It is the time again to refocus on our meditation practice. Whether it is the middle of your beginning, or the start. How have you been doing this month? Has breathing in the love of the universe been nourishing? What about giving back the gift to the universe? Has this simple meditation practice been working for you? I would love to know how this implementation of meditation is going for you. Are you finding ways to work meditation into your day? How about your dream land? This for me, was the best way to start… keeping it simple. Beautiful. Full of breath and love.
Focused on Love
Last month we worked on taking in and giving back the most powerful force of the universe. Love. I wanted the beginning of the year to be focused on love. Taking it in and sending it back out. This begins not only a meditative space, but it invites self care and self appreciation into your life. When working with a force as powerful as love. We are filled up automatically with beauty, power and strength. This can be given to our goals, our plans and day to day lives. Then giving it back… we become a part of the path to heal the earth and human kind.
By filling our own spiritual bodies with love, we are also helping to heal our communities. This bringing us forward into the next generation of empowerment and Enlightenment. For February I wanted to focus on bringing this power and strength of love into the Earth. This way, we are not only grounding into the earth and connecting with nature. We are re-connecing to the Earth. With love as our driving force.
Practicing IN Nature
As an herbalist, nature is my place of practice. Connecting with it physically and spiritually is incredibly important. As nature is us, and we are nature. Born from it and returning to it. This creates another aspect of working with the plants, trees, and fungi. Making it the primary focus of my work. Reconnecting humans with what we are and where we come from is going to bring health of our hearts, and home full circle.
Because we are nature, nature is where we come from and where we will go back to. Nature is what feeds us, nourishes our bodies, shelters our families, and keeps us full of oxygen. Ask me of a more perfect symbiotic relationship as to the one we have with plants and trees. As we breathe out carbon dioxide they take it in. Then, they give us oxygen back.
What is a rock to you? Scientifically, rocks are minerals. We cannot eat and then assimilate a rock. How do we get minnerals into our bodies? The answer comes from plants. The minnerals are taken in by plants through their roots. Plants are able to break these minerals into pieces that they use and then when we eat them, or take them as tea and extracts. We are able to then assimilate the nutrients.
Connected to Plants
How much more connected can you get? We need each other to survive and thrive. Our systems nourish the plants, trees and fungi. They in return nourish our bodies. This connection is important to our meditation practice. Because when you begin to blend with your heart energies… you open yourself up completely to this relationship we share with the earth.
Bonding with the earth is the next step in our meditation practice. Truly, this is one of my favorite meditations. And I felt that it was fitting for February, the month of love. As we continue to reconnect and share the love with the universe, our communities, the earth and our selves.
Self Appreciation
Before we dive into the how of this grounding meditation. I want to check in… how did January go for you? Are you finding yourself spiraling into the realm of meditation? Do you notice the 5 minutes moving faster and becoming 10… 15… 30? If so, that is wonderful. You are well on your way to mediation being a regular part of your life.
It is important for your to acknowledge your progression, and your action of making this a regular part of your life. If you are sticking with a 5 minute regimen, you are doing the most important part of practice! It will grow as you do, and flourish. Wherever you are in your timeline. Wherever this path of meditation is taking you is YOUR path. It is also your own progression and that is different for everyone. SO say yay me! Tell yourself you’re doing it and that is important! DON’T you DARE tell yourself that where you are isn’t good enough. Because where you are is PERFECT.
Grounding…
This month’s medication is one that I want you to implement into your practice. This is another step in meditate. Switch it up! One day be sending and receiveing love. Then the next day, try Grounding.
This is a meditation that brings you into connection with your roots, and those of the trees, plants, rocks, minerals, and core of the earth. Generally, I like to practice this one outside. Preferably while standing with bare feet on the grass, dirt, or maybe if you’re lucky, a bed of chamomile. Those of us in Wyoming, however, I wouldn’t recommend this action in Feburary. As it might not be an aspect of implementing Vital Health philosophies… ‘wink’
So this meditation then turns into a challenge to your visualization when practiced inside… Some of you, in warmer, more temperate climates than that of the Rocky Mountains may be able to go outside and work this way. It is perfectly acceptable to do this meditation inside too. Either standing up, or sitting down. Standing outside is beneficial as you are able to embody a tree. You can see the roots coming from your feet. Sitting down is also nice, as you can have roots coming from your knees, sit bones, pelvis, and elbows. Expending your rooted area.
