Day Four – The Element of Earth

Our fourth day is the Element of Earth, which is connected to our physical self, and also our physical surroundings. It’s our body, the chair we’re sitting on, the car we drive in.  It’s the clothes we wear as well as the trees and flowers, and each blade of grass and pebble we come across. When we connect with the element of earth, it grounds us, and gives us permission to do things we wouldn’t normally do. When we take a deep breath, clarity comes to us, and coupled with the feeling of grounded earth beneath us, we are able to make decisions that are best suited for our soul.

“Since earliest times, humans have had a dynamic relationship with the Earth. Throughout ancient history, people saw the world as teeming with spirit life. Every boulder, tree, mountain, and river had a spirit. The context of human life was firmly rooted in a natural world infused with divinity. We no longer, however, interpret the natural world around us as people with spiritual identities with whom we can communicate and relate. Although this shift in perspective has resulted in tremendous gains in scientific understanding, we have lost our sense that we have a place in the cosmos, and we no longer feel intimately connected to the land. In ancient times one’s connection to the earth lay beyond the realm of doubt. The earth was the source of all life. People believed that it fed and nurtured them.”

~ Denise Linn, Soul Coaching®

Today

Become more aware of the element of Earth in the physical objects around you. Become tactile with the objects too, feel the different textures you have around you, in the clothes that you wear, the cup and glasses that you pick up. Notice the element of earth and consider how it was created and what brought it to you now. Have a look around your home, and take time to connect with the plants and flowers you have. If you don’t have any, what plants or flowers could you bring into your home? When we bring nature into our home, we connect with the natural cycle of life and are able to move through life grounded and intune with the world around us.

Journal Exercise: Listening to your Body

Our bodies are always talking to us, but we don’t necessarily listen. We eat when we’re hungry, drink when we’re thirsty, but do we really listen to the other messages our body has for us? Scan through your body and notice what feels different.

This isn’t an exercise to pick out all your aches and pains, but more a chance for you to connect with your body in a way you haven’t done normally.

Start with your feet and check in with them. Are they feeling fresh and vibrant or do they need a pampering session? Make notes on what your body is telling you and plan to fulfill its requests.

When we listen to our body, we are really listening beyond what our body has to say, and listening to our soul.

I am a firm believer in that our soul knows what’s happening around us, even if we don’t. So when our soul has an inkling of something happening, it communicates with our body to tell us. We feel it in subtle ways, like our stomach flutters or we suddenly become aware of a single sound or our eyes are drawn to something. The mind then usually catches up, so we’re able to comprehend what’s going on. Yet if we don’t make the conscious effort to listen to our body now and then, we don’t always receive the message our soul has for us.

Connecting to Nature

The second part of today’s exercise is to get outside and connect to nature. Hug a tree, walk barefoot in the grass, to sit and just be. Mother Earth has her own heartbeat, and when we take time to sit and listen and be one with it, we become replenished by nature in marvelous ways.

Clutter Clearing – Living / Dining Room

The Living and Dining rooms have a grounded feel to me, and perfect for us to look at for Earth day. These are places where we sit and eat, relax and converse. We laugh and cry in these spaces, and gather around the television to watch the latest thing, or in some cases the same thing again and again.

You don’t have to clear both rooms, but choose one that you feel needs more attention that the other if you don’t have a lot of time. Like yesterday, think about how you want to feel in these rooms before you start clutter clearing. If you want joy, then as you clear clutter think about the objects you have in the room.

Do they inspire joy or are there some things which you need to move around? For example, if you don’t have a great memory of your old aunty who left you an ugly vase, but you keep it in the living room to honour her memory – it may not inspire joy and happiness when you look at it. In the current climate, our dining rooms and living rooms may have become makeshift offices or working spaces, and that’s okay.

Be aware of how much is creeping into your non-working time though, for example if you’ve left the laptop out and there’s your notebook you always use for work sitting on the coffee table. Move them, and put them away at the end of your day so that you can allow your home space to be exactly that.

Additional Clutter Clearing Information

Clearing clutter is the ultimate way to make changes in your life, as well as clearing out what you no longer need. Clutter, for me, is defined as something that I don’t love or don’t use anymore. When I release the physical objects surrounding me, I’m inviting new experiences into my life that I couldn’t have before. Here are the steps I take to clear clutter, which may be of inspiration to you.

Set a Time Limit It is important before you start any clutter clearing, that you know how long you’ve got. You may think that you have all the time in the world, and it will take you no time at all, but actually it can be a bigger job than that. If you have an hour to clutter clear a space, then split the time in half. Thirty minutes would be dedicated to sorting through and clearing the clutter. The second half would give you time to get rid of the clutter, put back the objects that you love and leave you a clean space that will feel uplifting and clutter free. You can do this for smaller amounts of time too, so if you only have twenty minutes to spare, then split that into two rounds of clearing and then disposing of your clutter.

Clear the Surface Sometimes there is “stuff” accumulated on top of the clutter. It can be a powerful exercise to clear away the surface first. This way you can see exactly what clutter you have to clear. This is really handy when you have stuff you want to go through later when you have more time, enabling you to deal with or release the things that you need to do.

Four Boxes This is the most important part of clutter clearing itself. You will need to get four boxes or bags and label them as “Throw Away,” “Give Away/Donate,” “Recycle,” “Maybe Later/Store” and “Keep”. The names are quite simple, and should be self explanatory. The only thing I will say is that your “Maybe Later/Store” box should have an expiration date. Whatever you put in that box, seal it up at the end and put a date on it that is in six months time. If you’ve not needed anything in the box by that date, then you can give it away.

Questions to Ask Yourself The following questions will help you when you are going through your things to find out if it is clutter or not.

1. Do I love it?
2. Do I use it?
3. Do I really need this?
4. Does this fit who I am? Does this fit who I desire to be in the future?
5. Does this make my energy go up, down, or remain neutral?

After answering these questions, decide if the object you are holding is clutter. Ask yourself, “Do I want to throw this away, give it away or sell it, recycle it, keep it, or store it for another time?” There is a place inside of you that knows the exact right answer. And there is immense power in making a decision. Decide quickly and go to the next item. It works well to decide quickly. This gets your conscious mind out of the way and makes room for your inner knowing to come forward.