Two Ancient Practices to Add to Your Bath Ritual
These preparations are important steps in many religious and spiritual cleansings.
Water immersion is used by many spiritual and religious traditions as a purifying ritual, and that could say something about why, for many people, a simple bath feels just as cleansing to the mind as it does to the body. For me, a bath is like a reset button, a pause in the day or evening; my nerves slow down, which creates a general feeling of ease and openness. I can see why this physical sensation allows practitioners to more easily connect to their higher God or higher selves.
In fact, it’s hard to find a major religion that doesn’t incorporate some kind of immersion ritual. Hindus bathe in the sacred waters of the River Ganges, Christians immerse themselves in water for baptism and initiation into the faith, and in certain circumstances, Muslims perform ghusl as a full-body water purification before formal prayers. In Judaism, there exists the mikveh, which is a spiritually cleansing bath, and Buddhists celebrate Vesak Day by gathering and symbolically “Bathing the Buddha.”
Preparation for Water Purifying Rituals
One easily overlooked aspect of these spiritual cleansings is that many involve a literal pre-cleansing…
