"The practice of connecting to Earth for grounding is often a powerful way to feel safe, held, and otherwise cared for without having to go directly into the triggers and on-edge nervous systems that many of us live with. For myself, when I really started along my embodiment journey, I could not bring my consciousness inward into my own body. I had to begin by connecting to Earth - to ground. Once I found safety and connection and other aspects of this grounding here, I could then go into the important work that has to do with bringing our conscious awareness inward.
Still, for others, you are able to go directly inward into connection with your body and safety there. Again, this is an important opportunity to point out how we have differences and similarities, and we must pursue this path with the ability to discern what actually serves in each moment.
In this piece, we get to focus on Grounding, the most foundational state that we are here to cultivate on The Embodied Path. As is stated above, grounding practices come in many forms, and it is my wish that you try several of them out to learn what works best for you at this point in time. I offer several of them here for you today along with supporting teachings that are here to help you cultivate a deeper sense of grounding in your life.
Opening Practice
Take a moment to feel into the ground you stand on. Do this physically as you tune into the literal ground you stand on. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel your seat in your chair.
Now, do this energetically. Take a few deep breaths down... down... down into the Earth you sit/stand on. Let your breath be your guide as your consciousness is moved down into the physical ground beneath you.
You can also do this energetically and psychologically: What grounds do you stand on in your life? In other words, what are the foundations that you stand on as you move through life? Bring conscious awareness to the foundations that hold your life. Breathe into this space.
I encourage you to let thoughts come to mind, or even visuals that show you what these grounds are. I also encourage you to feel it in your body: Where do you feel this in your body? What exactly does it feel like?
There are many qualities connected to the experience of "grounding." They range from a sense of safety and meaningful connection to that which physically holds you in life on this Earth. The following piece is here to examine the different aspects of grounding in your life, but most importantly to help bring awareness to your embodied state of grounding as you receive access to the practices that will help you skillfully cultivate this state.
A first look at Grounding - A felt sense of safety and security
In one use of the word grounding, we can speak to a felt sense of being held:
- Safe and Secure
- Nurtured and Cared for
When we are grounded, we feel a level of safety and security, such that we are able to move forward through life without constant need for fighting for those basic needs.
Please know that, in one way, we could see this as dependent on whether or not those basic needs are met. However, I will argue that being spiritually grounded is independent on the extent to which those needs are met.
For, spiritual grounding goes deeper than the physical world. When you are grounded, you are so connected to this Earth, and to spirit, that you know you are held and cared for. In this way, grounding (like all spiritual states) transcends the physical world.
This being said, please understand that our work here together on The Embodied Path does not wish to negate the importance of physical safety, including having basic needs met. In fact, part of what we understand here is that we are at a point in human history where we could meet the needs of all of humanity, if only we chose to. However, because of the power dynamics at play, there are those who wish to continue to control and suppress other beings, and one powerful way to do this is to withhold basic needs.
Please understand that our work here together is collective and individual:
Here, we are working towards a world where these toxic power systems crumble and where all human beings have access to basic needs. Again, we recognize that this is entirely possible, but humanity must choose it and work for it.
The important question, then, becomes how we do work and fight to ensure our basic needs are met. Once we meet this important stage, the work becomes entering into an embodied state of knowing that we are, indeed, safe.
Along the way, it is helpful to cultivate a spiritual relationship to life that helps you to feel physically safe and supported. The next piece of this post will help you out here.
A second look at Grounding:
A felt sense of connection that leads you to an inner knowing that you are held, that you are cared for, and that you are connected in more ways than your mind will ever know
Feel into this one for me. To do so, I invite you to descend down out of your head. Descending down - deep down into your body - into the deepest place that feels safe for you:
- you might descend down into your feet, or your seat in connection to your chair
- you might descend down into your abdomen
- ask yourself, where can you go deep down in your body that feels safe, secure as it connects you to the very grounds of your being?
Breathe deeply into this space as you rest here. Feel into that safe, nurturing connection to the ground, and to the Earth beneath you. Know that you are held. Know that you are supported.
As you do, you might ask:
- How do you know you are safe and cared for?
- Who/What is caring for you?
Let's explore these answers as we expand our understanding of Grounding
We live in a chaotic and unpredictable world. Especially these days, with fast-paced, high tech version of it all, we are moving through stimulating and stressful environments at a level that humanity has never known. On top of this, life changes rapidly. We may find ourselves travelling (or even moving) from place to place, and possibly even across the globe in a matter of hours!
On top of even this, I write during a time of extreme political upheaval. The leader of my own country has essentially waged war on its own people and its lands. Across the globe, toxic patriarchal figures are once again banded together as they chose war (a most horrific form of destruction) over cultivating life for all.
