As with grounding, I believe centering is another topic that is touched on in many metaphysical books, but is rarely looked at in depth. So what is centering and how can it help you in your practice?
My definition of centering is the gathering of your personal energy into one location. It is bringing in your connections to everything around you into the center of who you are. Similar to grounding it is about being who you are at this moment in time and noticing your energy vibrations. It is basically you being smack dab in the center of the cosmos with the world around you.
This may seem like a selfish practice but it is about being the center of your universe and that’s what is needed to examine yourself so you can in turn send out the most helpful energies to others.
When Do I Center?
There are some who center prior to grounding, some who do it after grounding, and then there are some like me who do it while grounding. This can be done in conjunction to ritual or it can be done in regular daily meditation.
Why Should I Center?
Centering, just like grounding, has multiple reasons for doing it. When centering, the outside energies that may be a little more stagnate are purposely brought into yourself, moved around, and brought back out into your aura thus giving you a fresher feeling about what is happening around you. It aids in your physical and emotional balance, because you are bringing these energies to the center of who you are (hence the name). It balances the elemental energies around you to put you in harmony with them, we will be discussing elemental energies next week. When looking at the “As above, So below” balancing, this is also done with centering. Centering will also aid when directing energies to others or for spell work and when grounding your energies to the Earth.
With so many reasons to center…
How do I Center?
For me, I do this through visualization and meditation. While meditating, I visualized the energy field around me (aura) coming into the center of my body (I visualize the solar plexus chakra). I pull in all energies that are connected to anything that is on my mind. At this point I can ground to pull in more energy that is needed to send out for a specific working, drain some energy to regulate my vibrations with the Earth, or examine where and why I had a connection to certain people, places or ideas. Examining these connections will help me realize what is truly important and where my energy is being directed so I stay balanced.
Centering can also be done through Yoga and Tai Chi. While I haven’t done either extensively, the focusing on the breathing, poses, and posture aides in being in that moment of self.
Walking in a labyrinth can also center you. I have printed out a finger labyrinth since I have not been able to make it to a walking one. The journey to the center of the labyrinth is the journey to the center of you. This can be as simple as a spiral or a complex as the St. Omer labyrinth.
If you have other ways that you center yourself, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’d love to hear and try them.
