Grounding is the action of returning yourself mentally to the
Physical Plane after Magick, Ritual or any other altered states of
consciousness (such as those achieved during Meditation and Astral
Travel). It's also a very useful technique at other times too,
allowing you to de-stress by taking a short time out when busy at
work, or to put any incident into perspective.
You could start by doing some deep breathing exercises, lay down
flat out (it can also be done in any sitting, position, as long as
you are comfortable) dimmed lights and relax, consciously letting
every muscle relax, if this is difficult, then try tensing them
individually, then letting them relax again. Do this until you are
totally relaxed, then allow yourself to become aware of your
breathing. Don't consciously change it as yet, just take note of
it's rhythm, and allow it slowly to become more relaxed, breathing
deeper and slower.
Once you are relaxed, then I'd suggest doing a quick vis or
grounding exercise, the usual grounding vis is to image roots
growing from your feet (or from the base of the spine), deep into
the soil, grounding you out, allowing the excess energy to flowing
harmlessly into the Earth and leaving you feeling relaxed and ready
to work, alert and fully aware. You could also do the vis for
getting rid of negativity, by 'showering' in a waterfall, and
allowing the water to ground you as it flows over you and wash away
the negatives in your life.
Another beautiful take upon this is something we received via email
from a friend, and possible one of the very best descriptions of the
Grounding Technique that we've seen yet!
Sit down and place hands firmly on ground if possible (if you're
inside imagine yourself to be in an outside area that you favour the
most -- woods, ocean, mountains... ) Close your eyes and take a deep
breath, exhale. Feel the earth beneath you. Feel all the energy and
natural power of the earth. Feel your own natural power and energy.
Take another deep breath, exhale slowly. Imagine yourself as a tree,
your leaves rustling as the wind blows, your branches bending with
the weight. Feel your trunk, steadfast, connected to the earth. Feel
your legs as they grow into root, deep within the earth. you are
firmly planted into the earth. Take another deep breath and exhale.
As you breath out, feel your energy flowing down from your head,
down the base of your spine, and out through your hands and feet to
connect with the earth. Watch the energy as it grows down your roots
to mingle with the energy of the earth. Take another deep breath. As
you breath in, feel the energy of
the earth flowing into you through your hands and feet. Feel the
tingle from the surge of energy. Feel the energy move up through
your roots, up your spine, and out into the cosmos through your
branches. Take another couple of deep breaths and feel each time how
your energy flows into the earth and the earths energy flows out
through you. Repeat this until you feel confident that you can
channel the earth's energy through yourself and mould it for your
purposes so that you can remain connected to the earth and you won't
deplete your own energy as much as you are working your ritual (or
any old time you need to ground yourself). This whole practice may
take as little as five minutes or longer if you need it to.
Other techniques of Grounding include partaking of a small amount to
eat and drink (the typical Cakes and Ale or Ritual Feast during
Ritual), taking a scented hot bath, physically 'hugging a tree',
touching a Grounding Stone (such as Hematite), lying on the ground
and feeling it supporting you or any other method that you find
works for you!
GROUNDING
...helps in centering and focusing on the body
and to live in the present. This process fosters
a feeling of stability in moments of insecurity,
it offers a calming effect when emotions are running
high; it leaves you in peace and in harmony within
and with the world around you. Grounding is about
gathering together all of your energies - mental,
emotional and physical,calming your thoughts
and feelings to bring about inner harmony and balance.
METHODS OF GROUNDING
Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
Place your hands on your thighs.
Focus your attention on your body.
Begin with your feet.Then slowly,and thoroughly,
move your awareness up through your legs, thighs,
torso arms, neck and head.
Focus on your breathing.
Imagine that you are surrounded by light.
As you breathe in, inhale this light,and
feel your body filling with it.
As you breathe out,exhale any tension,any pain
you may feel in your face, your shoulders,
your whole body
Inhale Light
Exhale tension until you are relaxed and calm.
METHOD B
Picture tiny roots coming from the soles of your
feet.Feel them growing and growing,
all the way down into the Earth .
Visualize your roots wriggling deep,
deep into the ground, taking hold there
and connecting you securely to the centre
of the Earth.
Now bring your attention to the top of your
head, to your crown.Visualize this spot,which
is about an inch and a half in diameter,
beginning to open.
From this opening fibers are emerging,
long filaments reaching up like branches
throughout the ceiling all the way up
through the building.
Breathe in both streams of energy
up from Earth and down from Heaven.
When you are ready,come aware of your
body again, of where you are sitting,
slowly open your eyes.
Look around you.
Notice any differences
in the way your body feels.
Be sure to enter your observations in
your psychic journal.
