Lesson 3 - Grounding

[~Elise~]

all right--here it is--Grounding.

Alright then...grounding...what does it mean? Getting grounded? Ground=Earth. Duh, you say?

Well, getting grounded by defination means connecting with the Earth's energy. But is is difficult to talk about grounding without centering, they are very connected.

Grounding helps us to detach from upsetting emotional reactions. by shifting our focus away from ourselves, grounding helps us to control the feelings associated with threat. Thus we can take measured action rather than react impulsively. To ground yourself, pay attention to some aspect of your physical environment: picture the shape, size, and color of near by objects; focus on the smells and the sounds you perceive; or describe what your body touches.

Attend to your breathing: When stressed, our breathing is usually flat, short, and labored. Our breath goes into our upper chests or shoulders. This type of breathing increases tension. Instead, breathe into your stomach at a natural pace. This is diaphragmatic breathing. In this type of breathing, the stomach pushes out as the breath goes in, creating a calming effect. This is the way babies breathe and how we ourselves breathe when asleep!

Attend to your posture: Crooked, stiff, or off-balance describes the body under stress. When sitting, our legs may be stiff and both legs and arms may be crossed in a defensive posture. When standing, we lock our knees. Our body is tense. Instead, uncross your legs and arms, sit or stand up straight using your backbone to support your body, and place your feet firmly on the floor. Relax your legs. These grounding actions support balance and strength.

One of my IRL students, Nepharia said this

Quote:


Sometimes, the Earth opens up to our energy like a woman waiting for her lover. We can push our negative energy into the earth, especially if that energy is just your all around natural greyness, because the earth can recycle that energy and easily turn it into something positive better than we can.
Blood helps the crops to grow. Just because you don't think it's pleasant, doesn't mean it's bad or not beneficial. Hell, even trees steal their energy from the earth, and then sun's light.


I was searching for different ways to ground without using Earth--Here are some I ran across. These are written from the perspective of helping someone ground after a ritual:


Quote:


Summoning Breath- Ask the person to become aware of their breath. Ask them to slow down their breathing. When they have controlled their breathing ask them to exhale all the air from their bodies that they can and to hold on empty for a count of three. Continue slow breathing with holding on empty, increasing the hold on empty to a count of five. This pattern of breathing summons the subtle bodies, drawing them closer to the physical body. Holding on empty helps to synchronize the rhythm of the blood, prana, and cerebrospinal fluid. If the person will not listen and is diving in and out of their body, you may need to hold their nose with your fingers.

Name Chant- This is a two part chant that helps to reaffirm the person’s place in the here and now. The name Judy is used in this example.
You chant: “Judy, You Are Here. Judy, We Are With You.” They chant: “I Am Here. I Am Here. I Am Here”. You repeat “Judy, You Are Here. Judy, We Are With You.”
Chant until the person brings it to a close.

Food & Drink- Often people in the throes of a reaction will not have any desire for food and drink. Coax the person into eating or drinking something that is sweet, unless diabetes or other conditions make this inadvisable. As soon as possible after the sweet treat, get the person to eat a small quantity of something rich in protein. High protein food is harder to digest which redirects the person’s energy into their body. Moreover, high protein food will help adjust brain chemistry in the direction of normal beta wave consciousness. Less commonly, some people will crave large quantities of sweets (including fruit and other natural sources of fast burning sugars. A small quantity of sugar may be useful, large doses will generate further problems. Chocolate is a good choice for many people— in a small dose

Recharging The Etheric Body- Most commonly, the subtle body that receives the greatest stress in adverse reactions to ritual is the Etheric. This is the energy body that lies just above the physical and closely mirrors the physical form. It is this body that is caught in energy clashes and dissonances of the lower and the higher forces during an imbalance. If the person reports that they feel cold, or are still trembling, or lack fine muscle coordination, use this technique. Place a blue or purple fluorite crystal in their dominant hand and an amethyst in their non-dominant hand. Ask them to intone “Oooo, Ohhh, Oooo” in a low rumbling pitch. Check in with them and repeat until they feel better. If you don’t have crystals available, have them make these tones while you make the tone “Awww” at as low a pitch as you can.


Now--when I conduct a ritual here IRL. I watch each and every person of mine...make sure that they eat and drink something. If that still doesn't work...we go hug a tree or I make them go out barefoot and touch the Earth with feet and hands...sending all that excess energy to Mama Earth. We don't have to do it often, but I especially watch my newcomers.

any of these techniques above can be adapted for solitary use. Here are some others that you can do, as well:

*ground deep in the mother earth's core...sending cords down to her
*M&M's (most kinds of chocolate will work)
*meat ( it's not the quantity that so much counts)
*showers
*sex
*dancing
*jumping up and down on the ground
*laying on the grass
*touching trees
*asking the stone people to help you
*drink lots of good water
*actually anything that makes the body feel it's physicality is good
*having someone push and pat down on your shoulders with the intention of you returning into your body

Centering Techniques stop the excessive mental and physical activity to which we are so addicted and instead focus the mind to quiet our constant mind chatter. This enables you to listen to the mind, body, and emotional talk to quickly receive the messages that signal stress overload. Most of us spend our lives ruminating on the past or worrying about the future. Centering, also called Mindfulness, is a way of focusing on the here-and-now, of truly living in the present.

Cultivate mindfulness: This centering technique focuses our attention on what is happening to us in the immediate moment, rather than attending to other people, the past, or the future. Close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing and your body. Becoming gently aware of what you see, hear, or feel in a deliberate way will, after a few moments, slow your reaction. You can also do this while taking a walk or sitting quietly by yourself by focusing on your physical sensations and breathing.
The following instructions elicit the relaxation response for many people:
•Choose a mental image (a word, number, phrase, or visual picture) or your own breathing on which to focus;
•Find a safe place where you won’t be interrupted and position yourself comfortably;
•Close you eyes when you are ready;
•Taking slow and natural breaths, focusing on your image in time with the breaths;
•Acknowledge distracting thoughts (which are normal) and go back to your focus; and
•Work up to repeating this procedure 10 to 20 minutes, once or twice a day.

