Making Chores a Spiritual Practice
Balancing life can be overwhelming. Fitness, chores, continuing education, and the paid work that we do – all of these things are expected to fit into one day! Not to mention making time for a spiritual practice… Add in spending time with your loved ones, and at that point you start picking and choosing which things you will actually make time for.
Sound familiar?
Integrating a spiritual practice into your daily life will help you make time and have energy for ALL THAT YOU DO. By making chores spiritual, you revitalize your entire existence. Time, energy, and head space will be freed up. You can continue education, spend time with loved ones, and exercise, no longer dwelling on what ails you, when you have a spiritually balanced daily routine.
Spiritual Cleansing
also known as cleaning ; cleansing yourself is paramount
- Protection & Cleansing
- Self-love & Gratitude
- Cleanse & Calm
- Spiritually Imbued Facials
- Sweeping
- Dusting
- Floor Wash
Water holds spiritual significance in every world religion. Going to water to cleanse oneself is a cultural practice, often with prayers and intentions. more about the Cherokee practice of going to water.
“I have turned my face unto Thee, O my Lord! Illumine it with the light of Thy countenance. Protect it, then, from turning to anyone but Thee.”
Protection & Cleansing
Water holds spiritual significance in every world religion, being a powerful tool for initiation as well as cleansing. Our face is what we present to the world, so it makes sense that we want it to be clean.
Washing your face with water alone can cleanse you of negative energy and free you from ill intentions. It is a great way to prepare before praying, especially if you are praying for protection.
You do not have to use any special soaps. Water is enough. Although you may find exfoliating and washing with soap are necessary for cleaning out your pores, you can wash with just water multiple times a day.
Protection and cleansing prayers can be said while washing as well as moisturizing.
“Believers! When you stand up for Prayer wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and wash your feet up to the ankles…”
Self-Love & Gratitude
Your feet connect you to the Earth. Everything that supports you comes into contact with them. Our of respect and gratitude, you want them to be clean.
I notice that sometimes I cannot sleep until I have washed my feet. Traveling to a sacred place requires clean feet; your home and your bed are sacred!
Clean floors and clean feet go hand in hand. I recommend cleaning your floor first.
Wash your feet to show humbleness, self-love, and gratitude as you travel a sacred path.
Cleaning your feet is a great opportunity for self-love, as you put your fingers between your toes and give them some gentle space. This shows gratitude for your life, as you feet hold you up all throughout the day.
Cleaning someone else’s feet is an act of selfless love, showing great humility
“Many religions require believers to cleanse themselves either prior to prayer or as a significant ritual at least once in their lives. ” from ‘Catholic Identity’
Cleanse & Calm
When you shower or bathe, you are washing away even more stress, anxiety, or filth from your body and from your life.
This is a great opportunity to become totally clean, spiritually as well as physically.
Hoodoo Delish has shared a great number of a spiritual bath ideas. However, even a shower can be a powerful moment for cleansing.
Begin by acknowledging your current state. Before your shower, ask yourself,
“What am I feeling? What worries do I have?”
As the water runs, imagine all that ails you being washed away. You can of course pair this with washing your feet and your face. 🙂
Mantras & Sound Healing
When I shower, I love to use low lighting combined with sound healing or Hindu Chants, like Om Namo Narayana, which means ‘I bow to God’, specifically the portrayal of Lord Krishna in his sleeping form. This washes my worries away. I know that everything will be ok. I believe that Krishna is the same God that all other religions pray to (including Pagan deities) as is explained in the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna reveals an infinite number of faces.
For Self-Love and Healing: Wash or massage every individual part of your body. Show every part of your body love and appreciation, perhaps thinking about why you are grateful for each body part. You can also do this while exfoliating with a sugar scrub during your shower or applying lotion after!
Loving what The Creator (God, Spirit, Nature) gave you is one of the most important spiritual practices! A facial is where you massage your face to improve blood flow and promote relaxation.
All forms of self-massage are worth while. We love getting professional massages, but we need to be willing to love ourselves rather than outsourcing it as an outside job.
You can think positive affirmations, intentions, mantras, spells, or prayers in your head as you perform a DIY facial as a spiritual practice.
Dusting
Do not smudge until after you dust!
The presence of dust could prevent smudging from being 100% effective. If you smudge before dusting, then the same energy could remain stuck in your home.
Aside from dust being filthy, it blocks the smudge smoke from being able to cleanse whatever the dust sits on top of.
Don’t forget to dust your blinds and ceiling fans! Preferably before cleaning the rest of your house.
Is Dusting more Important than Smudging?
