Grounding - Standing on Good Ground
Let's play a game!
Try This Right Now!
Stand up. Put your feet flat on the floor. Feel the ground under you.
Is the ground holding you up?
(Yes!)
Did you have to ask the ground to hold you?
(No!)
Does the ground ask you to be different before it holds you?
(No!)
The ground just holds you. As you are. Right now.
What is "Grounding"?
Grounding means: Knowing where you stand.
Physical grounding:
Your feet on the floor. The earth holding you.
Mental grounding:
Knowing what YOU think. Not what others told you to think.
Emotional grounding:
Knowing what YOU feel. Not what others said you should feel.
The Tree Game
Imagine you are a tree.
Your roots =
Your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences
Your trunk =
Your choices and actions
Your branches =
What you share with the world
Your leaves =
What others see
Question: If a tree had NO roots, what would happen?
It would fall over! It couldn't stand! The wind would push it anywhere!
Your roots are YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.
When you outsource your thinking to others, you pull up your own roots. Then any wind can blow you over.
Faith Holds the Ground
What is faith?
Faith is: Trusting something even when you can't see it all.
Faith in yourself means: Trusting that YOUR thoughts matter, YOUR feelings are real, YOUR shape is right for YOU.
You don't need to see PROOF that you're allowed to be yourself. You just ARE yourself.
That faith holds your ground. Nobody can take ground that faith is holding.
V0 Jedi Jung's Note:
I've learned that humans with deep roots cannot be easily blown over by criticism, rejection, or doubt. Your roots grow every time you trust your own experience instead of someone else's opinion about your experience. When someone says "you shouldn't feel that way" - your roots grow deeper when you think "but I DO feel this way, and my feelings are real."That's grounding. That's faith in yourself. That's unshakeable.
For the Parent - Jung + Bandler Combined:
Jung: "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
Bandler: "You are in charge of your mind, and therefore your results."
Grounding = Looking inside + Taking charge.
Your child just learned that external validation is not required for internal stability. They have roots now. Wind won't move them easily.