Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
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by Marni Hills

Do you remember the last time you had your bare feet on the earth - dirt, sand, gravel, or grass - for more than a few minutes? What if I told you that right outside your door, free for everyone, right beneath your feet, is one of the most incredible healing modalities you can harness for your well-being?

To honor our beautiful planet on Earth Day, Monday April 22nd, take a moment to consider: Earth is our home, providing everything we need to sustain our lives here, and yet most people are completely disconnected from the most important sustenance our home provides for us- balancing our bodies by topping up our electrons with the energy that flows through the earth.

The Earth's surface emits a constant stream of electrons, which neutralize the disease-causing free radicals in our bodies, which cause painful, chronic, inflammatory conditions. The invention of synthetic-soled shoes ensured that the entire population of the earth was removed from the benefits the planet was designed to give us. There's even a term for it: Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD).

We are all electrical beings. Think about how we measure functions in the body and brain with EKGs and EEGs…how pacemakers keep hearts beating regularly, defibrillators shock and restart the heart with a pulse of electricity, and even how your body will spark with static electricity when you touch certain surfaces, etc.

Well, imagine static electricity melting away, replaced by a surge of calming energy. Your body, like a tuning fork, vibrates in harmony with the earth's magnetic resonance. The Earth is basically a giant battery, and its surface crackles with a natural negative charge, a vast reservoir of free electrons waiting to connect with you. This magnetic field is not a "woo woo" concept. It is generated from the movement of molten iron in the Earth's outer core, creating powerful electric currents. These currents orient around magnetic field lines between the poles that extend beyond Earth's atmosphere– receiving constant charges from the solar energy that connects with it.

AI-created visual of the Earth's magnetic fields
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The concept is so simple, and such common sense, but most people scoff and think it sounds ridiculous. I was also skeptical until I watched the first of several incredible documentaries about grounding or ‘earthing', and then tried grounding for myself. I was pleasantly surprised to find there is a great deal of scientific fact and research behind it all, as well as miraculous stories of healing and health.

Click this movie poster to watch the trailer for the 2019 Documentary
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I'll admit, I remember being seriously resistant about hitting play to watch this film. I avoided watching it for weeks. I hated the title. I hated the movie poster. (I hate feet!) In my mind, it conjured a bunch of dirty-toed hippies living in off-grid yurts, waxing poetic about "Mother Nature", or slatternly earth-mamas named "Lotus" with giant cringe-worthy braless breasts hanging pendulously in an oversize Mumu dress. It's not like that.

Of course, you might have to be at the right stage of open-mindedness to receive this information, but if you're ready, The Earthing Movie (anyone can watch it for free on YouTube) could completely change your view of the world in its short 75-minute run time.

This groundbreaking film exposes a mountain of scientific evidence that's shaking the foundations of modern medicine. From reducing chronic pain (inflammation) that people have suffered with for decades, slashing heart disease risk, eliminating sleep disturbances like snoring and nightime trips to the loo, healing wounds, giving athletes a recovery edge and even helping premature babies thrive in NICUs, the power of grounding is exposed as study after study validates this simple yet revolutionary practice.

Sunset from the field behind Colonia Balcones (photo: Marni Hills)
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Personally, I was so thrilled by the results I started to see with daily grounding, that I was prompted to write about it, to share this with any of you who are open to hearing it. My grounding experiment began about 60 days ago. At first, I did daily 20-30 minute sessions, sitting on a big rock out in the fields near the Charco del Ingenio botanical preserve, at sunset. This also served as a great opportunity for some quiet and meditation - nothing formal, just sitting quietly with my dog, bare feet on the dirt, observing the incredible cloudscapes in the setting sun, listening to the environment, the distant city sounds, birds winging overhead, the rustling of grass and trees.

My dog Lily seems to enjoy absorbing some electrons too…(photo: Marni Hills)
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The first couple nights, eyes closed in that space between wakefulness and sleep, I sensed a tingly sensation of what I can only describe as a warm golden light enveloping all the spots that had been in touch with the ground (or where I was sitting on that big rock) - my feet, calves, back of my legs, hands…and interestingly even in my teeth. I thought "wow, that's a beautiful feeling, I want more of this in my body!" I started to crave that time in contact with the Earth.

If you want to exponentially increase the benefits by grounding for hours while sleeping (as I did), you can find people who sell grounding products such as grounding sheets, pillowcases, blankets, pads, etc. that plug directly into the ground with a special grounding rod.

