Allowing Energy To Transform

I’ve been contemplating the Fire element of late.

There’s a ritual I’ve taken part in, on retreat, for letting go. You write down, on a piece of paper, something you are ready to be free from, and then throw it into the fire.

The fire transforms your offering, from one state to another.

I remind myself often, to allow energy to transform.

Aversion into affection.

Fear into gratitude.

Judgement into humility.

Frustration into patience.

Rejection into compassion.

It’s a powerful process: riding out the wave of reactivity, learning to stay quietly with what is, not get consumed by it, until it transforms and releases, leaving me peaceful.

As powerful as Fire, that process.

The fuel it needs is courage, and trust, and a curious stillness.

Watching the energy, like I’d watch the flames of a campfire as they change what seems solid into nothing-ness.

We talk about acceptance, and just being, and letting go – as if these are easy, calm, serene experiences. But it can feel like a fierce initiation, to allow human emotion to pass through us, un-resisted.

Remembering the Fire ritual, I’m willing to meet the fierceness. Willing to stay embodied, to receive the raw feelings, a little at a time.

That’s when I feel stable, and calm. Not when I’m unmoved by anything, but when I can let it move through me. Allowing energy to transform.

This post is part of a series on the elements, also including Earth and Water.

I haven’t included Air in this series, because for me there’s a quality of mystery to this element that feels beyond words (for now at least).