Grounding and Centering

[Guest guest]

Grounding and

Centering

excerpts by Frances Donovan (a.k.a. Okelle)

 

It's difficult to describe psychic energy in writing; you

really have to

experience it yourself. It first takes a change in

mindset, a

willingness to

believe that there is more to experience than what's

evident through the

five

senses recognized by modern Western society. Nor is it

the sixth sense

so

often glamorized in stories about people who can predict

the future, or

" see

dead people. "

 

Psychic energy is more like a form of energy, endlessly

abundant and

difficult to harness. You may think of it as the life

force, -- or even

" the

Force " from the Star Wars movies. All living things

produce psychic

energy.

You can see it in other people as an aura, or a

" vibe. " You can feel it

in

the purring of a cat, the scampering of a mouse, or the

smooth

undulation of

a fish. You can feel its slow, steady flow through the

trunk of a tree.

You

can feel it in the wind, hear it in the sound of the

waves on the beach,

or

in the trickle of a stream. You can feel its press upon

you when you

stand in

the middle of a crowded city street.

 

Grounding to Earth

 

The earth itself also has an energy, a life force, and

this is the

energy we

call upon when we ground before ritual. It's easiest to

ground with your

feet

or butt in firm contact with the floor, or better yet the

earth itself.

If

you can, take off your shoes. Imagine the earth's energy

rising up

through

the soles of your feet (or the base of your spine if you

are sitting).

Send

your mind all the way down, past the floorboards, past

the basement,

past the

sewers and electrical lines, past the earth's crust and

layers of rock

and

fossils, into the heart of the earth Herself, her molten

core. Bring

that

boundless, grounded energy into you, breathing it up

slowly from the

soles of

your feet to the crown of your head.

 

Grounding is something to do both before and after ritual

- before

ritual to

shore up your own internal energies, and after ritual, to

return any

energy

to the earth.

 

Once the circle is cast, pagans enter a place between the

worlds,

outside the

realm of the mundane. We often raise psychic energy as

part of our

rituals --

through dancing, drumming, chanting, or singing. As we

become closer to

Goddess and God, we may feel transcendent, lighter than

air. Once we are

done

raising and directing energy, it's important to ground

any remaining

energy,

and to return to a more mundane state of mind.

 

Paganism is not the only religion with this notion of

grounding. Many

gurus

from India, for instance, teach that when you experience

shaktipat -- a

spiritual awakening manifested by a serpent of fire

uncoiling from the

base

of your spine -- you must work off the energy or it will

sour inside

you.

Rather than working off the energy, pagans simply return

it to the

earth,

usually by touching the grounding and letting it drain

from their

fingertips,

back into the earth from whence it came.

 

Centering

 

Grounding is what puts you in touch with the earth's

energy, with the

center

of the earth. Centering is what puts you in touch with

your own energy,

with

your sense of who you are and where you come from. Often,

grounding is

enough

to get you centered as well. But it's important to know

the distinction

between the two. In ritual -- especially with other

people -- it's easy

to

lose yourself in something bigger. Part of coming back

down is

remembering

who you are, as an individual that functions on a daily basis.

 

Whenever I think of centering, I think of the beginning

of the yoga sun

salutes. Standing with feet hip width apart, with our

hands in prayer

position over our hearts, our yoga teacher always says,

" rock back and

forth

between the balls of your feet and your heels. Find your

center. " She

means

the balancing spot of the feet, the center of balance

around the hips,

and

because our hands are over our hearts, our being center

as well.

 

Like the concept of psychic energy, the concept of

centering is best

understood through experience. It's not merely an

intellectual concept

of who

you are -- we Americans rely far too often only on our

intellect -- but

a

deep knowing of who we are.

 

Developing a routine, even a simple one, can help you

center. Take, for

example, my bedtime routine. I brush my teeth (and floss

them too if I'm

feeling especially conscientious!), wash my face, put on

pajamas, turn

off

all the lights, read a couple of chapters, and then turn

off the light.

If,

for some reason, I'm having an especially hectic week, I

may break from

my

nighttime routine. One of the ways I re-center myself is

by returning to

it.

 

Here are a few other suggestions for keeping yourself

centered:

 

--Keep a journal and reread it from time to time.

 

--Develop a routine of prayer and meditation.

 

--Develop and maintain a support network of friends who

can mirror back

to

you how you are doing.

 

--Get at least six (and preferably eight!) hours of sleep

each night.

 

--Eat healthy, nutritious food in moderate proportions.

 

--Exercise regularly.

 

If these suggestions sound like common sense, that's

because they are.

Grounding and centering is all about common sense. It's

about coming out

of

the clouds and back down to earth.

 

 

 

“Fortunately

art is a community effort - a small but select community living in a

spiritualized world endeavoring to interpret the wars and the solitudes of the

flesh.”

-Allen Ginsberg

 

 

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