Advanced Grounding

[Nihilistic Seraph]

As many people may know, grounding is the process of creating a link between you, and an energy source, so that when performing a piece of magic, you do not overly drain yourself. Some people ground to the center of the earth, some to the sun. However, one thing I have found is that one may ground to specific objects/forces to use your energy in a different way.

For example, if you were trying to do a healing spell, you could ground to a lake, or the Western Watchtower to help your energy.

This is a something with a set provedure. It's entirely feelings and visualization. Have fun!  

[WebenBanu]

I've mostly seen grounding used as a means of discharging excess energy from a working so that you don't fry your internal circuitry (kind of like the build up and discharge of static electricity), but it's interesting to use it as a means of tapping into additional power.

One method I was shown at a seminar last year was to extend a line of energy from the base of you spine/root chakra (which to me, at first, appeared as tendrils/roots) down into the fiery heart of the earth, then bend that line and bring it back up (on the return trip, it felt more like energy/sustenance from the Earth traveling along the roots), back through the root chakra, up the spine and out of the top of your head/crown chakra. Reach up far into the sky (at this point, the line of energy seemed more like a beam of energy, to me), up to the sun itself and then it falls back (like lightening), re-enters the crown chakra, and connects the circuit at the heart chakra. I use imagery to trace the track of the energy lines because that is helpful to me, though I don't necessarily continue the visualization once the energy circuit has been completed.

I enjoyed this one, and found it easier to do (for me) than several others which I'd tried. With this one, once that line came back down through the crown chakra and the energy circuit was completed, the feeling of completion was very much like a discharge of static electricity- shocking things immediately back into alignment. ZAPP!!! ...ahhh, that's better ^_^

I use grounding tactics now when I'm feeling all charged up about something, to the point where it's distressing and distracting, and I really just need to calm and center myself before either moving on or taking another look at the issue. Sometimes it also helps me to get to sleep, after a really frenetic day. I generally don't find it to be necessary with heka, since that school of magic tends to apply forces which are always in play- and just usually go un-recognized and un-directed- as opposed to Western magic, which also uses natural forces but tends to try to amass as much as possible and concentrate them before focusing them on a specific goal.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

WebenBanu

One method I was shown at a seminar last year was to extend a line of energy from the base of you spine/root chakra (which to me, at first, appeared as tendrils/roots) down into the fiery heart of the earth, then bend that line and bring it back up (on the return trip, it felt more like energy/sustenance from the Earth traveling along the roots), back through the root chakra, up the spine and out of the top of your head/crown chakra. Reach up far into the sky (at this point, the line of energy seemed more like a beam of energy, to me), up to the sun itself and then it falls back (like lightening), re-enters the crown chakra, and connects the circuit at the heart chakra.

Interesting. The way I was taught to ground was pretty much identical to what you said, minus the energy going up to the sun and such. We just stayed with the center of the earth. And whenever I have excess energy, I tend to use it to recharge something that needs energy (my shields, the ward about my room, give some to my plants...) By now I have a fair amout of visualizations I use for different groudings, my favourite of them, the one I use for big rits, goes as such.

I'm standing on a great plain, stretching endlesly about me, the floor smooth grey stone. I am encased in a tree, my spine in the exacts center. Above me is both the sun and the moon. I can feel the rays of both (golden and silver) falling down onto my leaves, being absorbed, and channeled down to my center.

On a side note, why do you have the energy go back to your heart chakra? Is that your center, or were you just taught that way?  

[WebenBanu]

A lovely meditation- it reminds me of one method of energy gathering I read about, specifically for gathering solar or lunar light, where the practitioner shape-shifts into a hawk or an owl and flies while gathering sunlight or moonlight on their wings- like your tree gathers it through the leaves. After a while, I modified the tactic to simply grow wings out of my back (phoenix wings, since that's my personal flair^_~) which I'd spread and use to gather energy and channel it into my body through the chakra on my back between the wing blades.

Nihilistic Seraph

On a side note, why do you have the energy go back to your heart chakra? Is that your center, or were you just taught that way?

It's the way that the exercise was taught, but it was taught that way because one understanding of the heart chakra is that it is the central point which regulates the energy that flows to either extreme of the body. Being a Kemetic, I associate the heart with balancing scales anyway, so it still makes sense to me.

