Stepping Stones

Activating Your Inner Powers - Week One

Courage vs. Fear

The Lion of the Oz story represents the first power that we must claim on our hero’s journey – the energy of courage. The energy of courage resides in our first chakra and allows us to stand and take our place as “King of the Forest” or the hero in the center of our own adventure. The shadow side of the first chakra energy center is fear. Before the Lion aligns with Dorothy on her soul walk, he is paralyzed with fears and unable to function. The Lion is startled by anything that moves and worries that all of the forest creatures are laughing at him. The Lion cannot possibly take his place as King of the Forest because his fears and insecurities stop him at every turn.

When the Lion asks the wizard for courage, the Wizard says to the Lion, “You have plenty of courage, I am sure. All you need is confidence in yourself. There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.” When the Lion learns to own his internal sense of power, he finds that his instincts serve him well to warn him when danger is present, and his courage allows him to handle those situations with confidence. A healthy first chakra provides us with the common sense and grounding we need to effectively navigate the physical world, and the courage to keep moving forward even in the face of adversity.

The symbol of the lion reminds us that it takes courage to leave the old life patterns behind and to walk the hero’s path before us in spite of our fears and in spite of what other people may think about us. The lion energy of the first chakra reminds us that the deep spiritual journey of life is not for cowards. If we decide to walk fully into our own story, challenges and struggles will appear along the path and plenty of naysayers will line up along the way to push us off our path. The lion calls us to have the courage and commitment to stand firmly on the earth, rooted in our own story, and walk through the shadows and dark forests of life to fulfill our life purpose.

Weekly Stepping Stones

What fears stop you from taking your place or making yourself at home in your own life story? Who are the people in your life that activate your fears? Can you remember times in life when it took courage to move forward? Who are the people in your life that have activated your courage, who have en-couraged you to live a deeper story or purpose in life? What would you do differently in life right now if you could activate the energy of courage to move forward?