Category Archives: MUSINGS

September 19, 2019

Ritual Bath for Purification

By JL
Image by Tesa Robbins from Pixabay 

There are a good number of reasons, both physical and spiritual, for indulging in a purification bath.

  • Feeling tired
  • Feeling a virus coming on
  • Releasing physical and emotional stress
  • Releasing residual gunk during or after spiritual attunement and upgrades
  • Preparing for magickal ritual

What You Need

You’ll want to take your ritual bath in a sparkling clean bathroom. Bath salts added to your water draw out toxins (see below). Drinking water or herbal tea keeps you hydrated, but also facilitates the release of toxins and miasma. Plan for about an hour of undisturbed time. If you want the whole spa experience you’ll also need a supply of soft, fluffy towels, a robe, candles(s) and music.

Preparation

Like any magick, the more care you put into preparation the better your results. Start clean—this goes for your bathing space and your body. While there is a physical detoxing effect, a purification bath works primarily on a energetic and spiritual level; it’s not a time for personal hygiene.

Using natural based cleaners for your bathroom surfaces sets the tone. There are many good commercial products available. Or you can simply add I cup of white vinegar, orange and lemon rind, and 10-12 drops of tea tree or pine essential oil to a gallon of warm water. If you need an abrasive agent, use baking soda and salt in a 5 to 1 ratio (5 TBS soda, 1 TBS salt). Sprinkle on surfaces, scrub with a soft cloth and then wash away with the pre-made vinegar solution. Rinse all surfaces thoroughly.

When your bathroom is sparking clean, use incense or smoke/smudge of your choice to clear the space and consecrate it to your purpose. Start at the door and moving counter-clockwise (deosil), direct the smoke around the space, being sure to reach into corners, cabinets and drains. Douse the incense or herbs and flush. Clearing space leaves a void, it’s important to fill the space with the desired energy. Moving in clockwise direction, consecrate your space with a simple intention spoken aloud. Something like, “Bless this space, clean is pure. Restorative energy awaits me here.” Adding sound boosts the intention, so use your rattle, bells, a drum, or clap your hands.

The Ritual Bath

Pinterest

Step into the shower for a quick rinse before your bath. Using a loofa or body brush, buff your skin vigorously. This increases circulation at the surface and will aid in moving toxins from your body. Finish with long strokes in one direction moving away from your heart—from shoulders down to fingertips, from hips down to feet (dont’ forget your soles!), and down your back if you can. Rinse thoroughly. Alternately, you could do a black salt scrub (find DIY scrubs on Pinterest).

The Bath

Rinse tub, fill with warm to hot water. Add the following:

  • 1 cup Epsom’s salt
  • 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • Several drops of lavender essential oil
  • A few drops mint essential oil, or fresh mint sprigs.

If you don’t have essential oils or prefer not to use them, you can purchase lavender and mint Epsom’s salt in larger pharmacies or discount stores. Or use fresh mint, available in the produce department of many supermarkets. In a pinch, use mint tea bags and dried lavender (you can put both in a coffee filter, gather into a pouch and secure with string, then drop in the water).

Light candles, cue the music (both optional) and slip into your bath. Submerge as much of your skin surface beneath the water as possible. Tuck a rolled towel behind your head for comfort. Place, cool moist teabags on your eyes for an extra treat—camomile is great, but plain black or green tea bags work.

Relax for 20 or 30 minutes. Sip your water or tea to stay hydrated. Visualize all toxic energy, tension, or gunky miasma leaving your body and completely dissolving in the water. Use a visualization of a protective boundary for your body, what you are releasing cannot renter . . . it’s strictly one way.

When you’re ready to leave your bath, drain the water while you’re still in the tub. Visualize everything your body and spirit has released going down the drain. Step out of the tub, wrap yourself in towel, then your robe. Spend another 20 minutes relaxing (in bed, on the sofa, or in a recliner). Do a body scan, focus on the feeling of relaxation and cleared energy.