Yes. The presence of dust in your home can impact your health. An illness of the body can impede elevation of spirit. You must take care of your physical health just as much as your spiritual health, maybe even more so. If you neglect your physical health, then your spiritual work can suffer as well!
What to Use
Select a duster that will remove all of the dust!
Depending on the surface, you can use a damp rag with a few dabs of your favorite essential oil or road opener oil.
Consider Your Ethics
Many dusters are one-time use and meant to be thrown in the trash. Practitioners who care about environmental conservation, Mother Nature, or God’s creation should select a duster than can be washed and reused.
Sweeping
The classic image of a witch with a broom comes to mind. Sweeping is a very important aspect of cleansing your home. It should be done more frequently than smudging.
What Sweeping Cleanses:
Dirt and debris can get dragged all over the house, spreading sadism and sluggishness. What’s even worse is that energy from the outside can make its way inside via our shoes (and it’s not always good energy!) When you sweep, you clean all this up!
Hoodoo Floor Sweep
In addition to removing bad energy, you can also add some good energy!
This video shows how to make a Hoodoo floor sweep that will cleanse your space!
Once Upon a Time…
I moved to a new rental, out in the county.
I am wary of new spaces, so one of the first things I did was use one of Hoodoo Delish’s floor sweeps for protection.
I stirred it counterclockwise as I spoke the words of Psalm 91. Then I stirred it clockwise as I recited Psalm 23.
Immediately after I did that, I started seeing brown recluse spiders everywhere; all over the house.
Spiders can be a symbol of protection, but we do not want dangerous spiders in our home!
Brown recluse spiders are known for hiding – and that is when they bite people! They get into your linens, your bed, your socks… everything… and then they bite you!
The fact that I saw these spiders enabled me to have them removed because I unpacked all of my belongings. This way, they did not get into my stuff!
I have no doubt that the Hoodoo floor sweep worked; it really was like magic seeing all of those spiders walk come out of hiding and reveal themselves.
Floor Wash
I use one part vinegar, one part warm water, and one drop of dish soap! Why? Because vinegar is antibacterial. Dish soap will help break down any stubborn grime.
Filth and bacteria have a negative spiritual impact. Ridding our homes of this filth is just as important as cleansing out the negative emotions.
Disclaimer: don’t use vinegar on hardwood or marble. Make sure you know what kind of floor you have and what kind of of floor wash is appropriate for its care.
Spiritual Impact of Washing your Floor
Similar to the floor sweep, washing your floor gets all the gunk out on a deeper level. If you have any stubborn energy that won’t go away, the solution just may be a good floor wash!
I recommend doing this after sweeping or vacuuming.
This should be done more often than smudging.
Road Opener Floor Wash
In addition to removing stubborn energy, you can also open up opportunities as you refresh your home!
Special Thanks to
“Ayah Al-Ma`idah (The Table, The Table Spread) 5:6 .” Ayah Al-Ma`idah (the Table, the Table Spread) 5:6, islamawakened.com/quran/5/6/default.htm. Accessed 14 June 2024.
“Bahá’í Prayers.” Medium Obligatory Prayer, 3 May 2008, www.bahaiprayers.org/obligmedium.htm.
“Cleansing Rituals within World Religions.” Catholic Identity, 20 May 2020, catholicidentity.bne.catholic.edu.au/scripture/SitePages/Cleansing-Rituals-within-World-Religions.aspx?csf=1&e=YTCXyx.
“Foot Washing.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/foot-washing. Accessed 14 June 2024.
“Ms. Avi from Hoodoo Delish.” for consult on spiritual practices
Powers, Tom. “‘Going to Water’– a Living, Sacred Tradition of the Cherokee.” MINGUS MILL, 18 Dec. 2019, mingusmill.wordpress.com/2019/12/18/going-to-water-a-living-sacred-tradition-of-the-cherokee/.
Publish Date: June 12th, 2024
Most Recent Edit: June 29th, 2024
Penny Astrology
Author, Meditator, Astrologer
I grew up Catholic and began reading about Buddhism at age 13.
By age 19, I began to identify as Pagan. This is also around the time I started studying astrology.
While active in the Pagan community, I also began to explore Judaism, Hinduism, and other branches of Christianity.
In April of 2022, I discovered the Bahai Faith while celebrating a child’s birthday.
I like the Bahai Faith because it encompasses wisdom from all world religions, and I like to read daily!
At home, I practice Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, the Bahai Faith, and Christianity, but do not personally identify with any one religion, preferring to refer to myself as “a little bit of everything”.
I take every opportunity to learn about all religions and I never turn down an opportunity to pray.