It’s the New Year, and many of us are looking to change things for the better. What if those changes were as simple as taking a bath?
That’s the promise of psychologist and author Paulette Sherman, who helped deal with the demands of a job, a commute, two kids and a breast cancer diagnosis by taking a relaxing dip in her tub.
And now she’s sharing the recipes for life’s success found in the warmth of your tub. Using essential oils, crystals and candles, she adds an intention to meditate on to help you transform your life from the inside out.
“I like to view baths as a path for our transformation,” Sherman explained.
She wrote a book with recipes to make everything in your life better. Start by washing away your ex, then open your heart to find a new love. Next, ask your boss for a raise. Even wash away the angst from the last election. It’s all covered in her book of 52 bathing recipes, one for each week of the year.
“It is a water mediation,” Sherman said. “It takes a whole bunch of tools in a 20-minute visualization to get what we want out of life.”
The bath came as meditation came to Paulette when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer five years ago, and she sought more inner guidance.
“I went on a spiritual journey,” she said. “Even though I was going through such horrendous things, I stated to get guidance and creative ideas.”
Those ideas sparked a series of 20 books, all written while still working as a therapist and mother. She found the tiny bathroom inside her Brooklyn apartment was the one place she could find peace and alone-time, and used the baths as a place to meditate away from the demands of the family. Then she realized it could work for others too.
“I wrote 52 diff rituals in six major life areas,” she said. “I thought about my clients and their needs. this is a daily ritual so you can shift your thinking and the emotions and let it all go down the drain be mindful about what you do want to program in instead.”
Bath Recipes:
(mix the essential oils in with the Epsom salt in a bowl before pouring it into your bath)
Adapted from, The Book of Sacred Baths: 52 Bathing Rituals to Revitalize Your Spirit, by Dr. Paulette Kouffman Sherman. ©2016 by Paulette Kouffman Sherman. Used by permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd., www.Llewellyn.com .
See www.sacredbathing.com for more information & bath product links
Book link found at: http://amzn.to/1KbnMwb
Bath Recipe: Open Your Heart to Love (this can be done as a couple or alone)
Many people want to attract love without realizing their heart is closed. Your heart closes when you’ve been hurt, if you don’t want to be vulnerable or unconsciously feel that you’re safer alone. Unless the source of this pain is addressed, an intimate connection will be threatening. This is problematic if you want to be close to a romantic partner.
There’s some Free YouTube music you can play while in your bath to open your heart. It’s called the 528 Hz Golden Om Solfeggio Meditation. The track helps you to enter a theta state, entraining the wave patterns of consciousness to resonate with energies along your Heart Field.
In the next sacred bath you will examine why you’ve shut your heart from love and begin to remove blocks to opening it.
Recipe:
1 cup Apple cider vinegar
4 drops Lavender oil- It creates peace and balances your emotions.
4 drops Jasmine oil- It is good for spiritual love and self-confidence.
1 drop Rose absolute oil- – It is the flower of self-love,
3 drops Neroli oil- It creates emotional balance and mental clarity
2 drops Ylang Ylang oil- It creates peace and eases tension.
Epsom salt
Rose quartz crystal- opens your heart chakra.
Pink candle- pink symbolizes love.
Apple Blossom Tea
Other: 528 Hz Golden Om Solfeggio Meditation
Journal of Us: Why I Love You– a journal that couples can write in together to reveal what they love and appreciate about each other (if you do this as part of a couple).
The bath ritual:
Light a light green candle and invite in Archangel Chamuel to assist. Chamuel is the Angel of Peaceful Relationships. He helps people develop a new interest in each other and helps soulmates to connect.
Breathe into your heart chakra to infuse it with pink light. Ask Archangel Chamuel to release all pain and negativity that’s caused you to armor your heart. Picture your heart healing. Imagine it’s a beautiful chalice full of unconditional love that overflows into all your relationships, especially the one with yourself, now.
Now picture your heart as a golden door. How open is it? Does it continually invite in love and goodness? Ask Archangel Chamuel to open wide the door of your heart and spend some time inviting your partner in. Imagine bathing you both in love, forgiveness and peace. Know that it’s under your control to be love at any time just by opening your heart door with this sacred bath ritual. You can choose who you want to be, who you will let in and whether you will dwell in love or fear.
Call in Divine Mother and allow her to shower you with the most radiant unconditional love. Let her warmth infuse all your relationships. Feel her in every part of your being and know that you’re cherished. Once you know this on the inside you won’t let any outside experience or person make you feel otherwise.
After your heart feels full and open, spend a few moments imagining the acts of loving kindness that you can do for yourself and your partner. Think about all that you can gain by living in the energy field of your heart. Imagine how much joy it will bring. Let love from another be additive to the love you already have for yourself.
Take the rose quartz crystal out of the bath water. While you’re lying in the tub, place it on your heart chakra to release any further blockages. Pray that you remain open to love in every moment. Ask Archangel Chamuel to release unhealthy attachments to people or situations that have hurt you and made you shut love out. Know that they can no longer deter you from your true essence and vibration, which is love.
