The ancient wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism,
With its roots in the Nalanda tradition in India,
Goes back thousands of years and is still very much alive today,
I think,
Because of how relative it is to our life.
It often still really astounds me the depth to which yogis and philosophers back then could understand the true nature of ourselves and of life itself.
One of the aspects of Tibetan Buddhism that I find really interesting is the elements and chakras.
All traditions are unique,
So you might find some differences here to what you're used to.
But the one thing that has always struck me about Tibetan Buddhism is how profound and full of real-life meaning every little detail is.
We're going to explore the psychological and somatic manifestations of the earth element.
And I really want you to feel how it plays a role in your life,
So that it's not just interesting mystical theory,
But instead an actual deep discovery and understanding of yourself and how you relate to the world.
So,
As I imagine you've heard before,
Earth is very much about grounding.
When it's in balance,
Feeling a sense of steadiness,
Connecting to safety and the feeling of being supported,
All these kinds of feelings allow us to feel deeply secure and grounded.
But also,
Like most things in life,
A harmonic balance is needed.
Many people just assume that they need more earth energy to feel grounded.
But if,
For example,
You have an excess of earth energy,
Everything might feel quite heavy,
Maybe even stuck.
Somatically,
You might feel rigid or sluggish,
Maybe even a little down or depressed.
Where at the same time,
If you have too little earth energy,
You can feel very ungrounded,
Maybe quite spaced out,
Maybe really busy in the head.
Your body might feel quite tight and have a kind of lifting up energy to it,
All of which feels unsafe and very unsteady,
Of course.
But there are also other dynamic nuances to earth element that you might notice you have or lack within yourself and your life at the moment.
Earth is deep and very connected to richness,
So feeling enriched and nourished,
Like compost.
But like in nature,
Earth can be rich,
Fertile soil,
Or it can be hard,
Dry,
And rough.
So if in balance,
We could feel enriched,
But if it's too much,
We could feel like everything's a bit too intense,
Or too little,
Life could feel quite dry.
Earth is also connected to sensuality and pleasure,
So being satisfied and nourished by the richness of the senses,
Touch,
Taste,
Smell,
Whatever it might be,
Is something deep and grounding about really feeling the richness of the senses,
If we can mindfully be with it.
The final aspect of earth that I'm going to touch on here in this little course is about practicality and order.
In the spiritual world,
This doesn't sound all that inviting,
But having a balanced sense of order and organization is actually quite grounding.
For example,
With myself,
I can get very excited about something filled with inspiration and joy,
And I can feel like there's a lack of form and structure,
Like it's all up in the air,
And I can feel too much,
Actually.
But if I bring in some practicality and order,
For example,
Like make a to-do list of what I need to do,
It's like it really just grounds all of those feelings,
Allowing everything to become a bit more steady.
Again,
Though,
The balance is required,
Because too much order and structure can become quite rigid and dogmatic.
So,
In conclusion,
If we are in balance with our earth energy,
We might feel grounded,
Steady,
Enriched,
And wholesome.
We might feel that our life has some sort of order and structure to it,
Yet we can still be flexible and free.
It can be interesting for you to reflect on this within your own life,
And notice when these kinds of things come up,
Remembering that the elements are all in a constant dynamic play,
Always moving and changing.
So whatever you notice,
Remember that it moves and transforms,
Just like the nature of life.