Here are some other techniques that you can use for centering yourself--

Breath Awareness #1
While involved in whatever you are doing, bring some attention to your breathing... not your full attention... just enough to bring you back to your calm center. Breathe a little more slowly and deeply.
Breath Awareness #2
When feeling stressed, take several slow, deep breaths. With each in-breath, imagine you are pulling all of your scattered energy and attention back to your Self... your calm inner center. As you exhale, let go of all stress and negativity.
Inner Sun
Visualize a bright sun filling your heart chakra... the quiet, subtle energy field that permeates your chest area. Imagine the rest of your energy field as clear blue sky. When stressed thoughts or emotions arise, view them as clouds floating in that sky.

Homework
I am also going to post a couple of meditations. I want you to pick a couple of meditations/techniques--give them a try and report your results.

Elise

[~Elise~]

opening to universal energy.
Sit comfortably, cross legged or in a chair in a balanced position, hands apart, feet flat on the floor. Take a few deep breaths, relax your body, focus your attention.

You are sitting somewhere warm and comfortable, out of doors on a sunny day. It is high noon, and the sun is directly overhead.
Visualize a sunbeam coming straight down from waaaay up above, shining directly on the top of your head.
Relax into this imagining till you can feel the sunbeam warming the top of your head,
physically or in your imagination.

Imagination is power!

When you have the warmth, imagine that the top of your head is a flower.

The crown chakra is called the thousand petaled lotus.

It is classically visualized as infinite petaled lotus that is eternally opening and opening.

You can imagine any kind of flower.

The flower opens to the warmth

and draws the sunlight down it's stem,

into your head,

sparkling, tingling,

into the third eye and throat,

flowing down inside you to fill a reservoir space in your torso,
an oval going from your pelvis to your collarbone.

Filling with light.

Make it as bright as you can imagine.

When the space is filled
with bright sparkling radiant light,
brilliant as the sunrise reflecting off the ocean,
bright like an arc welders torch

we notice the inner container has a hole in the bottom,
and a stream of light leaks from the bottom of the reservoir,

down through your feet, down

down

down

down

down

like a laser beam drilling

down

Waaaaay down

All the way down

to the very center of the Earth.

which looks like a brilliant, fiery crystal. Gaia's heart, Her Kundalini.

When the beam hits the centre,

it seems to spark some kind of explosion down there

it sparks a volcano of light from the firey crystal

A volcano that comes rushing

up

up

up

up through the earth

roaring back up

like "Old Faithful",

back into your feet

(feel them start to tingle?)

exploding the reservoir of light in your center

into star bright radiance, glowing, growing

Brighter, larger

into an oval bigger than you.

shooting out the top of your head

like an umbrella shaped fountain,

sun drops rolling down to describe the oval

that is the perimeter of your aura, two feet above your head

and three feet below your feet

making it an eggshell

complete and sealed against all harm.

A force field bubble defining your personal boundary.

Some of the light keeps going up

keeps going back up

waaaay up

up to where it came from

up there.

The Light above responds with more light, like soft warm rain on your shoulders.

Your center, fed and charged

by the light flowing through you down and up

up and down

increases in brilliance

bigger and brighter

to fill the whole oval of your aura completely.

Feel yourself

as an egg of light

on a thread of light

with the Earth and the Sun connecting to each other through your body.

Energy flowing both ways.

Fire rises, water flows down.

through you

and around you.

When you can hold this mental image clearly,
(as bright and clear as you can make it)
make an internal request for it to stay that way.

Snap your fingers,

"Circuit is Locked in".

Your unconscious will now maintain the light circuit,
while you do other things.

You are now grounded.

How do you feel?

Do you notice:
the complete absence of negative, limiting, or fearful thoughts?
the relaxation and sense of well being?
the tingling of the soles of the feet and fingertips, like they have had a massage?
the sensation of lightness of being?
The sense of being fully present in the Now?
These are the signs of being grounded into Universal Source.
If you try to find an emotion that describes the feeling of this energy,
you will discover that the only word that fits is

Love.

absolute, unconditional love and acceptance.

The shock of this realization sometimes completely un-grounds very insecure people.

Are your feet still tingling?

If this idea makes your feet stop tingling, you need to take a few minutes to slide on past the feelings of being unworthy, you know Source loves you... unconditionally.

Limitlessly.

Regardless of how you feel about you.

If you have become ungrounded,
Go back to the top and start over again.
Take your time, focus on your breathing in the light..
Go ahead! It is very worth doing. You are worth it!

Think of how good that feels... love is supposed to feel good, right?

Think of how good it feels to be in love,
and imagine what it is like to feel that good all of the time,

but

without needing to be fixated on another person as the source of the feeling?

Enlightenment is constantly feeling madly in love with everything and everyone in All of Creation.

[~Elise~]

Opening the Heart chakra.
while you are grounded, bring your attention back to your center.

Imagine that there is a ball of light,
a star of light,
in the center of your chest,
next to your heart. (the Heart Chakra)

It is very beautiful.
See how it is fed by the light flowing through you... notice what color it is?
Imagine it brighter and brighter, see how that feels.

Contemplate it for a few moments.

Say Hello to it.
Breathe, and focus on your breathing as you listen for a response.

Ask It if It loves you.

You will hear and feel it's answer.

Listen carefully.

Breathe.

Feel your feet tingle.

Ask again.

Listen carefully for an answer,
there will be one: that is a cosmic promise.

