Spiritual Bathing – Reconnecting to our Sacred Body
In our efforts to remain functioning in our super fast technological world, there has become a vast rift between how we used to live and how we are told to live today.
This rift is being felt by more of us each day, and we are now finding our way back home to our more ancient and sacred practices, with such profound and beautiful changes that are in fact, lighting up our lives instead of continuing to dull them down.
Here, I’m loving to share with you a practice that is as old as time itself, one that is super simple to do at home and indeed out in your most loved wild places, with a little forward planning.
We need no fancy ingredients, no equipment other than a deep bowl and some water, wild water if you are close enough to collect some, and some gathered herbs, flowers and wild plants.
Many of us know about smudging our bodies with things like white sage or palo santo, right? Well, as far as this is concerned, we do not need to purchase such items, which, unless you live in the countries these plants are native to, is just adding to the disconnection from Mother Earth and our Ancestral lineage. Not to mention the destruction of Sacred forests for commercial gain.
When we begin the practice of Spiritual Bathing, we feel the depth of connection to this Sacred process, that money just cannot buy.
For millennia this practice has been carried out in our tribal circles, to bring ease to mental and spiritual imbalances. This super simple and loving act for our soul journey has become a regular in my world since being introduced to it through my immersion into the Arvigo Techniques Of Maya Abdominal Therapy three years ago.
So, how to do this? I kid you not, it is so easy, and can be done at any time you have time to set aside to focus on your own needs and perhaps can be introduced in many of our Circles too, Red Tents and Women’s Circles in particular find this practice a very beneficial part of the Ceremony of Sharing.
Firstly, take the time to gather some beautiful wild herbs, garden flowers and herbs, even bought herbs you then plant in the garden for future harvests, even the pot herbs found in the stores, in the fresh produce aisle will do!
I love a mixture of flower petals throughout the spring and summer, asking permission from the plant to collect some of the blooms (not all) and starting your intent to work these plant energies into your own for healing. I add some herbs such as thyme, rosemary, basil, sage, their scent is intoxicating as we work our prayers into the waters.
Next, fill a deep glass or metal bowl with fresh water, set this outside in the sunlight if possible and add all the gathered plant materials. Begin stirring them into the water, watching how the light plays on them in the sparkles as you stir. Now is the time to begin your song, find the words from deep within you, bring them into voice and sing them into the water and flowers as you stir. Gently, begin to squeeze the plants, stirring all the while, singing as you go. This prayer song will deepen as you continue to release the scents and oils from the plants you have chosen to work with.
Your song can be one of griefs to be released, of anger unexpressed, of despair, or you can bring into song all the love, gratitude and joy you wish to birth in your life, the song is yours and yours alone, the plant waters will take them and transmute them into the most beautiful scented bath you could imagine.
Over the time you spend working with this water filled explosion of love, you will see the plants release, release release. It is beautiful to watch, to feel and to absorb their energies into your hands. The time this takes is personal to you, not to be rushed, to be savoured for as long as possible, before moving on to the next stage.
The Bathing – with your infused water, it is now time to bathe. This can be done fully clothed, or if you are in a suitable space, remove all or some of your clothes, so you may fully cover your skin with this Sacred Water.
If clothed, take handfuls of the plant infused water and sprinkle them all around and over your body, from feet to head and head to feet, taking time to really splash yourself with the water, singing as you do so. Keep the song flowing.
If you are with loved ones, perhaps you can bathe each other in turn this way, how much love you can share with each other as you sing your songs into each handful of bloom steeped liquid.
If you have removed some or all of your clothes, you can literally pour the entire bowl of water over your body, head to foot, feeling how the water connects with your skin. All the while, singing your loving prayers to yourself and your soul.
Once you are complete, it is time to look at the final step. This depends upon how you chose to bathe. Do you have water left? If so, then you can leave them in the sun to rest and continue infusing. The next day, this water can be poured onto the earth as an offering to Mother for providing for us, for helping us to rebalance our energies once more. If you used all the water, then sit awhile and give thanks in song or prayer to Mother for her blessings of the plants and the waters, before leaving to return to your day.
Once we begin this Sacred Practice on a regular basis, we find that, like smudging, we become balanced and whole again, more so each time we engage in this most beautiful way, with the Earth and our Unique bodies and feel more of our true soul self coming home.
In loving grace, Peace xXx