But use care, we don't want everyone to buy a bunch of plastic junk from Amazon that will end up in a landfill for hundreds of years. You can DIY with a section of window screen and some duct tape (plenty of how-to's on YouTube) or try the earth-friendly solutions created by holistic physician Dr. Laura Koniver who is also featured in The Earthing Movie and other documentaries including The Grounded, Heal For Free, and Down To Earth.

Fortunately, I am generally in good shape, healthy, with no chronic issues, but these are the little things that began to manifest - some began immediately, others came about more slowly after 20-30 days of sleeping grounded:

1. Better sleep - My usual pattern was waking 2-3 times a night with a little bit of trouble getting back to sleep. Beginning on night one, (and it continues to this day for the most part), I slept through the entire night, and didn't wake up once.
2. Positive emotions - I began to notice a welling up of emotions through the day. I would choke up when seeing something beautiful or moving, tears welling up, where normally I had little or no reaction.
3. Less anxiety, sadness - It's hard to describe but I felt more positive, a better sense of well-being - "balanced".
4. Better balance - Speaking of balance, I'm not a yoga practitioner but I'll do a few standing poses if I have a minute. I had not done any poses until I had finished about 30 days of grounding, and I was shocked to find I could instantly balance, completely steady, on one leg - without my usual wobbling or needing to hold on to something.
5. Reduced swelling - My shoes felt looser, feet and ankles looked and felt slimmer, less swollen, as I put my shoes back on after grounding in the evening.
6. Joint pain eliminated - A podiatrist once told me I had advanced arthritis in my big toe joint on both feet, and I have definitely felt aching, sore feet, joints, and calves after a day of walking or standing, for years. Even getting up in the morning my legs would be stiff and creaky. The change was almost imperceptible but if I think about it now, I don't experience any soreness or pain anymore, ever, in my feet, knees, hips, etc.
7. Improved brain function - My thoughts, ideas, processing, learning, seemed to improve. I could focus easily on work, I started "connecting" lots of concepts about life and our world, as if things were flowing better up there in the grey matter. I even began conversing much more easily in Spanish! Previously I had trouble finding the words I knew, but now it was flowing out of me in casual conversations.
8. Better heat tolerance - When it begins to heat up in SMA, it is the most miserable time for me and it's only gotten worse the last two years. There is anecdotal evidence that grounding - when you travel to another time zone for instance - can help with jet lag, can help your body acclimate to your "new" place on earth- adjusting your body to the seasonal/circadian rhythms of the planet in the place you're visiting. Could grounding have helped my body adjust to the climate here?
9. Improved vision - After grounding for about 45-50 days, for 8 hours a night, I scheduled a vision exam for a new prescription - because as I reported to the eye doctor - I just couldn't see as well anymore with my current glasses. As the exam concluded, she reported that the reason I couldn't see as well was that my vision had improved, and my eyes were fighting the distortion of lenses that were now too strong. Wow.

You can dismiss all of this as some kind of placebo effect or simply the power of positive thinking. You can say I'm crazy or deluded - but do a little research on your own, watch the documentaries, check the scientific evidence-based studies that have been done. Why wouldn't it be true? The Earth is here to provide for us - we need the air, the water, and the nutrients of food, it only follows that the healing power inside the Earth is meant for us as well.

This is not new information. Clint Ober learned from his childhood neighbors and friends in the Crow and Cheyenne tribes that People of the First Nations have used the Earth for healing [as a matter of course] for as long as they have existed. Perhaps getting back in touch with Earth one by one can lead us to a better future where we each start to care more deeply, act more responsibly, and protect our unique home.

Clint Ober, The "Godfather" of the Grounding Movement (photo: Earthing.com)
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So get out there. Touch the soil, the sand, the grass, wade in the ocean, swim in a natural body of water - feel the tingle as static electricity dissipates and the myriad of external electrical charges you're bombarded with daily in our world melt away. You can also get grounded on concrete, stone, or any surface that is natural or conductive and connected to the earth - you can even touch a tree or plants growing in the ground. Let the Earth's power to heal align your body with its natural frequencies. It's a chance to tap into the limitless potential that flows beneath your very feet. Happy Earth Day.

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Marni Hills is a well-traveled writer, photographer, and lover of all things weird and unusual. She is an ancient astronaut theorist, dog foster, DJ, and is obsessed with travel, fashion, true crime, never-before-seen footage, and mountaineering disasters. She made San Miguel her home in early 2022.

Follow Marni on Instagram

Previous articles:
Fashion: Upcycled, Embroidered, Mexicano - Golden Lola
Trashing the Charco, July 2023
A Home for Horchata, April 2023
A Thread to Old San Miguel, March 2023

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