"Young lady, you're grounded!"

When I was in high school, I heard the title phrase a lot, particularly during my junior and senior years.  My friends Kitty and Mike and Mark were rabble-rousers, protesting the Viet Nam non-War and promoting something bizarre called Earth Day and letting our hair grow to Rapunzel lengths: fun stuff like that.  The dean of our high school despaired of us ever learning to toe the mark, and he would barrel down the hall thundering that we were grounded;  we'd groan, and after school head to detention instead of drama club or debate club or whatever club we'd much rather have been going to.


These days, the phrase, "you're grounded!" has come to mean something rather different.


Along my path of learning about healing work, I realized that there were times I'd do good work only to be left feeling airy-fairy and floaty and unable to do more good work.  About that time I heard about a local healer named Warren Grossman who taught classes in working with Earth's energies, and through him I learned the importance of grounding.  


Energy is energy, and ungrounded energy flies around and can't focus and often causes difficulties (think of houses before lightening rods).  Grounded energy is useful, purposeful, and can accomplish a great deal.  I found that when I remembered to ground and do my energy work, I could stay clear-headed and have a lot of energy coming from Mama Earth to source me, and when I didn't, I got goofy (I mean like walking into walls) and tired.  


Over the years, I've taught many of my clients how to ground, and they often report their lives going much more smoothly just with that one missing piece;  when they ground, they feel better, clearer, have more energy, sleep better, and digest their food better.  Pretty amazing, considering how simple it is.


What is grounding?  Well, it's simply putting one's attention on the connection to the Earth that is there all along.  The thing is, when we get super-cerebral, living in our heads,  and don't spend much time out of doors,  and wear shoes that mis-shape our feet, and a host of other things that are considered normal in our current culture, we block or miss a lot of the benefits Mama Earth is trying to give us. It's amazing that a few moments actively paying attention to our feet on the ground, sensing our energy going deeply into the earth as if we were trees and had roots, can bring such benefits.  But it can and does:  don't take my word for it.  Try it yourself.


There are, of course, myriad ways to ground, each fitting different applications, but that basic technique makes a big difference, and it's simple.


What seems to not be simple for many of us, doggone it, is REMEMBERING to ground.  I've been at this for years, and I still catch myself struggling, struggling, struggling at something. Then, hello!, I remember to ground, which only takes moments and instantly feels soooooo good. Afterwards whatever I'm doing goes more easily and smoothly, and I feel silly for not having remembered sooner. 


I used to get pretty aggravated with myself for not remembering, but it finally occurred to me how counter-productive that was, and now I tend to see the silliness in it, and laugh, which of course feels better, and is a much better reinforcement for remembering the next time. My friend Sarah adds this jewel:  she has caught me smacking my forehead in the timeless gesture of "oh, duh!' and suggested that instead I stroke myself around my head and heart kindly- even sexily- and say, "wow, this is getting easier and easier to remember!"  Laughter invariably ensues.


Imagine a world in which you scold your errant teen, "You're grounded!" and he or she scolds back,"yeah, well, you too!" and you both laugh and go into the backyard and ground together, sharing the bliss of that connection with the amazingly loving presence beneath our feet. In my experience, problems don't usually disappear when I ground, but they sure do take on a more balanced perspective.  


Part of what happens for me, and is reported true by others, is that any feeling of being engaged in a power struggle lessens or even dissolves, and I can truly acknowledge in my heart that we're simply seeing different sides of the same situation, and both want good solutions.  


Imagine a world in which our elected officials grounded at the start of any meeting?  Imagine teachers and students grounding at the start of class (actually I did this for several years at a day care at which I worked, and it made a profound difference in the mood and tone of the class). Imagine a police officer grounding before he approached your car when you'd been speeding?  Imagine you grounding before you get into your car to drive?


This stuff is fun, and I believe can go a long way toward helping ourselves, and then rippling out in marvelous ways.  Try it.  And if you have difficulties or want to take it to deeper levels, give me a call and we'll make an appointment.  


Final note - grounding is very powerful near a tree, as trees ground powerfully all the time and are wonderful models for us. Practicing with trees is one of the best ways to get the hang of it. Yet grounding can be done anywhere - even on the hundredth floor of a building.  The Earth's energy is huge, so no worries there.  Try grounding in lots of situations and see what you think.  I'll be fascinated to hear.