LIVING GROUNDED
The following descriptions are all things that can be used to describe being grounded:
- • Intensity without heat
- • Cool under pressure
- • Strong
- • Focused
- • Relaxed
- • Calm
- • Attached to the earth
“Being Grounded” in this program is not to be confused with keeping your teenager home for the weekend, although there are some similarities.
When you are grounded you are ready to make choices, to act or
communicate.
Grounded is a State of Being
• Any interaction you have with another person will go better if you are in a grounded state.
• Being grounded becomes a priority over getting the business done and even a priority over how you and the other person treat one another.
• Paying attention to your “state of being” improves the quality of your interactions with others.
Most of our lives we have been conditioned to focus on production -- get the work done, ignore how you feel. Many may be uncomfortable with putting a priority on our own feelings and well-being. However, paying attention to your state-of-being and using the skills needed to become grounded can bring amazing results.
Imagine going into every interaction feeling both calm and alert, able to make good choices, able to treat the other person with respect and consideration.
Try thinking of emotional energy as being like electricity. When electricity is not grounded, it is out of control and does damage. When grounded, electrical energy is productive and useful. In humans, we see energy as much the same. Physically, being grounded involves making good contact with the ground and relaxing muscles. Tight muscles restrict the flow of emotional energy. When emotional energy is restricted it tends to heat up.
A martial arts teacher will often demonstrate on the first day of training that a relaxed arm is stronger than a tight one. Energy flows to and from the earth through you. Energy is power. Power can be used or abused. When you are relatively grounded you can more effectively use the energy available to you to resolve conflicts and set and defend personal boundaries, which is an essential interpersonal skill.
Learn To Be Grounded
You can learn to be grounded by practicing a procedure that teaches your body and your mind to work together to reach a grounded state in one minute or less most of the time.
Practice is the key word here. Like any other skill you wish to accomplish, it must be practiced many times before you put it to the test - before you need it to calm your tension.
