'Grounding,' or 'earthing' is a term used to describe the process of connection with Earth or nature and self. Grounding brings awareness to your physical body, and is also a means to release stress and lower energies into the Earth to be transmuted naturally. In terms of electricity, our bodies run on electrical impulses. When we ground with the Earth, we are literally charging our own batteries.
'Centering' is the process of focusing our energy to the present. When we think about the past or future too much, we are often living there, causing depression (living in the past) and anxiety (living in the future). The past and future do not exist in the physical dimension, so our energy is best served in the present moment. Centering goes hand-in-hand with grounding for optimal results.
Grounding has to be the most underrated and yet most beneficial technique for human survival as well as one of the most important spiritual practices for spiritual practitioners. It is taught in many forms, by many different people in all walks of life, and yet it is still so undervalued. Even as I am writing about grounding, I've had to keep grounding crystals close by because I realized just how un-grounded I became sitting at my computer! It's no wonder so many people have multitudes of issues that come up as a result of not being able to ground properly or regularly. Thus, I am dedicating this entire post to grounding so we can gain a better understanding of why it's so important to everyone, how to do it, and when to know you are un-grounded -- And, as a bonus, I have a special channeled message from the Universe to homesick starseeds!
"Our soul is not easily accustomed to being bound by anything so dense with energy and matter. Naturally, our soul wants to float, drift and travel wherever it wants to go."
Humans are creatures of the Earth. Our soul is not easily accustomed to being bound by anything so dense with energy and matter. Naturally, our soul wants to float, drift and travel wherever it wants to go. Unfortunately, 'floating' is not conducive to survival for a human body, otherwise we might have evolved with wings. Humans have made a contract with the Earth to provide sustenance to the physical body so we may feel supported and grounded in all our being. If grounding is second nature to you, you may have previously incarnated on Earth many times to master it; however, it doesn't always come naturally to everyone, especially those that identify as
'starseeds' (a term used to identify souls that usually incarnate on other planets and star systems). 'Starseed' is just a label, so don't worry about whether or not you are one, but if you ever feel disconnected from the Earth and feel like you belong somewhere else, the following message is for you:
"You may feel disconnected from the Earth and resentful that you are here instead of out in the stars where you feel you belong. Remember, you chose to incarnate on Earth for a purpose. This purpose is to learn how to shine your brilliance trans-dimensionally and embrace all forms. Becoming one with Earth is to become one with the Universe. You are not done, yet. You can help guide others as they traverse the same obstacles you have already overcome."
To summarize, you are here to be human and all that encompasses. When you come to terms with that, your life on Earth will become easier to handle.
I received a really useful tip from one of my mentors, Kelly Ann Vass, when I was struggling with feeling homesick and not really knowing where 'home' was. I was really un-grounded, and refused to ground because I didn't accept Earth as my home. She told me that Earth is a planet, too. Earth has a star, a moon, and we are in a solar system in a galaxy. That really clicked with me, because all this time while I was looking up at the stars, searching for home, I completely forgot that Earth was a planet, too. We are travelling through space just like any other planet and star. It was the perspective I needed to really see the path ahead of me, and to accept that I needed to ground on Earth so I could feel supported again.
"Earth is a planet, too. Earth has a star, a moon, and we are in a solar system in a galaxy."
In order to embrace who we are as humans, we must accept the gift from Earth: Grounding. Even as spiritual practitioners, we forget to do this important and essential task. It is very easy to get so involved and excited in spiritual practice and communicating with spirit, that sometimes grounding is an afterthought or forgotten altogether. We need to ground in order to process and integrate everything we've downloaded from the universe. If you are always downloading information and you don't give yourself a chance to integrate, you won't know what to do with the information you've been given. However, grounding does not always mean disconnecting from spirit. With practice, you can do both - it just requires a different set of skills.
In order to really understand the importance, I will share with you the myriad symptoms of not being grounded and centered. Some of these are worst case scenario, however, if you are feeling any of the following medical or mental health symptoms, always talk to your licensed medical practitioner first to rule out any other underlying medical or mental health conditions. I am not a doctor and cannot diagnose any conditions.
Signs you may not be grounded:
You feel as though you are in a constant state of 'reaction,' aka "fight or flight"
High stress levels
Blocked or otherwise inhibited root chakra (The root chakra is associated with grounding. I will talk about this in a future blog post.)
Symptoms of depression and anxiety (Centering as well as grounding will help you immensely.)
