I've found that grounding physically into the body to be one of the greatest tools towards being able to sustain the perception of the otherworldly.
People with mental illness can go up very high, sometimes so far up that they are in space, or in another realm altogether!
I remember when I was ill, it felt like my point of reference was way up there in the cosmos. People with this otherworldly perception can be very swept up in that point of reference in their reality. What this means is that their perception of life can go so far up that they experience their reality in a way that takes them away from the physical world.
This is why people with mental illness can sometimes seem like they are in another world, or spaced out in their thoughts. They are experiencing their life with the otherworldly as a juxtaposition on their physical sense perception of life. And this can lead one to becoming out of touch with the physical realm.
So, to manage this perception of the otherworldly, and to help with this natural phenomenon, grounding can be vitally important.
When we ground, we come back into the body, and we retain our perception of the physical. This helps us to be able to stay in touch with the physical realm, and to also create the point of balance between the otherworldly perception and the physical.
To do this grounding, you can literally start to notice your feet, legs, abdomen and torso, and then up to the head. To ground you must start to inhabit the feeling of your body, consciously. Begin by actually feeling your feet and legs, until you feel you are situated on Earth. You can then go up the body so you are present in your entire body.
This may take some time, and consistently grounding will help you with staying in the physical, while being open to the perception of the otherworldly.
That is the practice I do each day now to ground myself. I ground physically until I can feel, and am aware of my entire body. The more you heal and become whole, the greater your presence will be.
Presence is simply another way of saying you are present to the moment. With presence we become situated in the body, and are more present to life and are more able to interact and embrace what is happening in the physical.
Presence travels through the body, to the mind. When you are in a state of presence, you are not only physically present in the body, but are also present in the mind. Presence can be seen as a state of mindfulness while also being present to the world around you.
To ground, we can put our feet on the Earth, and go into nature. We can also heal ourselves and go deeper into bodily presence. By healing our trauma, which is stored in the body, we remove the blockages we have to being in a state of presence. Because our entire past from our current lifetime is stored in our physical body, any trauma that we have been through will stay in our body until we release it.
In healing our trauma, we find that we can better move into a state of embodiment, and presence. This deep inner work will remove those barriers to being present, and then we can further move into a present state.
One reason why people with mental illness seem out of touch with reality is because they have endured trauma, which leaves them in a state of dissociation. Grounding and coming back into the body will help you to stay aware of the physical realm, while still being able to retain a perception of the otherworldly in life.
Grounding each day, and noticing when you need to ground is highly important, I believe, in helping people with mental illness to be able to navigate the physical, and also their perception of an otherworldly realm of existence.
