Stay Grounded

Renee Lehman

(June) No, I don’t mean that you should not fly anywhere this summer! I mean be mentally and emotionally stable, and have a firm foundation (www.merriam-webster.com) while being surrounded by the concerns, worries, and fear-ladened information in our modern world.

When I think of being "grounded," I think of being deeply and vastly rooted to the earth like a tree. Trees have a balanced root structure with roots distributed relatively evenly around the trunk, and normally grow outward to about three times the branch spread. This is especially necessary to provide support for larger trees.

I never saw a discontented tree.
They grip the ground as though they liked it,
and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. (John Muir)

By staying "grounded" and deeply rooted like a tree, you can withstand any strong winds or storminess of life. AND, who does not have times of "unsettled weather" in our lives? Plus, our current-day culture promotes living at a fast pace, and has us processing overwhelming amounts of information daily. For example, search for a topic on the internet – there could be thousands of websites listed with information relevant to the topic. Walk into the grocery store – how many variations of a product are there? Watch the news on TV, and while you are listening and watching the story, read the continuous scrolling of news across the bottom of the screen.

Many of us spend countless hours watching reality TV (which by the way is NOT real), playing video games, using the Wii to "play" a sport, "surfing" the internet, watching endless videos on You Tube, "Tweeting" or posting information on Facebook, listening to iPods, playing with electronic devices like iPads, and texting on smartphones. We spend so much time "in our heads" – thinking and processing information faster and faster, and at a much more superficial level. Are you aware of your posture, your breathing, your surrounding while absorbed in these activities? We get "pulled" out of the wholeness of our body when we do these activities. Then once you are done using these devices at the end of the day, how much of a challenge is it to "turn off" your mind to fall asleep at night? In general, how long does it take for you to quiet yourself? Where is balance in the examples above of constant mental activity and processing? Don’t those examples begin to make your head spin? They do mine! I believe that as a culture we are becoming less "grounded" and "rooted" in our daily lives.

Remember the Yin-Yang symbol to describe the balance in the natural world? The Yin-Yang symbol consists of a circle divided into two teardrop-shaped halves - one white and the other black. Within each half is contained a smaller circle of the opposite color. One could not exist without the other, for each contains the essence of the other. In the universe there is a constant movement between Yin and Yang. There is an ebb and flow between peace and turbulence, winter and spring, and rest and activity. However, our modern world tends to encourage and reward Yang over Yin activity.

The Importance of Grounding to the Earth

Do you remember hearing about how the physical condition of early astronauts deteriorated severely while in outer space? These astronauts became weak, sick, and lost bone density. When they returned from the moon, they could not stand up. This happened because they were away from the electromagnetic field that is formed between the ground and the lower part of the ionosphere located about 62 miles above us. This field has a vibration or resonance (called the Schumann Resonance – named for the German physicist, W.O. Schumann who observed this in 1952) of approximately 7.83 pulses per second (hertz). It has been proven that all vertebrates and our human brain vibrate at this same frequency. The problem was solved by introducing the "Schumann Simulator" into all space shuttles, a magnetic pulse generator mimicking the Earth's frequency. When the astronauts used this simulator they recovered their equilibrium and health. Electromagnetic emissions from computer monitors, cell phones, and other electrical devices also cover up the Schumann Resonance, thus leading to stress and fatigue. This demonstrates the simple fact that we cannot be healthy if disconnected from the "natural biological frequency" (www.SchumannWaves.com).

How can you stay grounded?

1. Take a walk outside and notice the trees around you. Trees are a wonderful example to us - their roots firmly planted and branches reaching high.
    
2. Do a Grounding Meditation. Imagine roots coming from the bottom of your feet into the ground to firmly tie you to the core of the earth. As you breathe in feel the energy coming up from the earth into your body and as you breathe out let any excess flow back down into the earth.
    
3. Observe your thoughts. Yes, just stop and notice what you were thinking. Are you off in the ozone or present to your current experience.
    
4. Try yoga, qi gong, or tai chi. These ancient practices get us into our bodies and slow us down to become aware of our movements.
    
5. When the weather is nice, go outside and garden. There is nothing like getting your hands in dirt to get you grounded.
    
6. Stand without your shoes and feel your feet touching the ground. Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one’s bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand or concrete (especially when humid or wet). Regular grounding restores the body’s natural electrical state, calms the nervous system, reduces inflammation, and improves circulation. "No pill on Earth can do what Mother Earth does!" (Cardiologist, Stephen Sinatra, M.D).

Now, doesn’t it make sense why spending more time outside, or hiking in the mountains, or walking on the sand at the beach makes you feel better? You are resonating with the earth’s vibration! By being barefoot, you can make better contact with this vibration, since rubber soles act as an insulator, and resist the flow of electric current.

Finally, I believe that the more frantic and expansive our culture becomes, the deeper our own roots must be. I invite you to begin deepening your roots – go outside… NOW!

• "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves."(Gandhi)
   
• "The deeper the roots of a tree reach, the higher the peak. You can see the tree, you cannot see the roots, but they are always in proportion. If the tree is reaching to the sky the roots must be reaching to the very end of the earth. The proportion is the same." (Osho)
   
• "I have always argued that change becomes stressful and overwhelming only when you've lost any sense of the constancy of your life. You need firm ground to stand on. From there, you can deal with that change." (Richard Nelson Bolles)

Renee Lehman is a licensed acupuncturist, physical therapist, and Reiki Master with over 20 years of health care experience. Her office is located at 249B York Street in Gettysburg, PA.  She can be reached at 717-752-5728.