Smudging and Sage

 

Poster comes from an email from a friend.  Origin unknown.

I have been asked many times - when is the right time to burn sage?  One of my friends sent me an email with the above poster in it it called “When To Burn Sage”.

The poster lists the following events as a reason to burn sage:

• When you have been arguing
• When someone in your home is sick
• When visitors leave
• When you buy second hand items
• When the vibe feels icky
• When you have been depressed
• When you are grieving a loss
• During the Full Moon
• When anxiety strikes
• When you have had a nightmare
• While doing chores
• Before meditation/spells
• To clear crystals and spiritual tools
• When you move into a new home

These are all wonderful reasons to burn sage and to smudge.  I have a few more reasons to add.  Smudge yourself with sage when these events occur:

• When you are preparing for a ceremony
• Before you start a healing session
• When you  have been to a hospital or nursing home or visiting an ill friend
• When you have had a trying day at work
• When you feel a cold or flu hitting you
• When you injure yourself

You can also smudge your dog or cat, especially if they are not feeling well.  

Sage is a very common smudging/clearing tool.  You can also use juniper branches, sweet grass, lavender, or any combination of the smudging tools.  I have some lovely sage and juniper smudge sticks.  Another favourite smudge is palo santo, a smudge stick from a tree native to Ecuador and Peru.

My rule of thumb is - if you feel like smudging, go ahead and smudge.  You will feel better.

Many blessings,

Judy

Listening To The Guidance

  

One of my teachers said to our group that when we pray, we are talking to God (or the Universe or Great Spirit, or whatever you want to call the Energy that you talk to. And, when we meditate, God talks to us.  I find that my guidance comes through meditation, through Nature, through random messages from different people, or, from very specific words that seem to just show up.  However, there have been times where the Angels or Guides had to go through different people to get to me because I was not listening.  Sometimes, we get so caught up in doing that we forget to listen.

Quite a while ago, I was caught up in my own little drama of work and getting things done, and, I was not listening or meditating or really doing much spiritually.  One day I got a phone call from a lady.  She identified herself and then told me that I did not know her.  However, my Guides were not able to get through to me with a message so they asked her to deliver it.  The message was that it was time for me to pick up the book that my friend Ruth gave me about a year earlier.  I was to read the book, cover to cover, and then act on it.  The message included a notice that I really needed to start meditating for at least 15 minutes a day. 

I was stunned!  This lady could not know about my friend Ruth, or the book, and that I hadn’t read it.  I thanked the caller, went and found the book, and read it.  The reading of the book and practising what it said set me on a new path of spiritual work.  I am grateful for that day.

Blessings.

Judy

Creativity and Beauty

 

The pictures above come from a gallery in Black Diamond Alberta. Pictures by J Hirst.

When most of see old wood on the ground, we think of firewood.  When the artist who created the sculptures above sees old wood, and in this case, petrified wood, he sees an animal or bird.  The gift of getting a vision to create “something” is a fantastic gift.  We may not all be able to see the sculpture or the painting in a setting, but we may “see” something else.  We might see a story, or a way to heal, or an invention.  Everyone has creativity and the wonder of it is that we create beauty.

I believe that when we are given a gift, such as the ability to create art, we are bound to share it.  If we do not share, then the ability withers and our soul shrinks a bit.  We all need to do that “thing” that sings to us in our body, mind, and soul.

Blessings

Judy

A Prayer-Meditation For Community

         Churning waters at Elbow Falls in September 2022.  Taken by J Hirst.

This past week, for me, has been full of activities about our community...our neighbourhood community, our volunteer community, and our Fish Creek Park & dog walking community.  The days have consumed hours and been quite fun!  I feel blessed that we have these connections.

As you know, there are not any coincidences.  So when I received an email from one of the spiritual thought leaders that I follow - Nick Polizzi - I felt that his message was very supportive of being in community. You can follow Nick and his generous sharing of information at thesacredscience.com.  

In his latest email to his tribe, he talked about the Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity.  It felt so perfect to me that I am sharing from his email both his comments and the prayer.  

It is said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama considers this text to be THE source for developing altruism in your character and the "Spirit of Awakening." It is also said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama recites this prayer every morning as part of his waking rituals. So, if you give it a try, you are in good company!

Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity

"May I be a guard for those who need protection

A guide for those on the path

A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood

May I be a lamp in the darkness

A resting place for the weary

A healing medicine for all who are sick

A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles

And for the boundless multitudes of living beings

May I bring sustenance and awakening

Enduring like the earth and sky

Until all beings are freed from sorrow

And all are awakened."

Now, exhale and be still for a brief moment.

What speaks loudly in this prayer is that we are all in this together. We are alive thanks to our ancestors and by helping the people, plants, animals, and life in our environment, we show appreciation for existing in this world.

