Grounding [PBP]
Over my years of studying, and not studying, witchcraft, I keep coming back to the idea of grounding. It’s a very basic thing, but is so incredibly useful! One might even say, essential.
My fellow Pagan Blog Project blogger, Sharmonia talks about Grounding this week as well and I have to agree with her.
Being grounded brings life in to matter, and it helps to bring healing abilities into the physical. It will increase our balance and stability for both the physical and emotional state and brings acceptance that we are fulfilling a purpose. We gain strength and create a bridge between the spirit and matter and gives us an outlet to release the energy.
Being grounded is about being connected to Earth, to the present, to life. By being connected to life, we can recognize it’s influence on us and our influence on it and thus, “bring life in to matter”. We connect with the life force in all things, both physical and spiritual, and thus connect with our true selves. With this connection, we can remain strong through a lot of different physical, emotional and spiritual states.
One of the main tasks of grounding is “setting your feet”. Think of yourself like a table (I know you’re not, but just go with me here) … if you have only one leg to stand on, you’re not very stable and the littlest thing can push you off balance. If you’re firmly grounded with all four “feet” on the ground, it’s MUCH harder to push you off balance.
As you are connected to the Earth, you can normalize the flow of energy in yourself … pull up energy when you need it, and let the earth absorb any excess energy that you don’t need. It’s great for when someone is frustrating you needlessly (just send that frustration down to Mother Earth, the great Recycler!) or when you’re in a tight situation, tired, and need to focus and think (pull up that focusing energy from Earth and zoom in on the solution!).
There are a lot of different ways that you can ground!
One of my favorite ways is to plant my feet firmly on the floor, or sit on the ground, and open my root chakra. I see my chakra at the point of connection between my body and the ground (usually my feet) and picture a red lotus flower blooming under my feet. This chakra connects us to earth and allows the energy to flow freely.
Many groups, including ADF, use a tree metaphor for grounding. During the meditation you connect to the earth by sending roots out from your feet into the ground. These are flexible roots, so you’re not stuck, and they allow energy to flow in both directions so you can connect. You can find the text and audio files of the ADF Two Powers ritual on their site.
If you have experience grounding, how do you do it? If you don’t, try out the meditation above and see how it works!