The Ether/Space Element

This past week we have come to our final element of the five: earth, water, fire, air and ether/space. This week's focus is on the ether or space element, located in the throat or fifth chakra. It's name in Sanskrit is the Vishuddha chakra and has the color of vibrant blue. 

As previously stated, these elements are an integral part, not only of our Universal environment, but of the subtle energy systems of the chakras. We have seven chakras, spinning wheels of energy, that run from the base of our spine to the crown of our head. When we experience our connection to the elements we are able to deepen our sense of an inherent relationship to all that's around and within us. Each chakra represents varying aspects of ourselves from the most physical to the most ethereal.

My first impressions of ether were from the movie, "Cider House Rules" where one of the characters would sniff ether and pass out, so I looked up its definition. Ether is described as "the clear sky; the upper regions of air beyond the clouds". And this makes beautiful sense as the heart chakra (the fourth) is represented by air and ether is the next element beyond the heart chakra..."the upper regions of air beyond the clouds". As we begin to explore the higher chakras, we start to see that they are a bit more difficult to sense, more ethereal in nature with less concrete examples of their essence. The first three chakras and elements, earth, water and fire are familiar to us in that we know what each of these are, how they look and how we interact with them. This more vague concept begins as we rise from the lower three chakras to merge into the heart/air chakra. We all know what air is but it becomes more difficult to actually see. And so it goes as we rise into the upper three energy centers and into the realms of expanding consciousness, intuition and our connection to something that is often difficult to comprehend.

Yet all of the energy centers and elements interact and align with one another. The lower three create the foundation upon which our energy rises toward the heart and when we begin to open to the elements of the heart, connecting to breath we start to tap into the vast potential that lies within each of us. 

When I was growing up, my father, who was a metallurgical engineer doing research in aerospace, would talk about outer space. In doing so, my reaction was often one of incomprehensibility - how could anyone imagine infinite space that moves into ever expanding realms? It was difficult to wrap my head around and, in a sense, as we move away from the lower physically grounding chakras and into our own potentially expanding spaciousness, it can seem difficult to comprehend. What does it mean to "speak my truth"? How am I connected to something bigger? "How am I connected to all else that is?" "What is my purpose?" 

In order to investigate the ether element we move away from the more physical practices and toward the practices of meditation, mantra and chanting. We can work on opening and aligning our throat chakra by wearing vibrant blues and chanting the bija mantra-ham, ham, ham and using such affirmations as:

I play in my imagination.

I create my reality.

I know and speak my truth.

When we raise the vibration of spaciousness, we begin to share our purpose with others by speaking our truth. This truth rises up from the heart and speaks from a place of authenticity, love and compassion. This center is connected to our creativity, so if you're an artist, musician, writer or someone generating new ideas, then spending time on the throat center can encourage things to move into manifestation. Sing, chant, hum and meditate to get the good vibes going. Share your unique voice with the world and trust that what you have to say is worthy.