When was the last time you noticed that you were on autopilot, and the direction you were heading felt underwhelming and maybe even just plain out of alignment with who you are? Unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon these days that the tremendous tidal forces of modern life leave us distracted and distanced from who we are, what we love, and when we feel most alive.
Our Spiritual research points us to mindfulness practices – mindful awareness practices help us determine what feels right and what feels off and choose “better” in each moment. But wait, there’s more! Grounding practices involve the body, the mind, the emotion, the Spirit, and the energy system and support us with additional resources as we create our intentional life.
What’s our Energy System?
First, let’s acknowledge what science already tells us – everything is made of energy. There is physical energy, which makes up everything around us – our bodies, nature, even the air we breathe and the water we drink. Anything in the physical will also have about 99.9% more subtle energy around and within, called subtle energy.
Subtle energy, which is harder to see with our eyes, requires more sophisticated measurement equipment. Nevertheless, subtle energy provides the template for everything in physical reality.
Think about an acorn – within that tiny seed is all the wisdom for that acorn to become a great oak tree.
That wisdom, or code, is subtle energy. Many people use “light” or “light energy” to describe subtle energy. Just as the oak tree grows into itself – each branch follows some template, so too we grow based on our template. Grounding practices help us get back in touch with our original energetic template or our original light.
Grounding Practices For Your Authentic Self
Because our energy template carries the wisdom of who we are, creating a relationship to that template becomes a critical first step in creating an authentic and fulfilling life.
Grounding practices are the practices that nurture that relationship between your life and your light. These are the practices that help you come back home to your original self or your inner light.
The Lake and the Stream
Consider for a moment a lake sitting in the forest, a little stream constantly feeding it with fresh water, and the lake stays clean and clear because that current of water cleans it. Now, consider that same lake in the forest, but there is no stream. So, the lake sits, and over time the leaves from the trees fall and decompose; the algae grow thicker, and the lake becomes out of balance.
This is precisely how our energy system responds to the energies around us (external stress, other people’s energies) and the energies within us (food, thoughts, feelings). Usually, we can take only so much out of alignment with who we are, and then we must make a change. Grounding practices act like that stream of energy. They help move out what isn’t serving us, soften the stress, help clear our minds, and balance our emotions – essentially supporting connection and balance with our energy system.
Grounding Practices: Coming Home to Your Inner Light
Let’s practice being that stream-fed lake and get connected with the more immense energies of Mother Earth.
She blooms flowers, so why not connect with her energy, and let her bloom you in your life too!
You can perform this grounding technique sitting or standing.
- Take a few breaths to walk over the threshold of your everyday attention to more intentional attention.
- Feel your feet on the floor or ground.
- Notice how the floor or ground feels as if it is coming up to meet the bottom of your feet.
- Remind yourself that you are connected to the energy of Mother Earth.
- You might even visualize that energy as a specific color. (There’s no wrong color!)
- As if sipping up from a straw, allow that energy to flow through the soles of your feet, up through your ankles and lower legs, and up into the core of your body.
- Visualize or imagine that energy flowing up your spine, down your arms, and even up and out your head.
- Allow that Mother Earth’s energy to flow through you with the intention of cleansing and clearing. Her energy will take that which is no longer needed.
- After a few moments, sit with yourself. Allow your energy to begin to take up the new space created when that wasn’t needed was let go.
- Notice what it feels like to be connected to your energy or inner light.
It may seem arbitrary at first to connect with subtle energy, something you may not even see and that might be somewhat hard to feel in the beginning. But remember, like the acorn growing into a great oak tree, so too you are growing into your greatness. This practice of moving out what diminishes and clouds your light will allow you to see yourself with more clarity. This is the practice of grounding to Mother Earth. This practice even offers many therapeutic benefits such as pain reduction, stress reduction, healthy sleep, increased immunity, migraine treatment, and faster wound healing, to name a few.
Grounding as a Practice of Connection
In addition to bringing you closer to who you are, to your own light, and your own healing capacity, something else happens. As you create a relationship with yourself – what you stand for and what you stand against, the choices you make aligns with these. Little by little, moment by moment, it becomes easier to choose based on the light that you are the cornerstone values that you believe in. Your energy template is based on the same harmony as all of nature. Just as there is a more extensive web of life always seeking homeostasis and balance, so too are you. These practices don’t only lead you to more profound into your light, but deeper in relationship with the light of others. When you see the light in others, it is easier to love them, appreciate them, and honor them.
These practices support the goodness we are all looking for – goodness turned towards self and goodness turned to others.