If you have ever walked into a room shortly after an argument has taken place there, you’ll know how it is possible to feel tension in the air. Energy is everywhere, and as sentient beings, we can sense it. Most of the time, we do this unconsciously without having any tangible evidence that it is there.
But it is and it does affect us!
I remember my brother telling me about an experience he had once when he was working as an estate agent. He was trying to sell a house after its owner had passed away in it. The house felt very sad to him, and he described a negativity in the air. Interestingly, every time he visited it to show someone round, he would be physically sick afterwards. Despite all the selling conditions for the house being favourable, it took a remarkably long time for a buyer to choose it.
I have renovated houses in the past myself that felt stale and sorry for themselves until they were infused with love and brought back to life.
How Do We Know When Our Home Needs Some Cleansing?
Just as the material things in our homes gather dust and dirt, the energy in our homes can also become stagnant or even clogged up. Our thoughts, words and actions all hold an energetic frequency, attracting more of the same energy to them. When we consider everything that goes on in our homes; all the thoughts each family member has, all the interactions, conversations, worries, the stresses of life we experience – even what we watch on the TV, it is hardly any wonder that our space might need regular cleansing in the same way that our bathrooms do.
We might become aware of this with a feeling that we need to get outside and blow away the cobwebs. We may start to feel bored or frustrated with a space that previously felt inspiring to us. One thing I notice when my house needs an energetic cleanse, is that the rooms start to feel inexplicably dull and less vibrant.
I also get an overwhelming urge to open windows and physically clean house. Other signs that our space is crying out for some clearing might be if we’ve been feeling more critical or wanting to complain more than usual, or feeling a bit down for no apparent reason. Sleep problems and health issues can also be signs that the energy around us needs a bit of a spruce up.
Because energy isn’t a tangible thing, it can be very easy to forget to do this housekeeping. You haven’t got any crumbs under your feet to get your attention! But it really is something that’s worth doing regularly – preferably before you get to the stage when any of these signs show up.
How to Carry Out an Energy Cleanse
If we do a deep cleanse every week or two, then it is easy to maintain positive energy in our homes with simple acts like opening windows, lighting candles, burning incense sticks and placing crystals around. Selenite is a wonderful purifier and black obsidian is very good at absorbing negative energies too.
If you are going to use candles, make sure that they do not contain any petrochemicals or artificial fragrances. There are enough of these things present in all the plastics around us, so the last thing you want to do is be burning them in your home. If they are natural beeswax or soy candles and scented only with aromatherapy oils, they will promote that fact, so steer clear of anything that doesn’t.
Placing small bowls of salt around your home can also help to cleanse the energy. Salt attracts allergens, toxins and pollutants to its surface and at the same time, it releases negative ions. Positive ions are small molecules that have gained a positive charge. We are exposed to these through anything with an electromagnet charge like electronic devices, TV’s, computers, or pollution and toxic chemicals. Negative ions work to cancel these out.
Toxicity can build up in our homes from things like carpets, fabrics and paints. Being over exposed to positive ions can increase the likelihood of allergies, it can contribute to inflammation in our bodies and affect our overall mood. On the other hand, when we are exposed to negative ions at high levels, our serotonin levels improve, and with that, so can our mood and the quality of our sleep.
If you use salt bowls, leave them out for as long as you instinctively feel they are assisting and under no circumstances consume the salt afterwards! Himalayan salt lamps can also be helpful in the process of energy cleansing for the same reasons, although you do need to be careful to buy a genuine one. A good way to tell is in its fragility. If they are real, they will crumble easily when they are knocked!
Having lots of house plants is another great way to ensure that lots of negative ions are being pumped around your atmosphere.
The Ancient Ritual of Smudging
I love to give my space a proper cleanse by burning herbs or wood sticks. This is known as smudging. Herbs have been burned ceremonially since the beginning of time and different herbs are used with different intentions.
For cleansing, my favourites are Juniper, Cedar, White Sage, Rosemary and Palo Santo. White sage has become very popular, so it tends to be the easiest of these to come by. Because of this, it is particularly important to check that you’re using an ethical company with a sustainable source for their products.
One option is to make your own smudge sticks by tightly binding stems of herbs together with natural twine. The downside of burning white sage is that it can smell a little pungent when it burns. It doesn’t take long for the smell to disappear, and you would always open the windows to aid the clearing process anyway.
