Native Americans have a tradition called The Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, often called “smudging,” which is a powerful cleansing ritual. Herbs and incense are burned with the idea that smoke attaches to negative energy and, as the smoke clears, it takes the negative energy with it.
Smudging is not the process of eliminating or killing anything, but is simply the shifting of energies so that there is a balance of positive and negative.
Here is an opportunity for you to bless and balance this space you have created in yourself and in your life.
What you will need:
some incense (sage, cedar and sweet grass are most commonly used in traditional smudging)
two pieces of paper
matches or a lighter
a big glass of water (just in case)
a well ventilated room or a place outdoors
a metal baking dish or non-flammable bowl
Light the incense and slowly take a few breaths to relax yourself and come to the present moment. Feel the space inside of you that you have created. Notice what it feels like, if any emotions are still attached to that space of letting go.
On the first piece of paper, write what you are releasing. It can be a single word, or a paragraph that sums up what the clutter in your life symbolized.
Crumple the paper into a loose ball, place it in your burning bowl and carefully light it with a match.
Watch the smoke and flames rise up, carrying that which you have released up into the atmosphere. Follow your breath, inhaling and exhaling with awareness.
As the smoke clears and the paper disintegrates, consider what new things, ideas, traits, inspirations you’d like to come into your life.
Hold this vision in your heart as you write it on the second piece of paper. Again, it can be a single word or a paragraph. Be clear. Be concise. Be sure.
Crumple this paper into a loose ball, place it in your burning bowl and carefully light it with a match.
Breathe deeply, inhaling and exhaling as you watch the smoke and flames rise up, carrying your new visions into the atmosphere. Feel the space you have created, inside and outside.
Breathe into this space. Make it holy. Make it yours.
Please share your experiences in the Comments below.
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I find all your “spark the heart” articles very interesting and inspiring, but felt a need to respond to this latest one on an old Indian ritual. My dear friend, Irene, whom I told you about this past Sept., taught me how to smudge about twelve years ago. She has been doing it for years. She helped me smudge my classroom the last year I taught, which was ten years ago. I wanted to have an excellent year with my students and create an atmosphere of peace, cooperation, love, and sharing. It worked it’s magic. I had one of the most rewarding and fun years of teaching in my 32 year career. I wanted to leave feeling good and satisfied, and I did. It’s a wonderful tradition, one which I used on our house when our new addition was built eight years ago. So, that’s my story and I hope other people embrace this wonderful way of bringing peace and positiveness into their lives.
Mery, Thanks for sharing this wonderful story. I believe that when we set an intention and couple it with an action, we truly step into it and the Universe responds.