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A few weeks ago, one of the regulars noticed that we were rapidly approaching a full year of blessings – and he asked if I’d consider writing a bit about “a year of giving blessings”.

I think this is a great idea, if nothing else then to celebrate the past year and all the blessings it has brought me and, hopefully, you as well. I’m not quite sure I have that many interesting things to write about, though, but I’ll give it a try and let you be the judge… 😉

(Btw, if you have no idea what I’m talking about in the first place: I perform a formal blessing ceremony each Wednesday in which I bless everybody who has signed up that week. You’ll find the most current signup option here.)

Back when I put the first offer for a formal blessing online, I had no idea what would come out of it. To be honest, I still don’t really know what will come out of it, but I can at least see a bit clearer now. Back then, I wasn’t sure how things would go, and I had no clue how long I would even offer these blessings. My thought was that I’d give it a try for a few weeks, and then re-evaluate. [Read more…] about Lessons from a Year of Blessings

Welcome to the fourth (and final) part of this series!

If you haven’t seen the earlier installments yet, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Today’s essay will cover Steps 8 and 9 of this “mini-course” in blessing – and there might just happen to be a Bonus-Step at the end, too… 😉

Since I don’t expect there to be many problems or issues, besides what we’ve already covered in the troubleshooting sections earlier, we’ll dive right in. And yep, this time it will be into the very deep end of the pool. (Finally!) [Read more…] about Blessing: How to Get Started in 9 Simple Steps – Part 4

This is the third installment of a series of essays which show people how to do formal blessings, in simple, doable steps.

If you haven’t read the earlier parts yet, I suggest you start there: Part 1 and Part 2.

And for the people who did read them, I hope you actually followed along and are giving my suggestions a try – or are trying out your own version of blessings! 🙂

Today we’ll explore some more areas of the non-swimmers’ section of the pool (but don’t worry, we will reach the deep end before the end of the series!). But before we wade over to one of the short water slides to have some more fun, I’d like to squeeze in another troubleshooting section: [Read more…] about Blessing: How to Get Started in 9 Simple Steps – Part 3

Last week, I started a series of essays which teaches people how to do formal blessings. I hope all of you have put the past few days to good use, and practiced as much as possible! 🙂

(And if you’re new to the series and haven’t read the first part, you might wanna rectify that now.)

As promised, today we’ll tackle the next steps on the path. Before we start, though, two things:

First, and just in case you haven’t realized this yourself: Steps 1, 2 and 3 are all you need to perform fully functioning blessings. That’s the basic technique, and it works just fine – although, of course, things will become easier and more powerful with a bit of practice.

I.e. Steps 4 to 9 aren’t absolutely necessary, and in theory you could stop reading right here. However, I suggest you do read ahead (and also follow along with your practice!!), as the following steps will cover some helpful additions to the basic version of your blessings.

(Plus, if you continue to practice along for the next few essays, chances are much better that you’ll actually make blessings a continuous part of your life. 😉 ) [Read more…] about Blessing: How to Get Started in 9 Simple Steps – Part 2

Every now and then, somebody adds a comment to one of my Blessing Lists which, to me, suggests that this person would also love to bless others – but doesn’t think they can do it. They might think that this is only for “pros”. Or they might think they wouldn’t be competent. Or they simply don’t know how to even start.

Either way, there’s a whistful quality to some of the comments, an “I’d love to do that, too, but I can’t or don’t know how” vibe.

Each time I get such a comment, I’m tempted to reply “Hey, why don’t you just do it?!

But then I remember that not too long ago, I was very firmly in the same camp. Blessing was something that professionals like priests do. “Normal” people like me were the ones to be blessed.

I don’t know if the commenters even question that role allocation consciously. Although, to be honest, I know I didn’t, and I suspect they don’t either. It’s just one of those things which are a certain way, especially for people growing up with a Christian background (and I suppose that it might be the same in other big religions, especially the monotheistic ones).

Thus, in a lot of people’s subconscious assumptions, spiritual roles need to be observed – and access to certain divine energies and gifts requires a trained mediator.

That’s why I always go “huh??” when I encounter such a comment. ’cause, folks, I’m very much not a pro. I’m not a trained priest or blesser. I’m also not a saint or a mystic or anything the like. And I don’t feel more divinely elevated or chosen than the next guy.

I’m simply a middle-aged woman who one day realized that she should bless people, and then turned around and actually started doing it.

Or, in other words: If I can bless people, then so can everybody else!

And given the current state of our world, having more blessings in it definitely won’t hurt. 🙂

So that’s why I decided to write this essay. It’s a practical, hands-on (or rather: hands-up 😉 ) text to help you get started with blessing other people and the (living and non-living) things around you – in nine simple, practical steps. [Read more…] about Blessing: How to Get Started in 9 Simple Steps