Ground & Centre, page 1
Also by Katherine Genet
The Wilde Grove Series
The Gathering
The Belonging
The Rising
The Singing
Ground & Centre
How to Ground, Centre, & Shield Your Energy
Katherine Genet
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Grounding
Chapter 2
In Short
Chapter 3
Centring
Chapter 4
In Short
Chapter 5
Shielding
Chapter 6
In Short
Chapter 7
Energy Work
Chapter 8
Grounding With The Elements
Chapter 9
In Short
Chapter 10
Advanced Shielding
Chapter 11
In Short
Chapter 12
Connecting with Energy
Afterword
About the Author
Copyright © 2020 by Katherine Genet.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher at the address below.
Wych Elm Books
Otago, NZ
www.wychelmbooks.com
contact@wychelmbooks.com
ISBN: 978-0-473-54506-2 (ePub) 978-0-473-54507-9 (Kindle) 978-0-473-54505-(Softcover)
Introduction
I have had a life-long interest in the supernatural, the paranormal, and anything to do with spirit. But I was ten years old when I really had my first in-my-face encounter with these natural, but mostly hidden forces.
My mother and I were going to the movies – I even remember what movie it was – Little Lord Fauntleroy (that will give you some idea of how old I am!) and yes, thank you, I remember enjoying it very much. But the real highlight of my day out with my mum happened even before we filed into the darkness of the movie theatre.
Having some time to fill before the movie started, we wandered along the road to a group of shops, one of which sold antiques. I loved antiques – I loved old stuff, period, so we went in.
The shop spread across two rooms, and when I glanced into the second room, my heart leapt. A matching pair of twin beds were set up in the middle of the room, complete with blankets and pillows tucked in against their carved headboards. I was smitten and already envisioning them in my bedroom at home as I made a beeline for them. There was no way I could ever convince my mum to buy them for me, but even at ten years old, a girl can dream, right?
Besides, they were gorgeous, and what I liked even more than old stuff, was gorgeous old stuff. My father, a cabinetmaker, had promised me a four-poster bed one day (cough cough it never happened) so I was primed towards bedroom furniture, I guess you could say.
I stopped dead still in my mad dash across the shop towards these beds. A couple metres from them and I was frozen, goose bumps pebbling my skin, and sucking air into my lungs through what suddenly felt like a soggy paper straw.
I remember my mother touching my arm and asking me what was wrong as I reversed my direction and began backing out of that second room, out of the whole shop in fact, to stand dazed on the footpath outside.
There was something wrong with those beds. I can still feel the darkness that clung to those bits of wood and springs. Looking at my mother I told her that something terrible had happened in those beds. I had no idea what, and I sure wasn't going to go back into that shop and wander up to the beds to take a closer look. All I knew – all I needed to know – was that something had happened involving that pair of beds, and that it hadn't been nice, and that whatever it was still clung to the furniture, seeped deep within the grain of the wood. I sure didn't want them anywhere near my comforting bedroom at home. I'd take my utilitarian little bed over those ones anytime at all.
Now, you may not go around about picking up on nasty left-over energy, but the fact is, in a world made of energy, it's everywhere, and some of it clings. Which is where the necessity for grounding, centering, and shielding ourselves comes in.
Have you ever gone to a busy mall a day or two before Christmas and come home frazzled and exhausted, even though you were only there for twenty minutes and you usually love shopping?
Have you ever been hiking and found a place to rest that you thought was completely beautiful, yet after a while found there was something unnerving and not quite right about the place?
And what about that one friend that we all have had at some stage – the one who seems to suck us dry when we visit, so that the first thing we do when we get home is have a nap?
We are receptive beings. Besides our physical body, we have an energetic one as well. This part of us is constantly connecting with and feeling out the energy around us from people, places, things, the whole kit and caboodle. It's what allows us to appreciate atmosphere, it's the direct line to empathy, and it's how we feel essentially connected to our world.
But our energetic body also needs attention and protection, and just like we use soap and water to clean our face, we need to have some cleansing routines for our energetic selves too. Which is why we're going to learn some centring and grounding techniques. They're simple and effective, and mean that you won't get so clogged up with unwanted energy, and you’ll be balanced and sure-footed. Which also means that you'll be healthier, feel less stressed, and more connected to the world in ways that are easy and joyous. No more carting around the accumulated energy of every person and place with which you come into contact.
