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

[odd_duck71]

I've been experimenting with the exercise in post #4 and have an "am I doing this right" question.

I can get the energy to mix if I swirl it during the pause between the inhale and exhale, but it will only swirl right if I pull the light up farther than the stomach -- to about the heart chakra, at the spot where an inhale stops. Otherwise it feels like I'm only swirling half the energy I should be.

Is that okay, or is location important for some reason?

[LIGV]

I have problems grounding and really identifying what are aswers that my body is giving or just me having an inner monologue. :(... I'll start working on this today.

[~Elise~]

It's fine to pull it up to the heart chakra

[~Elise~]

I have problems grounding and really identifying what are aswers that my body is giving or just me having an inner monologue. :(... I'll start working on this today.

It's important to get this step down...'cause if you don't do this correctly--you won't be able to shield properly (this is meant to ALL students, just not you.)

Practice, practice, practice

Elise

[TheWomanMonster]

my favorite is laying down roots.
it's similar to one of the ones you posted there Elise, #4.
but anyone that knows me knows I am apt to construct my own methods.

Because I live in apartments I envision the energy from the earth running through the walls like wiring or vines up through my feet and into my being... filling me, at the same time I feel the build up of 'dirty' (as I put it) energy leaving my body through other roots that I push down through the building into the earth... I do these sorts of meditation exercises daily. I find it helps especially after a long hard day at work.
Even though I'm not physically connected to the earth due to my living situation, I find that this method works well for grounding and reconnecting.

- Monster.

[odd_duck71]

Oooo...I love the vine idea. My office is on the third floor, and I was just wondering yesterday how to adjust for that.

Thanks for posting that, Monster.

And Elise, thanks for answering silly noob questions:lol:

[TheWomanMonster]

Oooo...I love the vine idea. My office is on the third floor, and I was just wondering yesterday how to adjust for that.

Thanks for posting that, Monster.

And Elise, thanks for answering silly noob questions:lol:

No problem, figuring out how to work around that was a real brain teaser for me.

I second that, Thanks Elise! :fpraise:

[~Elise~]

Nice adaptation for apartment/office... mind if I add that to the next class???

Elise

[~Elise~]

And Elise, thanks for answering silly noob questions:lol:

The only silly question is the unasked one!

[TheWomanMonster]

Nice adaptation for apartment/office... mind if I add that to the next class???

Elise

feel free. :) I just do what works for me, if it helps others they're welcome to it.

[maudlin]

ive been doing a variation of the chakra meditation for a while (maybe 2 yrs or so, off and on anyway)
i also do a tree of life meditation.

im gonna pick another one and try it. i'll post later which one i settle on for sure.

[Lady Soulscribe]

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 love this one... I did one simmilar in life, where you sit in a chair, and imagine a substance like maple syrup getting poored over your head, and you sit there letting the syrup just fall off your body into the earth... taking what ever issues (mental, physical...) with it...

[LIGV]

I found that the one filling your body with energy was probably the simplest one for me .. but for some reason I just can't visualize... I can't disconnect from my surroundings. .help ;) My mind is so fragmented... :(

[TheWomanMonster]

I found that the one filling your body with energy was probably the simplest one for me .. but for some reason I just can't visualize... I can't disconnect from my surroundings. .help ;) My mind is so fragmented... :(

Don't get discouraged, have you tried meditating with a visual cue? or sound?
You don't have to be able to visualize anything at all.

I used to meditate watching a candle flame in order to focus because I had the same problem.

:hugz:

(oops I guess I could let Elise answer *laughs* Sorry!)

[~Elise~]

Don't get discouraged, have you tried meditating with a visual cue? or sound?
You don't have to be able to visualize anything at all.

I used to meditate watching a candle flame in order to focus because I had the same problem.

:hugz:

(oops I guess I could let Elise answer *laughs* Sorry!)

No problem--I was out of town anyway... and I don't mind students helping students at ANY time.

I learned to meditate to music... it gave me something to concentrate on other than MY thoughts.

Elise

[Shawn Blackwolf]

Well...

Worked with excercises...some feedback...

1. Heart chakra meditation , produces ...Merging sensation...

Love is the unifying force in the universe...literally...Therefore ,
my experience was what would be called a unification of forces...

2. Bronze ball worked better ( Re : Clear your mind...)

3.Exercises of pushing energy down , was experienced as a
density beam , with gravitational force applied...

I have never had a problem with natural deep breathing , so that
came easy...

As far as the Crown chakra...

When I was in my early twenties , a friend , and I , experimented
with crystals and pyramid energy , over a power vortex...

Let's just say I blew my Crown chakra open...no visualization
necessary...I directly experienced the streaming crystalline field
state , the liquid diamonds as a " dome " of light...

Not the smartest way...my kundalini activated to the point my
teeth chattered so hard , I chipped a tooth...took about 20 minutes
for them to stop , and my body to relax , at least to an acceptable
energy level...a dark amethyst facetedteardrop crystal , I had under
a headband , on my " third eye " shot out from under the headband ,
and shattered on the floor...

Ever since...I have no problem , seeing the " Lotus "...or the " Egg "...

Thank you for the exercises , Elise...hope that I answered properly...:)

[~Elise~]

No 'wrong' way to answer, Shawn. Thanks for sharing

Elise

[Merilwen]

Sorry if my homework comes in a little late, I went on an unexpected trip for a week.

