For Oneself, and for Another
On Cleansing Oneself
One of the things that we learn in the first level of study is a personal cleansing ritual with sage. Here is the recent report of several students while they were learning how to do this.
Student: As I find with Reiki, I tend to get very warm or hot while holding an intention, and performing a ritual. The burning of sage immediately brings me to a safe place. I feel I can slow down, minimize my thoughts, and be in the present moment with the smell of sage.
Recently, while doing a cleansing, I took more time than I have previously. The sage seemed to light even quicker than ever, and hold the embers to create the smoke through to the end of the ritual. When I was thanking the earth I became very emotional. It felt that i was apologizing for all of what man has done to the earth, and feeling the sadness from mother earth. I continued to be thankful, and the feeling passed after a few breaths.
Steve: That wonderful ability of sage to take us to that feeling is in part, I believe, related to the olfactory part of the brain being one of the oldest parts. My sense is that the sage is touching a very ancient chord in us that resonates on a level that reminds us of something that our ‘DNA’ has experienced and has been coded around, but our conscious mind does not know, particularly in the forebrain which is a relatively new development in the species. In short, what I am saying is that it is likely that the scent, such as of sage, takes us back to our primal origins before we began to separate from the Earth.
Our emotionality seems to be related to the ability of this ritual (the intentions of cleansing, the olfactory draw to our primal relationship with the Earth, and our touching the Earth at the close of the ritual) to cut through our ‘gloss’ to who we really are inside, and this is both refreshing and saddening, the latter due to the immediate recognition of whatever distance we have been maintaining through our loss of direction. It is a wonderful step beyond personal morality to be able to feel the sadness for what we have done as a species.
Student: “I didn’t have time to buy proper sage and a burning container in an esoteric shop so I had to improvise. I used a glass container to place tea lights in and sage from tea bags.”
Steve: As with most any shamanic ritual, the point is where the heart is, not the movements and other ritual matters per se. If you are unable to use sage, no big deal. It is simply that the movements and meditations during the ritual, plus the scent of sage, combine to do a good job of coaxing our heart into the right place. I suppose you could substitute Cheerios – you know, the breakfast cereal made of little ‘O’s? – instead of sage if it coaxed us into that heartfelt place. Until you are able to get some of the suggested ritual material such as sage, or if at some point in the future you do not have sage handy, don’t fret! Just find another way of checking in and focusing your heart, and simply do that instead.
Student continues: “I got through most of the ritual before the smoke vanished. I wanted to relight the sage and reached for the lighter but burned my thumb on the really hot metal. Waited a little while before I touched it again, with my other thumb, that is, managed to get some smoke going, and finished the ritual. I had to hurry through the ritual because the smoke never lasted that long. I felt a sense of wholeness when touching the floor at the end of the ritual and the sharp pain I felt from my thumb somehow blended in with that sense of wholeness, rather than diminishing it. Afterwards, it occurred to me that I forgot to call in the spirits for their compassion – wasn’t that the point of the entire exercise and shamanism in general? Argh! I now have a blister reminding me to do that and to get some better sage and a burning container, asap!”
Steve: Sounds like your first and second day of washing with sage was a real learning curve! I have some humorous and gently humbling memories of the same sort! We all do.
Our whole presentation to the spirit world is mostly about putting our heart in a strong, well directed direction. We are not so much for trying to win the spirits over so much as we are simply showing to the world, ourselves, and the spirits that we can develop the right balance of being grounded, humble, and capable of strong intention and focus. Yes, we are calling on the spirits for their compassion, but this is different than it is for a lot of the world’s religions that ask for compassionate spiritual help.
We call on the compassionate spirits, but not for improving our lot in life, but for giving us the opportunity to step up to the plate and demonstrate our capability. We want to show them we can to do our part when it comes to building a strong healing team with them. Actually, the spirits are going to demand that we stand firmly on our own two feet. They’re not going to cut us any slack, or do our self-work for us. They want to see that we can do this, which is something that we need to see this as well. It is this way with any team: both sides size each other up, and determine if the other ‘will do’ in the work that teamwork demands of one another.
The cleansing ritual with sage is many things, but it is also a regular reminder of where our heart wants to be, and how to be in the world. Yes, the more we do it, the more we are reminding ourselves of this, and yes, the effects will carry over into our life. Remember, you are shifting a way of being, not just ‘doing something’ such that it is a ‘done deal’. Shifting a way of being is a transition, which more than likely began in the past, and may accelerate in the present now that you are giving it more attention. Letting go, for instance, of what doesn’t serve you.
This study will definitely help you become your real self, what in shamanic practice is called the 'true self'. They are one and the same.
Moreover, this study will help you reconnect with nature and the world, as you slip into more of what Zen master Thich Nhat Han called an interbeing, in this case with Mother Earth.
On Cleansing Another:
Student: One of my practice clients is very sensitive to any kind of smoke. I was wondering if the essential oil would be good to use, or is it more the essence of fire that is at play here. My belief is the primary key here is intent. But the element of fire is also in the mix. There needs to be a way to make this work because I'm sure this situation will arise again somewhere. So my question is, what do I do?
Steve: With respect to cleansing another, that’s a good question, and yes, you hit on what in this case may be the right answer: to use an essential oil, such as sage, in place of the burning and smoke. For instance, a willowy, soft branch of a plant is often used for this purpose of cleansing another in some parts of the world, and one might put a few drops of sage oil on such a plant, and in this case if the plant was soft enough, leaves might actually be lightly touching the skin/clothes of the client.
It is the intention within the ritual that is the ‘fire’, and the smoke is just the vehicle for extending this to the person. If at all possible, I like to see one’s personal cleansing done with smoke, although even there, I have had students with deep intention maintain find that their grounding, centering, focus, and heart cleansing is equally as strong as when done with smoke by using an essential oil on their hands and bringing these to the various parts of their body as they move through the individual cleansing ritual. This can be extremely helpful, for instance, if one is particularly sensitive to smoke.
You will also be learning the use of the feather later on in the course, and perhaps, if you do not have access to such a soft shrub branch on which you could place a few drops of sage oil, that you would like to bring a feather out now, early, and practice using a feather with such a client, and go through the ‘standing-style’ cleansing with them using that feather. It certainly can be done, an it will demand the same degree of openheartedness (a kind of devotional sense of service) and awareness on your part. If done carefully and consciously, these alternatives can achieve the same result for both of you.
Good question!