simple questions concerning grounding

[Shane]

What is grounding?
Why and when do you do it?
How do you go about doing it?

[manstranger]

For me its the excersise I do to call in my stray thoughts and make a stillness-like feeling in myself. I would use it after a ritual, or during, for that matter, when I felt like I was on an energy high, or just when I'm feeling an overload of an emotion that I don't want to feel, such as worry. It helps to bring myself back into a state in which i can handle whatever I'm feeling better.

The method I use most often to do it is to do a breathing semi-meditation. I say semi-, because its not really, imo, meditation, just one of the things that I use in meditation. But anyhoo, i just slow my breathing and focus on myself wrapped in the arms of the Goddess, picturing my energy levels going from bright white (high) to muted gray (normal) and having Her take the rest. It works rather well for me.

[tangerine]

Grounding is something I do when I'm feeling anxious, stressed or unable to focus. It's also nice to do at the end of a ritual to kinda bring me back down. I tend to be a very literal person at times, so I have to imagine strong, supple roots curling out of my body and burying themselves in the Earth. How far down they go is up to how I feel at the moment.

I then gather all of the excess energy in my body and send it down these roots into the Earth and take up the comfort that the Earth provides. I then thank the Earth for absorbing my energy, and that's it! I find that it really helps when I'm nervous about something such as a big exam.

[Nina]

I send my excess energy into the earth, or I hold a piece of haematite in my hand. sometimes I just stand upright, with my hands relaxed by my side, and imagine the excess energy dripping off my fingers like raindrops. Sometimes having a bite to eat is a good thing to do.

Have a look at this link - this may help a bit.

Grounding (http://about.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/85/story_8543_1.html&boardID=21888)

Keep asking the questions!

[Shane]

Thank you. Very helpful. I've also read about centering. How does that tie into grounding. Also, is there a special method for "rasing energy." I mean, I know how to raise my physical energy. I could jump up and down, go to a concert, listen to fast music, hit a punching bag...but how does one go about raising spiritual energy? Is it a matter of just imaging and visualizing yourself being filled with it? How do I know when I need more enegry or I need to get rid of excess. It it something I will come to always feel with practice?

Sorry for asking so many questions.

[Nina]

Before I do anything magickal, be it ritual, or an actual magickal working, I imagine a beam of white, pure light coming from directly above me into my crown chakra (top of my head), filling me up with light, wiping out all the negative thoughts, and then I ground, letting all this light energy flow out of me through my feet or hands, or if I'm sitting down, the base of my spine. When I feel that all the light has gone, leaving me like an empty vessel, I concentrate on a point just above my belly button and once I am focussed on it I will visualise drawing energy, again like light, coming up from the Earth beneath me (so either through my hands and feet or my spine) and forming a glowing ball of light at the point I'm concentrating on. When I feel I have enough energy, I visualise it becoming the type of energy I need, often by giving it a colour in my mind - pink for love or friendship, red for passion, or creativity, green for healing, white for purity etc. Then I let it out of my body, through my hands if I'm sending it into an item like a crystal, stone or talisman, or out of my crown chakra if I'm sending it to someone for a healing. Afterwards, I would ground again, to get rid of the dregs of this energy (there's always some that sticks to you!)

Some people like to raise energy by chanting - one that I've used, and is very common is to repeat the phrase "She changes all She touches, and all She touches changes" and just the repetition, over again, seems to raise energy. Others like to dance, or drumming is very popular (I don't, because I have neighbours who wouldn't be too pleased!)

Right at the beginning, I really couldn't get the hang of energy work, always wondering whether I was just imagining the energy. Then I was taught to work with the Sun's energy, by tipping my face up to the sun and holding my palms up to it and drawing the energy from the sun in that way. Because you can feel the heat of the sun, it makes it easier to visualise the energy flowing into and out of you. After a while, you start to sense the energy - I now feel it as a tingle, almost like an itch, inside my skin! Sometimes, I can see it in my peripheral vision.

Another good idea is to try working with energy 'balls' - I'll see if I can find some links for you.

