My last post made reference to my 'smudging' my house the other day...two weeks ago, to be exact. I've been asked about that comment a lot, and asked what it means. Let me give you a brief background....
A good friend of mine moved to Seattle several years ago. She has been renting her house here and usually has had good renters. However, last summer, she had a young woman renting that turned into a horrendous nightmare. This renter was back on her rent, evasive, and the saddest part, left 4 dogs in the sweltering house for 5 days without electricity (read that as no air conditioning) food or water in the middle of July!! Folks, down here in July, it can, and does!, get to 110+ degrees!! My friend flew down and spent almost two weeks dealing with the police, animal control, and the woman's relatives as she (MY FRIEND) packed up this renter's belongings (including pots and pans and undies!), repainted the house, had to have it recarpeted and other damage repaired before it could even be shown again to new prospective renters. It was a horrible time for my friend and I felt so badly for her. We talked constantly and at one point, I mentioned that she needed to clean her house out of the 'bad spirit' that was in there after the horrible things that the renter had done in it.
Now, before you roll your eyes and head over to tmz.com for the latest in celebrity news, bear with me. You see, I do believe that energy is all around us...and if you think about it, you know it as well. The energy you feel when you walk into an office, a friend's house, the store... we've all sensed that feeling of 'this is comfortable, this is icky-feeling, this is homey, this is going to be a 'score' shopping trip', etc. A home has the same type of energy, too.
So, back to my story.
As my friend and I talked about this, we became more serious about it. I did some research on the internet and found that one could perform a type of cleansing ceremony to remove negativity from a home. The tool of the trade was something called a 'smudge stick'. I called a local market and, sure enough, they had them. So I got one for my friend, found a 'smudging ceremony' on the internet - a prayer of cleansing to be said while walking through each room with the smudge stick burning - and once the house had been fixed and repaired, my friend performed this ceremony in her home. By doing this, she removed the negativity and ugliness that the home had 'seen', so to speak - cleansing it anew. I'm happy to report that she soon found new renters who have proven to be good ones and all is happy in her humble little abode!
Now to the present.... a few weeks ago I was talking with my friend and made that comment that maybe I should do the same thing in my home....and I said this jokingly! But as we sort of laughed about it, I began to think seriously about this. You see, I love my home. But my home saw much sadness and ugliness for several years. I've spent 3 1/2 years working to bring peace and comfort back into my home, my life and that of my daughter's. It's been a long journey, and as much as I have done in terms of doing the typical steps towards healing, I will confess, that it has been difficult feeling at peace in my home. I have two rooms which I keep the doors closed to all the time; rooms I never use because of memories. There are times I've been haunted by memories of events, things done and said. I've often felt like a stranger living in another person's home.
As I tossed our converstaion around in my mind, I realized it wasn't a joke. I realized that I had nothing to lose and a lot to gain by 'smuding' my home. I needed to get rid of the negativity and bad ju-ju that had settled in! I called my friend to have her remind me of what we had done last summer, and I was soon on my way to the same market. I purchased a smudge stick made of white sage and cedar that offered 'space clearing, strength and new beginnings'. Perfect!
I had cleaned house the day before and later that night, daughter headed out for a while. I wanted to do this alone and without distraction. I found a ceremonial prayer online that filled the bill for what I was looking for and was comfortable with and I began. I lit my smudge stick and proceeded in a certain order throughout the rooms. It took almost an hour to smudge my house - I repeated the prayer in every room, every closet, the garage, my car, my front yard and my back yard. It was a quiet, meditative time and truly, I feel like the energy within was cleansed. Afterwards, I set the smudge stick in an empty bird bath in my back yard to let it slowly burn itself out.
My daughter came home about an hour later.
'What's that smell???' she asked, with typical teenager distain.
'I smudged the house!', I replied - all happy and full of positive energy! hehe... "I got rid of the negativity and bad ju-ju!"
Daughter walks up the stairs and into her bedroom. Three seconds later I hear 'great.....', again, with some distain in her voice, as she takes in the smell of smoky cedar and sage that lingers in her bedroom.
Yes, my home may have smelled like pot for a while,
but the bad ju-ju is gone!!
Home Sweet Home!
...hanging a new string of lights to replace the burned-out ones.... 
It was cold, wet, fresh and just beautiful in my book! I wish we had these kind of days every week, but alas, I am a desert rat. That's why I treasure days like these - they are so few and far between. And, it will probably the last one we have until the monsoon season kicks up - and that's not until July! 
A present greeted me this morning...my first rose on a new bush I planted about a month ago. Oh, to be honest, I'd had the bush for about 4 months sitting in my yard in its container....but, unfortunately, I soon hurt my knee after buying it and was not able to plant it in my garden. That changed a month ago and this little gem was stretching up in the morning sunlight today! It's small and surely could have used a shot of fertilizer a while ago, but it's sweet, fragrant as it is beautiful and just brightens up my little garden out there! Good things DO come in small packages! 
