rituals

When I was 16, I started going to a small Buddhist temple in the city I was raised in. Across the street from the city bus stop that I was deposited at around 3:30 every week day, this small zen center had guided practice for about an hour and a half. I was young and only attended temple occasionally, but my interest in meditation was piqued. A book by thich nhat hanh taught me basic technique and practice. And then I forgot. I never finished that book and I stopped going to temple altogether.

This is an article on non-medicinal ways to combat the symptoms of depression and anxiety.  As always, if you’re having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (in the U.S.), or your local mental health hotline.

Sandalwood refers to wood from trees in the genus Santalum. Sandalwood trees grow in India, Asia, and places like Hawaii. There are many types of wood that have desirable fragrances such as cedar and cherry trees but the scent of those trees fades pretty quickly compared to the sandalwood. The sweet, warm, woody, and soft scent of sandalwood stays strong for decades. Sandalwood’s sweet aroma has been around and highly valued for many centuries.

Did you know that your oral health is extremely important to your overall health? One oral health practice that is becoming increasingly popular is oil pulling. There is tons of information out there on oil pulling and how to do it properly, but some of it is conflicting information. To clear things up, here is everything you need to know about oil pulling:

What is it?

As the winter holidays quickly approach, many people may experience a mixture of excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and sadness, along with many other emotional states that come and go. Holiday rituals and the changing of the seasons can bring both celebration and introspection. We may enjoy spending time with loved ones, decorating, spiritual practices, or shopping, and we may also be grieving losses, evaluating the year behind us, and planning for changes to come. Hopefully, as we all go through our own unique holiday experiences, we can make self-care a priority.

The sacred action of smudging has been used for centuries by  various cultures, and today it is still being used for clearing, purifying, and adjusting surrounding energies. A great way to look at smudging is like a kind of spiritual bath, with the smoke cleansing away undesired dirty-spiritual vibrations.

To smudge, most people tie certain herbs and plants together with a thread, and burn them. Nowadays, there are many different kinds of plants that can be used for smudging. Here are 5 plants used for smudging as well as some of their spiritual purposes.