The Secret To Smudging Is In The Smoke
“The secret to smudging is in the smoke.” These were the words of my mentor when I undertook my Ukuthwasa as a shaman initiate many years ago in Southern Africa. I have also come to know that the true intention behind any smudging ceremony is a very significant part of its success.
An initial part of my rigorous training as a Sangoma, or traditional healer, was a self-cleansing ritual using Mphepo, made up of herbs indigenous to Southern Africa.
“Smudging,” simply put, is the burning of certain herbs to create a cleansing smoke bath. The smoke is used to cleanse areas used for rituals and ceremonies, as well as any tools or objects used for such cleansing, as well as to cleanse people. Continue reading
Life After Death
I remember going to my first funeral. We traveled a few states away to attend this. My mother’s uncle had passed and they felt it was okay I attend. I was pretty upset only a few years before, because I didn’t get to go to my grandpa’s funeral. I was in kindergarten and remember feeling left out in that I couldn’t say goodbye.
I remember it like it was yesterday, looking at the casket as he lay there, and his wife crying over him and his sisters, all aged of course, they must have been in their 60’s. Being a typical Italian family, they were in the back talking about his life and trying to make things right, and going over past negative arguments and trying to make sense of his passing, and trying to find peace in it.
I remember, while observing all of this chaos, thinking to myself that he is here; he is observing us and watching his funeral. I felt he was at the foot of his coffin. I could see a figure once I focused my eyes, and I realized he was in fact not dead – his energy was alive! Continue reading
From Scared to Sacred
We all have our journeys in life to travel, we all have our paths to walk and we all have our very own (we would like to think) demons to slay on our path to ‘enlightenment.’
From scared to sacred is but a tiny maneuver, the tiniest shift in your consciousness, which can allow the true and awesome power of the Sacred and the Divine to cut through the fear of the scared. It is as miniscule a shift as it is to change the spelling of the words themselves.
You may think it is impossible and you may think it is too hard to do, but in reality the easiest thing in this world to let go of is fear. It is all too easy to walk around coming from fear and feeling scared. Most people live their lives that way, as if it were the norm to do so. Well, it is not the norm. Continue reading
Chasing Rainbows In A House Of Mirrors
The state of Divine Disconnect, when you are feeling out of touch, imperfect, inadequate or wanting in your life, is not a reflection of who you really are, neither is it some shameful personal defect that requires salvation. It is in fact a reflection of who you are not, because you have become what you are not.
This sense of being disconnected or separated from your Divine Self is not real, it is a distorted phantasm. It is your physical form trying to make sense of the distorted, grotesque image you have of your own Divinity. You are seeing yourself reflected in a house of mirrors lined with rows and rows of limiting fears, self-destructive beliefs and false idols. In this state you become cut off from your true Soul Purpose and Life Calling. You are no longer aligned with your Divine Self and you lose your direction and purpose. The anxiety, fear and pain that you then feel is your inner guidance system attempting to nudge you back into the right direction. Continue reading



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