Today we ask that you focus on grounding yourselves.
Most people today are not grounded. And this is a cause for much distress, including all manner of physical and mental illness.
For the majority of human history, people were basically in touch with the earth. By necessity, they were aware of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the phases of the moon, the seasons, the solstices and equinoxes, the stars. The nights were dark, lit by candles and fires. Because the nights were dark, people slept long and deeply — especially in the winter.
Many people grew food, and were intimately connected to the earth.
Now, all that has changed. Humans are largely an indoor species now. People spend their days in front of computers and TVs, experiencing continual mental stimuli from the moment they wake, to the moment they go to bed.
Food comes in supermarkets and restaurants, pre-packaged. Most people do not know when the sun rises and sets, and do not stop to look at the moon or the stars. One cannot see the stars, in cities.
And there is nothing wrong with this, for it is simply the way of modern life. There is no judgment about this.
However, it is a simple fact that the human nervous system is not equipped to function in this way. It is evolving very rapidly, but people are really asking a lot of their nervous systems.
So many people experience mental and physical illness. Many people must take drugs just to function in the modern world.
You cannot change the modern world, and it is not practical for most people to move to rural environments.
But there are things one can do to be more grounded.
Physical exercise is very important — particularly away from machines and TVs. Walks and hikes outdoors are good. Group exercise classes with a more meditative focus, like yoga and tai chi, are good.
It is good to spend time every day away from computers, phones, and TVs.
It is good to stop and pay attention to the sun, the moon, the stars, and the rhythms of nature.
It is good to walk barefoot, or in socks, on the open ground — to connect with the earth, and discharge nervous energy.
It is good to be around animals, and small children.
It is good to garden. It is good to cook food with consciousness.
Whatever you can do to be present in your body with your feet on the ground, not in continual thinking with the head disconnected from the body — whatever gets you back in your body, do that.
This is really the first thing one should do in the face of mental or physical sickness.
Ask: am I grounded right now? How can I better ground myself?
Almost everyone can benefit from being more grounded.
wordfromthewell 