Prove It Yourself: Meeting the Elements Through Experience

Experiential learning to reconfirm ancient knowledge

Last November, ten of us gathered in the woods to learn ancient knowledge in the old way. We put our hands in the earth to study Five Elements systems of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda.

Why should you believe in the old claims of “traditional wisdom” and “ancient medicine”? Surely this knowledge has been lost in translation over thousands of years. Well, let's prove them right, or prove them wrong...

Neuroscience shows that when we actively engage—seeing, touching, doing—we strengthen neural pathways across multiple brain regions. This “fire‑together, wire‑together” process enhances memory and retention far more than passive learning (e.g. books, youtube, AI chat alone).

I learn even better through interactive relationship with elements—like trees, wind, fire, and animals. So that’s how we shaped the day. We didn’t just talk about the elements and point to texts—we met them.

We learned Air by navigating sensory challenges blindfolded, tuning in to subtle shifts in breeze and sound.

We met Water by digging seep holes in a wetland, watching it naturally filter through layers of earth and metal-rich minerals. Then we made our own filters from charcoal and gathered materials, testing and tasting the results.

With Fire, we practiced building different structures and kindling them into life—not always on the first try. But the failures taught us just as much as the flames did. We spoke of what Fire excites in us, and what it clears out to make space for renewal.

With each experiment, I shared wilderness survival skills to enable self-reliance in the woods.

This kind of learning sticks because it’s tied to place, to the body, to story. It's a conversation with the land that teaches in relation to the real landscape, here and now—not only far away and thousands of years ago. With deep respect to those who have carried ancient wisdom into today, I still find it important to validate with our built-in research tools.

Only after listening with all our senses did we gather to make meaning of what we’d experienced. That reflection process helped us trust our own insights, and each other’s. We perceived many of the ancient Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic teachings play out right in front of us in the woods. In that sense, the landscape became our co-teacher.

There’s something profoundly resilient about this way of learning. It doesn’t fade when you leave the workshop. It lives in your bones.

If this speaks to you, go deeper with us:

This October, we’re hosting a 3-day overnight 5 Elements Wilderness Immersion Retreat in Western Massachusetts—a fuller dive into the same blend of ancient medicine systems, wilderness living skills, and connection to the elements through embodied practice. You’ll leave with more than just knowledge. You’ll leave knowing what's real and how to use it.

Learn more and sign up at joshuaglass.net

In harmony,
Joshua