Native American Jedi? Part 5 - Touch the Earth

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25 Sep 2017 14:12 #302164 by
Touch the Earth

There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
Which leads to an unknown, secret place.
The old people came literally to love the soil,
And they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of
Being close to a mothering power.

Their teepees were built upon the earth
And their altars were made of earth.
The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.

That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of
Propping himself up and away from its life giving forces.
For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply
And to feel more keenly.
He can see more clearly into the mysteries of
Life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.

- Chief Luther Standing Bear


At first glance, his words may seem to communicate something mystical - and in fact it does refer to something very deep - our ability to come in touch with our true nature when touching the Earth - but it’s also referring to something very concrete which we can easily do in our everyday lives:

Touch the Earth.

You’ve probably heard someone - a friend, or loved one perhaps - mention before that being in nature helps them clear their mind and think more clearly.

This isn’t just hearsay, you can test this for yourself. On an especially hectic day, go to a nearby park or hiking trail and take a moment to relax among the trees or walk the trail and feel as your mind begins to clear and your stress and tension begins to dissipate.

No matter what you believe or don’t believe about the healing and demystifying powers of being close to the Earth, or why exactly you think a natural environment clears our mind, it can’t be argued that being close to nature has an impact on our well-being.

And this may even extend to the physical body. The practice of “earthing” is the act of walking barefoot or placing our bodies on a natural surface, and while the science is still young there’s been promise in the findings to support that connecting directly with the Earth in some way can result in better sleep, less pain, reduced stress and tension, and improved immune function.


[From a blog post by Matt Valentine at Buddhaimonia.com]

*************

Commentary: The message here seems rather straight forward, and I imagine many of us have had similar experiences with nature to understand what is being shared. It obviously seems applicable to our efforts to connect with the Force. The only tweak I would offer to the thoughts above are not that we should become a bunch of tree-huggers and environmental extremists, worshipping the deity of a "Mother Earth"...but look around you in your daily lives, Touch the Earth, and reach out to the Universe.

Open yourself to the spirits and beings of all that surround you. Touch not only the Earth, but Touch the Force.

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25 Sep 2017 21:59 #302198 by Adder
Ms Adder does this sort of thing. She will take her off her shoes to stand on the dirt to 'ground' herself. I'm not sure if hugging tress (trugging?) does the same thing... but it's a fair point, constructions have grounding points where the structure has a solid static discharge channel to the planet. When refueling aircraft its a good idea to earth it to the ground to avoid static discharge (sparks) causing problems with the fuel exchange (or between the fuel'er and the fuel'ed to stop a differential leading to a spark). The planet is after all one giant electromagnet-esk bundle of aggregated buzz, and she is a jealous god :D

Introverted extropian, mechatronic neurothealogizing, technogaian buddhist.
Likes integration, visualization, elucidation and transformation.
Jou ~ Deg ~ Vlo ~ Sem ~ Mod ~ Med ~ Dis
TM: Grand Master Mark Anjuu
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26 Sep 2017 07:34 #302227 by JamesSand
So I was going to say something about how I like to "touch the earth" by standing in the ocean, because I'm some kinda water sprite...then I started researching the effects of prolonged submersion in water...


four or five pages deep into not really getting an actual answer (like, how long until your skin and organs start dissolving) some of the topics coming up where about balancing the elements in the water inside and outside your body to avoid renal failure or dehydration or all sorts of weird ideas.

When I got to someone asking "Would it work if I jumped into a vat of human blood?" I decided it was time to take my shoes off and go stand on some grass and never use the internet ever again :unsure:
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26 Sep 2017 14:24 - 26 Sep 2017 14:25 #302245 by Lykeios Little Raven
As a part Native American and a Hellenic polytheist I could definitely stand to have more contact with Mother Earth (or, as I usually call her, Gaia).

Thanks for this post! It's a very good reminder.

“Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.” -Zhuangzi

“Though, as the crusade presses on, I find myself altogether incapable of staying here in saftey while others shed their blood for such a noble and just cause. For surely must the Almighty be with us even in the sundering of our nation. Our fight is for freedom, for liberty, and for all the principles upon which that aforementioned nation was built.” - Patrick “Madman of Galway” O'Dell
Last edit: 26 Sep 2017 14:25 by Lykeios Little Raven.
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26 Sep 2017 15:49 #302256 by

Adder wrote: Ms Adder does this sort of thing. She will take her off her shoes to stand on the dirt to 'ground' herself. I'm not sure if hugging tress (trugging?) does the same thing... but it's a fair point, constructions have grounding points where the structure has a solid static discharge channel to the planet. When refueling aircraft its a good idea to earth it to the ground to avoid static discharge (sparks) causing problems with the fuel exchange (or between the fuel'er and the fuel'ed to stop a differential leading to a spark). The planet is after all one giant electromagnet-esk bundle of aggregated buzz, and she is a jealous god :D


Interesting take...I don't know that I would have drawn these connections. Perhaps it plays into why we are always so joyous to regain firm ground ourselves after a sea voyage, or a long international plane flight?

