Baths

The bath as a threshold

To cross from one state to another with the water of your everyday wash.

Time

As long as your shower takes

1. Keep paper, glass jars and anything that could fall outside the shower.
2. Before you step in, name a single intention out loud.
3. Wash as you always do, with the water at a comfortable temperature.
4. As the water falls, picture it carrying off what you want to let go of.
5. Dry off and get dressed.
6. Choose one action that follows through on what you said, and do it today.

A bath for setting down a burden

To stop carrying a burden that isn't yours.

You need

Paper and a pencil, outside the shower

Time

As long as your shower takes, plus five minutes

1. While you wash, think about the burden you are carrying.
2. Picture the water lifting it off your shoulders and carrying it away.
3. Say the words.
4. Dry off and get dressed.
5. Write down which part of the situation is up to you and which part you leave in other people's hands.

“I let go of what I can let go of today. What needs time will have its time. What needs help will be able to find it.”

A basil and rosemary bath

To close a heavy stretch and start the next one feeling fresh.

You need

A bunch of fresh basil · Three sprigs of rosemary · One liter (about a quart) of water · A pot with a lid and a pitcher

When

On the last day of the year, at the close of a chapter in your life or after a heavy week.

Time

Half an hour

1. Bring the water to a boil and turn off the stove.
2. Add the basil and the rosemary, cover the pot and let it steep until it is lukewarm.
3. Strain it into the pitcher.
4. Wash as you always do.
5. At the end, pour the water from the pitcher slowly over yourself, from the neck down.
6. Say the words.
7. Pat yourself dry and put on clean clothes.
8. Put the herbs in the compost or in the soil of a potted plant.

“Basil and rosemary, carry off the tiredness of these days. I step out of this water ready to begin.”

Care: Make sure the water is lukewarm, and try it on a small patch of skin first.

A bath for opening to love

To be kind to yourself and open up to relationships that give as much as they take.

You need

A sheet of pink paper or a picture of a rose

Time

As long as your shower takes

1. If you like, draw twelve roses, a cinnamon stick and a lavender flower on the paper.
2. Put the paper where you can see it from the shower, away from the water.
3. Wash as you always do, with a scent you love.
4. Look at the paper and say the words.
5. When you finish, choose one kind thing to do for yourself, and do it today.

“I am kind to myself, and I open up to love that goes both ways. May I say what I need and recognize the care I am offered.”

A bath for recognition

To get ready to show your work.

You need

A picture of bay laurel and a sunflower · Paper and a pencil

Time

As long as your shower takes, plus five minutes

1. Write on the paper: “I am ready to show my work clearly.”
2. Put the paper next to the picture, away from the water.
3. While you wash, recall a skill you have built.
4. Say the words.
5. Afterward, decide where you are going to show that skill and write it under the sentence.
6. Write down a boundary too: an hour when you are not available, or an argument you don't need to win.

“I am ready to show my work clearly.”

A cinnamon and honey bath

To get ready to receive and to take care of what comes.

You need

Three cinnamon sticks · A teaspoon of honey · One liter (about a quart) of water · A pot and a pitcher

When

Under a waxing Moon.

Time

Forty minutes

1. Boil the water with the cinnamon for ten minutes and turn off the stove.
2. Stir the honey into the water until it dissolves.
3. Let it steep until it is lukewarm and strain it into the pitcher.
4. Wash as you always do.
5. At the end, pour the water from the pitcher slowly over yourself, from the neck down.
6. Say the words.
7. Rinse if you like, dry off and get dressed.
8. Write down one step you will take this week for your work or your finances.

“I am ready to receive with open hands and to take care of what comes. May sweetness find a place in my home and in my work.”

Care: Make sure the water is lukewarm, and try it on a small patch of skin first: cinnamon can irritate.

The seven sacred baths

To dedicate each day's bath to a quality, with that day's plants.

You need

Seven cards · A pencil

When

One week, Monday through Sunday.

Time

One minute before each bath

1. On each card, write a day of the week and its two plants, following the table. Draw them if you like.
2. Each morning, look at the day's card before you wash.
3. Choose a quality for that day: calm, courage, clarity, generosity, affection, steadiness, joy.
4. In your own words, bless the water you use, the care of your body and the plants on the card.
5. Wash as you always do, with that quality in mind.
6. Keep going for all seven days, or do only the day you choose.

The river and the sea at home

To get through a hard time and begin again.

You need

Running water · A towel · A clean piece of clothing

Time

Five minutes

1. Choose a day that means something to you and write it down.
2. Close your eyes and picture a river running its course.
3. Name the hard thing you want to get through.
4. Wash your hands under running water and say the words as the water falls.
5. Take nine slow breaths if you thought of a river, or seven if you thought of the sea.
6. Dry your hands.
7. Put on the clean piece of clothing as a sign of beginning.

“I leave behind what has run its course. I don't have to erase it to move on. I am ready to receive what is new, with care.”

The welcome of the waves

To get ready to receive love or prosperity.

You need

A picture of the sea · A sealed jar of honey

When

At dawn, under a waxing Moon.

Time

Three minutes

1. Set the picture of the sea in front of you and the jar of honey to one side.
2. Look at the picture and imagine the waves coming and going.
3. Open your hands, palms up.
4. Say the words.
5. Put the honey away in the kitchen and use it at your table.

“I am ready to receive, with respect, whatever may come, and to see what part is mine to play in it.”

St. John's water

To start the summer with your face washed in flower water.

You need

A large bowl of water · Flowers and herbs from the garden or the kitchen: rose petals, rosemary, basil, spearmint, lavender

When

The night of June 23, St. John's Eve, and the morning of June 24.

Time

Ten minutes, and a night of waiting

1. At dusk, put the flowers and herbs in the bowl of water. Seven different kinds, if you have them.
2. Leave the bowl out in the night air until morning: on a balcony, a patio or a windowsill.
3. When you get up, wash your face and hands with that water and let it run over your skin.
4. Say the words.
5. Water your plants with what is left and put the flowers in the compost.

“St. John's water, wash the old away from me. May this day find me with a clean face and a new heart.”

Care: Use unsprayed plants, don't drink the water, and try it on a small patch of skin first.

A shared bath of basil and roses

To give thanks, ask and offer between two people who love each other.

You need

A picture or a drawing of three bunches of basil and seven roses

Time

Twenty minutes

1. Invite the other person. If they say no, leave it there: it doesn't mean anything more.
2. Each of you takes your usual bath or shower, separately or however you both prefer.
3. Afterward, sit down together in front of the picture.
4. Taking turns, each of you finishes these out loud: “Today I am thankful for…”, “I need…” and “I can offer…”.
5. Listen to the other person without interrupting.
6. End with an intention the two of you agree on.