Read an Excerpt
CLEAN SWEEP
Banishing Everything You Don't Need to Make Room for What You Want
By Denny Sargent Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Denny Sargent
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60925-196-3
CHAPTER 1
Banishings of the Body and Physical Environment
When you touch a body, you touch the whole person, the intellect, the spirit, and the emotions.
—Jane Harrington
In many spiritual and philosophical traditions, it is said that the body is the temple of the soul. The basis of this chapter and of much of this book is the interrelationship between the physical and the nonphysical. Yet, no matter what you wish to banish or get rid of in your life, it all begins with your physical being and your physical environment.
Begin the entire process of banishing by first looking at yourself in a mirror. Relax. Really look and feel your physical being. Ignore your thoughts and feelings, self-criticisms, and that nattering inner ego voice for a time. Just be in your body. You have been given this vessel of flesh; what an amazing wonder it is. Even today no one really knows how all the many complex system parts of the body work as a whole. It is truly a marvel that is so close to us that we often ignore it.
As you begin the process of assessing your life, your emotions, your desires, your thinking and your plans, stay rooted first and foremost in your physicality. It all begins with the body. When looking at problems, issues, hardships, and anything else that you feel may be an impediment or barrier to your will, begin with how it affects you physically. When seeking those things, feelings, ideas, and processes that you wish to banish or eliminate from your life, begin with your own body.
Without belaboring the point, your physical actions (or non-actions) are the easiest, most direct and most doable mode of banishing there is. Emotional or mental ills can often be banished with some exercise, diet, physical work, or a physical cleansing.
Spiritual work, in almost every culture, always begins with a physical clearing, cleaning, or banishing action. It may be as simple as a series of physical postures and breathing, like in yoga. Or a water cleansing of the hands, mouth or face, something most temples, shrines, and other houses of worship insist upon before one can enter and do spiritual practices.
A polluted or dirty living space leads to negative feelings, thoughts, and expressions. Dietary shifts almost always reflect in physical shifts, which reflect in emotional, mental, and even spiritual shifts.
So, no matter why you are reading this book and no matter what you think your problems may be, begin with your body. How do you feel? What parts of your physical life are you promoting or neglecting? If your mindset says you do not have time to maintain a healthy body, then nothing you do will set things right. Banish issues that negatively impact your physical being and surroundings and, amazingly, other more abstract problems will fade away. At the very least, setting a firm foundation of a balanced and acceptable physicality will allow you to focus on other emotional, mental or spiritual "demons" that you will to banish!
Air: Breath, Air, and Scents
We can live without water for three to four days, we can live without food for ten days or more, we can even live without excreting waste for a few days, but our life without breath can be measured in minutes. Our lungs are where we renew ourselves every fifteen minutes or so. The expulsion of the carbon dioxide we do not need and the inhalation of the oxygen we do sets the rhythm of our entire body. In yoga, the vital air that we inhale does more than enrich our blood and feed our whole body with life-giving oxygen and other elements; it also brings vital energy into our body and so infuses our whole organism with what is called prana.
Many physical, emotional, and mental complaints and problems can be traced to poor breathing. If you feel a lack of energy, a lack of physical ability, and an overall fatigue, look first to your breathing. Short, gasping, or shallow breathing is indicative of a negative state of mind and body.
Close your eyes, sit, and breathe for a few moments. Are you using your full range of breath? Are your lungs fully inhaling and exhaling? Most people, especially when stressed, do not completely empty their lungs when they breathe.
Take a moment to breathe in to your fullest extent. More. More. Now exhale to your fullest extent. More. More. You will likely be surprised at the amount of air that your lungs can hold and that can be exhaled. That last bit of pushed out air when you fully and completely exhale is called stale air by some health practitioners. Coming from the very bottom of the lungs, it is often not fully exhaled and thus stays in the lungs, not being renewed.
The quality of our air is just as crucial to us as the action of breathing. Poor or polluted air accounts for a number of health issues, such as asthma and toxin-related illnesses. It is crucial that you measure the air quality around you and do what you can to improve it. Removing molds, for example, can clear up a number of severe physical problems. Moving to a place that is less polluted, planting more greenery around you, installing and maintaining air filters or purifiers—all of these may help alleviate health issues.
Simply getting outside and breathing the fresh air of nature can banish all sorts of stress-related problems. Physical exercise is important, in part, because it prompts us to take deep, oxygen-rich, lung-clearing breaths, which help revitalize our bodies.
In addition to oxygen, our lungs can bring other banishing agents into our bodies. My wife's inhaler, for example, banishes her bouts of asthma. Other sorts of fumes or smoke have been used for centuries to banish body issues. Certain herbs, when smoked, open the lungs and bring healing to the body. Sage comes to mind, but ancient texts and traditions are full of many different healing smokes used for banishing illness.
