Welcome to my Zenful Journey...

My Zenful Journey started back in 2008. I started smudging, cleansing, and having cleansing ceremonies that summer. I met Amy Jo when she started working/temping where I worked at the Kennedy Center's Head Start program. We both worked closely with enrollment, since she enrolled the children and I would help with the data entry part of enrollment. Amy is originally from Indiana but lived in Everett, MA while she was temping at the Kennedy Center. Amy and I clicked right away. On our many “lunch hour” walks she would say to me how I should start smudging, even though I didn't understand and thought back then, and if I may be honest, it all sounded weird. How can lighting a dry herb cleanse, take away negative energy. So I didn't really ask her about it. I just listened. As our summer walks and talks continued Amy & I started talking about a lot of different topics. I was having some family problems and again Amy mentioned how I should smudge, how the Native Americans always cleansed to release any negative energy that may be surrounding them. I became curious and I googled it. I read about it and I felt connected to it some how but was still a bit apprehensive. That feeling didn't last. Here is the link I read when I was researching for the first time what Smudging entailed: http://www.asunam.com/smudge_ceremony.html

One day in July, my world changed. Amy knew how upset I was and gave me her sage wand and sweetgrass braid. After going home and following her directions and somehow adding my own directions to the smudging. (I am not sure how I knew what to do, it just came to me, all I can think of back then was, I was following my heart and doing what I felt was right, with the directions I also added) Once I smudged, I felt it instantly; it was a feeling of release and peace. It felt as if I had released all of the negative Bull Sh** that I was going through. That despite the pain I was feeling this would pass and I would be okay. That even though the journey I was on was very heart breaking; I knew that at the end of it all I would be okay, I’d be whole again. It helped my feelings, my energy and released the pain I was feeling and until this day it continues to help me & my family. After I experienced this I knew I couldn't keep this wonderful healing to myself, but since I was still very new to this I had a lot to learn and to add to my own journey of smudging and Zenful life.

Please join me in my journey of how smudging has made a great impact in my life as well as other family members and close friends: I remember my mother, whom I don't have the best relationship with, was coming over for a few weeks to watch the kids and visit some friends. She lives in Florida and was staying at our house for her stay. She hadn't stayed overnight at our house before so I was feeling a bit nervous about it. I smudged prior to her arrival. In my smudging and prayers, I asked God & the Universe to please ensure a peaceful & fun visit for us all. Because it was summer & all windows were open, I managed to smudge a few times while she was staying with us. (My mother is a religious woman so because of this I thought she would frown upon my smudging so I would smudge when she was out visiting friends.) To my amazement after my only second time smudging, to cleanse or get rid of any negative energy, the visit was peaceful and fun. My sister told me later on in the visit, that our mother even mentioned how she thought her stay with us would be uncomfortable but instead she felt calm & it was a pleasant visit for her as well. I was happy and felt in my heart that along with my routinely prayers to God I would continue to use the smudging techniques that the Native Americans have used for so many years.

