Instructor: RainTurtle
Date: May 7, 2004 (Thursday)
<RainTurtle> Thanks, Bester
<RainTurtle> Good evening, ladies and gentlemen
<Jael> Good evening, Rain.
<RainTurtle> First, the usual disclaimer: This is not a gaming room. If you are looking for a game, you might want to leave, before you get too weirded out
<BlueSprite> lol
<RainTurtle> The topic for this evening is “grounding”….more specifically, what it is used for generally, aside from the obvious
<RainTurtle> First of all, as usual, we must define our terms
<RainTurtle> In the context of this seminar, I am using the term to mean “releasing excess ‘energies’ or emotions, generally into an inaminate object, so to dissipate harmlessly”
<RainTurtle> In other words, rather like what a lightning rod does to electricity
<Grael> *nods*
<RainTurtle> It is important to indicate “what we’re talking about” because grounding is also used to describe a sort of “balancing” of “energies” by pushing some into the ground, while pulling other ones into your body or field.
<RainTurtle> This balancing is a valid convention, but is a different activity, and is used for different purposes
<RainTurtle> So far so froody?
<Aphanas> *nods*
<Daimajin> yup
<Jael> *nods*
<Grael> *nods*
<Andy_Hock> Yes.
<RainTurtle> One of the simplest methods of grounding is as follows:
<RainTurtle> 1) sit or otherwise position your body so that your feet and hands are in contact with an inanimate object which is itself in contact with the floor or ground
<RainTurtle> The object in question ought not be a delicate electronic device, for the record (Learn from other people’s mistakes; you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself)
<Aphanas> Heh… quite true, that.
<Grael> =P
<RainTurtle> 2) “pretend” that your field is full of cloudy or muddied water, and that the cloudiness or mud are the excess emotions, energies, or other stuff
<RainTurtle> 3) let the psi-stuff from your field flow into the inanimate object through your palms, until the “water” seems to run clear
<RainTurtle> Let it flow, rather than pushing it. Pushing will make you tired….And, if you find that you didn’t clear all the cloudiness out, you can always repeat the procedure
<RainTurtle> If your field is really “dirty” shake a rattle all around your body first, to break up the debris. (apparently bells are also good for this, but my personal experience is with rattles)
<Grael> *Facepalms* I always thought you meant a psi-rattle
<RainTurtle> I meant a regular rattle….like the plastic things babies play with, or rainsticks, or marracas….or a few grains of rice in a margarine tub
<Grael> *nods* hehe just realized that
<RainTurtle> Questions so far?
<Grael> none here
<Daimajin> nope
<Aphanas> None here at the moment.
*Jael raises her hand
<RainTurtle> Jael?
<Jael> Can rattling around the house help clean up psi-debris in the house?
<RainTurtle> Yes….it breaks it up in places other than your field. You still have to “sweep” it up, though, once it is broken apart
<Jael> Okay. Thanks
<RainTurtle> Alright, that is one of *many* ways to ground. It is a handy thing to learn, as will be demonstrated by the meat of tonight’s matter…..
<RainTurtle> Some people choose not to ground at all. For example, standard practice in the Psion Guild is to burn off excess energies and emotions, rather than ground it
<RainTurtle> I have no quarrel with that approach, but it appears to have a more limited application
<RainTurtle> If you have simply accumulated too much psi-stuff, either approach will do nicely
<Grael> *raises hand*
<RainTurtle> If you wish to re-orient yourself after a particularly straining working, though, burning it off will make your condition worse
<RainTurtle> Graelb?
<Grael> How does one ‘burn off’ excess energy and emotions?
<RainTurtle> As with grounding, burning it off has several entirely-correct methods. One of the simple ones is to make your field shiver, or “fuel” a construct with the excess stuff
<Grael> *nods*
<Grael> thank you =P
<RainTurtle> The less-than-obvious uses for grounding, however, are the real purpose to this seminar
<RainTurtle> For some of you, academic examinations are occasionally encountered with a certain trepidation
<RainTurtle> In fact, exams can provoke full-scale panic….complete with the conscious mind freezing up and refusing to talk to the sub-c….or anything else
<RainTurtle> Some well-practiced grounding can be accomplished in a matter of seconds, and can get rid of the panic so that you can think and remember again
<RainTurtle> I say “well-practiced” because the first couple times can be a bit awkward, especially if you overlook the advice “not to push”
<RainTurtle> Naps are shiny, but not when you are in the middle of writing your final exam…
<RainTurtle> In the case of the exam jitters, ground right into the desk….no one will even notice, unless they happen to be watching your field
<RainTurtle> A nice deep breath at the same time, is also a good thing.
<RainTurtle> Breathing = shiny
<Grael> =P
<RainTurtle> Now, if grounding is useful for getting rid of exam-jitters (for a few minutes, at least….the jitters *can* return, and then you just repeat the procedure)….
