Reclaiming Mindfulness: Meditating & Staying GroundedSample

Staying Grounded

Anxiety, depression, and other negative feelings often prevent one from living in the present moment and enjoying the day the Lord has made. Secular grounding practices usually involve focusing on the natural senses or objects in the environment and taking up different poses to refocus one's attention on the present moment.

When negative feelings or emotions try to overcome you, refocus your attention to the present moment with God's truth. Children of God should not look to self or nature to solve their problems. To do so is to be self-dependent instead of God-dependent. 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) says, “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].”

Colossians 1:7 (AMP) says, “And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]” When you are in Him, you are not permitted to fall apart. So, stay in Him by grounding yourself in the Word. Jesus, the living Word is the only one who can keep you grounded!

We must not act like we are fatherless. We have a father who cares and loves us. My prayer is that you will become rooted and grounded in the one who is love so that you may be filled with the fulness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19). Anxiety and other negative emotions must flee!

Psalm 121:1-3 (NLT) says, “I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.” Help does not come from nature. The help we need comes from God, the maker of nature.

These Biblical grounding practices can refocus your attention to the present moment and God's truth when negative thoughts, emotions, or memories try to pull you away from the present moment.

• Print out scriptures of hope and comfort and place them in different places around your home (Deuteronomy 11:20). When negative thoughts flood your mind, redirect your attention to the scriptures. I have scriptures around my house, my workspace, and my heart. They help me stay at peace when good and bad events occur.
• Consider using scriptures as your phone wallpaper. It can prevent doomscrolling and negative emotional coping strategies. YouVersion has several “verse of the day” images you can download freely.
• Declare God's truth to yourself: "God loves me", "God is mindful of me", "I am rooted and grounded in the love of God", "God is near and here with me", "I cast all my anxieties on Jesus because he cares for me", etc.
• Take deep breaths and repeat, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6) or “my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.”(Job 27:3-4). Search for scriptures about breath and use them. Controlled breathing calms the body, and scriptures shift your attention to the source of your breath.