Want to feel more relaxed, calm and peaceful?..Try incense, you may be very surprised!
Incense has a long been a cleanser of negative energies and most people are very surprise at how its proper use can creat a calm peaceful stress free environment.
Many people are very surprised to find out the powerful effects of genuine incense on cleansing a room or space of negative energy as well as ones aura when we subject it to the smoke of a REAL incense..
For centuries incense, essential oils and crystals have been used in churches, temples and places of worship, to cleanse and protect energies.
Yeah they do smell nice but they also have a very practical purpose.
What do we mean by energies ?
We all sense energy, we all remember walking into a house or room and noting the feeling that we get from it. Likewise when we meet people we often get a sense of them from their energies.
Our own energy or 'chi' flows through seven major energy centers in the body called Chakras. These chakras not only sense energies from people and places but also radiate energy into our surroundings. Likewise our surrounding retain residual energies from people and events that were there.
So mood, sense of peace and wellbeing are very affected by our own state and those of the people and places around us. To clear our chi pathways and maintain a peaceful, calm, balanced and serene surrounding, as well as to protect from negativity,. Its long been the practice to use incense, oils and crystals to cleanse, purify and protect both people and spaces.
There are many different methods of cleansing a space say a house or a room but the most basic and significant is to burn an incense or oil and or to place crystals in the space. What's often referred to as 'smudging' is used to cleanse a persona aura and energies in a could of smoke from incense or oil fragrance
Cleansing helps promote a peaceful environment where our own energies can flow unimpeded, bringing a sense of calmness and well being and allowing our chi to flow in a positive way to promote the bodies natural balance and self healing.
Frankincense
Frankincense is one of the oldest and most revered of incenses, frankincense is a resin from the sap of the tree Boswellia Thurifera. Its fragrance is soft and balsamic with a lemony or campherous undertone.
Originating from the middle east and north africa, use of the incense gradually spread to many cultures where it was very highly valued - burned as an offering to the gods. Frankincense was one of the three precious gifts brought to the infant Jesus.
Widely used in places of meditation and worship, frankincense is believed to greatly heighten spirituality, enhancing the ability to see with clarity in meditation and prophecy.
Jasmine
Probably the most widely used incense or oil, jasmine is referred to in the east as the king of aromatics where its flower is the sacred flower of Kama the Hindu God of Love.
The jasmine plant has a long and illustrious history of use as a fragrance and is widely used in perfumery, incenses and oils by many different cultures around the world.
Metaphysically, jasmine is used as one of the most powerful general energy cleansers, bringing clarity and balance, and to enhance prophetic ability in meditation and dreams. It is widely used in temples and places of worship
Patchouli
This classic and distinctive exotic Indian incense is used in modern perfume making as its aroma is rich and earthy but combines a floral sweetness.
Leaves of the patchouli plant were used to scent Indian cottons exported to the west, and the aroma gradually became synonymous in western culture with exotic far away places. In its native lands this incense has a reputation as an aphrodisiac and is used as anointing oil in tantric rituals.
Metaphysically, patchouli is often used to scent a room before meditation to enhance focus and has been associated with attracting positive energy towards both love and money.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood has a sacred 4,000 year old history and is mentioned in Sanskrit and Chinese manuscripts. The oil was used in religious ritual, and many deities and temples were carved from its wood. Sandalwood is the basic religious incense of India.
The scent of sandalwood oil or sandalwood incense is said to clarify the mind, help to awaken the intelligence, and is often used as an aid to meditation.
It is also said to calm the mind and aid relieve stress and nervous tension, to uplift and to enhance a peaceful feeling to all present
Sage
A member of the mint family, sage has long been held by many cultures to have powerful cleansing and healing properties.
To the Romans, sage held a special place as a ceremonial herb and was even gathered with a special knife in a cutting ritual. The herb was associated with mortality and also believed to increase mental agility.
Native American Indians widely used sage, often mixed with other herbs for a cleansing ritual which they named 'smudging'. Smudging is bathing a person in a cloud of smoke to purify and protect both the physical and spiritual bodies. The native Americans also had access to a unique variety of sage which has hallucinogenic properties. We see a parallel to smudging in china where both sage and other incenses we used in temples and ritual to bathe an area in cleansing smoke to purify an area and those within it.
'Smudging'
Smudging is bathing a person in a cloud of smoke to purify and protect both the physical and spiritual bodies.
Similar practices are used by many cultures in temple and rituals, although often using a variety of incense and oils - however nowadays such cleansing rituals are also often referred to generically as smudging.
How to: simply fill a space with smoke from the incense or blend of choice
You or the person to be cleansed spends time meditating in the space.
Prayers or rituals depend upon ones religion and beliefs and the vary accordingly but the basic ingredient of smudging is to meditate amidst a cloud of smoke in order to be cleansed
To cleanse a physical space
You will find many different methods of cleansing a space as you will recipes for apple pie. However each have common aspects even though the techniques themselves may differ..
To distill those common aspects they are;
1. A ritual or prayer of protection
2. Distributing smoke around the area to be cleansed
3. A prayer or invocation to clear and protect the space
1. Protection prayer - this is a simple prayer or request to the universe to protect the person doing the cleansing. What the actual wording is or any particular religious denomination is not the issue as long as the person requests divine assistance.
2.(3) distributing smoke around the area to be cleansed - walk around the area distributing incense smoke into the atmosphere. Of course be very wary of safety issues from the burning incense and its ash. Also be aware of anyone who could be allergic to the incense.
Initially start in the center of the room and work out towards the perimeter in a clockwise spiral ( or approximating to ). The final act being to walk the perimeter of the area ending where you started to close the 'loop.'
3. While distributing the smoke in step 2, request in any words you like, that the forces of the universe assist you in the cleansing and protecting of the area for the greater good and that negative energies or forces be banished.
After the ritual, occasionally burn some incense or oil and allow the fragrance to permeate the area in order to maintain the 'clean space'
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Saturday, September 22, 2007 View other articles written by Steve Gunn(2,643)
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