Pagan Blog Project- Grounding

I came across this site: http://paganblogproject.com/ I think it is a great idea and gives some great blogging prompts. The idea is to create a pagan themed post each week following the letters of the alphabet. I am a bit late to join the game as they are on letter G. But I figured I would just jump right in :)

G is for Grounding

I chose to write about grounding as it has been on my mind lately so I felt it was fitting. My mind gets so frazzled that I feel overwhelmed like the entire world is spinning out of control and I can't make heads or tails of any of it. It makes it hard to focus that way. So grounding can be really helpful way for me to settle all the craziness down and get my mind on track.

Grounding is a way to balance yourself and connect with the Earth and the Goddess. It is also a way to release, replenish, recharge or balance energies. You pull your energy and focus forward, centering it. Or after you have raised energy you then release it back into the earth.

There are countless ways to do this and what works for one person won't work for everyone. I prefer a mixture of methods that I have read about. I use them to shift my focus & settle my thoughts from wondering so I can then work with the energy.

I ground before and after rituals, during meditation and I also use grounding to help me deal with my panic attacks.

• I first focus on my breath. This is a trick used in meditation and yoga practice. It helps calm your mind. I focus on each breath slowly in and out. 
• Next I picture a strong tall tree.

 I am a tree, strong and tall. My branches reach towards the heavens. I feel the warm sun giving me life and energy. I reach towards it, stretching with all my might. The wind tickles my leafs, swirling and circling around me. My roots sink deep into the Earth. I feel safe and nurtured. Surrounded by love, the abundance fertile energy of life. I feel myself stretching through, tall up towards the heavens while sinking deep into the Earth as well.

That is my favorite way. I will stretch out as I do it and wiggle my toes and fingers. That is not my only way to ground though.

• Eating can also help you ground. It is one of the reasons people often eat after ritual. This is actually a fact I have learned studying health and nutrition as well. Food is a very natural way to help ground yourself physically. You want to choose healthy solid foods. Whole wheat breads (complex carbs) & proteins are great for this. 

• Stones can also help you to connect to the natural physical grounding sensations. Holding a stone in your hand and focusing your energy into it. I really love using hematite for this.

• Another way I like to help ground is to focus on chakras. I may have picked this up from Laurie Cabot's Power of the Witch book, though it was a long time ago and I may have changed it I can't remember lol. 

What I will do is focus on each chakra with a number and color. Sometimes I focus on the chakras and sometimes just the color/number. A red seven, orange six, yellow five, green four, blue three, indigo two, white one. I find this, like no other can shift me into the right frame of mind and focus.