An Elemental Summer

 

Summer has arrived and we can now enjoy the easy flow of the growing season here in the northern hemisphere. This is the perfect time to get out in the elements and re-balance your energies.

You don’t need any special ceremony to do this. No sacrifices, no dancing naked under the full moon (although that is totally optional). What you do need to do, is to get outside and play.

Let me explain.

First, what elements am I talking about? Those would be the four elements of nature – earth, water, fire and air. By being present with these four element and taking them into your body and soul, you can find a new balance in your life that will leave you recharged and ready for the hustle and bustle that we’ll all experience when our hectic lives resume in the fall.

Fire

Lets start with the element of fire. The easiest way to take in this element is to get out in the sun.

The earth needs the sun to sustain life. It represents energy and passion. It warms the ground and stimulates growth in all living things and it’s the re-charging station for our internal battery. Get out and soak up it’s energy. Feel it radiate over your skin.

 

 

Another way to be present with the element of fire is to enjoy a fire. Remember as a child sitting around the campfire and the magical pull of the dancing flames? You would stare into it forever as the heat kept you cozy and warm and its glow provided a protective circle, warding off the darkness of night, allowing your mind to wander to far off places.

A fire trance is a great way to take in the element of fire. No chance for a fire this summer? Even the dancing flame of a single candle outside on a deck can create the same affect.

Water

Summer is the best time to go with the flow of the element of water. This element is ruled by the pull of the moon, and it is water that brings forth life and tempers the heat of fire.

The easiest way to re-balance your water energies is to immerse yourself in it. Be it lake, river or ocean, it does not matter, as long as it is flowing. By that I mean that the body of water has the means to move and refresh itself.

Floating in water allows our whole body to be supported, giving it a much needed rest from the pressures of gravity and everyday life.

Flowing water aids in releasing clogged up energies, allowing them to simply float away. Notice how calm you feel when you let go of the control of your body and just let it float on the peaceful current of a river, or the hypnotic repetition of the gentle waves of the ocean.

Elemental water also guides our emotions, and because our bodies are made up of between 60-65% water, it is an element we can not ignore.

We all know the importance of staying hydrated and how the lack of water effects our bodies health. Water flushes out the impurities that build up and clog our internal organs, so this summer don’t forget to drink lots of pure clean water as well.

Earth 

When was the last time you went barefoot?

To ground your energies in the cleansing pull of the earth’s core you need to connect to it, so put your bare feet on the earth. Walk on a beach, wiggle your toes in freshly cut grass, or better yet, lay your whole body down in a field of tall grass and feel the gentle magnetic pull from the warm earth.

Imagine all your stresses and worries sinking deep into the earth’s core. Then, allow your connected body to absorb the transmuted clean energy of mother earth as she supports you with the ancient wisdoms of nature.

The element of earth represents our need to belong, of feeling safe in our surroundings. Humans have lost their connection to the energies of the earth yet all living beings, including us, rely on her infinite bounty.

Re-connecting, by grounding your energies with her and into her, will help you re-establish your personal link and feel the inter-connectedness of all life on earth.

Air   

Breath in, breath out. We do it around 2300 times a day. The element of air rules our thoughts, ideas and intellect.

Is your mind in a fog? Are you unable to think straight? Could it be the quality of the air you are inhaling daily into your lungs?

This summer seek out a clean source of air. The easiest way to do that is to get out into nature and surround yourself with trees, they are nature’s lungs. Trees take in carbon dioxide and release out clean fresh oxygen for us to breath which, in turn, cleanses our bodies and our minds.

Note how clear your thoughts are after a day spent in nature. Were you able to clear out the cobwebs in your brain and think deep thoughts? Maybe as you walked among the trees, you will be lucky enough to catch a creative muse as it floats between the branches on a breeze of fresh air.

Do you remember as a child laying on the ground, gazing up into the sky and trying to make out shapes and characters from the forms of the lazy summer clouds as they floated by? Such a simple game to play, but an amazing activity to help calm your monkey mind while allowing creative thoughts to waft through your consciousness and cleanse it with the breezy element of air, and all you need to do is look up.

It’s all child’s play

Everything that I just mentioned above, I’ll bet you did as a child. Kids don’t have to purposely balance their energies, they just follow their curiosity and go out and play. Nature takes care of the rest.

Remember as a child spending every moment you could during the summer outside, swimming, exploring or rambling in the wilds?

Did you ponder big thoughts while cozied up in a private little den that you burrowed into the tall grass of a sun kissed field and then end the day around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and telling tall tales, and when you finally did come in, at your mothers insistence, did you toss and turn in your bed fretting over senseless worries? Not a chance. I’ll bet my last s’more that you were asleep before your head hit the pillow, waking up refreshed and raring to go again the next morning. Life was good and the living was easy.

You can once again experience that same connection to nature and find that sense of contentment and peace that you had as a child by honoring the four elements of nature.

So go out and play and have yourself an elemental summer. There’s time enough, come September to go back to being an adult.