Centering is a good exercise if you find
meditation difficult. Centering will, over a
period of time,enable you to select what
needs attention both in the everyday world
and in decison-making issues,as well as
your spiritual development.
METHOD
Inhale slowly and saying a word such as peace,
love or harmony, silently on your in-breath
so that you extend every syllable,then exhale
the word out loud.
Repeat this at least 8 times and you will be
centered.
This enables you to switch from your everyday
mode to a higher state of conciousness.
It can also be used as a form of psychic protection.
Still your body by going to your special
outdoor/indoor space. Do nothing except listen
to your breathing - do not try to control,
count or change the rhythm.If thoughts intrude,
gently push them away gently,breathe them away.
Picture a sky full of stars and watch them going
out one by one until you are enclosed with stillness.
IF you find you suffer from being ungrounded
a lot, you may be a sensitive. It is a good
idea for sensitives to avoid alcohol, tobacco,
drugs and try a vegetarian diet. A small amount
of meat and large amounts of legumes are good
for grounding.
If you wish, you can imagine or visualize a
cord of energy traveling from the centre of your
body to the centre of the earth.
This can also work if you cannot get outside.
Keep in mind:
it may takes WEEKS of consistent grounding practise
before you begin to feel yourself again,
especially if you are particularly sensitive.
Any psychic work you do, any emotional trauma,
will make you ungrounded again. This practice
is something you must make part of your lifestyle.
The three psychic stages of grounding,
centering and stilling the mind can be used
separately or in sequence.
Centering and Grounding
Everyone who does anything with magick needs to know how to center and
ground.. It's like stretching before a sports event. Centering will help you keep
yourself balanced and focused on what you are doing. Grounding keeps you from
getting "spacy"or distracted.
You should always ground before you do anything with any magick or ritual
work. As well, if you do it before you sleep you'll not only sleep better, you
might remember more from your dreams as well. Grounding and centering aren't
just for magickal uses, either. Grounding will help you to meditate better.
Centering can help you with public speaking, taking exams, performing, and
managing anger.
When you're first learning this, get yourself somewhere where you're very
comfortable, and if you're not quite settled anywhere, make yourself as
comfortable as possible wherever you can. After a while you can do it anywhere,
because it becomes second nature.
Centering:
Close your eyes, and place your feet firmly on the ground or floor. Gather
all the energy in your body to a nice round glowing ball in what you feel is
the center of your body. This is centering. Find a center point in yourself
and feel it there, steady and calm. If you are only centering and not moving on
to grounding, maintain this as long as you need to until you feel you have
centered yourself enough.
Grounding:
Center yourself first. Breathe deeply. As you breathe in, feel the clean,
fresh air filling your whole body, filling your Self. As you breathe slowly
out, feel the worries and problems of your everyday life, your mundane existence
dropping away, through your feet into the Earth. Now imagine that ball
slowly putting down roots, small at first, getting thicker, through your feet and
your hands. Feel those roots get thicker as they go down through layers of
soil and rock, pushing deep into the Earth Mother's body.
Imagine the water table under all those layers of earth, and when your roots
reach the water, draw the cool, fresh energy of the Earth flow up to your
centered energy ball and blend with it - the Earth Power is a deep well, and
you are drawing it up into yourself, through your chakras, up your spine and
through the top of your head. Feel the Earth Power fill you, rise through you
like refreshing water, and feel it flow through your Center, constantly
providing both new energy and a route for negative and unhealthy energy to flow
away, carried by the Earth Power back to the depths of the living well to be
cleansed and made useful again.
As the energy flows through the top of your head, feel it branch out,
spreading like the arms of a tree. Feel it grow to the sky, into the stars, and
touch the bright Sky Power pulsing overhead. As it pulses, draw it down through
your branches, down through those arms and into your center, to connect with
your Center, to join there in union and balance with the Earth Power. Feel
the cool breezes of the Sky Power invigorate and cleanse you, bringing
inspiration and joy from the vast Universe into your Center.
Now you are connected to the Earth Power, and the Sky Power; feel them join
together in a balance in your Center, and in your Self. You are grounded now
in all things, and may journey deeper in to other realms; this is the
beginning of a meditative state, the state in which the mind is ready for both
magickal work and ritual.
How to Ground Yourself - Getting Truly Grounded
Adapted from Your Aura & Your Chakras by Karla McLaren (Samuel
Weiser, 1998).
People who are not grounded tend to be unfocused, unsettled, stress-
filled and stressful, and heavily invested in controlling the
environment around them. People who are naturally grounded are
generally earthy, centered, and at home in their bodies.
