Smudging goes back I believe to the beginning of time as a way to personally cleanse ourselves of unwanted negative elements such as stress, anger or any negative energies that may be around us.
I have personally used smudging in such things as clearings of negative energies & presences, used it in healings for myself & others. It is a positive way to rid those energies & produce a calming, peaceful effect on the mind, body spirit, plus the atmosphere around you.
You may ask, " Does this involve drugs?" No. This has nothing to do with anything like that. So, if you were hoping on catching a buzz off the herbs forget it. This is the wrong site for you. You would not be ready to receive these teachings. They are for spiritual advancement only.
The only things used are all natural. I will give you the herbs that I use when I smudge here in this article.
They are:
sweet grass, buffalo sage, tobacco, cedar. Sometimes, I'll throw in a bit of lavender & maybe some rosemary.
Smudging is a ceremonial rite. It is sacred not only to yourself but to millions across time who have used this practice in their own lives.
It is used by many types of people such as natives, which I am, wiccans, those who practice meditations plus many more.
In our native teachings it is sacred. It is our way of reaching inside ourselves to wash away that which is not desirable. It is our cleansing.
Smudging is serious business & needs to be looked at as such, respecting the practice & the sacred herbs.
We use this practice as a way to offer our prayers to the Creator & Mother Earth. When we smudge & offer our prayers, we believe that the smoke of our smudge is carried to the Great One & with it goes our hearts most inner desires.
It has been said that when we offer the smoke of our smudge, the elders who have gone on before us also offer their smudge to further along our prayers.
Smudging is not just a physical action, but has spiritual overtones to cleanse, strengthen, purify & open up possibilities to your physical & more importantly spiritual world. It is an essential part of your personal being, physically / spiritually.
How To Smudge
Note:
I do not recommend this practice for those of you who may be inflicted with any respiratory problems.
You will need something to hold your herbs in that will not break from the smoldering herbs. I use an abalone shell. It you have a large feather to fan the smoke with you can use this also.
Add some of the herbs to the shell or whatever you have, but be careful not to add too much. The more you add, the more smoke it will produce, unless you are doing a smudging of an area outside.
Remember, this is a sacred rite & needs to be done in a sacred manner showing respect for what you are doing.
When you smudge each area, ask your Higher Power to cleanse away all negativity. ie: your eyes.." Please keep my eyes pure today so that I will see only good in my life & good in others."
Place your shell, etc, on a solid object if you are smudging for your personal use. Light the herbs but be careful. You are dealing with hot stuff. Excuse the pun.
Do not allow the herbs to burn up in the flame but instead, take your feather, if you have one & fan out the flames, producing only the smoke. There are various parts of your body that you will cleanse in this rite.
The eyes:
Close your eyes for this one & cup the smoke, bringing your hands close to your eyes. Allowing the smoke to reach this area. Remember to keep your eyes shut so that the smoke does not enter your eyes.
When you smudge your eyes, you are purifying your eyes so that in your desires you are asking that you may see & accept with your eyes only that which is good, rejecting all that is negative for you to see.You may open you eyes for the rest.
Once again, cup the smoke & repeat the same to your ears. In this way you are asking that you will hear & listen to only that which is positive, rejecting gossip & negative talk.
Your lips:
Do the same to the lips, so that you will only speak that which is right & truthful.
The mind:
Your mind is a playground & needs to be cleansed also. Cleanse the mind area to repel negative thoughts & that you will only concentrate & think on those things which are positive & good.
Your heart area.... spirit:
This is not for the heart per say as in the muscle but what we mean here is the spirit of us which is inside our physical being.The true & real us.
Smudge this also so that you will become purified in your spirit without any negativity living within. Remember, what we do in the physical comes from the mind & our desires in our spirit to produce in the physical.
Your body:
This repels any negative energies around you. It also has a protecting element involved with it. It literally covers you with the essence of the smudge for your physical being.
Cup the smoke & start from your head, moving over the head & down over your body. Repeat if you think you need to.
Do the feet, then take your feather, etc, & smudge your back area as best you can. If you are smudging with someone else, they can do your back for you also.
This is your act of purification. Your personal reaching out from the physical to the spiritual. You are not only touching your physical with the smudge but also your spirit. If you perform this rite each day, you will find that you will grow in mind & spirit. It will open doors to you from within yourself that maybe you never knew existed as to your spiritual self.
Always keep in mind that what you are doing here is not only as I have said physical, but spiritual.
Reach out to the Great Spirit, your guide, your God, your Goddess, whoever you may honor when you do each part & earnestly ask for that part of your body & spirit to be cleansed.
You will feel the difference. You will see the difference. You will know that something awesome has taken place in your life if you allow it to work.
Others also, will begin to see the difference in you. The love showing through. The peace within & without.
Always remember to be thankful. Give thanks for your life. Give thanks for all that is good in your life. This is also part of smudging. To experience cleansing in your life. To offer thanks for your life.
To be thankful deep inside, feeling it for all that you ask for in life & what you have received & what you are about to receive.
Be thankful & you will see such a difference in your life & within yourself that the transformation will make. It's all because of you. You are spiritual living inside your physical body.
When you feed your spiritual, you also feed & uphold your mind & physical. We cannot expect healings or whatever we are asking & seeking to take place fully unless we are in balance in all areas of our life.
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