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Air.. Exploring The Element &
It's Impact On Me
By EagleSinging
Air. I've been working with and thinking
about Air. This morning I sat with Air - Air alone - and tried
to experience Air with my 5 senses. It was really interesting
and I thought I would share this. In time I will sit with each
of the Elements and over time as I continue to sit with Air
I suspect my understanding of Air, my awareness of Air, will
grow as I get to know it better.
Has anyone else done this? I'd love
to hear your experience and if you haven't yet want to give
it a try? And, as always, if anyone has any suggestions or insights
on this toss them my way - I'll grab 'em.
I began by standing in the midst
of Air, surrounded by Air, engulfed by Air. Air feels forceful
and gentle. It pushes me over, throws me off balance and it
also gently whispers in my ear and gently touches my shoulder.
Air tousles things around, turns them over. Air is a breeze
through a screen down.
Air tastes of clarity, a glacial
mountain stream unadulterated by waste and debris. It tastes
refreshing. It wakes me us. There is no after-taste, no residue,
no texture. It is simple, basic and stripped bare.
Air smells of laundry just off the
clothes line. Air smells fresh, crisp. Air smells of newness
and a clean slate after a long awaited rainfall.
As I touch Air it feels full of
potential and possibilities. It feels open and opportunistic.
It does not feel oppressive or challenging - Air brings with
the feeling of "it just is." Air feels accepting and
simple. As light as Air feels, it is filling.
When I listen to Air I hear it moving
things, brushing things aside producing a different perspective.
I hear it whispering, dropping clues and insight. Air can sound
forcefull and powerful, scary and mighty, pounding and relentless.
Air can sound silent as it moves through everything, almost
absent of sound but sound is there when we are tuned in. If
I listen I can hear Air permeating everything.
As I look at Air I see how it affects
everything. I don't see Air itself, but I see what it does and
how it touches everything - nothing is untouched by Air. Air
alters things, transforms everything - as it can toss through
pile of fall leaves and scattered them everywhere to then corralling
the scattered leaves into a semblance of another pile, another
form, another shape. I see how Air brings forth fresh principles,
viewpoints, concepts whether that is seen from Eagle riding
thermals or from stirring leaves upon the ground uncovering
that chestnut that was buried.
Air doesn't seek action or response.
Air plants a seed, brings fresh perspective, new ideas, new
approaches. In-spiration. Air carries wisdom and clarity.
Well, SL that was experience with
Air this morning and its kind neat. I wanted to share it. Do
you have an experience with
Air to share too?
Northernwolf:
That’s
great, Cinn had asked us to do this with the 4 elements several
years ago. It’s is a pretty cool exercise. As for comments,
I think you did very well and I’m sure it served you in
noticing different aspects of air so next time it shows up and
wants you to notice it you’ll have more tools (senses)
to recognize it with.
WindDancer:
I'll also add that Air is
a huge support. My husband is a helicopter mechanic and it's
quite incredible how, when you partner with Air, you can lift
a helicopter or a jet into the sky. The Air is there, being,
and when you understand how to join with it the incredible happens.
I love to sit at the beach and watch how little effort the birds
use to get around, spending a lot more time gliding than flying.
When we were in Australia last year,
my sister went tandem hang-gliding. She was strapped to the
back of the hang-glider. They stood at the top of a cliff at
the edge of the ocean for quite a while. The hang-glider and
his friend were watching the water and from that, they were
learning the pattern of the wind. After at least fifteen minutes
of communing with the Air, when the time was right, both he
and my sister ran off the edge of the cliff and took flight.
They glided for 40 minutes and were as high as 1400 feet at
one point. It was a beautiful thing to watch.
EagleSinging:
Hi Wolf! I looked up the thread you referenced. You are
right, it is serving me in looking at Air differently - in a
short time frame of 1 day. It is a big subject as I'm finding
out. There is so much to it. Did you enjoy it when you did it?
Hi WindDancer! Oh yes, I agree! Air
can be a big support. That did not come to me, but I agree.
I was following your words and I was there with your sister.
Air can uplift us in more than one way, can't it?
My challenge lies in really letting
Air penetrate me and flow through me. Sometimes I analyze the
messages that come through Air instead of simply accepting them.
I can shut Air out at times that may not be the best thing to
do. Sometimes Air can be fierce and forceful and that is worthy
of attention. Air needs to be dampened too at times. Are there
times when Air should be shut out, shut down? I wonder. I know
I do it and it is usually when I'm overwhelmed - maybe too much
comes at me or maybe I have not been listening and I'm tired
of hearing the message over and over and I just don't want to
hear or know any more. Breaks are good. However, when I shut
out and shut down Air I get migraines. It is like clockwork.
