All About Smudging

By Margaret Ann Lembo

Time for a spiritual housecleaning?

"Smudging" is a ceremonial cleansing of people, places, or objects—a way to replace negative vibes with love, kindness, compassion, and true happiness.

In this easy-to-read text, Margaret Ann Lembo shows you how to clear out negative energy and invite spiritual purification into your life. Starting with how to recognize the influence of negative energy, you will discover common herbs and oils, techniques for creating smokeless smudges, and a preparation ritual for a smudging ceremony.

Also included are bonus chapters of Margaret Ann Lembo’s book Chakra Awakening: Transform Your Reality Using Crystals, Color, Aromatherapy & the Power of Positive Thought.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide
• Release date: Nov 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9780738733142

Margaret Ann Lembo

Margaret Ann Lembo is a noted author and speaker, sought after for close to 30 years. The author of The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals, and Stones and Color Your Life with Crystals, she is a spiritual entrepreneur and practitioner, aromatherapist, and the owner of The Crystal Garden, a bookstore, gift store, and spiritual center in southeast Florida.

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All About Smudging © 2011 by Margaret Ann Lembo

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All About Smudging

Author’s Note: The real purpose of smudging originates from the part of you that remembers your true nature, which is calm, peaceful, and happy. Smudging isn’t simply the removal of negativity. More importantly, it is the remembrance of love, kindness, compassion, and true happiness. Remember your magnificence! Connect with the wisdom of your ultimate nature. Find inner strength, cultivate self-confidence, and serve others with your love and joy. Know that your existence is truly meaningful!

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Smudging is the traditional spiritual practice of clearing away negative thoughtforms (the manifestation of mental energy) and other negative vibrations with the smoke of burning herbs, typically dried sage. The sage used for smudging is usually either high desert sage or white wide-leaf sage and is often bound into a bundle called a smudge stick. Other dried herbs such as cedar are sometimes added to the bundle as well. Loose dried herbs and resins (like incense sticks) can also be used for smudging.

The origin of the word smudge can be traced back to the fifteenth century. According to various dictionaries, to smudge means to dirty, soil, or smear something. This is not the manner in which we use the word today. Rather, the alternative meaning of smudge—a smoky fire, especially one made to drive away mosquitoes or to safeguard fruit trees from frost—is more closely aligned with our present use. In today’s metaphysical and spiritual world, it is common to use smudge or smoke to drive away pests manifesting in the form of negative thoughts or bothersome energy in order to make room for positive energy. In this case, the smoke safeguards one from negativity rather than frost.

Because of its ethereal qualities and its tendency to rise toward the heavens, smoke has been used in spiritual practices for millennia. From China, India, and Southeast Asia to Europe and the Western world, many rituals include the element of smoking herbs or incense as part of a ceremony. Native Americans and other indigenous cultures around the world have been using smudging in ceremonies and clearings for many moons. Although some ceremonies are steeped in tradition and can be quite elaborate, a grand ceremony isn’t necessary to reap the benefits of this practice. Dried herbs or a smudge stick, matches, and a dish (such as an abalone shell) to catch or hold the burning embers are all you will need. The use of a feather to fan the smoke in the direction you want to go is also useful.

It is not necessary to make a lot of smoke to get the job done. Burning herbs in a small space with a smoke detector will likely set off the alarm, so practice using just enough of the materials to make smoke without creating a smoldering heap that is going to set off alarms and douse the space with sprinklers. Also, take great care not to start a fire with embers or flying sparks. Be sure to safeguard yourself and your space by taking proper precautions. If you are worried about this, see the section below where I discuss a smokeless alternative to burning herbs.

When the herbs are burned, the smoke emitted is directed to all parts of the room or space being cleared. This is performed with the intention of releasing negative thoughts, words, actions, or other energy created by yourself or others that have accumulated there. In addition to clearing a physical space, smudging can be used for clearing the energy or aura of a person. You can even use it for clearing away any negative energy that has accumulated on specific possessions.

Once a space has been smudged, the most effective way to ensure complete clearing is to immediately replace the dispelled negativity with love and well-being. This can be done simply by setting the intention to do so, or you can be more elaborate by reciting your intentions and burning other herbs or resins. This refills the space with positive energy, creating a sacred and happy space for yourself and others.

When and Why to Smudge Yourself

Because old thoughtforms and other negative vibes tend to accumulate no matter how clear you try to keep yourself or a space, it is a good idea to smudge every so often to continue attracting positive vibrations into your life. Smudge any time you feel negative thoughtforms (including your own) have become stuck in your energy field.

The incessant chatter rolling around in your consciousness creates your reality. As you become aware of the incessant chatter in your mind and energy field, change can begin. Change your thoughts by clearing away negativity, and you change your reality by opening yourself up to positive vibrations.

Thoughts that limit you like I’m never going to get anywhere in life, are deterrents in creating the life you want. Even if you