8 Smudging Alternatives: Step Outside the Bundle

We’re constantly surrounded by energy – we pick up negative and positive vibrations all the time, and they affect us in a myriad of ways physically, mentally, and spiritually. Unfortunately, we can’t always choose which vibrations we take in – and if you’re an empath, the struggle to keep a clear energy field is real, particularly if you’re surrounded by energy vampires. Energy vampires can be strangers or our friends, coworkers, and loved ones. If there’s someone in your life who requires constant attention, or if you feel drained after having a conversation with a particular person, they might be an energy vampire. And they fall on different sides of the spectrum – some people don’t even know they’re doing it. It’s up to you to protect yourself and clear your energy field so you don’t constantly feel zapped and out of sorts. There are ways to filter unwanted energies from your aura and purify your environment discreetly, so you can clear wherever you are. That’s why I wrote this blog, 8 Smudging Alternatives: Step Outside the Bundle, to help you maintain a high vibration anytime, anywhere.

It’s vital to exercise smudging in your daily life – at home, work, in your vehicle – the places you spend most of your time. Clearing low vibrations and stuck energies create a peaceful, beautiful etheric temple, within and without, and maximizes your potential. And the best part is, you don’t need smoke to sanctify space or yourself. If you feel drained after exposure to low vibrations and don’t have the luxury of smudging with sage, or if you’re allergic or sensitive to smoke, this blog is for you. 

8 Smudging Alternatives  

1) Smudge Spray

Smudge spray not only clears your space but also fills the air with fragrance, raising vibrations and evoking sensual pleasure. You can buy smudge spray or experiment with making your own. Pure essential oils such as white sage and palo santo are ideal ingredients. White sage has been used for centuries to clear and consecrate space. It calls in positive spirits and keeps lower vibrational energies at bay. In addition, white sage has many healing properties and has been used as a natural antimicrobial to purify and cleanse. Palo santo is a sacred wood that grows in South America. When Spanish monks discovered its clearing and healing properties, they named it “Palo Santo” which means “holy wood.” These two powerful ingredients blended and infused with wild lavender and rose witch hazel create the perfect all-purpose smudge spray to use any time, any place. Click here for a list of sacred herbs for smudging, including my favorites. Many of these are available in essential oil form. Combine your favorites to create your own unique signature spray.  

2) Sea Salt

Salt is long associated with cleansing and blessing. With salt, you can create an ocean of profound purification and healing at home in your bath. Recipes vary, and ultimately, trust your intuition in choosing specific ingredients and their quantity. As a general rule, adding two or three handfuls of good quality, unrefined sea salt to a tub of bathwater works well. Try adding a few drops of essential oil and fresh or dried rose petals and lavender as well. Set forth positive intentions and express gratitude for your complete cleansing and renewal. Remember to rinse off, at least briefly, after your bath to ensure any toxins wash away. You can also dissolve salt in a bowl of water and allow it to absorb negativity, or sprinkle the saltwater around your home to achieve the same effect.

3) Candles

Working with candles to shift the energy in your space is another of my favorite tools. Candles are fire magic, and just lighting a candle is clearing. During ritual or meditation, try focusing on the flame while inviting the presence of pure white light. You can also carry the lit candle to each corner of a room, representing the four directions of East, West, North, and South to harness the power of fire to clear any unwanted energies from your space.

4) Himalayan Salt Crystals

Himalayan salt crystals are gorgeous and effective in their ability to absorb negative energy – and they’re a form of edible crystal. Himalayan salt helps release attachments and is also helpful for those working in negative energy environments. Himalayan salt crystals were once part of the primordial sea, buried underwater in the thermal ocean landscape for more than 300 million years as they formed. As the mountains now known as the Himalayas rose from under the earth’s surface, salt crystals were exposed. Himalayan salt releases negative ions. Modern environments quickly become saturated with pollutants, including electromagnetic waves, which carry a positive charge. This salt helps keep the air around you cleansed and balanced. You can crush Himalayan salt crystals and add them to water for bathing or washing floors. Place salt rock pieces (or salt crystals in bowls) in the four corners of a room or anywhere you want to absorb negative energy and cleanse the area. Himalayan salt lamps are especially effective because warm salt crystal emits a higher number of negative ions, delivering a more efficient ionizing effect. 

5) Blessed Water

You can make your own blessed or holy water by leaving a water container outside to soak up the sunlight, moonlight, or starlight. Turn this practice into a magical, enchanting tradition that connects you with the sky, Earth, and elements. Try choosing a significant time each month (like full moon) to bless and charge your water. You can also infuse your blessed water with essential oils and herbs to enhance its cleansing and healing properties. Use your blessed water as a splash or spray and carry it with you to use whenever you feel called to purify and raise vibrations.

6) Crystal Grids

If you love working with crystals, you’ll appreciate the power and beauty of creating a crystal grid for clearing. Grids are an essential part of my work and a surefire way to keep high vibrating energies in and low vibrating energies out. Black kyanite, selenite, and smoky quartz are perfect for clearing grids, and black tourmaline adds extra protection. Placing a clear quartz or quartz-bearing generator, pyramid, or obelisk at the center of your grid is the best way to raise and conduct the energy. 

7) Nature – Fresh Air and Sunshine

The power within nature to purify and renew is astounding. We know that simply standing or sitting on the Earth will ground us. Most of us have experienced a moment in the rain, perhaps in a torrential downpour, when we felt washed clean, as if baptized under the clouds. And the Sun, radiating warmth and light that illuminates the darkness, is known to improve our mood and transmute negative or stagnant energies. Air/wind blowing or moving through your space is also very effective in clearing and cleansing. Open the blinds, windows, and doors and invite nature in with intention. Get outside and take a walk. Inhale fresh, purifying energy and exhale anything you need to release.

8) Sound – Bells, Chimes, Singing Bowls, Voice

Sound vibrations break up stagnant energy. There are many ways to work with sound to clear yourself and your space and permeate the environment with the highest vibrations. Try chimes, bells, singing bowls, drums, wah wah tubes, or rattles to move energy sonically. You can also say a prayer to add intention and amplify the process. One example of an elegant and portable sound-clearing tool is the tingsha. Tibetan Buddhist practitioners use tingshas in prayers and rituals. They’re made of two small cymbals connected by a leather cord or metal chain. When struck together, these cymbals produce a clear, high-pitched tone. 

Tools are great, but you don’t need them. Try making a sound yourself, like chanting “OM” to connect with the cosmic vibration. While you might feel self-conscious and inhibited at first, letting sound emanate from your body will serve you well in its most natural form. It releases energy that needs freeing and instinctually resounds in the perfect pitch, tone, and note to bring harmony internally and externally. If you’re surrounded by people, find an intimate space like your car and let it out.  

In Closing

Let your intuition and inner wisdom guide you to the methods of clearing that serve your greatest good in each moment. Know that you truly don’t need anything outside yourself for sanctification. You are inherently pure and connected with everything you need. But self-discovery is a dynamic process, and tools are great allies to support you along the way. Meditation and visualization are other effective ways to energetically clear – and there are many more as well, beyond those explored in the space of this blog. So experiment, find what works for you, and share it with others.

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