Of course, there is something to that too, isn't there? I realize
I went off topic from your post, WindDancer so don't feel these
questions are just for you - they are for me and anyone.
Northernwolf:
I
didn’t know the thread was still there, great! If I remember
right I did fire and it was something else. It gives a whole
new outlook and a different connection. Very interesting exercise.
Silly me I did earth.
CinnamonMoon:
And ya got stuck in the mud
so didn't go through the others? What made the mud?
Northernwolf:
Well
in my defense I have to say that the others didn’t do the
other ones either. But seriously, that wasn’t long before
I went away so I guess, and I’m saying this without any
big insights that it was where I was and that is where I needed
to be. But I'm trying to defend myself here for no reason. I
was just lazy and that is the truth. Heck I’m lazy. As
an earth sign that tends to happen right? *Wink*
WindDancer:
Some discussion on relating
oneself to the element of Air from the book "Healing with
Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism,
Tantra and Dzogchen".....
“Air is the element that carries
change and, when it is developed, one can transform the negative
into the positive....Air is related to curiosity and learning
and flexibility of intellect. In its highest aspect, it is the
wisdom of accomplishment. When air is dominant, the qualities
of earth and water are usually deficient. There is little stability
or contentment. It's difficult to stick to anything....and hard
to accept things as they are.
When air is deficient, it's easy to
get stuck. Things become more difficult to change. When a worry
arises, it remains.
When there is balanced air, worry
and concern give way to the next thing--a resolution is found.
Balanced air allows us to be flexible. If things go wrong, we
can still appreciate other aspects of experience: there can
be bad news and a beautiful sky at the same time. Air allows
the mind to move in new directions, to see things from different
perspectives, and this allows the accumulation of knowledge
and understanding. How fast you can change your negative anger
or depression or annoyance or self-pity into something positive
has to do with how developed your air element is.”
I thought I'd add this here, please
take it or leave it as you wish.
CinnamonMoon:
Northernwolf~ Just FYI it's
very easy to get 'stuck' in our native element (that element
we are born into) whatever it may be. Do keep going with this
exercise as it sensitizes you in the best of ways. Besides it's
fun to do.
EagleSinging:
This morning my focus was on sensing Air through smell.
After I was done I asked myself whether there is anything I
smell, see, taste, feel or hear that has not been touched by
Air. What a concept, huh?
When I was thinking of how I sensed
Air I began by sensing it through Wind, but Air is so much more
than Wind. Seems obvious of course, but it is Wind that is the
most recognizable expression of Air (Breathing too, but again
that is a noticeable flow of Air). When Air is stagnate, to
me it smells heavy, putrid and languid - like something's gotta’
give. Whatever the scent is that I smell in stagnate Air lingers
and there is no freshness that accompanies it or follows it.
Air smells fresh and crisp when it blows as Wind, even a small
breeze. Everything I smell travels in Air. If it was not in
Air I would not smell it. When I am busy in my kitchen during
the day baking or cooking up a good sauce I don’t notice
it until I leave and return later when even outside my house
I notice the wonderful smells coming from inside. Air carried
those smells, smells I didn’t notice when I was in the
midst of them. Each smell Air carries reminds me of something
in my life, an experience of some kind and a feeling is always
aroused. I wonder if the key is to recognize the feeling aroused
by the smell Air carried, but not attach to the feeling –
instead recognize the feeling, allow it to flow through me,
and use it as a basis for inquiring about the message Air brought.
Each element can be smelled through Air, can it not? I can smell
Fire in Air: heat has a smell, so does smoke. I can smell Water
in Air: mist, dew and rain that evaporates even before it hits
the ground all smell. I can smell Earth in Air: moist, loamy,
and now in fall decaying. To flip it around: Can Air the Element
be smelled in Fire, in Water and in Earth? If I smell it, it
is carried by Air. So many impressions, so many experiences,
so many dreams and so many fears – all touched upon by
the smells found in Air. The smells found in Air arouse me awake.
How do you smell Air?
Yesterday I place my awareness on
how I hear Air. What sound does Air have? Certainly, sounds
are carried by and resonate through Air. Sirens, birds, a cat
fight, people walking, talking and cars honking. I hear Air
as it passes over a bird's wings in flight and I hear the sound
of Air change as the bird tips its wing oh so very slightly.
