A warm welcome,
Paul Carlos here.
Today I'm going to be taking us through a five elements meditation.
We can use this meditation to create balance and harmony in the three major bodies,
That is physical,
Astral and mental,
Loosely understood as body,
Mind and spirit.
So spiritual insight,
Wisdom and general evolution of our being tends to be a natural product of regular practice,
So I'd like to invite you to not just do this meditation once,
But to return here regularly,
Preferably even daily for a while,
And then once it's established to possibly visit once a week.
The higher levels of spirit work downwards,
So to speak,
Into the mental,
Emotional and physical levels.
All of the materialized plane is governed by the natural elements of fire,
Water,
Air and earth.
There are actually only two true elements,
And that is fire and water,
With the air and earth as subsidiaries to those,
And the fifth element,
The akasha,
Is an aspect of spirit.
Akasha is the emptiness or the vacuum that underlies all materialized form.
This has an infinity quality that contains all the etheric blueprints of all forms.
While doing the balancing meditation,
It is really essential to have a background intent,
A purpose to create equanimity,
Balance and harmony within each element,
As well as collectively together,
Including the Akashic realm.
So let's get to the actual practice.
I'd like to invite you to sit comfortably in a meditation posture with your back straight.
Maintain an upright sense,
But stay as relaxed as you can in limbs and joints without collapsing the chest.
Our spine should be well connected into the heaven earth axis,
Using a background attention and intention.
Now let's become more aware,
Turning our attention towards the life force energy of the body,
And the more subtle force of the mind.
By connecting with our feeling,
We are already including the astral level.
So first mind,
Via attention and intention,
And then the physical feeling sensations all come together.
And then the physical and feeling sensations all come together.
So let us relax more.
Notice your breathing.
Keep the breathing gentle,
Relaxed and comfortable.
And to help us relax,
Let's emphasize slightly the exhalation and release as much as possible on that exhalation.
Soften the face and skin.
Loosen residual tension you find as you focus on this level of body and feeling.
Gentle exhalations,
Quiet breathing.
What about giving yourself a smile?
In a smile,
Relaxing eyes.
Let's guide a whole physical feeling in the skin to expand slightly as we gently breathe in,
And return or contract slightly as we breathe out.
Breathing in,
Expanding,
Breathing out,
Gently contracting.
Release further tension,
Bothering thoughts,
Unwanted feelings and emotions rising.
Release out on that gentle exhalation.
We should know as we enter into this deep practice that the elements express real elemental beings with whom we shall be engaging in this meditation.
So an attitude of warm greeting,
Salutation,
Honoring and respect needs to be present.
We pay our respects via attention and awareness,
And a genuine feeling,
Never false,
And never omit this in the meditation.
So we'll turn our attention now to the fire principle.
The fiery principle represented in the head.
Imagine a huge flaming sun bright in the heavens with extreme heat and blinding light.
Use the full power of your senses to embrace this fire.
Allow every aspect of your being to merge with the fire.
Expand this to imagine the entire universe as an endless infinity of fire.
All of the old familiar self has been subsumed into the endless fire,
Heat,
Light.
Don't hold back whatsoever.
No harm will come with this practice.
Rather,
We are using the literal face of the element of fire to contact and commune with the living elemental being that is animating the fiery principle throughout the universe.
This fire is the electrical quality animating,
Getting things done,
Instigating,
Initiating.
This is the masculine principle of creating,
Taking the lead,
Giving the method,
Pointing the direction.
This is hot cosmic yang descending as it streams down the axis between the heavens.
Embrace the fire on the universal infinite level.
Merge.
Always remember to hold a sustained,
Gentle background intention to balance the element within one's own body and within one's own life.
Breathe gently.
Breathe slow and gentle and calm and comfortable,
Natural breathing.
So we'll move on now to the great element of water.
This is represented in our belly area,
The lower abdomen,
Seat of creativity and emotions.
Concentrate here for a while and breathe gently.
Imagine the glory of a huge waterfall.
Hear the roaring sound.
Notice the fresh,
Clean scent of humid air.
