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Spiritual Bathing Alternatives (or the slacker's how-to)
I am learning that there are just some folks who don't like to take a spiritual bath. Maybe they don't like rising early; maybe they don't like pouring small quantities of water over them; no one i know, myself included, likes air-drying, expecially in the winter, but i also like to get magical results, so to me it's worth it.
But there are folks for whom spiritual bathing is an absolute deal-breaker. They can't be talked into doing it, not interested, just will not do it. So after giving them a little prodding, if they still stand fast, i give them these alternatives. Maybe i'm doing a disservice to my craft, yes, i know there's good reasons for traditional practices and i do not wish to re-write hundreds/thousands year-old spiritual practices, but, well, i have, sort of. So here's what i offer as second-best alternatives to the typical spiritual bathing rites. If anyone has their own techniques, i'd love to hear them.
1) For those unfortunate souls who do not have a bathtub, myself included (why would someone remove a bathtub in a one-bathroom house and instead install a huge shower stall? People NEED bath tubs! Right? Any way...), here's how i've adapted (for those of you who have a bath tub, you lucky ducks, make sure to be grateful, paying respect to all those who don't ;-). Now, i don't know about you, but i don't really like standing in a big, awkward galvanized steel wash basin. I have one, but other than intital attempts at being quaint, i use it mostly as an ice chest for parties and get-togethers, not as an old-fashioned bath tub. i find it unweildy to use, to schlep it into the shower stall, stand in with my feet crammed together, unschlep it out of the shower stall, you get the idea. So since i don't have a tub to collect my bathwater for ritual disposal and i don't really like using the wash basin, i came up with this technique (for all i know this may not be all that brilliant of a technique and may be widely used, i don't know, but i felt like a genius when i implemented it the first time).
I make up a batch of bath water in my usual fashion. This can be tea or dissolved bath crystals, blessed water, liquid soap, whatever. I have a large glass pitcher that is quite large with a big, open mouth that i use. Beforehand you want to buy or designate a special wash cloth to use only for spiritual bathing. I guess you don't have to keep one special, but that's what i do. I have a nice linen-like, white, hand towel that i use. Take your container of water, your wash cloth, and yourself to your shower (or shower stall) and proceed to bathe. I won't go into a how-to here; i have written about it before and there are many better articles existing in cyberspace, so suffice it to say, let's assume you know the basics on how to take a spiritual bath.
Wha's different, though, is you use your wash cloth to wet your body with - you don't dump the whole quantity of prepared bath water over yourself (although you can, and i have, start the bath by pouring a quantity over yourself). You dip your wash cloth into the container of bath water, get it good and sopping, and then wet and rub your body with it either working upwards or downwards. You then squeeze out the wash cloth back into the pitcher, re-wet the wash cloth, and repeat your desired amount of times. I find this serves two puposes: geting your body wet with the fixed bath and allowing time to pray as well as conserving used bathwater for you to dispose of later. What's important here is that you squeeze out the wash cloth back into the bath water container after every repetition, thus no standing in the awkward wash basin - for me at least. If this method is not clear, feel free to message me with any questions.
2) And there still are folks who won't even do the wash cloth method. They are just pleading for you to tell them that they can take a regular, sit-down, immersion bath. I personally don't think this is a fully-acceptable substitution, but others may disagree and i do think it's better than doing no bathing, so i reluctantly offer up this technique (although, if you're really desperate for results, i don't think it's a good time to be cutting corners, but then, what do i know ;-).
Fill up your bath tub with water (Note that this bath is a purely spiritual one. Do not wash your hair, your body, and then oh, wait, take a spiritual bath. If you're dirty, take a shower separately, then proceed with the spiritual bath). Add your bathing product, be it bath crystals, a muslin bag of herbs, or a liquid soap product. Pray over the entire bath tub of water. I run my hands through the water as i'm praying, squeeze the bag of herbs if you're using one, and i finish it with a squirt of holy water, whatever holy water means to you, or skip the holy water, whatever. Then step into the bath, fully immerse yourself, or if you don't want to get your hair wet, immerse yourself up to your hair. Stand up immediately (being careful not to slip), and run your hands either down or up your body washing yourself with an emphatic command such as "Remove the desire to smoke cigarettes from off of me!" or "I am irresistable and sexually appealing," whatever your bath's purpose was. Then dunk yourself again, stand up and wash yourself, and repeat a certain number of times - i usually do this seven or nine times (or i used to do this when i ha a proper bath tub!). Once done washing, you don't linger and luxuriate in the bath. You get out, air dry, and reserve a quantity of bathwater to dispose of later.