It may come in words, a quiet, genderless voice of love.
It may be a feeling, a warmth in your heart or joy and love.
It may even be a painful feeling, if your heart is trying to open and there is a blockage.
It may be a rush of tingles, energy or goosebumps.

Ask the light if it will always love you, unconditionally,
no matter where you go or what you do?
If it's love is limitless?

Stay Grounded, feel your feet tingling,

breathe,

and listen for the answer. It will come, as words or a feeling.

The answer will fill you with joy and awe.
It is very beautiful to know.

If you are really reaching the heart voice, the answer to all of these questions will be yes. The Heart will tell you that you are infinitely, unconditionally loved and that you are and have always been perfect. Ask It questions, to make sure you are in contact with the genuine heart voice, and not the voice of your ego or an entity. It takes practice and mindfulness to build your trust and faith in this inner voice, ... that it has always and will always will be there for you, anytime you take a moment to do this grounding visualization.

Some people refer to the Heart Voice as the Inner Guru.
Ask it for insight into some minor difficulty you have been having.
Choose a small problem to start with, a minor nuisance.

I want you to get better experienced at maintaining the state, while asking questions. It takes practice to stay grounded when contemplating big emotional issues.

Fear interferes with grounding... most negative emotions do... get grounded, first, so fear is absent before questioning the Heart light.

Then learn to do the visualization in two breaths, twenty times a day.

No, really, it is easy, with practice..
Take a deep breath in, while focusing on relaxing your body and straightening your spine.
Breathe out long and slow, imagining the light coming down from above,
feeling your breath as the laser beam drilling deep into the earth..
in the pause between breaths, you touch the firey crystalline core.. feel the explosion of love in response...

then a deep breath to inhale the energy coming back up from the Earth into your being, out and around around the edges of your aura
and out the top of your head up up up..
in the pause, feel the energy touch the heavens..
breath out slowly, basking in the Grace flowing down, focusing on the heart, giving thanks for your tingly feet.

[~Elise~]

Clear your mind, and concentrate, on the earth.

Visualize energy coming up through the earth as a green or bronze colored ball.

Bring the energy up through you to your stomach then visualize it dispersing throughout you body and mixing with your own personal energy then draining back into the earth anchoring you to it like roots anchor a tree into the ground.

Feel the earth's energy pulsing strong and steady into your "roots" then up through you, making you feel stable and strong and sturdy.

This Grounds you and helps you attune to the earth. If you start to feel light headed or shaky when doing any techniques etc.

Ground yourself. This is caused by your body not being used to raising energy and containing it.

Take your time and spend however long you need to fully visualize everything as clearly as possible.

Practice as often as needed, however, since you are just learning this exercise try not to practice more than twice a day for now.

[~Elise~]

Here is one from Starhawk:

Grounding and Centering For Activists
By Starhawk
(10-15 minutes)
In an action, in any potentially tense of dangerous situation, we need to be able to stay calm, to feel our fear without letting it overrun us or turn into panic. Grounding is a technique that can help us stay both alert and relaxed when all hell is breaking loose around us.

Grounding begins with the breath. Try this: clench your stomach, tighten your muscles, breath up high in your chest. How do you begin to feel? (People often say, "anxious," "Tense," "Panicky.")

Now relax your stomach, let your breath drop down into your belly, into your toes as your belly expands. Do you start to feel different? For some of you, this might be hard to do. At first it might seem unnatural. Put your hand on your belly, breathe so that your belly pushes your hand out. Practice this, sometimes you need time before you can do it easily and naturally.

Now close your eyes for a moment. Imagine that breath pushing down through your feet, through the base of your spine, as if you were a tree pushing down roots. Let those roots go down through the floor, through the soil below us. Imagine they can feel something of the quality of that earth, what it likes to grow, how healthy it is. Push down through the waters under the earth, down through the bedrock, down into the fire below us. If there's still any tension or fear, let that go into the fire and just burn away into pure energy.

Now imagine you can draw some of that fire up. Feel it as the earth's living, creative energy, and bring it up through the rock and the water and the soil. Bring it up into your legs and feet and the base of your spine. Bring it up your spine and let your spine grow like a flexible tree trunk, reaching up to the sky. Bring some fire into your heart, into any place inside you that needs healing or extra energy.

Bring that energy up through your arms and out your hands, and up through your neck and throat and out the top of your head like branches that reach up to the sky and then spread around you and reach back down to touch the earth. They create a protective filter around you. Take a moment, look at that energy web, notice if there's any places that need to be repaired or strengthened. And notice how the energy in this room feels when we all do this.

Now feel the energy of the sun, shining down on your leaves and branches. Breathe deep, draw that energy in. Breathe it down through your leaves and branches, down through your heart and your belly and your hands. Take it in, feed on it like a tree feeds on sunlight.

Now open your eyes. Look around you, notice how other people look to you when you're grounded. Notice what's changed.

When you're grounded, when your energy is linked to the earth energy, you can still move. Imagine your feet have sticky roots, that can sink into the earth and then release when you move. Walk around a little, really feeling your contact with the earth, feeling those roots grip and release.

Now as you move, stretch your arms out to your sides, as far as they'll go, until you can't see your hands if you look straight ahead. Now wiggle your thumbs, and slowly bring your arms in until your thumbs are just visible on the edge of your peripheral vision. Notice how wide your field of vision can be. As you walk, breathing deep, grounded, activate that peripheral vision. Know that you can be aware of what's going on around you.

And now notice whether you are making eye contact with the people you pass. Keep breathing, stay grounded, keep your awareness wide, but now also make eye contact with each person you pass. How does it feel to be this present in a situation?

Now come back to stillness. As you breathe, feel where it is in your body this grounded place seems to live, and touch that place. Can you find an image for this grounded state? A word or phrase you can say? When you use these three together, touch, image, and phrase, you create an anchor to help you ground quickly in any situation. Try it -- use it.