Pagan Dawn Article (http://www.pagan-dawn.co.uk/energy.htm)
Raising Energy lesson (http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/raiseground.html)
Energy Balls (http://www.paganism.com/ag/lessons/eballs.html)
Energy Balls 2 (http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/energyballs.html)

[Myst]

Originally posted by Shane
Thank you. Very helpful. I've also read about centering. How does that tie into grounding. Also, is there a special method for "rasing energy." I mean, I know how to raise my physical energy. I could jump up and down, go to a concert, listen to fast music, hit a punching bag...but how does one go about raising spiritual energy? Is it a matter of just imaging and visualizing yourself being filled with it? How do I know when I need more enegry or I need to get rid of excess. It it something I will come to always feel with practice?

You usually ground and center at once. You become one with the world above and below, balancing out your energy, and to center after doing so you find your spiritual center. Centering is like calming yourself and making yourself ready for magic. Its like giving yourself a symbol that it's time to be spiritual - when I center I like to take a moment to let go of the day's worries - to let go of any worries or anger (you shouldn't bring these into circle), and to think about how I'm part of the universe and it's part of me.

You can raise energy as Nina said. You can imagine it as a white light from the sky and from the ground and the universe. You should *always* raise energy before doing magic, rather then using your own energy up - that'll make you sick! Afterwards you should *always* ground excess. At other times you'll know you need to ground because you'll feel antsy, uncomfortable, or "light" like you could float away. It'll help if you have some food and drink to help you "come back to earth" and ground so you're ready to go back to mundane life. And yes, it will come with practice - soon you'll know when you need more careful grounding or less grounding, or when you need some energy, etc.!

[Shane]

thanks a lot.

[Myst]

No problem. We're all glad to help :)

[violetrose]

I think for me, this is the most difficult i guess, just because I'm not really sure when to do it...Let me get this straight....I ground, center, then ground again after I have done my thing right?????
What if you don't do these things?Does this mean the spell or ritual is not performed correctly....Is the spell being "charged" sort of speaking when I do the grounding and centering...And does your concentration have to be perfectly clear when doing this.....I am a FULL time mom so quietness is not one of our home's best qualities.........I heard once that if you are not fully grouded or centered , or if your attention is not on this fully, that the spell or ritual or what ever it is that we are performing could be screwed up or just not directed the way we intended......If this is possible and the spell was not performed the way we intended, is it safe to perform it again or should we just move to a different, but similar one?

[Myst]

You heard right. Avoid doing magical work if you can't keep concentration, focus, and take time to ground and center. If you do it's either not going to work or it'll muck up, so there's no point in doing it. Magical work can't be effective if you aren't focused, because it's entirely based on focusing your will and energy.

You ground and center first to raise energy from the earth, universe, deity, whatever. Don't use your own energy directly as it will be depleted and you'll get lethargic and sick. Instead, use the energy around you by grounding and centering then raising energy from wherever. (You might look into the tree of life meditation for this).

Afterwards you ground excess energy out. If you keep it it can make you flighty, uncomfortable, or "hyper". Also when you ground it out you've sealed the spell or ended the ritual.

[s1ren]

If I'm feeling VERY scattered or stressed, I center separately from my grounding excersize: I lay down and concentrate on my toes, feeling every inch of them, air currents blowing across them, etc. Then I move up my body very slowly, becoming aware of EVERYthing, every part of me, and FEEL it, and feel the difference between me and say, the floor or the chair of whatever.

I ground several ways, depending on how I feel: #1: breathe deeply for a minute, until I'm relaxed, then I take a HUGE breath, and hold it in for a second. Then, keeping my lungs as full of air as I possibly can while still breathing lightly, I gather up everything I've got and kind of trade with the earth, by kind of collapsing to the ground and exhaling almost to the point of pain, touching it, and letting everything go. Everything bad, tense, unhealthy, or whatever...I hang on to the good stuff, and when I breathe back in again, I supplement what's left with the energy of the earth, concentrating on my third chakra (my center) and allowing the new energy I'm taking in to mix with my own at that point on my body, then spread out to the rest of me.

