I was guiding a client through a grounding exercise this week and was talking about the nurturing, nourishing quality of the yin earth energy….and accidentally combined earth and nourishing/nurturing and said “nearth”….and I thought, that is a perfect word to use for grounding: nearthing! A little humor is good in these times…..
This past week was so intense as we finally tipped over into fall and Mercury ended its retrograde cycle and went direct, it seems timely to send out a reminder of not only the benefits of being grounded and nearthed, but how essential grounding is for our well being.
Now is the time to ground or nearth our energy, connecting with the cosmos and the earth, anchoring between them. Our Higher Self and the Universe are the perfect balance of yin and yang. Here on earth in our human condition, we vacillate in the balance of yin and yang, affected by all that is happening around us and within us. Grounding helps us balance and handle the influx of any change, within or without.
A simple grounding technique is to imagine the energies above you in the heavens. Breathe in this swirl of energy through the top of your head. With continued gentle inhales and exhales, breathe it all the way through your body down to your feet, and then exhale the energy down into the heart of the earth. Now again with gentle inhales and exhales, breathe in the earth energy all the way up through your body. You will be nearthed….the cosmic and earth energy will mix in just the right proportion in your body. You can send it with your intention just to where you need it most in your body. Just a few seconds several times during the day can stabilize and harmonize us.
From Lori Furbush, a Qi Gong teacher in CA:
The first step in healing is to ground; to start from where you are.
Ground your body on the earth.
Ground your mind in your body.
Ground your breath and your focus in your lower belly.
Focus is such an important tool. If we cannot focus our mind, we cannot harness the energy we need for healing and for digesting life. Pool all of your energy and resources into experiencing the present moment, through the deep center of your being, and feel the vast possibilities that await your next step.
From David Whyte:
Ground is what lies beneath our feet.
It is the place where we already stand;
a state of recognition,
the place or the circumstances to which we belong
whether we wish to or not.
It is what holds and supports us,
but also what we do not want to be true;
it is what challenges us, physically or psychologically,
irrespective of our hoped for needs.
It is the living, underlying foundation that tells us what we are,
where we are, what season we are in and
what, no matter what we wish in the abstract,
is about to happen in our body;
in the world or in the conversation between the two.
To come to ground is to find a home in circumstances
and in the very physical body we inhabit
in the midst of those circumstances
and above all to face the truth,
no matter how difficult that truth may be;
to come to ground is to begin the courageous conversation,
to step into difficulty and by taking that first step,
begin the movement through all difficulties,
to find the support and foundation
that has been beneath our feet all along:
a place to step onto,
a place on which to stand
and a place from which to step.