DOWN TO EARTH, a Guest Post by Ryan Biggerstaff
February 13th, 2008 by Rose Rosetree
Down to earth. This phrase is seen lots OF places where people describe themselves or are described by other people, such as personal ads, profiles on sites such as Myspace, and magazine and news articles.
What does “down to earth” mean?
Most people use this phrase to mean that a person is not pretentious, materialistic, shallow, et cetera.
However, being a skilled empath has really turned this phrase upside down for me because it no longer makes any sense to me. I think of a person who is down to earth as a person who is well grounded.
Being down to earth, in the sense of being grounded, is not directly related to a person’s values and behavior, so Jenni Shoppahollik with her $200 haircuts and snobby attitude can be just as down to earth as somebody who is her complete opposite.
Perhaps when people say “down to earth” they mean living a life focused on things that truly matter rather than appearances and frivolous human creations.
If being down to earth is about being grounded, then I am not a down to earth person because, like most empaths, keeping myself grounded is an ongoing challenge.
My intuition often tells me to slow down my mind and bring my consciousness back into my body, and the universe recently reminded me of the need for grounding when I endured a couple of minor accidents.
The first accident involved me slipping on some ice and landing on my jaw. Fortunately, the worst that happened was that I felt shaken. No bruising or pain resulted,and my teeth were unharmed. This mishap forced me to become quite literally grounded.
Apparently I did not get the first message very well because three weeks later I hit my head in a way that resulted in a gash on my forehead. Getting the bleeding to stop completely required half an hour of sitting in a chair and trying not move any muscles in my forehead.
Sinking down in a chair with blood running down your face and then enduring a week of headaches and fatigue is another good way of grounding yourself, although not one I recommend.
Down to earth? No, that is certainly not me a lot of times.
Ryan, sometimes people refer to having a sense of humor as being the chief prerequisite for being considered down-to-earth. You’d definitely qualify there!
As a skilled empath, you’re familiar with the Coming Home technique in “Empowered by Empathy.” It is my experience, working with students when they encounter that technique, that one can be “grounded” at any level of one’s being.
You, for instance, are waaaaay grounded spiritually and intellectually. All of us have our specialties and it is our destiny, empathic or not, to learn how to be down to THAT earth, the other kind(s) of earth that we do not necessarily welcome at first.
You have raised a fascinating question about what, ideally, it would mean to be down to earth. I’m curious to read responses from our other Blog-Buddies. Thanks for your typically insightful post here, Ryan.
Hi Ryan,
So sorry to hear of your accidents, but I totally agree that the universe will remind of us when we are not aligned.
It has happened to me also. I’m rarely accident prone but when one happens I really pay attention.
“Down to earth” is a relative term and of course has different meanings to different people. I believe if someone is grounded that he is in touch with who he really is and is not unduly influenced by the impermanent forms of this physical world.
In other words someone who can truly enjoy being here, but not have too many expectations from it.
Stay well!
Kathy
Kathy, what a great perspective! And how appropriate for Valentine’s Day. Being in touch with ourselves isn’t just a powerful protection –way more useful than the elaborate shielding precautions so many people take — but also a most authentic way to love ourselves.
So often we’re all geared up for improving ourselves but it has been ages since we stopped to consider the gorgeous, great, gifts we have had for the entire lifetime.
Aura reading those gifts is one of my favorite ways to do this plus, of course, face reading. With your perspective, I can see how this would count as a kind of grounding that I never considered before. So, yet again, thank you, Wise Lilylady!
I’ve suffered from “flying in spirit” (in Rose’s terms) all my life.
It’s unpleasant to have accidents, illnesses, weight issues, physical harm, and the like to put us back into our bodies. That is why much of Rose’s work is to help people reconcile themselves with their bodies which are a reminder of our present moment. We are to confront, deal, and handle our present tasks, troubles, and issues as best we can at the moment they present themselves. That is the function of the body.
Down-to-earth is a vacuous, pedestrian term - it can be merely be a description of a facade body that a person can act “lovable” or “relatable.” Anyone can act a certain way and project a certain image.
Understanding grounding is central to Rose’s philosophy and work, is it not?
I think escapism is something most people do, whether they are metaphysically minded or not. Life can be so painful and lonely, and we struggle alone so often. The current global culture offers so many ways and diversions to escape our lives and bodies. In the end, escapism only leads to a mountain of problems that require the presence of mindfulness to deal with, one step at a time. Catch-22 - be more in our bodies, our problems and issues lessen. If we escape our bodies and present moment, we seem to experience pleasure momentarily, even if we know we can’t escape forever.
Eloquent!
This is a really interesting post. I have had some minor accidents and near-accidents and was thinking about the same thing. A lot of times at the time I was feeling depressed. Maybe that has something to do with it but I don’t know.
Now for grounding … how do you do that? Would just paying more attention help? Well yes, of course, but I kind of think there is more. I
s there such a thing as being too grounded, and if so, how do you take care of that?
I think paying attention and taking care of one’s body is enough. This goes with exercise. I still remember a gymn instructor who told me that workouts are not going to work that well for me, if all I do, according to his observations, is being lost in thought in my mind all the time. It defeats the purpose of exercise which is to bring me back to earth.
Being “too grounded” is probably a matter of the level of consciousness. There are definitely people who can only think in the moment, about what to eat, what to wear, what to buy, when to sleep, and their lives are completely dominated by the now. Not that there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just that a person with a complex consciousness wonders a whole lot more about life and existence, the past and future, and how one relates to the rest of the universe.
Nothing wrong with being too grounded, I suppose, other than I don’t think people who are “too grounded” are going to be questioning the meaning of their existence to begin with. No problem for them, no more than we blame our lives, dispositions, and levels of consciousness for making us worry, analyze, and search for truth in every little thing to endless inner torment. I definitely wish I had the disposition of a person who is “too grounded” sometimes so life can be much more enjoyable, although I wouldn’t trade my life for anything else. It’s been worth it even though I sure have days when I still find existence a futile struggle.
Dear Ryan,
I have really enjoyed seeing you do another thoughtful guest post, especially after having met you at the empath intensive. I don’t know that anyone has ever considered me “down to earth”:-)!
Anabela, for the first time in a very long time, Rose’s intensive last weekend really helped me experience being in my human body consciously, that is…and it was good for me. I’m not totally used to going there, but coming along. It was one of the many things I received as a graduate of one of Rose’s intensives. I plan to go back. i highly recommend it.
Dear Ryan,
I really enjoyed reading your post, esp after having met you at the empath intensive!
I LOVED what you wrote
“Perhaps when people say “down to earth” they mean living a life focused on things that truly matter rather than appearances and frivolous human creations.” In this context my experience of meeting you IS that you are, in fact, quite ‘down to earth’…and I appreciate that about you.
I also loved what you wrote
“My intuition often tells me to slow down my mind and bring my consciousness back into my body” — this resonates with me, too. big time.
thank you
thank you
I don’t know if you can be too grounded. Living in the “lower” chakras isn’t necessarily being more grounded, it’s just having more an imbalanced preoccupation with survival and issues like money, power, and status.
Living exclusively in the “higher” chakras isn’t necessarily superior. It can make a person have difficulty being effective in the world. It can also make the person seem spacey to other people.
A balance among all the chakras is what makes people able to function in a harmonious way.