And what type of energy is this supposed to be? Kinetic? Chemical potential? Light? Energy is a word with a very specific meaning, the potential to do work, it is not a field or an essence, and it can be measured very exactly with instruments.

>> And what type of energy is this supposed to be? Kinetic? Chemical potential? Light? Energy is a word with a very specific meaning, the potential to do work, it is not a field or an essence, and it can be measured very exactly with instruments.

Why don't you wander back to the other gardening forums and tell everyone that since there is no scientific way to measure beauty, they are being fools for discussing which plants are beautiful? The physics definition of energy is not the only one; it is being used here as a metaphor for something that you will never appreciate. Do you really need to crap on everyone else to show that you and your science are superior to all?

Congratulations Apollog you managed to evade understanding my simple point entirely. Energy is a word that until it was grabbed by new agers had a very specific meaning, the potential to do work, and it is consistently used through all of the English language, except when it comes to new ager spirituality. Just like quantum mechanics energy is a word that needs to be taken back because its been misused to make things sound more official then they really are.

Hello Celtic Willow-
First of all, don't mind Brendan. He's one of our self-appointed carriers of negative energy who feels the need to disrupt our discussions.

Sage, Cedar and Sweetgrass are probably the most commonly used herbs for smudging in the Native American tradition.
Lavender can also be used, though it is not native to North America, so isn't considered traditional.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smudging

>> Energy is a word that until it was grabbed by new agers had a very specific meaning, the potential to do work, and it is consistently used through all of the English language, except when it comes to new ager spirituality.

Nice story, but not true. The word energy comes from Greek, and it encompasses a much wider range of meaning than you admit.

The use of the word "energy" in psychological studies is comparatively new, although it was in use in psychological thought long before the modern physical concept of energy was fully developed, as a general descriptor of the forces that powered mental processes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_%28psychological%29

Aristotle claims that pleasure, as opposed to the popular view of an emptiness that needs to be fulfilled, actually consists in energeia of the human body and mind (Book X). Thus, he would claim that eating is pleasurable in the sense that it allows the human digestive system to fully function, sex is pleasurable for the same reason with the reproductive system, and activities such as studying mathematics or admiring art are pleasurable because they are an energeia with respect to the mind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energeia

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I'm not a huge fan of smudging/incense - too heavy for me personally. I would rather use an essential oil. My Jasmine is blooming now, so every night before bed, I pick a handful of flowers - a calming energy, to be sure.

To translate jasmine's 'calming energy' into geekspeak, let me say "cis-jasmone and methyl jasmonate have a respective dissociation constant (Kp) and maximum potentiation (Vm) of 0.49 mM and 322% for cis-jasmone, and 0.84 mM and 450% for methyl jasmonate. Inhalation of 0.1% cis-jasmone or methyl jasmonate significantly increased the sleeping time of mice induced by pentobarbital, suggesting that these fragrant compounds were absorbed by the brain and thereby potentiated the GABAA receptor response. Both of these compounds may therefore have a tranquillizing effect on the brain."

Apollog I was not aware that we were speaking ancient Greek. Energy does consitute the power to do mental processes, it is stored in the liver in chemical form as glycogen, it is released into the blood and the brain pulls the blood sugar in and breaks the bond releasing the energy the power the physiological processes involved in thought. Hence your quote fits the criteria for what energy means and does not provide a counter example.

>> I was not aware that we were speaking ancient Greek.

I suppose you also discount the value of a classical education, and believe that today's language and thinking is entirely independent of the past? Science draws many of its words and meanings from Greek and Latin, and science is not unique in that respect.

>> Energy does consitute the power to do mental processes, it is stored in the liver in chemical form as glycogen, it is released into the blood ...

Do us a favor and go hen-peck all the doctors that have ever used the word stress except to refer to the physical force exerted on an object (measured in dynes/centimeter^2). Obviously, they are crazy to suggest that everyday stress could affect a person's health...a person under such stress has no more force on their body than a person who is watching TV. How could their immune status drop when they are 'under stress' from a boss or spouse yelling or criticizing them, or stress from an approaching deadline on a calendar?

The amount of energy from a person criticizing someone is no different from listening to pleasant music on a radio, which is not typically associated with insomnia, palpitations or other things that such quacks attribute to stress. If there is no difference in the amount of energy, how could there be a different effect?? Likewise, the number of dynes/centimeter^2 exerted by a deadline (ink on piece of paper that is not typically in contact with a person) is essentially zero. Which proves that deadlines are not stressful.

