The Nature Elementals, most commonly known as Faeries, are the unseen guardians of the planet. As much as we would like to believe that their survival depends on our beliefs and ability to clap loud enough so as to restart their dying hearts, these energy beings have very little need for us. However, over the last century our persistent misuse of the planet has given these creatures the need to connect with us and teach us the ways we have lost.

We have long understood that the world is a complex energy structure; vibrating substances of which the densest can be seen as material objects. Faeries are beings that resonate to a much higher frequency than ourselves, and so we often cannot see them. Faerie is a generic term for these energy beings that look after the natural world. By assuming that all Faeries look like the pretty things of Tinkerbell and the Fairy Godmother would be like saying all animals look the same. I have met Faeries of all shapes, sizes, appearances and temperaments.

I have been working with the Elementals for some time now, and have received much important information from them in terms of how to look after this beautiful place we call Earth. They have been prodding and pushing me to be more aware of my impact in the environment, to the extent that after fifteen years of vegetarianism, I have now taken the plunge to be vegan. And thanks to the Faeries, I have found this to be a far easier transition than I expected. Not that everyone is expected to become vegan, but the message of the Faeries is to become conscious of our affects on the world around us. In time, as they have done with me, allowing yourself to listen to the Faeries will help you to develop more and more behaviours that are inline with the healing of the planet.

The Faerie Elementals can be divided into the appropriate elements they represent and, working with those elements they have specific lessons they would like us to learn. Earth, Water, Fire and Air, the four major elements (Moonlight being a Faerie fifth element), have all become out of balance over the last fifty years, more so than the planet is able to cope with. Mother Nature is exhausted and the Faeries are demanding our attention.

So the Faeries of the element of Earth are telling us that using manmade pesticides in the soil is stripping the planet of vital nutrients, some of which have taken thousands of years to accumulate. We are digging out fossil fuels like small children dig out their noses; and you know what happens when you pick your nose too much? It bleeds!

We in the West have become a nation of litterbugs, but unlike bugs there is no predator to gobble us up and stop us from damaging the natural world. We dump all sorts into the ground, from old Hoovers and televisions, to babies' nappies. In years to come, when intelligent life are carrying out archaeological digs, instead of finding interesting creatures and fascinating tools, they will find fossilised nappies complete with an imprint of the contents. And because they will not know what they are (as they will have been banned before they could possibly remember) they will use it as abstract art and place it on their walls! Imagine, pooie nappies on the walls of sophisticated people! Or maybe because the nappies are so hard and big they would use them to make insulation for their homes, or have Olympic contests like the Scottish fling cow pats!!! Not that we should, of course, carry on putting this stuff into the earth for the entertainment of those to come. Using biodegradable or washable nappies is a much nicer way to respect our earth and our babies bodies.

Earth Faeries have a large bone to pick with us from all the deforestation we are subjecting the earth to. Imagine each tree being allocated a Faerie to coach it and encourage it to become beautiful and healthy. All those trees being destroyed are producing many thousands of redundant Faeries! They're not impressed! The trees work closely with the Air Faeries and also use the Water Faeries for nourishment. The Fire Faeries need the wood to support their cause also. So, imagine all those angry Faeries shouting at us; we've got to start listening!

An unusual comment, but an important one, is the idea of burying our dead in coffins. These solid, varnished wooden caskets are no way to allow our dead bodies to return to Mother Earth. How can our remains seep through such a barrier, and how can the Earth break down such chemicals? Even in death we are separating ourselves from nature. You can actually get cardboard coffins (try doing a Google search for it).

So what can we do to help these fine creatures and ultimately ourselves? The message is, "Every little helps"! Organic food from local producers, picking up rubbish while out on a country walk, using renewable sources of energy, listening to the chatter in your garden and planting your own veggies in between your flowers will all help you to connect with the Elementals of the Earth.

Air Elementals are just as upset with us as their Earth friends. It is common understanding that fumes from cars and industry is polluting the atmosphere causing ill health to humans and of course animals, but also causing something called Global Warming. We're choking on our own achievements, but are too busy enjoying our technologies to be able to let them go. Millions and millions of people around the world smoke cigarettes, and millions and millions of people are aware of the damage they have on their health. But we seem to forget the damage we are allowing these white sticks of plant and chemicals to have on the air around us. Like the chemicals of burning fossil fuels, cigarette smoke is also polluting the air the earth breathes.

We also often forget the pollutants of room fragrances and perfumes. These unnatural products not only affect our own lungs, but also those of all the respiring beings on Earth. Just like the affect of butterfly wings on the weather, anything that is released into the air will also have an affect on the environment. I have often heard as defence to keep cars in the game that cows produce more pollution in the atmosphere through farting than all the cars on Earth do. Cows, however, do not naturally breed to the extent we have forced them to in recent years. And with the amount of bad food us humans eat, I'm sure humans produce far more noxious gases out of our rear ends than all the cows could possibly muster!

