"Clearing your Chakras vs. balancing your Chakras – are they the same?  If not, what is the difference?"

The title of this article is a response to a question I recently received from a reader.  It is an excellent one, especially since these two terms – clearing and balancing – are mentioned in regard to maintaining the health and efficiency of our Chakras.

In order to best understand this question, let us first understand the nature of the Chakras.

“It shames the average man to be valued below his own estimate of his worth.”
Mark Twain - A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

The root of many modern emotional problems arises from a less than magnificent opinion of oneself - Low Self-Esteem.  Low Self Esteem resides as a core issue for self-destructive habits that run the gamut from shyness, relationship issues, overeating, and drug abuse.

To overcome low self-esteem, we may work with various methods to bolster the estimate of our worth.  Affirmations and general positive self-talk all contribute to building a positive self­-image.  This work may or may not hold when we encounter a blunt comment or an incident that we perceive is 1) directed towards us and 2) values us below the estimate of our own worth.  Shame emerges, with its emotional baggage to lower our opinion of self down a few notches.

So, how do we arrest this tendency and armor ourselves against these assaults that impugn our value?  We can affirm the brilliance our self worth in the privacy of our own domain. What can we do to lock this work, to “diamond coat” our self-esteem?

" . . . and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us . . ." How many times have we, who have grown up in the Christian tradition, recited these words from the Lord's Prayer?