Débora Nunes

Shamanic traditions of various origins, as well as astrology, work with the four elements that make up Life on Earth (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) as a way of seeking self-knowledge and self-overcoming. Other traditions, such as the Chinese, include metal and wood as explanations of reality, others include ether as the fifth element... It's important to say that there is no right or wrong choice in the number and type of elements defined to interpret the world, they are just choices that depend on the context. The important thing is that these references can help us to have a more integrative view of the world and thus contribute to our internalization and evolution as people and even as a human species.

At the Integral Ecology School, the choice of the elements Fire, Water, Air and Earth connects with the Brazilian and South American shamanic tradition in general, as a way of connecting with the Web of Life.  Thus, the four elements are linked to the four intelligences (of the soul, the heart, the mind and the body) and help in the search for greater harmony and coherence between what we want to feel, think and do. The perception of the strength or weakness of the elements in oneself is not only a path to self-knowledge and self-overcoming, but also a way of stimulating community interaction, since belonging to an element is a way of forming discussion, work and mutual help groups in the ESI community.

According to different traditions, each element has favourable aspects and challenges. These traditions differ little from one another, but the important thing is to clearly establish how each element is being interpreted so that the common concept allows us to exchange. In the logic of the new paradigms, truths exist as shared interpretations that constitute a common space of knowledge and life. In this way, you can interact with other shared spaces of interpretations of the world in a logic of complementarity rather than confrontation. A sum of different truths is closer to the complexity of reality than conflicting truths that mutilate reality. Here, once again, we seek to practise the notion of a holistic, complex paradigm, which can freely combine influences from different traditions (Chinese, Ayurvedic, Shamanic, etc.).

In astrology, Fire and Air are masculine Yang elements related to penetration, activity, energy, expansion and communication. Water and Earth are feminine Yin elements related to acceptance, introspection, fertility, maintenance and practicality. The Yin and Yang archetypes, always complementary, are forces of nature which, when balanced, constitute coherence and harmony. In ESI, when we work on the elements linked to their primary energy, feminine or masculine, the paths to inner harmonisation become clearer. Below we will briefly explain what is meant by the favourable and challenging aspects of each element and how to harmonise them. In ourselves and thus in the world, as quantum physics explains.

For Fire, which represents the intelligence of the soul, we have vigour, determination, enthusiasm, courage, persistence and spiritual aspiration as positive impulses of the element. An excess of fire brings impulsiveness, foolishness, anger and irritation and great susceptibility that leads to conflict. The element can be harmonized by consciously chosen stimulation or cooling, depending on its excess or lack. For those who need to stimulate their inner Fire, we recommend, for example, conscious contact with the element: candles, bonfires, exposure to the sun. To calm the inner Fire, depending on the case, we recommend ritualized contact with the Earth, i.e. in its full presence: planting, walking on the ground, modeling pottery, among many other actions. One healing that the element represents is the transmutation that it allows of what disharmonizes the Being, such as writing a letter to vent and burning it so that the feelings are transmuted.

The favorable aspects of Air, which represents the intelligence of the mind, are independence, mental clarity when expressing oneself, cordiality, perspicacity and fluidity. Its challenges are instability, a propensity to lie, irresponsibility and unconscious speech. In order to balance Air, it is also possible to use Water in a ritualized way, where every gesture is made with deep attention. Bathing, drinking water, washing hands and watering plants, for example, allow for ritualized contact with Water. Depending on the context, the person and the situation, other elements can help neutralize or enhance the element in question. One healing that the Air element represents is the possibility of connecting with Universal wisdom, the cosmic mind, accessed through conscious breathing or meditation.

The favorable aspects of Water, which represents the intelligence of the heart, are the propensity for serenity, moderation and modesty and the capacity for devotion. When Water is out of balance, depression, indifference, cowardice and discouragement can be observed. One healing that the Water element represents is the possibility of a deep connection with emotions through crying, water that can be accessed when suffering is evoked in order to understand and overcome it. Fire can be used to help balance the Water element, in ritualized contact as suggested above. As with all the other elements, each person's creativity in ritualising it allows for an infinite number of healing processes. The most important thing of all is "presence", the state of awareness attentive to the present moment in which contact with the element is practiced. The force that mobilizes the healing and evolution of each Being is the INTENTION put into performing the ritual.

The favorable aspects of Earth, when balanced in the Being, are stability, reliability, realism, anchoring in reality, the ability to achieve goals and materialize dreams. When this element is unbalanced, it poses the challenges of materialism, superficiality, unconsciousness, narrow-mindedness and prejudiced behavior. The imbalance of the Earth element can be treated with the ritualisation of Air, pranayamas (breathing exercises), outdoor walks with attention to breathing, etc. One healing that the Earth element represents is the possibility of feeling supported by Mother Earth, when you work together with her, cultivating a pot, a garden, a plantation.

Earth and Fire and Air and Water are polarities that can easily be identified as complementary, correcting each other's faults and excesses. However, depending on the context, the excess of one element, Earth for example, can be softened by rituals with Air, but also with Water, with Fire, and so it is for all the elements. The complexity of Life tells us that simplifications and dualities are didactic and help us decide which healing direction to follow, but they cannot be so narrow as to make us deny other possibilities that reflect the complexity of reality. The integrative balance of all elements, such as our spiritual, emotional, mental and bodily intelligences, requires a comprehensive and inclusive approach.

The elements inspire and organise the ESI methodology. The people in the formation groups are asked to choose between the four elements the two that most represent them, based on the descriptions above. It is suggested that each participant use the challenges of each element to identify themselves. Unlike the world of inflated egos in which people only emphasise their qualities when presenting themselves, in ESI groups they are invited to share their vulnerabilities. By doing this and listening to other people who are also doing it, an atmosphere of empathy is immediately created which is much more constructive and drives transformations.

The password for the state of mind with which to choose the elements is the idea that "our defects are the exaggerations of our qualities", so each person is invited to look at their challenges with compassion for themselves. Naturally, the same compassion is established with the other participants. It is also part of the methodology to encourage people to realize their favorable aspects linked to their favorite elements and to be grateful for them. Stimulating awareness of each person's talents and challenges and undertaking the search for transformation in a collective way strengthens personal and group development, accelerating the Transition towards more coherent behaviors.

The exchanges between participants linked to the same element, or to complementary elements, serve to provide greater clarity when drawing up the Transition Plan, in which goals are set to be achieved in the search for greater personal coherence between what is done, said, thought and aspired to. Throughout the training process, sharing deepens interpersonal bonds, favoring the feeling of belonging to an intentional community, a group of people who know their challenges in order to evolve and who are in concrete pursuit, step by step, of this evolution. This co-created Transition collective means support and encouragement for increasingly profound and coherent attitudes that shock the external environment, which is connected to old values of egotism, consumerism, lack of responsibility and judgment. The intentional community thus becomes, for each person, a new environment and external stimulant that encourages responsibility towards the Whole, compassion, authenticity and simplicity.