Stay Hydrated

Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay 

Lemon, mint and ginger all help to move toxins from your body. Add fresh or dried ginger, mint, and lemon slices to filtered or sparkling water, or buy as tea and brew a quart using one bag of each. Drink the detox blend only during your bath. Afterwards, switch to water with lemon only.

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September 3, 2019

Self-Care*Self-Love 30 Day Challenge

By JL

September is national Self-Care month. See my thoughts on the intersection of Self-Care and Self-Love and then join in the challenge. In what ways can you give yourself at least as much love as you give to others, and honor your need for self-care?

Follow along here for a new challenge posted each day.
Or follow me on Instagram @mad_goddess1 &
On Twitter @SimpleWitchery

Share your responses on social media using #SimpleSelfCare and #MADGoddess

September 1 ~ In what ways do you claim time and space for your #selfcare

September 2 ~ We aren’t what we eat, but food fuels our function. In what simple way can you incorporate healthy eating into your daily meals?

September 3 ~ Toot your own horn, bang your own drum, throw yourself a parade. Celebrate your awesome self! Share your favorite song to pump you up!

September 4 ~ Water is Life. Show us how you love your healthy body by staying hydrated. Share a pic of your favorite water, water bottle, etc.

September 5 ~ Feed your soul. Bring the beauty of the outdoors in. Do you have a green thumb for house plants? Do you gather fresh flowers to fill vases? Do you have a jar of pretty rocks or seas shells? Show us how you incorporate nature elements into your indoor space.

September 6 ~ Engage in your chosen community. TGIF. Fridays and Fall mean one thing – high school football. Take in a game, cheer on your home team, enjoy a cup of steaming cocoa on a crisp night under the lights.

Crowds aren’t exactly your cup of tea? Seek out smaller, safer community connections, like a book or hobby club, Invite your friends for a pot luck, or just beverages and conversation. If mobility, social anxiety or other concerns are in play, spend some time with your trusted online communities.

September 7 ~ Feed your mind. Learn something new today, work a crossword puzzle, or solve a Suduko. Visit your local public library, they offer so much more than books, like vents, classes, visual art exhibits and more. Or take in a local museum.

September 8 ~ The Holy No. How often to you find yourself talked into something you really didn’t want to do? Don’t offer lame excuses, just say no like you mean it. Explanations not necessary.

September 9 ~ Feed your spirit. Visit an art museum, a botanical garden, a planetarium or other place of beauty and inspiration.

September 10 ~ It’s okay to make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. You likely forgive your loved ones without being asked. Forgive yourself in the same measure.

September 11 ~ Your self worth does not depend on how much you do for others.

September 12 ~ Give yourself time out when you need it. Take a short break to do absolutely nothing. You might find it difficult at first, with everything that needs to be done running through your mind. Send it to voice mail, listen later.

September 13 ~ Move your body. Regular physical movement is maybe the most important factor in overall health. Even for those immobilized by injury or disease, physical therapy is considered vital. So move your can, or what you can, while you can.

Septemer 14 ~ Believe in yourself. Be your own cheerleader. Give yourself a pep talk. A little encouragement goes a long way.

September 15 ~ Get the sleep your body, mind and psyche need. You might think that’s 8-hours a night, but you’d be wrong. Turns out there is no research to support that number; it’s become part of the American culture because of . . . you guessed it, marketing. For most adults, anywhere from 6 up to 9 hours of sleep supports good health, while the average falls at 6.5 to 7 hours.

If you are or have raised children, you are well aware of how too little sleep affects their behaviors; they can be cranky, whiny, argumentative, inattentive, unable to concentrate and just plain difficult. Lack of sleep has the same effects on adults, though perhaps less noticeable to observers because we have developed impulse control. Whether you mask the effects of poor sleep or not, you still feel them, and they are telling you . . . get more sleep!

September16 ~ Do the things you enjoy, alone or with others.

