Appreciating Our Interconnected Nature

This reflective meditation practice helps us to have a direct and powerful experience of how we are not separate from the world, but have only ever been a part of it. As Alan Watts said, “We do not ‘come into’ this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.” The approach we take is to reflect on the six elements (earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness) and how they exist only in dependence on the wider world. This practice brings a deep sense of wonder, connectedness, and a sense of lightness regarding who we are.

Transcript

The Six Element Practice So,

Beginning the meditation practice by settling into our meditation posture,

Finding a posture,

Preferably sitting but possibly lying,

Which is comfortable,

Which allows us to relax,

But also which allows us to breathe freely and to have a sense of pause and dignity,

Perhaps taking a few deep breaths and really letting go on each out-breath,

Allowing the body to relax deeply,

And beginning now to look for a sense of loving kindness towards yourself,

Bringing awareness into the heart,

And looking for a sense of friendliness and warmth and caring,

And now beginning to reflect on the earth element,

And we start by becoming aware of the earth element within the body,

Within this form,

And the earth element is whatever is solid,

Firm,

Resistant,

So we can become aware of the weight of the body pushing downwards,

The weight of the hands,

Being aware of the mass of the muscles,

Being aware of the bones,

The teeth,

The nails,

The hair,

So we can be directly aware of many aspects of the earth element within the body,

And the rest we can connect with imaginatively,

We know that the body is full of internal organs,

Brains,

The heart,

Lungs,

The liver,

Intestines,

Being aware directly or imaginatively of everything solid,

Resistant and firm within this body,

And now we turn our attention to the earth element in the outside world,

And again you can start with whatever is directly within your experience,

You're sitting or lying on some solid surface,

So you can be aware of that,

And even if your eyes are closed you can be aware of all the solid objects around you,

Perhaps a room,

Buildings,

The solid earth beneath you,

Being aware that out there are rocks and earth,

Mountains,

Forests,

Fields,

Roads and vehicles,

And whole cities,

So all of this solid matter is the earth element in the outside world,

And then we can begin to reflect that everything solid within this body has come from the outside world,

If you go right back to the very beginning,

To the moment of conception,

Your body started as a cell from your mother and a cell from your father,

So neither of those were you,

That cell grew and divided as it absorbed nutrients from your mother's body,

And again none of those nutrients were you,

After birth,

Right up to the present moment,

Your body grew,

Maintained itself by ingesting food,

Sustenance,

Solid matter from the outside world,

Building up this form which is sitting here today,

So there isn't a single molecule within this body that is actually yours,

We may think of this as being my body,

But actually it's all borrowed,

And we can reflect also that all of the solid matter,

All of the earth element within this body,

Is in the process of returning to the outside world,

So you go to the bathroom and defecate,

Even as you're sitting here,

Skin cells are being shed,

A few hairs are falling out,

And the very substance of your body is being combusted and exhaled,

So the earth element is in reality just flowing through this form,

That we call me,

Mine,

But we can't really own it,

Because it's just passing through,

We can't hold on to it,

We can only live by taking in the earth element and letting it go again,

So we can observe the body,

Being directly aware of the physical nature of our body,

Being aware of the mass,

The weight,

The solidity,

And we can reflect,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

Just repeating those phrases,

Allowing them to resonate in the heart,

And now calling to mind the water element within this form,

And the water element is simply everything that is liquid,

So perhaps starting by being aware of saliva in your mouth,

Film of moisture covering your eyes,

Noticing the moistness of the out breath compared to the dryness of the in breath,

Perhaps noticing sweat on the body,

Perhaps feeling liquid in the bladder,

And as well as being directly aware of the water element,

We can also imaginatively connect with the blood flowing through our veins and arteries,

Knowing that every cell in the body is full of liquid,

That every cell in the body is bathed in liquid,

Knowing that there is liquid in the joints,

There is lymph fluid,

Fluid in the spine and the brain,

So just knowing that our entire being,

This entire body is permeated with the water element,

And now beginning to cold mind the water element outside of this form,

Outside of this body,

Being aware of the water that surrounds us,

There is water vapor in the air that we breathe,

There are various drinks and moist foods around us,

Water flowing in pipes in our houses,

The whole earth that we live upon is saturated with water,

There is water in the clouds in the sky,

There is precipitation in the form of rain,

Mist,

Even snow,

There are ponds and lakes,

Water flowing in streams and rivers,

Water in the oceans,

And now reflecting that all of the water within this body comes from the outside world,

You drink,

You eat moist foods,

You are constantly having to take water into the body,

Because it's always leaving,

You go to the bathroom and urinate,

Sweat and water vapor leave through the skin,

Every exhalation is laden with water vapor,

So once again this element is just flowing through us,

We think of this as being my body,

We think we own it,

But all the water within this body is simply borrowed,

It's just passing through,

So you can just sit here being aware of the moisture within the body,

Realizing that it's all passing through,

That you can't hold on to it,

You can never own it,

And you can repeat the phrases,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