#2 In the shower, after a long, hard day, I stand as balanced as I can under the water. I've just washed, concentrating on washing away all the daily crap that I'm carrying with me; so now, I allow the water flowing over my body to rinse it all away, down the drain. I imagine that I'm standing under a pure, clean waterfall, and that all the crap it's washing away is mixing with the river it flows into and just goes away and is neutralized in the swirling waters. Then, I really FEEL the water--physically, emotionally, energy-wise...flowing all around me, through me, a part of me, and I take that energy in. This works best when I'm all emotional after a crappy day or something bad happening (water being an emotional element).

#3 Starhawk has one in one of her books, where you visualize roots growing down into the earth. As you breathe out, all the crap leaves you and goes down into the earth. As you breathe in, the roots light up with the pure energy of the earth, fills your body, and you visualize your head/hair/arms as branches of a tree, filling and growing with that earth energy, and sweeping back to touch the floor behind you (when you're sitting up), so that you as a tree form a circle with the earth beneath you. That's a pretty fast description--read the book for more :)


Whew! That was long, hehe. I ground before and after anything magical that I do. I also do it several times a week or even once a day sometimes--when I stay grounded, I'm calm, and destressed, and able to think more clearly. If I'm not grounded, I'm really scatterbrained, clumsy, and I end up getting irritated and frustrated REALLY easily. I also do it when I've been in a high-energy situation (for example, I saw "STOMP!" last friday night--*very* high energy in the performers and the crowds, and in me), so that the excess that I've built up or been filled with won't stagnate and/or stay with me, which makes me really worn-out and bitchy later on.

Woohoo! this discussion is fun. I love comparing notes and methods with people :)

-s1ren (who loves to babble...sorry so long!)

[Lavender]

Originally posted by s1ren
... As you breathe out, all the crap leaves you and goes down into the earth. ...:)


Hehe! Don't remember that from her books! :D

I like the tree one too. That's the one I do on a regular basis. I love it in the morning as I'm waiting for my train. A great way to start the day.

[violetrose]

ok, now I feel like I'm getting somewhere....That was the confusing part.......So really there is no rules to when, how, where, or even why you ground & center, just as long as you do it.....That makes alot of sense to me now, only I never knew The crazy little things I do to bring myself to reality was actually grounding and centering....lol...Yes, the tree thing I bet will work for me.....

[Shane]

I think a lot of people (myself included) ground and center and don't even realize that's what they're doing... I'm sure they dont all use the visualization techniques, but still...

[s1ren]

As you breathe out, all the crap leaves you and goes down into the earth. ...

Hehe! Don't remember that from her books! :D


ROFL!! OK, so that's not *literally* what I meant, LOL! Although SRW does say in the one book of hers I actually bothered to read, that she grounds while she uses the bathroom...ew. :eyebrow:

-s1ren

[Myst]

Actually I think it was in amidst discussing expelling things and discussion of the feng shui beliefs surrounding the bathroom.. you expel bodily waste and cleanse yourself of dirt, so why *wouldn't* you rid yourself of unhealthy energy at the same time? Makes sense to me. *shrugs*

[Lavender]

Originally posted by violetrose
ok, now I feel like I'm getting somewhere....That was the confusing part.......So really there is no rules to when, how, where, or even why you ground & center, just as long as you do it.....That makes alot of sense to me now, only I never knew The crazy little things I do to bring myself to reality was actually grounding and centering....lol...Yes, the tree thing I bet will work for me.....

It's not as much as these are rigid rules or anything but rather, an order of things to do. It's like when you turn on your computer, you don't turn on your computer first and then plug in the power cord. Grounding and centering is what you do to prepare yourself for the work you're going to do.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

I've gained alot from reading this thread. Many Thanks!

[Flar's Freyja]

Bump

[Dravius]

Hehe.....Freyja the bump-mistress strikes again! :P

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by Dravius
Hehe.....Freyja the bump-mistress strikes again! :P

:lol: I think I bumped this because I saw someone asking about grounding in another thread and happened to run across this one........with the week I've had, no tellin'................