I have a question for you- I've heard conflicting views on the subject, but when you ground and center do you cross your legs/arms or keep them straight, or do you think it matters? I've heard some folks say that it's best to cross them, because that way makes a round-trip connection easier for the energy, but I've also heard that it should be avoided because crossing energy circuits can cause hang-ups which do not allow the energy to flow as freely.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

WebenBanu

It's the way that the exercise was taught, but it was taught that way because one understanding of the heart chakra is that it is the central point which regulates the energy that flows to either extreme of the body. Being a Kemetic, I associate the heart with balancing scales anyway, so it still makes sense to me.

Really? I was taught that different people can have different centres of energy. Mine tends to be in my solar plexus chakra, allthough I'm thinking of experimenting grounding to different chakras for different effects.

WebenBanu

I have a question for you- I've heard conflicting views on the subject, but when you ground and center do you cross your legs/arms or keep them straight, or do you think it matters? I've heard some folks say that it's best to cross them, because that way makes a round-trip connection easier for the energy, but I've also heard that it should be avoided because crossing energy circuits can cause hang-ups which do not allow the energy to flow as freely.

I don't think it matters that much. I've grounded in both positions, and not had a different effect, or at least noticed one. Then again, I've practiced grounding enough that I can do a basic ground in a split-second, even while walking down the street. For more complex groudings, I tend to sit with my legs cross, mmy arms outstretched in a sort of meditation position, but that's simply my preference, it helps me get into the right state of mind.  

[WebenBanu]

Nihilistic Seraph

Really? I was taught that different people can have different centres of energy. Mine tends to be in my solar plexus chakra, allthough I'm thinking of experimenting grounding to different chakras for different effects.

I wonder if an energy regulation chakra is different from an energy access center? It may also be possible to direct power outwardly through a certain area, which is not necessarily the place from which you would access it, or carry it. In heka, it is simply understood that a person's power is held in their mouth, and energy which is carried around in order to be assimilated to their being is stored in the belly- or such is my current understanding. I haven't really thought about this before, but the place from which you actually access that power may depend on the person- kind of like the difference between right handed or left handed individuals, except with a lot more "hands." But now I may be trying to compare apples and oranges.

Which reminds me of another subject, which could quickly turn into a rant, so perhaps I should just cut myself off here and take it to the pub.^_~

Nihilistic Seraph

I don't think it matters that much. I've grounded in both positions, and not had a different effect, or at least noticed one. Then again, I've practiced grounding enough that I can do a basic ground in a split-second, even while walking down the street. For more complex groudings, I tend to sit with my legs cross, mmy arms outstretched in a sort of meditation position, but that's simply my preference, it helps me get into the right state of mind.

That makes sense, then- if so many schools conflict on this point, it must be a matter of preference.  

[Rakei]

I ground All my chakras at once, I normally drain the negative energy and almost blast the energy of the elements (narmally earth and Air) that way I can be sure they are all equally balanced.
I normally do it lying down, so it connects easier.

Sorry I'll go into greater detail when I have time.  

[Jameta]

*Poke of Relavent Currency*  

[Jameta]

Jameta

*Poke of Relavent Currency*

 

[The Bookwyrm]

I know I'm a bit behind the discussion, but you had a very interesting point, Weben. Do you really find it effective to ground yourself when your stressed out or trying to sleep? I know I tend to dwell on things, especially unpleasant ones far longer than it is healthy to do so. I blame it on some of my Scorpio traits, but it gets to the point where it makes me physically sick to my stomach and I'm snapping over nothing with friends and family. I've tried a variety of different tactics to keep from doing this, to little avail. It also interferes with my sleep cycle, since it's normal for me to lay awake for nearly two hours nightly (if not longer) to run through the day's events. It's not uncommon for me to dwell on things for years! Do you have a specific grounding practice for this that you find particularly effective?  

[WebenBanu]

I just noticed that I double posted my response.^_^' So here's for cutting down on the page size a bit.  

[WebenBanu]

Gypsy Blue

I know I'm a bit behind the discussion, but you had a very interesting point, Weben. Do you really find it effective to ground yourself when your stressed out or trying to sleep?

I do. I find that stress is caused by a retention of frenetic energy which is anchored to either a specific event or even just the general state of affairs, and unable to find release because we can't think of a solution to that anchor in order to cut it loose. We get crazy and ball it all up inside of ourselves. Without anywhere to go, that energy just keeps racing around inside, which keeps us up at night- and can make it pretty tough to think clearly while we're awake, as well. So if you ground, that gives the energy somewhere to go, and once that's done it's such a relief that you'll be able to relax a lot more easily afterward. At that point, you're usually better able to deal with the situation rationally and/or go to sleep.

