6 Ways to Cleanse and Empower Yourself

This is not your average list of cleansing techniques. You're not going to be told that these techniques are going to help you "get rid of all the negativity and toxicity in your life." You're not going to be offered products that can take care of everything that's a problem in your life. This is a list of cleansing techniques that also empowers you. We are taking the time to know ourselves, know our environment, and invest in our confidence.

There are many suggestions out there about cleansing your home of bad energy, negative spirits, toxicity and the like, but before you read on, keep in mind what works best for you. If you have mental, emotional, or physical concerns for things you smell, taste, listen to, see, or feel, please be cautious. Don't use materials that can affect your physical health or trigger emotional or mental breakdowns and do not substitute any of these techniques for medical help. This list encourages resourcefulness and better self-esteem only.

1. Listen: Cleanse with Music and Podcasts

I already that know not everyone is into the ambient sounds with nature or wind chimes in the background. So, think about what kind of music adds to the distress in your home; you know, the kind of music that makes you feel most of your more negative emotions. Now, think about the music that makes your apartment feel more alive. What do you listen to that gets the energy moving? What do you listen to that makes your home seem calmer? What is your ideal sound? Or is it silence? If you're not really into music, perhaps you prefer podcasts that educate, inspire, inform, or simply remind you of what you want your space to be.

Music and podcasts are great emotional outlets. Their purpose is to create a connection with others, relieve loneliness, and help us express what we didn't have the words for before. This is good, but we have to be wary of escapism. Many of us listen to things that fuel the toxicity in our lives even though it feels great. I'm suggesting you make your music or podcast interests into an investment of the life you want. If sound is a strong influencer of your mood and your thoughts, where your imagination is near unstoppable or where your analytical mind goes into hyperdrive, imagine that energy becoming what fuels you to reach for what currently seems unreachable. Let sound that inspires break through the barriers toxicity created. If you listen to music and podcasts for yourself, you'll start listening to yourself.

2. Look: Cleanse With Lighting

I have two friends who respond to lighting differently. One friend who is extroverted, warm, and generous loves it when natural light fills the room or when the electric lights around her are warm and bright so she can see everything and everyone around her. She even wants the doors and windows open so all the light blends together. My other friend, who is introverted, focused, and has a great sense of humor, likes things to be darker. One lamp in a closed room works for her; less distraction, more productivity.

Do not force yourself to give in to a type of lighting that is supposedly good for you; find the lighting that works for you. Some people want their home to have a mystical feel, where decadent lamps and fairy lights shine brightly, but not too bright. Some people want just natural light with sunshine during the day and candles or dim lamps at night. What kind of light helps you feel secure in your environment?

Light as a stimulus is very misunderstood. Down to the position of the sun, light has always affected the way we focus and perceive the environment around us. In the allegorical sense, light reveals the truth and although some of us fear this, we must appreciate how it can help us reflect. My friends realized their preferred environments were so contrary, they couldn't work in the same area. So, when you shine light on your environment, who likes to stay and who needs to leave? Who invades your environment and makes it into something it's not? Let the light point out the truth.

3. Feel: Cleanse with Holdable and Sentimental Items

I have a small orb of brecciated jasper I like to roll with my hands and spin around when I need to destress and let logic take the lead over emotion. I can use it to massage sore parts of my arms and shoulders as well. There are many positive memories attached to the orb for me like a person has their "lucky shirt," are really good at pen tricks and coin tricks, or why crystal fans, like me, have a collection of rocks.

This is a form of cleansing because mental and emotional energy is being redirected and transmuted into something more productive. It's one of the most empowering forms of cleansing as well because the kinetic sensation of touch is often done through action. Sound and light are things we're more passive to, but touch is completely in our control. What do you need to feel physically so you can be more in touch mentally and emotionally? Have you tried crochet, cooking, or martial arts? Perhaps there's a specific hands-on activity you have in mind that you must try. Pay attention to items in your environment that affect your energy in an unwanted way and pay closer attention to the items that promote your well-being. And before any of you say "I don't have the money to pay for [blank] lessons," you have the internet and you have libraries. Start there.

