Three Ways to Feel Calm and Peaceful
When you are feeling calm and peaceful, you are grounded.
Grounding means anchoring your energy in stability.
When you ground yourself, you are able to tap into a place of peace and calm, no matter what is going on around you.
This means being less reactive to circumstances and carving out an inner state of clarity. It means that when things do throw you off, you can quickly notice the situation and find a place of peacefulness within.
I know, if you haven't yet developed that capacity, it can seem like a magical ability that some people have and not others.
I once felt that way.
At one time I would yo-yo up and down from elation to depression with no internal control mechanism whatsoever.
I would react to what was happening around me, to the story I was creating about it, and to the resulting emotions that would surface.
I had no idea of how to manage my perspective and my emotional energy on a day-to-day basis.
I didn't know how to ground myself.
Grounding is the ability to create your own inner state.
To be less subject to circumstances around you and cut through the story of how you interpret things. Grounding takes you to a simple state of just being.
It took me years to learn, bit by bit, how to ground myself. It was well worth it and it has changed my life. I always have more to learn, and deeper grounding to achieve.
What I now teach my clients about grounding, I call "Mental Mastery."
This involves catching yourself thinking the thoughts that trigger emotions such as anxiety, fear, and stress.
These thoughts are very subtle.
We are often in them rather than observing them. However, once we are able to observe our thoughts, we can then deal with them by intentionally redirecting them.
We can also use techniques to go straight to the body and calm it down, for the body is where we experience our emotions, which then influence our thoughts.
Here are three simple ways to ground yourself which involve connecting with your body:
Spend time in nature.
This is naturally grounding because nature brings your energy to a place of peace and calm. Being in nature connects you with your body. You can feel part of the greater whole. You can go for a walk, garden, even look outside.
Get exercise.
This includes simple things like walking and stretching in addition to more robust activities. Exercise brings you into your body, which is calming and grounding.
Focus on your breath.
Attending to your breathing is a very effective grounding practice. You can start by noticing your breath and bringing it down into your belly, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and bringing you into a peaceful state.