The act of grounding tends to center and focus people, because it
calms their bodies down and creates a warm and peaceful place in
which to live. Find out how, here:
Create Your Grounding Cord
Sit upright in a straight-backed chair with your arms and legs
uncrossed and your feet flat on the floor. Place your right hand on
your belly just above your pubic bone, and your left hand behind you
at the very base of your tailbone.
Keep your eyes open if you can, stay centered, and envision a
circular energy center inside your pelvis, right between your hands.
(If you know about the chakra system, you'll recognize this center
as
your first chakra.) This center is usually envisioned as a disk
three
to five inches in diameter. This disk faces forward, with colored
energy swirling visibly inside it, and the color is red.
This firmly anchored disk of energy resides within your body at all
times. This energy center has been present since before you were
born. It has a constant and unlimited supply of energy, and its
primary function is to feed and serve you.
Having your awareness in your mind, envision the energy swirling
inside this first chakra, and see a cord or a tube of this same
energy moving straight downward. The cord can be the same diameter
as
your chakra, or slightly smaller. It may help to envision a brightly
colored, plumbing-pipe sized grounding tube. Visualize your chakra
as
firmly anchored inside your body, and see the cord moving downward
out of your genitals, through your chair, and into the floor beneath
you.
Know that there is an unlimited amount of energy available to create
your cord. You are not draining your first chakra, you're simply
redirecting some of its inexhaustible energy down toward the center
of the planet.
See your grounding cord moving further downward, through the
foundation of the building you are in, into the layers of the ground
below you, and on down to the center of the planet, however that may
look to you.
Grounding Exercises
Try this for grounding yourself and relaxing a little. First, strip off your
shoes and
socks and head out the door, providing that the weather permits. Once
outside,
find a spot where you can relax and stand on the bare ground or the grass.
Feel
the coolness beneath your feet and then (visualize) feel your body as it
allows it's
energy to slowly settle into the earth. Bit by bit. Breathe right down into
the earth so
that it begins to feel like a projection of your body.
When you're having trouble visualizing or if you can't do the above in bare
feet
then, try this instead. Strip off your shoes and walk across a room in
super-slow
motion...... Extremely slow motion..... . Focus on what you are feeling.
Feel your
muscles, bones, and tendons in your feet and legs, shifting, rolling, moving
you
ever so slowly as you continue walking. Now move and shift your balance.
Walking in slow motion, it should take approximately 3-5 minutes to walk
across a
20 foot room. So about half way across the room, direct your focus on the
downward energy flow radiating from your feet into the Earth, and on the
earth's
upward energy flow that is now supporting your weight. You will be grounded
by
the time you reach the other side of the room.
Can't do the above, well, here's a few more suggestions.
1.)Try singing. Sing the deepest note that you are able. Feel it vibrate way
down
deep inside your belly and through your pelvis. Imagine this sound now going
into
the earth, extending itself down, deep into the earth...and see if you can
sing a
little deeper. As you get deeper, feel your energy ride along with each
breath of
each note you sing and continue on down into mother earth until you feel
grounded.
2.) Try working with gems such as amethysts, obsidian, black tourmaline, or
tiger
eye. Any one that you wish is fine. Polish them, dust them, or just hold
them. Wash
them off, dry them, or if you like you can even get into working with them
and
tumble them. And as you do this, imagine that you are preparing them to go
back
into the earth. If you can lose yourself in concentration while doing this,
it won't be
long before you feel calm and grounded.
Once you learn and practice a little bit, you should be able to do this in
2-3 deep
breaths without all the rest thrown in. All you have to do is turn your
focus on that
downward flow of energy as you breathe out, and then as you breathe in feel
the
earth's energy rise up to greet you.
.....source - http://www.angelfire.com/de2/newconcepts/wicca/stress.html
To Ground Energy After a Magic Work
To ground energy after a spell or a particularly potent magical
circle, use simple symbolism. Sit on the ground, placing your hands
in direct contact with the earth. Let the excess energy pour out of
you while repeating this statement twelve or thirteen times: "From
nature shared, we reciprocate, let this energy disseminate."
Continue
relaxing until you feel the buzz in the air passing and your senses
returning to normal. It also helps to eat some simple foods like raw
vegetables.
This spell also works for people who feel the need to keep their
feet
on the ground. If an outdoor location is not available, go to an
area
close to the earth, like a cellar or sun porch. Use the same verbal
component. While reciting the incantation, see yourself as a tree or
other plant with deep, strong roots.
General Uses :
Foundations, support, justification, and growth. Responsible
dispersement of magical energy.
Timing :
Planting season. Spring months, especially May. When the moon is in
Capricorn or Sagittarius. Thursday or Saturday.