Just repeating those phrases and allowing them to resonate,

And now we call to mind the fire element,

And fire is energy,

So noticing the fire element within this body,

We can notice the warmth,

The warmth of the body,

You can be aware of a sense of aliveness,

The fact that the body is sensing,

Feeling,

Responding,

This is all the fire element,

This is metabolism,

Living,

You can know that within every cell of your body there is metabolism taking place,

Stored nutrients are being combusted to provide energy for life,

Now becoming aware of the fire element of energy in the outside world,

First of all there's the sun,

Constantly burning,

Constantly sending massive amounts of energy towards our planet,

There's energy in plants and animals,

Which is all ultimately the stored energy of the sun,

That same energy is in the food that we eat,

We eat our homes,

Power our vehicles with fossil fuels,

The stored sunlight of past aeons,

And so we can reflect that all of the energy,

All of the fire element within this body,

Within this form comes from the outside world,

We warm ourselves in the sun,

Or by burning fossil fuels,

We eat food,

And we constantly have to replenish the body's stores of energy,

Because the fire element is always returning to the outside world,

You can feel the heat of your body as it's radiating outwards,

You can feel the warmth of the out-breath compared to the coolness of the in-breath,

So the fire element is simply flowing through us,

We think of the fire element within the body as being ours,

As being me,

But really it's all just borrowed and it's all just passing through,

So as you're sitting here,

You can be aware of the warmth in the body,

The aliveness,

The energy in the body,

And be aware that it is just passing through,

It is just borrowed,

And you can repeat,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

And now calling to mind the air element,

The air element is simply air,

The air we breathe,

And as soon as we become aware of the air element,

We're simultaneously aware of the air outside and the air inside the body,

Because right now we're taking in air,

And right now we're passing air back to the outside world,

It's happening with every in-breath and every out-breath,

We can feel the air entering the body,

Filling the lungs,

We can know that that air,

Or parts of that air,

Are dissolving into the bloodstream,

Being carried to every cell,

We can be aware that combustion products of the body are passing back from the bloodstream into the lungs,

And being exhaled,

We can notice the air in the outside world,

The air touching our skin,

Perhaps we can feel breezes or currents in the air,

And be aware of the vast expanse of the atmosphere encircling our planet,

And of course all of the air in the body comes from the outside world,

All of the air that's in the body is returning to the outside world with every out-breath,

So you can't possess the air element,

You can't control the air element,

You can't hold on to it,

Life depends upon us allowing this flow in and out of the body,

So as you're aware of this flow in and out,

The inhalations,

The exhalations,

While you're aware of the air permeating the entire body,

You can reflect,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

And then there's the space element,

The space element is quite undefinable,

It extends infinitely in all directions,

And yet we can't see it,

We can't touch it,

But one assumption that we do make is that there is a space that is me,

And that the rest of the space in the universe is other,

There's self and other,

So we can become aware of the space that we identify as being me,

This precise form,

This body,

It has a shape,

It has contours,

We recognize it when we look in the mirror or when we see photographs of ourselves,

Our sense of our personal space can extend outside of ourselves,

There might be a sense that you own the space round about you,

And yet like the other elements,

The space element is just borrowed,

You have this sense of a me space,

And yet you're always moving,

You can't hold on to space,

Even if you're sitting still,

The earth is turning,

It's revolving around the sun,

The sun itself is moving through the galaxy,

So right now you're moving at hundreds of thousands of miles an hour,

The space that you identified with a moment ago is far far behind you,

And we've already seen that this sense that there's a me and an other is quite false,

Everything within this form is borrowed from the outside world,

The food,

The water,

The energy,

Everything that goes to make up this form is borrowed,

It's not yours,

You can't hold on to it,

So you can be aware of the space that you occupy,

And reflect,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

And now reflecting on the sixth element,

Consciousness,

Consciousness is that which allows the elements to know themselves,

Consciousness is the universe become aware of itself,

And as you observe your experience,

You'll notice that there are sensations,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Passing through this consciousness,

Sensations arise,

Exist and pass away,

Sounds,

Light,

Feelings in the skin,

All sensations arise,

Exist and pass away,

They're simply flowing through us,

You can just observe your next thought,

Whatever that is,

Notice how it arises out of silence,

Exists for a short time,

And then ceases to be,

So thoughts too are just flowing through,

Feelings and emotions come into existence,

They're here for a while and then they pass away,

So we can observe all of these experiences,

We can observe sensations,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

As they're flowing through,

And we can reflect,

This is not me,

This is not mine,

I am not this,

And now at the end of the practice,

You might want to just sit with a question,

If you're not the physical elements that make up your body,

If you're not defined by your physical form,

If you're not defined by your sensations,

Your thoughts,

Your emotions,

What's left?

And there's no need to rush for an answer,

It's okay just to not know,

Just to sit with a sense of wonder,

So for the next few minutes,

You might want to just continue sitting with an open heart,

With a spacious sense of awareness,

And with a sense of wonder,

Reviews

Profound reflection of what this being is about. Thank you for the session.

Thank you so much for this, I felt it very profound

Expansive awareness, as well as deeply grounding.
Thank you.