Feel the cold spray and mist.
Taste the clean,
Pristine.
Breathe gently,
Comfortable,
Natural,
Easy inhalation,
Exhalation.
Keep your face relaxed and soft.
Keep the body upright but still,
The tension expanding.
Now merge with this gigantic flow of water.
The falls,
The river,
The pools and the cascades.
Be the water as it flows and tumbles,
Washes clean and holds formidable power.
And as our concentration deepens,
Bring in the infinity quality.
Imagine you have merged with the entire universe of water.
You are the great water and the great water is you.
Breathe quietly.
Breathe gently.
Breathe softly,
Fanning your concentration.
Water is a symbol of pure love and nurturing,
Life supporting,
Cleansing,
Lifeblood of bringing creativity into materialization.
Know that all rich,
Fertile soil in the earth can only ever be so by the action of water.
So as we concentrate gentle but steady,
Hold the intention to achieve equanimity,
Restoration of the element of our bodies and in our lives.
So let's move on to the great element of air in the chest.
Breathe gently for a while as you engage this mediating principle,
This great mediating principle between fire and water.
Imagine that you're on a high mountain top,
Viewing out into a vast valley.
Spacious awareness is done.
Water and space work hand in hand.
Now merge into the fresh,
Pristine,
The swirling clean.
Feel the expanding quality as you breathe gently.
Breathe your way to an infinity quality.
Merge with and be an infinity of air.
Breathe gently,
Slow,
Smooth and steady.
Air represents clarity,
Clear perspectives,
Cleansing and blowing the cobwebs away,
Sweeping out the old stagnant,
No longer serving dust and debris.
Air can help us balance and mediate fire and hold this gentle but firm intention to find balance and home and equanimity in the air element of one's body and one's life.
Keep breathing smooth,
Slow,
Steady and comfortable.
Easy.
Gen.
Allow the pauses to be after the inhale and the exhale without forcing in any way.
Notice,
Watching,
Observing.
Thoughts come that are distracting.
Just ignore the thoughts,
Look at the thoughts and move your attention onwards.
So we come to the great element of earth.
Earth is heavy and dense like stiff clay.
Earth can be rich,
Fertile soil and strong solid rock.
Earth can be sandy,
Barren soil and crumbling rock.
Earth is the vast cauldron where the fire,
Water and air mix and bring everything into materialization via the air.
Keep breathing smooth,
Gentle,
Comfortable and easy.
Become the element of earth now as you expand and breathe.
Move into the infinity quality.
Hold steady in the background the intention to balance.
Find equanimity,
Harmony,
Peace and success,
Joy and fulfillment.
Keep breathing smooth,
Easy,
Comfortable and steady.
Noticing the pauses,
Observing the pauses after inhale,
Observing the pauses after exhale.
Distracting thoughts rise.
Watch the thoughts for a moment and then move on.
Let's hold a gentle,
Steady intention to balance.
Find equilibrium and harmony with all of the elements working together,
Including the akasha.
Notice that underlying emptiness,
That vacuum quality beneath each element,
Beneath each form of materialization.
Working together as you contemplate gently on all the elements together.
Breathe into this akasha quality.
Expand the infinity principle tangibly in feeling and mentality.
Balance the akasha as the master,
Governing element,
The formless blueprint beneath every form.
Sunite's time to honor,
Acknowledge,
Take ownership and be in resonance with the original spirit behind all these levels and qualities.
Take full ownership of this identity as a universal being,
Rather than a small self with a body and a name on the physical plane.
So finishing off now,
Let's come to rest our attention peacefully in the solar plexus.
This great inner star becoming that we all are.
Rest attention here in this natural still point between heaven and yang and yin,
Rising and descending forces.
Dwell a while here,
Breathing quiet,
Gentle,
Cultivating a deep stillness arising from the practice.
The stillness is the expression of emptiness,
The akasha principle.
Know that we can return here anytime that we need to,
To this place of stillness and emptiness,
Beyond form,
Empty,
Silent and still.
Breathe gently.
Namaste.
