Six Elements Meditation (11-25-20)

Using the natural elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Light, and Sound to connect to the body, emotions, breath, thoughts, self, others, and your environment. A mindfulness meditation with no visualisation needed. (Audio enhanced - March 2021.)

Transcript

Okay,

So six elements meditation.

Starting with the first element of earth.

And for this,

Connecting with the body.

So become aware and sensitive to your body right now.

Notice how the body is feeling.

You may be feeling tired or energized,

Comfortable or maybe there's some discomfort.

In particular for this element of earth and the body,

Connecting with your physicality,

I want you to become aware of all the points of contact with the body.

So for example between the feet and the floor.

Noticing that sensation of contact and connection.

And any points of contact with the chair if you're sitting down.

And feeling that contact and connection with the body.

And feeling connection with clothing on the skin.

Noticing exactly how that feels for you right now.

Across all different parts of the body.

And maybe you can feel the contact with the air on the hands or the face.

Maybe a slight coolness.

And next I'd like to invite you to feel the weight of your body.

A sense of heaviness or lightness.

Notice how that feels in the body,

The sense of weight.

Notice how the ground,

The floor and ultimately the earth is supporting your weight.

We can begin to relax and ease and let go of the body as we allow the earth and the ground to hold and support and take the weight of the body.

So that feeling of weight of the body is the sensation of gravity gently pulling on the body.

And gravity is the earth attracting you towards itself.

Holding and holding your body right now.

The force of gravity is an unconditional force of attraction acting on every single one of us in every single moment.

So I relax into that sensation of connection with the earth and with everybody.

Each time we move on to another element the opportunity is always there for you to stay where we are.

So if you're particularly enjoying or getting benefit from this connection with the body and the earth then feel free to stay there as long as you choose.

The next element whenever you're ready is the element of air.

And for this we're going to simply connect to our breath.

So bringing your breath into your awareness.

Holding the breath in the foreground or the centre of your awareness.

Allowing everything else that's happening in this moment internally and externally to continue as it is around the breath.

Using the breath as an anchor into the body,

Into the present moment.

And notice the physical sensations the breath causes in the body.

So each time you breathe in,

Noticing exactly how that feels in the body,

Exactly where in the body.

Using the movement and the sensations of the in-breath.

And have the thought to really allow the breath in as you breathe in.

So we're not going to make effort to change the breath,

To breathe in more deeply or more slowly but just having that attitude of allowing.

So we don't want to restrict the breath in any way but allow the breath in as fully as it wants to go.

And notice how that feels.

The breath giving life to the body.

Really noticing the physical sensations in the body.

So as we let go and release the breath,

There's the contraction in the body and the air leaves through the nose or mouth.

Noticing in as much detail as you can all the sensations associated with the exhale.

And again,

Just having that attitude of allowing,

Of letting go,

Of releasing the breath without holding on to the breath at all.

So we're not forcing the breath out but also we're not holding on to the breath.

Allowing the breath to leave the body just as it wants to without any restraint.

Allowing the breath now to flow freely in and out,

Enjoying the rise and fall of the breath in the body.

Realizing the effect of the breath on the body.

So the element of air that we're all breathing right now is the breath of the earth,

The atmosphere of the earth.

And the more we relax into the breath and allow the breath,

We can begin to feel that the element of air,

The breath of the earth is breathing us,

The body is being breathed.

I don't have to make any effort to do the breathing myself.

I'm just allowing the breath to happen within the body.

Just as I'm allowing the gravity to gently pull on the weight of the body,

I'm allowing the air to gently breathe the body.

So when you're ready we can move on to the third element,

The element of fire.

Allowing the fire of sensation,

Feeling and emotion in the body.

The fire of life in the body.

The fire of passion,

Of energy,

Aliveness.

The breath gives the body life,

It feeds the fire.

So feel that in your body now.

How often do we spend just a few moments just feeling that sense of being alive?

So simple but also so profound.

So noticing how you're feeling right now,

Your emotional state.

The idea is whether you're feeling positive or negative emotions,

To allow that fire of emotion to burn freely in the body and to explore how that feels without fear.

So not limiting the positive emotions,

Allowing them to be expressed fully and freely and not suppressing or moving away from the negative emotions.

Allowing them to resolve themselves and become integrated into yourself.

So at any point if you feel overwhelmed by emotion then connecting with this idea of fire and connecting it with the breath.

It's always a good idea to keep breathing during emotion and keep connected to the earth,

Keep grounded and safe and supported.

So the earth and the air allow us to be fearless in front of any emotion and keep us grounded and free to express unlimited positive emotion.

So right now in this moment just really appreciating and acknowledging and enjoying that sense of being alive.

So especially with this stage if you're experiencing a negative emotion then I'd encourage you to stay with that until it feels resolved and complete.

Staying connected with the earth and the breath.

Because that process works itself out in its own time.

The next element is water.

So when you do feel ready we can move on to water and to the thoughts and the mind.

And water flows.

So the invitation now is to allow your thoughts to flow freely.

To flow through your mind,

Through your awareness.

Just allowing one thought after the next.

Giving each thought all the time and space it needs.

And being open and ready and welcoming for the next thought to come.

Allowing your thoughts to flow freely like a river.

Doesn't matter how fast or slow the river is flowing.

Doesn't matter how quiet or loud the sound of the water is.

It doesn't matter what the water is carrying with it.

The content of your thoughts is really not important at all for this exercise.