I’d like to break away from my smudging journey and take a moment to tell you about myself: I'm nearly 40 years old and I was born in Puerto Rican, but raised in Boston, MA. I am mother of 2 beautiful children, a boy age 16 and girl 9 1/2. I enjoy reading books, baking, and watching movies. I enjoy all types of movies such as Disney movies, as a child and still as an adult I love the Muppets, and can you get enough of the Minions from Despicable Me 1 & 2, Star Wars were great(All 6 of them), I was a huge Twilight Fan, yes I was a Twilight-Mom or whatever the title was lol. And I am NOT ashamed of it. I even had a Twilight Poster on my wall. (I’ve switched it since to a more positive wordy one), I love the Vampire Diaries now, October 3rd can’t come fast enough, he he. And AMC’s The Walking Dead, Oh my scariness batman. What a great “scary” show is that!! Oh, Lords of the Ring (all 3) Plus the Hobbit, I don’t’ even need to say anything about those movies. What about Xmen, Wolverine, Iron Man, & Avengers, another set of movies that need no further explanations. I like them all. I am an ordinary woman that likes ordinary things. I personally have never been a religious or spiritual person. However, I did spend my elementary & nearly all my middle school years in catholic schools per my mother’s choice. She felt the education would be better in a private catholic school setting. Which later I agreed for my own son. When I was in high school I did go to my mother’s church. A Christian church, again because my mother wanted me to. As I grew older and was able to make my own choice I did decide that I no longer wanted to go to my mother’s church. So I stopped attending. I will say that, in my time at this church, I was going through some tough times in high school and I do remember one Sunday, the service, the words that the Pastor spoke were powerful that I felt the energy and I did become emotional. It was odd because often times I would see the older folks crying and also getting emotional and I didn’t understand why at the time. Once I felt that energy around me, I knew why others in the church would get upset. I can’t remember what his words were…this was nearly over 25 years ago. Even as I turned into my early adulthood years I was never a person to go to church every Sunday & or on Christmas & Easter, etc. It wasn't for me. I respected those that did, don’t get me wrong. And I have a good friend that is catholic. We have had deep conversations about different types of religions. I myself even had placed my own son when he was in kindergarten through third grade into a catholic school. Not for the religious aspect but because I felt he would get lost in the large class rooms in the Boston public school system. It was also very close to my work and it was a convenient for his father and I at the time. Both my children are currently in the Metco/Wellesley Public School system. Why?; because of their great & positive school system. Having explained that I am not an every Sunday or holiday’s type church person, I can say that I do believe in God. I do believe that there is a high power out there. I do pray and ask for God to be with me when I pray. I have asked God (and continue to do so) to protect and heal my family from any negative energies. I have taught my children the same. I can still recite the Hail Mary & Our Father from memory from when I was in catholic school. Lol for me religion can have so many different meanings to each and every one of us as individuals; technically there is no wrong way to pray. At least this is how I feel about it. So now, with the help of my earth sister Amy Jo, I pray and smudge, together.

Another time I cleansed was before a party I had for my son. It was Abel’s birthday party and I had cleansed to relieve some stress I know I had. The party went great. And I wasn’t even stressed as us moms can get during birthday parties…no wine needed. Hahaha! School came around for Abel and Ary, I smudged that they'd be okay for their 1st day at a new school, so far away. It helped them both.

Ary’s birthday came along after that as well. It was indoors because of the time of year her birthday falls on; so one can imagine having a bunch of kids inside setting up activity games with prizes birthday cakes and young girls and boys running around and yelling enjoying themselves, it can be very hectic. All in all it turned out to be another great party for my kids. I didn’t even realize it until after everyone was gone and all was cleared away and cleaned up but I felt so calm and peaceful throughout. A few of my closest friends even commented that the moment when they walked into my home they felt peaceful. It didn’t feel like a crazy hectic children running and screaming and laughing party…it was calm and fun, yes kids were running around and screaming with laughter but it was all so at ease…and me I was cheesy after all was done because I knew that my smudging helped my family again. I was ever so grateful. Note, that I have expressed how hectic these parties were more than once. My point in expressing it so much is that once I smudged my home, the feeling people walked into was that of peace, love, and positive energy. Not the feeling of stress and unhappiness. Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by such feeling positive, such wonderful energy every day? I know I would.

Let me continue sharingmyzenfuljourney with a few readings/stories and testimonials of a few of my family and friends and their experiences after I have smudged them. The Power of Positive energy is amazing. That is all that is needed for this to work. If you believe it can make a difference in your own life then that right there readers, is your first step. Please Note: I may have used initials instead of actual names of those I have smudged to give them privacy. The first person's home I cleansed beside my own was my sister’s new apartment. She had moved into a new apartment & after talking to her about it she thought it was a good idea to cleanse her new space. She also liked the effect the smudging of the herbs had. So she purchased her own sage and now cleanses on her own.

