Lots of meditation techniques break down our assumptions about the world and help us come to grips with reality. In this meditation practice we examine the body as four elements: the earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element. Each element represents the basic qualities of matter: the earth element represents solidity, the water element represents fluidity, the fire element represents temperature, and the air element represents motion. Understanding the body in this way allows us to let go of attachments to judgements about ourselves and other people. Rather than desirable or repulsive, too big or too small, we can train the main to understand the body simply as a being consisting of these four elements.

To leave a comment about this episode, visit matthewtift.com/prettygood/23. The theme music is "Maxixe" performed by Edson Lopes under CC BY 3.0.