glad.is

Sage smudging is the an ancient cleansing ritual used by Native American and Shamanic cultures to remove negative energy from a space.   Whether you’re moving and want to release the stress, and signal a new beginning, or if you feel that your current home has stagnant energy that needs to be cleared, this is a simple ceremony of gratitude for your shelter.

10 Simple Steps to Perform a Sage Cleansing Ceremony

1.  Buy a sage smudge stick from a natural foods store, or make one yourself from dried sage. It can be mixed with sandalwood or lavender to increase the fragrance, but you should burn the entire bundle in one ceremony.

2.  Open all doors and windows.

3.  Light the smudge stick, and when the flame catches, blow it out and allow the embers to start to smoke like incense.  Carry it over a large shell (traditional) or bowl to catch any ashes.

4.  Before you start, set an intention for your home overall, and then for each room.  Say a prayer of cleansing like;  “I cleanse this home of any impurities, negativity, or energy that does not serve or support our family.  I am grateful for the shelter our roof provides, and for the love these walls hold.”

5. Engage the Four Directions – East, North, West and South, turn up to God and the Universe and ask for wisdom and strength, and look down and feel your feet connect to Mother Earth and give thanks for love and peace.

6.  Walk around the house, waving the sage stick so its smoke drifts into corners, along walls, around windows, and along ceiling lines.  As you do, imagine the smoke absorbing negativity, problems from those who were in the space before you, toxicity, and anything else you want to go away.  See the smoke dissipating and floating out the windows, and imagine that bad energy flowing out of your space, making room for positive, fresh energy.  Pause in the kitchen and express gratitude for the meals you prepare there.  In the bathroom, for the fresh abundant water you have been blessed with.

7.  After you’ve blessed every room, give yourself a sage cleanse by cupping your hands over the smoke and  wave it around your face and body as you would in a water shower.  Visualize any residual negativity sailing out of your body, out of your home, and into oblivion.

8.  Take a moment to feel the energy of the house now. It should feel very light, spacious, and clear.  

9. Walk out a door, close it, and smudge around the door and door frame.  Leave the bundle (safely) outside to burn itself out, and then bury it in your back yard.

10. Don’t let these detailed instructions complicate your ceremony.  As with any spiritual practice, do what feels right for you.  Setting an intention and saying prayer is all that’s truly important.

Sage is a wonderful gift from Mother Earth with many healing properties, and this ceremony gives us the opportunity to say that we are grateful for our home.  In fact, it’s wonderful to do a purification ritual for your home regularly. Negative energies have a habit of collecting in our living spaces, and this affects our lives, holding ceremony to release the energy that does not serve you will help you to notice a difference in the ‘lightness’ of your home, and the smoothness of your life as well.

You can buy a kit here:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/77225548/sage-smudging-kit-cleansing-consecrating

Do you have any tips for smudging that we have missed?  Let us know below!

When Harpers Bazaar, a fashion and beauty magazine, ran an article in January about women forgoing psychologists for shamans to help them find the key to happiness, we took note. And with turkey feathers, sage smudges and talking sticks currently sold alongside the Venice Beach Boardwalk vaporizers, temporary tattoos and Jim Morrison t-shirts, it’s clear that shamanism is an emerging trend.

Except it isn’t, of course. According to Sandra Ingerman, an internationally known Shaman teacher, it is “the most ancient spiritual practice known to humankind.” Archaeological evidence dates the practice dates back at least 40,000 years, with some anthropologists believing its more than 100,000 years old.

At its core, shamanism works from the essential understanding that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit. Shamans speak of a web of life that connects all of life and the spirit that lives in all things.

A shaman has the ability to see “with the strong eye” or “with the heart” to address the spiritual aspect of illness, retrieve lost power and remove spiritual blockages.

What does that mean for the modern day westerner looking beyond traditional psychotherapy to find mind and body harmony? While it’s effects vary from person to person, Ingerman’s research is intriguing:

Some people feel that they are more grounded in their body and feel more solid. Some people feel lighter and a joyful way of being returns to them. For some memories of the past traumas might be triggered bringing up a variety of feelings that must be worked through. And for some people the effects are too subtle to notice a change until further work to integrate the soul is done.

As people feel more present in their bodies and in the world, they become more conscious of behavior that might be out of balance and disharmonious. When we are numb we might be aware that things in the world are not right but we can easily distract ourselves from feeling a need to change. When we are fully “inspirited” there is no place to retreat to and we are more inspired to change our lives.

Any practice that jolts our creativity, speaks to a sense of interconnectedness and leaves us feeling a little, well, gladder, has to be worth exploring. Tell us about your shamanic adventures at:  Glad.is/forum

Read the full description of Shamanism HERE.

Image: This is Nikolay Oorzhak, a practicing shaman in Russia. Your local shaman will probably not look like this.

To read more on Shamanism and Sandra Ingerman’s work, visit http://www.sandraingerman.com

If you’re in L.A. and would like to learn from one of Sandra’s local teachers, Glad.is recommends Val Farr:

http://www.farrouthealing.com/

Or Jason Frahm (Topanga/L.A.)

http://www.awayinward.com/

jason@awayinward.com

If you’re not in L.A., check out:

http://www.shamanicteachers.com/practitioners.html