4. Breathe: Cleanse with the Air

Yes, you can burn sage, lavender, juniper, rosemary, basil, and the like to your heart's content. Yes, you can find as many incenses as you like and let them burn throughout the day. Yes, you can find a candle, oils, a perfume, or a mist. What if you do all of this and the energy within you and around you still isn't cleansed? I've run into so many people who are so frustrated with aromatherapy. They're annoyed that the sweet smells didn't relax them or set the right tone for their environment. Smell is a particular scent that helps us to be mindful of the present and sometimes travel to the past. Smell reminds us of attachments. We relive specific memories because smell assigns memory to sensation. You have the power to do this too. That's why certain herbs that are suggested for cleansings have specific associations:

• Sage: Cleansing and Clarity
• Lavender: Love and Relaxation
• Juniper: Protection
• Rosemary: Memory
• Basil: Abundance

You must have the intent to assign an association to the smells you bring into your environment or have around you. Let it remind you of what your space once was and what you want it to be now. Also, please don't forget that the outdoor air itself is cleansing all on its own.

5. Touch: Cleanse by Being Clean and Resourceful

Cleansing techniques for detoxing a home eventually comes down to doing some actual cleaning. I find that when I clean I find lost items, find something I could use later on, or find things I never really wanted to find again; things that triggered horrible memories, shame, and worse. Believe it or not, letting the items that remind you of negative moments hang out in your room or house isn't healthy. What do you need to clean out to have the environment you desire? What should you keep and reuse to remind yourself why you love your home and the memories it has? You're not just doing some good ol' fashioned cleaning; you're reorganizing, banishing, and reviving. That is a lot of power through simplistic tasks.

To my peeps who suffer with anxiety and depression and deal with the hard days where you just can't clean for a whole day or find no reason to move stuff around at the risk of being triggered again, I understand you. Even if you move or throw away one thing, even on days where many other things get thrown around or ignored, that one bit will mean something. Make one tiny clean space for yourself. Make it your favorite spot. Go to your bed, shake off the sheets and comforter, mist it with a preferred scent, and celebrate your new spot by making yourself into a blanket burrito. Little stuff like that counts. It will build up to more cleanliness and resourcefulness bit by bit. Power that grows gradually is still power.

6. Cleanse With A Personal Ritual

Every morning after breakfast, I do a meditation with a tarot spread. It wakes me up and helps me be more focused for the day ahead because I get a moment to check-in with myself. It's my "Me time." Everyone should have "Me time" because this is a moment in the present just for you. However, we all have different ways of getting ready for or coping with the events of life. Make it into a ritual, a daily practice. When you create your own personal ritual, keep these things in mind.

• Your ritual is just for you. No one else needs to know about it and you don't owe anyone an explanation.
• Your ritual is meant to help you become grounded with your physical, mental, and emotional self. This will extend to spiritually if you want that.
• Your ritual is meant to be a moment of gratitude towards yourself; time to just be.
• Your ritual is a moment of gratitude towards what you presently have in your environment and how it's helping you.
• Your ritual happens on your own time; you don't need to punish yourself for missing a day or longer.
• Your ritual reinforces autonomy, giving you the power to live your life independent of the influences of others.

Take into consideration what you've read so far and what ideas came to mind before coming to this last technique. Shouldn't they be part of your ritual?

Rinse and Repeat

With hopes that this list has helped you, do remember that cleansing and empowering your life is a practice. Too many of us are under the illusion of gaining instant results. This may be cliché, but the whole "it's not the destination, it's the journey," thing is accurate when it comes to self-actualization, empowerment, and peace. Trust yourself to make the practice a lifestyle and as things improve, make sure you take a moment to really connect with what it's like to trust yourself, to realize that all the toxicity and negativity before were experiences that cultivated capability and maturity.

Thanks for reading

If you would like to discuss this topic further or see what else I've written, you can go to my website, author profile, or contact me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Tumblr.