Keeping ourselves grounded, earthed, and connected.
Ongoing training and practice in EFT and Energy Medicine continue to focus my mind on the whole concept of grounding, and to enjoy discovering more connections.
Gaia is Mother Earth in Greek mythology. She emerged into definition from formless Chaos, closely followed by Tartarus - the darkness beneath her - and Eros, the power of love. From Gaia came Ouranos the Sky, to protect her on every side, then the Mountains, and finally the Sea.
Our language is full of Greek Gaia and Terra - her Roman counterpart. We study Geography, Geology, and Geophysics. We are terrestrial creatures. We feel safe with our feet on terra firma.
In ancient Greek vase-painting, Gaia is depicted as gorgeous and voluptuous, rising from the earth, with her feet rarely shown, because she is embedded in, rising from, and at one with the element which she represents, as here, in a detail from a wonderful vase in the British Museum.
Sometimes we may feel disconnected from ourselves and other people, a bit wobbly and unstable on our feet and in our core, locked in a cycle of tension and anxiety, easily inflamed and flammable. We lose courage, and the ability to trust. We lose our sense of proportion and balance. Our relationships - with our inner voice, with everyone around us, and with the world - can be a struggle. We feel we have lost our footing. We don't feel safe any more.
There are ways to enlist Lady Gaia to help us to earth our energies, and to build up our cumulative energetic resilience and feeling of safety, so that when things inevitably knock us off balance again, we can draw on our energetic reserve. These simple techniques, done regularly, can stand alone, or be woven into an existing repertoire of meditation, prayer, breathwork, yoga, and Pilates. With amazing results. A new habit, just a minuscule adjustment to our daily routine, takes only around 21 days or so to be embedded in our energetic system.
As a starting point, focus on your feet. Grow roots! When we stand barefoot (preferably) on grass (wet, preferably), we are drawing up energy from the earth through our feet, up through the core of the body, up and out from the crown of the head, to cascade down to the earth again, like a gorgeous waterfall. But many of us don't have ready access to wet grass on a daily basis, so just hold the image in your mind when you're having a shower.
Keep focusing on those feet. Stagnant energy gets stuck in our feet - we need to give this old energy an exit route!
Massage deeply (to get those toxins moving, ready to depart), Stretch (essential to make space for fresh energy to come in), then Pull the old energy off your toes, so it doesn't lurk about and recycle itself in your energetic system. Fling wide those gaits!
Many more grounding techniques to follow!
Extra bits and bobs:
1. Gaia and Ouranos produced the Titans, and through a sequence of further births and deaths came Zeus, and the other colourful cast of characters with whom we are so familiar. Parthenogenesis and incest are not uncommon in Greek mythology..... Gaia's other offspring with Ouranos (also known as Uranus) were the one-eyed giant Cyclopes Brontes (Thunder) and Steropes (Lightening). All rather electrical...
2. The vase-painting I chose is a detail from an original in the British Museum. Link here for the bigger picture about this wonderful image.
3. Ongoing inspiration from and gratitude for Donna Eden's Energy Medicine techniques and to all the practitioners way ahead of me on my journey. In particular, have a look at Prune Harris and Madison King