It’s Spring! Let’s all rush outside and dig in the earth.

That’s my impulse for sure, but it’s a bit too early for planting here in the far northwest. On a cool spring morning, when I still want the effects of having gone out and played in the dirt, I like to do a grounding meditation that will also cleanse anything negative from my experience.

There are many way to do this. Here are a few:

• Sometimes I just imagine myself barefoot in lush green grass, and allow the vibrations of the earth to rise up through the soles of my feet. I feel them make a circuit through my chakras, forming a perfect circle as I return the energy to the earth. Much like trees filter pollutants from the air, you can use earth energy to cleanse negative ideas, fears, sadness or anything else you want to leave your body.

• Or perhaps I go to the beach, remove my shoes, sit against a log and bury my feet in the sand. (Either for real or in my mind.) I hear the waves setting the rhythm of my meditation and match my breath to the sea. I see each of my cares leave my body and ride away from me on a new wave. I inhale salt air and allow the cleansing power of salt to purify my whole body, the contents of my mind, the essence of my soul. I might even imagine my body also covered in sand and salt.

• Another way to ground yourself is to sit on the earth and lean up against a sturdy tree—the older the better. Try and feels the tree breathing. Ask the tree to clear your own body of anything that is toxic to you. Imagine those toxins flowing back into the earth. (Don’t worry, the earth can process it!) Hold leaves or twigs you find from this tree in your hands. Study the brilliant patterns that make up these tree parts. Realize that even the tree continually releases parts of itself that it no longer needs.

We are constantly shedding hair and skin—why not consciously also shed whatever is on our mind that we don’t wish to be there? Why not also release conditions of our body that do not serve us? Our minds are so much more powerful than we acknowledge—put them to work in meditation to lighten our spirits and heal our physical bodies. Good health to you all!

CONTEMPLATIONS

• What negativity do you need to release today?
• What kinds of places in the natural world make you feel grounded? Can you go there now—at least in your mind?
• What is it about those special places that feel like healing spots for you?
• Can you bring some aspects of that energy into your home to experience on a regular basis?

MEDITATION VIDEO

This video from the Wellness Experiment will lead you through a brief experience of a cleansing and grounding meditation.

Click on any of the following links for more information:

What Is Meditation?
How To Meditate in 5 Easy Steps
Setting the Mood
Benefits of Meditation
Expanding Your Current Meditation Practice
Why I Meditate and How It Affects Me

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