Ground. Breathe. Ground.

At the end of my last post I asked the question, "What have you found to be helpful during these difficult times?". And since then I have been wondering, what actually DOES help? I find myself checking in with myself regularly. When do I feel best? What bolsters my resilience? How do I stay balanced emotionally? 

It helps me to stick to some kind of routine. I'm not naturally a morning person, and if left to my own devices I can easily sleep the day away. But I make sure I set the alarm and get up every morning - it helps that I have the cats and chickens relying on me to get up and feed them! But even if I didn't, I would still be setting the alarm and getting up in the morning because I find the structuring of my day helpful. It makes me more productive, and that is also helpful. The days I don't feel so good are the vague, unfocused ones where I waste the day on Facebook, over-eat, don't actually achieve anything and end up bored and dissatisfied.

I am gentle with myself, though - I don't over-structure my days, preferring to leave room for flexibility, last minute changes of plan and some down time too.

Most of the time I get it right - or at least right enough that I maintain my equilibrium. Every now and again though, my equilibrium slips and I'm filled with a storm of emotions - panic, grief, rage, despair, helplessness or fear: an unpredictable mixture of one, many or all of them at once. What helps then?

This is what works for me: I try to remember to ground. And breathe. And ground.

Grounding, as I have written before, is not always granted the importance it deserves. But I would argue it is an absolutely crucial skill for magical practitioner and Muggle alike. I believe it's something that everyone should know how to do, something to teach our children from a young age so that it becomes second nature and a valuable coping mechanism in times of stress, change and crisis. 

There are many, many ways to ground - a quick Google search will turn up a myriad of methods - but this is my go-to way of grounding and calming myself at the moment:

• Stop for a moment and make yourself aware of the emotion(s) you are experiencing. Find a name for it/them. Fearful? Angry? Isolated? Name it. Say it aloud. "I am feeling ....."
• Notice how you feel it in your body. Numb? Tension in your shoulders? Nauseous? Name it. Say it aloud. "My [body/shoulders/back/stomach etc] feels....."
• Pay attention to the physical edges of your body, the border of your physical being where skin meets air, where feet touch ground etc. When I am overcome by emotion it's easy to lose touch with my body, to get carried off by the thoughts in my head. Have you ever heard the expression "I was beside myself with anger/anxiety/excitement"? Think about those words, beside yourself. Strong emotion can make you feel completely disconnected to your physical self. It's important to bring yourself fully back into your body.
• Take a deep, slow breath in through your nose. Hold it for a moment, then exhale fully and slowly through your mouth. Repeat a few times, concentrating on the feeling of the air entering and leaving your lungs. 
• Concentrate on your feet and their connection to the earth. If you like, imagine roots spreading out from the soles of your feet, down into the stable, supportive earth beneath you. Feel the strength and resilience you can draw from that connection. Remember to keep breathing slowly and deeply.
• Know that you are held and supported by the earth beneath you.
• Breathe. Ground. Breathe. Ground. Repeat until you are feeling calm and in control. 

Another quick way to get 'out' of a chattering mind and turbulent thoughts is to concentrate on your five senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Take a deep, calming breath and mentally list three things you can see - three things you can hear - three things you can feel - three things you can smell - three things you can taste (Taste can be a challenge! If necessary stick your tongue out and 'taste' the air - what does it taste of? Lick your lips - what do they taste of? etc). After you have listed three things for each sense you should be feeling in touch with your body, more in control of your thoughts and calmer. If not - list three more for each sense!

Remembering to Ground and Breathe and be present in my body is proving invaluable for me at the moment. I hope it is helpful for you too.

Ground. Breathe. Ground. 

Finding Balance in a Time of Chaos

Today is the Spring Equinox, one of only two days in the year that day and night are of equal length. From today, days will be longer than nights, daily increasing their dominance until the Summer Solstice in June.