Now relax. How did that go for you all? What did you notice?

Remember, the more you practice grounding, the more automatic it becomes. If you take even a few mintes a day to practice, you¹ll not only have better energy in your daily life, you'll be able to ground quickly and instantly when you're in a tense situation.

[~Elise~]

Sit peacefully and relax. Let the ground or chair support you. Let your muscles go. You don't have to exert any effort to sit there. Take in an easy, deep breath...and let it out your mouth, parting your lips slightly as you exhale. Let your arms feel heavy, pulling down your shoulders. Breathe... Let that heavy feeling flow down your torso and legs, so you feel heavy and relaxed all the way down to your feet on the ground.

Now picture and feel roots growing from your feet down into the ground. Just like a tree's roots...going down into the layers of cool dirt...growing around rocks...traveling further and further down into the earth. Let the roots grow as deeply as you wish.

Now feel the healing, rhythmic energy of the earth itself flowing up through your roots...slowly traveling up...through your roots, up to your feet and quickly filling your entire body. Feel this positive, grounded, earth energy throughout your being. Take in a deep, cleansing breath... and release.

When you are ready, open your eyes and know that this grounded energy will remain with you throughout your day.

[~Elise~]

http://www.mastersinthemaking.com/articles/empathicgrounding.shtml

For those who are empaths, (and there seem to be quite a few in this class)--there is some AWESOME information here

Elise

[~Elise~]

Close your eyes and sit in a comfortable upright position...

Begin to breathe deeply and comfortably.

Breathe easily and deeply.

Concentrate on your breathing.

Nothing else attracts your attention.

Take several deep breaths and feel the air flow into your body as it "lightens" your being with air.

Now, imagine that the earth's energy is rising up through your feet to join with your breath.

As it works upwards, rejuvinating each muscle it touches .

The energy rises slowly up your calves,

up your thighs through your hips

and upward through your torso, into your shoulders.

Let it flow across your shoulders and down your arms, and

through your hands.

Let it relax and energize your back and your shoulders.

Allow it move up into your neck and flow out the top of your head

and back into the universe from whence it came.

Continue absorbing the calm energy into every atom of your body,

Rejuvinating your entire being with pure universal energy.

Allow you body to feel recharged and grounded.

Feeling the beautiful connection to mother earth, the source, and your inner spirit.

[~Elise~]

FINALLY

All right -- you should have PLENTY of options here.

Pick a couple of the techniques/meditations and do them for the next couple of days to a week and POST the results.

Elise

[Against The Tide]

Alot of information to work with here :) I'll digest and get back to you, thanks for the update teacher *bows*

[~NightFire~]

Alot of information to work with here :) I'll digest and get back to you, thanks for the update teacher *bows*

I second that! :hahugh:

[wolfjan1]

A good deal of information, but good to try in these stressful times in my personal life. Thanks. The lesson is copied, filed in my notebook and ready to study and work.

[wintermagick]

I Chose #1

First of all... toward the end of the excersise when the "light got as bright as it could go" it was a brilliant orange. I wonder if that means anything special?

Do you notice:
"the complete absence of negative, limiting, or fearful thoughts?" Yes. :hahugh:

"the relaxation and sense of well being?" Uh-huh. :cheers:

"the tingling of the soles of the feet and fingertips, like they have had a massage?" Yup. :ballonsmi

"the sensation of lightness of being?" DEFINITELY. :idea:

"The sense of being fully present in the Now?" Now that was a thought that really didn't cross my mind. _inabox_

"These are the signs of being grounded into Universal Source." Awesom-o!


The shock of this realization sometimes completely un-grounds very insecure people.

Are your feet still tingling?

If this idea makes your feet stop tingling, you need to take a few minutes to slide on past the feelings of being unworthy, you know Source loves you... unconditionally.

Limitlessly.

Regardless of how you feel about you.

I'm a very insecure person (at this time in my life). But my feet kept tingling. And still kind of are. But the next sentence... about the source loving me (limitlessly. or unconditionally)... I struggle with that all of the time. But by the way I reacted to the meditation is it possible that I have a buried faith in that maybe very deep down that I just can't seem to bring to the surface and put my total trust in?

[~Elise~]

I Chose #1

First of all... toward the end of the excersise when the "light got as bright as it could go" it was a brilliant orange. I wonder if that means anything special?

Do you notice:
"the complete absence of negative, limiting, or fearful thoughts?" Yes. :hahugh:

"the relaxation and sense of well being?" Uh-huh. :cheers:

"the tingling of the soles of the feet and fingertips, like they have had a massage?" Yup. :ballonsmi

"the sensation of lightness of being?" DEFINITELY. :idea:

"The sense of being fully present in the Now?" Now that was a thought that really didn't cross my mind. _inabox_

"These are the signs of being grounded into Universal Source." Awesom-o!



I'm a very insecure person (at this time in my life). But my feet kept tingling. And still kind of are. But the next sentence... about the source loving me (limitlessly. or unconditionally)... I struggle with that all of the time. But by the way I reacted to the meditation is it possible that I have a buried faith in that maybe very deep down that I just can't seem to bring to the surface and put my total trust in?

Yup--it is not only possible--it is very probable.

Keep in mine we are not humans having a spiritual experience. We are spirituals beings having a human experience. Part of you knows that is and is struggling to break through.

Elise

ETA: You may also want to try the Heart Chakra one, too. Post those results.

[Against The Tide]

I choose #1 and will try more this evening.

How do you feel? Pretty darn good!

