Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Thank you,” Ruwen told Pine.

“The Sacral chakra sits below your navel,” Pine said touching his lower abdomen. “It deals with pleasure, creativity, and emotions. Visualizing an orange glow might help or humming a “D” note. Place your fingers like this to open your Sacral channels.”

Pine touched his thumbs to his ring fingers, palms up on his thighs, and Ruwen did the same.

“For Activation consider your passions—both positive and negative. Activation usually occurs when you unravel the true motivations behind those passions.”

Ruwen guessed this chakra would give him issues. True desires and motivations were tricky to figure out for anyone as it required an honesty few possessed. Delusion took a lot less work.

“Awakening the Sacral is a deeper challenge,” Pine said in a serious tone. “It means understanding desires, how emotions flow through the body, and how channeling those flows can benefit or harm you. Creation—painting, dancing, playing music, or any form of artistic expression helps unlock these flows. By placing energy into the creative process, you open the Sacral more fully. Eventually, your sense of self expands. You become more flexible, adaptable, and creative, which feeds the cycle. An Awakened Sacral enhances the ability to express yourself and empathize with others.”

The idea of examining and opening to even more emotions caused Ruwen’s stomach to tighten.

“This is typically a hard chakra for young people,” Pine said. “I encouraged Ash’s drawing, and he’s become very good. If you can’t get a grip on your own emotions its doubly important that you find some artistic outlet so you can tap the creativity in your Sacral and help it Activate and eventually Awaken. Do you have any hobbies? What do you do for fun?”

“I don’t really have hobbies. I’m usually training or learning in my free time.”

“That doesn’t surprise me either. You are obviously a very driven person, your success is proof of that. Take a step back from the obvious like writing poetry and look for things in your life you enjoy.”

“I like spending time with Hamma. She’s my girlfriend. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends. Does reading count?”

“Maybe, if the reading isn’t for education. In fact, reading for enjoyment is a close second to experiencing emotions naturally. A story can quickly cycle you through many feelings. Much faster than reality. And even if the emotions aren’t as visceral there are more of them. So, yes, reading counts.”

Ruwen thought of the emotionally laden books Lylan loved and Hamma had started reading as well. It hadn’t occurred to him that books like that would have a purpose other than entertainment. Although he wondered if reading them for the purpose of training defeated the purpose altogether.

“Most of what I read is educational,” Ruwen admitted.

Now Ruwen started to feel bad. Was he really that boring. It seemed a dull life was the curse of every thinker. Even Overlord had written a book although Ruwen hadn’t been able to get a copy of it. Sift had his baking nonsense and still carried multiple books he studied for vacation idea. Lylan had her naughty books that certainly packed lots of emotions, and Hamma turned shopping into a fun activity. She also loved experimenting with the connections between scents and fashion not to mention her love of music and organization.

“I do like music,” Ruwen finally said.

“Playing or listening?” Pine asked.

“Mostly listening although I have picked up the lute. I recently gained some skills that improve my musical ability.”

“If you have problems with your Sacral than I’d advise leaning into an instrument. I can see how much of a thinker you are. I wish Ash had an iota of that, God help me. That boy is pure instinct.” Pine turned serious. “It seems early to give warnings, but I don’t want to underestimate the progress you might make. Ash might rely on his chakras too much. He is a creature of impulse and intuition.”

The idea of not thinking something through before acting horrified Ruwen. How could you make the best decisions if you didn’t consider all the alternatives.

“I sidetracked myself,” Pine said. “I brought up thinking because it’s not obvious to associate mental effort with creativity. Do you daydream or is there a mental activity that relaxes you?”

Ruwen wondered if talking to the people in your head counted as daydreaming? Technically all those Narrators and all the things they did was partly his creativity, right? Maybe that was more like a subconscious type thing.

“This will sound dumb,” Ruwen said, “but there’s this game called bandball that takes an immense amount of thought. Like scores of calculations a second while processing hundreds of variables at the same time. It sounds stressful but it’s like I hypnotize myself.”

“Yes, that is exactly it,” Pine said leaning forward. “That’s called a flow state, and it will feed your Sacral and push it toward Awakening. Once Awakened it will help you level it.”

“Chakras can level?”

“Yes, but let’s learn to crawl first. Bandball sounds like a sport, and I didn’t mention sports earlier because the competition associated with activities like that can reinforce negative emotions that will only add to the issues your Sacral will need to process. That’s why hobbies you can do on your own are recommended.”

“Okay, I’ll get a serious hobby.”

Pine touched his Solar Plexus and then joined his thumbs and middle fingers, hands resting near his stomach. Ruwen mirrored him.

“Yellow light to ignite willpower and awaken confidence,” Pine said. Then he hummed an “E” note for five seconds.

“Society here has associated yellow with cowardice in another effort to sabotage the growth of humanity. Yellow is the color of a warm sun inside your abdomen, feeding your sense of self-worth and personal drive. This is where discipline, its cousin willpower, and courage are born. Awakening the Solar Plexus is a test of forging your will in the fire of your limitations. Your dedication to the Steps should make this fire easier to start. Seek out leadership challenges to fan the flames and force chakra growth.”

Ruwen’s life since Ascendancy had contained constant training and his time in the Destruction Realm had honed his Willpower into a weapon. Leadership had been forced on him from everywhere.

The Ink Lord quest had turned Ruwen into the head of the Black Pyramid library, although he’d quickly delegated that authority away. The Narrators in his mind viewed him as a god, but he’d basically ignored them other than giving them all free will. He led the citizens of Uru’s lands but had once again pushed all the responsibility onto someone else. Lir in this case. Then of course there was his Destruction Realm Class of Emperor that crowned him the leader of a Realm too large to comprehend. He’d also ignored this for the most part.

He'd hoped the Solar Plexus would be as easy as the Sacral was hard, and while his Willpower should take him far, he now worried his leadership actions had uncovered some deficiency he’d ignored.

“Are you ready to go on?” Pine asked.

“Yes, sorry,” Ruwen said. “I was just thinking about my actions and how it might have affected my chakras.”

“That is wise. It’s a circle. Our actions shape our chakras which reinforce our actions. We become inside what we project into the world.”

“As within, so without,” Ruwen muttered.

“Exactly. The Hermetic principles contain deep meaning and very relevant to chakra growth.”

“What’s Hermetic?”

“I don’t want to sidetrack us, but Hermes Trismegistus is a fabled alchemist, and ancient documents associated with him reference seven principles. One of which is the connection between inner and outer worlds. Very appropriate for our activities.”

“I’m an alchemist, too. Is he still around?”

“No, he’s long dead assuming he was real. His wisdom is valuable regardless.” Pine tilted his head. “Alchemy is what we call science here. Experimenting and the process of discovery is full of creativity. Many don’t think of scientists as artists, but they require the same mix of imagination and inspiration. If you need help with your Sacral chakra leaning into your alchemy is a good option.”

That did make Ruwen feel better. He’d dreaded trying out different hobbies, looking for something he enjoyed and didn’t consider a waste of training time. It also interested him that this world had alchemists at some point and some of their knowledge mirrored the teachings of current alchemists. It meant that alchemists or librarians had likely spent time in this world at some point in the past, or maybe they still remained.

“Let’s talk about the Heart chakra,” Pine said.