Grounding 101

[Mercy]

Thanks ((((Bloom.))))
Seriously, how can a person let energy be discharged without harming anyone?

 

[KP the nut]

how can a person let energy be discharged without harming anyone

(((Mercy)))

T taught me a visualisation exercise. Basically you look at the feeling you want to clear eg neck pain. You then chose a colour, shape and sound (high or low pitch) for the pain eg, green, table sized and low pitch. You then think of a healing colour, mine is purple.

Then you imagine a stream of healing purple light coming from the cosmos. It enters through the top of my head, I can feel its warmth filling my head. I cannot use it all up it keeps coming. It fills my head, my neck then it moves down my arms and out through my fingers. As it comes it starts to break down the green, table sized and low pitched pain and carry pieces out of my body with it. The pain is like chalk absorbing the healing colour.

The stream of light continues to enter through my head, down my neck, arms, chest, bottom, thighs, legs, ankles and feet. My body is full of this light carrying away the pain until it flows from my fingers and toes taking the last remnants of pain with it and leaving me relaxed.

I have used this before job interviews. Then the stream of light filled me with confidence.

KP

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

The way my therapist explains grounding is to use all five of your senses, or however many you may have, or the ones that you can tolerated using that are linked to the present:

Vision: Look around the room and name the colors or objects that you see (which also moves brain firing from the reptilian part of the brain to the frontal cortex)

Hearing: What sounds can you hear?

Taste: Have some candy ready and focus on the taste.

Smell: What in your environment can you smell?

Tactile: Focus on the surface that you are sitting, standing, lying on. Touch your clothes or the wall or a pet.

Not everyone may be able to use all of these different senses (e.g. if I try to focus on what I hear in the environment, I'll be waiting forever), or feel comfortable using some of the different senses (e.g. I can't handle touch of any kind, even if the touch comes from my own hand and is on clothing).

 

[KP the nut]

I should say with my visualisation exercise T recorded it for me. I downloaded it to my iPod and carry it with me always.

The way my therapist explains grounding is to use all five of your senses, or however many you may have, or the ones that you can tolerated using that are linked to the present:

I love these. Again My T did something similar. His were.

FOUR ELEMENTS

The sequence of the 4 Elements, EARTH-AIR-WATER-FIRE is designed to follow the body up from feet – to stomach and chest – to throat and mouth – to the head.

As you feel the SECURITY NOW of your feet on the GROUND; and feel CENTRED as you BREATHE in and out; and feel CALM and in CONTROL as you produce more and more SALIVA; you can let the FIRE LIGHT the path to your IMAGINATION to bring up an IMAGE of a place where you feel SAFE.

EARTH – Grounding, Safety in the Present/Reality.
Take a minute or 2 to ‘land’.
Place both feet firmly on the ground, feel where your body connects to the chair, how does it feel?
Look around and notice 3 new things, what do you see, what do you hear?

AIR – Breathing for Centering
Breathe in through the nose for the count of 4, hold for 2 and then breathe out for 4.
Repeat 12 times slowly and deeply.

WATER – Calm and Controlled, helps to switch on the Relaxation Response.
When you are anxious or stressed your mouth is often dry.
Think of a favourite food, imagine preparing it, and continue until saliva develops in the mouth.

FIRE – Light up the path of your Imagination.
Cross your arms over your body into a butterfly hug and tap alternate shoulders gently.
Recall your safe place; spend some time there whilst continuing the butterfly hugs.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Thanks ((((Bloom.))))
Seriously, how can a person let energy be discharged without harming anyone?

When I'm hypervigilant, I swim, walk, or ride my bike until I experience a 'letdown' of the raging 'MUST DO SOMETHING RIGHT NOW!!!" if possible.

It's most destructive to our bodies to be triggered and then....do nothing.

With vigilance, I vent physically.

With dissociation, I ground myself back in today, in this moment. Or my brain thinks I'm stuck back *there*...and that just feeds the loop all over again.

So I ground to disperse the energy feeding that loop taking me back to my traumas.

 

[Mercy]

I hear what all of you have so generously written.

Aren't you afraid that the energy is poisonous, that letting it out could harm someone else?.

I still have the feeling that deep inside me is a vat of dragon glare(rape semen), and a huge basket with a top full of screams from being whipped and beaten.
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Kp's color exercise is like the Wapanog Indians in Plymouth taught me when I was little. Lillian was part almost everything but still looked Indian. She was a great teacher. I think I'll go back to practicing that light exercise. It was explained as bringing the good energy that surrounds us to the earth where it can do its work.

Which one do you think is true? polluting the world and hurting people or bringing good energy into focus to help the earth and its creatures including us.

 

[BloomInWinter]

The energy I am speaking of is 'potential' and can be channeled into work, or bicycling, or walking....but if it just sits in me, the stirred up emotions cause a flooding of the stress hormones from a fight-or-flight response. Those need to be vented out safely or they are damaging.

Like a tea kettle. Plug it up and turn on the heat, it explodes. Turn it on and heat it up, it vents uselessly until it's dry then is destroyed.

But turn it on, heat it up, then pour it into an appropriate place (teacup) & voila! Good thing with potential for good emotions...like tea with a friend!

The heat is just life....it's going to happen. But I can now choose what to do with it...

 

[Mercy]

Yeah, it's going to happen. I guess this is one of the "feel different" things.

The type of abuse, the mind control, keeping secrets and the punishments/tortures that reinforced silence. Every thing was a planned or staged program the men bought as events. Some were centered on evil and I was the semen recipient, they put their planned and acomplished evils inside me as a way of sending them to hell-

it haunts me. How can I let that Pandora's box of plagues out? Maybe, this is childish thinking but it is real to me. O Lord, have Mercy on me.

 

[CraftyCath]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions in this thread, they are very helpful and I have printed them off to read and carry with me. You are all amazing!

 

[Chondra]

What a wonderful thread. So much to try. Ideas I never imagined. I wish there was a print function :(
I guess it is cut and paste time. That I can manage anyway. :)

I have another technique not yet mentioned that was very highly recommended. I have only been at it for a few days so I cannot vet it at this time but I think it has the potential to work as a sort of inoculum, a way to build up resilience.

The technique is to come up with a phrase that has significant personal meaning, then frequently repeat this phrase (silently) during the day. Here is mine as an example:

I bow to the jewel inside the lotus of the heart

This technique is called Spiritual Mantram Repitition and it is from: "The Relaxation Response" by Benson H, Klipper MZ. (2000) New York: Harper Collins

 

[Bubba]

...or pee. :rolleyes:

:laugh: - oh so true

 

[Bubba]

Grounding is the one and only thing that helps me. It has to be physical for me, just telling myself it's not real is never enough. I usually try to find something near me and describe it. Like the grain in the wood of the chair, or the color of my bedsheet and what else in the room matches that color. Anything that can localize me in this place and time and not another

I would agree. When I'm "gone" - I can't think - mind is blank. I hear things around me, but I'm gone and I don't have any ability to talk myself down. I'll have to try this technique, Liam - hopefully it will help.