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Grounded….an Adjective, a Noun, a Verb…Redefining for Real

Illustration of a child standing in mountain pose with hands at the heart

Can getting grounded bring me back to balanced working order, the way nature intended me to be?

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines GROUNDED as
mentally and emotionally stable: admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious

grounded [?gra?nd?d]
adj
sensible and down-to-earth; having one’s feet on the ground

I do aim to know where I belong in myself, the earth and in relation to others. I do want to be more mentally and emotionally (as well as physically and spirituality) stable.

I do not aim to be admirably sensible, realistic, and unpretentious.

Ground \Ground\ (ground), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Grounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Grounding.]

1. To lay, set, or run, on the ground.
2. To found; to fix or set, as on a foundation, reason, or principle; to furnish a ground for; to fix firmly.
Being rooted and grounded in love. –Eph. iii. 17.
3. To instruct in elements or first principles.
4. (Elec.) To connect with the ground so as to make the earth a part of an electrical circuit.

I do aim to lay, set or run on the ground. Bare footed on red clay ground in Georgia grounds me.

I do not aim to be fixed firmly into any strand of reason.

I do aim to be rooted and grounded in love and to connect with the ground as part of my electrical circuit.

Here’s one of my actions to ground:

Drawing of a child with spiky red hair, a yellow shirt and red pants in Just Breathe pose, sitting cross-legged with hands resting on the knees and eyes closed.

I tune in.

I align whatever parts of my body are on the Ground. I connect my legs, my nervous system to the earth.

I inspect for any necessary repairs.

I close my eyes, connect with my breath and remember….

We Ground planes in order to protect the flying public, to allow for inspections to occur, to have time to make any necessary repairs and to maintain the planes in safe, working order. We can do the same with our bodies.

Like any receiver I need to plug it in before I can receive the various frequencies. Grounding is the process of plugging ourselves into the earth and the world.

Ground is home. It’s familiar, safe, and secure. It has a power of its own. Like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ says, “There’s no place like home.”

Drawing of a child with spiky red hair, a yellow shirt and red shorts in Get Up Pose, squatting on the toes with knees wide and fingertips on the floor.

So I click my heels in  Get Up Pose ( from Kundalini’s Frog Pose) and keep them together and lifted while I practice 26, 54, or 108 of these until I feel ready to follow my own yellow brick road.

How do YOU Ground?

More to Explore

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  • How to Bliss Bomb the World

    So you finish your practice~
    You feel loving and calm.
    There is nothing you dismiss~
    You are full of BLISS bombs.
    You rejoin your family~’
    And what do you hear?
    Shouts of anxieties~
    Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!
    Does loving-kindness deflate
    As you join the contention?
    Or will your blissed state
    Transmit without tension?
    Each time you experience
    The delight of {I AM}
    Your bliss will flow forth~
    Like a hydraulic ram.
    Embody the KNOWING~
    Of your inner LOVE state.
    So you can keep it safe~
    And INTERRELATE.
    YOGA says your relationship
    between you and your SELF~
    can not be diminished,
    or put upon a shelf.
    You take your SELF
    everywhere you GO!
    Then everything is spiritual
    from Grumps to Sloppy Joes!
    Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham
    Shiva Sutra One.Eighteen~
    Your inner bliss continues
    Like you won the slot machines.
    So how do we GROW
    In our capacity for such LOVE?
    Without mermaids and unicorns~
    Blue moons and white doves?
    We create an INNER space
    Direct love toward KNOWERSHIP~
    Call forth our virtues,
    Our patience, our grit.
    We bridge the gap of difference
    SERVE in a profound way~
    Not cold duty or bargain~
    LOVE is the order of each day.
    Become capable with powers
    Of WILL, KNOWING, and ACTING
    By practicing {I AM}
    Without useless distracting.
    Place your hand over your HEART~
    Feel right beneath your palm~
    Towards your back body~
    Where this is endless peace and calm.
    Allow your attention
    To be with your BREATH~
    To flow in and flow out
    Softly in your chest.
    Welcome the BREATH~
    Right into your HEART.
    Feel a soft golden sun
    That is bright, warm and smart.
    With each breath IN~
    make that SUN glow.
    With Each breath OUT~
    Expand the warmth to and fro.
    As you welcome the breath in
    To the vast INNER world~
    Invite the HEART to reveal
    It’s largeness, depth, and swirl.
    Flow in with the thought {I AM}
    The mantra of the inner self~
    (Not I am Sam~
    Or I am a silly elf)
    The heart receives the breath
    With the recognition {I AM}
    The exhalation feels space,
    The experience of BLISS BAM.
    Practice with eyes open
    Practice with eyes closed
    Practice often
    And LOVE will be exposed.
    As you greet those outside~
    Amongst the chaotic and mundane~
    Stay tuned into your heart
    And send LOVE to their pain.
    You’ll get glimpses of KNOWING
    Your yoga is working~
    When outer frustrations
    Are shirking, not lurking.