Feeling homesick and don't know why
Jittery or hyper
Panic or anxiety attacks
Nervous breakdown
Can't stop talking, or talking more than you normally do
Fatigue or exhaustion
Light-headedness or dizziness
Can't seem to keep commitments or finish projects
Unable to remain calm
Lack of focus and/or unable to concentrate
Not being present (always thinking about the past or future)
Overthinking
Overstimulated
Fearful
Irritable or easily frustrated
Feeling antsy or impatient
Angst
Body aches
Digestive problems
Need constant distractions and/or can't be left to your own thoughts
Feeling disconnected, alone or lost
Unclear thoughts
Your mind is always 'on' and can't relax
Heart races for no apparent reason
Insomnia
Restlessness
Resentful about life and/or suicidal (If you are feeling suicidal, please call your local crisis help line, or your local emergency number right away to seek help!)
Relying on external influences to mediate your thoughts and behaviors (i.e. addictions to drugs, alcohol, food, sugar, social media, electronic devices, etc.)
Attracting unwanted attention from souls looking for your energy
Feeling unsupported in all areas of life
Dis-ease
and more...
If you identify with any or all of these, I encourage you to continue reading for tips on how to ground and center. As you can imagine, any of the conditions described above can happen in varying degrees of severity and can cause all sorts of day-to-day problems. In some cases, it can be very serious. It is a vicious cycle that needs routine grounding to break. Luckily, grounding and centering can be done many different ways! Earth has provided us so many different ways to ground, so you can still use some of these techniques regardless of your beliefs or abilities. Keep in mind that not every technique will work effectively for you. And some may work better than others. Take note of how grounded you feel, and make sure you are fully grounding. This will make you feel calm, heavy (but not lethargic!) and centered.
"A whole plethora of opportunity opens up before you when you can feel safe and supported by the world."
Tips for grounding:
Meditation: If you are new to meditation, there are many guided meditation apps and YouTube videos available to you. Choose ones specifically for grounding. Some meditations can actually cause you to be un-grounded, so always follow those up with a grounding exercise of your choice.
Visualizations: This is similar to meditation. Some visualizations can include: a black cord connecting you from your solar plexus (I will talk about the solar plexus chakra in a future post) wrapping around the Earth's core, and pulling you down towards the surface; or my personal favorite, gravity boots. Imagine putting on gravity boots that send you straight back to earth; there are many others out there, you will just have to find one that works for you, personally.
Yoga: Yoga focuses on the physical body and breath. It is a great tool to use to calm the mind and ground you.
Exercise: Exercise and stretching are great tools to focus on your physical body.
Earthing: This term is specifically used for connecting with nature. This includes walking barefoot outside, swimming in natural waters, gardening, hugging a tree, etc. If it means getting your hands and feet covered in dirt, you're doing it right.
Bathing: Even better if it is an Epsom salt bath, but not totally necessary. Bathing or showering is a quick and easy way to ground. Ever heard of "shower thoughts"? Some of our best ideas happen in the shower. I wonder why...
Breathing exercises: There are various techniques, and can easily be searched using Google. Like meditation, choose techniques specifically for grounding.
Reiki: Reiki can help alleviate and remove blockages in the root chakra, and some practitioners may even be able to replace the energetic grounding cord if that is the cause of being unable to ground. A reiki practitioner will then follow up the session with grounding and centering. Reiki sessions can cause someone to be ungrounded, but using reiki specifically for grounding is an effective method.
Crystals: There are so many grounding crystals available at your local metaphysical store. Some of them you can look for include: Agate, Fire Agate, Aragonite, Bloodstone, Boji Stone, Cat's Eye, Jasper, Magnetite, Shungite, Shiva Lingam, Smoky Quartz, Tiger's Eye, Tiger Iron, Black or Brown Tourmaline, Unakite, and more. ('The Crystal Bible' by Judy Hall is a great resource into crystals, their effects, and how to use them.)
Eating/Drinking foods from the Earth: Eating foods that grow from the earth like root vegetables and earthy greens, as well as drinking clean water are excellent ways to ground. As a bonus, they are healthy and nutritious.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness and centering helps bring you to the present by bringing awareness to what you are directly experiencing through your senses. (i.e. I smell a flower, I see a hummingbird, etc.)
Mantras: Mantras can help bring your focus to the 'now' and concentrate inward. It helps you focus on your voice and physical being. Mantras can be anything from something you made up (i.e. Dorothy from 'Wizard of Oz' says, "There's no place like home..."), to religious prayer, to meditation mantras.
