How to Ground, Balance and Center

~Sylviana

Grounding: A method of making a connection with the Earth, releasing excess energy, and/or transforming negative energy into positive energy.

Balancing: The act of evening out and finding the point of most stability. Centering: A method of anchoring to that place in the center of your being which is the synthesis of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual parts; as well as the meeting point of all of your senses.

Visualization: The act of imagining in great detail, in a way that deeply involves your mind and provokes the senses. Some people actually see images while visualizing, like when in a dream state. Others feel the sensation physically, or become a part of it from a primarily emotional place. Essentially, use whatever skills you used when playing "make believe" as a child. Visualization is the act of consciously directed daydreaming.

Prayer: The act of acknowledging your connection to the Divine, and communicating with that Source. Prayer is an act of honoring both the Source and the connection to it. It is a time for giving thanks; and for asking for things like guidance, understanding, protection and Love. It is a great source of comfort and pleasure, feelings of love and well being. Prayer tends to be the central component in acts of worship, and may be expressed in a variety of ways. Prayer can be both formal and informal. It may be something written out and performed with ritual. It can be words thought or spoken, already written out, or made up on the spot. It can also be an act that becomes like a prayer. Singing or dancing can be used as an act of prayer; as can any act of creation. Sometimes a simple song on the radio or the feelings inspired by dancing with a partner you care for can spontaneously become a prayer, whether or not it started that way!

Affirmation: A statement you make to yourself which encourages positive transformation within yourself, which is geared to effect your life in positive ways. Here is a description of a basic visualization for grounding, centering, and balancing. Read it over several times, until you get the feel of what you will be doing. Then try it. You can amend the visualization to include things that make sense for you, as long as it works towards the same purpose. For instance, some people imagine that their tree is next to a gentle river, and that their roots are stretching into the water and being cleansed and nurtured from that source. When you do the visualization, it will help to do some simple stretches to relieve body tension before hand, and to be in a physically comfortable position. If you don't want to fall asleep, I recommend sitting in a chair, kneeling, or sitting on the floor in Native American or lotus style. Take as long as you need to relax yourself with slow, deep breaths. Try to ensure that you are sitting with a posture that aligns your spine without making you overly tense. Obviously, you should not do this while driving in a car, or operating heavy machinery! However, you will find that over time you will be able to trigger that sense of balance and solidarity just by thinking about it for a moment.

Grounding and Centering Meditation

To prepare yourself before beginning….

~ Do what you can to ensure that you will be free of distraction for a few moments. This may include turning off the television, radio, telephone ringer, loud appliances, etc. If you live with others you may wish to let them know that you need a few minutes by yourself.

~ Relax~

Get into a comfortable position; whether seated in a chair or on the floor, or lying down. (* Some people are prone to falling asleep while meditating laying down. If you want to avoid this, you may want to use one of the seated positions, or try laying down in an area you don't normally sleep in. Of course, falling asleep while meditating is not a "bad" thing, but is counter productive if you are trying to do work that is controlled in a conscious fashion. On the other hand, if you have trouble falling asleep, the same skills can be used to encourage restful sleep.)

~ Spend a few moments becoming conscious of your breath, and allowing it to become slow and deep. You should breathe "from your diaphragm", which is an involuntary muscle underneath your lungs, near your navel. The muscles around the diaphragm allow it to lower and raise, sort of like a bellows. When it lowers, it expands amount of space the lungs have to fill up with air. By controlling these muscles you can take in more fresh air and expel air that is "stale". You can also exhale for an extended period of time very smoothly. Breathing this way promotes good circulation and a general state of calmness. It is the natural way to breathe, but most people have a tendency to develop habits of breathing shallowly, only filling up the top portion of the lungs. If you are breathing from your chest, you will feel your sternum and chest raise as you inhale. If you are breathing from your diaphragm your tummy, instead of your chest, will go out; and the muscles around your ribs will allow the rib cage to open slightly. When you are ready, lead yourself through the following visualization process. You may wish to keep notes on your progress in your journal.

A visualization for Grounding and Centering.

Take some slow deep breaths, and tell yourself that you are relaxing as you breathe deeply. Close your eyes and count back from 10 to one, slowly, with your breaths. Imagine yourself as a tree, and give yourself a few moments to imagine what that would be like. Imagine the sensation of bark; the feeling of a gentle breeze through your branches, the stability of being rooted and solid, the warmth of sunlight, the joy and nurturence in soft rain that trickles down leaves and trunk to seep down to your roots in the Earth. Imagine that you can feel your energy connecting to the earth through your roots. Imagine that all negative energy (like fear, guilt, anger, and sadness) is slipping down into the Earth through your roots.

