I’m in Wisconsin currently, helping Mom move from her and Dad’s independent living apartment into assisted living. What a growth period! Mom, my brother and I are looking at all sorts of things, some of which have been a part of my life for 60+ years. So many photographs. My dad was a potter so there are lots of pots. We’ll keep the pottery; it’s the knickknacks and the artwork that can be difficult to let go. Carvings made of wood from a family member’s farm, the ceramic cocker spaniel that once reminded someone of my parents’ dog, a tiny, clumsy purse my daughter made for my mom when she first learned to knit and a wood block print I made 50 years ago. Then there’s the china and the silver and many things that were special once and now seem so removed from present time.

In the meantime Dad is in rehab. He was only supposed to be there a couple of weeks but I remember the first time I visited him there and the nurse said, “Ohh, we love Mike, can we keep him?” Maybe I’ll ask her if she wants to take How To Heal Yourself because he’s been there over 4 months and he’s still waiting for an assisted living unit. That woman has manifestation skills.

It’s a great time to use the tools. Dad was miserable yesterday; I grounded his room and the next thing I knew he and Mom were singing. I’ve started grounding things before I bring them to Mom to decide: take it to the new apartment or donate it to Goodwill? I notice if the item is grounded first, she’s about 80% likely to say go ahead and donate it. When a box for Goodwill is full, I ground it and bring the contents into present time, which freshens things up that no one has really looked at in years. I remember shopping in a beautiful home furnishing store years ago and the sales clerk telling me she always sold more things after she walked around cleaning the displays. In both cases it seems like it’s acknowledging the thing that brings it into present time.

I find the grounding helps me with the nostalgia, the grief of key relationships shifting to something quieter, slower, less fulfilling than they once were – to me. My parents are no longer “themselves” but they are exactly the selves that they need to be at this time in their lives. They live in a place with independent living and several levels of assisted living and memory care. It’s big and beautiful with a pond, a walking path and gorgeous landscaping. If I ground the whole thing everybody wants to talk to me, show off their dogs and ask if I can help them get their mail out of its box. Ungrounded, it’s a sadder and more difficult experience, and I forget to go out and listen to the frogs talking in the pond outside my parents’ door.

With the tools, I get to choose how my experience feels. Nothing changes, but everything looks different. It’s so powerful, how much influence we have over our lives and most people never know it. For the longest time using the tools was so foreign to me that I’d forget, again and again. I still forget sometimes. We don’t live in a world that recognizes and promotes the concept of the energy body and its influence over our lives, so it’s really easy to fall back into unconscious patterns.

I often use the tools with a “what the hell, why not?” kind of attitude. Casual. Then when I really need them, I know they’re there for me. We have our new students put up reminders around their homes to use their grounding so they get used to including it in their daily routines. Sometimes, I still do this for myself. A post-it note on my mirror or my dashboard and it gets me back into the rhythm when I’m deep in a growth period.

Happy grounding! No one seems to know what’s likely to happen, but some astrological eclipses coming in October and November suggest it’s going to be an exciting fall! Keeping grounded and shifting our outlook is a great idea all the time but especially so in times of great change. So here’s your reminder to put a little reminder on your dash or your fridge or your desk and get yourself back into the rhythm!
Many blessings to you!

Katie

Rt. Rev. Katie Heldman is the Co-Director of Psychic Horizons Center, and wrote this article for the October/November 2022 Bi-Monthly Newsletter.