<RainTurtle> It follows that grounding is also good for dealing with stage-fright, when acting, singing, doing public speaking, giving a business presentation, etc
<RainTurtle> Likewise, if you get whapped upside the field with entirely-too-much emotions (family reunions come to mind….as do strikes, and parties)….you can get them out of your system this way
<RainTurtle> You’ll still have to repair your field, and reset a Shield or two, but it will help, so long as you didn’t collapse to the point that you cannot ground at all
<Aphanas> *nods* Helps for funerals too…
<RainTurtle> yup
<Grael> *raises hand*
<RainTurtle> As for the collapse situation, you *can* ground someone else….It is a variant of the infamous “vamping”: draw off the excess in the other person’s field, and ground it to earth directly. Do *not* take it into your own field, no matter how strong you think you are
<RainTurtle> Graelb?
<Grael> Is there any speculation as to *why* it works? It sounds to me that instead of copy/pasting into the energy being grounded, you’re cut/pasting…
<RainTurtle> *shrugs* Emotional stuff ends up in the field….it can be detected by assorted machinery. Maybe it can be caught up in the psi-stuff directly? Emotion does add oomph to telepathic and psychokinetic efforts, after all
*BlueSprite raises his hand
<RainTurtle> Sprite?
<Grael> *nods*
<BlueSprite> I’m curious, you mention about taking the stuff into your own field, is this similar to what empathy does?
<BlueSprite> I was never sure how empathy worked except that it caused one to feel other peoples basic “stuff”
<RainTurtle> *waggles hand* Empathy is the telepathic transmission of emotion and/or physical sensation. The definitive “how it works” is unknown
<BlueSprite> ah
<BlueSprite> was worried for a second if that was what I was doing by accident o_o
<RainTurtle> More precisely psychic/psionic empathy is so. Psychological empathy is something else again
<BlueSprite> yep, lol
<RainTurtle> If you are taking the stuff into your own field when grounding someone else, you’ll also be taking in their random psi-stuff from their field. Enough of it to make you quite high, in many cases
<BlueSprite> okey, so then in general empathy there is no chance that I would along with the emotional baggage I would take this other stuff in then
<Grael> lol new form of drugs!
<RainTurtle> There is still *some* chance, Sprite (some people do that), but it is less likely
<BlueSprite> ok
<BlueSprite> that is a relief somewhat
<RainTurtle> Graelb: and for some folks it is as addictive as any of the “street drugs”
<Grael> !!! Do people get withdrawals if they stop?
<RainTurtle> Some do, yes
<RainTurtle> Nothing as severe as the comparable drugs cause, though
<Grael> lol *scratches that off the list of things to try*
<RainTurtle> And also, bear in mind that overloading your system too much can still cause irreparable nerve damage
<Grael> (I was kidding btw… you warned against it and I listened)
<RainTurtle> Any questions?
<Grael> none here
<Daimajin> nope
*Aphanas raises hand… not directly related though.
<RainTurtle> Aphanas? Go for it
<Aphanas> This is a question quasi-related to grounding. I was wondering about the effects of living or working within a building that has material with a tendency to absorb/amplify psi patterns (such as quartz shelled buildings).
<Aphanas> How would that affect one’s ability to ground, and the necessity of doing so? Would those materials tend to pull things out of your field (grounding you automatically), or would it just as likely amplify your field patterns and cause you to need to ground more? Or, a third possibility… would it have no measurable effect?
<RainTurtle> Some substances have a tendency to pull at your field. Some kinds of iron ore, for example. Likewise, some configurations of electrical wiring will do so.
<Aphanas> *nods*
<RainTurtle> A few of these sorts of situations (quartzite buildings, for example) can amplify your field, too
<RainTurtle> As a rule, a field will adapt itself to extended exposure to these conditions
<Aphanas> *nods* In the amplification buildings, would that result in needing to ground more? Are the patterns amplified as well, or are they then “watered-down” in your field?
<RainTurtle> If you hang out in an office made of amethyst, you’d probably feel very intoxicated for a while
<RainTurtle> Usually, you’d need to ground more…..and shield more if anyone else is around
<RainTurtle> key word = “usually”
<RainTurtle> There are a *lot* of variables in this one
<Aphanas> *nods* OK. So it *normally* would have a similar effect to being around a large crowd of emotional people?
<RainTurtle> Yes, but -ehem- tending to be more pleasant an intoxication
<Aphanas> Heh… OK, cool. Thanks.
<RainTurtle> 🙂
<RainTurtle> Any other questions?
<Andy_Hock> Not here.
<Jael> none here
<Aphanas> No more here. Thanks very much for the seminar, Rain.
<Grael> nope
<RainTurtle> (chilling out directly on a large vein of quartz is an indescribable experience)
<Grael> lol
<RainTurtle> you’re very welcome
<Jael> hehe
<Aphanas> Ooh… that sounds cool.
<RainTurtle> Thanks, Bester
<Grael> *nods* thank you!