3) While i don't recommend this method as your only spiritual bathing practice, i do think it's outstanding to use in between baths to keep the magic on you. Some suppliers (myself not included but message me for recommendations) make liquid spiritual soaps. These are typically castile-based (think Dr. Bronners Magic All-One liquid soap with herbs and condition oils added) and can be nicely dilluted by a quantity of plain soap like the aformentioned brand or another liquid body soap or even Ivory soap. Most of these are highly concentrated and can be dilluted with water and you really only need a smidge to soap up your entire body.
This is how i use these products to do a spiritual touch-up in my shower. I take a normal shower, and as the last thing i do being already physically clean, i use a liquid spiritual soap. I put a dab in the palm of my hand and i quickly pray over it and ask the herbs in the soap for their help. I then work the soap into a lather by rubbing my hands together and then i stroke my body with it an odd number of times either up or down while stating my petition. I finish with a restorative prayer or affirmation while the water runs over me washing me spiritually clean.
My usual routine is with a spiritual cleansing soap product, so i would be stroking downward saying "Remove worry from me, remove residual anger or hurt from me, remove back pain from me," etc., going down the laundry list of conditions i am cleansing off of me. I will also use a protection bath soap from time to time, this time bathing upwards while speaking my protection needs. I do this routine at least weekly, and it serves me well. I really and tangibly feel the difference, and it effectively stretches out the time in between spiritual baths, although this is only for situations that are not chronic and severe: remember this is a touch-up. If your personal situation is severe, i would not space out the time periods between traditional spiritual baths; i would still take them as prescribed, but i would also add in this quick touch-up bath intermittantly as well.
Any way, there's some thoughts on spiritual bathing. For me it is very worthwhile and powerful spiritual work. If you have any other adaptations and/or techniques, i'd love to hear about them.
copyright (c), 2008, A Higher Source
But there are folks for whom spiritual bathing is an absolute deal-breaker. They can't be talked into doing it, not interested, just will not do it. So after giving them a little prodding, if they still stand fast, i give them these alternatives. Maybe i'm doing a disservice to my craft, yes, i know there's good reasons for traditional practices and i do not wish to re-write hundreds/thousands year-old spiritual practices, but, well, i have, sort of. So here's what i offer as second-best alternatives to the typical spiritual bathing rites. If anyone has their own techniques, i'd love to hear them.
1) For those unfortunate souls who do not have a bathtub, myself included (why would someone remove a bathtub in a one-bathroom house and instead install a huge shower stall? People NEED bath tubs! Right? Any way...), here's how i've adapted (for those of you who have a bath tub, you lucky ducks, make sure to be grateful, paying respect to all those who don't ;-). Now, i don't know about you, but i don't really like standing in a big, awkward galvanized steel wash basin. I have one, but other than intital attempts at being quaint, i use it mostly as an ice chest for parties and get-togethers, not as an old-fashioned bath tub. i find it unweildy to use, to schlep it into the shower stall, stand in with my feet crammed together, unschlep it out of the shower stall, you get the idea. So since i don't have a tub to collect my bathwater for ritual disposal and i don't really like using the wash basin, i came up with this technique (for all i know this may not be all that brilliant of a technique and may be widely used, i don't know, but i felt like a genius when i implemented it the first time).
I make up a batch of bath water in my usual fashion. This can be tea or dissolved bath crystals, blessed water, liquid soap, whatever. I have a large glass pitcher that is quite large with a big, open mouth that i use. Beforehand you want to buy or designate a special wash cloth to use only for spiritual bathing. I guess you don't have to keep one special, but that's what i do. I have a nice linen-like, white, hand towel that i use. Take your container of water, your wash cloth, and yourself to your shower (or shower stall) and proceed to bathe. I won't go into a how-to here; i have written about it before and there are many better articles existing in cyberspace, so suffice it to say, let's assume you know the basics on how to take a spiritual bath.
