Grounding
If you do not ground yourself before ritual, your energies will nt flow the way they should. Your energy will be erradic and your magick may not do what you want it to. When you ground yourself, you align the CHAKRAS, or energy centers of the body. In addition, grounding allows you to recieve the natural flow of energy from Earth and enables you to become one with the Earth. It also helps you to prepare your subconscious to do the work it needs to do.
The best way to ground is to do a visualizsation meditation. (I will cover this in more detail in another post. ) By Breathing properly and focusing on your intent, you will bring all centers into accord and as all is in balance, you will have the most success in anything you do. SO it is not just ritual that you would ground for .
Focus is not just looking at something with your eyes...it is completley centering yourself to one prupose. Focus is a really important part of doing ritual and magick. If you can't focus, you won't be able to get into your ritual, and you won't enjoy it. And neither will you be able to do magick. Focusing is what channels and directs the energy you use. If you can't concentrate your mind on that task, your energy gets nowhere.
Focusing is not an esotaric art. Just like every other day-to-day activity, the more you practice focusing, the better you get. That is why it is so impotant to have a daily meditation....and what better way to do that than your morning journaling....I think you will enjoy the way you feel after each meditation as you learn to focus and ground.