Do you notice:
the complete absence of negative, limiting, or fearful thoughts? Yes its quite nice *grins*
the relaxation and sense of well being? Yes
the tingling of the soles of the feet and fingertips, like they have had a massage? Yes, also my head feels a bit tingly (but not lightheaded) and my jaw has tremors
the sensation of lightness of being? Yes
The sense of being fully present in the Now? Yes - I feel more real than before.


I noticed that when I was filling myself with light (which was a red/orange) there was a part of me that the light didn't want to go - my stomach. I just kept filling and filling and gently over powered the place that didn't fill easily and there was a bit of pain and discomfort, but it felt warm and nice afterwards.
When I sent my energy down to the centre of the earth I became aware of a weight pushing on me and in my limbs, like increased gravity, that I was being sucked down aswel. Is this normal of did I over do it? It stopped when I thought about it and the energy came back up.

Before I used to ground myself by having a hot sugary drink and a biscuit, visualising a chord go to the earth's core and release energy or rubbing my arms and legs - but I've never felt this grounded before :)

Edit: It worked quite well me memorising it and repeating the appropriate bits it in my head at the appropriate time. Though if I can get a mic for the PC or a tape recorder I think playing the instructions back to me will give better results, like a guided meditation. Is there anyone with the equipment and the nerve to post any of the the exercises up in an audio file?

[~Elise~]

If someone could recommend some free software--I'll record them and post 'em. I've got a headset with a mic somewhere around here.
I've recorded meditations before--but I was in a recording studio...don't have access to that anymore.

[TheRiverDaughter]

Sit peacefully and relax. Let the ground or chair support you. Let your muscles go. You don't have to exert any effort to sit there. Take in an easy, deep breath...and let it out your mouth, parting your lips slightly as you exhale. Let your arms feel heavy, pulling down your shoulders. Breathe... Let that heavy feeling flow down your torso and legs, so you feel heavy and relaxed all the way down to your feet on the ground.

Now picture and feel roots growing from your feet down into the ground. Just like a tree's roots...going down into the layers of cool dirt...growing around rocks...traveling further and further down into the earth. Let the roots grow as deeply as you wish.

Now feel the healing, rhythmic energy of the earth itself flowing up through your roots...slowly traveling up...through your roots, up to your feet and quickly filling your entire body. Feel this positive, grounded, earth energy throughout your being. Take in a deep, cleansing breath... and release.

When you are ready, open your eyes and know that this grounded energy will remain with you throughout your day.I've done this grounding exercise (through the audio file here http://www.kyramesich.com/Meditations/Grounding_Meditation_high.mp3 ) about three times now - I'm trying to do it twice a day, morning and late afternoon - usually when I have trouble concentrating or focusing. I start with a few minutes of focused breathing and then do the meditation, and then sit for a few minutes afterwards. I've noticed every time a feeling of comfort, and the tingly feet thing too - which was a little odd the first time! Also - I find that when I send down roots, I eventually hit both water and earth - so mentally I've been pushing tension and anxious thoughts down through the roots and letting the water carry them away.

I like this meditation... my only thing is I feel like it's a bit too short (when I'm done I always end up sitting for several minutes in silence, and that's when my mind wanders - the audio really helps me focus). But the audio is really nice.

The two free software recording programs that I know of are here - though I've not used them, people I know have. Audacity seems a bit simpler to use, on first glance.

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[Against The Tide]

I'm ok without audio exercises - I just thought it might be a nice idea. Before my brother stole my mic (for uni) I used to record alot of things that I could play back to myself, this would help me memorise new spells or to take my self through guided meditations.

[TheRiverDaughter]

I found this meditation at http://www.asiya.org/index2.html (click on the four elements, and under earth is "Grounding Exercise") I thought it was interesting and really rather liked it.



Stand or sit comfortably on the floor or ground. Visualize roots slowly extending from your feet (and other body parts touching the surface). Slowly they travel down, down, until they meet the soil. This is easy if you are outside. If you are inside, imagine them traveling down throughout the layers of the building, down through the foundation and eventually into the soil. Imagine the feel of the cool, secure soil all around your roots, keeping you safe, taking away all impurities.

Imagine the smell of fresh, wholesome earth, as if you were turning over dirt to plant the first seed of spring.

Imagine that you are a giant, primeval redwood (or some other tree of your choosing). You are sturdy and confident. You are part of the earth, yet distinct from it.

Your roots go down deep into the earth and all excess nervous energy, tension, and stress flow down your roots and seep harmlessly into the earth, where the loving earth accepts and neutralizes it. In return the earth sends back calming nutrients, stability, and ancient serenity.

You are an ancient tree, your roots go deep into the ground. You were here before humans walked this place, you have seen so much. As you stand there, you think about the rings within your mighty trunk. The ones just inside your bark remind you of last spring's rain. Continue to work inward until you reach the center rings, those rings of dark wood at your core that represent the inner you, your heart, your oldest part.

Breathe from that part. Suck the air in through all the rings to that central core. Feel your life force gather and recharge in your center. Pull it back from the outermost limbs where the growth may be unbalanced. Feel the sap brimming in your core. Once you feel completely charged, let it go and it will course through you, back out energizing you, but at your center is still the central heart of your energy, calm, full, and ready for anything.

[Mainedruid]

I tried #1 and out right failed lol.... I have a very hard time with grounding my self. I think its my preoccupied-over worried virgo/cancer brain....

I'll try more though!!! I promise!

Mike

[~Elise~]

what type of problems are you experiencing?

Elise

[The Panther's Dream]

This is the exercise that I attempted last night:



Sit peacefully and relax. Let the ground or chair support you. Let your muscles go. You don't have to exert any effort to sit there. Take in an easy, deep breath...and let it out your mouth, parting your lips slightly as you exhale. Let your arms feel heavy, pulling down your shoulders. Breathe... Let that heavy feeling flow down your torso and legs, so you feel heavy and relaxed all the way down to your feet on the ground.

