Earth - So central to our lives that we take it for granted
Looking at how the essential elements on this beautiful planet can help us respond to these tumultuous times. This is the last in a series on visiting the elements. The last post explored Fire; today we’ll be visiting Earth.
In these times that seem senseless in so many ways, the element of Earth gives me faith. Today, I'm going to muse on the Earth element and share a few practices.
Earth is the beautiful planet that is our home. Earth elements include minerals, stone, humus. It gives us a sense of ground. Earth is the living layer of soil that supports us so beautifully by giving rise to the greening, the trees, and plant life. Earth's magnetic field orients how we move and experience up and down, as well as forward and backward.
Earth is this beautiful planet that is our home. The Earthrise Image of our planet, taken from space in 1968 circulated widely and shifted our collective perspective. This image provided our collective consciousness with a subject-object move — we were offered the opportunity to look at ourselves from the outside. A planetary perspective arose. With that image taken from beyond our atmosphere, a burgeoning sense of awe propelled a movement to protect the environment.
Earth is fundamental and enduring. Earth as an element is the essence of form and structure. Earth offers us nurturing support and the ability to create a strong foundation. Earth as an element is a symbolic representation of Truth. Feeling grounded is a result of being connected to the Earth. When we feel grounded, we are more willing to see things as they are and are more willing to be present with what is. When we speak the Truth, we are calling in the earth element. Truth, whether it be a hard truth or a beautiful one, is a grounded perspective.
Earth is nurturing. Earth in the form of the soil that blankets our landforms is one of the most complex life-affirming biomaterials on the planet. When it is healthy, one teaspoon of this crumbly humusy layer contains more organisms than there are human beings on the planet. The health of our soil is critical to our survival. Civilizations have risen and fallen based on the health of the soil on which they depended. The failure of the Sumerians, Mayans, Indus Valley civilizations, along with the Roman Empire was, in large part, a failure to contribute to the soil. In the United States, the Dust Bowl in the 30s was a direct result of unsustainable farming practices combined with the inevitable cycles of drought in the Midwest. Conversely, civilizations that developed agricultural practices to manage soil health sustained their populations for a much longer arc: the ancient Egyptians, the Incas in the Andes, areas in Asia. Soil is a living organism, a layer that surrounds the Earth and gives life. This nurturing aspect of this earth element requires the practice of reciprocity. ( Look for the book Soil by Matthew Evans for more on this . . . )
Earth has a magnetic field that orients our physical selves, perspective, and worldview. One of the most remarkable aspects of living on this planet is something we all take for granted: Gravity. Gravity asks nothing of us – it only holds. It is what we push off against when we walk. If it weren't for gravity, we would not have uprightness, nor would we fall to the ground. Gravity provides us with the fundamental perspective of above and below. Just watch the astronauts float around in a spaceship, and you will get a glimpse of the human body with no sense of up and down.
The element of Earth offers us a steady gravitational pull, solidity, and a connection to matter. Where air and water are mutable, Earth is substantial. In martial arts, we learn to lower our center of gravity to ground ourselves to be unmovable, but also to spring from the ground to kick and parry. Earth gives rise to the power in any action on this planet.
As I write here, I'm struck by how Earth is so central to our lives that we take it for granted. We remember, and then we forget that the very ground we walk on is a living being that gives us life. Remembering and forgetting are such a part of the human experience . . .
Foundation Practices to connect with the earth element:
How do you sit? Enhance your awareness of your connection to the Earth by paying attention to how you sit. Sit upright with your sitz bones nestled firmly on a cushion or even the ground. Your pelvis is slightly forward to allow for an easy curvature of your spine, and then straighten gently towards the sky. Here you sit between heaven and Earth.
Pay attention to your feet as you travel across the surface of this Earth. Consider that you are making use of and defying gravity with each step — a walking miracle.
Registering Gravity’s Embrace: A meditation that requires lying down. With gratitude to Reginald Ray.
Engage with the dirt: the living layer of soil in your garden, yard, or neighborhood. How is this soil being replenished or enriched?
Focus Practices: grounded communication - Speaking Truth
Speaking the Truth: Begin conversations with what you observe with as much clarity as you can. For more, Clean Talk.
Use sentence stems such as:
I observe . . .
I notice . . .
Finding your yes and your no. Getting to yes, saying yes. For more, William Ury’s book Getting to Yes.
Practice:
an earthbound yes
an earthbound no
saying no on behalf of an important yes
What Makes Sense
by Carrie Newcomer
I pledge alliance to a drop of dew
Wobbling on a broccoli leaf,
To the silver pattern on a zucchini frond
A perfect spiral at the center of a cabbage head.
I bow my head to the licorice smell of fennel filagree,
The taste of rounded peas and knee-high corn
And the perfect dun of barley hay.
I namaste a row of beans,
To garlic scapes and turnip greens
To the sweetness of sweet potato vines
To the last red radish and first blueberry.
I lift up my face to the summer sky
The sound of larks
And the feel of dirt
To all that keeps making sense
In senseless times.