The Gravity of the Situation
Special article from our friends over at Green Heiress Retreats!
“In our last blog, we explored the practice of mindful breathing as the first of two key parts to achieve a grounded mind. The second part is gravity, presented as a universal constant in our reality. But what if it was not constant?
In a purely physical and literal sense, thoughts are unaffected by gravity. This is another clue about what it means to have a “grounded mind.” A grounded mind thinks and expresses when it needs to, but does neither excessively.
For example, have you ever tried to meditate or ocus on a specific task, but are flooded by a series of unrelated, distracting thoughts? This completely natural experience is an example of your mind being “ungrounded.” Therefore, by physically engaging with the experience of stability or consistency, it will become easier to achieve those sensations mentally, as well. Therefore achieving a grounded mind.
Part 2: Gravity
In this exercise, we will approach gravity as a practice we are actively engaging with to guide us in our path to a grounded mind. In order to participate in such a task, one must connect more deeply with the mechanism that is directly affected by gravity: the physical body itself.
Tap Into Your Breath: Revisit the first excercise, Hello Breath, and connect with your breath as practiced. Remember, there is no rush and the body’s wisdom will naturally rise to the surface if you allow it.
Connect with Gravity: Focus on where your body is in contact with the ground beneath you, whether that be the earth, the floor or a chair. Feel the consistency of gravity on your body and how it supports you. Breath into that consistency and notice how it does not fluctuate one single bit.
Deepen the Connection: Embrace the feeling of stability and density, making it a greater part of your conscious awareness. You may begin to feel very relaxed and heavy. This is a good thing as you continue to settle deeper into your body.
Anchor Yourself: You may notice the stability gravity affords you such that you can ride the wave of your breath without being carried away by it. This is the effect of gravity as an anchor for the mind.
Practice: Continue this exercise as long as you wish knowing that each breath carries the reality of a very natural, foundational part of life and your breath is making it so. When complete, slowly orient yourself to your surroundings while staying present with the feeling of being anchored by gravity as you engage the world around you.
By combining Breath and Gravity, you are connecting the power within you with the power all around you; both important foundational pieces of any practice.
Take note of the simplicity of both of these practices thus far. These states you are discovering are always present in your being, and can always be accessed to deepen and enrich your self-cultivation practice.
In our third installment of this blog, we will further explore Breath and Gravity as they relate directly to achieving a “grounded mind.” ”