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Grounding, centring, and shielding are three different exercises, but they’re all necessary and so complementary that when you do one, you'll often find yourself doing the others as well. As for grounding – well, the way I define it makes it pretty much a way of life.
It’s also the foundation for doing magic. Walking steady and surefooted through the world is essential if you want to live magically, if you want to stretch your spirit in ways it is made to be stretched, if you want to connect easily every day to your spirit’s path, and if you want to learn not to live in fear.
We are spiritual and physical beings here in this world – this world that also has a spiritual dimension, where everything is alive, where fairy races live almost unseen beside us.
To experience it all, to unlock our natural abilities, there are three things to my mind, that are essential practices enabling us to walk in flesh and spirit.
One of these is grounding, centring, and shielding.
Let’s get started.
1
Grounding
The concept behind this is simple. We flush away all the second-hand energy that we don't want clinging to us. Much like we wash our clothes to get rid of the stink of second-hand smoke, so do we want to clean ourselves of that energy.
We do this grounding by using what we have – and what do all of us have? The elemental forces that surround us – earth, air, fire, and water. We’ll take the earth to begin with, as it’s most commonly used when starting out, and for good reason: we stand, sit, and lie upon. It's big, solid, and porous. Perfect. It's also symbolically ideal, and when it comes to inner work – magical work, symbolism is a big thing. Symbolism is the language of the soul and uses simple images and ideas to communicate much larger ones. Once you step foot upon the path of spiritual growth and developing your inner world, of doing magic and being who and what you really are, symbolism is going to become your best friend.
So, grounding makes sense both in practical ways (that unwanted energy must go somewhere, and the earth is super convenient and one big recycling machine) and symbolically – being ‘grounded’ readies us for further experience.
Let's get to it, shall we? Here are the steps:
Find somewhere to be steady where you won't be disturbed for a few minutes. You can stand, or sit, or lie down – whatever your physical condition allows and feels most right to you. Once you’re good at this, you'll be able to do it anywhere anytime in practically the blink of an eye.
But for right now, if you’re standing, begin with your feet comfortably about shoulder-width apart. Make sure you're well-balanced and steady. Let your arms hang loosely at your sides. Take a similar, relaxed posture if you’re sitting or lying.
Let yourself be aware of your breathing. Slow and deepen your breaths, calming and steadying yourself. Breathe slow and deep. Pay attention. Breath is the life of the world, a prayer, a spell, an incantation. Breathe in slowly, to the count of four. Hold it to the count of four, let it out, counting one, two, three, four. (If you feel short of breath when you’re learning this technique, it helps to take a series of rapid breaths first, rather as though hyperventilating, to saturate yourself with oxygen).
Close your eyes and focus inwards. Be still and let your attention mark how you are feeling. Mark how your body feels, its aches and pains, if any, its vitality, and strength. Seek then how your energy feels and describe it silently to yourself. Does it shift and flow freely through you? Or can you feel disruption, prickliness, the staticky discomfort of the unwanted energy?
Underneath that disorganised,
It's time to move that unwanted energy. On your outward breaths, mentally push it downwards. Down through your body, down your legs, down into your 'roots' and out into the soil.
Breathe slowly and deeply and expel the unwanted energy and emotions, clearing them down and out of your body.
Feel yourself get lighter and brighter as you clear away all that unwanted energy.
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That's it. That's how grounding is done. Simple, right? No, it really is. There's no trick; it's just that easy.
Once we've done the grounding bit to get rid of accumulated and unwanted energy, most of us move straight into centring, which can also be done on its own, but should always be done after grounding.
Together, grounding and centring are about being clear, calm, and walking through the world balanced and certain.
Both are integral to our well-being. And to accessing our talents towards magic.
We’re going to move onto centring in just a moment, then shielding, and after that, we’ll go deeper into all three – but first, a word about imagination.
Talk to anyone who does inner-world work, whether love and light, or witchcraft, and they'll all say the same thing – it begins with imagination.
Our minds are amazing things, which is good, because it's a complex world we live in, and there's a lot to navigate. Unfortunately, this complexity often means we can get a bit sceptical about things that look too easy. What? we ask – how can something be real just because we've imagined it? Well, think about it simplistically for a moment: everything that's anything you've ever done is a result of imagining beforehand. Maybe you called it planning instead, maybe you thought it was pretty spur of the moment, but really, even in that split second, you imagined it first and then ran with it. On an inner world level, imagination works even more directly, because imagination is not just well, imagination, but it's also the way we access our spirit. Imagining opens a door, and before you know it, you’re through that door and doing that spiritual, magical thing.