[April]

I learned a lot from this thread...thanks.

[PoetJourney]

When I need to ground, I like to go outside and sit on the ground with my back against a tree. If I know that I can't be seen by the neighbors, then I will stand with my back against tree and hug it behind me. Closing my eyes, I envision roots growing from my feet down into the ground, blending with the roots of the tree. I imagine that the tanglement of roots begin their own journey further and deeper than the tree was before I began. I can feel the strength of the tree becoming a part of me and I am comforted and feeling safe and connected.

What is grounding?
How do you go about doing it?

[Vivianne]

Has anyone every used an essential oils with their grounding, I know with chakra correction, you can use some essential oils as well as crystals?

I know sometimes when I can't seem to ground myself...I put a bit of diluted vetiver on my root chakra (base of spine)....then lay flat on the ground...and chant...."I am rooted in life, and in myself..." slowly relaxing and just letting everything ebb away....

I'm interested to see if anyone else does something similiar.

Vivianne

[Teshuva3D]

I send my excess energy into the earth, or I hold a piece of haematite in my hand. sometimes I just stand upright, with my hands relaxed by my side, and imagine the excess energy dripping off my fingers like raindrops. Sometimes having a bite to eat is a good thing to do.

Have a look at this link - this may help a bit.

Grounding (http://about.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/85/story_8543_1.html&boardID=21888)

Keep asking the questions!
What a good article!!! thanks for sharing that...

[Michie]

The idea of grounding and centering has been a hard one for me to grasp, so this discussion has been helpful!

Let me toss out another question. I've noticed that a lot of the grounding and centering excercises depend on visualization...visualizing yourself as a tree, etc. I have an extremely hard time with the visualization. Any thoughts on how to help with this?

Sometimes I feel like I have ADD - I'll try and concentrate on grounding, centering, meditating, visualizing, and my mind is on a million different things, no matter how much I try to concentrate. I've been getting frusterated that I'll never be able to progress onto other things because I can't even focus on these basic principles. Help!

[Tranquility]

Essentialy, grounding is used to clear out and purify your energies. With your breathing you visualize the flow of energy from the earth going through you ( or the tree if you do the tree of life exercise ), and this can help to still your mind and energies, and make your energies stronger for a larger task or meditation.
It has probably been said here before, but going about doing would be visualizing yourself as a tree, and seeing your roots going deep and far into the earth. Then when you inhale, view the energy flow up and into you, and when you exhale view the energy flow down and out.

[Tranquility]

The idea of grounding and centering has been a hard one for me to grasp, so this discussion has been helpful!

Let me toss out another question. I've noticed that a lot of the grounding and centering excercises depend on visualization...visualizing yourself as a tree, etc. I have an extremely hard time with the visualization. Any thoughts on how to help with this?

Sometimes I feel like I have ADD - I'll try and concentrate on grounding, centering, meditating, visualizing, and my mind is on a million different things, no matter how much I try to concentrate. I've been getting frusterated that I'll never be able to progress onto other things because I can't even focus on these basic principles. Help!

Michie, do not be in the SLIGHTEST bit worried. One of the hardest tasks that a human being can accomplish is clearing your mind of all thoughts for FIVE minutes! Five minutes! We live in such a hectic world and time where multi-tasking is praised, no one can focus on one task anymore. The only way you can get better at these tasks is by practicing. I know everyone says that, but keep focusing on the task at hand, if your mind wanders, bring it back slowly to the task. Another exercise you may want to do is on concentration. Just light a candle and sit there looking at it for 5 minutes, don't stare, but keep looking at it without thinking, just looking.
Also, before your meditation, try to drink a cup of tea and just relax and take some deep breaths.. it seems like you have a lot going on, so for about 10 minutes before a meditation, just relax.

Most of all, do not worry. We have all been in that phase before, and im sure if you looked around this site you would see my same posts when i was first learning, asking the same questions. Good luck!

