Everything in the universe is energy. Energy either expands or contracts in order to maintain balance and harmony. Here on earth, everything is also correlated to the elements (earth, water, air, metal or wood.) Every element has a natural cycle between activity and inactivity, strength and weakness.  At any given time, one element may be stronger than another but as a whole they are working together to maintain balance.

In humans the fire element is strongly connected to the heart and love. As the name suggests it is also the warmest of the elements. But what makes this element unique is its ability to create balance and harmony within all the other elements. It is responsible for regulating the small intestine, the emotional heart, the physical heart and the spiritual heart (thymus gland.)
In the summer time, the fire element is naturally at its strongest. We feel lighter, more active and energized. We also have a stronger relationship with love and Joy. For example, we have all experienced the fun and exhilaration that comes from a new summertime love. Not to mention the amount of energy we receive from the long sunny days in comparison with the darker winter months. An extreme example of a strong fire element is a forest fire.

During the winter months, the fire element will be at its weakest. It’s a natural time of inactivity, rest and recharge. During this time the water element is most active and is responsible for regulating our emotions. So feelings such as depression, loneliness and sadness may become more prevalent due to a weaker fire element. Lots of determination, patience and internal energy are needed for this season of inward reflection. But it’s meant to be a time to reconnect with our deeper emotions (contraction) and heal any imbalances before the new season of rebirthing, renewal and increased opportunities arrive (expansion).

Our natural state is harmony. Joy creates harmony and harmony neutralizes all excess. Therefore, the heart is very powerful in maintaining health and balance by regulating excess within our body-mind. By simply allowing yourself to find Joy within everything you see, feel and experience you hold the power to shift any disharmony back to your natural state of harmony.

However our natural state of harmony is often threatened. This is because so many people are walking around a mere shell of their true inner nature; they have found some way to block the flow of Joy from entering their lives. When this happens you may be emotionally shutdown, feel bored, trapped, inhibited, or repressed. You may also experience feelings of lethargy, sadness, unforgiveness or overwhelment. If this is this is the case, you have somehow pinched yourself off from your natural state of harmony due to a lack of joy.

With every beat of your heart energy pulsations ripple throughout your body like radio waves? With each heart beat information is pumped to every cell in your body about the level of harmony or disharmony you are currently experiencing. So by simply allowing yourself to find Joy within everything you see, feel and experience you hold the power to shift any disharmony back to your natural state of harmony.

Sometimes this is harder to do than others because of excess guarding and protection around the heart centre. There seems to be a natural tendency by the mind to protect any perceived weakness (in this case a weakened fire element.) But when you understand it is natural to fluctuate between strength and weakness, it frees the mind to reopen the heart again and allow Joy to flood back into the system.  Then you are in a position to change your focus from any disharmony (lack of joy) back to that which makes you feel good (Joy.) Your fire element will then find its natural rhythm of harmony once again and before you know it you will be experiencing more and more Joy than every before.

You can’t get from where you are to where you WANT to be without living in-joy! So when someone says to you en-joy your day smile and be grateful for the reminder to bring more Joy into your day.

~ Exerpt from “You Can Heal Your Chakras” by Angela Strank