The Earth Phase

Earth is connectedness, the ground which supports and sustains us. It nourishes life. Wholeness, fecundity, fertility, simplicity, stability — these are qualities of the Earth element. The connotations of 'Mother Earth' offer a useful way of considering the Earth phase. The other four elements arise from, and return to, the Earth, as she embodies the never-ending cycle of birth and death. Indian summer is traditionally the Earth season, but the balanced nature of Earth may be seen in the transitional stage between all seasonal shifts — not completely the season that is waning nor the season that is arriving, but containing them both. Yellow is the color of Earth. The yin Spleen/Pancreas and the yang Stomach are the qi pathways for the Earth element.

The balanced or synergic emotion of the Earth element is sympathy and empathy. This is the energy of stepping outside of self-interest with genuine concern for others. One of the

`Sublime States' of Buddhism is mudita, weakly translated as 'sympathetic joy.' Our culture has no equivalent to mudita, which is genuine happiness at the good fortune of others. Other synergic Earth states are consideration and recollection. This emotional- spiritual inclination of Earth is concerned with deep, feeling connection.

Worry or over-concern, pity or over-sympathy, and pensiveness or excessive thinking and reminiscence are the extreme emotions of the Earth phase. The spectrum of hyperactive distress includes over-thinking, worry, brooding, selfishness, self-absorption, anxiety, and obsessiveness. Mental fatigue, poor concentration, forgetfulness, indifference, and alienation are some of the distressed responses in the deficient or hypoactive range.

A singsong tone or cadence to the voice may point to an Earth imbalance. The corresponding healing sound is `Wh0000,' from the throat, slightly gutteral.

Taken from article in Massage & Bodywork Magazine (Dec/Jan 2003) by Barry Kapke, Director of the Bodhiwork Institute in Petaluma California and founder of Insight Bodywork.  www.bodhiwork.org

QUESTIONS: EARTH AND YOU

 

By answering these questions you can taste your relationship to Earth. When you are really hungry, take your favorite food to a pleas­ant place in nature. Give thanks and eat your food slowly. Note how it feels in your mouth and stomach. Pay attention also to how your sur­roundings make you feel. Consider these questions; chew them, digest them, and answer them from your gut.

1. How do you feel about your mother?

2. How do you feel about your home?

3. What makes you feel secure? Insecure?

4. Do you feel that people understand you?

5. Are you able to nurture others?

6. How do you take care of yourself?

7. Do you care for others at your own expense?

8. How much do you worry?

9. Do you feel you are too fat? Too thin?

10. Do you overeat or eat when you are not hungry? If so, why?

11. Do you eat foods that really satisfy you?

12. Do you enjoy eating?

13. If you are a woman, how do you feel about your breasts? If you are a man, how do you feel about women's breasts?

14. Were you breast-fed? For how long? How do you feel when you watch someone else being breast- fed?

15. Do you enjoy sweets?

16. How is your digestion?

17. What makes you nauseous? What makes you vomit?

18. How do you feel about walking barefooted? Put­ting your hands in dirt?

19. Would you like to be alone in the wilderness?

20. How do you feel about caring for young children?

21. Would you paint your kitchen yellow? Your liv­ing room? Your car?

22. How do you feel in Indian Summer (Harvest Time)?

23. When have you felt that the rug was pulled out from under you?

24. What makes you feel grounded? Ungrounded?

25. What obsessions do you have?

26. How is your memory?

27. Do you have a shoulder to cry on? A sympathetic ear to listen to your problems?

28. How do you know who you are?

29. Do you know where your next meal is coming from?

30. What did you feel grateful for today?

 

The earth represents the physical, emotional and spiritual nourish­ment and support that we each need. As you consider your answers, how does the physical world and other people (including yourself) give you basic support? As you have written out or thought about these questions, what were the issues in which your insecurities clustered? What are the things that give you the greatest stability? Go outside and sit on the ground and ask the earth to give you the support and nour­ishment you need in your life today. Tell this great Nurturer and Stabi­lizer what you need and then receive it by feeling your body relax and your heart and mind grow calm. Both your security and insecurity bring you close to the one who feeds your flesh, your mind and your soul: Mother Earth.

 

Excerpt from Plant Spirit Medicine by Eliot Cowan   www.bluedeer.org/psm.html

 

 

WOOD    EARTH   METAL  FIRE  WATER