If you are inside in your special meditation space. I encourage you to bring the trees inside with you. Burn some Cedar or Alder. Take the Tree of Wisdom Blend from ECA’s offerings ( I just launched this remedy onto the market… it is noted as being a Forest Bath in a Bottle). By bringing remedies, smoke medicine and boughs of trees into your meditation space, you are bringing the spirit of the trees into your spiritual body. This is an excellent way to practice if you are not able to be outside.
Begin the Meditation…
Start, as usual, with breathing in the love. Get into your meditative space slowly and with ease. Light your tree and scents, and take your tree remedies. Begin to think about a tree as you breathe. I want you to feel your roots. Feel them so intensely that you begin to see them coming from each of the points on your body touching the ground. See your own roots going into the ground with each inhale. Then watch your roots coming from your knees. See roots growing from your feet, our sit bones. Watch as they sprout from your heart, and your elbows. See them penetrate the ground on your inhale.
Each time you exhale, I want you to feel the energy of the Earth coming into your body through your toots. Feel it on the exhale as this powerful Earth Energy is assimilated into all of your cells. As this energy is brought into your body, and saturates you, it is also given back to the environment around you. Every inhale see those roots go deeper.
If you are inside, watch your roots penetrate the floor of your house. They are so powerful that as they go through the foundation, it cracks and crumbles. See your roots then dive into the Earth. With every inhale they go deeper and deeper. Feel each layer of the earth’s crust as your roots go through them. Take drinks from the water table below your house and blow your land. Take in that water . It holds the vital energy of the Earth.
Below that, continue to go through layers of rock, layers of fossils, layers of minerals. Each layer, let your roots take up nutrients and energies that are there. Keep breathing, and connecting. See each layer as you are able. Some of you may even reach the core of the Earth. The fire of our home.
It all starts with Breath…
With every exhale feel the energies of our earth assimilate into your body. Each inhale go deeper and deeper into the Earth with your roots. When you exhale, feel the energy of the Earth moving through your body and out. As it moves through your body you are nourishing your spiritual and energetic bodies with the forces of nature. You’re bonding with the Earth, and the divine. As you bring it into your body. This creates the realization that you too can be a tree. Grounded into the earth. Strong, sturdy, and wise.
It is beneficial to be like a tree, as you are not sedentary as a tree is. You have the power to move around. The strength to be human. AS you assimlilate this Earth Energy, your humanness allows you to take this energy through your day. What is this energy of the Earth giving to you? What is it asking you to take with you? As you exhale, feel this, ask the earth and the divine creator how you can best use this energy.
As you breath, you are enriching the space around you. Your home, your neighborhood. If you are outside, the forest, the land you live on. Even the mountain that you stand upon. Ask these spaces what is needed from your grounding energy. This will be the gift you can give back.
Every where. All the time.
Another beautiful part of this meditation is that it can be done anywhere and everywhere. Your roots can grow as you walk to work. They can go into the ground as you sit at your desk. They can penetrate the building your office is in. When you have your hands in the dirt roots, can go down from your palms, and fingertips. As you work with the earth physically, you can work with the Earth spiritually. Each act of this meditation will reconnect you to nature.
As you do, you connect to your vital life force. Feel what you are exhaling. Feel what you are bringing into your body. Then, after your meditation time, if you feel so inspired, write down what you feel. Write down what you saw coming into your body. Remember and solidify what you saw as you dove into the Earth with your roots.
Everybody’s experiences will be different. And everybody’s experiences will be positive. Sometimes this meditation will help you to let go of negative aspects of life. Other times you will just be feeling that tree energy and the power of tree wisdom that comes from working with tree medicine, and the Earth.
Connect…
I would really like to hear how this meditation goes for you throughout the next month. As Spring gets closer, I really encourage you to trying go outside to work with this meditation. Feel the difference of what you feel as you put your feet on the ground. See what the Earth tells you then versus what you’re feeling when you’re inside in your meditation space.
If you’re a hiker, when you get to your destination It that’s a waterfall or a special tree. Try grounding into the wild earth. Soak your roots in that rich forest landscape. See what the forest has to say. How is this different form other spaces where you meditate.
Grounding. This is beginning of the re-connection to what we are. Re-connection to nature. Again, nature is us, we are nature. The plants and the trees, the animals and the fungus are our sisters and brothers. We all need each other and I look forward to hearing your re-wilding stories. Thank you for working with me, And thank you for opening yourself up to this meditative practice. I look forward to hearing about how this is going for you… green blessings and as always…