And just as the Earth is unimpressed with our treatment of the dead, so too is the Air annoyed that we burn these unnatural boxes with our deceased loved ones, allowing the chemicals to be burned and released into the atmosphere and the trees wasted.

So the Faerie way of celebrating this essential element would be to take some deep lungfuls of air, and celebrate the fact that it is here to keep us prancing about this beautiful land. Use natural fragrances, such as organic essential oils, to sweeten your room. And maybe when you fart, do say "excuse me" so as not to offend the noses around you, including those of the unseens!

The playful spirits of the Water element have very little to play about these days. More and more pollution is being dumped into the oceans and rivers. Governments keep pushing the levels of "acceptable" waste up and up. They obviously only listen to the fat cats, and not the water folk! Sea life is being destroyed and tap water is harming us thanks to our "civilised" way of making it "clean". Powerful weapons are being tested and dangerous waste is being dumped in the most abundant element on earth.

How many of us, however, blame the governments for the waste being deposited by large corporations? But the macrocosm reflects the microcosm, and vice versa. As individuals we pollute our water supplies, damaging the fish and sea/river life and without even thinking about it.

For example, walking down the street we see masses of people with bleached and dyed hair, hair gel making us look like Lego Men, and their bowels and bladders ready to drop the chemicals they have been allowing into their bodies via junk food and fizzy drinks. All of this ends up in the water system.

Over the last hundred years, we have started to believe that we must use washing up liquid to make our dishes sparkle, and use bleach to get rid of "harmful" bacteria. Now all of a sudden we have anti-bacterial soaps keeping us safe from the evils of the "enemy" bacteria. So what was it that we did before we had these miracle products in our lives? We had resistance and a healthy immune system. All of these chemicals, most of which are substances not found in nature, go into the water system. They do not stop working just because they are out of our sight.

Bacteria are ways in which the Earth can keep a balance, yet these antibacterial agents are killing of far more than we intended. Would you drink a glass of water with soap in it? No? Why not? Fish seem to, and they blow pretty bubbles! Mind you, the rate we're going we'll probably end up seeing fish with lovely blonde hair, clean teeth and a clean use of language!!!! (Wash your mouth out with soap and water!)

All the drugs we swallow to make ourselves "better" get peed out into the toilet and rotates around the water cycle of the earth passing through humans, animals and plants. Everything we put in the water ends up in the natural cycle without discrimination. If it cannot be broken down into natural substances, it cannot be broken down at all; why would you want to drink your neighbour's washing-up water, or your daughters pink hair-dye?

And the fourth element of Fire, has been showing its power, in the land of Australia, through our destruction of the Ozone Layer. This is due to the Green House Effect, or Global Warming, produced through the imbalance of the element of Air. The sun and the distant stars give life to the planets they shine on. With the right combination of elements, the element of fire can produce or destroy life. The planet is warming up at an unnatural rate, yet we still persist in ignoring this warning sign.

We use the element of fire to produce unnatural chemicals such as hydrogenated fats (fats heated at high temperatures and subjected to hydrogen atoms). These fats store themselves in the body as they are not natural, and the body does not know how to deal with them. If the body can release these fats, they are then excreted into the water system, much to the furry of the Water Faeries.

Thousands of years ago, the human race took a huge leap in evolution when we learnt how to make fire. It kept us warm when we had no shelter, it cooked our food when we could not eat raw, and it gave us communication across long distances. But, nowadays, we'd be very hard pushed for each of us to create fire without the use of unnatural means such as lighters and matches. What would happen to us if there was some sort of disaster that prevented us from using these tools? Where has our respect gone for this beautiful and powerful element?

What can we do? Each morning when you rise, no matter how many clouds there are in the sky, give thanks to the beauty of the sun and the light it shines, appreciating the unseen Faeries for the work they do to help convert this energy into physical form. Give thanks for the beautiful colours that are produced from the rays of the sun, and dance in the light of the rainbows created on your sitting room wall from the crystals hanging in the window.

Now you can understand from all of this shouting and stamping of my feet, how much I have been through with the Faeries over the last few years, and the important message they wanted me to impart with you. How much more shouting is needed is entirely down to you, but I think now that the Faeries have told you, you'll be hard pushed to ignore them! As soon as you start helping the Faerie Elementals, the sooner you can enjoy their playful and joyful nature; the nature of the natural world all around us. Being conscious of our actions is the first step to living on a balanced Earth, both environmentally and in terms of peace among humans.

Samantha Thurlby-Brooks is one of the UK's top Crystal Therapists, and an inspirational practitioner and teacher of Reiki-Seichem.

Samantha is currently writing a book on crystals and their self-development properties, entitled "Journey to the Spirit of the Stones".

'Butterfly' is a FREE monthly newsletter bursting with the latest information and inspiration in the mind-body-spirit field.

Subscribe online today at http://www.butterflyhousectt.co.uk