Doctors who promote the idea that people should 'manage stress' because it affects health must therefore be new age tomfoolery quacks. (of course, moderation is the key; at extremes of true stress, a person might be crushed or suffer other physical injury. But the idea of emotional 'stress' is a blasphemy against true science, and nothing links it to adverse health outcomes.)

May the physics-word-police be unceasing in their quest to purify our thoughts and speech! Hail Ceasar!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Major life events: their personal meaning, resolution, and mental health significance.

I'm talking about the English language, not scientific jargon. Yes we get our words from other languages, we do not speak those other languages. Ebarassed has a latin root but the Spanish homolog is a very different word. English benefits from an overabundance of words. Stress is a different word and has been used to mean both mechanical stress and emotional stress for a very long time, synonyms for stress are used the same way, tension, pressure, too much physical stress and an object will fail, too much emotional stress and a person will fail. Lots of energy an an object will do a lot, lots of energy and a person will do a lot, lots of psychic energy and a person will ... have lots of psychic energy, thats because the psychic energy is not energy at all (if it exists) it is a misuse of a word that needs to be taken back and have another used in its place. There are 40,000 words to choose from, pick one that means what you mean or make a new one.

>> ... it is a misuse of a word that needs to be taken back and have another used in its place.

Ah, I see. You want to erase the idea of the psyche and de-legitimize any humanistic approach to humans that uses the word 'energy' in way that you see as 'new agey' ... even if that tradition is older than modern physics. Maybe you should start your crusade with the medical community, who also has the audacity to speak of such intangibles as hope:

INTRODUCTION: Not many physicians would argue with the opinion that therapeutic success depends significantly on the psychic condition of the patient. It is generally accepted that a patient who strongly believes in recovery will respond better to therapy than a patient who is no longer ready to deal with difficulties caused by the disease. The patient needs to be the subject and the co-creator of the mobilization process rather than the object passively awaiting help from outside. Sometimes the patient is able to draw healing forces from the psyche. More often, the patient is unable to do so and therefore needs psychological care from another person. The task of this person is to extract and awaken forces that are latent in the patient or even to lend the patient the desire to live. The aim of this study was to review reports on the dynamics of hope in neoplastic disease and ways of stimulating hope. CONCLUSIONS: Hope is present in patients with cancer in the form of a psychic defensive mechanism, a source of actions aimed at coping with difficulties associated with therapy and progress of the disease, and as energy liberating the courage to conquer limitations caused by the disease. Psychological aid should not only be directed at reducing anxiety but also at supporting the development of hope.(Ann Acad Med Stetin. 2006;52(3):141-5. Dynamics of hope in neoplastic disease: a review.)

I think that essence would be a better word, or imprint or anything that refers to a signature rather than a force. It has more to do with my love of words than my love of science.

celtic_willow and tasymo what a beautiful ceremony. Thats a ceremony any quantum physisest,wave theorest or W theorist would love to particapate in. I neither beleive nor disbeleive in smudging. But you certainly have the right to beleive in it and talk about it on the herbalism forum. It is a beautiful and positive way of thinking.

Wow!! what an analytical response! As far as psychic condition and illness goes let me just say that I am a cancer surviver, and
I strongly believed I would recover even after having to endure chemo and radiation. Perhaps I was able to draw healing forces from the psyche or would that be universal energy....maybe they are the same thing. Thanks for the link tasmo. Going to check it out right now. And you are right oakleif, positive thinking is beautiful.

White sage (Salvia apiana) is the sage used often for smudging. It can be grown as an annual in the north. I've grown my own for several years and really enjoy it. Artemesia ludoviciana (Silver King artemesia) is another type of "sage" that is used for smudging. Garden sage (Salvia officinalis) isn't the type usually used for smudging. It smells very differently from White Sage.

Thank you herbalbetty for the info. I'm happy to say that I have Artemisia ludoviciana already growing abundantly in my garden. Not only will I enjoy its beauty now, I will also make use of it for smudging. Tasymo...sorry for the wrong spelling of your name. Lastly, I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with a beautiful soul who is well seasoned in the art of smudging. What a blissful experience it is.

Sweetfern and juniper are NE Native alternatives for ceremonial sage smudging.