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26 Sep 2017 15:49 - 26 Sep 2017 15:50 #302257 by

JamesSand wrote: So I was going to say something about how I like to "touch the earth" by standing in the ocean, because I'm some kinda water sprite...then I started researching the effects of prolonged submersion in water...


four or five pages deep into not really getting an actual answer (like, how long until your skin and organs start dissolving) some of the topics coming up where about balancing the elements in the water inside and outside your body to avoid renal failure or dehydration or all sorts of weird ideas.

When I got to someone asking "Would it work if I jumped into a vat of human blood?" I decided it was time to take my shoes off and go stand on some grass and never use the internet ever again :unsure:


But...what WOULD happen if you were in that vat...? :side:
Last edit: 26 Sep 2017 15:50 by .

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26 Sep 2017 19:15 - 26 Sep 2017 19:20 #302281 by Tarran
Greetings, SamThift :)

"Part 5", eh? I remember a few years back, opening up a thread with a similar/same title, asking if there were any other NA peeps here besides myself... could that've been "part 1"? Hmmm...

Anywho, yes - Earthing.

I was thinking about this, this past week, as I walked by a tree stump on the way back from work... and there's a special and wonderful thing which, if one ever has the time and opportunity to try, I very highly recommend trying out at least once - though again, if opportunities arise, as much and as often as the spirit calls you to do...

Standing barefoot on a tree stump - preferably recently cut, unless its circumference is huge... but if not, it's fine - and "feeling out" where the roots are within the ground, through your feet.

Now, at first glance at these words, the reader might automatically wonder, "But how would I know how accurate that would be? What if my impressions are way off? How can I be certain?", or even, "What the Hell is this crap??"...

Relax.

The goal of such isn't to find the roots' actual-factual, mappable locations per se.

The exercise in itself is the goal. Listen...

Let go of "mapping results", and just... breathe... and feel... as though the Qi of your toes, via those roots, can feel the loamy coolness of the Earth as you wriggle them through the stuff, in your reaching out.

Feel the clutchingness of the system of roots in the mass of soil and stones within its gripping grasp. Feel it's hold, that it is not without give and play in its clutching onto/into this dancing spaceship Earth... but it's a hold, like a child's hand holding the mother's.

However long, or however many times it takes to familiarize yourself with this connection, the next step is to do so on a clear night, and hopefully, in a location with as little light pollution as possible, and while you are rooted in the Earth, feeling its dance through space, feeling the sway in the breeze above the ground, gaze out into the Universe of stars and reach out... and connect...

Be the cosmic child you are, being carried in the arms of the dance between Mother Earth and Father Sky <3

Have fun exploring.

Sken:nen, and may the Force be with you, always <3

- Tarran Falls-Down-Laughing
Siksika/Mohawk-Cree ^_^

Apprentice to J. K. Barger
Last edit: 26 Sep 2017 19:20 by Tarran.
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26 Sep 2017 19:22 #302282 by
Tarran:

What a wonderful suggestion...I think I might just try that! It may be another month or so before I get back out to the woods...but it sounds like a very interesting experience! I'll keep you posted.

If you saw a similar thread that long ago, it was not of my design. I only recently joined (May 2017), and have been posting a few of these nuggets over the past couple weeks, based upon a blog post I randomly found. The previous 4 or so should be towards the top of that "Faith" forum under the index at the top.

Cheers

Sam

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26 Sep 2017 19:48 #302287 by Tarran

SamThift wrote: Tarran:

What a wonderful suggestion...I think I might just try that! It may be another month or so before I get back out to the woods...but it sounds like a very interesting experience! I'll keep you posted.

If you saw a similar thread that long ago, it was not of my design. I only recently joined (May 2017), and have been posting a few of these nuggets over the past couple weeks, based upon a blog post I randomly found. The previous 4 or so should be towards the top of that "Faith" forum under the index at the top.

Cheers

Sam


Roger that - will give 'em a looksy! ^_^

While I'm at it here, if you like blog posts about the Force, might I offer a look into one of mine? I write often in a spiritual tone, in a spiritual sense, on spiritual things - however, in the particular blog of which I now speak (though not absolutely devoid of spirit), those writings are largely analytical and leaning more towards science (for lack of a better term), or well, perhaps I should say "Alchemy" lol You can find it linked on my profile page here, but it seems that the link will only work if you omit the "s" in the "https" part of the URL (damn you, Google Blogger lol).

Thanks for your quick and kind reply, btw!

- Tarran ^_^

Apprentice to J. K. Barger
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