Self Knowledge

With Earth Element :Earth is my body – the rules of flesh, blood, and bone.  Molecules & DNA are the scaffold of mind.  Growth from ovum and sperm brings my unique body.  Experience tricks consciousness of separateness.  Me and only me – the only me in the vast universe.  Body limited, (but mind is limitless).  I must work with what I have been given – no more and no less.  Time changes the form of my body.  My fingers touch the Earth forms of others.  I learn what brings pleasure and goodness to myself, and what brings the self-preservation of my body.  The act of Will changes my body – the choice of food, of exercise, of sleep, of meditation.  These things transform my awareness.  I experiment, trying this and that.  I let others touch me, or not.  All of my senses bring knowledge and awareness.  What to keep?  What to forget and leave behind?  The exploration of myself is a constant journey that I alone must travel in this body, this gift, this treasure.  It is a mystery – how does this arrangement of atoms create mind and awareness of self?  Through my body, I express myself to others, so Earth is the primary language of this communication.  This ‘Primal Code’ exists so others may see and experience me.  I see, react and learn.  Self-knowledge grows in the mirrors of others.  Earth touches Earth, so self-knowledge grows.  How do we know it is happening?  Because Earth shows us—endlessly.  Body is the soil, the launching pad of self-knowledge and awareness.

Stone symbols:  hematite, smoky quartz

Activities:

1. Yoga,
2. Nutrition,
3. Massage,
4. Medicine,
5. Chiropractic,
6. Exercise,
7. Bio-rhythms,
8. Self-adornment,
9. Therapeutic touch

With Air Element :With every breath, we feed the process of mind.  Oxygen is the gift of ancient photosynthesis, and self-consciousness is the flower.  With the gift of air we think and rationalize.  We explore what others have written in books.  We create maps of the mind.  We categorize layers of consciousness.  We compare our minds with others’ minds—so expanding knowledge of ourselves.  We learn and remember the lessons of our experiences.  Psychology is born.  Air rules sounds of words and music and rhythms.  Language creates self-consciousness.  We share words with others.  We are changed by what we hear and read.  Sometimes words can be limiting however… they can be static – suspending our flights of mind, like flies in amber.  Music and rhythm can break us free of words – touching and moving us on a subconscious level—the preverbal state.  Music and words create the stories we tell ourselves.  Chants and songs are vehicles of knowledge, passed down thru the generations.  We learn about ourselves by hearing others’ stories.  Then we “process” and take these bits of lore to create our own story – the story of our Self.  Now we have the vast knowledge of the internet at our fingertips.  So many stories, so much potential!!  We weave our own tapestry of self with the primal electrons of 0 and 1 …  We strive for coherence and harmony of self.

Stone symbol:   Lapis Lazuli

Activities:

1. Reading,
2. Writing/journaling,
3. Books,
4. Psychology/talk-therapy,
5. Music,
6. Songs,
7. The internet,
8. Story-telling,
9. School,
10. Categorizing and tests,
11. Chanting,
12. Rational thinking, logic, words
13. Chanting, breath-work, mantra-meditation
14. Knowledge of propaganda
15. Ability to question our beliefs and assumptions.

With the Fire Element:The heat, the passion, the Light!!  As we explore our potential self, there arises a thirst for more self-knowledge.  Our learning and experience of our true self expands and transforms our self.  We are changed by this journey.  The limits of Body/Earth are tested.  What seemed like a slog is now a passion for more knowledge.  This Light can now be sensed by others—we pass the flame and share the fire of passion for self-exploration.  Others can now be inspired to begin the journey for themselves.  The struggle of lessons learned becomes the AHAH experience.  The flash of satori after a long meditation.  The floating pieces of ourselves are now moving together into a wholeness—this bonding releases energy.  This release brings a calmness – so now passion has a clear channel to express our true Being.   Cold philosophy becomes poetry.  Zorba the Buddha awakes!  Our task is to keep the flame alive.  Take notice of depression and hopelessness – the signs that we are not feeding the fires of self knowledge.  Take time to pursue your passion – (however small it seems to be).  One small flame can grow into a raging fire.  Now take care of the limits of Body/Earth, so the fire is safe.  Fire is the light of consciousness and awareness.  Lessons learned (Air) are put into action (Fire).  Drawing with Light, we create our own colorful mandala of wholeness for all to see.  The Will to create!  Courage to look into our dark places!  Thou art God/dess!!

Stone symbols:  eye agate, yellow tiger-eye

Activities:

1. Art and creativity,
2. Oratory,
3. Poetry,
4. Mandala-making,
5. Color therapy,
6. Candle-magic,
7. Trying something new,
8. “Feel the fear and do it anyway”,
9. Alchemy,
10. Visioning/guided meditation,
11. Active imagination,
12. Catharsis

With Water Element :From the Oceans deep, we arose.  We still carry the sea in our blood – feeding every cell in our bodies.  Our journey to self-knowledge rests on the mystery of Body (Earth) and emotions (water).  This has been named the “unconscious”.  It has a slower rhythm than air and fire, but faster than Earth.  Water is our “gut-feeling” of rightness or wrongness.  With our heartbeat, the Mother-beat, we come back to ourselves, our own rhythm.  Emotions are slower than our conscious mind, so we must wait for them to catch up with our flying thoughts.  We must make peace with our wide range of emotions and reconcile our reptilian and human brains.  Learn to ride the waves of grief and bliss; rational and irrational.  Own and not ignore our wordless feelings.  Explore our childhood, without drowning.  Water is our memories of the past, of sleep and dreams.  Making the unconscious (Water) conscious (Fire) is the task of a lifetime.

