A great little poem from a book that jumped out at me this week.

Free Your Toes Revolution - Grounding

The idea of Grounding has been introduced to me in a variety of ways over the past 3 years.  Since then I found this tool very important to my sanity.

Why I love staying Grounded:

-It is a way to release built up energy in the body; letting go of pressure, tightness and stress.

-It brings powerful Earth energy into the body which is naturally abundant, cleansing and calming.

-It tunes the body, mind and spirit with the surroundings, experienced as a feeling of belonging.

-It makes the world look more vibrant and beautiful. 

-It connects us to others instead of isolates.

-It makes physical, worldly tasks and decisions easier and smooooother.

You Are NOT Grounded Symptoms:

·         -Feeling as your head is ‘in the clouds’

·         -Time often runs away from you causing you to stress

·         -You view those around you with fear or annoyance

·         -Simple physical tasks can be confusing or take waaaay too long

·         -Problem solving on daily basis is harder and less creative

·         -You do not feel your body ‘in’ your body

·         -Your body feels tight or like it is about to blow; particularly your head, neck, shoulders

So how would you Ground yourself?

The following 2 ways have worked well for me:

Grounding  # 1.  Physical.   Spend time in nature. 

This is the easiest way!  No need to visualize, just have fun.

Walk barefoot on the grass or sand.

Dip your toes into a natural source of water; a lake, an ocean, a stream. 

Lie down on natural ground and just relax.

 

I cannot stress the importance of barefoot walking on natural ground (not cement).  My Canadian upbringing stressed that shoes are a MUST.  We fear bare feet.  What if we step on something sharp?  Don’t our arches need support?  What would people think?  This all may be right.  However, wearing shoes everywhere all the time breaks the contact between our bodies and Mother Earth and makes us feel very ungrounded.  So toss those shoes to the side and free your toes!

Grounding #2.  Visual.   The Golden Grounding Cord.

This exercise can be done when you are indoors with no chance to kick back.  Or it can be used in conjunction with the first exercise. 

Imagine a thick, beautiful, strong, golden cord as a continuation of your body.

The cord stretches stretching out from the soles of your feet.  

(If you are in a sitting lotus position the cord will connect to you at the base of your spine.)

Now one end of the cord is attached to you.

Visualize the second end going deep, very deep into our planet.

This second end connects to the very centre of the Earth.

Play around with visualizing how think this cord is. 

Imagine how it stretches into the ground from wherever you are positioned.

Once the Grounding Cord is established watch as the Earth sends energy up towards your body. 

Feel the energy enter your body. 

How does it feel?  Does it have a colour?

As you do this exercise more often you might notice that your cord will change.  

It could change in colour or thickness or feel.   

If one day you find that your Grounding Cord is feeling a little weak it may be time to build a new one. 

Cutting the Cord

Imagine a large pair of vintage scissors.   

Slice the cord in half and watch as it disappears into the Universe.  

Right away you can rebuild yourself a brand new, stronger Grounding Cord.

Many recommend that a Grounding Cord should be changed often for ultimate results due to wear and tear.

Have fun!

What method do YOU use to ground yourself?

Healing Weekend at the Marae

Prior to arriving in New Zealand this September I set my intention on visiting a Marae and learning a little bit more about Maori / Pacific Island cultures.  Within the first month my mother-in-law delivered a small newspaper clipping that was inviting ‘One And All’ to a Healing Weekend at a local, Upper Hutt Marae. 

Thank you synchronicity!

Is This A Place For Me

I pulled up on Saturday morning to the correct address feeling slightly uneasy and awkward.  The type of feelings one might get when they step into a church or temple of a religion they are unfamiliar with. 

A Marae is a gathering place for meetings and ceremonies of the Maori people in New Zealand.  I did not realize it was not just one building but an entire complex of buildings and rooms.  People were chatting, walking, running, lounging, laughing on the grounds.  Everyone seemed to know someone.  I felt as a bit of an outsider, but stood my ground in hopes of getting a bit more out of this experience.  

 The main hall where all the healings took place.

The magick happened when I asked for direction.  Immediately, I felt the care from all side pour into me.  I was passed down from person to person, introduced and reintroduced.  I was shown where to go, how things work, where the workshops were and how to get to the bathrooms.  I was ushered to the main beautiful building where all the healings were taking place and explained how to choose the proper table by Feeling The Pull.  It only took me a few minutes to feel completely at home.

Blast of Energy

That morning, prior to setting off, I did a little meditation to open myself to all the experiences and people that will cross my path.  This meditation worked a bit too well.  As I took off my shoes and opened the large, wooden door to the Healing Hall, I immediately felt the blow from all the energy in the room.  It was so intense I stood there frozen for a moment and then needed to sit down. 

  This photo was taken on the last day at closing time 

with quite a few people still hanging out.

Inside this hall there were at least 100 people.  There was little room to move.  Massage tables lined the walls with people who were receiving healings.  The middle of the hall was all chairs for those waiting.  Others were standing to watch or chat.  You need to squeeze by in order to get anywhere. 

My Western trained mind saw chaos.  How does anyone know what is going on and who is where and who is next?  At this point, my mind decided to take a break and all I could do was feel.  I felt the strong bond in the room.  People around me were high on life.  There was a lot of love, peace and goodwill floating in the air.  I wanted to stay in here for as long as possible and experience the strange peace and relief I was feeling. 

