7 Sure Ways to Start Living Your Best Life

The number 7 radiates at a highly spiritual vibration. There are 7 days in a week, 7 continents and seas on Earth, and 7 chakras that govern the body. As explained on “Avatar The Last Airbender” (Season 2, Episode 19), energy flows through our bodies like water flows through a creek. There are several pools where the water flows around before moving on. The pools are like our chakras. So basically, chakras are pools of spiraling energy in our bodies. And because life is messy, our chakras become blocked. When our chakras are blocked or imbalanced we experience negative impacts in our emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical health. It is our job to remove the blockages so the energy can flow freely. As a lifepath 7 (analytical spiritualist), I offer seven ways to begin the balancing process and manifest your best life. 

#1: Take Responsibility

The Root Chakra 

Location: Base of the spine

Deals with survival and is blocked by fear.

The power of taking responsibility is life altering. When we take responsibility for our circumstances, we reclaim autonomy over our lives. Part of gaining this understanding is accepting the fact that problems occur. Besides, we do not fully appreciate joy without suffering. Authors Hochswender, Martin, and Morino stress in their book The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self  that the goal of taking responsibility in our lives is to create self-reliance and understand that “If we are unhappy in our circumstances, we have the ability to do something about them.” I argue that not only do we have the ability to do something about our circumstances, but that it is our duty to do something about them. 

#2: Heal Your Past Wounds

The Sacral Chakra

Location: Below the navel 

Deals with personal desires and is blocked by guilt. 

The first step to healing your past wounds is acknowledging them. “Avoidance of pain increases it. To heal, you must pass through the doorway of grief,” says psychologist Sean Grover. In his article titled “How to Recover When Life Crushes You”, he provides five steps on what to do after you’ve been emotionally hurt. The most relevant of which are giving yourself permission, time, and patience to grieve. 

We all have things we are carrying from our childhood. A good friend of mine is very vocal about her journey moving through middle child syndrome. “I was so used to overgiving just to be seen. This behavior translated over into my relationships and I got taken advantage of by my past partners,” she admits. She remains open with me about her therapy sessions and this level of transparency has inspired me to seek out my own therapy. 

Suffering in this life is inevitable. It is perfectly acceptable to seek the assistance of a professional to help you move forward. Wouldn’t you seek out a doctor for your broken bone? The same should hold true for your broken heart.

Speaking of heart, that segues us into my next point.  

#3: Map Out Your Dreams

The Solar Plexus Chakra  

Location: Sternum

Deals with willpower and is blocked by shame. 

No more living with regrets! Take out a piece of paper and a pencil and write down all of your dreams. Map them out and start on the road to making them come true. Does a goal seem unrealistic to you? You can alter it to fit your current life. For example, one of my dreams as a child was to be a gymnast. I grew to be six feet tall, so needless to say that dream did not pan out. However, I enrolled in aerial dance classes at the age of twenty-nine. Aerial dance allows me the opportunities to still be flexible, perform, and do gravity defying stunts! Although I was not able to attain my dream of becoming a gymnast, I was able to do something within the same realm. 

After you have a list of dreams, visualize the end goal. What does the final product look like? A great way to figure this out is to follow someone who does what you are aspiring to do at the highest level. 

For instance, in Michael Jordan’s 2020 docuseries The Last Dance- Episode Five, Kobe Bryant states, “…Michael provided a lot of guidance for me… I feel like what you get from me is from him. I don’t get five championships here without him because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.” Kobe Bryant emulated Jordan from his walk down to how he performed on the court. Bryant is the ultimate success story of how following in the footsteps of great mentors can bring you greatness as well. Rest in peace, Kobe. 

#4: Love Yourself

The Heart Chakra

Location: Center of the chest

Deals with love and is blocked by grief and loss.

Remember flying on planes? The flight attendants would give us directions on what to do just in case of emergency. Their number one rule: put your oxygen mask on first, before assisting others. 

The same goes for love. Practice self love first. Your heart, soul, and emotional wellbeing are just as important as anyone else’s. 

You matter. 

Soka Gakkai President Daisaku Ikeda passes along comforting words stating, “Perhaps you have had your heart broken and felt unable to go on, your self esteem in tatters. But you must never think you are worthless. No one can substitute for you, who are more precious than all the treasures in the universe put together.”

#5: Learn a new skill or develop a current one

The Throat Chakra

Location: The throat. Duh!

Deals with speaking your inner truth and is blocked by lies. 

What better way to honor your inner truth than to live authentically. Part of honoring my inner truth was acknowledging that I am a teacher and a healer. As a young woman, I was extremely timid and afraid to show my talents to anyone. How could I inspire, heal, and entertain if I refused to let anyone see me in action? I was able to overcome this insecurity by practicing my skills. The better I became the more secure I became in my showing off my abilities. Take writing and publishing this article for instance. 

In This Year You Write Your Novel, written by my favorite author and mentor Walter Mosley, he gives a word of advice for fellow creators. “In order to be a writer, you have to set up a daily routine. Put aside an amount of time to sit with your computer or notebook.” I omitted the part where he says dedicate “[no] less than an hour and a half” because I know that life happens. The most important trait to establish here is consistency. If you practice your skill everyday, you will get better. If you have an hour and a half to dedicate to your practice, great! If all you can give is fifteen minutes, that’s okay too. Practice makes permanent. 

#6: Give Appreciation

The Third Eye Chakra

Location: Between the eyes 

Deals with insight and is blocked by illusion. 

As a Black American woman, much of my history was lost during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. I do not know which country or tribe in Africa my lineage derived from. I honor my ancestors with daily prayer because I understand the horrors under which they lived. Although my life is not perfect and I am oppressed in many ways, I recognize and acknowledge that I possess freedoms that my ancestors could have only imagined. Freedoms they fought and died for. I am their wildest dream come true. The Law of Conservation of energy maintains that energy is neither created nor destroyed. Many of my ancestors have passed but their energy still surrounds me. I honor them in gratitude for their guidance and protection. 

#7: Remember What’s Important

The Crown Chakra

Location: The top of the head

Deals with the higher self and is blocked by material attachment. 

Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law asserted that there are three types of treasures in the world. He described them as:

Treasures in a storehouse (money and materials), 

Treasures of the body (health and status) and, 

Treasures of the heart (inner strength). 

Above all, we are to seek treasures of the heart because they build absolute happiness. Absolute happiness is a state of enjoying your existence under any circumstances. In addition, we are warned against “construct[ing] a happy life based on wealth, status, fame, or beauty [because we] will eventually encounter dissatisfaction, loss, and unhappiness.”  

In order to live our best lives we must take hold of the reigns. When we honor ourselves, give appreciation to the ones who’ve helped us along the way, and vow to make our dreams a reality; we heal and balance our chakras in the process. As long as you have breath in your lungs and consciousness in your mind, you can be victorious. With that said, I will conclude with wise words from singer Maxwell (“I can let it all pass me by/ Or I can get down and try/ Work it all out this lifetime, lifetime.”)

Happy Living!

Works Cited

Hochswender, Martin, & Hancock. The Buddha In Your Mirror. Middleway Press, 2001.

Ikeda, Daisaku. Buddhism for You: Love. Middleway Press, 2006.