A visionary receives the inspiration to create a body of work and feels as if he is downloading or channeling information. Although he receives the information and can feel the aliveness in it, weeks, months, or years later, he has been unable to make any significant progress in bringing his dreams fully into physical form. Frustrated, he feels the pain and frustration of longing and the impulse to create and serve, yet struggles with implementation and follow through. Every time he gets close to taking the big leap, something happens to take him off course, or he gets scared and talks himself out of it. He often withdraws from others and is losing his sense of self respect because he can’t seem to get anything done.
A long time spiritual seeker and meditator, Julie finds it easy to live in the upper chakras (heart, throat, third eye and crown). She loves big and desires a deeper connection to her Source. Mystical experiences have become more common and she has developed a greater capacity for interpreting and acting on her intuition. She loves meditating and reading the next great spiritual or self-development book, but, she finds living “in the world” to be challenging. Her empathic nature creates severe energetic disturbances in her body and even going to the mall or grocery store is stressful. She struggles with physical illness, sadness, and fatigue and often wonders, “what’s my problem?”
Having survived multiple traumas in childhood, Terry has been “healing” for many years. Although she has seen progress, there is a still a big part of her that “doesn’t want to be here.” Looking back, she can see that from the time she was little, this has been a theme. She often catches herself sounding like a victim and still harbors resentment for people in her past. Although not suicidal, Terry often finds herself fantasizing about what it would be like to face death. She believes she would go willingly if ever given the option. Sensitive to energy and life in general, she often feels depressed and lacks a connection to her value and purpose. She knows she is a healer, but is having challenges making a good living consistently.
Nellie began seeking spiritual answers and connection many years ago. One day, it was as if she experienced a huge psychic opening. Suddenly, she is overwhelmed with heightened empathic and multi-sensory perception. She often feels drained and vertigo and lightheadedness are not uncommon. Physically, she feels “off,” mentally she feels scattered, and energetically she feels as if she is vibrating at a different rate than those around her. The things that once brought her so much joy now seem to impact her energy in negative ways. Her view tends to be getting more negative and fearful, and it seems as if she has become more susceptible to illness or “bad luck.”
Shelly was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia after years of trying to figure out why she was in so much pain and chronic fatigue. Although she has had phases of feeling good and has experienced increased bouts of energy and good health, she always seems to fall back into the same pattern. The people in her life don’t seem to be understanding and sometimes she wonders if they think she is making it all up. She doesn’t have faith that she can get better and fears the worst. She has developed a lot of sensitivities to various foods and chemicals and she is constantly focused on her sense of limitation. She is influenced by the next big “crisis” in the news, worries about getting sick with the next pandemic and tends to pass along warnings she receives from the news or the internet. She doesn’t trust “the establishment” but finds herself influenced by it anyway. Right now, the Swine Flu and 2012 are on her mind a lot and she wonders, will I ever be happy and feel safe?
Joel always seems to struggle with the physical and material aspects of human life. He has had failed relationships and professional endeavors and often feels like he is being punished for something. Money and career have not been easy and he is wondering if he’ll ever have the peace of mind that comes from a sense of stability with money and an intimate relationship. He dreams big and although sociable and very likeable, he feels as if something is missing most of the time. Although he doesn’t say it, he likes animals much more than people and is turned off by a lot of things in human life.
Do You Relate to Any of This?
In truth, as “made up” as these folks are, they are more real than many might imagine. Each of these descriptions are comprised of the themes I have seen (and at times experienced) as a spiritual teacher and mentor. Some lifelong and others appearing suddenly, these characteristics are commonly experienced by people who seem to have a natural inclination for the healing arts and various creative expressions such as writing, art and music. Learning how to interpret, manage, cultivate, and clear energy in one’s body, chakras and thoughts can make the difference between living fully and barely getting by. Grounding, interestingly enough, is one of the most important things to learn and ritualize into one’s daily practice. Read on to get 23 specific techniques that may help you get started!
Unfortunately (or not) I really had to learn most of this on my own. In 1997, when I experienced my miraculous healing from Lupus, Fibromyalgia and a bunch of other auto-immune diseases, I also opened up on a multi-sensory level. I began having experiences that people couldn’t relate to. The “teachers” I ran across were hyper-dysfunctional and even destructive and possessive. I’d go to a healer and the moment they would put their hands on me, they’d start crying and the session focus would immediately turn to them. Although obviously sensitive since a child, I began to have trouble with vertigo and often felt effected by certain people and environments. My body temperature would begin to soar every time I was in the room with someone in need of healing. Although physically I felt great, energetically I was on hyper speed.
Driving into the city was hell because I could literally feel every car, person and what I perceived as “dark, desperate energy.” It was as if my aura extended so far out that it felt as if the world was touching me. I painted chakras in perfect balance, wrote an amazing amount of poetry and music and lyrics and my intuition and empathy seemed to explode open. Working in a jail at the time, I found it curious why I could be so comfortable “behind bars” yet found going to the mall so disturbing!
WAKE UP!
In 2001 I had a huge wake-up call. A few months prior to September 11, I began to feel increasingly fatigued, depressed (for no reason) and negative. Six weeks before the towers fell, I fell too, literally and figuratively. One morning, I awoke to symptoms that were “stroke like” and hubbie rushed me to the hospital. Although it turned out my thyroid crashed and my entire endocrine system was in crisis, the contraction, and six weeks of being confined to bed, unable to focus, read, or even be up and about for more than a few minutes at a time, was completely Divine in its order.