[Michie]

Tranquility - thank you for making me feel a little bit more normal! Lately I have trouble even reading my books because my mind is always on something else. Sometimes I have to force my brain back to the task at hand and read the same paragraph over and over. Lately I just can't concentrate on anything! It is very frusterating sometimes!

I really enjoy yoga - but in class we are encouraged to clear our minds, and I know I'd get more out of it if I could. I know I just need to practice, but sometimes it gets so frusterating!

I love candles, so thank you for the candle idea...I'll have to give it a try. :)

[PeleRising]

Sometimes i have a hard time grounding and centering as well. A million thoughts run through my head when i actually sit down. What are my kids doing... when is hubby gonna be home... what was that sound... are the bills paid. Yikes!!!

Sometimes just concentrating on my breathing helps... I breathe in to the count of 2 and out to the count of 3... over and over and im hearing the numbers in my head...

Another thing i do is actually get in the shower... and let the water fall on me... and i "see" the excess energies and worries swirling down the drain.

Candles work well for me too... making the room semi dark and lighting one candle and staring at that.

But there are times when nothing works... and those are the times when i turn the music up real loud and the girls and i dance wildly around the living room... and i can feel the excess energies flinging off me... and as my heart calms down ... its easier to ground.

Hope that helps....

[Cataline]

What a great discussion - I've learned a lot from reading this. Thought I'd offer up my own techniques

--I use the roots technique so many have described, but with a little something extra - I like to actually go outside and stand barefoot for a few minutes - there is something about feeling that connection with the ground and breathing fresh(er) air. Earth or grass works best but I've done it just standing on concrete or on the back deck too. Feeling the texture under, around my feet, makes me feel even more connected and helps me clear my mind. (Made it through natural childbirth by focusing on wiggling my toes :) )

--If I am really tense, so that I can't even focus on focusing, freewriting is the most effective method for me. I learned this in college - I had a prof in an early a.m. class that made us freewrite for five or ten minutes at the beginning of every class, to rid ourselves of any angst and also start up our creative/intuitive motors. It's not journaling, it's not "creative writing" like you would normally think of it, although some pretty potent poetic ramblings have been brought to life this way...I just put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and start going. Often I have no idea where my musings will go. The thoughts just sort of spill out. By writing them I get the satisfaction of giving these thoughts their due - I'm not just pushing them out of the way, but actually letting them have there little bit of attention, and then I'm not bothered while I do my work. When that excess energy is gone, and I feel cleaner, refreshed, ready to do whatever it is I need to do.

[Amadore]

I focus on my breathing and energy. I inhale through my nose and feel myself absorbing the sun's energy. I ihale the new, fresh, bright energy of the sun into my body. Then I exhale through my mouth, feeling my old, dull, dying energy going into the ground/earth, and feeding the nature beneath us. I do that 3 times, or until I feel refreshed and relaxed.

[Dorchadas Síofra]

grounding is something i usually do each night to help relax and center myself. I do grounding work before all meditations and spell work. It helps me focus my energy and let go of daily troubles. The way i usually do my grounding is the "Tree Visualization" because it is the first way i learned and the most effective way for me(also it gets me into a meditation mindframe). I usually have sandalwood incense and some outdoor/nature music and imagine myself in a forest, and I become one of the tall trees. I feel my branches and myself growing and absorbing energy from the ground as my roots grow deeper. I see the energy feeling inside me and around me and slowly I feel connected to the earth and more stable, relaxed and focused. to end my grounding exercises, i place both of my palms on the ground in front of me and imagine all the excess energy going back to the earth where it came from.

[kaosxmage]

What is grounding?

Coming back down to earth.


Why and when do you do it?

I do it so I won't see spooks in every corner, so I can function in a mundane world, and more importantly to ward off schizophrenia. I do this usually by eating, or a good firm bowel movement ...you asked. :kooky:


How do you go about doing it?

Self explanatory. :gagged:

Buhbye,
--Kaos

[Dark Spirit]

Yeah before doing any spell eat if you are hungry and use the damn washroom. To clear my thoughts I just let go ex: Don't focus don't think Don't try to remove thoughts from your mind either that just has you thinking about not thinking just let go... Just be.