When the World Shakes, Get Grounded
The outer world may be disturbed, but your inner world doesn’t have to be.
I woke up at 5:10 a.m. this past Monday morning, unable to sleep. My mind began spinning with the news of the world that creeps in when my defenses are down. My body buzzed with restless energy. I wondered if something external was affecting me—having read that solar flares can affect us energetically.
Sure enough, two hours later, I saw the headlines: a 4.5 earthquake had struck Western Washington at 5:05 a.m.
I knew it! The effects of energy can be hard to pin down because we don’t see them. Yet, horses and other animals often sense the early signs of an earthquake before we do. While I wouldn’t call myself particularly prescient, as a fellow mammal, I do feel energy.
The Other Kind of Earthquake
Experiencing an earthquake can be terrifying because we expect our ground to be stable. Fortunately, physical earthquakes are rare where I live. However, political and social upheavals seem to occur daily, sending shockwaves through our beliefs, assumptions, jobs, and understandings of the world. These disruptions may not make us physically wobble, but they can feel just as seismic.
Although I’m not aware of having been directly impacted by the latest political turmoil (thus far), like a good mammal, I’m feeling the energy. And from my highly unscientific survey of those around me, it seems many of us are experiencing a growing force field of anxiety, depression, and worry.
If you’re feeling skittish, anxious, listless, sad, hyper, or are having strange reactions triggered by the dark mood of the collective, know that you aren’t alone. What you experience as energy is real, and it’s important to find constructive ways to channel or release it—without taking it out on dear Fido, a customer service rep, or a family member.
Grounding Yourself When the World Feels Shaky
When my outer world shakes, I seek more inner stability. Before I lose my motivation and joie de vivre to an overstimulated nervous system, I look for ways to allow negative energy to pass through me without harm.
Electricians understand the importance of grounding. My grandson is training to be a commercial electrician, where rule number one is “stay safe.” He takes great care to ground any electrical system he works on, connecting circuits to the earth to provide a pathway for excess current to dissipate safely.
That’s the kind of safe pathway I need when I feel negative energy building up. When I ground myself by touching my feet to the earth or hugging a tree, my excess nervous energy can release, allowing me to relax in the presence of something stable and solid. (Assuming, of course, the earth isn’t shaking!)
How to Ground Yourself
Grounding is simple and free. Walking in nature, especially barefoot, can be incredibly effective for those who don’t mind cold feet. If that’s not appealing, simply standing in the fresh air or sinking your hands into the soil—gardening season is near!—can be equally grounding. Think of your feet and hands as conducting rods!
Reconnecting with the senses and breathing deeply helps bring us back into our bodies, releasing toxic currents before they harm us. Singing, humming, dancing, making art, or playing music are also powerful tools in my grounding toolkit.
Connecting with good friends can be grounding, too—especially those who have uplifting energy. A genuine hug is one of the best grounding rods I know. Spending time with people who care about the world yet refuse to dwell in despair renews me,
Others find grounding through cooking (especially when sharing a meal), carpentry (working with wood!), or any number of creative pursuits.
Traveling at the “Speed of Soul”
When I’m anxious, it feels like my nervous system speeds up—but not in a good way. One antidote is to slow down and, as singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer says, move “at the speed of soul.”
This past weekend, in an unplanned fit of spring cleaning, I spent several hours dusting and removing the mountains of dog hair and dirt my “joy boys” leave for me weekly. Instead of using a vacuum cleaner, I chose to sweep. I enjoyed the rhythm of sweeping, which allowed me to listen to music, have a meaningful conversation, and lose myself in gentle reflection.
The project took longer, but by the end, I felt renewed and physically present in my body—a body that, while tired, felt happily exhausted. Going slow quickened my spirit.
So, if you’re feeling burdened and weighed down by waves of anxious or troubling energy, know that you aren’t weird. Take time to ground yourself, and keep your energy safe for the constructive work ahead.