Yes, life is wild and chaotic and often dark and scary. Still, within it all, there is an ability to find ourselves grounded: Connected into something that holds us, and keeps us standing on a foundation that never shifts.
This spiritual sense of grounding is that which we are here to cultivate. It is needed because our Selves (capital "S" Self and not small, egoic self) are in need of that which is eternal. We can speak to this on a nervous system level, just as we can speak to it on a psychological level, just as we can speak to it on a spiritual level.
The bottom line is:
Our bodies (including our nervous system here, which includes our brain which pulls in our minds but also includes the nerves throughout our guts and limbs and rest of body) require a level of known safety so that we can remain healthy as we go out and live our lives. This safety is connected to grounding, which is connected, again, into that felt knowing that transcends the physical realm.
This state is one that can be cultivated through intention and through practice. If you are willing, here is one more short, simple, yet powerful practice to try:
Grounding Practice: Finding Grounding In Your Body
Take a moment to come into a comfortable, seated position. Feel your feet on the floor and your root in connection to your seat. Take several slow breaths down into your body:
- you might begin in your chest, feeling into the 3-dimensional expansion of your ribcage for several full breaths.
- you might then move down through your diaphragm and into your abdomen. Breathe that same 3-dimensional breath, now into your belly, your back, and even your sides
- you might move all the way down to your physical root - your pelvic floor and surrounding area.
- As you take these descending breaths, notice what feels safe? What feels like "coming to rest." Where and how do you feel held?
- You might spend some time deepening into the areas that do feel safe and supportive.
- You might spend some time getting curious about the areas that do not (a note of caution here, because trauma often does live in the body, and I recommend having some sort of greater support system if you are thinking you might be going into any tricky territory).
- Give this practice time. With time, perhaps you find yourself exploring different parts of your body, noticing where you feel safe, supported, and grounded, while also noticing (and perhaps working with) areas that do not.
My hope with this practice is that you get to cultivate a most sacred relationship to your body:
- honoring those spaces where you feel grounding in this moment
- honoring those spaces that might be in need of healing
Grounding as meaningful connection to life and purpose
So far we have spoken to grounding in relation to safety and connection. At this point, let us speak to grounding in relation to meaning - that is, what meaningful connections in life hold you, giving you a sense that life is worth living and that you have important things to do here?
As I lean into this, I think about my work in the world (as a writer, a teacher, a Priestess). I also think about what lives beneath this (my own connection to my body, to this Earth, to the lands I live on and have had the privilege of travelling to). This connection to my body and this Earth is sacred, and it keeps me grounded no matter was is happening with "my work in this world."
I also think about my family and how they serve a foundational support system and meaning in my life. I can also speak to important friendships (especially those that have stood the test of time).
I also think about my ancestry, including the deep relationship I have cultivated with some who have already passed, as well as my ancestral root system that goes far back and connects me to land. I will note here, this is sometimes a difficult one for me as someone who comes from a mixed lineage that does not have direct connection to any spirituality. So I have to go deeper - back to Celtic roots before my ancestors in Ireland and Scotland were displaced, to my paternal grandfather's farm in Montana, etc.; and, to my maternal grandmother's wild, witchy ways trying to make it as an untethered soul in this wild, deeply challenging world). This, and going even further to connect into the sacred connections that have been lost as the terrible wave of patriarchy has colonized the earth and stripped away most all that does not fit into Christian narratives.
The point here is that it is necessary to have a sense of grounding in regard to that which is here on Earth giving you meaning and purpose. Yes, this can exist in day-to-day activities and relationships, but even deeper (and more important) than this is what is timeless and cannot be impacted (or far less likely to be impacted) by life's events.
Consider this for a few moments. What connection to this life grounds you? Are there people? Is there a purpose? Is there a god that you connect to (Universe, god/goddesses, spirit, etc.)?
Grounding - Sacred Connection to Earth
Above, I offered a practice inviting you into a felt sense of grounding in your body. Now, let us speak to what I see as an extension of body - which is, Earth, herself.
For, as I see it, our bodies connect us directly to Earth, including the land we live on, the places we travel to, and the greater "whole" that we are all part of. This is where the image of your body as a "tree of life" comes in. Your roots connect you to ground as they connect you to the roots of all living beings here on Earth (just as you get to be the beautiful, powerful, sovereign being that you are!).
One important note on this practice as someone who once had a terribly difficult time finding safety in her own body.
The practice of connecting to Earth for grounding is often a powerful way to feel safe, held, and otherwise cared for without having to go directly into the triggers and on-edge nervous systems that many of us live with. For myself, when I really started along my embodiment journey, I could not bring my consciousness inward into my own body. I had to begin by connecting to Earth - to ground. Once I found safety and connection and other aspects of this grounding here, I could then go into the important work that has to do with bringing our conscious awareness inward.