Juniper, Cedar and Palo Santo can all be bought as little wooden sticks that you simply set light to. These all have their own benefits and obviously each one smells different. Cedar is known for its ability to transmute heightened negative energy, so is perfect to burn after an argument, for example. Juniper and Palo Santo are known to bring comfort and prosperity with them, and Rosemary is particularly good to support new beginnings.
To smudge your home, carry your wood or smudge stick around with a small bowl to catch any loose pieces of ash. You will also need to a box of matches or a lighter as you will probably have to keep relighting it to produce a good waft of smoke. Remember to open as many windows as you can.
How to Smudge Your Space
The most important thing to do in the process of cleansing is to set a strong intention that that’s what you’re going to achieve. The first thing I do is call in my angels to assist me. We all have angels in the spiritual realm looking out for us. You can call upon them anytime you need some assistance. This is the perfect opportunity. If you like to work with Archangels, a lovely one to assist with space cleansing is Archangel Jophiel, (she is also great to work with if you ever feel your thoughts are in need of a clean up).
Reiki guides and angels are also ideal to call upon for this job. You don’t have to be a Reiki-attuned practitioner to use them. The whole essence of Reiki is energy healing, so those angels are ready and raring to go for you! Reiki literally translates into ‘universal life force’ and we all have access to that.
So, you have your smudge stick of choice, you’ve set your intention to cleanse your space and you’ve called upon your angels to assist you. Light your stick and get it warm enough to produce a good flame followed by a decent amount of smoke. You’re going to walk around your home wafting the smoke up into all the nooks, crannies and corners of each room and as you go, say something along these lines. (Don’t be rigid about it – you will become very adept at knowing what you need to say to clean things up in your own home if you let your intuition guide you).
Angels of the higher realm, I call upon you now to help me cleanse this space. Please clear any negativity, fear or energy that isn’t serving my highest purpose or the highest purpose of those who live here…. Removing any unhelpful thoughts, imprints of arguments, self-doubt, or emotions which may block the presence of joy, love and abundance… clearing them away now…
Continue this chat as you move from room to room, wafting the smoke and making sure you follow your intuition about how long you take and how much attention you give to each area. You know what goes on in your house, so trust that you know how to cleanse it.
Blessing Your Space
When you’ve done that, either go to a central place in your home, or if you prefer, go into each room separately and bless your space. Place your hands in a prayer position, and say something along the lines of “Thank you angels for your assistance today. I bless this space, now filled with love and light. May we prosper and flourish here with all the abundance of the universe, so that we may spread more of the same to every person and place outside of it.”
If you would like to, you can repeat these words as you move through the house spraying water infused with essential oils like rose, lemon or lavender. Or, if you have some bells, a gong or a sound bowl, you could also walk around with those, saying the prayer whilst filling each room with the sound vibrations.
Sweeping as an Alternative
If you don’t like the idea of burning something in your home, another way to cleanse your space is by ‘sweeping’ the energy. Sweeping is again something that has been practised for many centuries in different cultures and religions.
The idea of this isn’t to clean up dust – it works along the same premise as smudging, in that it is shifting the energy and clearing it to another plain. You don’t have to sweep the brush along the floor (although sweeping your doorsteps each morning is a very positive ritual to follow!) You can use a small brush that you’ve fixed together with twigs and foliage to sweep the air.
Trust That You’ll Instinctively Know What to do
However you choose to cleanse your space, be confident that it will have the desired effect. You may well be working with something you can’t see, but you know you can feel it. And that’s enough for you to trust the process.
I hope you enjoyed this article. I wrote it as part of the Happiest You Programme. This is a 12-week online programme of personal enlightenment and elevation. It’s designed to walk you through a gentle process of spiritual awakening, to understand your connectedness, strengthen and heal your inner resolve and learn to expand the love you have for yourself. Every aspect of life is covered including how to live your life purpose, how to make your relationships more fulfilling, and how to enhance your prosperity so that you may attract all the abundance you deserve. Each day you receive a 10 minute audio to listen to and at the end of each week there is also an exercise to complete. It’s a comprehensive guide to feeling happy and deeply fulfilled. To find out more, including how you can join the programme for a free trial, simply click on the button below.
Love and abundance to you,
Kate x