Throughout history spiritual practitioners have imbued objects with special powers and have sought healing from the physical world. There are healing waters in special places, physical icons such as pieces of Christ’s cross, and many images and symbolic representations that people of all beliefs attend to for their magical powers. The power of the cross, the star of David, the crescent moon of Islam, and all of the other symbols of religion do not have power independent of the energies that followers of religions bring to the symbols. In the darkest histories of any religion one can identify the powerful negative energy that produces violence against others, wars, and persecution when people distort the power of their religion for evil and selfish purposes. In contrast, in the most enlightened moments of religious faith, people have imbued their beliefs and the symbols of their faith with powerful positive dynamism that embodies the best of our spiritual souls and we have benefited from the power of positive thoughts. The reason that such objects have such profound effects is because of the energies that people have brought to the objects in their quest for healing or the restoration of damaged soul parts or simply to feel an improvement in their emotional state.
In my work I create altars to share with others. The altar might, in any iteration, contain objects from many sources and can serve to connect us to each other as well as to the cosmos. The most significant characteristic of an altar is in the intentions that are placed in the objects and that in turn impact those who would participate in a ritual or ceremony. In some of our gatherings, people are encouraged to place objects on the altar after they have imbued the objects with their blessings and joy. Our accompanying meditations are intended to convey positive energies and everyone in the circle of community can benefit from the shared affirmations.
Many people are familiar with Masaru Emoto, a Japanese author and researcher, who created experiments to demonstrate that human consciousness could have an effect on water. His book, Messages from Water, contains photographs of ice crystals that were formed after the water had been imbued with either positive or negative thoughts and words. The resulting crystal structures reflected the energy of the words that were used, resulting in forms that were aesthetically pleasing if the water had been exposed to positive word images and “ugly” forms if the water had been affected by negative intentions. Emoto has done extensive research with the concept of imbuing. He did numerous studies and published four books. In his experiments he would tape words to vials of water, bring the water to freezing point and then photograph the crystals that formed. He found fascinating results with both the beauty of positive words and the crystals that formed and the ugliness of negative words and the broken or unformed chaotic masses from the energy of negativity. His research contributed to my understanding of how powerful blessings are and how powerful words can affect us especially those that we wear on clothing or on objects against our bodies. Remember that we are 75-80% water and the energy of the words works on our bodies just as it does on vials of water.
Our thoughts and our intentions affect our environment and all the people and objects that fall within our influence. Energy fields pulsate out and carry with them positive or negative messages that impact and alter all with which they come into contact. This effort to imbue objects with positive powers can carry into the everyday experiences of our lives. This phenomenon was the reason that I created a “birthing sash” for my daughter as she prepared to give birth to her first child. I wanted her experience to be positive and an affirmation of the joy of giving birth. With all experience, a positive beginning presages the greater possibility of a more sustained and affirmative result and long lasting joy and happiness.
The purpose of the sash was to bring the positive energies of blessings and well wishes from family and friends and to make the experience of the birth an affirmation of the joy of bringing a new being to life. Pregnancy and giving birth can be a difficult experience because of the trauma that a mother might endure physically and emotionally and this makes the contribution of positive energy even more important both to the comfort of the new mother and to the new infant.
As my daughter prepared for her birthing experience, she prepared a nursery in her home with new furniture and decorations. She chose particular colors to highlight the room and to create the new “home” for her soon-to-be son. I planned the birthing sash to coordinate with her images of the nursery by purchasing a large amount of colored ribbons in the colors she had selected for the room. The ribbons would become the fabric of the sash. I cut the ribbons into appropriate lengths that could later be woven together and rolled the pieces into balls and put them into individual small containers in preparation for a baby shower sponsored by my daughter’s friends. I was hosting the celebration at my house and that provided me the opportunity to organize the event of the blessing of the ribbons by friends and family.
As we sat together we did a meditation and blessing ritual that involved the passing of each ribbon from one person to the next until all in attendance had bestowed a personal blessing on each ribbon. Each attendant offered a blessing for the labor process and for the newborn. About thirty people touched each ribbon, not just with their hands but also with their hearts and their souls. The positive energy of the blessing ceremony was palpable and people were enthused to have the opportunity to send wishes that we all knew would make the experience and the resulting birth a success.
After the shower, I braided the ribbons into strands that I could weave together into sections that I then sewed into a wide, long sash. My daughter could lay the sash across her belly as she awaited the delivery date. During her delivery, we placed the sash across her as her son was born. The energies of the many friends and family members who had blessed the ribbons were present throughout the event and a strong and healthy child was born. To this day he continues to exhibit all the joy and love that was consecrated in him by so many people who shared their love and kind wishes for his life.
Later we mounted the sash on a rod that allowed it to be hung on the wall in the nursery. The positive energies of this object of love continues to this day to create joy in the room of this little boy as he grows up, loved and cared for by parents and grandparents and friends.
We all emit vibrations that have effects on all that we observe and touch. When these vibrations carry constructive and joyful energies they alter all with which they come into contact in a positive way. The birthing sash was an opportunity to capture these energies and transfer them in a magnitude compounded by many people joining in a common effort of caring and love.