Anodea Judith PhD on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Anodea Judith PhD shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Anodea, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
As I enter “practice retirement” and aim toward working less, I want to spend more time in my garden, communing with nature, and simply contemplating the mystery of life from a place of spaciousness and no agenda. Having been driven and hardworking all my life, I am now longing for simplicity and beauty.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My claim to fame has been the re-introduction of the Eastern philosophy of the chakra system to the Western fields of psychology and personal transformation. I am most known for my many books on the chakras, such as WHEELS OF LIFE or EASTERN BODY, WESTERN MIND. But I have also correlated the chakras to yoga, to energy work, to the downward current of manifestation in my book, CREATING ON PURPOSE, and to social change in my book, THE GLOBAL HEART AWAKENS.

My passion is for cultural evolution and saving this planet before we throw it all away. To that end I am a member of teh Evoutionary Leaders Council, the Founding Mothers Movement, and director of my school, SACRED CENTERS ACADEMY that offers training and certification in my work.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I don’t know that I felt powerful as a child, but my power was really awakened in my early 20’s when I threw up a picket line in front of a record store that had refused to pay me for an extensive mural I had just completed.

This was in Berkeley California in the 70’s and nobody crosses a picket line there. We did some street theatre about the poor starving artist and the villain, and within a short time the newspaper was there (made the front page). The guy who hired me was a bully to everyone, and soon other artists joined me saying he had ripped them off as well. It wasn’t long before the bully showed up, hands shaking, and wrote me a check for all that he owed me.

The feeling of victory was new experience for me. You can stand up to bullies and win!

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
My most difficult challenges have been from two separate cases of long term Lyme disease. The first time was undiagnosed for five years and I lived in very intense pain 24/7. It took 10 years to get rid of it, but then about 15 years later, I got it again. (It comes from a tick bite — and I love to be outdoors.) I still struggle with some residual symptoms from the co-infections that came in with that.

It taught me many things: compassion, patience, deep listening to my body, and unwillingness to be frivolous with my energy. It made me very disciplined about my diet, my sleep, exercise, meditation, etc.

So it was a profund teacher and still is, every day.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Working in the “industry” of spiritual teachings (which is an oxymoron if every there was one!), I find myself frequenting yoga centers, retreat facilities, and metaphysical bookstores.

The main misconception, or idea I disagree with, is that spirit is better than matter, the mind is better than the body, and the whole focus of spirituality is to detach from the body and the earth.

I feel this is a masculine valence on spirituality that ignores the deeply divine presence of nature, the Goddess, and the feminine.

My spirituality is embodied, alive, joyful, engaged, and passionate. It is geared toward creating and witnessing beauty, being creative and artistic, and celebrating with others.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
As I progress through my 70’s I have a lot of life to look back upon. And I am so greatful to fee that even if I died tomorrow (and I hope I don’t!) I would have fulfilled what I came here to do: create a map for healing and wholeness that covers the full spectrum of human possibility. from our earthly emobdiment to our loftiest spiritual ideals.

I was never told to do anything, but even so, I have always been a renegade who lived by my own sensibilities. I left civilization in my 20s to live off the grid. I was ordained as a Priestess in 1985, I raised four kids, wrote 12 books, and taught in 163 countries, over 20 of them in person. I have lived a life that I love, and loved the life I’ve lived.

But I’m not done yet. I still want to address the imbalance between masculine and feminine in the mortal and divine world. I still want to articulate the next organizing principle for humanity, based on the heart chakra. And I want to take time to enjoy life and not work all the time.

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