When you’re ready, ask Archangel Chamuel to keep your heart door open and to seal in the work that you’ve done, so you maintain your new love vibration. Thank him for his assistance. Then say, ‘Amen’ and blow out your pink candle. Affirm, ‘My heart is wide open to embrace the love that I am and to accept all the love I can receive.’
Afterwards, drink some Apple Blossom Tea, said to attract love. When journaling, write about your experience. If this was a couples bath, write together in the Journal of Us: Why I Love You. Remember all the things that you appreciate about each other and make it a point to continue this appreciation fest outside of your sacred baths too!
Bath Recipe- The Ask Your Boss for a Raise Bath
You’re not alone if you are afraid to speak up at work. Ryan & Oestreich found that 70 percent of people were afraid to speak up at work for fear of repercussion. Soothe your inner child and help him or her to take small steps to overcome this fear.
Talk to people at work about your career path and ideas so that you can move forward. Research from 2011 showed that one in four women didn’t actively discuss career growth with their supervisor. 45% of women versus 65% of men ask for a raise. Linda Babcock, author of Women Don’t Ask found that men initiate salary negotiations four times as often as women and that when women do negotiate they ask for 30 percent less money! If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Don’t let gender stereotypes stop you from sharing your wisdom at work. In 2012, scholars at Brigham Young University and Princeton found women spoke less than men when a group collaborates to solve a problem. In most groups women spoke 75 percent less than men spoke in a group collaborating to solve a problem.
Practice being confident and start believing in yourself. Studies show that women only applied for a promotion when they met 100 percent of the qualifications but men applied when they met 50 percent. Share your thoughts in new terrains and take some risks. Sometimes when women are too vocal they’re considered unfeminine and are criticized. It’s important to remain in a state of self-love so that you don’t close down your voice. You pay a price for not expressing yourself. Your talent is wasted and your thoughts and feelings are repressed.
This next sacred bath will help you to free your voice so that you communicate and contribute authentically at work. You will visualize what you wish to say to your boss regarding a promotion or a raise and become conscious of any fears that come up.
Recipe:
5 drops Lavender oil- balances your emotions and creates peace.
3 drops Peppermint oil- can be energizing and centering.
3 drops Sandalwood oil- said to relax and focus the mind.
4 drops Myrrh oil- said to increase trust and awareness.
Lapis lazuli stone- said to be good for helping you to speak your truth.
Blue candle- is the color of your throat chakra, the energy center for communication.
1 cup Apple Cider vinegar
Epsom salt- to detoxify & relax
Peppermint Tea- said to ease transitions
The bath ritual:
Call in Archangel Gabriel to help you embrace your authentic voice. Light a blue candle and ask him to remove any blocks to expressing yourself—fear of judgment, fear of being ignored or of being made wrong. If there are past memories of you being told not to express yourself in childhood, let him remove that old energy.
Imagine that you’re given the words to adequately convey all that you want to say. You no longer fear using the wrong words or making a mistake.
Call upon Archangel Gabriel to surround you with blue light from the throat chakra to aid you with this.
Sink down into the bath water to watch the flickering blue candle and visualize the conversation you want to have at the office for 10 minutes. If there’s a specific situation or person that you’re worried about, ask for guidance on how best to address it or them. See yourself successfully expressing all that you have to say to your colleagues or to your boss, imagine them thanking, respecting you and applauding you for your courage and initiative. Then thank yourself.
Ask Archangel Gabriel to remain with you and to continue strengthening your throat chakra. Notice how great it feels to say what you think and to ask for what you deserve. When you’re ready, blow out the blue candle and affirm, “I freely and powerfully express what’s in my heart and mind so that I can make a real difference.”
When you leave your sacred bath, go into your place of relaxation to journal about what you’d like to say going forward and commit to a time to do it. Sip some Peppermint Tea to ease this transition and to promote clarity. Journal about how this felt and any guidance you received. Make sure to follow through on any guidance to address the people or situations that you’ve avoided. As you successfully speak up, it will get easier and you will see what happens when you’re fully in your power.
Bath Recipe-The Bath to Invite in Success:
I want you to have all your dreams! So the next bath is to invite success in. Here are some tips:
See yourself as worthy of success and abundance. You only allow yourself to manifest that with which you already feel you are.
Also, flowing water symbolizes abundance. According to feng shui experts, images of flowing water are good for abundance including waterfalls, seas, rivers and fountains. Spend time meditating about your success by a waterfall, by the ocean, or in your bath! You can get creative inspiration there. The Japanese say that all great ideas derive in water so it is a perfect place to do this meditation.
In this next sacred bath ritual you will connect with your Higher Self to remove any blocks to success and to identify next steps to move you forward.
Recipe:
4 drops Frankincense oil-This is spiritually grounding and good for manifestation.
4 drops Patchouli oil-This oil is great for money, fertility and uplifting the mind.
3 drops Myrrh oil-This oil uplifts the emotions and provides spiritual awareness.
2 drops Clove oil-This oil is good for abundance.
Adventurine- this stone attracts new opportunities and helps to overcome self-doubt.