Airing out the house is something done in every culture, and it has very real benefits. Oxygen kills many kinds of fungi and bacteria, so bringing fresh air into your physical environment when cleaning removes sources of illness; it is also psychologically and emotionally healing.
Our air includes not just oxygen but also scents, and aromas have been shown to affect physical, psychological, and mental moods and feelings. Scents can depress or stimulate us, making us feel sluggish or energized. Hard research on aromatherapy confirms that scents can indeed banish negative feelings. One study from the University of Miami School of Medicine, for example, tested how subjects reacted to the scents of lavender and rosemary. The adults who smelled lavender showed increased drowsiness, but were also able to perform math functions more quickly and accurately than before they received the lavender; they also reported feeling relaxed. Those who smelled rosemary, on the other hand, displayed increased alertness and had lower anxiety test scores, in addition to being able to perform math functions more quickly. In other words, the lavender scent banished stress and the rosemary scent banished anxiety.
Pranayama
Goal: To banish all problems of the body through breath and thus power control.
Procedure:
1. Sit on the blanket, making sure you are calm and comfortable.
2. Breathe deeply for a minute or two. Let all your problems and ailments slip away for a moment.
3. Close your eyes, relax, and concentrate on the naturally calm rhythm of your breathing. When you feel you have reached a calm level of natural breathing, begin to focus on your in breath and out breath.
4. Breathe in to a count of five. Hold the breath for another count of five, then exhale for a count of five. Wait for a fourth count of five before breathing in again.
5. When you are comfortable breathing with this five-five-five-five rhythm, you may add a mental image. Visualize each expelled breath as grayish, smokelike energy that upon leaving your body and being is absorbed by the nature around you. See each in breath as filled with healing light, natural energy pulled from the lovely world around you. Continue this visualization as long as you like, until you feel refreshed.
6. When done, make thanks to the divine and nature, as you will.
There are many variations on this exercise, including some that focus specifically on emotional banishing. Pranayama, which literally means "life breath," is a vast and fascinating practice that can be further explored as you like.
Smudging
In essence, smudging is burning an herb or sacred substance to cleanse so that the smoke can banish ills. The herbs or substances that are traditionally used are sage, cedar, rosemary, pine, and lavender.
Goal: To banish the ills and troubles from a person or from a physical area.
Procedure:
1. If doing the smudging inside, make sure that all the windows and doors are open.
2. Say any kind of affirmation or prayer you wish.
3. Place the plants in a bowl or shell. With a cup of water nearby for safety, light the plants on fire. Let them smoke and smolder, but not burn. Wave a feather or fan or your hand over the bowl to direct and increase the smoke.
4. Circle the affected person or area counterclockwise, waving the smoke toward the person's body or about the room.
5. It is traditional to chant or say a prayer and to visualize the affliction/negative energy being forced out and up into the at mosphere by the smoke.
6. When done, offer the smoke to the divine and give thanks as you like.
7. Bury the ashes in the earth.
Healing Smoke
This Native American tradition has also been practiced, in many variations, in many different cultures for thousands of years. The herbs can be smoked without inhaling. Some commonly used herbs are:
Mullein Said to aid all lung ailments
Horehound An expectorant, will cause some coughing
Lobelia To stop smoking tobacco
Sage
Promotes general health and a long life
Goal: To heal the body of specific ills. Can also be used to banish ills from an area.
Procedure:
1. Healing smokes are always better done outside, but if done to banish ills from in an indoor area or from both a person and an area, make sure all the windows and doors are open.
2. Put the herb in a special pipe or crush and roll it into a rolling paper.
3. Light the herb. Puff on the pipe or "cigarette" to inhale the herb smoke.
4. If you like, exhale some of the smoke upward as an offering to the divine. It is traditional to then offer some smoke to each of the four compass directions. At the same time, say a prayer, affirmation, or just a simple wish to rid oneself or the area of negativity.
5. As you inhale the smoke, picture the smoke entering your body and filling you with light. As you exhale, see the smoke carry away your problem as it fades into the sky.
6. When done, offer up any other prayers or good wishes you like. Put out the herb.
7. Bury the burned herb in the earth.
7. Relax or even lay down for a while.
Aroma Banishing
Though studies on aromatherapy do verify some common effects for scents such as lavender, scent preferences can be subjective. It is recommended that oils used or incenses used for aroma banishing be of the purest and best quality. Some may cause an allergic reaction, so test them first. Common aromatherapy scents include:
Musk
Helps with impotence and sexual dysfunction
Ginger
Being warmth, helps with dizziness and nausea
Lavender Increases energy, banishes the blues, helps mental focus
Sandalwood Increases sensuality, sensitivity, and relaxation
Bergamot Alleviates depression and overall system weakness
Sage
Promotes relaxation, opens the body to healing
Eucalyptus Opens sinuses, eases breathing, helps with allergies
Geranium Increases energy
Goal: To banish illness from an area or person, using various scents that cause physical, mental, and spiritual changes.
