Friday, July 24, 2009

On Being Grounded....

I have been spending a lot of time journaling in a couple of notebooks ... and I find that things I think I have blogged about, um, I actually haven't. So, to remedy that, I will be going through those notebooks and bringing out some of the things that continue to resonate.

One that I will get to soon is my personal "ah ha" moment about "living water" and just what it is. But before I do that, I want to talk about feet and holy ground and grounding and perichoresis. No, really, it's must easier to understand than it is to explain. Really.

For those of you who know me better, you will know that I have been learning a lot about resonant frequencies and their importance to health over the past 12 years or so. And while there is a lot of nonsense written, there are some gems to be found by those willing to dig and sift diligently.

While some have chosen to discredit theories of "electromagnetic/electrostatic pollution" over the years, the science is beginning to be collected about these subtle, invisible fields and their effects on life forms (human, plant, animal).

Quick disclaimer break: I am so not a scientist, but I do have significant doses of common sense and intuition and have read some important books about this. You will have to go and do your own study without being unduly prejudiced by the nay-sayers. Take a look at this interesting article for more pondering about this.

Okay, here's the bottom line for this meandering post: the best way for humans to discharge their accumulation of electrostatic charges is to "ground" themselves by walking barefoot on the, um, ground -- grass, sand and dirt are the best. Going barefoot also allows the body's diverse neurological systems (especially the brain and digestive tract) to become better entrained to the earth's resonant frequency -- which is tuned for relaxation and harmony. Which means, of course, that wearing shoes interferes with this connection.

All of this has come into focus for me as I pondered the wonders of walking on the beach and standing in the surf and allowing my feet to be buried in the sand ... and how much better my feet and ankles have felt as a result. When I mentioned this to my chiropractor, she said that I had been experiencing the ultimate in "grounding" therapy.

So, today I was out working in my garden ... and decided to bury my toes in the pile of sand that was left over from tilling sand into our clay/soil in preparation for planting. And as I was wiggling my toes and settling my feet into the sand, this thought popped into my head. "This is why God required Moses to take off his shoes by the burning bush -- God did not want there to be any interference from his connection with Moses. He wanted Moses to be fully grounded and entrained to God's resonance." There was nothing "unholy" about Moses' sandals that required that they be removed. It was God inviting Moses into a special relationship -- one that turned into an amazing "friendship" -- of Moses being called the friend of God, who talked with him "face to face".

I imagine that God had a similar relationship early on in the Garden with Adam and Eve -- walking in the garden together in the cool of the evening....

Being barefoot is the quintessential state of being comfortable, isn't it? I love the thought that our loving Father wants us to walk with him in such a way that we are able to "ground" the "static" we collect all around us and be entrained to the calming resonance of this wonderful earth he created as our home.

But more than being physically barefoot, Father invites us to dance with him and Jesus and the Holy Spirit -- a dance free of shoes that hurt our spiritual feet ... that desensitize them from being stepped on or stepping on another ... that make it easier to trip or twist an ankle ... that even take over the focus with brands and colors and styles of shoes ... that track in dirt or mar the floor ... that make such a clunking and clinking racket.

So I'm going to go to the store and buy a couple of bags of "sandbox sand" and pour it into the wading pool on our deck ... and I'm going to take off my shoes and stand in the water and let my feet sink into the sand. I'm also going to think about ways I can take my spiritual shoes off so that I can dance more freely and more in tune with the music of the Great Dance.

Join me?

6 comments:

Diane said...

Peggy,

This is a wonderful post and has me thinking about going barefoot. A female Lutheran pastor I knew told me she would walk a local labyrinth barefoot in different weather because the different sensations under her feet made her feel closer to God. Even when it was blazing hot and the stones burned her feet, it was OK. I am also thinking that when I get to what I feel are God's rhythm, my pace of life is so much slower, so much slower that I feel very out of sync with the world and as if I'm not "accomplishing" anything. Yet this way of living feels right, and I wonder if it is not a form of spiritual warfare that wants us to go at too fast a pace.

AbiSomeone said...

Thanks, Diane ... and I'll be thinking of you when I'm out there barefoot in the sand and water. I am sure that there is an aspect of warfare in all things that separate us from what God intends -- and I am more than convinced that the pace most of us keep is way too fast.

As Thomas Merton once said: "The rush of life is a form of violence."

...hmmm, I needed to be reminded of that one....

I wish I had some good, organic grass to walk in (chemicals for fertilizing and killing weeds are not good to invite into one's body through the bottom of one's feet).

One more good thing about Hobbits, eh? ;^) Tolkien (and Lewis) would definitely agree about a slower pace for life.

Blessings!

Janet Woodlock said...

This is fascinating... I do sometimes wonder why rates of cancer and depression and chronic fatigue seem to be going through the roof... one does wonder whether lack of "groundedness" (both physically and spiritually) is making us all sick.

Bit cold for me to take the shoes off at the moment... but slopping around in my Ugg boots is so comfortable at this time of year (winter for us down under of course... not that we get snow or anything).

AbiSomeone said...

Janet, I would love to send you some of our heat -- 90s yesterday, and more of it all week long!

Maybe you can get a rectangular dishpan and fill it with sandbox sand (can you get that at the store where you are?) and put it on the driveway or sidewalk, dig your feet in and stand in that? You could keep it in the house (near a heat source?) so the sand doesn't get too cold.

Just a thought ... and I am more and more convinced that lack of groundedness is bringing on dis-ease.... I hear that wireless technology is especially bad. Bummer....

Annette said...

I am SO coming over! this is really resonating (no pun intended) with me Peggy~ plus, I am missing hanging out with you my friend! (really missing you!) Is the "pool" ready?

the muse said...

Peggy,
I found you weeks ago, through the communications and prayers in behalf of our brother, Rick Meigs.
I am "getting my feet back on the ground" after the wedding of my only child and daughter last week. I really love this thread-walking barefoot, being grounded, feeling the earth, the sand. I am going out to put my feet in the grass. Thanks for letting God speak through you.
Looking forward to reading more from you,dear sister. I hope to get the focus and inspiration to go back to blogging soon.
Blessings
Patti