I hear squirrels walking as quietly as they can on tree branches
and telephones ringing many houses away. Of course I hear branches
rustle as Air forces its way through trees. I hear Air alone,
just Air as it moves quickly around immovable objects: a house,
a rock, a building, a pole. The turbulence of Air as it moves
quickly around these types of objects creates an energy that
resonates as an audible sound I can hear. The more I focus on
what I hear, the more acute my hearing is. Today I am focusing
on what my eyes see of Air. I started this exercise believing
that Air was an invisible element. Of course I saw what moved
in the Air, but could I see Air?! And, more challenging yet,
could I see Air when it appeared motionless - not even the most
palpable breeze? What in our world is not carried by Air, such
that our eyes do not see it moved? A skyscraper, a monument,
a mountain? Even what may appear with our eyes to not be moved
by Air is not immune to the movement of Air.
Air can move everything when it wants
to. Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Typhoons. And best of all, the gentle
passing of air around stationary objects erodes each of them
over time. So, I see the impact of Air. But, can I see Air?
I see that Air although it appears to not be moving is always
moving. On a calm day with no apparent breeze, I see pollen
floating away off an evergreen tree. On a cold morning with
no apparent breeze, the moisture from my breath floats away.
Warm Air rises. Cold Air stays closer to the ground. Clouds
are comprised of Air. I see clouds moving in the wind high above
even though below there is no palpable movement. But, now I
know Air moves - I've seen it - even though I can't feel it.
As I sat this early morning I softened my gaze and set my intention
to see Air. There was no breeze at all. As I looked 15 feet
above a lake I saw movement in the Air - like swirls of warmer
Air over the cooler Air closer to the lake. I was reminded of
the pollen I saw floating yesterday and my breath I saw a moment
before. I truly didn't think I could see Air. I take it so much
for granted.
I've continued to go through each
of my senses with Air. I tasted Air - which I admit was a challenge
as I tried to separate it from my olfactory - because what I
taste is connected to smell. It took me days to work through
that and let it go. I plugged my nose and I felt the texture
of Air on my tongue, but was that feeling or was that taste?
I look back now and I was pretty twisted up about it. Its good
I can laugh. I came to the point where I can see Air - not just
what is sitting or blowing in Air but molecules or gaseous formation
in Air. If I really soften my vision I can see pockets of movement
within Air. Pretty cool, indeed!
I began to play with Wind. It is
an absolutely fantastic experience. Wind and I talked. We'd
always been comfortable around each other, I listened to what
was said, I understood what was said, and I've always loved
windy blustery days, but I'd never held a conversation with
Wind. Now I talk to Wind. You might want to try it.
It is an interesting experience.
The other day during a few days of incredible wind, I asked
Eagle to teach me how to use, to hear and to know Wind. Wind
replied: “What about from me?” so I went with Wind.
It was an amazing 15 or so minutes. I didn’t want it to
end, but it ended as quickly as I was swept away. You might
want to try it.
These past few weeks have been pretty
darn phenomenal. I've come to appreciate how Air is its own
element and also how it is intrinsically interwoven with the
other Elements. As I spend time getting to know Air my in-sight
and receptivity to guidance has dramatically opened up. I've
become more comfortable with the signs, with their meanings,
and most importantly I hold conversations with Eagle. I used
to seek out answers to my ponderings. I used to listen when
my attention was being called. Now, I do those things but I
find that I am also in fairly constant contact with my Guides
through my day. We are not chatting through the entire day,
but there with me and I with them and we talk often during a
day. I notice when they play a joke on me. Wind has been doing
that and I know when its being done. My Guides will "pull
a funny" and I know its them by the way the experience
came together. We laugh together. It is all quite unique for
me.
The biggest detriment though is that
I find that I can be withdrawn from my physical world. I can
get so absorbed, so consumed and quite frankly I'm so content
in Air that I pull away from my family. That has been a big
challenge for me - not getting sucked in. Sometimes I so preoccupied,
I'm listening to guidance, in-sight and pondering what I'm learning
and wondering how to apply it that my husband will look at me
and ask if I'm okay. I've noticed a time or two my kids realize
that I'm "checked out." That has been a challenge
for me to remember that I live here, now.
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INDEX
Page 3
(Main Section, Medicine Wheel, Native Languages &
Nations, Symbology)
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INDEX
Page 5
(Sacred Feminine & Masculine, Stones & Minerals)
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Copyright: Cinnamon Moon & River WildFire Moon (Founders.)
2000-date
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