The next person I cleansed was a young man that I have known since his teenage years, JC. We had worked together and he was a great role model for those younger children I was working with at the time. He has grown of course a man now, and had moved out of Boston. He was actually living with his parents at the time. He had a difficult break up in 3/09; and as I have mentioned moved back with his parents. I told him about smudging, or cleansing his energy and he was interested right away. How did I cleanse him since we lived so far away from each other? Technology, isn’t it amazing? I texted him and told him what he needed to do on his end. I also sent him a prayer so he can read and focus on as I smudged; I sent him a picture of the sage wand burning so he can visualize the smoke. He said he felt the results instantly. He told me that he felt at peace and he had this feeling come over him that everything would indeed be okay. He couldn’t believe how he was feeling the effects. How quick he was feeling it, the power of positive energy is great, Needless to say he had a positive result from it. Not too long after that his world had changed. He has a new job now, doing something he enjoys and is in a serious relationship and is now a father. I am not saying my smudging led him to his new life. But I will say that I do feel as did he that my smudging opened up something in him that made him see life more differently. Yes, it did help cleanse whatever negative energy build up he had with in. 

Aida's experience: I've had the pleasure to have met Awilda a few years ago. I was a very negative person with my thoughts, my perspective in life, and with my myself until I met Awilda. She was and still is a positive person with her outlook in life, family, friends, and herself.. She slowly introduced me to smudging and the impact and positive change that will soon come with it.. She has smudged for me through the phone, in person and I was amazed on how calm, positive, peaceful I felt afterwards.With literature and teachings of smudging I have learned to meditate, I have learned to protect myself and family with smudging. I must say it changes your attitude, how u see life more positively and calming..my advise is have an open mind and try it. I guarantee u won't be disappointed.
The next person I smudged is NR. NR is a family friend whom I have had the privilege to work with for quite a few years. I remember talking with her one evening & her explaining to me that her time felt scattered. She was feeling like all us moms do. There aren’t enough hours in the day for us to do all of what we need to do. Her sons were misbehaving. (As children in general tend to do) As I listened to my friend vent about every day issues with her sons and her time. I then explained to her about smudging. What it meant, where it came from and how it can make you feel. She said she would try anything at that point in her life. So I told her my usual~ drink plenty of water, close yourself off for at least 5 minutes, and read the prayer I had whipped up as I smudged. I always send a picture of the sage wand I was burning, as I have mentioned a few times above. So NR can see and have in her mind’s eye how the smudge wand burns and she can see the smoke it releases when lit, carrying away any negative energy. NR focused and I began smudging and she read the prayer I had texted her & she was also looking at the picture of the sage wand. She said she instantly felt calmer and the moment I finished smudging her home and even her boys were calmer. She also mentioned how she had told them both to clean their rooms and get ready for a shower and both boys did what they were told without issues. My friend couldn't believe it. She told her older son (he was 14 years old at the time), I had smudged and she also said he sensed something different. That he too felt calmer and had asked my friend to ask me if I could smudge them again. So the next time I saw NR I gave her one of my sage wands and I explained how she should use it. She had used the whole wand and her sons enjoyed how calm their home had become. They bickered less and followed moms rules with little complaints. For a mother this was a success. It may seem like no big deal, but when our children follow directions the household can definitely run smoother. My friend, NR wouldn't need my help cleansing again until one day a few months after her first time being smudged.
It was May, 2009. Tragedy hit NR pretty close. She and a group of her closest friends went out for an evening of dancing at a club and a tragic car accident took one of her friend’s husband life. He was killed instantly. All of the girls were there, there was about five of them there, if my memory is correct. It was a horrible time in their lives and I'm sure a time they won't ever forget. NR and her sons couldn't stay at her home. The weight of the accident was on her and she felt a presence in her home that made her feel uncomfortable. She would tell me, that she'd go home to pick up clothes and felt as if she needed to get out quickly. She no longer liked the way her "home felt". After speaking with my mentor and earth sister Amy Jo, we grew quiet, knowing that there was an energy; an entity, that was in NR’s home. I told my friend that because of the nature of the accident. Most likely the spirit or essence of her friend’s husband that died in the accident was most likely in her home. Since her house was the first place the group of girls went to immediately after the accident, it made the most sense. She said that she didn't think of that and I of course offered to smudge her home. I spoke Amy Jo, about how to cleanse her home of an unwanted and negative energy. This was my first cleansing of an unwelcome guest so I wanted to be certain I was able to take this on. Amy Jo also said she would also send me her energy during this time, so we can combine our energies together and we both can help in aiding this spirit away. After setting up a time & date for this home cleansing/smudging. I went ahead and wrote out a prayer which I left with my friend once the cleansing was completed. I had her open up all her windows. (NR’s mother was also present with us; she is a wonderful woman & was of course open to the smudging) I started smudging & reading the prayer. In short I basically nicely asked the spirit to move on. That we were all sorry of how horrible his accident lead to his death, I said this all out loud. (During my walk around and reading the prayer I had written I continued to cleanse/smudge with my sage wand every corner of each room in her apartment. I overheard NR’s mother tell her that her grandmother also use to do the same thing. Which I thought was interesting & it made me smile. Knowing that someone else in NR’s family also use sage, made me feel even more confident of why I was there and that what I was doing would help NR and her boys return home. I explained to NR to go ahead and buy flowers the way she use to before and to bring the beauty of the outside back into her home. NR and her sons within two days of my smudging went back to their place. I'd definitely say this was a success. I am so glad it was!