September 17 ~ Just listen. We live in the age of opinion. Everybody has always had one, but not everybody always shared them. The 24/7 “so called news” networks have made an art of forming opinions on everything, and we’re following suit, maybe even feeling obligated to weigh in lest we appear apathetic. Whether giving or getting, it’s exhausting! You don’t have to have an opinion on everything—give it rest.

September 18 ~ Feed Your Spirit. Take a moment morning and evening for grounding and centering. There are numerous methods for doing this, including mundane, magical, and religious. Each evening, recall at least one thing your are grateful for. Before bed, imagine yourself disconnecting from activities and events of the day. Visualize a thread or cord connecting you to each, feel your relaxation deepen as you see the connections going dark, knowing you can turn them back on when you wake.

September 19 ~ A Breath of Fresh Air. Give your house or apartment of breath of fresh air on a breezy day. Open all the windows and doors and let the wind blow through your space. My mother used to do this every Saturday, even during the sub-zero winters in northern Wisconsin. Science now indicates this is the best way to rid your hom e of winter cold and flu viruses.

September 20 ~ Go soak yourself! True self care is about so much more than warm baths, wine and candles, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still indulge. Give your bath a detoxing boost by with Epsom’s salt, lavender and (or) mint essential oil, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide—for amounts and details read Ritual Bath for Purification. This combo is believed to help draw out toxins (skip the wine and drink and glass of water with lemon), and balance pH levels. When you’re done, wrap yourself in a robe and lie down (bed, sofa, recliner); feel what it means to be totally relaxed.

September 21 ~ Give yourself a day off. Life can be pretty hectic. With everything that has to be done, you can end up working, at you job, at home, taking care of family and meeting other obligations, all the time. For working adults, days off often mean catching up at home. Your mind and body need to rest. Schedule regular time, once a day, once a week, or one weekend a month, for nothing but leisure.

September 22 ~Something’s Gotta Give. If taking that day off leaves you thinking you’ll just have twice as much to do the next day, chances are you’re doing too much. Take inventory of everything you’re doing. Are there things that can be simplified? Are there ways to be more efficient? Is there anything you can let go?

September 23 ~ Just stop doing it all! How much are you doing for others that they could be doing for themselves? Are you a pleaser, a fixer . . . a door mat? Let’s face it, very few people are going to turn down an offer to lighten their load. And very few will return the favor. Generosity, kindness and a willingness to help others are all admirable qualities, but if you’re feeling stretched too thin, hoping and waiting for others to step in and help you, or just step up and help themselves, you’re probably doing too much for others and not enough for yourself.

September 24 ~ Ask for help. Sometimes there are just too many responsibilities one person can handle. Single parent, going to school, working full or part-time? Long commute taking up several hours of your day? Having to work more than one job? It’s okay to accept help. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it.

September 25~ Energetic Cord Cutting. We have energetic ties to all the people in our lives. The energy flows to and from, like the broadband connection we use for downloading and uploading through internet. Our connection to family and loved ones carries a heavier load back and forth. When the energy is good, it’s good for us. When the energy becomes negative, distressing, hurtful, it’s not so good for us. But we can control the bandwidth—we can open it wide, narrow it down, or cut it off, completely.

September 26 ~ Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish. Speaking of bandwidth—pull the plug on social media that’s causing you to stress out. Clean up your feed, cut your online time in half, or disconnect completely for regular periods of time. Your stress levels will go down.

September 27 ~ Indulge. Give yourself a treat, take yourself on a special date (or arrange one with a friend or loved one), buy that book you’ve been dying to read (and you’re 200 back on the library reserve list), or the certain art supply you’ve been drooling over. Eat dessert, take the trip, buy the shoes. Every now and then, break your rules.

September 28 ~ Volunteer. So many charities, service agencies, and community events require the help of volunteers. Do a good deed by lending your expertise, skill or helping hands. You’ll make social and/or professional connections while improving your community.