Now picture and feel roots growing from your feet down into the ground. Just like a tree's roots...going down into the layers of cool dirt...growing around rocks...traveling further and further down into the earth. Let the roots grow as deeply as you wish.

Now feel the healing, rhythmic energy of the earth itself flowing up through your roots...slowly traveling up...through your roots, up to your feet and quickly filling your entire body. Feel this positive, grounded, earth energy throughout your being. Take in a deep, cleansing breath... and release.

When you are ready, open your eyes and know that this grounded energy will remain with you throughout your day.

My Results:

I actually modified this a bit and decided it would be interesting to try in the shower, as I feel that water is the element I'm most attuned to. I stood under the water and relaxed and just let myself feel calm and comfortable and then I started picturing the roots going down into the earth. After I had done that I pictured the water washing all of the negativity down through the roots into the earth and then dispersing it. I did this for about 5 minutes and then I drew up some positive energy. My left foot tingled a bit when I did this, and I felt unusually warm. When I was done I actually had to switch the water to colder, barely lukewarm, because I was so warm. This is really odd for me because I usually take really hot showers, just short of almost being painfully hot. :lol: So I would say that I definitely had some results from this, being that I felt exceedingly warm all over and my feet were tingling a bit.

I'm going to try the heart chakra exercise soon too, maybe later this afternoon.

[TheRiverDaughter]

Panther - that's a good idea! I will have to try that in the morning when I shower (I like the water thing a lot).

-Laur

[Against The Tide]

I managed to do the Heart chakra - the experience was unique and very moving. If your class was to suddenly stop (which I hope it doesn't) I would feel that I have already gained alot as now I am aware of new territories within myself to explore and understand.

I tried the exercise three times so far, the first time when I asked it if it loved me I felt a yes... always have, always will.. unconditionaly.. then I suddenly felt light headed, dizzy and floaty (I did ground prior to this) to the point I felt I was going to sleep. I regrounded and decided to give it a rest.

The second time I got to the light but didn't even get an answer - I felt all ungrounded again :(

Third time I managed to go through with it was last night. I was flooded with a sense of comfort and well being. I still felt a touch unstable - "The shock of this realization sometimes completely un-grounds very insecure people." but I like to think I'm getting there.

This ungrounding, is it a matter of getting used to the energy or do I have to come to terms with the fact that there is a part of me that loves me after all? Or is it a bit of both?

[Mainedruid]

what type of problems are you experiencing?

Elise

I have "lack of a clear mind syndrome" ha ha.. My head is very busy. I tried again last night. Sat for 45 min or so. Things went better this time, but I'm still not there. I need to think less. I'll keep you posted.

[~Elise~]

This ungrounding, is it a matter of getting used to the energy or do I have to come to terms with the fact that there is a part of me that loves me after all? Or is it a bit of both?

Yes, a bit of both-but a bit more that you are loved unconditionally and always have been

Elise

[~Elise~]

I have "lack of a clear mind symdrome" ha ha.. My head is very busy. I tried again last night. Sat for 45 min or so. Things went better this time, but I'm still not there. I need to think less. I'll keep you posted.

okay, then......

[The Panther's Dream]

Panther - that's a good idea! I will have to try that in the morning when I shower (I like the water thing a lot).

-Laur


:D Let me know how it works out for you, it was an interesting experience.

[He who seeks]

On my evening before bed i practised some of the basic groundings



Sit peacefully and relax. Let the ground or chair support you. Let your muscles go. You don't have to exert any effort to sit there. Take in an easy, deep breath...and let it out your mouth, parting your lips slightly as you exhale. Let your arms feel heavy, pulling down your shoulders. Breathe... Let that heavy feeling flow down your torso and legs, so you feel heavy and relaxed all the way down to your feet on the ground.
Now picture and feel roots growing from your feet down into the ground. Just like a tree's roots...going down into the layers of cool dirt...growing around rocks...traveling further and further down into the earth. Let the roots grow as deeply as you wish.

Now feel the healing, rhythmic energy of the earth itself flowing up through your roots...slowly traveling up...through your roots, up to your feet and quickly filling your entire body. Feel this positive, grounded, earth energy throughout your being. Take in a deep, cleansing breath... and release.
When you are ready, open your eyes and know that this grounded energy will remain with you throughout your day.


did this and one of those other smaller ones.....your favourite i think..

1ST:

Grounding my self with these practises i feel myself begin to flow with the positive energy flowing through my feet stirring my inside charge and pulsing letting it flow through me tickling my feet as they root down deep

i feel light and content

opening myself to heart chakra now

I look at the light within centre of my body feeling my heart beat louder and pulse with energy... looking at it i start talking to it i feel reluctance in me and it...but then i stop to refesh myself and focusing gently ask myself that i want to do this put aside all fears and distraction before looking to the light i asking it again.

( i cannot see the colour of the light so i presume its a yellowish white colour)

It seems to answer back with reasurance that it loves me, felt through emotion more than anything else, putting more trust into the light and opening myself more to it i begin to see images feel sensations on my forehead and face. sort of like touches by someones fingers.

relaxing more into the sensation i begin to see someone painting a tri line star down the ridge of my nose and up out in a egyptian Y crusifix in brownish red i think...opening my eyes (inner view) i see a pale youthfull face with promiment shape like a manga face im not sure but it could of been a boy slick back hair under a cap, he wore red propbably a mirror of my own pjs i was wearing, smiling back he picks some kind of flower and gave it to me...mmm not sure what type maybe a mix of british woodland flowers and wild valley flowers

i feel a little lost for words experiencing this but taking up what i can only presume an subconcious chant to say these flowers are a dual ressposiblity between me and him before he walks away.

