5/4/11—Grounding Yourself

Today's Draw: Buffalo Dancer from the Quester Tarot. In what ways are you grounded? In what ways are you up in the ether? And how do you perceive the relative merits of both?

Buffalo Dancer is analogous to the Ace of Pentacles. It represents new energy and new beginnings on the physical plane, including health, home and material security. It nods to practical, everyday matters. And it is also the suit of earth and grounding. In a reading, it would probably be interpreted as new money or security coming your way...or a fresh bill of health...or something new in your home...things along those lines. So keep an eye out for all that today. 

But also consider the whole concept of grounding and being connected to the earth in a practical sense. In the spiritual circles in which I run, people are always referring to the idea of "being grounded". And for years, I just didn't understand what it means. Now I think I do. It means being practical. Being in the here and now. Getting things done. Nothing fanciful about being grounded. It's the place where intellect, spirit and body are all together in one place. It's also about being connected to the earth and if you're feeling spacey or "lost", you can imagine roots reaching down from your feet into the earth to tether yourself back in the earth plane. 

On the other hand, being in the ether...or being ungrounded...is that place where intellect and/or spirit leave the body. Rather than being in the here and now, you're off somewhere else. This is a place of divine inspiration. So there is value in both. A lot of woo-woo people spend a lot of time here. But to me, it's a place of being less aware of responsibilities and earthly matters and can be a dangerous place to hang out for any length of time. Of course, the key to anything is moderation. And you can be both woo-woo and rooted at the same time. 

I usually hear people say I'm grounded and centered. Perhaps that's because few people would volunteer to say I'm "out there and off kilter"...haha. But in many ways I am very grounded. I'm very responsible with money. I have a structured work life, even though I'm freelancer. I work on a deadline system every day. I get the things done that I need to get done. But for every way I'm grounded, there's another way I'm untethered. I spend a lot of time in the ether and, in fact, use that ability in my work. I often "wake up" from god only knows what to find that my work is done. And pretty well, too...haha. So it works well for me creatively. In this sense, I think I'm both tethered and not at the same time. That's where all my best work is done. If there were a weakness in my ungrounding, it would be that I have a tendency to procrastinate and not get things done health-wise and around the house. But for the most part, I feel I keep a good balance here.

So what about you? Where do you fall on the spectrum between grounding and ungrounding? And what are your thoughts about all this? Do you have a different idea of what being grounded is?