Smudging and Why We Do It

                                                        

                                                              

The first time I heard about smudging was when I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. I was the manager of the Changing Exhibit Hall at the time and we were featuring the Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide traveling exhibit in our exhibit hall. This exhibit told the story from the point of the Native tribes that Lewis and Clark met and, many times, depended on when they were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to go on this tour of discovery.

Out of all the exhibits that I took part in as manager of the exhibit, The Lewis and Clark Exhibit was my favorite.  While I was working in this special exhibit many representatives from the Plains Tribes visited and I learned so very much from them.

Smudging is a powerful cleansing technique of the Native American people, but the burning of herbs for emotional and spiritual cleansing was also practiced among many religions. It’s funny that it took me so long to connect that the Catholic priests using burning incense to cleanse the church during special holidays, was no different than what we do with smudging. While the church uses Frankincense and myrrh to chase away demons, the most common herbs used for smudging are Sage and sweetgrass.

Intentions

Everything has an energy field around it, including us. When we pick up negative energy that can cause us to become ill in spirit, mind and body, smudging helps to displace this unwanted negativity and restore our aura to a pristine boundary around us. Smudging can be used to cleanse people, places, and objects.
                                                        

Set your intentions before you begin to smudge. Smudging is an ancient sacred ceremony which should be done with the proper mindset and protection. Smudging is using the power of the sacred plants to restore balance. You must believe in the ceremony and its results. Sage drives away negative energies while sweetgrass attracts positive energy.

Smudging

Using a clay pot, shell or flat rock, light the dry herbs with a match and allow it to burn for a few moments. Using a large feather (I use a hawk’s feather and a large seashell) fan the flames out. It is the smoke that we will use.
                                                               

You might want to open windows to allow the negativity to depart. While you smudge, you walk around each room in a clockwise fashion, fanning the smoke into all the corners While do the smudging of the room, you should be praying for our Creator to keep you safe as you send the negativity towards the heavens where they will be consumed and turned into positive energy.
                                                             

When smudging a person, you want to follow the course of the Chakra. We are attempting to draw universal light into the body. Locate the point of origin of a person’s aura field. Each person is different. You need to feel their energy field. Fan the burning herbs towards each chakra, back and front of the body and from head to toe.
                                                             

Benefits

When we remember that all life is connected throughout the Universe, when we remember that we are part of nature; not above it, when we realize that there are negative entities; human and demonic, when we remember to hold tightly to the LIGHT, then and only then will we become enlightened and cleansed. I’ve included a site that sells Native American Smudging Supplies: http://www.horsekeeping.com/smudging/smudge-kits/smudge-kits.htm

and the site for the Lewis and Clark Exploration: Across the Divide: http://www.mohistory.org/node/223
 

Apples to Google+ and Farewell to Good Friends

                                                                
                                                                      

                                  This weekend was somewhat bittersweet for me.

                                                                                                                           
One of my close friends and a former co-worker from when I worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences is leaving the Philly area. She’s moving to Washington D.C. where she’ll be teaching Science at an elementary school. It will be a big loss for the Academy, but what a wonderful gain for the students she’ll be teaching. Michele ran the Outreach Program, bringing science and animals to the schools of the tri-state area for many years. Here's Michele with me.

                                                                   

Here is Michele with Naomi and Anita. All four of us had worked at the Academy and Anita still volunteers there.

                                                                      
                                                      Michele, Naomi and Anita

We had a going away party for Michele, but first they wanted to see our pond and our very large goldfish.

                                       Here is my husband proudly showing off the pond
                                                                      

                              

                     I have two apple trees and this is the first apple produced.

                                                                 

Anita did the honor of slicing the apple for us. The apple was very sweet and I hope to see many more on that tree. When we ordered the two apple trees from the catalogue, we were told that apples would be popping out the first year…six years later, we've only had the one.

                                                                    

I get a lot of butterflies, native honey bees and hummingbirds in my garden. Here is a butterfly. Anyone want to take a guess on what it is? Come on, take a guess.

