So the first element in the six elements meditation is earth.
So to connect with the element of earth,
To connect with that idea of grounded physicality,
I simply become more aware of my body.
So I scan through the body,
Feeling the physical sensations that are happening right now in my body.
The body is always present,
Is always in the here and now.
So by connecting to the body,
I'm connecting to the present moment.
For the element of earth,
I particularly focus on the sensation of contact,
That feeling of connection.
So I notice any part of the body that is in contact with something.
So that can be the clothes,
Whatever I'm sitting on,
My feet on the floor,
Maybe even the air on my hands or face.
Exploring that sensation of connection,
Of contact with the body.
Maybe the contact between my hands and my legs.
Acknowledging and appreciating that the body is never on its own,
It is always in contact with something.
Feeling that connection with the body.
This can bring stability,
A feeling of being grounded,
A sense of security and safety.
A really good starting point for a meditation,
Connecting with the body and all the contact points with the body.
And then to really feel a connection with the earth,
I become more aware of the weight of my body.
I feel my body's weight,
Some days that may feel like heaviness,
Other times it may be a feeling of lightness or just somewhere in between.
So why does this feeling of weight of the body connect me to the earth?
Because weight is the pull of gravity on the body,
That's why we feel that heaviness or relative lightness.
It's that gentle pull of gravity from the earth.
This is what it actually feels like for the earth to be attracting our bodies towards itself.
So there's an immediate,
Literal,
Physical connection to the earth with this very simple sensation of weight in the body right now.
As I get a sense of the earth supporting the body,
Holding the body,
Attracting the body,
I can begin to really let go physically.
Allow the body to relax,
Allow the muscles to relax as I am held and supported by the ground,
By the earth.
So I'm feeling ready now to move on to the second element,
Which is the element of air.
And I bring my awareness to the breath and I feel the breath in the body.
I allow the breath in,
I feel the life that the element of air gives to the body and I welcome in the air,
I welcome in the breath.
So I'm not going to try and change the breath,
The speed,
The rate,
The depth,
The regularity.
I am changing a little my attitude towards the breath because I'm going to consciously welcome and allow the breath into the body.
And I really want to notice how that feels in the body as I allow the breath in.
What sensation does that create in the body as the air enters?
And then paying attention to the out breath for a while,
Feeling the sensations that occur in the body as I let go of the breath.
The feeling of release,
Letting go.
Enjoying that feeling,
That sensation in the body with each out breath.
And bringing the two parts of the breath together,
Follow the full cycle of the breath,
Allowing the breath in,
Letting go as I breathe out.
Allowing and letting go,
In and out,
Rise and fall.
So as I allow the breath in and let go as I breathe out,
I can experience the flow of the breath.
Flowing in and out of the body,
Flowing through the body.
And I can begin to feel that I'm not breathing,
That my body is being breathed by the element of air.
It's the air that enters and the air that leaves.
The air is doing all the work,
I'm just allowing it to happen and being aware of it happening.
But not making any effort,
Not having to remember to breathe or choose to breathe.
And not changing the breath in any way.
Enjoying the natural,
Spontaneous,
Free flowing breath through the body.
Waste Then next I'm going to move to the element of water and the thoughts,
So connecting this element with the mind.
And I'm going to see if I can allow my thoughts to flow like water flows in a river or a stream.
So following the same approach as with the breath,
That is allowing each and every thought to come into the mind,
Just as we allow the breath into the body,
And letting go of each and every thought,
Just as we release the breath from the body.
So the idea is just to have an open awareness,
Allow the mind to be open,
And to welcome any thought at all into your mind.
No expectation,
No judgement,
No effort,
Not trying to change my thoughts in any way at all,
Giving my thoughts complete freedom to do whatever they want to do,
Giving them time and space,
Just to come and go as they wish.
And not being attached or identifying with any particular thought that comes,
Because I'm always open and alert and wondering what the next thought is going to be.
This thought has arrived,
I welcome it,
I allow it to be here,
And then I wonder what the next thought is going to be.
And I'm open to the next thought arriving.
So as I allow thoughts to come and go.
I allow my thoughts to flow freely through the mind,
Just as my breath flows freely through the body.
Doesn't matter if the water flowing in the river is flowing deep or shallow,
Fast or slow,
This way or that way.
I'm only interested in allowing the flow,
Enjoying the flow of thoughts,
The content is completely irrelevant,
Just opening the mind to any thought.
This can give space for creative thoughts,
New thoughts,
Spontaneous thoughts,
Problem solving thoughts to arise naturally within the mind.
