A dove flies free
across a clear blue sky.
I have the right to stay silent
and from Annwn sound my cry.

~

The throat chakra is associated with the voice and communication. It’s been an interesting one for me to work with as somebody who was once a performing poet with a really big gob but who has recently begun to appreciate far more spending time in solitude and silence. 

I had my first Reiki session a few months ago and the practitioner aptly spotted my overactive solar plexus chakra and told me that I had a blockage between it and my throat chakra. Intriguingly during the treatment I found a lot of saliva in my mouth which related to her work to clear the blockage. When we chatted about it afterwards she intuited that the block might be to do with me being unable to say positive things about myself. I realised this was true – I’m able to speak about my fears and limitations but not my assets. 

She suggested trying positive affirmations. I had a go at these. I could just about manage, “I am strong,” as I’ve worked so much on my physical and mental strength. However, “I am kind,” “I am patient,” did not ring true as I was still being snappy with my dad. “I am becoming kinder,” “I am becoming more patient,” felt more realistic. Unfortunately this work has recently gone out of the window due to recent stresses but I intend to return to it. 

It also connected with purification and with the breath. I’ve found that breathwork is one of the best things for helping me to regulate nervous system.

In The Miracle of Mindfulness Thich Nhat Hanh says: ‘Our breath is the bridge from our body to our mind, the element which reconciles our body and mind and which makes possible one-ness of body and mind. Breath is aligned to both body and mind and it alone is the tool which can bring them both together, illuminating both and bringing both peace and calm.’

It’s interesting that, as I’ve been working with this chakra, a number of negative thought and behaviour patterns have arisen to be purified. These have been based around financial insecurity causing me to go against my commitment to my spiritual vocation and inner nature as a monastic who needs solitude and routine by signing up for a secular counselling course and by forcing myself into running and attending groups on evenings and weekends. Neither of these things worked out and I needed to withdraw.

In relation to purification I found out the origin of the word ascesis. It comes from theGreek askēsis ‘training’, from askein ‘to exercise’ and was associated with athletics. I had associated it only with self-denial in its extreme and punitive forms and had not thought of myself as an ascetic. Yet for me as someone for whom exercising regularly (strength training and yoga), eating healthy foods and not engaging with social media is important the term has begun to resonate with me and I now associate it with this chakra.

Metabolism, digestion, heart rate, hormones and sleep are regulated by the thyroid gland so I see why the throat chakra is related to ascetic processes.

At first when the white dove appeared as the symbol I was surprised. I thought, ‘I’ve never even seen a white dove.’ Then I Googled white doves and found out they are specially bred birds of the species Columba livia domestica – rock doves or rock pigeons. The very same as the feral pigeons who visit my back garden to feed on the seed and live under the railway bridge. 

Intriguingly, a few months back, in a dream a bird appeared that looked like a pigeon but which I intuited was a dove (both are in the Columbidae family). I was told it had come from my supervisor, Jayne, ‘to end the conflict between A and B.’ A number of conflicts within and without have come to an end (and Jayne has helped with this) in the period I have been working with this chakra.

~

Location: throat / Colour: Blue / System: Pulmonary / Nerve Plexus: Cervical / Faculty: Speech / Realm: Social / Element: Ether / Qualities: Communication and purification / Animal: Dove