Taking a break to think this through and jot these notes i carried on
Striaghtening my back more i breathed out doing the breath in for 4 hold for 4 and out for 4

Totally relaxed feeling energy within i can slowly feel a building pressure beneath the skin besides my right eye like a finger not resesting or moving it slowly moved down as other sensations picked up before i suddenly inhaled softly (talk later about it)

lettting go of all built up will i let it flow gently as i begin to see in the blackness white drawn images a wriggling snake which turns to a long nose alligator splashing in the water snapping its mouth.
Building on this i find myself staring into a now in colour stream, getting off my front i turn to see a valley populated with lots of flowers, behind me is a corpse of tree's and in them is a tent.

Entering it i see an motherly spirit cooking on an oven, seeing me she becones me to sit on a comfy chair to the other side of the tent while she serves a slice of pork and herbs to me and bays me to eat...here i seem to converse about trying to find myself opening myself up to the more gentler feelings and emotions i have.

Theres a image of me chuckling at me going soft but he is threatened by the woman waving a wooden spoon in a typical mothers fashion to go do choirs behind the flaps...senses say tiyding up and tending to horses.
my concerntration begins to fade my focus drifts and so i say goodbye for now thanking for food

i awaken still dreamy feeling light content maybe even bubbly, body feel lax and heavy/sluggish to respond.

oh p.s also trying to activate my thrid eye aswell from another lessons advice and it seems to work well i can feel the vibrations resonate where they said the gland should be...only another two days to go

[LadyWillow]

I've always been a big fan of grounding/centering exercises in the shower, it's very relaxing, and since I live in a dorm, it's easier to do and I won't be disturbed as often.

I did however do the exercise with imagining your roots entering the earth. I've done variations of this exercise before and I've always found them quite relaxing and usually I can pick up on problem area's rather easy. I can tell what are has picked up on large amounts of negativity and what area's need to be cleansed more.

[lilyavalon]

I just wanted to drop a line and, say I have been working on some things. I have found out through posting that I think I might be an empath. Its something I'm learning about. And since I pull alot of things off of people in crowds and such i get angry and frustrated VERY easily in crowds and such. So I have be learning to push bad energy away. I desperatly need to learn this grounding I belive.

So, tommorow... Is a mental health day, ending with some yoga at a free yoga class in town I've been trying get too.

So long story short: Dont count me out...I am working on my grounding. I just have to sit down and work out/on some of the grounding. Ill post tommrow night my experience.

[Fencai]

I have started with the first meditation

The feeling of lightness, clearness, is amazing!!! The imagery that came to me while do this was just.... awesome! My hands, feet, heck my whole body is still tingling! The sensations are....unexplainable!
I feel completly with it, but relaxed and as my husband says, I have "perma-grin". I just have that permanent smile on my face.
I do feel the love and warmth of the Earth!

I cant wait to try some of the others.
Now, for me, doing a meditation at home or on "me-time" is no problem, but being sensitive to all the energies around me i find it much more difficult to center. I work in a high stress job/workplace, and one woman next to me is the most loving caring person on the planet. The woman on the other side of me, is just the opposite, she's negative, a hypochondriac, never has anything good/nice to say about anything. I try to tune into the first woman more, but i dont want to leach off of her energies. (along with the fact that most of the people I work with dont know how to deal with the stress and become very negative on a daily basis.)
So, my question is Pearl, how do you center yourself in situations like this? Do you center with the breathing exercises you mentioned? Is there more?
Just wondering what I can do when Im in a room full of cranky designers....
Im going to try another one of the meditations at home, but I will try the breathing techniques during work.

[wolfjan1]

Both of these grounding exercises were VERY helpful to me. The sense of grounding was more important to me than I realized after the first days of trying them. After a couple of months of traumatic psychic attacks and personal losses, I took this course on. I am glad to have found results so early.
After the phyisical amnd mental work, I felt a great deal of energy coming through my body. A burden removed took away some VERY negative energy.
There is a greater understandig of things. More interestingly, my blood sugar is better than it has been in several months. Extreme stress really screws you up. Especially if you have medical problems. So this class is benefitting me physically along with psychically.
Keep it up. And, of course, THANK YOU FOR THIS CLASS!

[wolfjan1]

So, How can I replenish the earth after taking so much energy?

[~Elise~]

So, my question is Pearl, how do you center yourself in situations like this? Do you center with the breathing exercises you mentioned? Is there more?
Just wondering what I can do when Im in a room full of cranky designers....
Im going to try another one of the meditations at home, but I will try the breathing techniques during work.

Be grounded before you go into workspace...once we get the shielding lesson - then shield. Right now--place a bubble around you to keep stuff from coming in.
Place a mirror in your cube facing the negative woman for her energy to be reflected back to her is something else you can do.

just thought off the top of my head at this hour

Elise

[~Elise~]

So, How can I replenish the earth after taking so much energy?

Just send any excess energy you're not using back to the earth. send thanks also.

[The Panther's Dream]

I still haven't had a chance to try the heart chakra activity, but I'm hoping to find some time tomorrow to do so. I'm looking forward to doing it, and have repeated the tree-roots grounding exercise a couple times more and I am having wonderful results. :) I find that making time for this really helps me to feel more energized and helps to calm my often impatient mind.

[Mainedruid]

Things are going better for me. Practice makes perfect right? I used to meditate alot, but slacked off... I was dreading this exercise because I knew I had a hard time just sitting lately.

After the kids fall asleep I have been taking the time. Its paid off. I dont know if I have found the results I have been looking for but I do feel more grounded... my frustration at work dosnt kick in till after lunch now either, things arnt bugging me so much... I think this is in part due to trying to ground nightly

[~Elise~]

Things are going better for me. Practice makes perfect right? I used to meditate alot, but slacked off... I was dreading this exercise because I knew I had a hard time just sitting lately.