Here is my Universal baby sister’s Yessi's testimonial. I have known Yessi since she was a young girl. It’s been a pleasure to see her grow up into a wonderful young woman and now mother. Here are her words she wanted to share with us: “Every time I felt a sense of relaxation. I felt calm and like warmth come over me. I felt like all the negative energy release from my body along with any worries. I felt protected and renewed. It felt almost if like I was being given a fresh start since all the negative was released and replaced with positive energy and love. It was a wonderful feeling of positive high.”

This next person I smudged, I met through FB. Which we fast became close friends soon after I cleansed her family and her home. JM, and her husband and son were having a difficult time sleeping. They all felt uneasy in their home. I told JM to clean her home and open up all her windows. I also asked her to imagine her cleaning away all the negative energy in her home as she cleaned each room. She did this and when I arrived I went in and cleansed her home walking to each room, corner to corner reciting the prayer that I had written. JM told me that night and a bunch of nights after that they all slept like babies. Their home felt better after I cleansed.

Another person I had the privilege to cleanse was JM’s daughter JI. Here are her words on how she felt: “So I can't really remember exactly how I felt when you smudged me or why I reacted the way I did. I do know I had sense of relief. It's just a good feeling of having someone you love and trust put their focus and energy on you and your well-being. It’s almost like the good feeling you might get after you say your prayers at night or take a shower after a long hot day... refreshing.”

Alex’s testimonial: In speaking with Alex who I have known most of my life. (30yrs) He was very ill in the summer of 11'. High fever, body aches, head ache. He had a virus that needed to take its course, I smudged him by laying him down and placing a few gemstones on/over his chakras smudged him by passing the lit sage wand over his crown, brow, throat, heart, solar, sacral, root chakras and out through his feet. I prayed and asked God and the Universe to please heal Alex of his pain and illness. This is what he said he felt. " Peace and floating, above everything, relaxed. I had clarity on the path his life had. A mini journey. A forest like journey- his personal peaceful zenful place Didn't feel he needs to rush, felt it was okay to stop slow down." Alex also during the time of my smudging him, he didn't feel sick. He knew he was, but for those few minutes, he didn't feel sick. (because it doesn't take that long).
Alex went to the emergency room the day I smudged him. The Drs told him he wasn't in any danger and that continued rest is what he needed. He was well with in a few days after that. The power of positive energy is amazing. 