It gives space and time for inspiration.
And it also takes the energy and momentum away from negative thoughts,
Negative patterns,
Because by allowing them,
Giving them complete freedom,
I'm not engaging in them,
And it's that engagement that gives them more energy,
That keeps them going.
So if I allow and let go,
Eventually,
If I'm patient in time,
The negative,
Cyclic thoughts gradually slow down and dissipate.
Just like a spinning top,
Being left to spin without engaging with it,
It will gradually slow down.
So free flowing thoughts,
Free flowing breath,
And moving to the element of fire,
And feeling the fire in the body,
The fire of emotion,
Sensation,
Of simply being alive,
Feeling the aliveness in the body right now,
Feeling the living presence of your body.
It could be a feeling or an emotion,
Or more of a physical sensation,
Maybe a feeling of energy in the body,
Or simply an appreciation of the aliveness of the body.
Appreciating all the amazing things the body does in every moment that we're not even aware of,
The living organism of the body.
So feeling all the sensations and the energy within the body,
And any emotion that that it connects to,
And just allowing the body to be as it is,
To do what it does best,
Living,
Healing,
And being.
So moving on to the fifth element,
The element of light.
And the light of awareness.
So in darkness,
We're not aware of anything,
It's all hidden from us.
And it's light,
The element of light,
That brings awareness of everything to us.
So being aware of your own awareness,
Your own light.
The light of consciousness.
The light of attention,
Alertness,
And awareness.
Your ever-present light of awareness.
Becoming aware of yourself as the experiencer.
One within which all your experiences happen.
All your experiences come and go within your awareness,
Within yourself.
So the body,
The breath,
The thoughts,
The emotions,
These are all experiences that happen within our awareness,
Within our consciousness,
And within ourselves.
When I become aware of myself,
I'm an aware and conscious being in this moment,
There can be a real sense of wholeness and completeness that can never be found in any experience.
These are always partial,
Limited,
Incomplete,
Temporary.
But the experiencer,
The awareness within which all these things come and go,
The self is always whole,
Always complete.
The self is the space within which all your experiences happen.
So identifying with the awareness,
With the experiencer,
Rather than the passing experiences.
Allowing yourself just to be as you are in this moment,
Accepting your whole self as you are.
Allowing yourself just to be with yourself in this moment.
Allowing yourself just to be with yourself in this moment.
Allowing yourself just to be with yourself in this moment.
So moving on to the final element,
The sixth element of sound.
So now using your awareness to notice all the sounds that you can hear in your own environment around you right now.
So actively listening,
Noticing,
Exploring all the sounds around you.
Noticing the most obvious sound,
Maybe the closest or the loudest sound.
Being really open to noticing other sounds,
Maybe they are very occasional or quiet.
Really opening the awareness to welcome any sound and being alert to notice the sounds as they arise.
Maybe there is a background sound,
A continuous sound that is always in there but you are really just noticing.
Then really listening for the most distant sound.
Allowing your awareness to be broad and wide and waiting to notice the most distant sound that you can hear.
Maybe getting a sense of a quietness,
Sensing the presence of the silence.
A sense of this space within which each and every sound comes and goes.
The silence that remains even when there are sounds.
The background of all sound behind and between each and every sound.
The quiet silent space within which all sounds come and go.
So to gradually bring the meditation to a close we can slowly come back down through the elements.
So within this silent space being aware of the light of my awareness,
Aware of myself,
My being,
Present within that silent space.
And aware of the free flowing thoughts passing through my mind,
Through my awareness.
Going like a river.
And feeling the aliveness of the body,
The energy and sensations within the body.
Going back to the living organism.
Aware again of the breath in the body.
The free flowing breath as the element of air passes through the body,
Rising and falling.
And finally,
Returning to the body and the sensations of contact and connection in the body.
Feeling again a connection to the ground,
To what you're sitting on,
Your clothing.
And feeling the weight of the body,
That connection to the earth.
Earth,
Air,
Fire and water,
Light and sound.
The body,
The breath,
The thoughts and emotions.
The aware self.
And sounds in the silence.
All coming together in this one moment.
So as we finish the meditation commentary,
Notice how you're feeling now at the end.
Notice any change from the beginning.
And showing gratitude for yourself,
For giving yourself this time and space to explore the depth of this present moment,
All its different elements and aspects.
Being open to explore all these experiences that are always there with us.
You don't have to create them.
You just have to be open to being more aware of what's already there.