Still, for others (perhaps you experienced this in the practice above), you are able to go directly inward into connection with your body and safety there. Again, this is an important opportunity to point out how we have differences and similarities, and we must pursue this path with the ability to discern what actually serves in each moment.
This all being said, try this.
Earth/Body Grounding Practice
Just as you did up above, take a moment to settle into your body in a comfortable seated position. Find your feet on the floor and your seat in your chair. Hold the intention to find grounding in connection to Earth.
Breathe down into your body:
- your chest
- your belly
- your pelvic floor
You might take some time to do this, or your might do this quickly (for example, a few full breaths feeling into the whole of your body).
When you are ready, bringing your full attention to your feet/seat in connection to the physical surface you are sitting on:
- the couch/chair
- the floor
Using your breath to keep you centered in your body, allow your attention to descend:
- down through the floorboards, the foundation
- down into ground
You might visualize dirt, rock, soil. What is here, present as ground that you sit upon?
Taking your time, allow yourself to continue to descend: down through the dirt and rock, what exists here? Remember, you are here on a journey to find grounding. What is present in Earth that is here to support this?
- are there roots?
- is there water?
- maybe there is fire?
Doing this practice day-to-day, you will notice that the experience changes.
- some days, it is solid rock that holds me
- so days, water is what nurtures me
- other times, the only thing that helps is fire as it meets my own fire within
Again, as always, make this practice your own. Be so tuned in to the intention to meet what serves your highest needs each day.
Remember, as your true needs are met, you are becoming a person who is meeting the needs of the greater collective we are all part of.
Grounding - An experience that is lived moment-by-moment, day-by-day
You will have noticed that I am a big fan of guided practices that can be done alone in a room as you sit in a meditative space. These practices offer you a special kind of time to be fully present with your body and whole being.
But of course, this experience does not translate directly to "real life." In life, we are most often busy as we are moving around or tasked with a job.
Therefore, it becomes important to translate this sense of grounding to your normal, waking life.
- Please understand that this will happen organically, in part. The work you do in meditation will translate directly to your life
Also, please understand that while you are out and about, there are powerful ways to feel grounded:
- a powerful practice that I often call upon are those full breaths into my body as I feel deeper into my connection to Earth
- another practice may be to carry something with you that feels grounding. I know many people who carry rocks around with them in their pockets - direct contact to a grounding state
The options here are truly endless, and the invitation here is to spend some time noting what helps you to feel grounded as you go about your day (perhaps writing down some ideas if you find that you do not have much of a list).
Saving the best for last - a most powerful sense of grounding by going into nature and connecting directly
There is one practice that I have found is able to always always always take me into a grounded state, even when everything else fails. It is, of course, going directly into nature, having my body in contact with Earth, and disconnecting from the chaos that humanity and life stirs up.
Yes, nature is powerful medicine, and it is so because it is our natural state to be in connection to it. Be honest with yourself here - it is WILD that we have (relatively recently) constructed a whole life that exists in disconnection from nature and Earth. We live on concrete and asphalt boxed up by steel and other metals. We have put up physical barricades between the connections with Life that are supposed to keep us grounded and connected, and the result is nervous systems and mind that are losing it!
A most powerful path back to a regulated and grounded state is to step into nature and be present here. Simple, yes?
Of course, the practice becomes challenging when it comes to access and time to do this. I can only state the importance of it, and a need (yes, a need!) to find the time and space in your life to connect!
(Say, you don't have direct access to nature? This is a problem! I now humbly invite you into a task that is creating opportunities to connect with nature where you live and work.
In Summary - Grounding as a process
As with every aspect of The Embodied Path, grounding is a practice and process. This post exists to guide you into different types of practices that may serve, just as it exists to help you understand different types of grounding and the role they play in your life.
I cannot encourage you enough to do the practices here. If you want more, they exist in abundance in my membership (it currently exists on my predicate website at https://upwardslopes.com/forestmembership/).
To close things down, I wish to leave you with the bigger picture that is the greater body of work here: The Embodied Path is being created as a way to support you as the sovereign being that you are. I hold this with the utmost sincerity: your ability to feel safe and held in your body such that you are able to feel free to express yourself - this means everything!
More than this, your connection to life beyond self is just as important. I will continue to say it over and over again: The Embodied Path is a practice-centered path that brings you inward into connection with Self, and in this way it may be viewed as “self-centered.” But if you think this is about self and not the rest of the world, you are not in the right place.
The Embodied Path is here for collective healing and awakening, because it is about knowing Self in connection to the web of life that we are all part of. This cannot be overstated! We are here for collective healing and awakening. And yes, it begins within - with you! - because this is the only space from which you can heal and interact with the world.
A world, of course, which is in deep and powerful need of healing and light-filled transformation during these wild, turbulent times.