It was my sophomore year in high school when it started. I had struggled to learn mathematical concepts as they were being taught then and it was a constant source of stress for me my entire middle and high school career. The struggle turned into my nightmare when during my sophomore year my math teacher called me to the front of the class, every day. He would put a problem on the board and tell me to solve it. Of course, I couldn’t, but he would use my lack of skill to point out what I didn’t know and what I was doing wrong to the rest of the class. It was humiliating. I would get sick to my stomach every day before class began. Nausea wasn’t the worst of it; it’s also when I developed a propensity for debilitating migraine headaches that would last a lifetime. They served as a physical indication, something wasn’t right.
Interestingly enough, on an energetic level, migraines, or headaches in general, are thought to be created when we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect or suppress our anger.
Go figure.
Headaches are also associated with our 6th chakra (Ajna) or Third Eye energy, the center of energy that perceives what we see and experience making it our reality. It’s where we see patterns and connections with our mind’s eye or inner sight and where our intuitive and clairvoyant ability lies. It’s also where our dreams communicate messages to us. Headaches can develop when these areas are out of alignment or imbalanced.
As children, we naturally use our creative sides more easily and are open to our inner sight. At some point; however, this side of us may be cut off or subdued by the adult or societal messaging we receive. For example, I once sat in a kindergarten class where a little boy colored his landscape picture with purple grass and orange trees. His teacher told him his picture was all wrong and to redo it. Obviously, this little one could look out a window and tell us what color the trees happened to be, but his mind’s eye was seeing a beautifully colored picture that didn’t fit the adult version of reality. Who knows what he was actually seeing...an artistic picture, or another world we weren’t privy to? The point is, by denying his Third Eye access, a seed was placed in his little energy field that told him what he was seeing was wrong, stifling a little part of himself he would need his entire life.
Like the seed that was planted for that little guy, my seed was if I didn't understand something right away, there was something wrong with me, which in return cultivated self doubt: failure equated to humiliation. Luckily for us, the universe has a way of working things out. My relationship to math nearly stopped my pursuit of education, but a little intuitive voice told me to go anyway. Once I got to college, I had a math teacher who taught in such a way I could learn the concepts that had evaded me most of my life. Now we know that developmentally, kids learn in different ways, at different times- a concept that would’ve been helpful years ago! - but at least we’re evolving in our thinking now and at least I had an opportunity to undo what had been done.
Besides going to college and taking a new math class, there are fun and creative ways to heal the 6th Chakra I highly recommend.
Color/Create mandalas. Mandalas are geometric designs that are used to focus our attention. The first image of the mandala was found in a Hindu text dated 1500-500 BCE, but it has been used as a method of meditation in many different belief systems. There are wonderful resources on the Internet or you can buy them in book format as I did. You could also create one using a ruler and paper.
Create a collage. Cut and glue pictures, images, and words on a piece of paper that reflect what it is you're working towards or that resonate with you. This is much like the “Vision Board '' but can be based on what you’re trying to heal and not just what you want to physically obtain. Then use this tool during meditation.
Develop your intuition. Listening to your inner guidance system isn’t always easy because our ego and the voices of others get in the way. Work on trusting your gut and that which you cannot see. The more you trust yourself, the easier it will get.
Meditate with the sound, “Om.”
Work on dream recall. Keeping paper next to the bed, write down the details of your dream as soon as you wake up in the morning. What are the patterns? Symbols? Recurring themes? If you wake up and start to forget the dream, reposition your body to how it was when you were dreaming. I also include a request to my Guides at bedtime to help me recall my dream if it holds an important message for me.
I still get headaches that serve as a way for me to know something is off or that I need to rest. It’s my body’s cue I am ignoring my intuitive messages and that I'm barreling through life without checking in with my higher self. I’d prefer something less painful and annoying, like a throbbing toe, but it’s what I have to work with and I’m determined to keep my 6th Chakra balanced in order to no longer need them.