Essential Earth: The Sacred Connection and the Key to Self-Awareness
In the Polarity Therapy model of energy medicine (developed by Dr. Randolph Stone) we are always considering 5 key elements. In descending order of vibratory frequency they are named as ether, air, fire, water and earth. They all support each other and intermingle in what is known as the pentamerous combinations. That basically just means that they all affect each other and pair up in different combinations. We often chart this and use it as an assessment tool determining what element is out of balance (too much/too little).
When we think about the earth element, keywords that come to mind are bones, intestinal elimination, density, tamasic (deep tissue work), root chakra, structure, ego, fear and courage. Placing earth as the dominant element in the pentamerous combinations it combines with the others as hair, skin, blood vessels, flesh, and with earth itself to create bone. We think largely in terms of physicality because earth is the crucial element through which energy finally becomes crystallized into what’s been defined as physical matter. But as I reflected on what earth means to me, the most crucial aspect of it in my life, my mind went to another aspect of this precious element. One of its most crucial domains and perhaps one of its least appreciated structures is that of the ego.
Let’s consider the earth element as that which provides the not only the physiological structure, but also the psychological structure through which we perceive and interact with the world around us. This is rooted in how we perceive ourselves and how that affects our place within the world and its social structures. The ego structure is the attribute through which we know ourselves and from which we extend outward into experience and then inward towards self reflection. If we do not have a solid ego structure we are not able to place ourselves within our community, set our own standards or define our own personal desires and boundaries. When not solidly grounded in our ego identity we are easily swayed from our own ethical standards, controlled by external circumstances/people.
The earth element is often seen as being in conflict with our spiritual existence.
When we look at the Kabbalistic tradition, Vedic template, polarity template, and indeed many of the Indigenous populations, sacred existence is identified as being in a state of balance between body, mind and soul. In light of this let us see our existence and spiritual imperative as being a dynamic combination of polar opposites expressing themselves through the cooperative balance of ether (spirit) and the ego reality of earth. Learning and expanding consciousness is achieved by experiencing the balancing act that comes from living our physical lives, with all of the emotional ups and downs.
The word “ego” has a negative connotation when in fact it isn’t any more negative than having bones and it is certainly every bit as essential as bones. In the same way as bones provide the structure for our bodies, the ego provides the structure for the mind. The mind and psyche must have boundaries and containment. It must have a central position from which it can move outward, stretch and grow. If there is no place in which to anchor, it can only wander, never having a central position from which to evaluate experience. A healthy ego is therefore an essential component of us living in the world by providing the template through which we interact and become aware through reflection on those interactions. It is meant to give us the foundation from which we can experience and grow. The point is not that we remain crystallized within our structures but rather that we use our structures as our foundational framework within which we grow and then move beyond. How does that function with something as intangible as ego? Let’s look at the flow of emotion/energy as it moves from the spiritual to the psychological and physical. Coming down the neutral, ultrasonic core, the energy is associated with the observer position. This is the part of us that is above and beyond judgment and critique. This energy unites the whole. It is put into this body for the sole/soul purpose of experiencing itself in order to grow.
© Lynn Walden, 2024.
To understand this we must look at the mechanism of how energy flows from spirit down through the chakras to earth. One model I favor is following an emotion as it transmutes from the top to the bottom, from lighter to denser emotions until the awareness finally lands within the earth chakra and the ultimate questions: “Is this who I am? Is this all that I am? Is this who I wish to be? Is this how I wish to experience myself in the world?” By breathing in a relaxed manner while holding an awareness of the physical sensation or emotion and observing the shifts that take place, one can follow the path of energy through the system and the psyche, uncovering layers of awareness as it moves through the various elements. It’s by allowing ourselves to experience the feeling of the energy as an emotion with physical sensation that we can track the movement and discover things being held within us that are causing disruption, imbalance and disconnection from our deepest selves. A brief example of how this might unfold is as follows:
You experience great loss. Someone dies, an important relationship ends. Your ether field (finest energy, brow and throat chakra )is activated by this grief and you feel a deep indefinable malaise. You can run away from it by distracting yourself or you can stay with it, observe it and let the energy of it move down into the air/heart chakra. Here you are able to begin defining in words, what these sad and painful feelings are. Letting yourself stay with this energy, observing what if feels like in your body, breathing, and allowing it to move down into the fire/solar plexus chakra you can begin to understand other emotions that are behind it. Are you angry? Do you feel like a victim? Staying with the honesty of this energy and following the model of breathing and observing you allow it to move down into the water chakra. Here we find core beliefs that have been hidden. They are operating below the radar, informing your actions and reactions – your impulses and contradictory feelings. Do you find sadness, regret? Do you find the belief that you will always be left? Here, you’ve come to identify the story behind the emotion, the underlying belief you have about who you are. Ta da. earth/root Chakra and your Ego identity. You can be surprised by seeing things about your view of life and what you believe you deserve, what has become an expectation due to long forgotten experiences. You might begin identifying the truth that factors which had seemed to be beyond your control were actually part of your subconscious programming.
