Why do I believe in Saint Francis? By Reverend Alaina Damewood

Illustration in Courtesy of Wikimedia commons
Saint Francis statue at the Mission of Nombre de Dios

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Francis.jpg

                                         
For years I questioned myths about saints , angles and animals have always intrigued me but I used to think they where all just myths . Until I started experience my own divine in counter about 6 years ago. It started as a normal day after getting out of a long day of doing ministry work at a local college some of my friends asked me to go with them to the store and out to eat. We went to a local store to pick up some things for their work as well as I went there to come up with things to get to actives for the kids at the colledge .

After getting out of the store we decided to walk to the other end of the shopping center to grab food before the friend who had been driving us dropped all of our friends back to where we needed to go to. We started walking when my friends Shawn and Adam stated : Alaina that bird is following you . I told them just to keep walking and maybe it would go away , so we continued to walk down to the place to grab food , as the bird kept walking behind me. We got to the door of the place we where going to eat at and the bird was still behind my feet .

Shawn turned to me and stated Alaina what are you going to do about that bird? I said I will take care of it I turned and looked to the animal and stated Saint Francis of Assisi you can not come into the eating place with us while your in a birds body . The bird started acting like a normal bird and then became afraid of me like a normal animal and flew off. I questioned to my self was that really Francis as I went inside the restraint to join my friends . After we got out all of us walked back up to the other end of the parking a lot and got into my friends car to be dropped off . I asked Shawn to take me back home first since I was the closets one in the area then take our other friends back . So Shawn agreed to drive me back first. The second we pulled up into the drive away to where I lived , another bird of the same type flew down off a tree and sat right on the top of Shawn's car. Then I turned and looked at Shawn with his face being in panic and I said what is wrong he said my car will not start . The bird flew off his car as I turned and said thanks Francis for the warning . This was my first experience feeling like the saint of animals was watching my back.

The second event occurred up in Huntington WV where I had went with another friend to get his girls so they could come down and stay a few days with spending time with my kids. We where over at a store and a bird was following his car . Then I turned and looked at my friend saying I think we need to pull over . My friend asked why , I turned looked at my friend and said I just have a feeling something is getting ready to happen. So we pulled over then he receive a phone call saying his girls where not going to make it down because there had been a family emergency . My friend turned and looked at me and said how did you know . I said the little bird who was following us since our last stop did not leave and keep flying beside us . Then my friend who was a devoted roman right catholic turned around and said are you familiar with saint Francis the saint of animals ? I said yes and I believe he was the one warning us about your girls. My friend looked smiled and said Alaina I guess the legends about him are true . I smiled and said I like to think so.

This is the reason I believe in saint Francis and other saints because ever time when I think he is not watching I have another bird or other animal does something to warn me about events . I also like to think all the other myths about , angles , saints are real to some degree to . Because every time something happens to me . I question who is going to help me now and it makes we wonder what else is real that we do not pay attention to because of people saying they are just myths.

Guardian Cows

Photo by PJ 2009, Cattle herd on the Island of Hawaii.

Growing up with cattle, I learned to appreciate the powers of cows, their strong maternal instinct to protect and ward of evils, things that are alive, dead and how they would protect anyone they considers to be part of their herd. Cows like many other animals have strong senses and they use these to keep themselves and others safe.

One of these cows even saved my life on several occasions, her name was Silkedokka, or if translated into English, The Silk Doll. My parents early on noticed that Silkedokka was more independent and strong willed than most cows, and she was given to me when I was 6 years of age. I adored her and she grew up with me, she would follow me where ever I went and this one time I was busy picking flowers not noticing another of our cows that happened to hate children, Now Silkedokka had a pair of horns that pointed down, with the tips turned inward, and she knew exactly how to use them. As the other cow, went on to charge me Silkedokka intervened using her horns as a pair of bumpers she rammed the other cow just in time to prevent me from getting crushed against the ground.

On other times our cows chased away spirits and circled around their young to protect them, I always felt safe among the cattle even with some of them having a mean streak I always knew the other cows and especially Silkedokka would be there for me if I needed.

Other animals are also known to work as totem or guardian animals example of this can be found in the entry Why I belive in Saint Francis by Reverend Alaina Damewood. Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals.

Sage - Salvia apiana - cleansing of the soul and protection against evil spirits

Salvia apiana also known as White Sage, 

Image from Wikimedia Commons 

Sage (Salvia apiana) along with many other herbs have been used for centuries for spiritual  cleansing of the body and mind as well as the home and, also for protection. The herb we will concentrate on today is Sage. There are many different kinds of sage. The on that I will touch on today is white sage, also known as California white sage or sacred sage. White sage which we are talking about in this entry is not to be confused with Diviner's Sage (Salvia divinorum), Diviner's sage, which also is known as Maria Pastora and Seer's Sage is a related herb with psychedelic properties, and where used to bring visions when smoked.

White sage is said to be extremely efficient in cleansing the soul. It is also good form warding off any evil spirits that may be around you. Sage is also known to have many health benefits. Sage can be used for such things as relief from sore throats,  and colds and. it can also be used for internal issues. For more information on that you can visit http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbSageMed.htm

People have used sage for personal cleansing too. Sage helps in relaxing yet, bringing  more real energy to the body. For many years sage has also been used for group cleansing and protection and a feeling of well being. Many people have used sage to cleanse their house or apartment. More info and instructions on personal , group and, home cleansing can be found here.
http://www.meyna.com/use.html

Sage has enjoyed popularity around the world. people sometimes use it as  incense, it can be used as a tea or by burning and smudging it as it has been said that sage is good for whatever is bothering you.

