Welcome.
In today's practice,
I wanted to work with the four elements,
Earth,
Fire,
Water,
And air and examine or reflect on the ways in which these are shared qualities both in our external world and inside our very bodies.
In the West,
Certainly in America,
We're taught to think of ourselves as individuals,
As separate and autonomous.
But in fact,
None of us exists alone.
We wouldn't be here without ancestors.
We wouldn't be here without the rich resources of the world.
Often represented by these very four elements.
So in today's practice,
I hope by connecting the elements in our physical environment and then within our own bodies,
We might honor and celebrate the connection we have that is,
In fact,
Life itself.
So as the sound of the bell fades away,
Taking our posture and really beginning to feel already the weight of gravity and our body sitting here or lying down or standing,
Feeling the point of connection between your body and the world,
Maybe at the sit bones,
Maybe your thighs,
Maybe your shins or your feet,
Noticing where your hands have come to rest.
Earth is the element of mountain,
Rock,
Soil,
That which is dense,
That which has weight,
Form,
Substance.
Within the body,
Noticing what feels heavy,
What feels dense,
Sensing the mass,
Bone,
Muscle,
Flesh,
Quality of steadfastness,
Endurance,
A quality of being available to any season that comes.
Resting in this element of earth,
Allowing yourself to inhabit this body,
Feeling its fullness from the inside out,
Sensing the boundary between yourself and the world.
How solid is it?
Bringing our attention,
Our imagination now to the element of fire,
To that which burns,
Electricity,
Lightning,
The energy that animates,
Excites,
Prompts into motion,
Activity.
Hearing the crackling of a campfire or a wood stove,
Sensing the heat that is generated,
One substance transformed into another,
Wood and oxygen into ash and particulates,
Heat released,
Set free to do work in the world,
Connecting to the temperature of our body.
Where do you feel warm?
Warm.
Where's the warmth and pulled away such that you're cool or cold?
Sensing the blood flowing through the body,
Sending nutrients and warmth throughout the cells,
Quick speed of adrenaline,
Sensitivity of the endocrine system responding to stressors,
Waking us up,
Moving us into action.
It's quality of change from one state to another.
Shifting our attention now to water,
Lakes,
Oceans,
Rivers,
Creeks,
Ponds,
Rainfall,
Water as steam evaporating,
Water as ice solidifying,
Many faces,
Kind and gentle,
Dangerous and surging,
Cyclical,
Rising up into the atmosphere to return and fall as rain.
Connecting to this element in our bodies,
The regenerative quality of the cells,
Vulnerability at our core,
And the strength,
The firmness,
The resoluteness of water in its solid form.
The fluid nature of our hormonal and chemical life,
This quality of being flexible,
Adaptable.
And bringing our attention to the element of air,
The wind,
Breeze,
A gust,
A cyclone,
The very air that we breathe,
The direct connection between our physical bodies and our world,
That provides us oxygen and receives in return carbon dioxide,
The breath necessary for plants,
Plankton,
Algae,
This exchange,
Intimate exchange,
Receiving air into our lungs,
And in turn,
Expelling air out,
Oxygen,
Carbon dioxide,
Quality of being touched,
An element easy to see as it impacts trees,
Butterflies,
Birds,
Soaring,
Elements hard to notice about other objects in the world,
In our bodies,
Lungs,
Diaphragm,
Capillaries,
Feeling the body breathing even now,
Sensing our very cells regenerating,
Noticing the warmth of the heart beating,
And the weight and the density of the body sitting or standing or lying down,
As within,
So without,
As without,
So within,
A world made up of the same elements,
One source,
Infinite variety.
As the bell sounds,
Taking a moment,
No matter what happened in this practice,
To be grateful for the time you've spent.
May it serve you well and be to the benefit of all beings everywhere.
Opening your eyes or lifting your gaze,
Taking time to look around,
Make your world real,
Concrete,
Tangible.
Thank you for your practice.
