May/June 2003 Living Now
The Art of Being Grounded

by Catherine Warner

Just what do I mean when I say I am grounded? He’s grounded? She’s grounded? We hear this word so often these days that I think that it’s a general assumption that everyone knows what it means. Of course it means something subtly different for everyone, according to lifestyle, perception, and sensitivities to what surrounds you on a daily basis. But here are some tips on what it means to be grounded and how it affects your surroundings.

When I say the word "grounded", I mean be fully present, right here, right now, physically, emotionally, energetically. Your mind is not wandering pulling part of your energy away from you. Your heart and soul are not searching somewhere in the past, or looking into the future, and your body is present. Take a deep breath, plant your feet on the floor. There! You are grounded! For this one moment in your life be fully present to yourself. It’s life. It is the alchemy of thousands of processes on a cellular level. It’s a miracle every millisecond. It’s as easy as breathing to be present to this moment, and it is an act of Power to be aware of it.

As a massage therapist, I must be 100% present to my client while I do my healing work. I must connect my energy to theirs and discern how I might hold the space for that person’s beauty. Imagine my dismay when, a year ago I read an article in Cosmopolitan Magazine entitled "Confessions of a Massage Therapist"...... the therapist spoke of the judgments she passed on her older women clients regarding weight, financial status etc. then went on to say how she just "zoned out" while working doing her grocery list in her head! That woman was NOT grounded, nor was she a healer. What I am getting at here is that it is important to be grounded. It’s important for your health as well as your clients. You are worth that extra moment you spend with yourself to take that deep breath and bring yourself fully into focus, and your client is worth your full attention.

Slow yourself down, the little things matter. Every smile you give, every step you take is important. These seemingly small things are the base on which everything else in the world rests! If you can be fully present to these small moments in your life by being grounded, how powerful might the big things in life be? If you can be fully present to each and every moment, you are living life to the fullest; loving with all of yourself, crying with all of yourself and truly experiencing your life as opposed to being once removed by trying to plan every motion and emotion.

There is so much damage done when we close our emotions down because we couldn’t take the pain, heal the wounds, suffer the sorrow and feel the laughter. On a daily basis we must connect ourselves TO ourselves. For when we decide we are worth the effort, our lives become meaningful and dynamic.

Being grounded on a daily basis makes a difference to every living being on the planet. When we are not grounded, our minds are wandering off creating chaos. We run into walls, lock our keys in the car, make mistakes at the bank…. everyone pays for our ungroundedness on some level. For some people, this is a way of gaining control. By being so scattered and chaotic that every one around you becomes disorganized, you then take over! However, when we are grounded, when we have made that decision to be Fully Present, we open ourselves to the universal energy flowing around and through us. Not only does our presence become powerful but tension levels drop, peace and serenity enter the picture and healing takes place. We all have experienced episodes where everything is chaotic, tension levels are high, someone is ready to snap, and one calm grounded person enters the room, and every thing shifts and calms. We have the power to do this every moment of every day. I do not mean to say that we should go through life without making mistakes. But if we stay grounded, we will not create chaos and be able to laugh when things go awry rather than overreact to the situation.

Unfortunately, when one is raised in a shame based culture, where innocent mistakes often bring harsh reprimands, we have a tendency to take ourselves and our mistakes much too seriously. But that my friends, is another teaching...

All My Relations

Catherine Warner