I have been BLOWN AWAY by the kindness and support that has come my way since sharing my hair story. After agonizing as much as a I did about this, it has been really sweet to feel embraced. There is a lot of kindness in this world. It seems like we all are going through a softening process, life teaching us ways to be more tolerant of each other and our differences. At least, I hope this is happening. And this experience has further fueled that hope. So thank you.
From this one change - viewed as huge by some, insignificant by others - I am experiencing some things I have not experienced in a long time or, in some cases, ever. Before I took this step, I found it really helpful to talk to other people who had done it themselves. I only spoke to a handful of people as I felt the need to be private as I sorted through my own process with it. One of the questions I had about how cutting hair would affect me was in regards to the energetics of hair. Some people I talked to did not feel any effects but I did so I wanted to share.
Our teachings regard hair as an important part of the energetics of a human body, grown for a purpose and having benefits. This is something that has made sense to me but I never felt in a noticeable way. I think that if you cut your hair on a regular basis, as I did until I found Sikhism at 19, then you are probably used to the feeling of cut hair and don't have a comparison. I do have to say, now, that in cutting as much hair off as I did the other day (after growing it for about 14 years), I have now experienced the vast change. I have now personally felt it. It is subtle but it is huge. And I would actually describe it as pretty jarring and...even brutal. That was my experience, anyway.
It is obviously something that we are able to integrate but I just want to acknowledge that it is there. Over the years, being involved in training Kundalini Yoga teachers, I taught people on this topic. It is interesting for me to now know first hand how much hair contains and seals.
I found it helpful to get some good sleep as I adjusted to it (and I already am adjusting for the most part.) Yoga and meditation the next morning helped me feel less frazzled and blasted. Part of what cut hair does, in my experience, is it makes you more exposed and delicate energetically than you are with uncut hair. I guess that is one reason why various traditions say you hold power in your hair. That vulnerability can be a challenge but it is also something I have been wanting/needing - to be open to the rawness of my human experience.
I don't personally feel there is a right or wrong in this. It is just something that I wanted to acknowledge.
Isn't life fascinating?
2 comments:
Sometimes, the most jarring and brutal experiencing can also be the most transformational. I hope this change moves you forward in a positive way and takes you even closer to the Divine within.
I do not come from a spiritual tradition that has a strong connection to hair, but went from very long hair to very short hair twice in my life. It was definitely a spiritual experience, and I think it will be a continuing practice for me as it brings a feeling of rebirth in a way.
I have practiced yoga and meditation since I was 23 years old...half my life! We become so sensitive, so soft...attuned to any and all changes in our energetic and physical fields; it's hard to explain. I often feel like "the princess and the pea," sensitive to people's thoughts, words, how they take up space...how *I* take up space. It is fascinating. When anyone in the world suffers, we feel it. My teacher has said our work is to become more and more supple and soft on the outside...and more powerfully strong and radiant on the inside. I like that.
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