Procedure:
1. Thoroughly clean person or area with a scentless cleaner.
2. Sit calmly and mentally focus on the desired banishing.
3. Light the incense or diffuse the scent outward while offering an affirmation or prayer, as you like. Close your eyes and relax.
4. Wave your hand (or a fan or feather) to bring the scent toward your face. Inhale deeply through your nose. Let the scent pervade and fill you. See the scent as a bright light of whatever color you like, filling your body (or the area around you) with light.
5. As you exhale, picture the ailment you're banishing as a dark, grayish fume and consciously push it out of your body with your breath. Watch it disappear. Repeat as many times as you like.
6. When you are done, open the doors and windows and breathe the fresh air. Relax and empty your mind for a time before moving on with other things.
Many people continue the banishing by wearing or carrying small vials of the scent with them to smell and use as they need.
Fresh Air Renewal
Do this banishing on a nice, sunny day. You will need a number of nontoxic cleaners (cleaners with no chemicals), such as white vinegar in water, baking soda, and lemon juice; many stores carry a whole selection of commercial nontoxic cleaners. You will also need a selection of indoor plants.
Goal: To remove negative health influences and bring in healthy and healing air to banish problems.
Procedure:
1. Thoroughly clean all of your home with the nontoxic cleaners. Check all parts of your home for molds, mildews, dust, and dirt, which can affect air quality.
2. Make sure the fans and vents of your home are open, clean, and working properly, especially over the stove. Replace all filters.
3. Next, place an electric fan near an open window and turn it on. Open all the doors. As the house airs out, see light and joy enter your home with the fresh air. Picture negative energy flowing out the windows and doors with the old air, and see light and joy entering your home with the new, fresh outdoor air.
4. Hang or place the plants around the space. (See the Feng Shui Home Banishing practice in the fire section of this chapter for placement ideas.)
5. At sunset, close the doors and windows and sit. Breathe and enjoy. Notice the new feeling of peace and tranquility in your home.
6. Tend those plants and thank them for all the lovely fresh oxygen they bring you and your home environment.
Fire: Nervous and Digestive Systems
Your nervous system is the hardwiring of your body. It surrounds just about every other physical part of your body and plugs the whole kit-n-kaboodle into the operating system—your brain. Through the fiery flow of neurons, messages containing commands, data, and reactions race back and forth.
Most people already use medicine as a tool to banish pain or discomfort. Taking aspirin, for example, is a simple way to banish a headache.
How else can we use banishing to help our nervous system? One key way is by using a centuries-old Asian view of the nervous system as the meridians, or paths, that vital energy (called qi or chi) uses to travel throughout our body. As Phylameana lila Desy explains in The Everything Reiki Book, "The meridian healing system (originating in Chinese Medicine) is based on the concept that an insufficient supply of Qi makes a person vulnerable to disease. Restoring the Qi is the ultimate goal in restoring overall health and well-being to the individual." Using acupuncture or acupressure, we can manipulate the meridians corresponding to our nervous system, easing chi blockages and thus banishing problems.
Serious acupressure massage or acupuncture work should be done by a professional. But you can take charge of your own body (and its meridians) on the most basic of levels. You can change certain postures that bring pain by blocking meridians. Stress also blocks meridians, and you can often massage out these blockages by yourself. Getting someone to rub or even just touch you in painful areas can alleviate blockages and nervous-system issues. You can also wear clothes and shoes that do not restrict or injure your skin, and you can treat your senses and the nerves that connect them with care.
Just as acupuncture and acupressure fix chi issues in the body, feng shui fixes chi issues in your physical environment. It is believed that the environment and body are connected through the flow of chi, and negative chi in the environment leads to illness. Keeping the energy positive and flowing is key to a healthy physical environment, which in turn affects you. While this feng shui is a Chinese practice, similar arts can be found in India and elsewhere.
Under the rubric of fire we also find the flames of digestion, the system in charge of taking raw fuel and burning it to supply the rest of the body in its needs. Just as in any other part of your life, if toxins build up in the body, disease and problems occur. The digestive system includes the colon, bladder, and urinary tract, which banish liquid and solid toxins from the body. There are many who believe that the root of most physical ills lies in poor or clogged digestive systems. By choosing what and how much you put into your system, you help your system banish the negatives.
What you eat directly determines your health, and one of the easiest ways to banish toxins from your body is to watch what you eat and drink. In addition to avoiding caffeine, sugar, and wheat, three of the most common digestive-system irritants, you should also use healthy oils (such as olive and canola). Add whole or living foods, fresh juices, vegetables, and vital foods of all sorts to your diet. Drinking a lot of water is incredibly helpful for your digestive system. (See "Banishing with Nutrients and Food" in the earth section of this chapter for ways to use food for bodily banishing.)
(Continues...)
Excerpted from CLEAN SWEEP by Denny Sargent. Copyright © 2007 Denny Sargent. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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