![]() ![]() We care for our bodies so much, it feels good to care for the space we call home.Įver since I discovered it, I use smudging at the turn of every season but also when someone has been ill. Of course I don’t know if any of this actually works! But it feels good to do it. Smudging demands attention and time and that’s not a bad thing. I intentionally go into every room and wave smudge stick or blow the smoke into every corner, willing any stagnant air, bacteria, moths and such to be gone. I find that smudging is also an act of intention. There is something mesmerising about watching the smoke rise through the herb and slowly blowing on the embers watching the red glow take hold. It feels rooting, connecting to something ancient. They go hand in hand.įor me the act of smudging itself is immersive one. So has cleansing been noted as a ritual in most cultures, spring cleaning for example – opening all the windows, let the light in and breeze flow through, let all the stagnant air out and deep cleaning the house. In the Asian subcontinent it was Frankincense before the Church adopted it as well, Native Americans burned White sage or sagebush and the South Americans used Palo Santo. Smudging or some form of it has existed in ancient cultures all over the world. ![]() But don’t take my word for it, look it up. There is also mention about the positive ions in the air (caused due to stress, tension etc.) being turned into negative ions with smudging too. Here’s what is interesting, if I were to define bad spirits in the simplest of terms - unseen, invisible kind of omnipresent beings which can cause us harm perhaps sounds appropriate? What about defining bacteria in the simplest of terms? Unseen, invisible kind of omnipresent beings which could cause us harm. One conducted in 1991 and another in 2007 both confer that smoke produced from burning medicinal herbs (each studied different ones) can reduce airborne bacteria sometimes by up to 94% and in a few cases certain pathogenic bacteria were still undetectable a month later. Now, scientific studies are now beginning to prove that burning of medicinal herbs reduces airborne bacteria. ![]() They would also have used the smoking of herbs as a way to administer medicine and treat ailments. Traditionally, smudging is done to cleanse a space or a person of negative energies and bad spirits. Every evening!Ī few years ago however, I discovered a ritual which resonates with my Indian roots, but one which I find more ritualistic - the Native American tradition of smudging. But this simple, beautiful ritual seems to have somehow lost its magic on me when one’s neighbours burn artificial chemicals smelling incenses outside their doors in enclosed landing spaces, making one choke while climbing the stairs home. Lamps at every doorway or veranda in the village would be to help to find your way in the darkness obviously and I think incenses, burning of herbs and resins would serve a very practical purpose of repelling insects and mosquitoes, and of course smelling nice. But I, although easily fascinated by magical rituals, think there is more to the story. Growing up in India we were told that in the olden days incense and oil lamps were burned at dusk just outside of one's doorway to invite in the light and keep the darkness or evil away. Perhaps because I have a sensitive nose and since childhood I've smelled a whole array of very strong, overpowering incense sticks, many of them no doubt filled with artificial fragrances. ![]()
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