This prayer is perfect for using in one's daily meditation practice and being thankful for community.

Blessings

Judy

The Easy Path

 

Picture is from a LinkedIn 

When animals travel from place to place, the path that they use is not straight forward but winds up and down and around obstacles.  Generally, animals find the easiest path even if it is the longest.

Humans are different.  Humans tend to charge up and over or through whatever obstacle may exist.  Humans will chop and hack and cut to get through a barrier.  It may be faster and it is definitely harder work.

Yet, if the animal and the human start at the same place and have the same destination, the path of least resistance will eventually get the animal to the spot.  

Through my life, I have found that when the destination is the “right” destination, the path is usually easy. Things seemingly fall into place.  When the destination is not the best option for me, the path is seems filled with obstacles.  When I change where I am going, then I move back into the flow.

Where are you going, and which path are you taking?

Blessings

Clearing the Karma that Blocks You in This Life

 

Picture of Moraine Lake with the beautiful mountains in the background.

I have been working with clients on Karma Clearing over the last several weeks.  It has been educational for me.  Sometimes when we do something for a long time (I have been doing this for seventeen years), we forget about the energy and excitement that the client feels when an issue is cleared.

What defines an issue?

When a person has a problem or issue that appears more than three times in their life, and when that problem stops the person from moving forward with their life, then there is an issue.  I call it a karmic issue because it is a piece of a past life that did not get resolved and therefore is showing up in this lifetime.

Some examples of issues are:

• Not being able to have long term relationships with partners or friends
• Constantly getting money and then losing the money
• Having problems holding down jobs
• Fighting with everyone
• Feeling no place is safe
• Disagreements about everything with one or two family members
• Disliking being told what to do even when it makes sense that someone needs to tell you what to do in different situations
• Fear of different people or animals or water or heights, etc.

How Does The Process Work?

The person has to be ready to do the work to clear "stuff".  If the person is not ready, they usually get sick or have a family emergency or even have to travel and therefore must cancel the appointment.  

The appointment can be done by phone or Zoom.  It takes one to two hours.  On average, we can be done in an hour and twenty minutes. Each clearing is done in the form of a meditation.  This makes the process repeatable.  After doing several sessions with me, the client can do the work themselves.

We start with creating sacred space.  We then clear negative stuff from the body.  Next step is to determine what the biggest issue is to clear.  Then we do the meditation process to go to that past life and any others to look at how the issue came into being, and we clear it.

The last part is to balance the body because several changes have been made.  The client gets to talk about all the changes and whether they want to do another session.  Each person has to wait two weeks after the first session before doing session two.

I close sacred space for both of us.  The session is complete.

I am happy to answer any questions about the process.  You can email me at lightstationwisdom@gmail.com or use the form on the side of the page to send a message.

Many blessings,

Judy

Our Spring Equinox Gathering

 

The other day a Reader asked me what I do for Spring Equinox.  What a great question!

This year for Spring Equinox, we had a gathering of fourteen people, all friends that have been coming to our gatherings for years.  Since we did not have any gatherings through COVID, the day was so fun for our tribe to get together. 

After everyone exchanged hellos and hugs, and got tea or water, I hustled the group into the family room where we had a roaring fire going in the fireplace.  First item is to get everyone smudged and cleansed for the ceremony that we have.  Each person either brings a drum or rattle or takes one of our instruments.  As we wait for the smudging to finish, we begin drumming and rattling, clearing the energy in the room.

After the smudging, I open sacred space in the tradition of the Shaman of the Andes.  We open the four directions and above and below.  Then I give a brief overview of what we will cover during the session and advise who our Spirit Guide will be for the session.  In this session, it was Quan Yin. 

We do a quick around the circle introducing ourselves and why we are glad to be present today. Next, I sent around a jar filled with words. Each person drew out a word for this is the trait or issue that they will work on for the next three months.  For example, some of the words were - Forgiveness, Compassion, Leadership, etc.

 My husband then handed out crystals and provided a beautiful meditation on breathing into who we are. I led a meditation with Quan Yin as our guide that took us around the world.

We ended with a sharing circle where each person talked about what was on their mind.  Some talked about their meditation experience.  Some talked about what was going on for them at work or in encounters with different people.  Each experience was blessed.

The last part of the ceremony is that I closed sacred space.  Folks return the crystals and instruments and move to the dining room for refreshments and visiting.

The whole ceremony took place in one hour and ten minutes.  Remember, when we are in sacred space, time moves differently.

The energy in the house is incredibly fresh and gentle after a gathering.  Folks talk about feeling peace and calmness, and being happy.

A gathering does not need to be large.  We have done gatherings with four of us.  If you are feeling the urge to gather with like minded people, go for it!  The experience is always unique.  Each person grows with the experience.

Many blessings,

Judy