Mike Crispen
The Smudging Ceremony.
What you need, sage sweet grass cedar, or tobacco, singly or in combination,
or other medicine wheel herbs, a shell or small bowl a fan or a feather. and matches.
Takes about five minutes of your time, if in a group more time is needed.
Mix the herbs in your shell and light them.
When they are burned use a feather, from a chicken or turkey or pheasent or duck,
or fan to put out the flame, then drawing the smoke to your heart, then over your head,
down your arms, down the front of your body and then the back towards the ground.
If you need special healing in a part of your body you can pull the smoke there.
The plants will help you, but it is your responsibility to cleanse your own engery field.
Next offer smoke to the six directions, up to the Creator,
down to Mother Earth, North to Waboose, East to Wabun, South to Shawnodese, and West to Mudjekeewis.
After you are done with your self you can now smudge others in the group.
If inside you may walk around the room smudging the room and the corners particularly.
Smudge any tools you will use in the ceremony.
Back in the time of spirit, ceremony and belief, Great Spirit gave to Turtle Island's
Indigenous people four sacred plants. These medicines were meant to be used in prayer
and for other peaceful purposes. When combined the smoke carried our prayers to Great Spirit.
Today, what is often called a 'Sweetgrass Ceremony' opens many gatherings, powwows, meetings,
conferences anywhere people are gathered together in a good way.
The word 'smudge' is a bit of a slang term when describing the four plants as a group;
'smudging' means the action of fanning or pushing the smoke over you to create harmony mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
Often shells are used for smudging, big, beautiful abalone shells.
A simple, clay or pottery bowl is also a good choice for smudging.
SWEETGRASS, the hair of Mother Earth and the power of emotional healing.
It is literally is sweetgrass and often grows in dark, marshy places.
It is braided to signify unity and strength. A single blade of grass
represents an aspect of the living world, when separated it can be broken,
but when braided it cannot be broken. When in ceremony,
human hair is usually braided to signify that we are all one people
and that our world vision is one of strong, united, supportive communities.
Sweetgrass is a tangible metaphor for a unified world. Our task is to work towards a world community
that is in harmony with itself.
Sweetgrass soothes the emotions, calms the nerves, brings down the heart rate.
Its perfume drops your shoulders in relaxation as you move into the rhythm of the Earth.
CEDAR - the power of physical healing. It's sweet smell and healing properties are used in physical healing.
Bathing in a cedar bath or the occasional cup of cedar tea helps to cleans
the internal and external body. Feel its power seep into your pores.
Feel the pulse of your heart as your body embraces its own health and wellbeing.
Line the floor of a sweatlodge with Cedar so that its sweet smell can imbue those sitting inside.
It is refreshing, it invigorates, it heals.
SAGE - The power of spiritual healing. As the white sage (salvia apiana) wafts across your body,
breathe it into your soul. Let your spirit find its balance with the emotions
and the physical body.
Feel its power raise your spirits, feel yourself stand taller and stronger.
There are holes in the spirit when it is sad, let the sage fill those holes with good thoughts and positive attitudes.
TOBACCO - The power of Mental Healing. Ah, the most powerful of all,
it gives thanks to Great Mystery and to the Ancestors. Often considered to be the oldest plant
on Turtle Island, it was never meant to be smoked for commercial purposes!
Sacred tobacco is pure and colled 'Kinnikinnik'. It is comprised of Tobacco,
bear berry leaves, red willow and alder bark, among other things.
It is smoked in sacred pipes and given to Elders or Traditional Teachers
when requesting assistance or information. Tobacco is sprinkled in thanks to the Earth Mother,
to Great Mystery and to the Ancestors for gracing us with their presence.
Tobacco should be held in the left hand, closest to the heart.
Raise your hand, it should be offered to the four directions before being scattered on the earth.
HOW TO SMUDGE: Place cedar, sage, sweetgrass into a clay bowl.
Light it carefully and let the smoke start to rise, it carries your prayers to Great Mystery.
Rub your hands in the smoke to cleanse them; scoop the smoke into your hands and bring it to your head,
so you will think good thoughts - no anger, jealousy, hate; to the eyes
so you will see the world around you in a good way; to the throat so you will speak always
in kindness and in non-judgmental ways; to the ears,
so that you will listen truly listen to each other instead of 'waiting to speak'
which we so often do; to the heart so you feel connected to all living beings in a loving way;
to the solar plexus so your emotions connect with the Earth Mother;
Women to the womb, so your life giving energies go out into the world in balance and harmony.
Finally under the feet, this way the dark side of your soul and the world will not follow in your footsteps.
Do you hear that? Listen carefully, for the Ancestors have awoken from their deep sleep
and have come along with the spirit of the smudge.
They are here to help you heal.
As is the way with all things sacred, great respect must be given to the process of smudging
for a relationship is being formed between you, the plant spirits,
the Ancestors and Great Spirit. It is powerful and must be respected.
Today we are told this:
The Medicine Wheel teaches that there are two worlds - the Seen World and the Unseen World,
or the Physical World and the Spiritual World. We need information from both of these worlds
in order to live our lives in a harmonious way.
The most difficult way is to figure things out by ourselves and leave the Great Spirit out of it.
When we do this, we are making decisions with information only from the Physical World.
This can be called reliance on self. If we ask the Creator to help us,
we then get information from the Unseen World or the Spiritual World.
The Spiritual World is where we get our power.
When we do this, we are God-reliant. Being God-reliant is the same as being on the Red Road. .
Through Ceremony
Thru ceremony we learn to give back, by singing , dancing, drumming,
When we pray we give energy back from our hearts. Ceremonies and Respect Most people must learn this way of life.
If you live in harmony, always respecting the sacred circle and all things in it,
every step you take can be a ceremony that celebrates your connection with the Creator.
If you live this way you realize you, like the Medicine Wheel,
are a tool of life guided by the Creator that is within you and around you..
I hope thru this understanding you will realized how itis important
to know all that is involved in knowing the Medicine Wheel,The Directions, the Power Animals,
and the Spirits of the Ancient Ones. The Power of the Stones, Plants, Colors, Moons Paths, Minerals.
Everything is connected.
We are a circle, we are connected. We are the Dance, We hear the Mother Earth Songs.
Who are the Ancient Spirits?
The ancient spirits are the embodiment of the ancient people of the earth.
Ancient spirits speak in the collective voices of ancient people.
They are the spirit guides, the inner voices of the earth.
They come to you with intension to communicate with you. They come to help you heal.
Initially you see them from afar.
They make themselves known to you. When it is clear you invited them, their voices become clearer.
Ancient spirits need to have a relationship cultivated to stay visible. They bring you back into the forest.
They coax you deeper into nature. They take you on their ancient paths.
When you follow and ancient spirit, that is when you discover the feather and understand its meaning.
The ancient ones take you on the Path Of the Feather.
Spirit Animals, what are they?
A spirit animal or power animal is a spiritual energy of the animal on earth.
The spirit animal is greater then the actual animal because it embodies the essence of that animal.
It is the animal. It is not a human form of the animal or an human dressed as an animal.
It is the animal spirit itself.
For example the spirit bear, it is the voice of all the bears
that have ever lived.
It is the bear that can see itself and speak.
It is the voice of the wild.
The voice of nature, the voice of the earth.
This animal informs the shaman of the earth energy it holds.
It gives the shamanic power and protection.
It is a helper that assists the shaman on the journey inward.
No shaman would attempt an inner journey without the help of a power animal.
The power animal conveys to the shaman and their people an energy they need to heal.
They will simply say "Because you are suposed to be here. if you were ment
to be some where else the Creator would have put you there instead".