Monday, September 01, 2008

The House Blessing

My work life is changing. I see the potential for a gap in my schedule as I focus on finding new kinds of work and new clients. I've decided that I will leverage what I already know, slice it up in a different way, and see if I can generate an income stream from it. Right now, the biggest ideas are for a handful of ebooks I could write and sell.

For some time, I've been thinking about writing an ebook about what I've learned on space clearing and feng shui. It's something I've been using in my own life for almost 15 years, and while I'm not an expert, I do have information that other people might find interesting or valuable. I've started mapping out the possible contents for this book.

At the same time, I manifested an opportunity to do a space clearing/home blessing for someone I've just met. I did the event last night, and my experience of it is fresh. So here is the story of my preparation and conducting the session.

To start, I pulled out my space clearing tools and spent some time thinking about each of them. Things like: when did I purchase the item, why did I want it, how do I use it, etc. Then, I grabbed the space clearing book I bought 10 years ago and reviewed a few of the chapters. I made some quick notes, things that struck me as fundamental, things I had forgotten, and some of my own ideas triggered by what I read. I spent a few days re-reading this information, formulating ideas in my mind about what I might do.

The day before the ceremony, I pulled out all of my tools and the things I thought I might want to use. I pulled them together and spent a little time with them.

The day of the ceremony, I started my personal preparation. I gathered the tools in front of me and started to set up my altar. I started my prayers and set my intentions for the work. Using my notes and the ideas I had percolated, I started to create the order of events and decide which tools I would use for each portion of the ceremony. Then, I ran through what I was going to do and say a few times, very loosely, wanting to save most of the energy for the event. However, I felt so strongly into the event at this point, I knew that everything I was doing was part of the ceremony. I was in that sacred space. When I had outlined my events and selected my tools, I started pulling them together and putting them into the container for transportation.

At this point, I had decided I wanted to gift the homeowner with some aromatherapy, so I pulled out my oils and moved to the kitchen counter. I selected the oils and started assembling the mix. When that was finished, I added her oil to the transportation box.

One interesting point is that I realized at this point that I was getting guidance, and I remember thinking: If I forget the matches, it is okay because I have a lighter in the truck. Funny thing, that thought was actually guidance telling me that I was forgetting to pack the matches. I discovered that later at the site, and did go out to the truck to get my lighter. I got the guidance, I just didn't quite realize what was happening. I had to laugh when I realized it later.

I am flexible and accomodating, so when I arrived at the ceremony, I took the pulse of the homeowner and her participant and gauged my actions towards the window I felt was available. I sensed that they were not so open, even though I was told through words that they were open, to some alternative views. I could just feel it, a rigidity in thought. As a result, I shifted what I had planned to do to stay more traditional. Not so much my actions, but my words. It through me off a bit, but it had an interesting learning for me. I ended up praying a more traditional Christian prayer, something I haven't done for a very long time. The thoughts I created, the wishes that came, were different to fit the situation. It was as if I was thinking in a different language, and some ideas were just no longer available to me. That was the first surprise. The second one: I was totally in the same sacred space saying those prayers with words and thoughts that were actually foreign to my path and walk. I have felt for some time that I could translate my faith into something that Christians could understand, that I could walk on the common ground, and I found through experience that was true. It's a pretty big understanding. I need to think about this a bit more.

I showed up in the same sacred space but almost like I was a different player in the play. I had different thoughts as well as different words. But I was on the same stage I normally find myself.

I felt I was very casual and open during the ceremony. I wasn't off task, but I was very transparent and open as I went through the process. Perhaps too transparent if I'm going to continue doing this kind of work. And perhaps the ceremony lasted too long. I might be able to figure out a way to accomplish the same work with fewer steps so the length is shorter and the event is more structured.

There came a point when I knew the clearing was done. I almost didn't finish clearing the house in that pass, I started to return to the altar and the homeowner pointed it out to me. I realized I was totally following the energy of the event and not a schedule. I also decided to skip the last step, partly because I just knew it was done, and partly to shorten the time. I need to think some more about the structure. I think I could use fewer clearing modalities and accomplish the same work. Perhaps I should take all four and then only use the one(s) that I feel are needed. Some are stronger than others, each has a slightly different purpose. They are each a different actor on the same stage, eh?

They had a refreshment afterward. I think that is a good thing to have at the end, a small breaking of bread with something sweet to end the ceremony. Think about that.

I used solar purified water for the event, and I could feel the difference.

At the end, I had them read their prayers/wishes/intentions for the house, and we burned them in the sage bowl. I used the Tibetan chimes at the end of each one. At one point, at exactly the moment I hit the chimes, the smoke detector went off at exactly the same pitch. It sounded for a moment as if the chime was sounding on a different plane of existence and we were able to hear that. It was a magical moment. We did realize it was the smoke detector, and at that second, it cut itself off. The homeowner opened two doors at that point so we didn't have any more smoke issues.

I hadn't thought through the sage smoke issue very well. I guess it was because I don't have any issue here in this house with the smoke. But that is something I will have to think through a bit more.

I need to create a very strong opening and closing for the event. It was stream of consciousness throughout. I think I did a good job with the open and close, but I would do better if I developed more of a boilerplate message for each end and used it each time. I would be more grounded and sure that I had accomplished the start and close clearly and with the greatest human impact.

I didn't do some of the things I normally do, and some of the things I intended to do. I intended to consciously expand my energy to fill the space at the start, and it just didn't cross my mind that it was time to do that. Also, I didn't do some of the prayers I usually do, inviting in the keepers, etc. I think part of the reason for both of this omissions is because I had been in sacred space for several hours at that point. I normally take those actions as I step into sacred space. I had already called them in, I knew they were already with me. Just more to think about.

The homeowner's friend took many pictures throughout the ceremony. I was amazingly unselfconscious. I am curious to see my energy in those pictures, to see if there is anything I can see in them.

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