Do Cry

When I could not handle the intense energy any more I went back to my car to relax, ground and shield myself. 

I rejoined the festivities feeling confident and comfortable. 

This quick visit to see a Marae turned into two full days of healings, readings and workshops.  I learned a lot about fear, relationships, and healing oneself.  I felt fantastic in my body. 

In a workshop titled ‘Constellations’, I watched a large, powerful man participate in a skit playing a role of a broken, alcoholic father.  At one point the skit became so real for him he began to cry.  As tears trickled down his face the entire room could felt his pain.  About 40 people let go and cried together sharing the experience, feeling the devastation and pain of this situation.  We all felt how connected we were at the moment and how group support was such an import of a person’s healing process.

Healings

Many Maori and Pacific Island people provide what they call ‘healings’ for a ‘koha’. 

A Healing is whatever body or energy work a person knows how to do.  It can be a massage or a reiki session.  Often they combine the two or create their own special style using their own tools and skills.  

More then one practitioner can work on a person at the same time.

 

The didgeridoo vibrations can be felt in the entire hall during this man's healing session.  A didgeridoo instrument is native to Australia.

A Koha is a donation.  Everyone is welcome to receive a Healing while paying as little as a $1 if that is all you can afford. 

This practice is a beautiful way to give back Love those in the community.  Body and energy work are such helpful tools in everyone’s Spiritual and Physical Journeys that every person should have affordable access to these types of services.

Using My Internal GPS in Taupo, New Zealand

Prior to starting his work contract in October, Matt and I decided to take a quick getaway to the DeBretts hot springs in Taupo.  For this little retreat we decided not to plan, but just go and see what happens.

The sun has long set once we arrived into Taupo.  As we started driving into the city centre we quickly realized that this resort town had many accommodations on offer.  We immediately had a lot of questions: 

Where should we stay? 

Would every place have a mini fridge for our food? 

Which hotels were in our budget?  

Which hotels were comfy and clean with a great satisfaction rating? 

All good questions, but no quick answers. 

We have been in the car for a few hours now and were not excited about jumping out 25 times at every hotel to interview the reception staff and compare. 

What a perfect opportunity to use our Intuitive GPS!!

After safely parking the car, we both closed our eyes and played the game.  Matt felt extra exhausted that evening and could not focus well so he decided that we will go with whatever I would come up with. 

Oooh the pressure! 

I followed my own advice.  Relaxing and clearing my mind, I set my intention for a wonderful room that will be the perfect relaxation hideout for our 3 days here.  Before I could even completely relax an image of a cobra strongly popped into my mind.  I pushed it aside, thinking, “What nonsense, I am relaxing here.”  However, the image stayed with me, I could not clear it.  Despite the fact that seeing a cobra at night, in New Zealand, while looking for a hotel room made absolutely no sense to me I went with it.  Immediately, a safari full of animals started to appear in my mind’s eye; zebras, lions, a monkey.  What in the world is going on?  How is this supposed to be any help to us at the moment? 

WARNING! 

This is the time where the Intuitive GPS Game can get derailed!  As answers are sent to us, we sometimes do not know how to interpret them properly.  We might not take them seriously, perhaps get frustrated, call it all off in a cloud of confusion.  In these cases, it is a good idea to act as a detective, ask questions for clarification. 

“What do these animals mean?”, I silently asked.  I cleared my mind and listen for the answer.  A new set of animals appear.  This time there was a bear, a bald eagle, and a wolf.   To me these animals represent America.  “Is the answer ‘America’ ?” I ask.  I start to get excited.  That felt right!!!

I picture myself in a blank universe standing on an empty path.  The path represents the highway we are parked on that lead into Taupo.  I asked if we should be looking ahead of us or turn around and drive back.  I felt a very strong pull forward.

Without further delay I pop my eyes open and announce that the answer is ‘America!  Drive on!’  I assume that we are either looking for an American flag or one of the animals that I have seen in my mind.  Perhaps we will see an American flag with a statue of a lion?  Excited, I had a hard time staying open and started to imagine things which resulted in set expectations.  Uh oh.

We drove the main strip slowly, squinting into the dark to see which flags are flying at each hotel.  Not one American flag!  There was a giant Tui bird statue by one of the accommodations, but that did not seem to fit.  What a disappointment!  My answers felt so right!

Tired and confused we decided to check into the first place that was open.  Most of the places seemed dark and uninviting in the night.  However, I remembered seeing a large, wooden building.  It looked like a giant log cabin in a ski town.  This hotel was completely lit up from every side making it look warm and inviting.  I suggested we try there.  Once we backtracked and pulled into the parking lot I realized that this place was a Quality Inn.  We flew from Canada, across the ocean just to stay in an American chain.  Disappointing.  Oh well, cannot be too picky at this time of the night.  

Inside, we were greeted by a chirpy gentleman at reception.  He chatted with us and showed off the rooms.  The hotel had an African safari theme!  The couches and seats were covered in fake zebra hides, there were monkeys on the pillows and elephants stickers on the phones!  

An American chain hotel with an animal theme.  Yup, we are in the right place!!

Our stay was fantastic and everything we wanted!!

MORAL OF THE STORY

When playing the Intuitive GPS Game it is important to stay open to all possibilities. 

Often the answer does not come in the way that you expect.

Ask questions if confused. 

Do not assume.

Experiment and follow you gut feelings.

If you feel it is right, it probably IS!