Grounding Techniques
By
James Harvey Stout (deceased). This material is now in the public
domain. The complete collection of Mr. Stout's writing is now at
http://stout.mybravenet.com/public_html/h/
>
Jump to the following topics:
- What is grounding?
- The benefits of
grounding.
- Techniques for
grounding.
What is grounding? It the process
by which we maintain an appropriate energy charge by releasing any
energy which would constitute an excessive charge within the
systems of the body, emotions, mind, etc. (By analogy, our home's
electrical circuits are grounded to dismiss the extra electricity.)
Grounding is a necessary outflow, in contrast to the many
inflows of energy into our systems -- from other people, from
our digestion of food, from our breathing of fresh air, from
sunlight, from the impact of spirit upon our material substance, etc.
The benefits of
grounding.
- We are relaxed, mentally and emotionally. In an ungrounded
state, we might experience nervousness, restlessness, stress,
emotional irritability, frenzied euphoria, anxiety, and insomnia.
- We are relaxed, physically. In an ungrounded state, we might
experience headaches, temperature extremes (e.g., cold skin or hot
skin), muscle spasms and trembling, excessive perspiration,
difficulties in breathing or digestion, stinging sensations, and
abnormal heart rhythms.
- We are alert. In an ungrounded state, we might experience
dreaminess, and a continual semi-trance condition.
- We can concentrate mentally. In an ungrounded state, we might
experience "spaciness," and an inability to focus our attention.
- We feel a warm association with our physical body. In an
ungrounded state, we might experience cold skin, awkward
movements, a strange unfamiliarity with our body, a sensation that
we are floating outside of our body, and the
disassociation which is characteristic of the schizoid or
schizophrenic condition
- We feel a secure connection to the physical world. In an
ungrounded state, we might experience sensory distortions, e.g.,
muffled hearing, a numb sense of touch, and a dream-like sense of
vision.
- We sense a comfortable connection to other people. In an
ungrounded state, we might experience paranoia, hypersensitivity
to the presence of other people, an "energy drain" when we are in
public, a generally dysfunctional personality, and a belief that
we are profoundly different from other people or even that we are
inhuman.
Techniques for grounding.
Grounding is a natural part of the homeostasis of life; it occurs in
the give-and-take of our daily activities. But we might need to use
specific techniques to ground ourselves if we have become
over-charged with the energy of intense emotions, or a stressful
degree of inactivity (which does not provide opportunities for the
discharge of energy), or religious practices (including some
meditation methods). The grounding techniques are meant to be
remedies for a temporary condition of imbalance; if we need
them to use them regularly, we might want the examine (and change)
the lifestyle which repeatedly causes us to become over-charged.
- Archetypal field-work. One of the fundamental purposes of
field-work is to intuitively implant elements which allow us to be
"materially effective and spiritually loving"; the "spiritually
loving" simply means that our particular thoughts, images, energy
tones, and actions permit the free flow of spiritual substance
from one soul to another, through the material interface which we
call our human life. If we block this flow (through
damming/damning thoughts, images, energy tones, and actions), we
also block the energy which would pass from our material
self into our material environment; i.e., we do not ground
the energy. Instead, the energy becomes trapped in our archetypal
fields, our body, and our psyche -- in various forms, including
tension, stress, and the charge of the specific a-field elements
which become the basis of our karma.
- Self-talk. For example: "My body feels warm and
comfortable." "I am relaxed." "I enjoy being alive." "I enjoy
expressing myself in my physical life." "I am calm." "I like to
be physically active."
- Directed imagination. We can visualize ourselves in various
situations where we are fully engaged with a physical life
which is pleasant and rewarding.
- Energy toning. We can express the energy tones of warmth,
vitality, physical vigor, enthusiasm, etc.
- The "as if" principle. We can act as if we are a part of
regular human life and society.
- We can be physically active. During these activities, we
breathe deeply, and we let our body bend and stretch, and we
engage all of our physical senses vigorously and pleasurably. The
physical activities can include:
- Regular daily activities. Walk around your neighborhood. Go
out for a bagel. Exercise with an aerobics video. Wash your
car. Play some old popular songs on your guitar. Do your
laundry.
- "Moving meditation."
- We can have physical contact with the world around us. During
our daily routines, we are always in contact with physical objects
-- touching, holding, grabbing, stroking, or merely sitting. For
grounding, we can strive to have a "feeling" contact with these
objects; we sense the warm energy which flows from our hands into
the objects, and we allow our hands to hold the objects (and
"savor" them) until we intuit that we have discharged the energy
which was meant to pass into the objects. We might feel even more
of this discharge if we lie outside on grass or dirt (or if we
handle the dirt, as we do when we are gardening); our
excess energy will flow naturally into the earth. Our surplus
energy can discharge through our feet, too, so we need to
have our feet flat on the floor when sitting.
- We can have some social contact. Go shopping with a friend who
is fun but not spiritually oriented; talk about sports, movies,
and other down-to-earth matters. Be expressive and animated in
your conversations, facial expressions, and gestures. To increase
the grounding, we can have physical contact with a friend
-- holding hands, or receiving a massage (or giving one),
or slow-dancing, or making love.
- We can relax our body. We discharge excess energy when we take
a warm bath, or do a relaxation routine (or hatha yoga), or when
we sleep.
- We can adopt a down-to-earth perspective. To be whole,
healthy, and fully alive, we need a balance between our human
perspective and the transcendental (or even other-worldly)
perspective which is offered by religion and spiritual studies.
When we become unbalanced toward the other-worldly viewpoint, we
can balance ourselves by intentionally adopting a viewpoint which
is real within our human world: we are "humans" not "souls"; that
is "a tree" not "an illusion of maya"; this is "a delicious
cookie" not an "object of desire." In the concept of "the Grandma
principle," the "religious" perspective is not more "spiritual" or
more "real" than the human perspective; all perspectives are
equally real and valid as part of soul's multi-faceted exploration
of the archetypes of spirit. We can freely choose the perspective
which is most appropriate, effective, and loving for our purpose
in this moment. If our purpose is to balance ourselves, we can
select the human viewpoint without worrying that we are
sacrificing our "spirituality"; in fact, we can appreciate this
opportunity to explore spirit as it expresses itself in the human
world and the physical world.
- We can change our diet. We can become more aware of food's
effect upon our energy and our grounding. For example, we might
lose our grounding if our diet consists of overstimulating foods
(e.g., coffee, sugar-filled items), or a strictly vegetarian
regimen. To ground ourselves, we might need to eat more meat,
particularly lean beef.
- We can "give." Our over-charge of energy might have occurred
because our inflow was excessive, or because our outflow was
insufficient; i.e., we did not "give" enough energy in our daily
life. To discharge that energy, we can give via volunteer work, or
donations of money and goods to charity. However, the giving must
be done with warmth, because it is the warmth which carries
the energy from us to other people.