Using the Five Elements as a Creative Writing Prompt. Pt 1: Air

When it comes to nature, inspiration can come from anywhere and anything, sometimes unexpectedly and out of nowhere.  As a writer and Creativity and Meditation Guide, I find that at those times when inspiration isn’t so forthcoming, I only have to turn to the universal aspects of nature to re-ignite my ideas and start to move closer to a greater sense of flow.  For me, beginning with the five Elements as universal concepts is a ‘way in’ to my writing when I am feeling a little ‘stuck’ and acts as a grounding prompt and starting place for my work.  

When we connect with an element, we are not just connecting with the source of or specific type of that element but with that element as it resides in ourselves, and as we connect with it.  So how can you use the five elements in your own writing?  What practices will help you to connect with each and inspire your creativity?

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***Air Element***

The Energy of Air

The breath, the inhalation, is, quite literally, an act of inspiration.  Air is our life force, Qi, prana, it is all around us and flowing within us. It is our means of communication, associated with the Anahata, or heart, chakra, the planet Venus.  It is the element of action and of change, propelling us forward when perhaps we may feel stagnant.

The Air element is associated with the direction of East and the rising sun.  In Celtic traditions, it is the symbol of new beginnings, balance and rebirth.

Connecting with the Air Element

• Sing, hum or recite your favourite mantra

• Listen to wind chimes or to your own breath

• Get outside and listen to the the rustle of the leaves in the trees

• Watch the clouds as they scud across the sky

• Listen to spoken word poetry

• Seek out wild, natural spaces in which air can move unimpeded by buildings.

• As prana/Qi/life force it is carried in the negative ions released by natural water such as the sea and flowing rivers, forests and trees in general, so spend time in these spaces if you can and notice the different in your mood and breath

A Meditation on Air:

Find a space in which you feel safe and in which you won’t be disturbed.  Sit in a comfortable, seated position and begin to listen to the breath.  Mentally repeat ‘inhale, exhale’ to yourself as you breath naturally and without force.  Allow your breath to slow so that its rhythm becomes a soft and gentle allowing the exhalation to extend for around 6 breaths.  Repeat each breath as you do it, ‘inhale, 2, 3, 4, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.’  After your six breaths, if it feels ok to, begin to suspend the breath at the top and the bottom of each, pausing for as long as feels comfortable (so that you don’t feel as if you are ‘holding’ the breath, but rather pausing gently).  It may sound something like this, ‘inhale, 2, 3, 4, pause, 3, 2, 1, exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, pause, 3, 2, 1.’  Once you have done this for six breath cycles, allow your breathing to return to a soft, slow, gentle inhalation and exhalation, letting it find its own rhythm.  As you go through the exercise, listen to the sound of your breath and how your body responds to it, perhaps drop the shoulders as you come to the end of the exhalation, perhaps you soften your faces you inhale.  If you are practising this in an outdoor space, why not see if you notice any connections between your own breath and the air moving around you.  Once you have finished the meditation, pick up your pen and begin writing.  If words come through, write words, if images come through draw.

Using Air as a Writing Prompt

Select any of the associations detailed above and use this as a stating point for your writing.  You might like to consider the following:

• Imagine that your pen is being gently pushed along by an invisible breeze that dances around and with your hand, coaxing out your words and encouraging them to find whatever order they find.

• Perhaps your air element is a he, a she or a they, a character waiting to be formed and shaped by you in the way only you can; a being with words and a story. Tell that story.

• Create a spoken word piece, maybe not even writing down the words first, but speaking them aloud to yourself.

• Create a setting governed by the Air element - a windswept clifftop, or an abandoned woodland cottage in a storm, for example.

Do let me know how you get on if you try this one.

Happy writing!

Helen x