As an airy fairy air sign (Gemini) who quite literally goes 'off with the fairies', or angels, or just I don't even know where sometimes, grounding myself has been one of the most beneficial things I've worked out how to do. It has made the most amazing difference in how I'm able to connect to my higher self and intuition.
For years I've been floating away. I always had about a gazillion ideas at a time, and with a joyful adventurous spirit this meant I was always doing things like booking international flights on a whim, dating highly inappropriate men, not being able to hold down or have any interest in a real job, and creative projects? Don't even get me started. I had so many I couldn't even tell you them all - I was selling jewelry on Etsy, learning guitar, writing songs, writing Tween fiction, starting and deleting various blogs, acting in short films, dabbling with all sorts of spiritual and religious ideas and I was always out drinking and dancing. So OK, I still do a lot of these things, but now I do them differently. I only go on holidays I can actually afford, I am holding down a real job while I build my business and work on getting my YA novel published and I still enjoy the odd beer. But I feel better. I feel grounded.
What is grounding?
To me grounding is about centering your energy so that it stays in your body and connected to the earth, rather than floating off up and away somewhere else. It's like when you're driving you want your tyres to be on the road right? Not bouncing around like a 4X4 on a bunch of sand dunes.
I was talking to the bf about grounding - he's one of the most grounded people I know - and I while I was trying to explain why I needed to stay grounded and why it was hard sometimes I described it as my energy sometimes feeling like it's slightly higher than my body. Sometimes it feels like my head is kind of above my head!
What happens when we're not grounded?
Not being grounded is different for everyone, but some things that happen to me when I'm not grounded are:
<3 Feeling like you're 'miles away' or 'off with the fairies' at inappropriate times (it's OK to be off with the fairies sometimes!)
<3 Feeling lightheaded
<3 Not being able to focus on stuff
<3 Not being able to make or follow through on decisions or plans
<3 Getting sidetracked
<3 Having a lot of awesome ideas but never being able to start, follow through or finish anything
<3 Feeling hyperactive or like you just have too much energy buzzing around you
<3 Feeling anxious and worried
<3 Feeling like your head is above your head!
<3 Zoning out
<3 Racing thoughts, crazy thoughts, random thoughts, or just the general inability to control your thoughts
<3 That feeling like you've had way too much sugar
<3 Being indecisive and 'whatever' about anything from choosing your dinner to finding your new flat
<3 You generally feel like you aren't connected to the earth, nature or this planet
<3 You feel like you are from another planet! (Even Star People need to be grounded!)
How will grounding help?
Getting grounded makes you more certain, solid, connected and gives you emotional, spiritual and energetic strength! Think of it as wearing a pair of super comfortable shoes you know you can walk all day in and they look great. Being ungrounded is like wearing flip flops in the middle of winter and being grounded is like wearing a pair of the most comfortable wedge boots ever!
Grounding will will make you feel more centered, and when you start getting your energy centered you start getting more messages from your body, spirit and your higher self.
I know you want to be up there with the Heavens and the Angels getting your guidance first hand, but the reality is that we are on this earth and we need a landline. You can't use your iPhone on a plane (maybe you can if you go first/business class but that ruins my metaphor!), so think of grounding as your landline. The more grounded you are the clearer your signal will be!
That's great Vix, but HOW do you get grounded?
There's a gazillion ways you can get grounded and you really have to find out what works for you by just trying different stuff, but here's what works for me:
<3 Visualisations - I've used loads of visuals from imagining that my legs are super long and my feet are firmly far below in the earth to the super common imagining tree roots coming out of your feet, growing into the ground and then attaching themselves to a rock or a crystal. I love this one - for a fun twist I imagine golden roots and whatever crystal I feel like I need that day - e.g. I'll tie my golden roots around a huge Citrine crystal if I need an optimistic boost, or Amethyst if I'm going to be doing a lot of tarot.
<3 Balance your chakras - there are a ton of meditations on chakra balancing on the internet, or if you know what you're doing chakra-wise just check in with your chakras, make sure they're balanced and your energy is properly in your body.
<3 Go outside! Hug a tree or take off your shoes and walk on the grass/sand/earth.
<3 Bring pot plants and fresh flowers into your house and add a bunch of earthy-energy!
<3 Crystals! All crystals come from the ground so they are all grounding, but some are super grounding, mostly the black ones like Obsidian and Tourmaline but I also love Dalmatian jasper - it's grounding but a nice joyful stone too.
<3 Meditate. If you are like me and sometimes find this difficult you can get some really nice short guided meditations to help you through. I love Kyle Gray's Angel Meditations and 33 Spirit Journeys by Denise Linn.
<3 Eat food from the earth - not being grounded is a great excuse to eat a baked potato. Not sure how grounding a truck load of butter is though, sorry!
<3 Talk to the fairies and nature spirits. Just saying hi to them can get you more in touch with the earth.
<3 Recycle and make a conscious effort to look after the planet that is our home.
<3 Spend time with animals. Cats are so grounding! Meow!
<3 Wear earthy or dark colours - anything that reminds you of nature.
<3 Paint your nails an earthy colour!
<3 Exercise! Spend time in your body, and you don't just have to do Yoga. You can walk, run, dance, go to the gym, swim, whatever works for you.
<3 Spend some time with the Earth/Coins/Pentacles suit in your Tarot or Angel Tarot deck to soak in the earthy energy.
<3 Surround yourself with grounded people. Don't hang out with Drama Kings and Queens!
<3 Choose to be grounded. Sometimes when I'm feeling weird and don't have time for all this stuff or if I've just accidentally eaten 4 donuts or something I just say out loud if I can, or in my head- "I am grounded" and even that alone makes a world of difference.
Oh wait, it's Wednesday. Never mind. x