Grounding

Now that it's spring - almost summer - I perform a quick ritual every morning. I go outside my front door and, before I pick up the paper, I walk around the corner of the apartment building, step on the grass in my bare feet and look to the east. While doing this I bless the day and imagine myself as a tree - part of my "Grounding" exercise.

To ground - to establish a base for your power - is a normal part of life for many people. I ground before I meditate, before I do anything at my altar - I mentally ground before attempting to do anything that may be difficult.

My actual grounding ritual is very simple: I stand with my feet apart and hands to the side. I take a few deep breaths and, as I do, I imagine that my feet are the roots of a tree that are growing deep within the Mother Earth. I am the trunk and my arms are the limbs of the tree. I raise each arm slowly imagining the branches shooting off of each limb to touch the sky - to reach to the Sun. All the while I'm breathing slowly and deeply and thanking the Mother. I release the ground by simply reversing the order.

I ground mentally the same way - without the actions (which, if done right before a business meeting, could cause some gossip).

Grounding connects me to the source of all power - Nature. It has become almost second-nature to me now - like brush my teeth - part of my morning ritual.

This winter I even went out in the snow in my stocking feet to look at the east. The beauty of a winter sunrise is awe-inspiring. It would be a very quick look I have to say - but I wanted to really feel the cold. We immune ourselves to the changes of Nature so much that we think the world should always be set at 72 degrees.

You can't become part of Nature - cannot become part of Her power - unless you can feel her changes.

So every morning, before getting the paper, I greet the new day and the Sun. I bless myself and the ones I love. And I ground.

It does make reading that paper a lot easier.