Take a moment to reflect on these questions:

- What are your fundamental needs?

- What do you need to be healthy & vital

in the physical world?

- How are you getting your needs met?

Yes, you may have your base needs met

of water, food, shelter and sleep...

however, how healthy are the inputs?

Yes, you have food, but what quality of food you are eating?

Yes, you have oxygen, but are you harnessing the full power of your breath?

Yes, you have shelter but how safe and nourishing is your home?

These are all powerful contemplations

for working with the Root Chakra

and increasing the vitality

of your physical being.

Here's video of a SoulCollage card

I created during the 2020 pandemic

around the theme of fast food...

something I participated in a lot

prior to the quarantine.

One of the benefits of the pandemic

for me is that I stopped eating out

and started making all my meals,

which connected me more deeply

to my food and eating practices.

Throughout the pandemic I definitely

decreased the quality of input

into how I got my base needs met.

My depression kept me stagnant

in my body and diet,

my breathing became shallow

and covered by masks,

and my need for human touch

went greatly unmet

as I isolated in solo quarantine.

As a result, I feel a decline

in my health and vitality,

and because my body is not as healthy

I feel a decline in other areas of my life,

such as self-esteem, motivation,

feeling like I belong and that I have

a valuable purpose.

As things start to open up

I am coming back to the fundamentals...

with my diet, daily movement practice,

and how I get my core needs met.

It's a process and commitment

I need to make over & over again

everyday.

Getting my base need met

for human touch has been challenging

for me to get during these times

of social distancing.

Therefore, I am committed

to getting at least one massage a month.

As I take baby steps

at increasing the quality

of my diet, breathing practice,

and physical strength & vitality,

I hope to once again be

motived and inspired

to expand & engage

other areas of my life.

- How can you increase the vitality

of your health & well being?

- Is there something you can change about your diet

that reduces toxic input and replaces that

with vital nutrition?

- Is there a way you can add 15 more minutes of

movement and exercise to your day

to increase the strength of your body?

- Is there a nightly ritual you can engage in

to increase the quality of your sleep?

May this blog inspire you to explore

how you get your base needs met,

and find ways to increase the vitality

you bring into your physical being -

so you can vibrate at a higher frequency

and offer more vitality to the world

as a result of your presence in it.