I have been working in the field with clients, and in my private practice, providing counselling, coaching, mentoring and supervision for 16 years.
In addition to this, I have provided counselling training and education at a number of large institutions. There are many things I have been able to observe and see over the years as to what works for me and for others.
In this time, I have had numerous personal struggles, as we all do. Some of which I have written about.
This is what is what joins us – the human condition: none of us get out of here alive and not one person will get out of life without some kind of grief, loss or trauma experience.
What has assisted me every time in my struggles, in a deep way, is accessing my own counselling early, as well as spiritual practice and finding spiritual groups of like-minded people. Of course, all other aspects of wellness need to be taken into account; like friends, family, exercise and sleep too.
Over the 11 years in private practice, I have been able to spend some time with some truly fantastic human beings. These people have shared collective wisdom with me; relating to alternative health solutions and a large number of spiritual practices.
I have borne witness and been the observer to numerous discussions around grounding practices, as one example.
When we talk about ‘grounding’ in English, it’s often mentioned as ‘he’s not grounded’, ‘she doesn’t seem grounded at the moment’ or something similar. Do we actually know what we’re referring to here? Sometimes we use words where we don’t know their actual meanings.
Completing a small amount of research for writing this blog piece, I came across a few interesting articles on grounding, and they were electrical grounding, shamanic grounding and generalised spiritual grounding.
What I am proposing here in this blog, is that generalised grounding practices – with or without spirituality – are now required for all, now that a large number of us are using social media and large amounts of technology. Therefore, these grounding practices are important for each and every one of us, in our daily rituals.
Ponder for a moment that we are using electrical equipment (computers, laptops, tablets and phones) that connect us between places all over the world (think about platforms and applications like Skype, Zoom, Facebook, Instagram and others), this taps into what spiritual practitioners call ‘the ether’.
The ether is the ‘air’ element and is one of the four elements in some spiritual practice traditions.
If we focus too much on the air element, we don’t want to become full of fire, hot air, or have our dreams turn to ashes, or become less balanced in our minds and our lives.
To maintain our vibrancy and balance, we need alignment with all of the four or five elements.
Either way, in both of these spiritual and alternative health traditions, the elements of earth, fire and water feature. Therefore, one simple way for more balance is a connection to the Earth, or the ground.
This is in agreement with virtually all spiritual traditions.
Those of us who use online services who are regularly tapping into the air space, or the ether, to remain balanced, as suggested by the above articles, may need participate in more grounding, not less.
Some of the grounding practices listed in the above mentioned links are helpful. Though, a really simple practice, for those who spend a large amount of time on computerised, or ‘smart’ products, it could be to go outside and take off your shoes and walk on some earth, dirt or ground. It only takes a minute or two and you feel much better for it. Whatever your belief system, this doesn’t hurt anyone and it feels good.
Other grounding practices I have found helpful can be drinking more water, or tapping in to my bodily reactions through guided, grounding meditations. One example of many of the guided, grounding meditations out there, is a 10-minute grounding meditation here.
Ultimately, the more grounded we are, the more balanced we are. Then, the more we care about ourselves, each other, and the natural environment. Our Earth will thank us.
A balanced person creates a balanced life, creates a balanced world.
Remember that none of us are perfectly balanced at all times, and sometimes we need some tips to get back on balance. Grounding could be something that could help you. It’s most certainly helped me.
