The Element: Remembering our Authentic Swing

by talkbackty on Nov 8, 2011

We are all searching for something. Often in life we feel lost or scared or confused, but what we are is directionless. We've stopped searching. As we stop searching we begin to feel confined, isolated and afraid. We are out-of-sorts, and we continuously wonder why.

It is because we are not in our Element. It is because we have not remembered our Authentic Swing. It is because who we are in actuality is not who we are pretending to be in reality.

These are all topics I've hit on before. Topics I've hinted at and mentioned. My posts on Zen and the Art of Teaching are all about this, in the broadest sense. Yet, I've never tackled the issue head on. Partly, because it is still undefined in my own mind. Partly, because I know that my ideas are a collection of Ken Robinson's and Leo Babauta's and Kevin Smith's and Steven Pressfield's and Joe Rogan's and John Green's.

The names I mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg. Each of those individuals were inspired by others stretching back through time. Rogan loves Graham Hancock and Hunter S. Thompson. Kevin Smith is motivated by Wayne Gretzky and his own Catholicism. Pressfield studied Indian cultures and religions. Everyone is a collection of other people's ideas. It may be that there is no originality whatsoever, only the ether. Only the Element where all possibilities exist simultaneously and continuously. Where our Authentic Swings can be remembered.

I am mixing different terms which may be confusing to those trying to pay attention. Let me be clear:

There is something beyond our own internal bodies. Something outside the clicking clock that operates our organs. It goes by many names; heaven, yin and yang, the Field, the Element, the Middle Path, Nirvana, consciousness, the ether, Alpha and Omega. Arriving at a name is problematic because it has a tendency to alienate those unfamiliar with this new name. Or it causes suffering because of preconceived notions and biases.

I realize these problems exist. Help me circumvent them. I am calling this consciousness outside ourselves The Element. It is what drives us in our searching. It is both the destination and the path. The Element is where we all wish to reside.

We have been there before. When we are playing sports and get into the zone our bodies seem to become extensions of our minds, reacting at our slightest will, and sometimes, without our will at all. Almost on pure instinct. When we are writing and the words seem to flow from our fingertips. The pen flies across the paper, our fingers dance across the keyboard and beauty emerges. We are in our Element when we are in love and when we are at play. I know we have all been there before. The key is how do we remain there.

How can we be in The Element at all times? That depends on who you are. Are you an athlete, a warrior, a writer, a lover, a singer or a saint? To put it another way, what is your Authentic Swing? The path you will take is not identical, in fact it can not be identical, to someone else's. Your path is based on who you are and the experiences you have. It is individual and personal. Yet, it is still The Element.

The Element is universal. It is calling to all of us, and we are searching for it. The more we realize this, the more we become aware of the cues. We begin to see what leads in the right direction and what leads us astray. Awareness is the first step towards The Element. You must open your eyes before anything else can take place. Yes, the light is bright, but we must embrace it. We lose our way not because The Element has shifted the path, but because we choose to shield ourselves from the light.

Take the first step. Open your eyes.