Since emotion is energy that is felt in the body, and energy has its own momentum, if you allow it to move by feeling it, naming it and not judging it; by observing and breathing without attachment to figuring it out in the moment; without running from it or glorifying it, it will keep moving and will transmute as it does so. Landing in the earth chakra, the energy gives us the foundation we need to integrate the full range of the emotions around this issue that we’ve unveiled by tracking through the chakra system and the differing emotional energy they support. It is in the earth field that we can measure all of this awareness against the structure of our ego. This is where we get to truly say; “Is this really who I am: Is this all that I am? Is this who I wish to be? And if it’s not who I wish to be, how DO I wish to experience myself in the world?” At this point we have the option of inviting more spirit into our lives, and to explore the sacred connection we have to all life on this planet - to this planet, period. It can be a conscious decision to ask for a fuller presence of God in your being, or a simple surrender to an unknown benevolent force because we are too darn tired to struggle on our own any more. Whichever, it is from this place where our energy moves inward to the central core energy and loops back up to the crown and ether chakras, having gathered experience which was collected and perceived within the earthy structure of the physical body and the ego. All of this is with us now as an expanded awareness of who we’ve been, how we’ve lived and it gives us the option to choose a change in the story. Once a hidden belief has been revealed through this process of gentle self discovery, that awareness expands the possibilities for change through choice. When we choose to deal with it we will be asking questions, stating awareness: “This is who I thought I thought I was, whether I was conscious of it or not. These are the operating principles from which I have been manifesting my life. How does my exterior life mirror these internal beliefs? If I believed differently, what might my life look like?” It’s in this moment that you can truly say “Who am I, Who do I believe myself to be? Am I only a list of achievements, experiences and feelings or is there more to me?” In that moment you may be willing to see if there is more and if so the energy moves back up to ether and the circle starts all over again. Your spirit moves itself through your mind with these new larger ego parameters, and it gets to live more fully into your life, becoming a stronger and more integrated part of your operating principle.
When you begin redefining your ego you’re working in a very dense energy field.
When we speak of expansion of consciousness and the movement of energy related to that expansion, we are talking about core/periphery/core as well as top to bottom and back up. The energy is designed to move from the ultrasonic core through and beyond your body. When seeing problems in the physical structure, tight muscles, postural aberrations, we know core energy is not passing freely into the earth field. Dr. Stone taught the importance of seeing where there is resistance at the extreme edge of the body – where structure meets energy – and applying deep pressure (tamasic touch) to challenge the resistance, thereby allowing the energy to flow outward completing the impulse. This is the same dynamic when delving into ego structure. Think of it like this: The same way stuck physical energy can restrict how you live in your body by how it affects your physical health, stuck emotional energy can restrict your beliefs and therefore the choices you’re free to make in the world. Deep tissue work addresses dysfunctional areas of the physical structure where, as Dr. Stone said, spirit is not fully present. This is the physical counterpart to palpating your mind with questions to track the areas of your ego that are restricted, places where spirit is not expressing itself fully. You could say, it’s when you notice where you’re not fully aligned with your spiritual/sacred self.
Deep tissue work can be painful if not handled with consideration of the structure and eccentric fulcrums (frozen places that are designed to move but don’t due to restricted tissue) around which we have physically organized. So too is delving into an understanding of who you are underneath the personality. It’s every bit as challenging as deep tissue work. We are plumbing the depths of our psyche, in identifying our core beliefs, facing our egos. It can be psychologically disorienting as our ego structure starts to shift, as much as if we lose a leg. It’s also liberating and joyful when we realize what restricting thoughts/beliefs have been operating subconsciously, holding us back. They’re often the beliefs that have become so natural to us that we don’t even recognize how they’ve frozen us into restrictive behaviors, limited expectations. As in deep tissue work it's about working at the edge, using palpation, be it touch or question. It is respectfully encouraging the body/system to release. It’s an invitation to see an edge and look beyond it in order to deepen the knowing of who we truly are. In deep tissue work it is releasing the restrictions of fascia, helping to realign the bones. This allows energy to flow along the proper gravitational lines of force. This keeps the joints flowing freely, keeping ether energy flowing through the field. Ether is about spirit and where do we see ether most but in the space between the bones? There, it supports the bones which keep us moving through our earthly physical life. Ether and earth in mind and body, maintain the balance and structure in which all else flows. Earth gives life. Tangible earth supports builds our bodies and feeds us.
Earth energy gives us the ability to live and feel and think and experience.
How can we not honor the Earth as our as our sacred Mother? As creatures of Her realm, how can we not consider ourselves as sacred?And how can we ignore that internal spark of deep love and compassion we sometimes feel as the connection to that Source which gives life to us through the Mother? Call it what you will, it is the template of life; the Sacred woven into all it’s many forms and experiences. Earth and Ether. Body and Spirit. Yin and Yang. Both need each other and both exist in each other. It’s sacred beauty.
So remember that this is discovered only through personal growth and that growth happens at the edges - where we look beyond, feel beyond what we have become so that we can look inward and see what we really are…. There is grace in surrendering to this, delight and liberation in being more than we thought we were. We have been given the means to do this. All it takes is awareness to follow the flow and honor the process.