What’s one of the most important elements of our spiritual growth that we take for granted? Connecting with nature.
Connecting with nature – particularly the core elements of fire, air, water and earth – can enlighten your daily life and accelerate your spiritual growth. This “ecotherapy” also makes us feel good.
All of the natural elements are essential to being alive on the earthly plane. They are foundational for life. We share the same space with these elements and co-create with them.
Nature is talking to us all the time. But are we listening? Let’s delve into this essential relationship between us and nature.
Harnessing the Fire Element
The fire element is all around us. It radiates out from the sun, generating heat and light. So how do we use this amazing two-fold fiery source?
Heat relates to your passions. What gives you meaning and excitement? Is it service, art, relationships, healing, research, communication or something else?
By following your passions in a grounded, heart-centered way, wonderful things happen. You tend to be in the right place at the right time with the right people.
Besides its heat, the sun’s light shines awareness on yourself and the environment. Consider now what the light is revealing about your inner and outer world to you. What is going on inside you? What is going on outside of you?
Fire Practice:
Ask yourself, “What is one of my heart-centered desires and how can I follow it?”
“What’s showing up in my life now and what’s my next step?”
Harnessing the Air Element
The air element connects with your thoughts. The mental processes that float in your mind can be quite inspirational or deflating, analytical or restrictive, constructive or destructive. The idea is to keep your spirits and thoughts up so that they ward off the negative thoughts that naturally arise. That way you will intend to avoid negative thinking and ruminating.
Intend to increase the positive and decrease the negative.
Your thoughts will attract ones that are like it in vibration. Let your thoughts be like the air touching your skin, exerting soothing or exhilarating energy.
If you get caught in a negative current, just be aware of that and pivot to a positive one. Your intent is sometimes all you need to shift from limited thoughts to more expansive ones. Sometimes you do experience the challenges of negative, turbulent thoughts, which you can learn to handle. This kind of introspection leads to growth choices that will strengthen you.
And remember we grow from experiencing a wide range of thoughts and feelings.
Air Practice:
What am I thinking now? Is it energizing or draining me or something else?
Savor the positive if it is occurring. If limited thinking is there, put it into the bigger picture. This might include some healing and support.
Harnessing the Water Element
Water is all around us and, like the other elements, we take it for granted. We are the proverbial fish who don’t recognize they are swimming in water, to use a watery metaphor. We often only notice water when it’s lacking – missing it when the well runs dry.
We can be much more intentional, however, which will serve us well.
Water supports us in countless ways with its life-giving fluid. Water is meant to flow through you. You can use it as a carrier. It can carry the good things and clear up the bad things. Water connects with our feelings as well.
In other words, let water (often signifying feelings) purify and detoxify your body. Let it remove the junk accumulated from troubling feelings, thoughts, and experiences that you have picked up along the way. Let them flow through you. And those difficult feelings (like fear and despair) can also be used for future learning and awareness.
We grow by experience and water is a carrier of positive and negative energies that can heal us — and, if unchecked, overwhelm and even drown us.
Take a moment now to feel the energy in the environment around you and how you are interacting with it. Sense how you fit in to your current environment. Feel the flow. Be with people intentionally, non-judgmentally and lovingly as possible.
Then good things will naturally be attracted to you. Notice when that occurs, those uplifting synchronicities.
A Synchronous Example
Phillip was at his local coffee shop while editing this article. He thanked the barista for serving his coffee and told him that he was doing a good job. Then out of curiosity, Phillip asked him what was the “dragon drink” listed on the menu. With a smile on his face, the barista offered him a free sample.
Consuming the pinkish foamy liquid may have connected Phillip with his inner dragon. Afterwards, he again thanked the server for the complimentary dragon drink.
Positive thoughts and feelings are reinforcing between people. It circulates energy and promotes flow states.
Water Practice:
What am I feeling now? Is it expansive, contracting, or neutral? Let me savor the uplifting feelings and release the restrictive ones. How can I be more in flow now?
Breathe in and exhale. Drink or imagine drinking pure, clean water.
Harnessing the Earth Element
The earth element makes up the dense physicality of the body and the environment. It is the matter we use as raw material for sustaining ourselves and to use creatively.
Part of how we relate to the earth is influenced by the other three elements: fire, air and water. It’s important to get a sense of the following: How do we relate to our passions, thoughts and feelings. Are they working for us or against us?
When thoughts and feelings are out of balance, we have a warped perspective of the material world. Desensitized to the environment, we become careless. It can drive us to excess, being impulsive and riddled with fears and doubts.
Use the earth as you would a sacred bunch of clay that you can shape lovingly and artistically. It is malleable but does have limits. Earth is physical and can be used and transformed in multiple ways to support yourself and enjoy your life. It can be used for art or material to survive. So be flexible and open to using the matter that’s all around you.
Here’s a helpful guideline for relating to the earth element: Don’t overuse it or underuse it. Look for the Cinderella effect which is just right. For example, how much do I need to eat and spend? And that changes from moment to moment. Using resources wisely brings balance and fulfillment.
In cases of lack (such as lacking supplies or money), we may need to be patient or more diligent. It can help us appreciate what we do have (gratitude) even amid the lack of materials. Sometimes having limitations spurs creativity too.
In sum, consider all the earth offers us, so freely and abundantly. Appreciate the precious natural world that we can use for our creative palette, for our craft of living a life well.
Earth Practice:
What materials do I choose now, such as building materials, physical tools or technology? How can I best access them and use them?
How can I appreciate them? How can I be grateful for everyday common materials like the roads I drive on, the cup I use, and the pen I write with?
The Interconnection of Humans with the Elements
All the elements are interconnected. It’s also apparent that we humans influence the elements just as they affect us. The storms in our minds, the outer conflicts with others, our careless actions do impact the environment.
We can create calm or turbulent waters. We can have clear or dirty air and electricity. The elements will respond in kind.
Consciously connecting with nature – think of a sunset, waterfall, or mountain – makes for wonderful and awesome experiences. By contrast, ignoring nature stagnates us. Such neglect causes misuse of the very elements that are here to support us.
Final Thoughts on Connecting with Nature for Spiritual Growth
Harming nature by polluting, mistreating and neglecting it, degrades the elements, which directly affect the quality of our environment. We are interdependent on nature. But treating the elements well provides a wonderful world in which to live.
If we foster good relationships with nature, it helps us physically and psychologically, from improving our blood pressure to reducing anxiety and depression.
As we more consciously respect and use the elements, things get better.
* We raise our vibration
* We make it a point to regularly visit beautiful areas like mountains and seashores and watch sunrises and sunsets
* We act on healthy passions
* We keep our thoughts focused upward and address negative thinking
* We feel our feelings and manage them in the moment
* We respect and value the physical environment
Nature is all around us. Without it, we wouldn’t exist on earth. It’s inspirational to wake up to this fact. Then the ordinary becomes extraordinary — and precious.
What we support, supports us. We – humans and nature — are all in this together.
For a deep dive exploration into the elements, along with angels, ascended masters and powerful oracles see our Spiritual Guidance Certification Program.