With all the commercial creepiness brought about by Halloween and the more traditional cemetery jaunts behind us I was thinking that perhaps a little exercise in space clearing may be needed this weekend. Perhaps you’ve seen a scary movie or two, or been tortured by a relative’s “horror” story and refuse to sleep with the lights off, or are too paranoid to close your eyes when taking a shower. If you, like so many people I’ve come across, have gotten more sensitive to the world beyond the physical actually “feel” an unwelcome presence in your house then setting aside a couple of hours to do some space clearing may soothe your spooked-out soul. If you are nowhere near “duwag” but have moved into a new house, office or building, then space clearing will also help remove some old energy and allow some new and, hopefully, more positive energy to come in.
Okay, so what if you’re not really sensitive, or like most, do not want to ever see, hear or feel something that is not of this physical plane? You’re actually more sensitive than you think and, no, I’m not trying to scare you; just keep an open mind and rely on your instinct. Take a quick walk around your house, or your room (yes, you can do this in broad daylight if you wish). Are there some areas there that you find a little dark (in terms of lighting conditions), musty (doesn’t get any air or sunlight) or where you would never set foot if you were alone? Those are places that may need a little space clearing.
I remember one friend of mine owned a pre-school and she said that in one particular classroom, regardless of what time of the year it was, the kids would always come down with a cold or a fever. She dismissed it, thinking it was just one contagious kid after another, until even her teachers started to get sick. Upon consulting a feng shui expert, she learned that there were certain architectural anomalies that were considered “unlucky”; the expert told her that aside from placing her own “cures,” she should get sandalwood incense and “smoke” the entire classroom. The presence of sandalwood incense, she was told, would be enough to literally smoke out any unfavorable energies in the area. After a month of constant clearing (once a week), fewer and fewer children — or teachers — got sick.
If you have an area in your house or place of work that you feel is attracting some bad juju, you can do this simple process in order to clear it out. You don’t have to be a believer, but what harm can it do if you can improve the general area of a place? First, purchase sandalwood incense, and make sure it’s the real thing. Go to an Indian store or ask someone you trust to get your some sandalwood incense for space clearing. Then get three sticks and hold them in a horizontal position in your hand, light them and proceed to walk all over your room or house, for example. Observe the smoke: if it goes straight up, the space is clear; if it moves horizontally, or even (and yes, this can happen) downward, then that’s a sign that there’s something you have to get rid of. Stay in that area until the smoke starts to go up; continue the process until you’ve covered the space you’ve chosen or until the incense has gone out. You can do this once a week, especially if you work in a place with high traffic, or if you entertain a lot. Some people, without meaning to, leave their “issues” from where they live or work in your home, and that can start building up into an energy you don’t want around you. An example could be a yoga studio, or if you work in human resources, or if you’re experiencing some personal problems at home.
There are some who cannot stand the smell of incense or are allergic to it, so a good alternative would be to buy dried sage leaves and stems. This was the herb of choice for Native American clearing rituals and the smell of burning sage is less pungent. Burn a couple of leaves and stems in a small clay pot or anything that you can hold and carry around with you as you move around the house. If don’t have time and you have just one area to clear you can leave the sage burning in the clay pot until it runs out.
For something even more intense, especially if you want to cover an entire house from top to bottom, church incense is best. We buy ours near the Quiapo church and smoke out our entire house including the garden and the garage once a month. This is helpful to do if you have just experienced a death or a tragic loss in the household. I don’t think there is any scientific explanation as to why smoking or “smudging” helps, but it does, in my experience, remove a lot of heavy and even negative vibes that can be left on things such as wooden furniture or decorations (especially antiques and religious artifacts that have had previous owners) or sad or angry emotions (maybe see what areas are common venues for fights erupting or tempers flaring, for example).
It’s a good time to enjoy November and get ready for the sometimes jolly but normally very stressed-out vibes of the upcoming holidays. Go ahead and grab some incense or sage and lighten up your surroundings.