Summer Solstice: The Root of Life is Fire

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As I was watching the sunrise over the mountains the morning of the summer solstice the sky appeared so vast. The far-reaching rays of the sun created such as feeling of openness that I had to spin around to take it all in. As I stepped into the light I could feel the warmth of the sun at its apex penetrate deeply, unlike the weak winter sun. I stood there for a moment, just a brief pause, to feel and experience the quality of light from the sun at it’s zenith. The warmth, the openness, the luminosity – this is what it means to be alive.

The root of life is a fire that burns within. It is your central energy which creates luminosity, warmth, harmony, community, creativity, unity, and freedom.

The Fire Element

In nature the Fire element is at its peak on the summer solstice. The sun is the ultimate embodiment of fire. All of life in our solar system is oriented to the sun. What we are learning about in this blog is how aligning with the journey of the Sun creates wholeness, health, and healing.

The Time of Day represented in this Solar Term is 11am-1pm. It is the time of the Heart, the Fire element at the most Fire time of year. There are so many qualities of nature present at this time because the quantity of light brings such an abundance of life. In balance, Fire is the gentle warmth of the morning sun, the radiant heat of the hearth. Out of balance it can become excessive or deficient, creating dysfunction and disease.

Excessive fire is destructive, volatile, unpredictable, and chaotic. Having a temper, exploding with rage, being chaotic or over controlling is an imbalance of Fire. It is hard to feel satisfied so people move quickly from one relationship to another, one experience to the next. It also shows up as actual heat in the body as inflammation, redness, and restlessness. When the Fire imbalance continues the heat will dry the tissues causing people to age quickly with withered skin, dry bones, hardened arteries, and high blood pressure. The fire will continue to burn hotter and hotter until there is a final flare resulting in a heart attack or stroke. Afterwards the complexion appears ashen from the flames being smothered by disease.

Having a lack of fire leads to coldness and withdrawal. Digestion slows, people accumulate lumps and cysts, brain fog, edema, and apathy. As the fire goes out, people will struggle to feel joy, connection, and emotional warmth. They will not take control of the situation and their lives. You can see this in the dullness of their eyes. There is no light within to reflect in the sparkle of their eyes. The luminosity and warmth is gone.

How do you Keep your Fire Controlled and Balanced?

This blog is about finding the qualities of nature within so that we can create heath and harmony because health is being in harmony with nature. The concept of balancing fire is an interesting topic. There is such a fine line to fire – that line of being just enough but not too much. Controlling just enough, but not too much. Pushing just enough, but not too much.

We tend to overlook our mindset as being the root of disease. I see this in my clinic as it relates to the Fire element is in people who push themselves and others beyond their capacity. Being over-controlling, over-bearing, and pushy. They’re never satisfied or settled. Restless, impatient, even rude. It makes life really hard.

The way to balance and control fire is to let life unfold in its own time, as we discussed in the last blog. You can contemplate the ways that you do not let this happen, such as:

  • Can you see when you are pushing too hard?
  • Do you notice where you let go of control when it is needed?
  • When do you give up too soon?
  • Are you burning brightly within?
  • What does abundance feel like?
  • What is the felt sense of being satisfied?

The Lesson of Fire

The qualities of fire that you want to cultivate are warmth, connection, and unity. For fire to burn it needs to be open and free. Yes, there needs to be a touch of control, or discipline, to keep it healthy and contained in order to create the abundance of life, but we want our fire to burn brightly. The lesson of fire is to let it burn, just not too hot.