The technique I described of grounding to both heaven and earth is generally reserved for times when less drastic measures aren't working. For sleep, especially, I want to use something which doesn't require me to reach so far, because I'm usually already exhausted. For those times, I actually use a method which I described in the Shielding thread- visualizing a large rock in the middle of a river, which I often used as a place for meditation and reflection back in my hometown. I lay myself down into the rock in this case- merging myself with the stone. I find that, firstly, the stone barrier all around me makes me feel safe and hidden, so that it's easier for me to turn my efforts inward without feeling the need to defend myself from whatever's stressing me out at the time. After that, I send out tendrils of energy to the edge of the stone- into the river water which rushes around that boulder. It's kind of like trailing your fingers in the water as it runs past. And through those tendrils I hand off the energy which has built up- you might see it as black sludge sloughing off into the river, and the current just kind of carries it away.

This meditation is very similar to one which Cunningham describes, where one draws up a bath, and lays back into it visualizing impurities leaching into it as black ooze. Then one sits up and opens the drain, watching as it is all whisked away down the pipes.

Gypsy Blue

I know I tend to dwell on things, especially unpleasant ones far longer than it is healthy to do so. I blame it on some of my Scorpio traits, but it gets to the point where it makes me physically sick to my stomach and I'm snapping over nothing with friends and family. I've tried a variety of different tactics to keep from doing this, to little avail. It also interferes with my sleep cycle, since it's normal for me to lay awake for nearly two hours nightly (if not longer) to run through the day's events. It's not uncommon for me to dwell on things for years! Do you have a specific grounding practice for this that you find particularly effective?

Yeah, I have the same problem. I'm going to talk about myself for a moment, because I hope that it might help you gain some insight into your own situation. A person's heart, however, is like something veiled in silk- you think you can see what lies within, but you can't. So I don't pretend to understand your situation completely- I just ask that you hear me out in case this is helpful.^_~

For me, it usually comes from my need to live up to expectations- either my own, or others', or whatever I expect that others should be expecting of me (lol)! I can drive myself to desperation over what I should have said, done, felt, or whatever- and I can usually come up with some really good comebacks about 3 days or a month after the fact.^_^' And then that drives me to wits' end because it's too late at that point- why don't I ever think of these things sooner? I understand why I do this, though, and it's a good reason- I expect a lot out of myself, because I want to be a good person. In fact, I want to be a really freaking awesome person, and I want everyone to be happy with me as I live up to the best of my potential, and to fulfill the role in our world for which I was intended. And that's an excellent goal- really, just having that kind of goal is admirable, and is one of the most important steps toward fulfilling it. But the intensity of dedication to a goal like this can get in the way, at times like these, and sometimes understanding why we feel the way we do will help us to reason with ourselves.

For myself, I look at my motives- why am I so upset over this exchange? "Because it didn't work out the way it should have, because someone got hurt/was let down and it was my fault, and I screwed up when I shouldn't have been screwing up and I'm such a screw up!!!>_<" OK, now we look back at that- yes I made a mistake, did I intend to screw up? Obviously not, or else I wouldn't be so upset over it now. Which means that I'm obviously still a good person and not a screw up. Another good question to ask is: would I be this hard on another person if it had been that person who made this same mistake? What would I have suggested to them to do?

Whatever I may or may not be able to come up with in response to those questions, however, getting this upset over it is affecting the way that I live the rest of my life. It's not letting me get enough sleep, it's causing unpleasantness between myself and others, and it's clouding my mind so that I make even more mistakes. That's not helping me to attain my goal, is it? So in cases like this, I look for something that I can do to settle the issue in my mind- perhaps I'll write a note of apology, or do some community service to make me feel better about myself. It's best if you can come up with something related to the specific instance in some way. Did my mistake really hurt someone else? Is there anything that I can do to help them get back on their feet? Or, if they don't want anything to do with me at that point, then it's sometimes better to cut both our losses- find a lesson in our last exchange, and move on. Learning something from a mistake is one of many ways to atone for it.

We all make mistakes, though- and that's why the gods created us with the power to address our own messes.

If the source of your frustration is another person, then think about their reasons for it- do they have any basis for their complaints or behavior? If so, then address that (either to the person or on your own) and become a better person. If you can't find any, then don't worry about it unless it's a problem with your own behavior and several people point it out to you- if several people are complaining about the same thing, then there probably really is a lesson to be learned in there, somewhere. If it's a problem with someone else's behavior, then if they don't respond to a polite request, they won't respond to anything else so it's best not to get dragged into a fight with them. Sometimes people are just bitter or negative, and they need to vent to get it out. If someone's yelling at you and being really unreasonable, then you don't even have to fight back. They're making an a** of themselves all by themselves, and any reasonable person in the audience can recognize that. If you rise to their bait, you just proved that they hit a sore spot and you got yourself embroiled in a no-win situation, because they're not going to change their mind no matter what you say to them.

