Wind – Voice of Mama Earth
Breath – the Air Within
Each Stirs and Feeds Us
Inspiring, Intangible
Air
Human life cannot exist on planet Earth without elemental Air. Thank a plant for every moment of life you experience here. From your first breath at birth, to your last exhale at death, the oxygen that plants produce is absolutely essential for human life.. With every breath, humans are dependent on the airy gift that plants provide.
Airy Connections
Elemental Air connects and intertwines us with every creature living and dead. The oxygen within your last breath may have once been breathed by an early Neanderthal man hunting in Siberia. Or maybe it was inhaled by Cleopatra as she ruled over ancient Egypt. Or perhaps a small penguin inhaled that molecule just before diving into the southern ocean. With every breath we take, Air connects us to the endless stream of life on this planet.
“All things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man…
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.”
~Chief Seattle
Internally, we use Air to make sense of the bigger world around us. Air is the realm of ideas and thoughts. The human mind is constantly forming and working with thoughts, opinions and ideas, sorting and cataloging every experience. And thoughts move through us like the weather, shifting and changing with every moment. Sit quietly and observe your mind for 3 minutes and you will be astounded by how fast the thoughts and ideas fly by!
Mental Wind
And in the same way that we share Air with every other creature on this planet, our ideas and thoughts are also interconnected with the rest of humanity. Humans have the gift of speech; we love to give voice to our inner air; we spend hours sharing our ideas and thoughts with each other in person, by phone, email and text. And we “inhale” the opinions and beliefs of others as we listen to the radio, watch TV or share news with family and friends over Facebook and Twitter. Are we ever completely alone with our own thoughts?
Our thoughts also set the tone for our emotional reactions to life. Every opinion or conclusion we draw about what happens to us dramatically affects how we feel about ourselves and our life. The winds of the mind determine how choppy or calm our inner waters will be today. In every moment, the airy mental realm has the power to “stir up” our emotional waters; jumbled, stirred up thoughts inevitably lead to stirred up emotions. Or a calm, peaceful mind can lower our pulse and quickly calm our inner waters.
Modern life is overflowing with mental chatter. We are bombarded by the noise of others’ ideas and opinions as we move through our day. The ability to focus and listen to our own mind is key to staying balanced amidst the chatter. Just as we need clean air to stay healthy, we also need clear focused thoughts to stay calm and balanced.
Air can flow and sing within us, or it can be blocked and grow stale, or frenzied and chaotic. Traditionally, our ancestors used chanting, toning, conscious dreaming, breath work and meditation to stop, listen within and clear their airy, mental realm. They knew that without clear focused thoughts, we run the risk of being pulled to and fro by the mental ‘wind currents’ of other people that constantly engulf us.
Ways to Play with Air:
Learn to pause and breathe. Practice breathing deep and slow so that it comes naturally during times of stress.
Sit and watch your thoughts roll by like autumn leaves dancing in the wind. Develop an awareness of how your mind works. Observing your thoughts day after day will turn your mind into a trusted friend.
Get your inner wind moving – bellow, moan, hum, whistle. Or try singing. Elemental Air needs to move and flow or it grows stale, so make some wind and move some air!
Use your breath to calm yourself. Then you will be able to express your own thoughts with more grace and ease.
Explore the wisdom held within your dreams. Keep a dream journal.
Take a deep breath and SING!