Doesn't matter how positive or negative,

Imaginative or mundane.

Simply choosing to give your thoughts complete freedom to flow as they want to through your mind.

Going to always be open to what the next thought is going to be.

Not worrying at all what your current thought is.

That will soon flow away with the rest.

Being open,

Intrigued as to what your next thought is going to be.

Being alert to it arriving and arising in your mind.

Being attentive,

Open and allowing it to flow.

So how does this idea connect with others,

With something greater than ourselves,

Like the earth or the air?

All rivers eventually flow to the one ocean.

And as I allow my private internal thoughts to flow freely,

I begin to not identify with them as much.

I begin to feel free from their influence.

And I become more open.

And I can begin to experience the depth and the vastness of the ocean of mind.

And begin to connect with people without being so lost in a private inner world of thought.

Then all I need to do is set my own thoughts free.

Allow them to flow freely.

If I try and stop or redirect my thoughts,

Then that would be like trying to stop or redirect a river,

Which can lead to stagnation or flooding.

It's generally just better to allow the river to flow on its natural path to the ocean without interfering.

So allowing your thoughts to flow as freely as your breath.

Allowing the sensations and the emotions to just be as they are in your body.

Feeling that connection to the ground and the earth with your body.

And moving on when you're ready to the fifth element,

The element of light.

The light of awareness.

So connecting now with awareness and connecting with ourself,

Our true inner pure self.

Pure awareness.

I am not my thoughts.

The thoughts are something I experience within my awareness.

I am not my emotions.

They are also an experience within awareness.

And I am not my body or my breath.

My body is also an experience within awareness.

When I bring my attention to something,

I'm bringing the light of my awareness to it.

And just as the light of the sun shines equally on everything,

So too the invitation is to allow your awareness to just be with whatever is there within your experience.

Just as the sun provides the energy for everything to grow,

Where we allow our awareness to shine can allow us to also grow.

And although all our personal histories and circumstances,

Thoughts and beliefs are so different,

What lies behind all of that for every single one of us is this awareness,

The experiencer.

So when I connect to my awareness,

I'm also connecting to that exact same experience that we all share.

With being conscious,

Aware,

Experiencing.

This awareness is always right here,

Right now,

In this moment.

The light of awareness is always present.

Awareness is my presence,

Presence of myself.

So really enjoying just being with yourself,

Allowing yourself to just be as you are.

With a loud breath,

A loud body,

A loud of thoughts and emotions.

Now give yourself permission to allow yourself just to be as you are.

Right now,

The whole of you in this moment.

Give yourself space and freedom to be just as you are.

So moving on to the final and the sixth element,

The element of sound.

And as we explore sound,

We'll also be exploring silence.

But not a silence that is the absence of sound,

But a silence that is the space for sound,

That is the background of every sound.

So pay attention now to all the different sounds you can hear in this moment,

In your environment where you are right now.

Notice the most obvious sounds that you can hear,

Maybe the loudest sounds.

Then see what other sounds there are,

Or maybe a background sound,

A continuous sound.

And now cast your awareness and your attention as wide and as far as you can.

And listen out for any distant sounds.

What's the furthest sound that you can hear right now?

Be very quiet and occasional,

Just keeping that awareness open and actively listening,

Waiting for any distant sounds to come into your awareness.

And that open awareness,

That wide and broad and distant attention is the space within which the sounds will come and go.

And if all sounds are within that awareness,

That space,

Then that space itself must be beyond sound.

So it is in silence that I wait and notice all the sounds coming and going.

So I'm not listening for silence,

I'm listening for sounds within silence.

And all the sounds that each of us are hearing will not only be different from each other,

But different in every moment.

But the silence from which we are listening to those different sounds is exactly the same.

When we experience that stillness,

That quietness,

That silence,

It's the same silence for every one of us.

It's in quietness,

Stillness and silence that we can really connect with one another.

So a moment or two now of just enjoying the sounds and the silence without commentary.

Thank you.

So as we begin to draw the meditation to a close,

Just reminding ourselves of all the six elements,

The sounds and the silence that connects us all,

The light of awareness that we all share,

Allowing the sounds to be as they are,

Allowing ourselves to be as we are,

Allowing the river of thoughts to flow freely to the ocean,

Allowing the fire of aliveness and emotion to burn freely in the body without fear,

Allowing the element of air to breathe the body,

And always being held by the earth,

The body always connected to the ground.

So we'll finish the meditation there,

Just opening your eyes if they've been closed whenever you're ready,

And just enjoying and noticing how you feel at the end of the meditation,

And thanking yourself,

Being grateful to yourself for giving yourself this time and this space to really connect with yourself and with your environment and with this moment.

Reviews

Very nice slowly gently stepping through each element. Thank you. ☮💖🙏

I loved this meditation as I feel that I was completely connected with all the 6 Elements when listening carefully to the clear and flawless guidance.

I found myself in a profound open awareness space where the true me was experiencing the pure living in the moment-to-moment flow where sensations came and went gracefully.

All 6 elements were very powerful as I felt grounded to enjoy each one of them. Sensations were created by each one of them. It was so profound as feelings came upon me where I eventually managed to let them go peacefully and effortlessly.

Stephen’s gentle and stellar voice truly makes me get into the spaciousness and stillnesses spaces. Hence, that is why I experience these extraordinary emotions in the here and now state.

Truly an exceptional practice - thank you so much, Stephen🙏🏻💚👌🏻✨