Energy is everywhere. Science has proven it, everything in the universe is made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies. Sound, light, heat, motion are all forms of energy vibrating. Even things that look solid are made up of vibrational energy fields at the quantum level, including us humans.
You may not be able to see energy, but you can most likely feel it, even if you can’t really identity what it is you are feeling. You are affected by the quality of the energy around you. And this often translates into physical sensations, emotions or “feelings”. So it’s a good idea to make sure you are surrounded by positive energy wherever you are, especially in your home. The space we practice yoga and meditation in and the space we live in is ultra important to how we feel on a daily basis.
We all clean our homes of dirt and dust. But did you know that negative energy can build up as well? Negative energy can stagnate and get stuck, especially in dark corners and closed off spaces. Energy can linger from negative emotions, arguments, bad relationships, previous owners, illness… Yuck, right?!?
This negative energy is definitely not supporting your highest intentions. Nor does it create a sense of peace and harmony in your home. So you need to get rid of it. There are lots of ways to do this. And many people call the process “space clearing”. Space clearing means transforming the energy in your space, be it your practice sanctuary or your entire home, sweeping away the negative and invite in the maximum of positive energy.
There are many examples throughout history of from traditions around the world, from Egypt to India to Tibet, of how to neutralize and clear out negative energy. For example we can find many many examples in ancient cultures across the world of people burning herbs and plants for creating sacred smoke to cleanse and purify spaces, people and things of negative energy.
Today there are healing modalities and practices to help you rebalance your personal energy (Traditional Chinese Medicine or Reiki). And there are ancient practices (Chinese Feng Shui and Indian Vastu Shastra) that help to rebalance the energy in your home and improve it’s flow by aligning furniture with energy lines, adding symbolic objects to support your intentions. You can also find professional space clearing professionals who will come in to refresh and harmonize the energy in your home.
When do you need space clearing?
You can call in a Feng Shui master or a space clearing expert. Or you can get creative, use your own sensitivity, and do your own space clearing rituals.
The purpose of space clearing practices is to restore a sense of balance and harmony to your spaces, to make your yoga and meditation space and your entire home feel like a sanctuary, a peaceful escape from a hectic world. You are creating a space that will support your well-being and promote the personal energy you desire to live with.
Here are some ideas to guide you as you make the energy in all your spaces sparkle. You may feel good about one of these, or you may like to try a combination. These are based on ancient traditions, and you are free to choose only the ones that align with your personal beliefs and make you feel peace and comfort.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
It’s a good idea to declutter and clean before you clear your space of negative energy.
Get yourself into the right frame of mind, remembering that you are inviting in positive energy.
Set your intention for the practice: what kind of energy do you want to live with?
Gather your chosen space clearing tools.
Perhaps add some soothing music.
Open windows and doors to be able to release the negative energy as you clear it.
Create you own personal space clearing rituals, make it a little ceremony in honour of your home and yourself.
Do this with awareness: notice how you feel before and after your space clearing ritual.
SMOKE
Incense
Incense is the general term used for all the aromatic substances - sacred woods, tree resins and medicinal plants - burned over charcoals in a brazier to create beautiful fragrant smoke. Since ancient times, this sacred smoke has wafted up as offerings and messages to the gods or the ancestors, for spiritual journeys, for purification rites and for healing. It’s a very ancient practice.
For your purifying space clearing ritual, you can burn woods or resin drops. You can find dried woods to burn such as sandalwood and Palo Santo. You can find raw resin drops such as frankincense and myrrh, or South American resins such as copal and breu. For burning raw resin, you will need a specific brazier and knowledge of how to do it.
You can also burn incense sticks to create the same purifying smoke. If you choose incense sticks, please be sure to use only all-natural, plant based incense. Much of the commercial incense available on the market is made using synthetic fragrances and even glue. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be infusing your home with chemicals.
Please see below for tips on how to burn any form of incense safely.
Palo Santo Wood
South American shamans, particularly in Peru and Ecuador, have been burning palo santo for hundreds and hundreds of years as a way of purifying and cleansing negative energies and evil spirits from spaces, groups of people and individuals, and for raising positive vibrations. Palo Santo, which means “holy wood” is also prized and burned for its healing properties. And the beautiful citrusy scent is refreshing.