 Take the time to slow down and assimilate feelings, instead of rationalizing them.  They have much to teach about self-preservation, and where our limits and fears are.  Realize and note them, but don’t let them rule you – for we are much more than our fears (or even our pleasures…).  Nurture ourselves so we can continue the journey of self-knowledge.  Play!  Follow the instinctual actions of animals and children at play.  Flow with your own ups and downs – no blame…

Stone symbols:  clear quartz crystal, pearl

Activities:

1. Dream interpretation,
2. Hydro-therapy,
3. Swimming,
4. Emotive therapy,
5. Sleep/rest,
6. Children/play,
7. Animal observation/care,
8. ‘Re-birthing’,
9. Trance-work,
10. Moon-magic, (for women: following menses – moon calendar),
11. Canoeing/kayaking,
12. Fishing,
13.  Bathing

With the Ancestors :Our ancestors have made the journey of self-knowledge before us.  “We stand on their shoulders” and continue (or falter).  Honor their Quest by continuing yours.  Shamans, Priests, Priestesses, Philosophers, Visionaries…all have made the journey to Self.  “Life is short, the Art is long.”  We learn from their example and what traces they have left behind.  Many places and palaces are inside us, but the journey is the same.  They have left signposts for us to follow, but only we can make the journey.  They can pass on their knowledge and experiences – it is up to us to create our own wisdom in the here and now.  Their journey took place within the matrix of their own culture; we must journey forward within the culture of today.  Find our own answers to perennial questions.  Still, there is much we have forgotten.  Old becomes new.  History becomes our story.  We can’t go back – only forward – and bring what is useful and right along for the ride.  We are all Human, but we are so impatient to jump ahead of our own evolution!  “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”  Learning is preferable to imitation.  Each journey to our self is unique.  The Ancestors bring us tools.  We now decide how to use them…”for the Good of All and Harm None.”

Many ancient religions and practices point to the journey to the self, (substitute self for God/dess, Tao, Buddha, Christ, Philosopher’s stone, etc.)

Stone symbols:  ammonite fossil, spiral shell

Activities:

1. History,
2. Biography,
3. Philosophy,
4. Shamanism,
5. Ancient Religions,
6. Astrology,
7. Alchemy,
8. Hero/Heroine stories,
9. Grail stories,
10. Carl Jung’s autobiography and writings,
11. Symbolism,
12. Buddhism,
13. Lao Tzu,
14. I Ching,
15. Taoism,
16. Jesus

With the Descendants :“Your children are not your children, they are… life’s longing for itself” – Kahil Gibran

One of our greatest gifts to our children is to pass on a culture that promotes the actualization of their potential.  We must remember that our children are not just little copies of ourselves; they have their own unique journey to their Self.  We can and should teach the ethics of right and wrong, right action, and the 3 R’s (reading, writing, and math).  Also we have the responsibility to show them not only learning, but how to teach themselves to learn.  We teach by example how to live by the rules of civil society, but encouraging our children to explore their own selves is also good.  The Arts are key to help them have the courage to create and listen to their own muse.  Listen to their dreams.  Encourage them to find their own answers.  Explore feelings, mind, body and spirit together.  Let them put these all together for themselves.  Show them the difference between knowledge embodied and lived vs. the theoretical knowledge obtained on the internet.  Draw mandalas with them!

Stone symbols:  fluorite, kunzite

Activities:  see above…

1. Waldorf and Montesorri schools/home school  
2. Find child’s talents,
3. Encourage the Arts and self-expression (within safe boundaries),
4. Psychological testing (not just for disease, but to bring to light the child’s own nature)

With the Community :How can the community encourage self-knowledge?  How can self-knowledge help the community?

Share our own story of journey to the self.  Combine all the other elements together and share in your own way.  What have you learned to do and what not to do?  What has helped you on this journey?  What tools do you have to offer?  What does a community of self-actualized beings look like?

The value of self-knowledge creates a community of honesty, openness, curiosity, wellness, acceptance of others, creativity, self-expression, passion for learning and a joyful sharing of each other’s journey to self.  Realize that each are responsible for their own journey, but ok to reach out for help.  Freedom, and sharing our freedom to Be Ourselves.  Our inner journey should not impede others’ journey.  Over time, we find our “ecological niche” of our self, with the other selves of the community.  Wholeness within creates wholeness without – ever growing and ever changing – like a forest, (but uniquely Human).  This community of journeyers to self necessitates a willingness to live with open-endedness – an acceptance of our and others’ mystery yet to be revealed… Seek joy in each others’ uniqueness, talents and beauty!

Stone symbols:  geode, amethyst (purple)

Activities:  see above

1. Encourage each other to continue to seek their own self, (not just be the same as you).  
2. Explore,
3. Play,
4. Compare without judgment,
5. Learn from each other and find the unexpected within,
6. Hidden talents.

“…fine, I contradict myself.  I am large, I contain multitudes.” Leaves of Grass  by Walt Whitman