Today is a day to pause and consider balance and equipoise. Yet at the same time, even more extreme events than usual are occurring around the world. Revolution and disorder in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and many other countries. Devastating earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, leading (in Japan's case) to further chaos from first the tsunami and then the terrifying prospect of nuclear disaster. Financial crisis in country after country and the resulting job losses, inflation and devastating cuts in welfare for the most needy in our societies. All played out against a backdrop of unusual weather patterns and uncertainty.

Unsurprisingly, people are wondering what on earth is going on. Literally. The pragmatic blame the politicians, the bankers. Those of a more esoteric bent blame Uranus moving into Aries, or invoke 2012 prophecies to claim the end of the world is nigh. Conspiracy theorists mutter darkly about The New World Order and HAARP. The wackier end of the Christian spectrum claim in cruel self-righteousness that their vengeful God is smiting non-Christians. And just last night, many of us were holding our breath in wonder at a Full Moon closer to the Earth than she has been in 18 years and wondering, could that have anything to do with anything?

But who knows? None of us really. My own theories combine the pragmatic approach mentioned above, with a sprinkling of the esoteric - fused with the certainty that sometimes, shit just happens.

But when shit does happen, how do we cope? How do we find balance in a time of chaos and upheaval?

Ground. Take a deep breath and ground.

Grounding is a fundamental skill, one that we witches and Pagans talk about a lot. But quite frankly, we don't always walk our talk, or give grounding the attention and respect it deserves. After all, grounding - how dull is that, when you could be 'up there', bouncing off the stratosphere?

Well for one thing, bouncing off the stratosphere (or wherever you happen to be, astrally) turns out to be no fun whatsoever when you can't get back afterwards. Imagine a prolonged roller coaster ride. However much you love roller coasters, at some point you just want to feel your feet on the ground. Grounding properly first, before you enter a trance or attempt astral travel is essential.

However, grounding is also a useful skill for anyone to have in their tool kit. How often in times of crisis have you made rushed, foolish decisions because your head has been in such a whirl? How would you like to feel calm and steady instead of stressed out by the day's events? How good would it be to feel that you are approaching problems and times of difficulty from a stable place?

There are many ways of grounding, but one basic way that you can practice virtually anywhere is this. Take a deep breath in and out. Take a moment to really concentrate on sensing your body and its edges. It may help to run your hands briskly over your body - arms, shoulders, head, torso, legs - to really feel those edges and remind yourself that this is you, this is where you are right now. Breathe deeply in and out, and feel your feet firmly planted on the earth, feel that connection. Know that you are a part of the earth. Imagine roots growing from the soles of your feet into the earth, keeping you grounded, stable, connected. Breathe deeply in and out. Remember that connection. Then bring the roots back into your feet, knowing all the while you are connected to and supported by the earth.

Some people absorb energy from the earth in this way. If at any time you feel you have a surfeit of energy and feel too 'buzzy' you can return any excess by putting your hands on the earth and sending it back. If this is not feasible (because you're in the supermarket check out queue for example!), try consciously exhaling the excess on a slow, gentle outbreath.

Practice grounding. Don't beat yourself up if it's difficult to start with. We all have different skills and strengths, and grounding, like any skill gets easier with practice. You will also be able to do it more quickly. The true skill is to be able to ground quickly, even in the midst of chaos, panic or emotional distress. If you practice grounding regularly when you don't need it, you will be able to ground easily when you most need it.

It may help to take time to notice how you feel when you are grounded and relate this to a word, a musical note, a colour or a scent (or you could combine these by visualising the word written in your grounded colour. Or sung to your grounded musical note. Or visualise your grounded colour whilst calling up a sense memory of your grounded scent). With practice your word/note/colour/scent can become a shortcut to the feeling of 'grounded', and that can help get you there almost on autopilot.

I wish you a balanced and harmonious Equinox. As the year tips toward summer, may we find our feet firmly planted on the ground, even if our heads are in the stars.