The Elements - Time to take a Breath
The sun was only starting to rise over the Lake of Li, in the Forest of Kan when the old sage prepared himself for the next lesson with his students. He had risen in the dark and walked through the forest. Now he was sitting on his favorite rock as he looked across the Lake of Li. It was a special place. There by the shoreline with sun beginning to rise it was as if all the Elements had joined together as one to give him this gift of beauty. He took off his shoes and dipped his feet in the water. The coldness rushed into him, but rather than be a shock it was a wonderful experience as the Element of water gave up more of its secrets.
His students had been excited about the teachings of the Elements, but it been Huo who had shown not only an eagerness to learn but an affinity with the Elements themselves. Whenever the old sage had given him a lesson he took time on his own in nature to digest what he had just learned and then would allow the seasons, silence and nature itself to increase what he had learned. He knew that he was a part of all things and by allowing himself to stay open he was able be one with everything.
I have now shared the first five parts of the teachings and it is time for the student to step back for a moment and review what they have learnt. For me, like the student in the story above, I always found that time spent meditating in nature or even a simple walk in the woods pondering on what I had learnt allowed more of the teaching to come from within. The more you open up to or in some cases surrender to the teaching of the Elements of Man the more they will reveal their secrets. I found when I first learnt the elements that the when I was at my most open, it was as if the Elements themselves conspired to give me a deeper teaching. I would have these amazing moments of synchronicity. I would be thinking about one of the Elements when the element itself would start to become active. I was wondering whether my thinking about the element and being open to its teaching had actually caused the event, although afterwards I would always decry what I had seen or experienced and say that it was just coincidence. That was until these coincidences kept happening again and again. Sometimes I think I am a bit slow or that my skeptical mind was too strong in those early days. Now I am clever enough to allow these synchronistic moments to just occur when they need to. For males it just always seems a bit harder to let go of trying to control life. The only real way to be in control is to give up the need to control and develop an openness to the life you are meant to live.
In a earlier blog I talked about the twelve disciplines of the initiate. If you have a moment open up that blog and have a look at the disciplines and choose one or two and have a play with them. If you are really keen or like me a touch obsessive, then do all of them in a rotation. If you follow these disciplines I will promise you two things. Firstly you will be constantly challenged by them. The day you are not meant to drive your car will be the day you will need it most. The day you don't watch television or other forms of electrical media will be the day when there is something that you desperately need to see. That is the downside, but it is not really a downside as you begin to see that we are trapped in our lives. These disciplines will in the end set you free. The wonderful upside is that you will begin to notice a little voice inside you, a voice that is your own, that will begin to express itself in mysterious and wonderful ways.
With regards the first few blogs of the Elements I hope by now you have begun to understand what a wonderful gift that is being offered to you. If you are willing to allow them the Elements of Man is a gift that will keep on giving for the rest of your life. Some people will have instantly seen their own or other people's Element. For others it is not so easy and it may seem difficult. The Fire Elements will already think they understand everything, but they need to be careful, as they can often only have a shallow perception of what is available.
At this stage all I would expect is that you would have developed some insight into what has been offered and are starting to see aspects of yourselves in the Elements. Each of us has a dominant Element, a secondary Element and aspects of the other two. Sometimes you will begin to get excited when you start to see the Elements in others and in this excitement you will want to share your wonderful insights. Don't! It is the one discipline that I want everyone to follow. Do not talk to anyone about the teachings unless they are also following them. This may sound a little cruel because some of you will want to share everything you know, but this teaching is one that grows from within. It is like a small bud trying to grow, expose it too quickly to others and it will shrivel up and die.
Give the Elements a month or better three months of this discipline and one day you will thank me for it. Remember the old sage asked the Emperor to be away from his people for a year. I am only asking you to be quiet about it for three months.
The 33rd Sage is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Watersons, Xlibris and a number of online book stores.
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