NewEarthMentor

Earth Work

Part of what I teach in most of my workshops and classes involves what I call “grounding” or consciously connecting to the Earth’s energy.  I was taught this work by Warren Grossman, who wrote a wonderful book, To Be Healed By The Earth.  Yet most of what I’m about to share, you knew intuitively as a child.  Part of my life’s work is to remind people of this (hence my title, Earth Mentor), teaching them basic techniques they can use anywhere to reconnect  to the Earth and deepen the conscious experience.  And it’s all free!

This practice of grounding is what supported my transition from banker to… whatever it is that I’ve become!  For well over a year after I left money management, I literally crawled onto Mother Earth every day – snow, rain or shine – and allowed that transformation to occur.  This Mother supports us and love us unconditionally;  and by doing this work, we literally support her back.  There is a natural exchange of energy that is supposed to occur between humans and nature that benefits both — yet in our modern world, we resist.  We have forgotten.

So, I will now share with you some basic ways to not only improve your health and energy flow, have more peace in your life and open your heart, but to also feel your connection to all things.  In case you have any around to observe, little children are masters at this – especially when allowed to be shoeless and in direct contact the earth.

Indeed, my first recommendation is that you avoid wearing shoes and socks as often as possible.  Most shoes constrict the natural shape of the foot, and thereby constrict our connection with the earth.  Some shoes are better than others, e.g., Keens and five finger shoes, but I would still recommend being barefoot as much as possible.  If you feel up to it, give yourself a vigorous foot massage once a day — doing this while sitting in front of the TV is great use of that time, and it feels great.

As for grounding (descriptions following), I recommend doing it as you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed at night, during transition times (say, between work and home), and before/after eating. You cannot ground too much — unless you think you can have too much peace and love!

To ground while standing, either directly on the earth or on a floor (hopefully with bare feet), allow yourself to take three deep gentle breaths, bring all of your attention into your body.  We spend so much time in our heads or even out of our body, we need to first reconnect to our body.

Then soften your knees and pay attention to your feet against the earth.  Notice the coolness, moisture, texture of the surface… whatever comes to you.  Warren teaches to stomp your feet to create sensation in them, so you can focus on the sensations.  Use whatever helps you to move your attention down to your feet and to the point where they touch the Earth.  Imagination allows us to access different parts of our brain than does rational, linear thought, and perhaps even allows us to tap into deeper aspects of soul (irony of sole and soul, eh?).  I use a number of different visualizations to connect to the Earth, but my favorite is imagining myself as a tree.  We do have a trunk and limbs don’t we?  And a crown on the head.  But we forget our roots.

Visualize roots moving down into the earth.  See it moving into the rich soil, through or around rocks and water, and go as deep down into the Earth as you wish.  For some this may be a very fast trip, for others this may be slow.  When your roots are fully in the Earth, breath three times again and visualize any waste energy (energy you no longer need) going into the earth; then just allow the energy of the earth to flow up your roots.  It’s a funny thing, receptivity seems to be the key concept we forget as humans.  All we have to do with the Earth is make the connection and allow the energy to move up into us.  Now some people feel this energy as an electricity, others a warmth, some see it as a light.  However you perceive energy is perfect.  And some, like my wife, have limited sensitivity to this energy so she does it on faith, and then pays attention to results.

See in your mind’s eye, and feel this energy move up your feet into your ankles, knees, hips and the bottom of your torso.  Move is as slowly or as fast as feels right for you.  Know that this energy is opening all your energy channels, moving out waste energy, and healing and energizing any parts of the body that needs it.  Breathe into your belly as this energy fills up even more of your torso, moving up through the diaphragm and into the lungs and heart.  Allow it to flow through your shoulders and down your arms and out your fingertips.  Spread your fingers some and allow the energy to move back to the earth, releasing anything you no longer need.  This feeds the earth, and cleans you out.

Feel the energy move up into your neck and into your head, swirling around and removing all thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow.  Allow the gift of the present to appear.  See this energy move through the top of your head and out into a fountain of energy around you.  You are completely in flow, supported, nourished — and because you are filled with this energy, you will not take on other energies from the outside.  This becomes a very good technique for dealing with stress and with upset people.  Ground, breathe and smile… it not only affects you but everything around you, too.

Trees do this process all the time.  They are the energetic whales of land energy, and if you face a tree (within 10 feet) and ground you will have the tree’s support of the process.  Your body will start to mirror the healthier, stronger energy flow of the tree.  If you feel the need to clean more things out of your body, you can lean your back against the tree, focusing on the connection point of your body and the tree, and the tree will literally take the waste energy out of your body if you allow it.  Visualizing clearing your chakras while leaning against a tree is always powerful.  This exchange of energy is very similar to how we breathe out carbon dioxide, which the trees then use and then “breathe out” oxygen.  Ground before and after connecting with the tree, and play with various trees.  The energies of different trees can vary dramatically.

By laying on the Earth on your back you can experience this same exchange of energy, but I find there is an even deeper peace component.  If you lay on the Earth, with your head near the tree trunk, it will ease your mind.  If you lay on the Earth with your feet near the tree trunk, you will feel more grounded.  Flip over and lay on your stomach to fill up again.  To be comfortable lying on the ground, dress to allow for feeling 10 degrees cooler on the earth than you’d feel if you were standing, and feel free to use mats, blankets, pillows, etc to make this even more comfortable.  Afterward, exercise of any sort is very positive for further cleansing and energy.

You can also ground while sitting, connecting through the bottom of your torso, so it’s perfect for sitting in traffic and at red lights, at work, or even on a plane.  Putting both hands over the middle of your chest helps to fill your heart with energy as you ground.

Try any of these practices… within a week you may experience pretty powerful results.  Blessings!