I was driving home just on sunset after spending a great day in town. It was Carnivale time and the streets were buzzing with activity. I had enjoyed a busy day at the markets, caught up with friends for a drink amidst the chaotic seafood extravaganza at the marina and stopped in at the supermarket for supplies.
Although the sky was darkening, the air was still warm and the wind whipped in through the window as I followed the highway north. A line of clouds sat on the horizon, their puffy silhouettes seemed soft and majestic in the dimming light. As I rounded a curve I felt the presence of Spirit. A tingle ran down my spine and I sat up a little, tuning in to my senses. I turned the music down and listened to the hum of the engine, the stillness of the evening. Up ahead I saw the clouds shifting, changing and then something new emerged. A piercing bright light burst out from behind the clouds and spread like a luminous blanket across the horizon. It flickered like white hot flames tearing at the sky, widening to reveal more and more light.
I heard my name called and I stepped forward. “Welcome,” I was greeted and I stepped inside the brilliance – and I stepped into stillness. Inside the white light the world looked the same, but everything was different.
There was peace. There was fullness, presence, a slowness that underscored the usual busyness. There was a new rhythm like a continuous thread that linked all the beginnings and endings and happenings together and made them one. There was wholeness, and there was joy. Heart expanding, unexplainable, indescribable joy for life, for God, for all of this.
The white flames flickered, burning at the edges of reality, searing a hole through the status quo. In their wake there was only peace, only perfection, only presence. It was like all the heaviness and heartache and wrongness in the world had been burned away. A thought appeared in my awareness, “this is Heaven”. I turned my attention back to the road as the white lines glided past in perfect symmetry.
When I arrived home the dew was already thick on the grass as I unpacked the car. The night air was cool and crisp as I switched on the computer to check my emails. It seemed like everyone was talking about the Rapture that never happened. Some guy had predicted the End of Days was upon us and he had been proven wrong yet again. Facebook was full of smart remarks about how the world didn’t come to an end, so therefore nothing must have changed.
I breathed in the evening air, sweet with the scent of flowering Happy Trees. A flash of light sparked in my awareness. I Googled and quickly found what I was looking for. It should arrive next week and will go nicely with my new paint work. Its a bumper sticker which reads:
“In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned”
In our modern world it is easy to forget our connection to nature and drift away from our primal, instinctual self. We live in an age of technology where we are constantly juggling our appointments, commitments, phone calls, emails and text messages. Even when we stop to rest there are usually a dozen thoughts running around in our heads, things to remember, plans and lists. When you find yourself becoming scattered, stressed or forgetful, focusing on your breath is one of the surest ways to bring your awareness back. Fresh Air is a source of instant nourishment and as you fill your lungs with deep breaths so you connect your inner world to the outer world and return to the present moment. Air – where would we be without it?
If we take the time to look around us, we can see that our attitudes, values, personalities and perspectives are reflected in our urban culture. Our art, movies, inventions, fashion and politics all express the way our society thinks and feels. When we look at nature, we see the roots from which we have grown and the evolutionary steps which we have taken to become who we are now. The Four Elements are the basic building blocks of organic life and from the Shamanic perspective, they influence not only our physical form but also our personalities and behaviours. We intuitively know this and we have some colorful expressions to prove it, such as: “he has a short fuse”, “keeping my head above water”, “salt of the earth” or “building castles in the air”.
It is easy to see how the four elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air are the basis of the physical world in which we live. Our bodies are made up of these elements and from the shamanic perspective, so are our personalities. We often use expressions that illustrate this such as “going with the flow”, “keeping your feet on the ground”, “all fired up” and “lost in space”. Understanding how we relate to the four elements can teach us a lot about ourselves, help us to grow and can support us through life’s many changes. Lets take a moment to consider the Water Element.