                                                                         
                                          I also get lots of finches at my bird feeder.

                                                                    

After dinner we had cake and gifts for Michele. I’m wishing you well in your new career.

                                                                                      

                                                                    

                    Sunday, I decided to go to the Collingswood Arts and Craft fair

                                                                                      
 with my daughter and the youngest of her desperadoes, Nathan. He was not in a good mood, can you tell?

                                                                          

                     But we did get to shop at Pat Cunningham’s Busy Beads

                                                                           

                                             and get ice cream from the Pop shop
                                                                               

And we did get to hear some great music from the band known as Foster Child.

                                                                               

But I had missed the Kelli Campbell Trio which had played on Saturday. Check them out, they are awesome.

                                                                             

Now we’ll jump to my adventures with publishing and Google. In today’s publishing world, the writer has to have a following, a persona if you like, on the internet. This means a blog, a twitter account, facebook, etc. etc. before publishing companies will even take a chance on you.

                                                                             

So, I have a blog which I try to update once a week and I have my Lilith Episodes which I post every Friday, but I also keep a daily presence on facebook

                                                                 
                                                              and twitter

                                                                    
                                   I've met some interesting and amazing people,

                                                                    
I love it, but if you want publishers to see how serious you are about writing, you should also think about Google+

                                                                                   

Now remember, I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time! I have a chance to get a story published and I was advised to build up my Google+ presence. There’s a Google+? Who knew? I’m still trying to figure out regular Google and recently someone mentioned Google Chrome. Help…I’m still looking for my lost webkin, Zeppie, on the Web. Has anyone seen him?

                                                                               

Anyway, if you do go on Google+ and you’re feeling kindly towards me, please follow me. I will appreciate this very much and will treat you to some delicious apples the next time they grow on my little apple tree.

                                                                  

Advice to the Living from the Dead

                                                                           

My father, when he was alive, would often criticize me for always being in a rush. I worked four days a week and helped out with my grandkids, so I was always running here and there, trying to complete everything before the start of a new work week.

                                                                     

“Slow down, or you’ll make yourself sick.” He would often say as I zoomed in for a quick visit and back out of his house trying to get everything done in one day.

                                                                 

“Dad, I have to hurry or I won’t get done,” I would reply.

“Don’t rush to your grave any faster than you need to,” he would counter.

                                                                

My father was in no hurry to rush to his grave and there were many times when he was in the hospital, that my siblings and I would get a call from the doctors to come in immediately because my father was near death. I remember one particular day when I received such a call and I literally ran from the Academy of Natural Sciences on 19^th and the Parkway all the way to Jefferson Hospital on 11^th and Chestnut to see him one last time.

                                                                        

I arrived at his room expecting the worse only to find him sitting up in bed enjoying his meal. “Dad, why are you eating?”

                                                                    

He looked at me like I had two heads and replied, “I’m hungry, why?”

“The doctor called us and said that you were dying.”

                                                                   

“Not today, I’ll go when I’m good and ready,” he replied and then went back to eating his lunch.

After that incident, whenever the doctors would call us to say that my father was doing poorly and might die, I would always reply, “He’ll go when he’s good and ready and not before.” He lived to be 92.

So this past week, I almost lost my daughter and her husband to a serious accident with an all-terrain vehicle.

                                                    
                  And I lost a wonderful cousin who died way before her time.

                                                                                                       
                                             My wonderful cousin, Marie. Seen on far left.

               

My father’s words came back to me tonight after I visited her family. “Take it easy, enjoy your life and don’t rush around so much. The faster you rush, the faster you reach your grave.”

                                                                       

So for all my friends and family, I wish you a long, healthy, joyful life that is spent enjoying the little, silly, funny, fleeting, moments that make this journey worth the ride. Take the slow lane.     

                                                                                                                                    

Another Great Weekend

            Last week, I promised to get back to you about the little vintage clothing store we happened upon on our visit to Mt. Holly’s Ghost Store. The name of the store is Vassies Couture Vintage and Retro Boutique, located at 18 High Street in Mt. Holly, N.J. 08060. Gloria and Ada are the two sisters who own this special shop, and these wonderful ladies go out of their way to make sure you leave their shop happy.