But far and away, I've found that the best way to reduce stress over situations like this is to make every effort to live in such a way that you won't have regrets. If someone blows up at you, then try to talk to them about it- if they won't listen to you when you speak calmly, if they won't return your messages, if they won't hear or see you at all, then you have to consolation that you did everything you could think of. If there is an opportunity that is trying to slip by you, claw at it all the way- do everything which is ethically possible to bring it to you- or yourself to it. If you hurt someone, then do anything you can think of to make it up to them- or at least show them that you really do care about what happened. Regret is the worst thing- it's terrible to wonder what might have happened, if you'd just tried something else. Try everything, and I would argue that- even if you look a little foolish while trying- this approach gives you the moral high ground and the ability to look back on the situation and honestly say that you did your best. Just always do your best, and you won't have anything to regret later.^_^

So anyway^_^, that's some general advice on the subject. Hopefully some of it will be useful- if you'd like to talk about this further then please feel free to PM me about it. I'm going to be really tied up at work for the next couple of days, but I'll respond as soon as I can.  

[The Bookwyrm]

That's actually all been a huge help! Thank you so much. ^^  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

I looked through every page of SS for this thread! I have a bit of information to add.

I used grounding when I got my tattoo. I really don't like needles, so I was really freaked out about getting one. It was hurting pretty bad, so I worked on focusing my breathing (lamaze style) and keeping myself grounded.

I kept my feet flat on the ground, concentrated on breathing steadily, and visualized the pain I was feeling. I imagined my pain as being similar to water trapped behind a dam, and it's build up was causing me pain. So I basically mentally opened the flood gates.

I released my pain energy a little at a time and pushed it down my spine through my body, and into the ground. I imagined my pain energy going into the earth and the positive energy coming back in to replace the pain.

It really helped a lot. It hurt sometimes when I was getting my tattoo, but keeping myself grounded really helped me get through it.

Now I know that I can get through it, and I plan on getting more added on to it soon.  

[blindfaith^_^]

Nihilistic Seraph

As many people may know, grounding is the process of creating a link between you, and an energy source, so that when performing a piece of magic, you do not overly drain yourself.

Actually I counsider grounding to be reconnecting to this reality and this realm after traveling through various planes of existance. I also consider grounding reconnecting to this reality and this wave of energy after being in high energy either from spellworkm ritual work, or some form of meditation.

Oh course I don't use personal power do do spells/rituals/healings. I use univeral energy where the general phrasing is let it come through you not of you. I like to think of myself as a well tuned radio, I might not make the music but my clarity does determine the quality of sound.

Quote:

Some people ground to the center of the earth, some to the sun. However, one thing I have found is that one may ground to specific objects/forces to use your energy in a different way.

For example, if you were trying to do a healing spell, you could ground to a lake, or the Western Watchtower to help your energy.

This is a something with a set provedure. It's entirely feelings and visualization. Have fun!

To do the kind of grounding you've defined, I often picture a pillar of light coming into me from the sky as pure universal energy while growing roots into the ground and pulling up universal energy, and in this way I am completely plugged into the world. If I need work in a specific area of I am doing work with a specific intention I often imagine a ball of the appropriately colored engery lowering from the ground and raising from the earth simultaneously to meet in the center of my being and power me up for whatever the intention is. I love color magic its so very simple and so powerful.

As far as grounding objects, I call that "charging", and yes you could do that with any energy imaginable and that item would care a large that sensation with it. Any sort of imagery that brings that energy to mind could be used to imbune that object with that power.

As far as the kind of grounding I do I often "grow" roots into the earth and draw up deep mossy green and brown energies. Other times I just imagine myself becoming the bottom half of a mountain or a cliff and the stability and strength and physical here and now presence that would have.

With calling on something like a watch tower of the west. Certainly I can and do that, but I'm just a little confused as to why you call that grounding. Though typically I imagine these type of things not as watchtowers but as beings with there own wills and while none have ever refused to help me before, I work with pretty fluffesque kinds of beings and am always very polite and respectful to them. I acknowledge that they could say no to my ask for their assistance.

As far as drawing on water energies go, I don't now why I would visualize pulling energy from the water when I could just picture the energy flowing into whatever I wanted it to flow into. However, I guess the basic answer is yes, I do call on specific kind of energies and charge items/ spells/ rituals/ healings with these energies.