The only meditation I have tried so far is the one in the second post. I loved the visuals, but wasn't actually able to get all the way through it. I got the the part where you bring your awareness to your legs and they started getting restless (which usually happens when I concentrate too much on my legs, I probably have RLS...*shrugs*)

I do have a grounding technique I have used a few times I got from a book (I can't remember which one) that involves sending one end of a rope into the earth and the other into your lower back (I think it was lower back...thats where I put it anyway). I was never able to really get the centering techniques in that book,,,

At any rate, I will try to try the other techniques soon.

[wolf]

I don't know if my experience is unusual or not, but I tend to take a more nuts and bolts approach to grounding, and the meditations, while nice and interesting to do, seem overly flowery to me.

YMMV, but I think the last time I was seriously ungrounded was sometime in the 1970s.

[odd_duck71]

Would you mind sharing your "nuts and bolts" approach? It is hard for me to do the longer meditations because I forget what I'm supposed to be visualizing next.

[wolf]

I draw up energy from the heart of Earth Mother, and also connect upward to (Spirit/Skyfather/Universal All, take your personal pick) and make sure that the energy keeps flowing.

If I'm doing something, like journeying to do shamanic work, where I need a sturdier connection, I'll drive a blade into the Earth.

[Merilwen]

I liked the one you posted from StarHawk the best, it worked so much better than the previous exercise I used.

[~Elise~]

describe reactions please.

Elise

[Gypsyballad]

I finally got a chance to work on Lesson #3. I worked on the Summoning Breath exercise for ten minutes. I started to work at slowing my breath at 11:21 pm and was able to finally relax at 11:23 pm. I was able to exhale all the air out of my body twelve times and hold it for a count of three each time.

I also worked on Meditation #4. I began working on the exercise at 12:07 am. I pictured myself holding a small clump of soil. I visualized my hand feeling the soil. Rolling it round and round between my thumb and fingers. It felt cool, moist, and soft, as though it had rained a few hours earlier. I was able to picture a green energy ball coming up from my backyard. It wasn't necessarily a ball, more like a greenish, translucent bubble. But more sturdy than a regular soap bubble. I worked on the meditation for about seven minutes. I was able to picture it, but I wasn't able to hold the picture in my mind for very long. I had to recreate the image in my mind a number of times.

[LIGV]

I'm blockes my mind keeps on wandering. :(

[~Elise~]

allow the thoughts--just watch them float away however and go back to the meditation.

Elise

PS--I finally remembered to have a banner done--dancing wind did them!
http://www.mysticwicks.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=76051&d=1185342197

You can add it to your signature, if you'd like.

[odd_duck71]

I draw up energy from the heart of Earth Mother, and also connect upward to (Spirit/Skyfather/Universal All, take your personal pick) and make sure that the energy keeps flowing.

If I'm doing something, like journeying to do shamanic work, where I need a sturdier connection, I'll drive a blade into the Earth.
Thanks for sharing! These have worked well for me consistently for the couple of days I've been practicing with them.

Observations -- Energy from the earth feels quite warm to me. Energy from the sky is cooler. Earth energy is calming when I'm having an anxiety attack. Sky energy is uplifting when I'm feeling depressed.

[wolf]

Today I used the meditation from Post #6 (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showpost.php?p=3172792&postcount=6),

I was very deliberate about the process, focusing on the energy flow. This is fairly close to how I ordinarily approach the process of grounding, but doing this with a greater sense of mindfulness was definitely different ... maintaining a stronger sense of the connection and monitoring the flowe of energies. I Experienced the upward flow of energy as a clockwise spiral that touched each of the Chakras, activating them.

[Annorah]

I tried "Grounding Meditation 1" and I felt great afterwards. I still have the tingling sensation in my feet and I feel so full of joy and without a care in the world. For me, the aftermath is how I often feel after a Reiki healing session.

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day now :)

Will definitely be doing this again!

[odd_duck71]

Grounding is keeping me sane during my FIL's hospitalization. What is it about hospitals? They seem to just suck the life right out of everyone.
Last night, it seemed like I was constantly needing to pull energy up through my "foot vines".

[wolf]

Grounding is keeping me sane during my FIL's hospitalization. What is it about hospitals? They seem to just suck the life right out of everyone.

Hospitals are kind of like concentrated stress nexuses. Nexii?

Anyway ... everybody's under stress, patients, their families, doctors, nurses, well, maybe not that guy in janitorial that whistles as he pushes his mop around, but pretty much everybody.

That's one of the reasons that my ability to ground and shield is so solid and automatic. I work in a hospital. I probably couldn't do it otherwise.

[maudlin]

i just did the grounding meditation #1
(i really needed it. today has been hectic and scattered )

but i feel better. i dont feel as spacey as i did. although i did have a bit of a headrush feeling after it was over.

[~Elise~]

good work, guys!!!

I'll post up the new lesson sometime Sunday afternoon. Keep sharing!

Elise

[LIGV]

This actually helped a lot... I feel a lil bit more control over my thoughts... Still not able to meditate for extended time. but I'm still working on it.
:boing:


Don't get discouraged, have you tried meditating with a visual cue? or sound?
You don't have to be able to visualize anything at all.

I used to meditate watching a candle flame in order to focus because I had the same problem.

:hugz:

(oops I guess I could let Elise answer *laughs* Sorry!)

[~Elise~]

Lesson 4 is up!