Spiritual Practice~Grounding

I prefer to attend a spiritual buffet rather than confine myself to rigid practices.

So I freely experiment with a medicine bag full of different practices and rituals to keep my spirituality fresh and vibrant. 

One of the major shifts when I became a Priestess and Minister was the need I felt to establish more regular spiritual practices.

So on Fridays, I'll share my thoughts on the spiritual practices I currently find most scrumptious!

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My most basic practice is grounding~ to take any excess build up of energy within my body and return it to Mama Gaia (Mother Earth). 

I use this practice as needed when I feel as if I'm out of touch with my body or just not my normal self.

It's really great to use when I can't concentrate on getting any work done

And especially when I feel disconnected from my matron Goddesses.

Excitement about an upcoming event or not being able to sleep because of worry are just a few reasons I can feel ungrounded.

So how do I ground? 

There are several ways I use and I'm always on the look out for new techniques.  Here are my top five favorites:

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1.  Visualization. A simple grounding exercise can be visualizing
myself as a tree.

First I close my eyes and imagine roots growing out from my feet. 

Then I extend my roots through the ground and send them down into the center of the Earth.

Imagine my roots anchored there and see the extra energy flowing  from my body into Earth's core.

As the extra energy leaves I allow a feeling of calm refreshment to move throughout my body.

2.  Meditation. Even five minutes of focusing on the breath moving in and out of my body helps me to become aware of my state of well being.

For grounding purposes, I sit on the floor. 

This puts my body~buttocks and feet primarily~in touch with Earth
and lets her help me in my grounding efforts.

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3. Connect with Nature. I have found going outside, taking off my shoes and wiggling my toes in the grass for a few minutes to be powerfully helpful.

Even standing outside taking several deep calming breaths helps me to ground. 

Work with soil, put my feet into dirt or heading to my kid's sand table for some grounding fun with him.

Playing with clay is also a wonderful way to help kids ground energy for themselves! My son would say, it's super great!

4.  Movement. Physical activity helps me to get in touch with my body
and clear any accumulated toxic energy from my aura. 

It's a perfect excuse to put on my favorite songs and dance with wild abandon!

I find the earthy rhythm of drum music to be really helpful for grounding.
But let me keep it real here...I am completely in love with Duran Duran's new album which is my current go to dance music of choice!

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5. Crystals.  You may find yourself drawn to a particular crystal or you may need to ask a crystal shop owner to help you with some grounding crystals.  (okay did that sound like the opening to a Talking Heads song or what?)

I'm particularly fond of amethyst but I also find obsidian, smokey quartz, jet or black tourmaline excellent for grounding. 

To activate a crystal, I hold it in my hand and imagine any unwanted
energy flowing out of me into it.

Occasionally,  I'll clear the crystal of negative charge by placing it on the ground outside, in a dish of sea salt overnight, in full sun, or full moonlight.
 
I clear my crystals any time it doesn't feel clean or at least once a month which ever comes first.

I hope you'll use these guidelines and try grounding for yourself.

No one way works better than the other.

It's just a matter of what works best for you and makes you sparkle!

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