Why GROUNDED Spirituality Rocks!

I want to shed some light on the type of philosophy that the New Age Nerd adheres to with regard to all self actualization work- GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY.  Perhaps in a future incarnation,  I might come back with Pure Consciousness in tow, shedding all fear and disconnection.  But right now, I still have my moments.  Through the daily practice of grounded spirituality, I have become much more attuned to the nuances of being both Here and There.  And by that, I mean being connected to Spirit as often as possible, yet still allowing for the resonation of earthly illusions in my experience.  And that is why we are all here, right?!    To slay the proverbial ‘dragons’ along our path toward finding the Holy Grail of our Hero's/Heroine's Journey!  Kinda tough to do that when we refuse to acknowledge that ‘dragons’ even exist.   
Perhaps John Lennon said it best, "I believe in everything until its disproved.  So I believe in fairies..The myths..Dragons.  It ALL exists, even if only in your mind.  Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the HERE and NOW!"  Amen!

During my life, I have attended numerous churches of various denominations.  You name it, chances are I have investigated whether it was for me.  I have studied at a plethora of organizations from the East Coast to the West.  All searching for something that made sense, resonated deeply with my heart and soul, and that when put into practice, worked on a consistent basis.  In doing so, I think I was trying to create something that could help me better navigate this thing called life.  And guess what, on my journey I found out I wasn't the only who had come up with the term Grounded Spirituality.  There are several I am quite sure.    In fact, in a book I absolutely adore, and highly suggest anyone of this ilk read, called Soulshaping by Jeff Brown, he says, “...my philosophy of grounded spirituality started to concretize.  I call it Ascending with Both Feet on the Ground.  It is the idea that our ascension to heightened consciousness can ONLY be sustained it if is an embodied unfolding from the the ground up.”  What a terrific definition.  I believe we are meant to courageously engage the pain, emotions, challenges, as well as the joy, laughter, and LOVE we encounter in this Earthly Matrix of experience. 

He goes on to give more details of his journey and how he had a great lesson about spirituality from one of his mentors, the wonderful teacher Ram Dass.   After years of neglecting his body on his spiritual journey, he suffered a horrible stroke.  Pre-stroke, he preached that ‘we are not our body’.  A very common pronouncement in the realm of spiritualists.  His post-stroke experience, which he called FIERCE GRACE, shattered that notion.  This self named -stroke of good luck- grounded him as he later stated, “I came to appreciate, that as wonderful it is as a practice, ‘I am not of this body’ is only half the truth. The stroke brought me squarely in touch with the fact that, although I am certainly more than my body, I also am this body.”  Boy can I relate to that.  During my time with a colostomy bag, cleaning my own intestine several times a day, had anyone told me,  ‘You are not your body’, I would've flung poop at them like a chimp at the zoo!  I'm KIDDING....kinda!

So here are some of the basic tenets of how Grounded Spirituality has come to serve me and many other truth seekers I know.  But please always remember, that as a Course in Miracles states,  “There are many paths to God.”

1-  Feel Your FEELINGS and Emotions
When I first started to passionately engage this world of self actualization, it seemed as though there was this taboo like energy towards many common emotions like anger, and sadness.  Some of the practices I was learning about started feeling robotic in their teachings.  Not to mention unrealistic in trying to sustain a Zen like stature 100% of the time.  I started to feel guilty to express or admit when profound vibrations of any emotion outside of LOVE would bubble up inside me.  Worse still, I began to try and force others through their times of emotions by reframing, or spouting a newly learned spiritual epithet.  There is a funny story behind what got me to finally change my ways.  

There is a wonderful place called Agape in Los Angeles, which was attended by me and most of my like minded friends every Sunday for years.  Agape in Greek stands for unconditional love, and it is a true non-denominational Sanctuary of commiseration for those of us on this path toward Self.  During a weekend trip to Napa Valley, one of the friends in our group was going through the initial stages of divorce, and definitely having a boat filled size explosion of various emotions(Thank God for wine! lol)  Rather than allowing her to truly feel her grief, I started in with a reframing soliloquy that was sternly met with,  “I swear to God, Jeff, don't you dare try and F&ckin Agape me right now."  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.   Although that line became a long lasting re-membrance in our group about giving each other the respect of our own emotional process, it also taught me a PROFOUND lesson.  I started to acknowledge the power of our feelings, and that NOT being in ALLOWANCE of them is doing yourself and others a great disservice.  

