Silence prepares the mind to begin to hear what is whispered. Silence allows the experience of sensing the words without hearing the words. It is a gift to learn to appreciate and enjoy the absolute silence. Nature teems with sounds we rarely silence enough to hear. A private moment of silence seeking answers to the internal dilemmas and choices within the silence of the soul.

The private moment is the seed of mindfulness.  Just as the seed must be planted into the soil to grow, so too must our own individual seeds be planted. A seed must be nurtured and watered to grow.  The seeds of DBT mindfulness activities must  be nurtured and watered.  The private moment can spurt into the growth of a nourishing garden for our soul.  Providing us with the nutrient riches that provides the answers to the internal dilemmas.
Just as the skies do not always provide the rain for our seeds, there are times when we need to provide additional water for the seed of mindfulness.  Those internal gardens where we have planted the seeds for our lives can be full of weeds and intrusive plantings such as distractions, dramas, and resentments.  There are times that we just “expect” the internal gardens to turn to blossoms of beauty without any gardening.  Yet, just as our garden outside, our internal garden needs to be tended.  To reap the blossoms of wisdom and growth, to have the spurts of energetic shifts, we must feel the sun’s rays.  This means we must take care to weed out the old beliefs to make way for the growth.  We must water and nurture ourselves to emerge in full blossoms.

All of this comes from balance.  Balance in knowing when to water, when to weed, and when to simply allow the wild growth.

Every element is connected to our beings.  Fire is our spirit, our passion.  Water is fluid like our emotional beings.  Air is our mental being, our breath which comes back into our life energy.  Earth is our physical body in the here and now, our foundation for the inner temple where the fire exists.  It is when we balance each element with one another that we discover true balance in living.

The element of Earth is our foundation.  It can calm the other elements, our minds, our emotions, and our spirits.  The root of all our sustenance in the physical reality.  It is here that we discover the magic of the ecosystem and its sacredness.  Especially during this time of year, the spring time reminds us of all that comes from the Earth, all the sacred gifts given.  This reminds us it is vital that we keep our Earth element in balance so that she may continue to marvel us with her gift giving beauty and life.

While it is important that diet and movement are incorporated into the day as sacred acts (yes even eating can be a mindful act), there are other ways to balance out the Earth element through meditation.  A simple meditation using the apple is a basis not only for tapping into meditation, but also in treating food as a sacred gift and the act of eating a mindful act.

This is a simple meditation that can be done to cultivate the private moments of silence allowing it to bloom into a succulent practice of mindfulness.

Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes.  Begin to breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth.  Feel the breath be drawn up through your root chakra where it meets the Earth.  Allow the root energy of the Earth to be pulled up through the base of your spine.  As you begin to experience the life energy of the Earth rise up and be exhaled through your mouth, allow the energy expelled to blow out anything that is clogging the meridians.  Feel the energy being drawn up through the Earth recharging your system.  Continue this breathing meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.

After practicing this simple meditation, begin during your waking day to truly experience the gifts of Mother Earth.  Notice the rocks you step on, the trees that grow to the skies, and the magic of a simple blade of grass.  All elemental balancing begins with simple exercise.  As you sit to eat, begin with thanking the food for its gift to nourish you.  Savor the food and drink as it nourishes your body.  As all things are sacred and related, it is vital to begin to treat them as such.  The more you begin to connect with Earth, the more balanced the element will become within.