September 29 ~ Grow. Make a commitment to personal development. Take up a hobby, learn a new language, take dancing lessons, polish your public presentation skills (Toastmaster is a great way to master public speaking and it’s free!). If your live near a university, check out their community ed programs. Learn something new for a better you.

September 30 ~ Celebrate Your Accomplishments! You’v completed a month of self care, that’s cause for celebration. When you fail to celebrate accomplishments, you train your brain to diminish your efforts. Make a habit of celebrating — milestones, accomplishments, and small victories—especially the small victories.

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August 27, 2019

I’m Picking Up Good Vibrations

By JL
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Even in 1966, when The Beach Boys were extolling the virtues of good vibrations, the power of positive thought was nothing new.

“Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’”

Beach Boys

Dale Carnegie wrote How To Win Friends and Influence People in 1936. It later became a course of personal improvement based on positive behaviors, hailed by business executives the world over. And it was Benjamin Franklin who wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanac, “Tart Words make no Friends: spoonful of honey will catch more flies than gallon of vinegar.”

More recently The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne (2006), took the premise of the law of attraction and ran with it, selling the idea (by way of 30 million copies of the book) that the vibrational frequencies of our thoughts go forth into the universe and fetch back like vibrations—positive thoughts attract positive results. 

It seems positivity also attracts nay-sayers. Lately my social media feeds are full of chatter decrying the scourge of toxic positivity and the harm it causes in the spiritual community. In my opinion, it’s fast becoming a one sided conversation driven by those who feel they are being pressured to mask behavior or personality traits seen as negative, in order to be accepted.

In polite society, there are certain conventions regarding behaviors generally thought to be offensive. Let’s face it, you probably don’t burp, fart, or pick your nose in public regardless of how pleasurable it may be for you, or because you do it at home all the time and shouldn’t have to change who you are to be accepted. You know good and well such behaviors will draw criticism and avoidance.

Where does your right to act or speak as you feel, come up against my right to not be offended—or even feel uncomfortable? How does your comfort level, trump mine? Frankly, if your attitude is bumming me out, what compels me to engage with you?

If I see one meme a day, I see twenty, declaring that the poster is not a phony or fake and if you can’t take them as they are it’s your problem not theirs. But it’s not my problem at all. I can walk or click away, and maybe you don’t care if I do. Great, we’re both getting what we want. If it’s my page or my group, I can ask you to get with the program or leave. That’s when you cry foul.

Own Your Own Crap

Everybody certainly has the right to act and speak as they feel. However, there is no protected right to impose your true self on those who choose not to participate in the exchange, in real life or on social media.

I’m married to a man who sees his world through a lens of negativity—he points out everything that he sees as wrong, somehow lacking, below standard, or otherwise irritating to him. Whether or not his constant negative commentary is justified (by chronic pain, life threatening illness, profound grief over the loss of his only son, and probably complicated PTSD) is irrelevant. He chooses to focus on these things, and by verbalizing it in an endless stream of complaining, he imposes it on me. It’s exhausting, sometimes maddening, sometimes unbearable. I’m constantly shielding and deflecting his behaviors. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about what the stress levels are doing to my own health.

I married him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health. More importantly I love him and have compassion for his struggles. I’m no saint, he tolerates a lot too—probably not the least of which is my incessant positivity. I’m not walking away. I choose to put up with his crap, which is one reason I won’t tolerate yours—I’m already fulfilling my quota, thank you.

We live in expanding rings of community, with self at the center, surrounded by family, then friends, work groups, social groups, and so forth. The further you move from the center, the more you have to moderate your behavior to get along in a crowd.

Being told that you are a buzz kill, a kill joy, a Debbie downer, a gloomy Gus, a drain, an energy vampire, a pessimist, or any other epithet denoting negativity is not toxic positivity. At the other end of the scale are the Chatty Cathy’s, the Pollyanna’s, those accused of being naive, sticking their head in the sand, being in denial, wearing rose colored glasses, too loud, too hyper, told to tone it down, take it down a notch . . . all for being too optimistic. 