After the kids fall asleep I have been taking the time. Its paid off. I dont know if I have found the results I have been looking for but I do feel more grounded... my frustration at work dosnt kick in till after lunch now either, things arnt bugging me so much... I think this is in part due to trying to ground nightly

Know that this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, okay...
Even though you're a single parent, breadwinner and all that, you are still a person. You need to take time for you to take care of YOU. It is NOT being selfish, in actually, you are helping others. Because when you do take care of you, you have a reserve that you can draw on when times are stressed. If you don't--there isn't that reserve and you don't do anyone any good.

And I know first hand how stressful this situation can be...I've been there personally.

I want you to continue doing this nightly and we're going to be adding in shielding as well. and that really ought to help with the work situation.

Elise

[~Elise~]

I still haven't had a chance to try the heart chakra activity, but I'm hoping to find some time tomorrow to do so. I'm looking forward to doing it, and have repeated the tree-roots grounding exercise a couple times more and I am having wonderful results. :) I find that making time for this really helps me to feel more energized and helps to calm my often impatient mind.

This just demonstrates how important the basics are, folks. while this may seem trival and unimportant. it is not, by any means. And those who discount these beginning steps never get the full benefit of what comes after.

You don't go running straight into battle--you take the time to don your armor, gather your weapons, etc. This is the SAME thing.

It also happens to help make the rest of your life a bit more calming as well. Nice side benefit in my opinion. But--keep in mind--that while you have a core personality--you show different aspects of yourself to your kids, to your coworkers, to your boss, to your lover, to your friends. what you do the core will affect all those other aspects of yourself. These seemly simple, inconsequential exercises affect more than you know.

Elise

[The Panther's Dream]

Well I tried the chakra exercise, but I was having trouble concentrating today. I didn't get any results because I just couldn't sit still. I did however do the root grounding exercise again and was successful. I'll keep practicing the heart chakra one. :3

[~Elise~]

FYI - I posted Lesson 4, but continue to post grounding results here too.

Elise

[Fencai]

I tried the Heart Chakra meditation, and had much better results than the fitst one i tried. THe feeling of love and centeredness seems to stay with me much longer, and I had a better visualization. In the middle of it, when I was asking the questions, I felt as if i was floating, yet craddled and protected. It was amazing!
I think i will be using this one as a personal favorite!

[lilyavalon]

okay so i did a bit of both because I have a hard time really concentrating and tune out the out side.

I imagined my body was a bottle. Like a water container in an office. Every breath I took it the bottle bubbled and emptied to a new line. Breath in, the water level would lower to hair line. New Breath, the water leveled off at my eyes, to my mouth, to my throat, to my heart, to my stomach, to my pelvis, to my knees, all the way out to the floor spilling out and vaining off trying to find the way out...

It was nice. it was clensing and powerfull. Like I said, I find it hard to find time and an empty quiet space to just chill out and veg... but I'm working on it.

[~NightFire~]

O.K, I know I'm behind, but I'm going to catch up. :)

I tried out all of the 'mini exercises' first thing this morning (the ones posted before the 6 different meditations), & it really relaxed me.

I have 'trained' myself to breathe naturally (breathe in=stomach out, & breathe out=stomach in) anyway, but I always find it hard to relax & (especially) to ignore all of the thoughts racing around my head.

I'm going to do some more exercises today, & hopefully start on lesson 4 aswell. :hahugh:


***



Edit: I have now tried 'Meditation #1', & 'The Heart Chakra Meditation'.

'Meditation #1'.

I sat on my bed in my room to do this, & it was difficult at first (because of various, annoying noises in my house) but it became easier.
Afterwards I felt lightheaded, & like my body wasn't 100% solid/there.
My feet & hands were tingling, & the palms of my hands felt like they'd been holding something (if that makes sense!).
My mind was clear, & I felt really positive & 'in the present' (rather than worrying about the future like I usually do).
I also felt relaxed, & a few lines from a song by Madonna came into my head;

"Nothing really matters, love is all we need."

If only everyone felt like that...:hahugh:

It made me want to cry a bit-but that may have just been PMT! :lol:
I do sometimes randomly get that 'Love is all around' kind of feeling-but it's very infrequent.

'The Heart Chakra Meditation.'

I tried this straight after doing 'Meditation 1.'
I imagined a white & purple star.
I felt my feet tingling again, & a rush of that feeling I had before when I asked the questions.
I definitely need to practise, because it was hard for me to stay grounded & focus on doing something else at the same time aswell. _inabox_

I think I might try & ground myself before work tomorow-it will make me feel more positive about the day ahead.

That's all I've got for now. :)


***

[~NightFire~]

I did Starhawk's grounding exercise this morning, & it made me feel strong, at peace, & capable of handling/doing anything I put my mind to.
My mind felt at peace, & 'in sync' with my body, & I felt ready to face the day.
I also think that when I start using a shield (from Mon 15th onwards), that it will be fire. This is because I feel that I have a connection with that element, & that I will feel comfortable using it.

***

Edit: I tried another grounding exercise, & it made me feel really relaxed, & a bit tired this time aswell (I'm tired anyway though!). I didn't feel light headed which was good, & I feel at peace again.

I have one more Grounding exercise from this lesson to try (which I intend on doing before I go to bed tonight), then I will move on to shielding (everyday), & Smudging.

[~NightFire~]

Well I've finished all of the Grounding exercises, & I'm moving on to Shielding & Smudging.
Seeing as I have the weekend off, :) I can catch up.

[~Elise~]

catch up as quickly as you can...

also--post results from the exercises.

Elise

[~NightFire~]

catch up as quickly as you can...

also--post results from the exercises.

Elise

O.K, will do-I have posted my results from the Grounding exercises (above). I'll be posting Shielding (& hopefully Smudging) results tomorow.