          Sharon(friend of sisters) far left, Jeanine Dupree( center) and Gloria and Ada (owners)

     One of my ghost hunting friends wasn’t able to find an outfit last week for the next Steampunk Event, but the sisters made sure that when we returned this week, they had what Jeanine Dupree needed. Take a look

The ghost hunters, Gretchen Ziegler, Jeanine Dupree, and I will be returning to this little Treasure Chest, again.

This month starts the Bicentennial Celebration of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. I took two of the grandsons to visit. There were plenty of activities to keep the boys busy, and I got to visit with former staff and volunteers.

                                       Amanda ( part of my birthday angels) and good friend.

                                          Barbara Perlmutter and husband. She worked as a volunteer in the
                                          Changing Exhibit when I was the Manager. She still volunteers for the
                                           Academy.

                                    

                                

      Nathan and Joshua had a chance to do some digging in the Big Dig, visit the butterfly exhibit and Outside-In. Make sure you take the time to visit this amazing place. You won’t regret the trip, and tell them, Miss Marie sent you.

   

                                             Me and the boys!!! See you soon                                          

 

Cheering for the underdog

     This past weekend, my daughter and two of my grandsons headed out to the movies to see the film, The Grey. Great movie unless you're afraid of flying, and I've already informed my sister she is not allowed to see this until we come back from our trip to California. The main star is Liam Neeson, and his job is to protect the oil riggers who work in the Alaskan Wilderness from any stray or hungry preditors, such as polar bears or wolves.

     Now the people following my blogs are already aware of my working at the Academy of Natural Sciences, and even though I'm retired from this wonderful museum, I still try to instill the love of nature into my grandchildren. I may have done too good a job. Let me explain.

     I won't give away too many details because it is a good movie and you should try to see it, but the film starts with an overview of the oil rigs and the pipeline and Nathan right away says out loud, "This isn't good. Isn't grandmom protesting drilling in Alaska?"

     "Shush," my daughter says. "Don't get her started."

     "I'm okay. You can all relax," I chime in. Joshua keeps silent. He has seen me in action before.

     Anyway, the movie then pans to Liam, who has spotted something in the distance. He takes his rifle, aims and shoots. A wolf goes down. Liam's character is protecting the oil riggers from these beautiful animals.

     Intent with watching the movie, I hear Nathan whispering to his mom, "Why did he shoot the wolf? It was minding its own business."

     "Her reply. "Watch the movie and don't talk."

     Without giving away more of the movie, we watch as a group of men try to find their way to shelter, but they are being followed. It's beast against man. Now I'll stop with the movie details and go straight to the conversation going on among the grandkids.

     "They're getting even with us," says Joshua.

     "We're destroying their habitat and their hungry," says Nathan.

     "I'm betting on the wolves," adds Joshua.

     "Oh God, we have tree huggers in front of us," says the poor soul who happened to sit behind us.

     "Look what you started," says my daughter to me. She then tells the boys to zip their lips.

     "I haven't said a word? Why are you mad at me?" I plead my case.

     When the movie ended, and as we were leaving the theatre, my daughter began to chuckle. "I was afraid we were going to get thrown out."

     "I didn't do anything wrong," I said in my defense.

     "I don't know about that. I'm still trying to forget all the times, you would bring home the Madagascar Roaches to visit the boy's school. I still get the chills."

     "But mom, she taught us to love nature," Nathan chimed in.

     "All fine and good as long as she keeps nature outside, where it belongs."

    "Mom's so not going to survive the zombie apocalypse," Joshua teased as we climbed into the van.

   "I don't care how hungry I become, I will never, ever, eat a bug," my daughter replies and then starts the motor.

   Everyone is quiet until, Nathan says, "I want to see that movie, again."

  After we all had a good laugh, I said, "We better wait awhile. We might be barred from that theatre."