I have heard every one of those at times in my life. Does it sting? Oh my, yes. Could it be said with more tact, maybe compassion? Yes, certainly. Does it cause me to moderate how I act? With some people, in some places, yes. I’m pretty sure that’s a lesson in social awareness. 

Accusations of toxic positivity as I most often see them, are a misnomer at best. It’s an umbrella term covering the new age, love and light, power of attraction schools of thought that abound in personal development, healing arts, and spiritual practice from witchcraft to evangelical Christianity. A few recognized thought leaders include Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, and Joel Osteen, minister of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.

I mention these three because all have drawn criticism from their detractors and contemporaries both. Williamson is being called a whacka-doodle, Robinson has been held up as a snake oil salesman of the worst kind, and Osteen is accused of bypassing the scripture of fire and brimstone to preach a false gospel of prosperity and positivity—despite heading up the fastest growing non-denominational Christian congregation in the United States. 

I’m not here to debate the validity or value of these self appointed gurus’ offerings. I don’t necessarily subscribe to their pitches. For all the followers, there are as many haters. It boils down to a cup of tea—maybe it’s your cup of tea, or maybe it’s not. Offering you a sip is not the same as forcing it down your throat. If it feels that way, maybe you should reconsider hanging out with people who think it’s the nectar of the gods.

This is not to say that toxic positivity does not exist. At its core, toxic positivity is a problem of insensitivity and lack of compassion. Telling a clinically depressed person to cheer up, or suggesting they wouldn’t need medication if they just tried to be more positive is not only insensitive, it’s just plain ignorant. As is telling members of marginalized and minority communities, where systemic discrimination blocks upward mobility and success, that they need to stay positive and try harder.

Equally toxic is the implied (or direct) suggestion that if positive thought brings positive results negative thoughts attract negative results. Of course, that’s utter nonsense. As Rabbi Harold Kushner put fort in his best selling book, bad things happen to good people all the time. It’s nobody’s fault, it is not some divine punishment, it is not the action of a vengeful God or gods, or the powers that be.

  • Fact #1: Good and bad things happen all the time.
  • Fact #2: These things happen as a result of our decisions and actions.
  • Fact #3 These things happen through indirect forces we have no control over.
  • Fact#4 All three of the above facts can co-exist; no one is no more true than the other.

What About The Exceptions

Does positive thought have any efficacy at all, then? I choose to believe it does. 

There’s this funny little quirk of our brain and how it processes information—it’s not so good at distinguishing between real and make-believe. For example, watch a scary movie and you’ll feel your pulse quickening and your heart racing. Your body systems are also being flooded with stress hormones preparing the body to flee or stand and fight. All of this happens even as you repeat to yourself, “it’s only a movie, it’s only a movie.”

The same glitch has been used by competitive athletes for decades, under the headings of self fulfilled prophesy and mental conditioning. An olympic skater might go over their routine a thousand or more times in their mind, imagining each glide, spin, jump and landing, envisioning perfection in every detail, willing it to happen just that way.

Even the practice of making vision boards, providing a constant visual reminder of what you want to manifest, fools your mind into thinking it’s already a reality. Though you may not be consciously aware of it, you begin to make choices and act in ways that facilitate your goals. Or even more simply, the familiarity of the images compels you to have those things in real time. Whichever it is, I’ve manifested a good many material things in my life by first attracting them with thought.

Diversity in personality and behavior is one of the things that makes us all unique. Fly your freak flag, or your grump flag, or your love and light, positive attraction, unicorn pooping rainbows flag, and allow others to do the same. Maybe don’t join a camp if you don’t feel allegiance to its flag.

Unicorn pooping rainbow flag
https://www.amazon.com/Semtomn-Smiling-Unicorn-Pooping-Rainbow/dp/B07LF4P2YB

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