“grounding”

The Blessings of Winter

It is important in winter to take time out to tune into the blessings of this season.

June is the month of the winter solstice as the sun stops its path around to the north and begins its journey back to the south. There is a great sense of earthiness that we can tune into during winter.

It’s a simple as taking a few minutes every day to become still for a few moments to tap into the sense of your inner connection to nature.  You can start by sitting down anywhere, (nature is best) with your feet on the earth, close your eyes and feel into the sunlight, the wind, the sensations of touch on your skin by the air etc.  Allow your awareness to expand to take in the whole field of outer sensations without fixing on any one sensation.

Gradually move your attention and your awareness from outer generated sensations, i.e., sound, wind, touch and so on to inner generated sensations within your body. Becoming more aware of the whole field of subtle inner sensations. And then shifting your focus from the objects within the field of awareness to the sense of awareness itself. This is a subtle process and can be refined by asking yourself this simple question; “what is the quality of this moment before I have a thought about it?”

Let all thoughts and commentary come and go without any sense of attachment. Like ripples on the surface of a pond.  

A beautiful way to deepen the sense of grounding is to allow yourself to be fully internally present with a sense that your energy field is intimately interconnected to the earth and suns energy fields.

You may begin to sense into the connection between being still and the qualities of rest and peace. With regular practice you may begin to sense that there is something very reassuring and reliable about the natural sense of grounding. 

Different times of a winter’s day offer different qualities to tune into. Before sunrise is often the best time to take a few moments to practice stillness and gratitude. Just as the earth and her creatures welcome the rising of the sun our bodies physiology, hormonal and biodynamic responses are also activated before and during the sunrise. 

When we interrupt the habitual morning pattern of moving into automatic mode and the accompanying level of thinking and analysis to allow for a few moments to   ground into, drop in, and tune into ourselves we are allowing new neural pathways to form. Morning meditation, asana and chanting are all powerful techniques to interrupt and stem the flow of the habitual thinking mind and to allow the space for the new to arise. 

By paying attention to the movement of the sun and planets agricultural societies were given a daily reminder of the constancy, repeatability and reliability of the observed patterns. In most traditional agricultural societies, a reverence for the whole cycle of life, food supply and death were celebrated.  The Hindu practices observed in Bali are a great reminder of the sacredness and importance of these daily and annual cycles to its people.   These constant repeatable cycles form an integral part of daily life.

In yoga we refer to Samadhi as the highest state of consciousness. It is often described as a felt sense of connection to the patterns of the whole.

By taking time daily to find a place of stillness within we become more available to make this natural connection.

Grounding practices have many benefits one of which maybe a deeper realisation of the intimate connection between the radiant life-giving energy field of the Sun and the magnetism of the earth and your unique opportunity to experience this grand love affair.

It’s fun to Imagine that Mother earth’s magnetic force is so great that it harnessed the love of magnificent sun to fulfill her desires for all of life to flourish and that you have never been and never will be separate from love.

Namaste

David