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Guided Grounding Meditation
- Weekly Meditation
During times of immense social change we are pushed to know what is going on locally and globally, and find ways to participate. In order to do this, it is essential to stay connected to ourselves and grounded in our own physical realities.
Civil Rights activist Audre Lorde said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Being intentional to do things like meditate, pray, play, eat well, drink water, get enough sleep, laugh, take a bath, or go outside are part of sustaining a social movement.
Taking care of yourself:
Builds your resilience, lessoning the impact of trauma.
Helps you see more clearly what role you are being asked to play, so you don’t expend your energy in ways that are reactive or will exhaust you.
Cultivates compassion towards yourself and others.
Strengthens your immunity, which we all still need.
I invite you to make the following grounding meditation (that I have learned in several healing contexts and adapted for Ordinary Liturgy) one of your self-care practices. You may want to: Read through the meditation once and then give it a go, referencing sections for ques. Ask a friend to guide you by reading it out loud. Or use this meditation in facilitating a group practice.
Begin by sitting comfortably in your chair. Straighten your back and take a deep breath, relaxing each of your muscles from head to toe.
Turn your palms face down on your knees. Notice how, unlike lifting your gaze up, this posture shifts your body’s focus to the ground beneath you. Then notice your feet, planting them firmly on the floor. Take a stomp or two to feel how the floor doesn’t move, but stably supports you.
Next, picture a root originating from the center of your body. Imagine its color and texture. Then picture this root going all the way down your midline, through the floor, and pushing into the earth. Imagine it pushing through layers of rock and soil, miles and miles deep, until it reaches the center of the world.
As your root reaches the center, picture it wrapping around a blazing, immovable ball. See how your root curls around the ball, overlapping itself, into a tightly wound braid.
Now feel how your root pulls you down towards this anchored ball, like a heavy weight. Feel yourself settle more into your body—your muscles now growing heavy, sinking downward.
Let your emotions and thoughts begin to slip down and off you, where they pool on the ground, and absorb into the earth. You may want to name them: fear, worry, grief, tasks and obligations. Feel them each falling away.
Take as long as you need to enjoy feeling both unburdened and rooted. When you feel complete, gently wiggle your hands and arms, legs and feet.
As you arrive back into your physical surroundings, take note of how it has felt to be grounded. This is now a sensation you have internalized and can access at any time throughout your day
This week, start noticing when you are feeling removed from your physical reality or disconnected from yourself. Pause and take a deep breath. What are you currently doing or talking about? Give yourself permission to shift your focus—turn off the news, stop looking at social media, or change the topic of conversation. Take some time to rejuvenate, knowing that you will rejoin and re-engage when you need to.
A Practice in Listening to the Inner Voice of Love
Happy are those who find wisdom,
and those who get understanding,
for her income is better than silver,
and her revenue better than gold.
She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called happy.
—Proverbs 3:13-18
Beloved,
When you embody my wisdom, wherever you walk you scatter peace like golden trails of sand. Be mindful of this as you walk down familiar streets and city blocks, or through the places you frequently visit.
These routine routes give you the opportunity to share my Presence. Rather than being a means to an end, your paths are significant in and of themselves. They are where “[my] kingdom come, [my] will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). As you live in union with me, you will be a bearer of my kingdom—wherever you go.
Live with this awareness so you can happily scatter a trail of my peace, simply in stepping out your front door.