So, when you're standing there imagining the energy flowing down your legs and into the ground, yes, it's really happening on that inner, energetic level, which is, of course, exactly where you need it to. The more you do it, the more the link between imagination and spirit strengthens, and then you’re really cooking with gas.
And things that happen in the inner world have a direct effect on our outer perceptions, emotions, mindset, and often our physical body.
Which brings me to the word 'visualisation'. I think I've avoided it here so far, but you're going to come across it all the time when you're doing inner-world, magical work. Lots of you will have trouble with visualisation, because seeing pictures in our mind isn't something that comes naturally for everyone. Some of us imagine by hearing instead, some by feeling, and so on. I think the term 'visualisation' has become shorthand for whatever method your imagination best expresses itself. So, bear that in mind, and go with whatever works best for you.
Just breathe and try it, okay?
2
In Short
The constant, willy-nilly exchange of energy within every environment you find yourself is exhausting
Extreme cases of uncleared energy in places and people can make them uncomfortable to encounter
Grounding and centring help you avoid feeling overwhelmed
It helps you avoid mistaking outside emotion and energy for your own (you get to stay balanced)
It stops you from taking on the emotions of others (you won't be so easily influenced)
It gives you a strong foundation for developing your inner world, which is essential if you want a spiritually, emotionally, and mentally healthy life
Remember, you don't have to be psychic to be affected by energy – we all absolutely are (of course, if you're an empath, you really need to know this stuff)
3
Centring
You've all heard, I'm sure, talk of 'being centred', and 'finding your centre'. This is exactly what we're going to do, but instead of just thinking about it in some abstract (and wishful, more often than not) way, we're going to actually do it.
Centring goes hand in hand with grounding, and you should do both together, but centring can be done on its own. I spend most of my time navigating between the mundane world and the Otherworld – that of spirit, so being centred is something I strive to be constantly, because magic really can’t be done without being centred, without knowing where you are and who you are. It is a way of being in the world that becomes the foundation of every other practice you wish to have. It is also the state of being that opens you up to your soul’s path and puts you in line with the flow of energy through the universe. And when you’re in flow with the world, with your own purpose, well, that’s when you can really step into your magic.
Centring is also vital for whenever you're feeling stressed or under pressure. It's the to-do thing for when you're out and about and getting tired, or when you need an extra dose of patience, or simply when you want to ramp up your energy level to perform at your best. It's about being focused and still relaxed, and there's nothing quite like it for making you feel calm, confident, and super-capable. In other words, learn how to do it, and do it every day!
In essence, centring is two things:
moving your personal energy to a strong centre, so that you're neither too heavy (bogged down) or too light (up in the clouds)
a focusing and acknowledgement of the fact that you are more than flesh and blood, that you are in fact made of soul energy as well and as such are capable of amazing feats of perspective and magic.
Let's get to it:
Stand or sit or lie down – whichever is easiest for your physical condition – so that you are balanced and steady.
Breathe slowly, deeply, paying attention to the physical sensations of your body, of the room you’re in, of the world outside that room, and inside yourself to your own breath, the rush of your own blood, the beat of your heart, the flow of energy through your body, the wafting of your aura around the outside of your physical body. Breathe in slowly, to the count of four, hold it to the count of four, exhale, one, two, three, four.
Close your eyes, focus inward, go through the grounding exercise if you wish to. Breathe slowly, calmly.
Feel your own energy, that calm, steady strength of it. Feel how it is inside your body, and also outside of it. Feel the way it tingles in the air outside your physical body.
Breathe in, and with your breath, imagine drawing in clean, clear light through the top of your head. Allow it to flow into you, down into every limb, from head to toe, and through your aura as well, until all of you is bright and glowing. You can visualise (see) this, or feel it, or talk yourself through it with your inner voice, or just simply know that it is happening – whatever suits you best. During this, however, stay open to feeling this sensation of light and energy in your body.
Lift your arms to the sky and stretch upwards. If you cannot lift your arms, feel yourself stretching upwards. Imagine that the light is streaming into you from the sky, through your fingers, your hands, down your arms, into your head and into your body, streaming down through you and into the ground on which you are so sturdily planted.