  • A Sutra a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

    What are these sutras
    You speak so about?
    Are they stitches like sutures
    With some sort of clout?
    Good question, my friend~
    Why, yes, yes indeed,
    These sutras are potent
    In times of great need.
    In times of great need,
    And in times of great bliss,
    These highly condensed words
    Should not be dismissed.
    The most essential core thread,
    Of deep subtle meaning,
    That runs through the fabric~
    It supports out of gleanings.
    Gleanings of insights,
    And wisdom fused pearls~
    From the direct experience
    Of wise boys and girls.
    Sutras express so much
    In so very few words.
    With vast significance,
    It’s not for the birds.
    Sutras are formulas
    To be memorized and studied.
    To solve the perplexities~
    Of minds getting muddied.
    So chose your text wisely~
    Yoga, Shiva or Seuss,
    Buddhist, Tao, Platform,
    Tripitaka or Mother Goose.
    Then write them in BOLD~
    Where you’ll see them each day!
    Melt their magnificence
    In every which way.

  • OM is a Magic Word

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  • Shames, Shames, Go Away! And Don’t Come Back Another Day!

    Inspired by Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam dukham anagatam
    Avoidable is the suffering
    that has not yet to come~
    That feeling of shame
    That sticks like chewed gum.
    How do we get through places
    That are stuck deep inside?
    Where the holdings, the collections
    The patterns reside?
    The patterns of feeding
    Our suction cupped shames~
    With secrets and silence
    And judgements and blames.
    Attract the energy of movement~
    And comfort with movement~
    Comfort with change~
    Comfort with improvement.
    Create space between impulse
    And action that binds~
    The stuck feelings that resists
    Our meetings of minds.
    Space is the experience
    Of minds open and bright
    The Wisdom of Grace
    Is filled up with light.
    Grace is the knowing
    Our mistakes serve an aim~
    Instead of allowing
    Our mistakes to serve shame.
    So to prevent future suffering~
    And the feeding of shames~
    Create a steady practice
    Of breath work and aims.
    Here’s a mantra for you
    To embody and embed~
    Press thumb into each finger
    And say in your head~
    {I inhale to prepare~
    I exhale to share~
    I inhale to release blame~
    I exhale to transform shame~*}
    {Repeat 11 times}~
    Keep your sitting bones rooted.
    Slowly rotate your core ~
    Counterclockwise 3 rounds
    Your breath? Don’t ignore!
    Inhale going backwards,
    Exhale going forward .
    Your movements ride on your
    breath~
    It’s pretty straight forward.
    Pause and move clockwise.
    Repeat 11 times.
    Close eyes and listen.
    To your heart beat like chimes.
    Find someone you know,
    You love and you trust
    Show them your shames
    And watch your blames turn to dust.
    May we have what it takes
    To transform all our shames~
    To allow our mistakes
    To serve our Great Aim~

  • Cat Yoga for Kids: Building Strong Hands, Steady Feet, and Mindful Movement

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