THE EARTH ELEMENT- THE INNER GROUND AND NOURISHMENT

There are two main strands to this workshop: Grounding and Nourishing. Earth Element corresponds to the centre, the middle, the fulcrum. It is located in the centre of the other four elements so it is about balance and harmonisation. For human beings it is our personal self that is in central to all other aspects of our being; spirit, soul, animal nature and essential being. In the West, our personal conscious identity is usually described as the self or ego or personality. In the Chinese system it is called YI and represents personal consciousness.

GROUNDING

Earth corresponds to 'The Flesh', the substantial form that is our physical body. Our body is constantly at the centre of our life in this world, so acts as our earth and ground. We ground and centre all other realities within our body. Our relationship to the world around us is through our body and it literally gives us a place in this material world. It is central to our existence and what it means to be human. Within the flesh we can anchor our heavenly reality and so bring all that we are to participate in this physical dimension. At least that is the aim of being here, to 'incarnate', to come in to our flesh. How much we actually achieve this is another matter!

Embodiment therefore is a major part of this workshop, to become 'centered' in our body and in our Yi/self. Then, as some psychologists describe, we can have an 'Embodied Identity' rather than an 'Abstract Identity'. This means to be connected to our body sufficiently, so that our sense of who we are is body-centered. We can be real by being in touch with this earthly reality. If we live in our heads and not our bodies, the perception of who and what we are tends to be abstract and conceptual. When we inhabit mainly a mental world, the sense of our self is based primarily on ideas, mental images and belief systems.

The earth as a realm of existence has become a mystery to us. Our sense of the natural world around us has so diminished, living in our high-tech and urban environment that we have become divorced from the rhythms and forces of nature and so from the elements of life themselves. Why humanity gets so rigidly attached to beliefs and ideologies, is precisely because apart from mental frameworks, our current culture has little else to base itself on.

The aim of this workshop is to reconnect us to the earth element through our body. Doing so, we will get in touch with our earthly nature and thus have greater access to the natural world. Identifying with our bodies more and less with our minds, we can become more 'down to earth' and so more comfortable with the world we inhabit. Getting more grounded we don't lose sight of the spiritual realms, simply we bring them into this one. The sacred and the mundane, the transcendent and the ordinary, the heavenly and the earthly then become connected within us. Being at the centre this element has this capacity to connect, balance and harmonise all dualities as well as all the other elements. Our psyche feels more integrated and cohesive as a result.

NOURISHMENT

If our body is our personal ground then the Mother is our personal earth. Our biological mother was where our body originated from and the source of our nourishment on all levels. Hence this element is about nurturing, caring, nourishing, holding and providing for the needs for ourselves and others, the qualities basically of maternal love.

The most fundamental relationship of our life, the one which primarily determines the fundamentals of our personality, is the one with our mother/mother-figure. The quality of maternal care we received and the degree that we were carried and held physically and emotionally is crucial for the stability, firmness and dependability of our inner ground. On this day will touch on the effects and the legacy mother has had on us.

During this module we will explore the extent to which our childhood needs were met or unmet. Once we are aware of where we are undernourished thus feeling empty in that place inside us, we can find ways to open to receive contact and nourishment from within and without. As we begin to feel attended to and nurtured we find a new ground within. In this place we are better able to identify our real needs and so reach out to have them met. In our life this is particularly true for our natural need for love, connection and community. Finding our inner ground makes us feel strong, stable and settled and so less dependant as we no longer need to compensate for inner deficiency. Earth gives us the essential states to do with grounding and nourishment.

The next Earth workshop is on Sunday 7th October 2007