I was being forced to get quiet and go within. My soul, energy, whatever you might call it, was privy to the change that was on the horizon. I watched the second plane hit the second tower and I fell to my knees, asking, “What is mine to do?” The next week I woke up to a vision that included the entire outline for my first book. I wrote many of the lyrics to songs you have heard (like Power of My Way, Return to Sane, and others). In effect, I received the vision for what is now the Power of Our Way Community, yet didn’t officially launch until 2005.
Finally surrendering to my natural inclinations was the first step. Learning to work with energy and trust my intuition were life altering. Daily meditation and trance work, working with energy and chakras, being trained as a Hypnotherapist, and for me, the last 8 years of participating in traditional Lakota ceremony and spiritual practice has been core to my own growth – and the work I do with clients and students today.
ARE YOU FULLY IN (and LOVING) YOUR BODY?
One of the things that I find most prevalent in people today is the fact that their lower chakras below the heart are quite deficient and closed. The third (solar plexus), second (pelvis), first (root)and sixth chakras (at the throat) seem to be the most shut down and the physical manifestations in one’s body, relationships, and creative or professional endeavors seem to be the greatest opportunities. Healing at the energetic and subconscious levels must be cultivated through consistent practice and grounding techniques are imperative. If you hate your body, no wonder you don’t want to be in it!
The body is an amazing tool and quite frankly, we are blessed to have such a fabulous tool, one, that if we choose, will tell us a lot about what and how to heal. Grounding, however, for those of us more spiritually inclined and energetically sensitive, can feel challenging.
23 POWERFUL GROUNDING TECHNIQUES
For years, I could not walk barefoot. Even walking from the coach to the kitchen, I’d slip on my shoes. In hindsight, it was an unconscious resistance to “being grounded in my body.” Being introduced to Lakota ceremonies got me on the earth and I began to go barefoot. I learned to re-ground after meditation or deep trance work and ritualized practices that I engage in before and after every client session or class I teach. I also learned to energetically and psychically “disconnect” from others after our sessions so a part of me wasn’t “still out there.” This is something I teach my clients and healers I mentor.
Personally, today, I can use breath and visualization partnered with intention to do this. However, here are a few techniques that have made huge differences for me and my clients.
1. Stand barefoot on the earth and breath up grounding energy.
2. Rub your feet into the carpet or floor, flexing and pointing your toes
3. Light bouncing, with toes remaining on the ground, lifting your heals up and down for five or more minutes
4. Spend time outside
5. Massage your feet, legs and hands.
6. Use a grounding and clearing, “in your body” meditation such as Energy Clearing or Cultivating Energy (try one below)
7. Engage in some form of water ceremony – salt baths, a hot shower (love using the water to “clean and clear chakras), and drink plenty of water, being conscious of how it feels as it enters your body
8. Sit on the ground, put your hands in the dirt, lay on the earth
9. Smudge with sage, burn incense, use aroma therapy, or essential oils
10. Handle gemstones that are grounding, or correlate with the lower chakras being balanced
11. Meditate with a stone or rock
12. Hug a tree (seriously, it does work!)
13. Eat some red meat
14. Wash dishes and connect to the feeling of the water, suds and dishes, open your physical sensations to how good it actually feels
15. Become aware of how often you close your eyes or unconsciously hold your breath and shift the behavior to become more present to the physical world
16. Make contact with your physical environment. See (the details), touch, name, handle, and smell 5-10 objects in your environment and perceive the weight, texture, and energy of each one.
17. Sing aloud, and dance – be in your body and feel the vibration of creation moving through you
18. Practice body awareness and become more aware of the various communication patterns in your body and chakras that are attempting to guide you back into balance
19. Handle ice, put your feet in an ice bath (briefly), or drink some ice water
20. Peel and eat a fragrant fruit (peach, apple, orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime) and be present to the aroma, taste, and texture, as well as the astringent or sweet quality
21. Cuddle with someone (two legged or four) and feel the sensation of physical contact, noticing the shift in your energy and emotions
22. Take a walk and connect to the sun and the wind and the sounds of nature talking to you
23. Sign up for Aligning With Destiny beginning in February at www.aligningwithdestiny.com (Couldn’t resist!) and learn to be a master of your own energy, thoughts and emotions!
A BONUS!
24. Sign up for some free audios (9+) at the following sites:
Anita Pathik Law (Ani) is a modern day facilitator of healing and a respectedteacher and coach in the fields of spirituality, consciousness, healing, and
conscious business development. Her writing, workshops, teleclasses,
sermons, and speaking engagements offer a self empowering and inspiring
perspective that is often experienced as transformational. An interfaith
minister who walks an indigenous spiritual path, Ani’s diverse teachings,
guided meditations and healing work have coined her as a “midwife for the
soul.” Many clients have come to her after years of therapy and medical
intervention and find immediate success that can be celebrated through their
commitment and willingness to do their part and see themselves as the
masters in training that they are.
Enjoy several inspiring resources from Ani and her husband of 11 years, Brent Law by visiting www.thepowerofmywaymovie.com and www.divinitymovie.com
Receive free meditations and audio downloads from Ani and the Power of Our Way Community at www.powerofmyway.com/newreality.html and www.powerofmyway.com/awakeningthehealerwithin.html
If interesting in hosting a retreat in your area, or booking Anita and Brent for a radio show or at your church or upcoming conference, contact them at [email protected]
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