Science. Art. Religion. Philosophy. History. Law. Psychology. Sociology. Linguistics. Anthropology. Metaphysics. Esotericism. They all work to understand and explain “us”. And, I too wish to understand. I wish to do this not for the sake of "understanding" but, definitely, for the sake of "being". This has taken me a while to articulate to myself.

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I read and have read a lot. I have listened and watched and questioned and tried and studied and participated. I have kept an open mind. I have tried to keep an open (read “good”) heart. I have tried to do this with, I think, the goal of closing the gap between what I know deep down inside and what I live “on the surface”. I continue to do all of this.

I particularly like “cross field” or “cross group” views. By this I mean views of the same thing but from different perspectives. I don’t think that I necessarily started out with this as an intention. I do think that I initially… okay … for the longest time, would jump from group to group because I was still hoping to be handed “the” answer :o) But, over time and across experiences, I started becoming aware of “universality”.

To start, I will write that if you are reading these pages, I’m pretty sure that you “get” ethics :o) I guess I write that to say that this page is to share some of mine in order to perhaps keep the “conversation” going. And, I write that given that chosen ethics are different from learned, legally imposed or professionally integrated “ethics” and I find that we don’t speak of them very often.

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I try to not to see, feel, perceive or know about someone else unless they give me permission. I find this incredibly difficult at times given that I continue to try to be a “present” sort. This means that I am present in what I receive and in how I respond. It is the “receiving” part that I address here.

Notably, the line between “receiving” and actively “butting in and poking around” is pretty clear but the line between “receiving” what the person wittingly and unwittingly sends out isn’t. We have grown accustomed to acknowledging words, body language and physical appearance in our “communications”. “Energy” is another leap. So… I do work hard to see (acknowledge) only what the person wittingly communicates with/to me. The “rest” I let fall away.

When we speak of energy, we tend to focus on its “amount”, its “flow” or its “nature”. We speak less often of its “quality”. By “quality” I mean how “clear”, “strong” and “effective” it is.

Regardless of the type of energy (internal, divining, projected, healing, space, crystalline) there are some general practices that apply to its general “upkeep”. These include cleansing, purifying, charging, intending and blessing.

Here is one way to practice the sacred ritual of smudging…

Here are some of the grasses, herbs and resins used in cleansing, purifying and blessing rituals…

An articulated “wish” is an “intention”. Acting in/with “intent” is acting while being consciously aware of where it is we want to go, what it is we want to achieve, what it is we want to experience and/or what is that we want to feel.

We can use intent to cleanse, purify, charge, intend and bless all energies. We do this by articulating the “may that’s” that float in and around us.