Yeah, great topic!
So, here's what I have to say on the subject:
First I think there is a lot to be learned from the term itself - "grounded". This implies a kind of harmony with your environment, no? That is a deep understanding and acceptance of it. A feeling of being sunken into it. Relaxed. Heavy in our place but light in our heart. Too often I think we err on the side of too much or too little.
By too much I mean something like getting loaded on drugs and alcohol and generally overstimulating our system to a point where something kicks in and we can feel refreshed. By too little I mean simply going to sleep. Like literally. There are many degrees in between these two extremes that are sometimes so accepted and so subtle that we may not even notice them. Watching TV, video games, gossip, obession with excercise etc. These things create a state of occupation which lulls us away, so to speak.
I don't mean to say that there is anything inherently wrong with these things but that there is a tendency to use them as a means to sooth our inner state, (that weird and mysterious flux and flow that is our conciousness) often by creating the conditions for us to more or less ignore it. And therein lies the mistake; ignoring or attempting to somehow avoid our inner state. This implies a kind of holding or resistance to something imagined or real. My parents used to talk about "zoning out" in front of the TV. Sometimes it's nice to "just zone out" they would say.
"Zone out from what", I'd ask.
Never an answer. But I could always sense the fear. The fear of the dark or the television being off. The fear of ghosts and things I could not see but only sometimes. Yes, to be undgrounded is far worse and far more terrifying yet, wow, do a lot of us spend our lives that way. Floating and tense trying to keep a lid on it.
Personally for me the best way to get grounded is to get my mind and body doing something TOGETHER. Martial arts, meditation, running, sex with a beloved partner anything that brings the energies of the mind and body into one place. When we feel embodied we feel grounded. When we feel a meaningful connection to our environment we feel grounded. When we feel a meaningful place in reality, even if it's something as mundane as running in a big circle or punching and kicking imaginary foes (with awareness) or lifting big heavy things or walking up a mountain. Whatever it is, bringing the body and mind online together seems to just let it kick in.
I think being grounded is really just being in our natural place and being, for lack of a more academic way to put it, cool with it.
Yeah, great topic!
So, here's what I have to say on the subject:
First I think there is a lot to be learned from the term itself - "grounded". This implies a kind of harmony with your environment, no? That is a deep understanding and acceptance of it. A feeling of being sunken into it. Relaxed. Heavy in our place but light in our heart. Too often I think we err on the side of too much or too little.
By too much I mean something like getting loaded on drugs and alcohol and generally overstimulating our system to a point where something kicks in and we can feel refreshed. By too little I mean simply going to sleep. Like literally. There are many degrees in between these two extremes that are sometimes so accepted and so subtle that we may not even notice them. Watching TV, video games, gossip, obession with excercise etc. These things create a state of occupation which lulls us away, so to speak.
I don't mean to say that there is anything inherently wrong with these things but that there is a tendency to use them as a means to sooth our inner state, (that weird and mysterious flux and flow that is our conciousness) often by creating the conditions for us to more or less ignore it. And therein lies the mistake; ignoring or attempting to somehow avoid our inner state. This implies a kind of holding or resistance to something imagined or real. My parents used to talk about "zoning out" in front of the TV. Sometimes it's nice to "just zone out" they would say.
"Zone out from what", I'd ask.
Never an answer. But I could always sense the fear. The fear of the dark or the television being off. The fear of ghosts and things I could not see but only sometimes. Yes, to be undgrounded is far worse and far more terrifying yet, wow, do a lot of us spend our lives that way. Floating and tense trying to keep a lid on it.
Personally for me the best way to get grounded is to get my mind and body doing something TOGETHER. Martial arts, meditation, running, sex with a beloved partner anything that brings the energies of the mind and body into one place. When we feel embodied we feel grounded. When we feel a meaningful connection to our environment we feel grounded. When we feel a meaningful place in reality, even if it's something as mundane as running in a big circle or punching and kicking imaginary foes (with awareness) or lifting big heavy things or walking up a mountain. Whatever it is, bringing the body and mind online together seems to just let it kick in.
I think being grounded is really just being in our natural place and being, for lack of a more academic way to put it, cool with it.
What do you guys do?