Imagine that energy is transforming, being cleansed in the cool earth, and imagine drawing it up again through your roots. It is helpful to breathe out while you are focusing on the negative energy sinking into the earth, and in when you are focusing on returning the transformed energy to your body. You can let go of tension over specific situations or more general feelings. You can also focus on easing physical tension or illness. When you have imagined that for a while, imagine doing something similar through your branches, into the sky. Spend some time with that, and then try to develop a circuit from your center to the earth, back into you, up into the sky, and back into your center.

Naturally, you will discover that there is a place that is in between the earth and the sky, and that point is your center. When you feel clean and calm bring that energy which was yours back in through your branches and roots, into that center.Spend a moment noticing how much more stable and strong you feel. If you like, you can spend a few moments thinking about things you are grateful for in your life, and people that make you smile. It's a good moment to say a prayer, both to request guidance and protection, and in thanks for the blessings in your life. Your mind is also more responsive to affirmations in this state. An affirmation is a statement to yourself such as "I am calmer and more centered now. It will be easier for me to handle the everyday moments of life by taking this feeling into it. This energy will help me in my day." They can be as long or short as you like it to be, and can be designed to help with a variety of things (like quitting smoking, or being more organized.) It should focus on changes you think would be beneficial for you to make inside of yourself, changes that will help in your life.

When you are ready, take a few more deep breaths, and find yourself becoming more in touch with your physical body, and the place you are in. Wiggle your toes. Become aware of what sounds you hear. stretch your hand out. Open your eyes. Take another focused breath, and then allow yourself to return to normal.

by Nicolette Stevens aka Sylviana,
Reprintable with permission from and credit given to author,
just send me a message and ask. :-)

To Wait on the Will of Heaven - (poem)

Just a prayer I wrote years ago...... ( My Goddess, here's my new prayer: Make me as smart and wise as I was at 18 when I wrote this! )

( side note: when I wrote this I was researching ancient Sumerian Mythology, particularly that which centered around Inanna, the Sumerian Queen of Heaven and Earth and the High Holy Priestess among the Gods. I can see in this poem an imitation of the format of some ancient prayers that were translated from Hieroglyphs. Some of them can be read in a very nice format in a great book called "Inanna: Queen of Heaven an Earth"; which is very worth reading if such things interest you. This was a child's poor imitation, though I think very sweet and genuinely heartfelt at the time. )



To Wait on the Will of Heaven

Make my house a sanctuary,
A place that is safe from all evils,
Make my home a temple,
A place where serene reverence lives,
And comfort is found.

Make of me a ritual singer,
Teach me the art of bringing sparkeling stars
To shine the light that will see dark night
Into day.

I kneel at your feet ready to learn,
If you would have me as your pupil.
I stand at your arm,
ready to serve,
If you would make of me your servant.

Imbue in me beauty and gracefulness,
That I may be pleasing to you.
Let me listen to the river of truth,
That I may sing of you
Give the people ears that they might hear,
That I might not be alone,
In lifting songs of praise.

Let not the flow of the water be stopped,
Let not the ground run dry.
Let not the rain cease,
and your beautiful Earth to crack
And weep tears of wood for your absence.

Be not angry, take not your grace from my sight,
Cast not blindness upon me like mud in the eyes.
Forgive your servant her transgressions,
She is but a pale shadow of anything you could be.
She has found humility in her failings,
she bows before you,
Awaiting your judgement.

Hear her heart rails for want of peace,
Though her lips may be silenced in reverent awe of You.
You are the spirit eternal,You are the holiest of holies,
without you there would be nothing.

Your daughter has come to you with tears in her eyes,
That only you are capable of wiping away.
Your servant has entered with head bowed,
Waiting on your word.

Within her heart she prays:"Cast me not away."
Let me be brilliant for you,
Let me be fit enough to shine a little of your light,
That the people might see,
Give to me again the honey mouth,
Teach me to listen to the silence,
Let me sing again, I pray!

Let me bring you the sweet drink,
Let the cup not crack within my hands,
For you have placed something precious within it.
I wait on the will of Heaven.