Grounding Green

What's in the name?

‘Grounding Green’, it’s an alliteration that I thought was fun, but my intention behind this company name was so much more than just that. Let’s break it down, piece by piece. I’ll take you on a journey that sheds light on Grounding Green’s overarching business philosophy.

Grounding Green favicon

First things first

Grounding

Grounding is such a multifaceted word. As a noun, it means “training in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge” (Merriam-Webster). This is exactly what Grounding Green aims to do; to provide what I perceive to be essential knowledge that will help you build a meaningful and conscious life. Whilst fundamental, my teachings are by no means meant to be exhaustive. I absolutely encourage you to further your own learning beyond here, as long as you keep in mind that more isn’t necessarily better. Seek out those teachers that truly aid you in feeling grounded, that provide you with what’s actually fundamental for your own life, not those who just look shiny and interesting. If you want, you can literally build your life anew from the ground up, simply by changing your perspective of things.

But what does it even mean to feel ‘grounded’? According to Psychology Today, to be grounded suggests to practice a deep sense of mindfulness. To me, the key here lies in conscious awareness of how you feel without becoming overly attached to it. You’re able to observe yourself, your own behaviors and responses to situations outside of you whilst remaining connected to the bodily sensations that arise, letting them wash through you instead of blocking them out or holding on for dear life. It also means that you have a strong notion of who you are and who you are not, what you value and what you don't. It involves trusting yourself first and foremost. In other words: you feel whole, centered, balanced and truly embodied in your authentic experience of self, no matter the circumstances. Basically, to feel grounded means to have a strong sense of footing, the way that trees hold onto the Earth with their extensive roots. Without those, they’d fall over with the first breath of wind. Just like the trees, you can find your own steady base to lean into amidst chaos. And that’s what I’m here for to help you with.

Digging deeper into

Grounding

When looking at the word from a different angle, another noun clearly lies at its root: the literal ‘ground’ beneath our feet. Be it rocks, clay, mud or soft sand, we need all shapes and forms to sustain our lives. A rock ensures solidity and forces us to grow and adapt as we struggle to climb it, whilst fertile soil allows our food to grow and to experience being nurtured. The Earth’s ground is the literal foundation and structure that is a precondition for things to become physically formed. And we literally can't exist without that. Looking into the spiritual and psychological dimensions of life serves absolutely no point if it's not rooted in practicality. Maslow understood this with his renowned 'Hierarchy of Needs'. Without having access to our most basic needs for survival, such as food, shelter and water, there is no room for self-actualization. No matter the topic of Grounding Green's teachings, they are always meant to make sense in the real world, and to meet you where you're currently at.

Hard materials can also ‘be ground’ in another sense of the word: “the reduction of something to small particles or powder by crushing it” (Oxford Languages). By breaking things down, we are better able to examine and understand them. Sometimes zooming in on and simplifying something can actually help us see or achieve something faster – as counterintuitive as that may sound. In Grounding Green, I aim to unite bits and pieces of different materials, effectively grounding them for you and then adding them together in order to create a different mix of spices altogether. Again, with the practicality of it all in mind.

Purposeful

Grounding

And finally, a ‘ground’ can also be referred to as “a basis for belief, action, or argument”. (Merriam-Webster). Viktor Frankl, a Jewish psychiatrist who spent several years in Nazi concentration camps during the 2nd World War, highlighted this principle in his work. It was his belief that people can withstand any horrors, as long as they are able to give some kind of meaning to their existence. Your life philosophy can become your driving force, making the necessary steps to get where you aspire to be seem almost effortless. In my own research into what drives people to live sustainably, I quickly learned that a ‘green’ lifestyle wasn’t actually hard if you truly believed in its importance. With Grounding Green, I hope to make you think about your own values in life, the meaning you assign to it, the stuff that makes it truly worthwhile. For me, one of those things has always been to live in balance with all of life, with nature, with the Earth. And to remember that we are part of it, not separate from it. That brings me to the second part of this company name.

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Twice the meaning

Green

Green is of course the color we associate with nature the most. It represents life, renewal, growth and fertility. Each year, as spring arrives, our world gets injected with lush and fresh greens. Nature gets transformed from seemingly dead to full of life; the birth of a new cycle. Green is the color of most plants, that provide us with oxygen for us to breathe and live our lives. Fun fact: plants get their green appearance thanks to the presence of chlorophyl, which plays an important role in their photosynthesis, converting sunlight into energy to grow from. I find this a powerful metaphor for our own existence. If we nourish ourselves with the right ingredients for us, we too have the ability to radiate and prosper. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that green is also the color of wealth and prosperity, featuring on Dollar bills and in many bank logos.

As a counter-reaction to this focus on our material world only, green has also become the color of a growing environmentalist movement. It represents the understanding that we need to preserve our natural world, as without it, we don't stand a chance at survival. While prioritizing your own needs is important, it should never be at the cost of our environment, as that would actually harm our long-term needs. This is not a judgment. It is natural for the human brain to prioritize immediacy over long-term benefits, especially a brain that operates on trauma. That's why learning about these types of biases and trauma responses in our decision making is so valuable – leading to both greater personal and collective well-being in the long run.

A good second look

Green

On a more spiritual note, the Hindu tradition references the Heart chakra with the color green. It is the energy center that signals unconditional love, compassion and joy. At the literal heart of the body and all other chakras, it acts as a bridge between the self and others. The Heart chakra is arguably the most profound of all, as it teaches us that when we learn to love ourselves, we have the opportunity to spread that love out into the world. This philosophy sits at the core of Grounding Green’s work.

Green simply happens to be one of my favorite colors because of its rich nature (pun intended). It always makes me feel connected to the natural world and as such: calms me down. This is not just guru talk. Scientists have actually witnessed our nervous systems relax when we detect the wavelengths of the color green. As it turns out, the human eye sees green with the least amount of effort and therefore better than any other color. Speaking of scientific research, living in an area with lots of green around was even linked with a longer life expectancy and improved mental health.

Logo Grounding Green minimalistic

But what about

The looks

A company's philosophy does not just get embedded in its name, but hopefully in a more holistic branding identity too. In Grounding Green's case, the logo is a representation of a leaf – the symbol of nature – as well as the human brain. Whilst the left side is colored in by all of the different seasons, bodies of knowledge and differently colored perspectives, the right side is left white on purpose. It is essentially the open end to our ecological crisis and crisis in spirit. It is the blank canvas that can be colored in by your creative, right side of the brain. It asks us to leave room for our own intuitive understanding of things and for potential creative solutions to come in. Finally, as a whole, the polygon shape forms the Earth. If we learn to view the sharp edges and duality as part of life, we can all unite in its center – each with our own unique identitiy and viewpoint.

It's time for a

CONCLUSION

So there we have it, ‘Grounding Green’ in all of its facets. It is the training that encourages understanding, the conscious awareness we all have access to, our sense of reliable footing in this world and our ultimate reason for being. It is also prosperity as guided by nature, a force of transformation and renewal, the love for ourselves and others, as well as that which calms us down and guides us back home. It is my hope, that with Grounding Green’s efforts many people can lay strong groundworks for their ongoing well-being in balance with all of life.