And ya know what?!   When I  started allowing myself to fully enter into my own emotions, for a given period of time, I usually came out the other side with a new perspective, or plan for moving forward.  I began to understand that feelings are one of the most powerful tools we have to assist us in navigating our unique path.  They are truly the ‘guide posts to the Soul’.   So rather than ‘Apape'ing’ myself or others, now I remember that repressed emotions are actually unrealized spiritual lessons.   Just DO NOT make a Broadway Show out of them.  Cause nobody wants to buy a ticket to an event that has outstayed its welcome!  


2-Honor Your Body
Yes, we all know that this body is temporal.  It is ours for a finite time.  But is is also a precious gift.  That's why it is called the Body Temple.  It is sacred in that in houses our Soul while we are here.  As the book God I Am declares, “There were billions of other Souls around the Universe vying for the ‘ticket to ride’ that was given to you!”  That's right, YOU are that Unique and Special.  Everyone here already won the lottery!  So while you are here, be grounded enough to care for the body which brought ya!

3- Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously
By this, more than anything else, I mean learn to laugh at yourself.  This field is filled with people who take themselves so seriously.  Lighten up!  We all make mistakes, are infallible, and poop in our pants. (Or is that just me ?!  lol)  I have found that you will actually relate to more people with your story and message, when you can learn to laugh at yourself.  In fact, it is a proven fact that laughter has cured more illness than all the medication in the world combined!

4-  ACTION is Always Necessary
When the Secret first came on the scene with its teachings of The Law of Attraction, there was this huge ‘Wishful Thinking’ movement in the self realization world.  People actually started believing that they could simply sit on the sofa and think about money, and that checks would suddenly start appearing in their mailbox.  I believe it truly started doing damage to the real understanding of the Law of Attraction (The Law of Attraction is but one of several Universal principals by the way) and in my experience, caused a ton of frustration and disillusioned spirits in our community.  

Don't get me wrong, I am a BIG believer in the power of Universal Energy.  As Yoda says, “It's an energy field that is created by all living things.  Life creates it, makes it grow.  It surrounds us, binds us.”  And it is ALL powerful.  BUT, in this dense realm, it MUST be combined with ACTION in order to work.  And unfortunately, there is not enough re-membrance of the importance of taking daily actionable steps toward our goals.  You can think all day and night to align your energy fields with your desires until the cows come home, but if they are NOT backed by actionable steps toward your plan/goal/path, the ONLY person you will be making rich is your therapist.  Trust me!  

For more pragmatic advice about the proper use of The Law of Attraction, I highly suggest reading Beyond the Secret, by Dr. Lisa Love.   She has such a grounded way of explaining the Law's principles.  For instance, she suggests one use it to try and attract the qualities for keeping and using money responsibly, rather than just acquiring money in the first place.  Great stuff!

5-  Stop with The Shame Game

This is perhaps the 'secret sauce' toward maintaining a lasting vibration in the healthy use of Grounded Spirituality.  There is a large component of people I have encountered along my path who insist that EVERYTHING that finds its way into your personal experience, including illness, is a byproduct of something you did to create it.  Talk about a shame game.  Aye Dios Mio!!

Yes, a great deal of our experiences are indeed brought about through a combination of our thoughts, beliefs, AND actions, but WE DO NOT LIVE IN A VACUUM.  We each share this planet with billions of other souls.  Don't ya think that sometimes, we just happen to be in someone else's path, and in the process receive their byproducts?  And the truth is, we can never really know what the exact cause of everything that happens in our life happens to be.  And I personally think we have much better things to do with our time than try and figure it all out anyway.  

My point is that in grounded spirituality, the shame game DOES NOT exist.  Rather than spend time on WHY something happened, we focus on HOW to show up to meet the challenge once it occurs.  We are not so much responsible FOR everything that happens to us, but WE ARE responsible TO IT.

For instance, rather than blaming myself for the Crohn's disease I was diagnosed with, I try to listen to my body, and care for it with compassion, proper food, exercise, and rest.  Further, in meditation, I ask for the Wisdom to understand how I can draw any benefits from the illness that was brought into my experience.  


I hope this gave you a richer understanding of GROUNDED SPIRITUALITY and how it can be used to assist you on your Hero's/Heroine's Journey!

Nerdmaste,

Jeffrey Louis Martinez