My friend Shonda*, at one time, was committed to journaling, and meditating. Shonda tells me she has of late experienced a strong sense of negative feelings such as misplaced anger as well as the inability to transform negative energy into positive energy. She mentioned feeling “out of balance.” This was a sign that Shonda needed to reconnect with her Higher Self.
Lately, Shonda has gone about her day making several failed attempts at dealing with mainstream earthlings (e.g., banking, shopping, other trans-actions, and inter-actions). Shonda puts off communing with Spirit Energy resulting in the progressive degeneration of poise, and self-confidence.
My friend denies ever experiencing such intense, negative erratic cogency. For example although Shonda is an affable woman she seems to have lost her inside compass, putting it another way Shonda is off center, attracting into her sphere more dis-ease.
Shonda lives in a New York City, west side apartment and states hearing loud noises coming from her neighbor’s apartment; she actually went to her neighbor’s door expressing concern as to whether or not her neighbor was safe as the noises did seem as though they could be coming from the neighbor’s apartment. Shonda felt relieved by her neighbor’s reports that this was not the case.
The intermittent unexplained noises, she assured me, are not imagined to include irritability. Where was this energy coming from? Although Shonda finds solace engaging in a Full Moon Ritual she reports being “too busy” to be active in the ceremony this month. Shonda was usually observed journaling, praying, burning oil or incense, affirmations, burning candles as part of her daily sacred grooming process for many years. When I inquired about her spiritual grooming regiment Shonda admitted that it had not been a priority for quite some time. Based upon everything Shonda was describing it seemed as though she was experiencing spiritual depletion.
Simply put spiritual depletion is when we feel despondent, alone, agitated, and a disconnection from self. This happens as a result of failure to seek, obtain and maintain on some level a connection with our Higher Self or a Power or Force which we feel is Greater than ourselves. This disconnection leaves us nothing to feed from, nothing to sooth as a balm for our soul. Therefore a lack of spiritual sustenance results in spiritual depletion of which Shonda was experiencing. Shonda’s soul was in S.O.S. mode crying out for help. She began to experience what she called “strong instinctual feelings” accompanied by thoughts of her maternal aboriginal Cherokee roots.
The Evocation, Intercession, Invocation Process
During Shonda’s childhood and teen years her mother made every attempt and used every opportunity to ensure Shonda was aware of her aboriginal Cherokee roots to include the practicing of rituals and ceremonies. Shonda grew up in a Cherokee matrilineal kinship system. In a matrilineal kinship system, a person is related only to people on their mother’s side. Her relatives are those who can be traced through a woman.
“Early Cherokee culture the family unit was traced through the wives and not the husbands. The major members in each family were the mothers, aunts, grandmothers, brothers, and uncles, not fathers.” (Cited source http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-twoworlds/1882 )
Shonda stated that, “Lately, there seems to be a negative force so strong there is no way to escape it.” Shonda may have avoided such an uncomfortable experience had she continued her daily ritual of sacred spiritual grooming.
The invitation from her ancestral roots became progressively stronger as she hesitated engaging in the invocation or summoning process. I wondered just how far her ancestors traveled to reach my friend. I reflected upon what was or is the reason for her predecessors’ journey? What, if at all, is their message to her? If this is the case there is a lot to be said about the help Shonda can receive, the messages she can obtain if she is open and receptive. The availability of assistance was accessible and therefore not the issue, The Force(s) required her permission to intercede. The Greater Power(s), call it whatever we want, came to help Shonda in her time of need.
Shonda instinctively gravitated towards initiating the practices of her aboriginal Cherokee roots. She allowed me to be part of a cleansing ritual.
White Sage and Lemongrass Oil
White Sage and Lemongrass Oil
Shondra engaged in what she termed as “smudging.” She stated that, “The intention is to drive out bad influences.” I’d heard of smudging but now I was allowed the privilege of participating in the ritual. She lit aflame two small white sage leaves, no more than two inches long, extinguished the fire, fanning the smoke by using a feather she began to smudge herself from head to toe very slowly, ensuring the heart/chest area was smudged. She continued slowly smudging the floors, slowly moving upwards to the ceiling as far as she could reach. Room to room, doorways, thresholds, windows, closets and myself again. When Shondra completed the ritual she extinguished the sage smoke via placing the remnants of the two small leaves into a small bowl of sand.
Afterwards we journaled what may have been received messages. There seemed to be a sense of release, and calmness about Shondra. I was happy for her as well as myself.
The Lemongrass
The Lemongrass
I asked her what the significance of Lemongrass was within this ritual. She responded with, “For me it helps to improve digestive problems, detoxifies my entire system, chase away sluggishness, stimulates the central nervous system, to develop a sense of self-esteem, confidence, hope, mental strength, and it uplifts spirits and fights depression.” She thusly placed a drop in the palm of her hand, rubbed her hands together then inhaled softly for 30 seconds, the scent in her hands.
She began to talk about envisioning successes with her career goals, personal life, a sense of security and wellbeing. Shonda made a decision to get out of her way, allowed a connection with Higher Forces, resulting in tranquility. In witnessing her transformation it was conclusive for me that her faith in the ritual ceremony, and connection to her matrilineal kinship ancestral roots, reestablished Shondra's connection with her Higher Self.
*Real name changed for reasons of personal privacy.
© 2014 Rev. Barbara Williams, M.Msc.
*Real name changed for reasons of personal privacy.
© 2014 Rev. Barbara Williams, M.Msc.