You can burn sticks of the palo Santo wood, sticks of crushed and hand-pressed Palo Santo (usually easier to burn) or Palo Santo incense. Please make sure that you use only sustainably sourced Palo Santo.
Dried Herbs and Plants
We can find many many examples in ancient cultures across the world of people burning dried herbs and plants to cleanse and purify spaces, people and things of negative energy. The ceremonies, beliefs, and the use and combinations of the herbs can be very different from culture to culture. The sacred smoke from the burning of these plants can be used for prayers, for purifying, for invoking spirits, awaking the soul. And we can use them to clear our spaces of negative energy and invite in the positive.
Create your own dried herb bundle: Plants are powerful. When you burn any part of them, it is as though you are releasing the soul of the plant along with all the benefits and energies of each one. You can make your own burning bundles by growing or gathering wild aromatic plants and herbs that are local to you: cedar, thyme, rosemary, garden sage, lavender, mugwort (artemesia), mint, rose petals, dried wild grasses to name but a few. Create a combination of herbs that feels good to you, tie them into tight bundles with a cotton strong, 4” to 6” long, and dry them well for use in your personal clearing rituals.
If you want to purchase bundles (such as sage), I highly recommend choosing wild or organic and be adamant about the sustainability and the ethics involved in the harvest of these materials.
PLANT ESSENCES
Essential oils are another way of tapping into the essence and soul of plants. Diffusing them in your practice sanctuary or any room in you home is another way to shift the energy of your space, promote positivity. It’s a practice that has been used since ancient times. Ideal essential oils for this are palo santo, frankincense, cedar, sage, lavender. And you can choose any oil that you love. I recommend using only organic or wild-crafted essential oils to ensure you have the purest form.
CRYSTALS
Crystals are a natural phenomena, made in the heart of the earth millions of years ago. The molecular structure of crystals is neat and orderly geometric patterns, with a very stable energy. They are wonderful for many things, including influencing the energy of a particular space and clearing the negative. Here are 4 crystals you can use for space clearing:
Clear quartz - know for its healing and protective properties, clear quartz amplifies the energy of all other stones. It’s is said to bring insight and clarity to your journey and balance to your whole being.
Black tourmaline - great for purifying negative energy and protecting from it, also great for protecting against EMFs, electro-magnetic frequencies generated by your devices and electronics.
Amethyst - beautiful as well as great for removing negative energy in any room.
Selenite - great for clearing the negative energy from EMF. Also good for clearing and recharging other crystals.
You can use individual crystals placed around your various rooms, or one crystal in each corner of a room. For space clearing, natural crystal clusters with multiple facets are apparently more efficient. Or you can do a crystal purification grid, a specific arrangement of stones to set about generating or moving specific energies or intentions. Crystal grids can be beautiful, and many find them to be powerful. A quick internet search will guide you to examples of space clearing crystal grids.
SOUNDS
Many cultures use sound and various instruments to shift and align energies. Feng Shui practice often uses chimes. Sound is vibration. When we hear something, we are sensing the vibrations of the air molecules as sound moves. And different sounds vibrate at different frequencies. And we can use sound to shift the energy in our spaces, to change the vibration. You can use whatever “instruments” you have at home: bells, chimes, singing bowls, rattles... I think you can have fun with this practice. For example, I am imagining that the deep rich sound of a Tibetan Singing Bowl will break up and move out any stagnant energy. And that the sweet tinkling sounds of chimes are like an invitation for new and positive energy to enter.
Whatever your personal space clearing rituals are, the end result should be a sense of peace, comfort and clarity. You have shifted and transformed the energy of your space to make it positive, supportive and inspiring.
HOW TO BURN INCENSE SAFELY
HUM RESOURCES
Sacred Smoke: Incense Rituals from Ancient Times to Modern Practice
10 Beautiful Rituals to Empower Your Home Practice
Boost Your Well-being with Ancient Woods and Sacred Resins
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