Cross Stitch and Chakras: Manipura

  I had started on this pattern back when I was still stitching the second chakra and ended up losing that pattern when I lost the sacral chakra pattern. I was in no hurry to start another pattern especially after the debacle with the last piece. I gave myself a day off from cross stitching and then willed myself to sit down and start working again.

  I have always had issues with this chakra and even when planning the pattern for piece after the sacral chakra, I actually jumped straight to the the heart chakra pattern. I had completely forgotten this chakra. Maybe it's because I've never really been a fan of yellow. Or maybe I had issues with the chakra.  Manipura translates into "City of Jewels"  and is the chakra of will power. As I have been researching this chakra I have also found that this is were emotional trauma and pain are stored, creating blockages. I may or may not get into the cause of the emotional pain and trauma, but I know I have a lot that still needs to be release. When I was younger I would get very bad stomach aches when I got really anxious (I'm talking doubled over in pain) and when I suffer panic attacks I often throw up. Unblocking and balancing this chakra is going to be no easy task. I was not looking forward to staring this piece.

  In order to avoid the mistakes from the last two pieces, I really had to slow down and go back to basics. Even thought I had made sure that the pattern was correct before starting, I still found myself making errors.  I found that I was easily losing my place on the pattern and that was the cause of the mistakes. So I started marking the row I was working on in the pattern with bright red dots. This seems like a "no duh" solution, but in my arrogance (and I have a lot of that), I thought I was more advanced. Once again I was humbled, and I went back to the basics. Slowly going row by row, marking my progress as I went. Even though this slowed me down, the result was finished piece with less
 
  This is how I am going to have to deal with my past pain and trauma. I'm going to have to be patient with myself and allow myself a slow but steady healing.  While I have learned lessons about creating cross stitch patterns and making the final product, I amazed at all the other lessons I'm learning as well. I have also felt myself growing in the past three weeks. I have been eating better (cooking my meals from scratch and incorporating more vegetables), sleeping better, and consuming less caffeine. Who knew that a cross stitch project could help me so much on my path to inner peace. : )

I don't know if perfection will ever be achieved but this got me one step closer.