One of the common use of Sage is to do a practice called ( smudging the seven directions ) When sage is smudged in the seven directions, one is more able to feel the calmness and relief and cleansing of the spirit and mind. If you are interested in smudging, you can find the info here.
http://www.taosherb.com/store/sacred-herbs.html

Sage is a powerful tool, but it is a tool that can only drive away evil when used properly. It will drive away Evil spirits that are not connected to a place or spot; but if the spirits already have a foothold in someones house it will only serve to weaken them and purify the house causing them to have to retake the house again. It will not drive them away entirely.

It is only part of the solution but it is not the entire solution. I would recommend continuing to burn Sage in order to continue weakening it, only make sure you use White Sage and then have a Priest or Priestess bless it just to increase it's effectiveness.

Doesn't matter what religion the priest is, Pagan or Christian or Buddhist etc as long as its a Priest from a Benevolent religion. That wont drive it away but it will help to weaken it and burn away the negative energies that may be within the house. I recommend cleansing yourself as well. Either with the sage or using a simple technique.

There are many ways that work for cleansing both using sage and other ways here are some ways that Jose Prado has found to work well for him.

1) An Anti-negativity Grounding. A grounding is a technique most Magick users like Wiccans use to get rid of extra energy they summoned up from using powerful spells or rituals. If you have too much magickal energy it can cause problems because you might accidentally cause things to happen by sheer will even when you aren't trying to or you can call attention to yourself from spirits. What I have done is create a type of grounding that drains negative or dark spiritual energy out your body via the same technique.

Sit down in the grass usually barefoot and either puts both feet on the ground or the palms of their hands on the ground. Imagine your toes turn to tree roots and connect to the Earth or they place both hands or even one foot and one hand down on the dirt or grass and imagine the fingers/toes to become roots.

Then you pray to one of the Earth gods/goddesses and ask them to take your negative energy away from you and to purify it and send the purified energy to whomever they believe is worthy. That way you get rid of bad energy and get good karma for sending it to someone in the world. Plus its an offering to the Earth gods so you get some favor.

Another way to do the same thing is a shower cleansing where you imagine your under a mystic water fall and there is one golden tube connecting to your forehead and another golden tube connected to your lower legs. The outside of the water fall is cleansing the outside of your body from dark or negative energy while the tubes are sending holy water energy to clean you out from the inside out and the bad energy goes out of the lower tube down the drain to the Earth gods to do the same thing. Either one will work but try to do it at least once a day and you will see results.

This will help stabilize you from any residual negativity you may be picking up from the spirits. I think sage is worth looking into and reading up on the many different ways sage can help in ones spiritual life and well being.

ADMINISTRATORS NOTE... If you decide to burn sage, Pleas read all instructions on that are on or in the package. Sage embers burn VERY HOT and will catch carpet or paper and other objects on fire. Please follow all instructions on how to burn and smudge sage !!

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Salt: Mineral, Preservative, Religious Symbol and Spiritual Protector

 Illustration PJ 2011, Salt, upper left Black Hunza Stone Salt, upper right Hawaiian Sea Salt, lower left refined modern tablet salt and lower right Pink Himalayan Salt.

Few elements have had a longer importance in human cultures as regular table salt, both mined stone salt and sea salt has been the prime tool for preserving foods and adding flavor even long before recorded history. Salt also played an important role in many religions and faiths, it was considered one of the prime elements in the European medieval alchemy and therefore essential for the making of the philosophers stone. In Christianity salt is also a religious symbol. Salt is a symbol of the sanctity of Jesus, as a preserving value of his sanctity and, protection it is used to make holy water and also the more powerful exorcised water in the Roman Catholic Church. Salt is also used to make protective circles like described in My First Exorcism by Rev. Alaina Damewood. 

Salt as a sign of bad omens. According to some recollections salt was spilled by Judas Iscariot at the last supper, and since then is seen as a sign of omen and bad luck. If you spilled salt you could avert your bad luck by tossing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder, which was thought to be the devils side. By doing this one would advert any evils that the devils lurking at your left side had in store for you.

In many pagan rituals salt was also important, it is used in magical spells, cleansing rituals, charms and concoctions, and already in ancient Pre-christian Rome salt were a symbol of friendship and spilling of salt, a symbol of ill luck. Later with Christianity a deep faith and salt as a symbol of Jesus, one assumed incorrectly that the pagan witch sabbath everything was salt free. In fact this is a blurring of the terms for witches and demon witches, while a witch is still fully human and not affected by salt,  a demon witch (hag) has started to lose their humanity is such ways that salt would affect and ward them off just like it could ward of full demons.

In Norse mythology they thought that the gods came from a salty ice-block as the cow, Auðumbla brought  Búri the first god in Norse mythology, grandfather of Odin, out of the salty ice block over the course of four days. In general, other than its role as part of Norse creation myths salt had little importance other than a tool used to preserve and condition foods, though later Christianity brought in a lot of their beliefs in salt.

In Hawaii and Samoa sea salt is used for protection both by placing salt in each of the four corners of the house and by poring salt on the door threshold to prevent any spirits from crossing into ones home.

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