Green candle- this color can symbolize healing, abundance or growth.
Epsom Salt
1 cup Apple cider vinegar
Patchouli Tea- is said to attract manifestation.
The bath ritual:
Light a green candle and invite in Lakshmi, the Goddess of Abundance. Lakshmi is a Water Goddess who sprang from the ocean bearing gifts. You can pray to her as you look at the flame of your green candle, which is the color of money, abundance and the unlimited love in your heart.
Once you’ve achieved success, it attracts more of the same. See yourself as a magnet for all that you desire. This bath will help you to create abundance from the inside out. Picture the Goddess Lakshmi smiling at you as she shows you a movie of all that you have already achieved in your life. Breathe in and take ownership of the Creator you are.
The Goddess Lakshmi blesses you and tells you how talented, hardworking, and capable you are. She says, “Your energy attracts abundance. You’re a magnet for success, so match your consciousness to your potential.” Receive her blessing down to your DNA and know that you’re worthy of great success.
Perhaps your parents, partner and boss don’t appreciate you and you haven’t felt valuable and deserving in their eyes or your own. Release any negative beliefs about your success and shift your energy now. Let the Goddess mirror back your true magnificence.
Take fifteen minutes to visualize exactly who you are and what you wish to create. See it in detail as if it’s happening now! Welcome prosperity and know you deserve it and are it. Allow it to make you even more generous with your time and resources to others. See, hear and feel how it is to create what you want. Ask her the best next steps for you to take to achieve what you want. Hear your Goddess say, ‘Everything you touch prospers!’
Allow any doubt, fear or obstacles to drain out of the tub with the bath water so they’re no longer in your energy field and psyche.
When you’re done ask Lakshmi to surround you with green light of success no matter what happens. When you’re ready, thank her and affirm, ‘I’m worthy of all my dreams and am now ready to manifest them.’ Then blow out the green candle.
Go into your place of relaxation to journal about any guidance you received and any plans to further your success. Sip on some Juniper Berry Tea for abundance or Patchouli Tea for manifestation as you write.
Bath Recipe- The Release Post-Election Stress Bath
(adapted from, The Return to Peace Bath)
Many days you probably come home from the office with a big headache and it probably doesn’t end there! You may have to cook dinner and clean up. You may still have to do house work or work projects long into the night. Sometimes bigger things that were not even in the cards can throw you completely off plan, like election stress or violent events in the world. Emotions are natural reactions to the curve balls of life but you can learn how to release them and create a window of time to surrender, let go and become an empty vessel for peace, love and balance. This can be very restorative when the world isn’t how you want, when things aren’t clear and you feel you cannot control them.
This next sacred bath will help you create inner peace in just 25 minutes so that you’re better able to deal with outer challenges. You will practice accepting what is rather than comparing it to what you want it to be and make time to love yourself, no matter what. When you get to that point, life circumstances will still be upsetting but they won’t obscure the core feeling that you’re supported.
Recipe:
3 drops Lavender oil- calms and relaxes
2 drops Frankincense oil- slows and deepens breathing and removes stress
4 drops Orange oil- it is good for lightness and abundance
Quartz crystal- to amplify your intention to create clarity and peace
White candle
1 cup Epsom salt
Chamomile Tea
The bath ritual:
Light a white candle and ask the Goddess Kuan Yin to fill your life and your bath with peace. Ask her to wash away the stress of past and possible futures and to let go of any limiting beliefs, anxiety, worry, stress or doubt.
Peace means that you’re happy in this moment with all that you have and all that you are. You aren’t planning, worrying, looking backwards or criticizing yourself or others in any way.
Peace makes everything lovely, right now. It’s full of acceptance and contentedness. You can choose to let anything that’s not peace go and to just be right now.
If there’s a specific situation to which you need to bring peace, visualize it now and imagine you and Kuan Yin bathing it in peace. Intend that you be the powerful master of your own energy at all times. Affirm, ‘My life is a place of peace because I make it so.’
Breathe in peace and remember that you can return to this state any time. You can only create peace out there once you create it within. Then you can take it with you and wash it over every person and situation. Just think about what you will create from that calm centered place and consciousness!
Ask Kuan Yin to advise you on how you can make peace with things as they are in this moment. Ask to see it from a higher perspective instead of reacting from your ego. Is there something to learn here? A reason it’s happening? How would it be helpful to approach it going forward? Should you minimize your focus on the situation and instead concentrate on more positive things, or, is it best to take specific steps to address it? How can you shift your emotion from fear to love on a daily basis? Listen to the wisdom that comes.
Thank Kuan Yin and your Higher Self for helping you act on creating peace within, despite outer circumstances. Ask her to seal in this peaceful energy so that it remains a part of you and let all things stressful go right down the drain at the end of your bath.
Make a prayer that you carry this energy into every situation from here forward. Affirm, ‘I’m at peace no matter what’s going on around me because peace is created within. I am a calm center and, I am peace.’ When ready, blow out the white candle.
Then go to your place of relaxation to sip Chamomile Tea and journal about any insights. Remember to implement any insights and return to this bath ritual as needed.