The Chakra Model of Human Needs

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The Importance of Needs
Most of us grew up being given messages like “don’t be so selfish”, or “I want doesn’t get”. Actually this is far from a healthy truth. We all have needs which come from different aspects of ourselves and it is very important that these needs are met. In fact it is only when our own needs are met that we can truly support meeting the needs of others. The more our own needs are met, the more able we are to support others to do the same. Think of the analogy of the oxygen masks in the aeroplane “please fit your own mask before helping others”. Most of us accept this as sensible advice but don’t apply this thinking to our own needs, often making our needs less important than those of others.

There are many ways of exploring what our needs are and many models awe can apply to help us understand them. Abraham Maslow defined an interesting set in his “Hierarchy of Needs”. Starting with Biological and Physiological Needs such as food, sex and shelter and ascending through the different levels of Safety, Belonging & Love, Esteem and finally reaching Self-actualisation., he defines a set of principles which categorise human needs. His belief was that basic human needs like food, sleep and warmth need to be met before “higher” needs such as affection and personal growth can be addressed.

The Luxury of Emotion
There is much to be said for this. We are very privileged in this society that we live in a world where our basic needs are almost always met. Very few people reading this will be unable to feed or house themselves. This is not true for many people alive today in countries in the developing world. It seems to me that only once a society has developed sufficiently to a level where these basic physiological needs can readily be met that people are able to engage in the luxury of having feelings.

Our grandparents’ generation “survived perfectly without emotions”, as my grandmother used to tell me! Of course whilst this isn’t true, it may be said that historically when there was more risk of an early death from disease or less surety of regular food, etc. that emotions were a luxury which it may have been difficult for our ancestors to access as easily as we can today.

Chakra Model of Needs
Another model of needs is related to the chakras. We are beings who operate at many different levels. These can be defined by the chakra system. It makes sense to me then that our needs may also be linked to the corresponding chakras.

There is some overlap here between Maslow’s mode land the chakra model. Basic needs such as food, safety and a stable home environment could be said to relate to the base chakra. This chakra is also about grounding and connecting to the energy of mother earth. It is from here that our physiological needs must be met. Without a strong and stable base, it is much harder to have our other needs met.

Second Chakra
The second chakra relates to our sexuality, to creativity and to emotions. We have needs which must be met which relate to this chakra. The expression of sexuality, which Maslow puts under Biological and Physiological needs, is a core need of every human being. This does not mean that we must have sex, but that our being has a need for us to recognise and honour our sexuality. For example, I have a friend who is a nun, a mother superior, who is, of course, celibate but who acknowledges her sexuality and honours it without needing to act it out. For example she acknowledges that she finds certain men physically and sexually attractive, but she does not act on these feelings. Recognising these feelings and needs is the important part of this dynamic, not acting them out. It is the non-recognition of this part of ourselves which causes the distress. Denying and suppressing our sexuality will cause dis-function and even physical illness. But this does not mean that if you’re not having sex or choosing to be celibate that you are in denial, simply that you may not feel the need to act out in behaviour that part of yourself which you acknowledge to be a present and important part in your life.

Other second chakra aspects include creativity and emotion. We are all creative beings, even if we have received negative messages about our creative talents. It is only the limiting force of the ego which stops us from being beautifully, wonderfully, creatively expressive.

Similarly we are all emotional beings. Those of us who may be more mind identified (i.e. relate more easily to thoughts than feelings), still experience emotions but may suppress them. To be fulfilled we need to be able to express ourselves emotionally, sexually and creatively. These needs relate to the second chakra.

Third Chakra
The third chakra is the seat of our personal power, of our Will and our sense of self at an egoic level. If we don’t experience positive affirmation of ourselves as children, this sense of self can often be weakened and lead to unclear boundaries. This is no where more true than in sex. An unclear sense of self can lead to unclear thoughts about what is acceptable and what isn’t sexually. If the boundaries between what is OK for you personally and what isn’t are unclear, it is all too easy to find ones self in sexual situations which we may be uncomfortable with. These may be emotional unsafe experiences or they may even be physically unsafe. This is a common result of unclear boundaries borne of an unclear sense of self.

Working with clients as a sacred sexual healer, one of the most important things I do for women is to empower them to say “No”. Too often men persuade, bully, cajole and sometimes force women into situations about which they are not comfortable with. Being able to say No clearly and firmly comes from having a strong enough sense of self respect, and a firm enough Will. All this comes from having a good connection with our third chakra. The result of not having the needs of our solar plexus met can be physically and emotionally dangerous.

The needs of the third chakra are not just about boundaries but also about having a presence in the world and having that presence acknowledged by others. It is about the space you occupy in this life and having that recognised by others.