Wha's different, though, is you use your wash cloth to wet your body with - you don't dump the whole quantity of prepared bath water over yourself (although you can, and i have, start the bath by pouring a quantity over yourself). You dip your wash cloth into the container of bath water, get it good and sopping, and then wet and rub your body with it either working upwards or downwards. You then squeeze out the wash cloth back into the pitcher, re-wet the wash cloth, and repeat your desired amount of times. I find this serves two puposes: geting your body wet with the fixed bath and allowing time to pray as well as conserving used bathwater for you to dispose of later. What's important here is that you squeeze out the wash cloth back into the bath water container after every repetition, thus no standing in the awkward wash basin - for me at least. If this method is not clear, feel free to message me with any questions.
2) And there still are folks who won't even do the wash cloth method. They are just pleading for you to tell them that they can take a regular, sit-down, immersion bath. I personally don't think this is a fully-acceptable substitution, but others may disagree and i do think it's better than doing no bathing, so i reluctantly offer up this technique (although, if you're really desperate for results, i don't think it's a good time to be cutting corners, but then, what do i know ;-).
Fill up your bath tub with water (Note that this bath is a purely spiritual one. Do not wash your hair, your body, and then oh, wait, take a spiritual bath. If you're dirty, take a shower separately, then proceed with the spiritual bath). Add your bathing product, be it bath crystals, a muslin bag of herbs, or a liquid soap product. Pray over the entire bath tub of water. I run my hands through the water as i'm praying, squeeze the bag of herbs if you're using one, and i finish it with a squirt of holy water, whatever holy water means to you, or skip the holy water, whatever. Then step into the bath, fully immerse yourself, or if you don't want to get your hair wet, immerse yourself up to your hair. Stand up immediately (being careful not to slip), and run your hands either down or up your body washing yourself with an emphatic command such as "Remove the desire to smoke cigarettes from off of me!" or "I am irresistable and sexually appealing," whatever your bath's purpose was. Then dunk yourself again, stand up and wash yourself, and repeat a certain number of times - i usually do this seven or nine times (or i used to do this when i ha a proper bath tub!). Once done washing, you don't linger and luxuriate in the bath. You get out, air dry, and reserve a quantity of bathwater to dispose of later.
3) While i don't recommend this method as your only spiritual bathing practice, i do think it's outstanding to use in between baths to keep the magic on you. Some suppliers (myself not included but message me for recommendations) make liquid spiritual soaps. These are typically castile-based (think Dr. Bronners Magic All-One liquid soap with herbs and condition oils added) and can be nicely dilluted by a quantity of plain soap like the aformentioned brand or another liquid body soap or even Ivory soap. Most of these are highly concentrated and can be dilluted with water and you really only need a smidge to soap up your entire body.
This is how i use these products to do a spiritual touch-up in my shower. I take a normal shower, and as the last thing i do being already physically clean, i use a liquid spiritual soap. I put a dab in the palm of my hand and i quickly pray over it and ask the herbs in the soap for their help. I then work the soap into a lather by rubbing my hands together and then i stroke my body with it an odd number of times either up or down while stating my petition. I finish with a restorative prayer or affirmation while the water runs over me washing me spiritually clean.
My usual routine is with a spiritual cleansing soap product, so i would be stroking downward saying "Remove worry from me, remove residual anger or hurt from me, remove back pain from me," etc., going down the laundry list of conditions i am cleansing off of me. I will also use a protection bath soap from time to time, this time bathing upwards while speaking my protection needs. I do this routine at least weekly, and it serves me well. I really and tangibly feel the difference, and it effectively stretches out the time in between spiritual baths, although this is only for situations that are not chronic and severe: remember this is a touch-up. If your personal situation is severe, i would not space out the time periods between traditional spiritual baths; i would still take them as prescribed, but i would also add in this quick touch-up bath intermittantly as well.
Any way, there's some thoughts on spiritual bathing. For me it is very worthwhile and powerful spiritual work. If you have any other adaptations and/or techniques, i'd love to hear about them.
copyright (c), 2008, A Higher Source