Singing Bowls: Singing bowls made for grounding make use of sound frequencies to assist in grounding the body. If you don't own any singing bowls, there are a lot of grounding singing bowl meditations found on YouTube.
Breastfeeding: I know this is very specific, but as a new mom, I have found breastfeeding to be very grounding!
Self-care: Self-care in the form of taking time to love and care for yourself can include any of the options in this list, or something special for yourself. Basically anything that will help you be present and in your body can be considered a grounding method.
Asking the Archangel of Grounding: Did you know you can ask for help? The Archangel of Grounding is extremely effective at grounding humans. That is his job. So ask him for help if you are struggling.
Asking the appropriate angel or archangel to center you: There are a couple angels and an archangel that work with centering your energy, depending on the severity. When you ask for the "appropriate angel or archangel" for help in a particular task (they may draw straws) someone will usually come to help.
Asking your spirit guides: You can also ask your spirit guides for ideas to help keep you grounded and to help you gather your energy from the past and future. If they aren't able to do this for you, try the other methods above.
There isn't one 'correct' way to ground and center, there are many ways to do it. Finding the way that works for you is part of the process - an on-going process. Being human, it is absolutely necessary to ground regularly and make it part of your daily routine as there are many factors that can cause you to become un-grounded. If you don't tune in and realize you aren't grounded, those unpleasant symptoms I've described above will creep up on you before you realize. Here are some examples of daily activities that may cause you to become un-grounded. If you do these things on a regular basis, you may want to up your grounding routine. This also applies to me, too... I am not exempt from these, either!
Things that may un-ground you:
Electronic devices (virtual reality combined with radiation can certainly un-ground you)
Drugs/Alcohol
Crowded places or areas with lots of people
High vibrational energy (If you have ever encountered an Angel or Archangel when they forgot to dial down their energy for humans, you'll understand this one well.)
High vibrational crystals or any non-grounding crystals
Spiritual work including meditation and reiki (Spiritual practitioners of any modality need to ground and center themselves and their clients after each session)
Being frightened/startled (The phrase 'jumping out of your skin' had to come from somewhere...)
Near death experiences or out-of-body experiences (this isn't exactly day-to-day, but I thought it was still relevant)
Other people that aren't grounded (Especially for empaths. If you are an empath, this will hugely affect you)
Busy/Noisy environments
Wearing rubber soled shoes, or driving for long periods of time
Children (I had to add this one in there being a new mom. Children, especially toddlers, are such high energy and haven't figured out grounding yet!)
Thinking too much about the past or future
Endless tasks or to-do lists
Sleep (We often do a lot of spiritual work and mind-processing in sleep and dreams. When we wake up, it may take us a while to come back to our bodies)
Ascension (See my ascension blog here. Ascension causes all sorts of things, and being temporarily unable to ground is one of them.)
Acts of violence, hate, vengeance, etc. (These acts will un-ground you, but can also be symptoms of being un-grounded. These acts also contribute to other things, but that's a whole other topic.)
Some medical procedures (Especially if drugs or anesthesia are involved.)
As you can see, grounding is pretty essential to feeling good. I really like how Matt Kahn describes it, "As the nervous system unwinds, your attention expands to dissolve self-doubt, to enhance your interest in listening, and to guide you toward the most inspired choices that are always in reach." When you start including grounding into your daily routine and your spiritual practice, you start to feel safe in your body.
A whole plethora of opportunity opens up before you when you can feel safe and supported by the world. You are given a solid foundation to be able to listen to guidance and make wise decisions.
Some of the advantages to grounding regularly:
Reduced pain and inflammation
Reduced levels of cortisol (the 'stress hormone')
Improved circulation
Improved thought patterns
Positive mood changes
Increased energy
Improved cognition and comprehension
Able to complete tasks
Grounding becomes easier and becoming un-grounded happens less frequently
Sleep better, and wake up refreshed
Able to respond instead of react
Remain calm in high pressure situations
Alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression
Able to control how and what your energy is being used and focused on
Being safe and supported in your body
Being present
Being able to see new and better opportunities
Having the time and energy to focus on manifesting your desires
Being okay with a quiet mind
I challenge you to increase your grounding routine. If you've never grounded before, then start with doing one method described above with the intention of grounding either first thing in the morning, or before you go to bed, or incorporate it in your other daily routines. Do this every day for one week, and see if you've noticed a difference. I would love to hear of your results, so please send me a message on facebook or email at cathyrosehealing@gmail.com!
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