Michelle LeSueur, DBe, CNC, CNS

Grounded; The Importance Of It

I was talking to a client the other day about grounding himself.  On more than one occasion I had told him that this was an issue and he would never get where he wanted to go unless he could become more grounded.  In his mind, he thought I was telling him he had a big head and was full of himself.  Then I explained what this meant.  For this guy he had certain goals, but someone would come into his life and share an idea and it would take him off course.  He would become frustrated only to eventually return to his original course, but it wasn’t long before someone new came along and he was off on another bunny trail.  When I explained to him that when we are not grounded we are like a balloon being blown in whatever direction the wind happens to be blowing at that time.  He finally got it.  He follows my blog and asked if I could please write about it so here it is.

So how do you know when you are not grounded?

Here are some symptoms. These can include:

Difficulty finding solutions…

Feeling emotionally flighty or frazzled…

Being disorganized…

Feeling at loose ends or moody…

Loss of interest in what someone is saying…

Being overwhelmed by details…

Decreased concentration when your energy is scattered.

Feeling over worked

Unable to focus on a task or complete a task

If you find your self-thinking about things that happened last week or even last month then you are not living in the moment and may benefit from grounding.  We can become ungrounded because we are over-stimulated and our mind is scattered from multi-tasking and the general fast place of life, from your computer, TV, cell phone ect.

Being grounded has to do with our connection to the earth and to our own physical existence. When we are grounded our attention is focused on the here and now. Our minds are coordinated with our bodies. We are more balanced and don’t feel off.  If you can take the time each day, even if it is for 5 minutes and ground your self, you will find that you will be more focused and able to accomplish your goals.

Here are 2 meditations to try.  For some of you this may be a stretch, but I think you will be surprised what you find when you have finished.  If nothing else, you should find that you have slowed down and are a little more relaxed.

Here is a simple one:

In your yard, a park or forest where you have privacy, choose a tree that attracts you. It might be young and or old. Then inwardly ask it for permission to approach it. When you sense the OK, approach it.

Put your hands on the tree trunk. Begin speaking to the tree out loud, if possible, or mentally. Tell it the story about that you feel sad about, some unresolved situation. Trust yourself to do this.

Speak until your story is finished and you have no more to say. At some point or when you reach the end, just rest your forehead against the trunk. Most importantly, experiment with these instructions and see what happens.

You may feel the tree receive your story and lift your energy upward. Your mind may become still and silent. No thoughts. No sadness. You may enter meditation or deep relaxation standing with the tree.

Here is a longer one and one of my favorites.

To begin this meditation, you first need to be comfortable. Start this meditation by sitting in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor. Breathe very deeply. As you inhale, see yourself breathing in fresh, new, life-giving oxygen.  Take a deep breath in and release and one last one. Imagine the white light and life-force entering your body and giving you life, sustaining your life…

As you exhale, see yourself breathing out any negative or old energy or feelings. Imagine this to be black smoke leaving your nostrils.   Breathe like this for a few minutes, all the while becoming very aware of your body. Imagine each part of your body.  Notice your breath. Imagine sending your breath down through your body, down your legs, and out through your feet, like roots growing into the Earth.

Through the moist warm topsoil with the worms and other critters, down through the bones of our ancestors, down through the bedrock, through watery underground rivers and lakes, down, down, down . . . spreading out wide as they go.  Like the roots of a tree, these tendrils keep seeking down into the heart of the Earth.   Notice that they intermingle loosely with the roots of all the others in your circle.   Eventually your roots begin to feel the warmth at the heart of the Earth, the fiery core of our Mother Earth. You are grounding through your meditation deep into the Earth.

Let your roots take up residence in a wide circle, touching this heat, letting it warm them. Let the tips of your roots open, opening the channel between you and the Earth.

Now send down, with your breath, anything you want to release, to let go of, to transform. Send it down into the fiery Cauldron of the Goddess.   Ask Mother Earth if you may ground to her and use her energy to protect yourself. Remember to thank her. She will transform it for you. It’s what She does. Give it to Her, and be free.

Let the Earth energy flow in through your rootlets, effortlessly. Let it move up, up . . . up through the reaches of your root system. Moving up through the underground waters, up through the bedrock, up past the bones of our ancestors, up through the rich topsoil, and right up into the soles of your feet.  This fiery energy keeps rising. You need do nothing but stand there and open to it.

The heat relaxes and energizes as it fills the muscles. It flows down the arms into the hands and right through to the fingertips. It flows up through the neck and fills your entire head with brilliant energy.  As you’re grounding, keep your meditation breathing. Feel the energy rising.

Now you may touch the ground, and with thanks for such abundance, offer any extra energy that you don’t need, back to the Earth. You can imagine the level lowering, like a bathtub emptying, to just the degree you need.  Keep only what you need to be fully charged and energized. Release any excess that would make you jittery or manic.

When you’re ready, come back to standing.

You can also find some on youtube.

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