Fourth Chakra
The Heart is the next chakra. The needs of the heart are to love and be loved. This flow needs to be met both ways. Being loved is not enough. Loving another is not, alone, sufficient. For the needs of the heart to be met Love must flow both ways. And Love must be met. If Love is offered and not received, at a human level, its needs are not met. I am talking here about the personal qualities of Love, not the Transpersonal. The nature of Transpersonal Love is Unconditional Love. This is something which operates at another level to normal human love though we are all capable of experiencing it.

We could say that there are four elements to the needs of Love. Giving Love, Having that Love received, Being offered Love, receiving Love. In a situation between two people each person must both give and receive Love for it to flow fully and freely between them. Only in doing so are the full needs of human Love met.

Fifth Chakra
The fifth chakra resides in the throat. This is the seat of expression, vocalisation and truth. The needs of the fifth chakra are around communication. It is important to express your feelings and to state clearly your truth. The expression of personal truth will come from either Love or Will. Statements of so called “positive” emotions come from the heart and are the expression of Love. Truth statements about what are sometimes called “negative” emotions (anger for example) or around boundaries come from the third chakra and are the expression of the Will. The important thing is that both are expressed through the throat chakra.

It is the active communication of these truths which is the significant part of these needs. There is little point in having clarity about our boundaries or in feeling deep love for another if we don’t communicate that to the other. It is the expression of empathy, for example, not simply empathy itself which matters in relationship.

Sixth Chakra
The Third Eye or Sixth Chakra is the seat of intuition and insight. Not listening to our intuition can lead us to put ourselves in situations which do not serve us and may endanger us. We are not opening ourselves to the full range of possibilities in our world if we do not listen to our intuition. Closing down to the possible through not meeting the needs of our sixth chakra limits us and cuts us off from the ability to expand, both personally and transpersonally.

Activating our intuition we have knowledge. This is knowledge as opposed to intellectual understanding, more than a rational construct. This knowledge gives us a trust in ourselves and our circumstances. It gives us trust in being at the right place at the right time, in making right decisions and following the right path.

With our intuition activated we make more of life because we make the most of opportunities and of lessons when they come to us. Your experience of life becomes fuller, more magical and you are more inclined to dive in and engage with it fully.

When you have trust, this leads you to the crown chakra.

Seventh Chakra
The needs of the crown chakra are both the most basic and the highest of our needs. This is to re-connect to the divine source that is both our origin and the essence of our being as we are today. Our transpersonal needs are as important as any of our other needs and to deny them leads to physiological disease just as much as unfulfilled needs from other chakras.

When your needs of the crown chakra are met you are aligned to your highest purpose. You are truly fulfilling yourself and your potential. When you realise that you are acting for your highest good, you start to see the greater good, the good for all, the connection with source.

Part of this connection with source could be a devotional practice. When you feel you have a higher goal which you are fulfilling, this may manifest as a feeling of harmony and a real sense of divine order and it will bring feelings of gratitude. This can be expressed as a devotional practice or a positive humanitarian attitude. Viktor Frankl in his book “From Death Camp to Existentialism” talks about prisoners in Auschwitz. He noticed that those who had a belief in a higher power or purpose were more likely to stay physically fit and thus to survive. He makes the link between having an awareness of connection with source and this giving one additional resources which helped them to survive the horrors of Auschwitz.

Needs and Relationship
In the same way that as individuals we have needs corresponding to each chakra, it is also true that we are most fulfilled when all these needs are met in us as individuals. An extension of this is that if we are in relationship, we are most fulfilled when the needs of each chakra are acknowledged and met by our partner. Too often the cause of broken relationships is because our needs are not met in relationship by the other. By creating awareness of our needs, expressing them clearly to or partner and having them met by the other, we have the opportunity to create a relationship which fulfils us completely by meeting us and seeing us at each level.

Of course not all relationships meet all of our needs and although this may be the ideal state of a relationship it is not always possible. What is important if our partner cannot meet all of our needs is that they acknowledge that we have these needs which come from each chakra and that it is our natural state to want to have them met. If a supportive partner is unable to meet your needs themselves, it is helpful if they can acknowledge that you have these needs and help to support you on getting them met through other means. This will lead to a feeling of being seen and honoured by your partner even if they can’t meet all your needs themselves. Of course the reverse is true in that your partner may want you to be willing to support their needs in a similar way.

In conclusion meeting our needs is one of the most important things that we can do. If we don’t acknowledge and take steps to meet these needs they become distorted and it is very easy to act out unhealthy behaviours which are distortions of our real needs. Alternatively we can become embittered, angry or even physically sick as a result of suppressing our needs. We put our own needs on hold at grave peril to our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.