Feeling the Earth Beneath your Feet
Being grounded. I hear that terminology a lot. In fact, I find myself saying it a lot. But what does it really mean and how do you know if you are truly there? You know when you meet someone and they appear calm and being in their presence feels good? They are likely well grounded. They have found a peacefulness within, and the chaos of emotions, situations and people around them just flows around them, leaving them unaffected. Doesn't that sounds like a wonderful place to be? It is. Let's discuss how exactly one gets there.
For me, a lot of it comes to visualization and recreating the memories I have from childhood. Those days where the only thing that mattered was what was happening in the moment. Its that feeling of the cool grass between your toes. And I'm not referring to the perfect turf-like pesticide and herbicide-doused grasses. I mean the grass that has bare patches, and clovers and dandelions growing out of it. The moistness of the rain making the soil squish up into your toe nails and layer the bottom of your feet with muddy tracks. It may not be a childhood memory for you, but we've all been there at some point.
So I stand, barefoot, finding a good comfortable stance and close my eyes. Focusing on the feet and really feeling their connection to the ground. Visualizing roots growing from the bottom of the feet deep into the earth, holding me stable and strong. Imagine the moist grass and soil oozing up in between the toes. Then, bringing attention upward, I imagine the sun's rays beating down on my head... on my skin. As I breathe in, I visualize the warmth of the sun penetrating through every cell of my body. Exhaling, I push that warm glow downward through my body and into the earth. On the next inhale, switching directions and I pull up the earth's grounding energy via the roots, feet, and up the legs into the body. Exhaling, pushing that energy up through the body and outward to the sky. And repeat...
Once you get the rhythm, the visualization, the sensations, you become the connection between earth and sky... sky and earth. That feeling, of connection, of being one with all things surrounding you, that is the feeling of being grounded. And the amazing thing is that you can go there whenever you wish. Try this one, or find the visualization that works for you, and feel free to share!