Here is my earth sister Amy Jo’s testimonial: “Awilda is an amazing person.  Our connection is one of the heart and soul, I have asked Awilda to cleanse for me many times.  The energy I have received is instant and helpful.  Many times I have asked for Awilda to “send” me compassion and healing energy. Every single time, she has and I have felt so much better & found my compassion.  There are many times when I have asked Awilda for a smudge in my name, every single time I have felt the energy and have been healed.  This is one amazing/wonderful journey I have traveled with Awilda.  We are Truly Blessed to have met and connected on our level. I am going thru a tough time right now and the love/support I have received from Awilda has helped me.  One day I was thinking of “just leaving”, taking all my money and going away, not telling anyone, just disappearing from my family/life….within minutes, my Sister Awilda sent me a text message telling me that I am strong and will get thru the tough times and NOTHING will get me down….of course she said other things BUT it was the right words at the right time.  This is our connection.  When my sister was “in trouble’”, my first thought was text Awilda, ask her for protective/positive energy to be sent out to the Universe.  She did and it helped me, my Mom and helped “save” my sister. (see her story on the blog)”

Here is another wonderful friend and amazing mother, Ziggy’s testimonial. Ziggy lives on the West coast. My Cali girl can never be too far away for me to smudge. I smudged Zig, a few weeks ago. She was at work, actually, what with the time difference and all. I was home smudging for her and sending her cleansing, positive energy. These are her words of how she felt: “OMG ok so yesterday while you were smudging I felt light headed and then I get so warm inside like if I was getting a ton of hugs from someone my heart felt full!!! and relaxed I was tired by the time I got home I was ready to go to bed but I waited it out at 930 sure enough I was in bed I held my amethyst in my had last night and once I was done with it I put it back in my lil baggy and tucked it under my pillow and I slept like a baby. I woke up fine RESTED to say the least.”

This is my testimonial for the power of Awilda’s presence.  There has been many times in the past that my sister has asked for Awilda to send powers of protection, peace, and understanding for me.  A few weeks ago, I was in a VERY bad situation.  I had sent a text to my sister stating I needed her help.  She immediately sent the text to Awilda for protection.  As I was trying to figure out how to get out of this situation, all of a sudden, I got an inspiration!!  I felt the power to grab my stuff and escape.  Also, the guy I was with, decided to take the trash out, giving me an opportunity to leave.  I called my sister to let her know that I was out safely and needed her to meet me.  In talking with her, I realized that my other sister, Awilda, had sent powers of protection to me around the time I felt the urge to escape.  I TRULY believe without the protection from Awilda I would not have been able to escape the situation I was in. 

I'm sharing my zenful journey with you because I'd like you to know the power of positive energy. I'd like to also share my experience of how using/burning California white sage to cleanse my own as well as others negative energy as helped. 

If you are a little curious, google smudging and familiarize yourselve with it. It's worth trying. After some reading and researching I am now a firm believer of our 7 chakra energy points and how each energy point can become blocked by every day environmental toxins. For me I feel that by smudging it helps clear any negative energy that may surround me or my family. Or if I'm in a bad mood, or had a bad day at work. Or even if I had an argument with my son I smudge to help clear the negative energy that has surrounded me about work or my home to begin the argument in the first place. Or if my daughter is nervous about something. Smudging always helps us. It makes us feel better calms us. Clears that tension or that negative vibe in the air. 

I would like you to join me on my zenful journey. I will be writing weekly entries and will also send you all positive energy every Sunday as I smudge for my family & myself. I'll post weekly pics of my smudging as well.

Today, on this Autumn Equinox I had finalized harvesting from the summer season. With the guidance of my generous neighbor she shared her herbs from her garden this year. I was able to pot about 6 of them (Rosemary, sage, lavender, basil, mint, & lemon balm) I know a few or these may not last in doors but lets see if my green thumb is like super hero green thumb. Lol. I'll keep you posted. :)

In honor of the the first day of Autumn I have started dinner very early and made beef stew in my crock pot. I also made white rice and red kidney beans on the side with a healthy a slice of avacado. Needless to say it was the tastiest comfort first day of Autumn dinner. For dessert I made cinnamon, with brown sugar vanilla cupcakes with matching cinnamon and brown sugar butter cream frosting. What a perfect way to end a lovely Autumn day. What did you make for dinner and dessert? 

I wish you all a wonderful, productive, and fast week filled with positive energy. Please leave any questions or comments. Thank you for taking the time to read My Zenful Journey. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. See you next week. 

~Awilda.