Essential oils, Himalayan salts and certain herbs have been proven to have a range of antibacterial and healing qualities that can also be used to clear negative energies and restore peace.
If you have had a breakup recently, experienced loss, left a toxic workplace or your intuition is telling you that something is not right, you may benefit from spiritually cleansing your home. Doing a spiritual cleanse of your space can rid your home of lingering negative energies and make way for positive ones.
Having negative energies or feelings present can affect your health, mood and create blockages in your life that prevent you from moving forward.
The key to cleansing properly is to set firm intentions about the space that you want to create. Don’t just think about the feelings or events you want to cleanse or get rid of – think about the energy you want to add to your home as well. You might find it helpful to meditate on this for a while. Maybe make a cup of tea and write a list or a journal entry.
Think about what you want to say goodbye to and what you want to manifest before you begin.
Smudging is a spiritual practice that is thousands of years old and an important part of many Indigenous cultures, especially in North America. However, due to the Western appropriation of this practice, it is essential to investigate the ethics and sustainability of whichever smudging herbs you use.
Some of the herbs used in traditional smudging, mainly white sage, have been proven to have antibacterial and healing qualities.
Once you have set your intentions, you may wish to develop a list of affirmations or a prayer. Next, say this aloud and walk through your house with your smudging stick, allowing the smoke to touch each area. Lastly, move the smudging stick across your own body, letting the smoke waft towards you.
And most importantly, smudge with your windows open! Finally, if you find any ash in your home, put it on the earth outside your home.
This one is far simpler and a little obvious. Go through your home and do a spring clean. Open draws, cupboards, look through old papers, clothes and even files on your laptop.
Ask yourself why it is you might be hanging onto those things. Ask if they serve you, bring joy or a purpose to your life, or if they fill your space with clutter and unwanted memories.
Marie Kondo has popularised this practice and its healing benefits.
Crystals not only contain energetic properties, but they look beautiful and are a fantastic way to visualise your intentions. Think about what kind of cleanse you want to do and find crystals that suit your needs. For example, rose quartz generates love, clear quartz balances energy, obsidian is protective and jasper is empowering.
Again, when sourcing your crystals, it is important to ensure that you find ethical and sustainable options.
Set your intentions and place your crystals in strategic places in your home. On windowsills, doorways, on the nightstand by your bed.
Crystals can also be charged in the sunlight, moonlight and cleansed with saltwater.
Sound baths are an incredibly relaxing and healing way to recentre your energies. Sound baths are a form of sound therapy that uses instruments like Tibetan bowls to emit vibrational frequencies if you have not heard of this before.
You can use Tibet bowls, crystal bowls, bells or chimes to put yourself in a meditative state. The vibrations will move and shift energies through your body. Different toned instruments will also correspond to different chakras. However, you can do a very simple sound bath and still experience amazing therapeutic benefits.
The benefits of Himalayan salts are endless. They can be used to cleanse your crystals and put into your water to balance your body’s pH levels which promotes healthy cell production.
In terms of cleansing your home, a small pile of Himalayan salt can be placed in each corner of the room that requires cleansing to absorb the negative energies. You can also place Himalayan salt lamps throughout your home, as they filter out bad vibrations and clear the air in your home.
Essential oils not only smell beautiful and feel good on your skin but are amazingly beneficial for cleansing energies. Lavender is the favourite for this, as it gives off calming and healing energy. In fact, there is evidence to say that lavender affects the neurotransmitter GABA and regulates the nervous system!
So, if you are cleansing bad energies, oils are perfect for helping to restore balance by putting good vibes back into your space.
However, there are many oils you can use that have different qualities.
Whatever your needs or preferences are, each of these options is safe, natural and affordable.