Sacred Soaks: Unlocking The Power of Ritual Baths w/Chanda Parkinson

0:03 Welcome. We we do part truth. Truth, What's going on Paratruthers. Welcome to a brand new episode of Paratruth Reborn. My name is Justin and I'm Eric, and we are so happy to be back with you again.

0:44 Spooky season is technically over, but for us, the spooky season never ends. Today we are talking to Shonda Parkinson about her book, The Book of Ritual Baths. Make sure I get that tight. Right, be right there if you're watching YouTube. Shanda utilizes her spirit gifts, tarot and astrology to support others through transition in life with clarity and deep compassion. Author of the award winning Meditations for Psychic Development Practical Exercise to Awaken your Sixth Sense, Shonda's fiercely committed to mentoring others in the discovery of their own spiritual gifts. Shanda, Welcome to Paratruth Reborn And how's it going.

1:33 It's going great. It's so happy to be here and talk to you guys this evening. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting one because I mentioned last week that I use bath as a meditation, just assault bath now. So it was interesting to see a book written by some for something like that. But what got you into writing this book? What got you started with it? Yeah, Well, besides the topic being super duper personal, I've like developed a really cool relationship with my publisher and my acquisitions editor, who you know occasionally will spit b all ideas and when I'm in between projects, you know, talk about what, you know, what their readers are interested in, what is like really popular right now, but also what kind of merges with my own practices and passions and this.

2:30 You know, the book of ritual bass. Ritual bass isn't something that I you know, I practice professionally. It's a very personal process. But I was intrigued by the project because it was going to give me the opportunity to actually interview other professionals in the field, do some exploration, travel around and try out some things, and actually kind of gather the research for this book. So it was a very different entry point for the book, and I I got super excited about it. I birthed twice in a tub, and I think that that is an incredibly sacred process and a very ritualistic process. And so, like I said, I have very personal relationship with ritual ritual bath, which I learned talking to people about it. Lots of people have a personal relationship with that as well, and it means different things to different people.

3:29 So yeah, well, you know one thing that I felt really fascinating about this now, mind you, Like Justin and I have been kind of in this this field for roughly twenty plus years, and it was only two years ago that a friend of mine, a reiki master, who actually introduced me to the idea of ritualistic bathing primarily to cleanse the day away, you know, and reset. And I was like, how come I never even thought about that, let alone learn about it, you know, so it was like kind of new to me. So of course, yeah, reading through this book, was really fascinated just to lend the various aspects of what is potentially possible when it comes to ritualistic cleansing and bathing. But now you had mentioned here a couple of times about your personal journey and how it personally or how it's personal to you, But what specifically, how specifically I guess, does it relate to your personal spiritual journey and like, how did it all begin for you and what led you on this kind of augment path to aside from just writing the book, but just to learn and grow in the idea of ritual paths.

4:39 Well, I hit a similar experience to you on Novetor's back where I was actually in counseling for anxiety and my counselor suggested that I consider including some type of soothing bath practice and pointed me in some different direct and so initially it was an exploration around like how to balance my nervous system. So then I suddenly suddenly sparked this idea like, oh my gosh, they're hugely uh physical impacts you know to ritual bath that that I didn't even realize existed when I started to dive into the science of it. And so that was actually my entry point and then it just blossomed from there. I'm also a practicing which and so I started to play with this idea, like I wonder how ritual bath could actually be shaped sort of like the cauldron of your intentions, you know, when you go into a sacred space like that.

5:46 And I started to play with it, and it was pretty mind blowing, like what was happening and and help phenomenal The experiences were becoming, I mean, accessing the supernatural, you know, having experiences of like inner visions, you know, having a spiritual guide come and connect with me, you know, I mean it was it was pretty wild and so yeah, this was definitely a good a good topic and a good kit for me. Awesome. Well, now, why do you think water specifically has such a deep spiritual significance across cultures.

6:30 I think it does because it is so ancient and it's so universal. You know, we all have access to it in some way, shape or form. We depend on it for life. Our bodies are made up of water, and so the yeah, definite connections, ethno religious connections across cultures. It has held a deep spiritual significance. It's ancient. Uh, goes all the way back to the Hammams in the Islam religion. It it goes all the way through to Judaism with a mikvah. It is.

7:14 Uh. People have met communally in bathing spaces because that's how they cleanse themselves and then they would join together in some type of a sacred practice. So it is water is seen has been seen as a purification. You know, it's it's deeply ancient. And then also we have the nods to pagan practices to water priests and priestesses who guard and protect our waterways. I mean, it's it holds such a phenomenal significance that isn't just linked to one particular like we can't really find the origin of it.

7:56 It is so vast and so deep across. So yeah, you know, one thing that I find really interesting about water too. Obviously, it is not just the fact it's a life source and like every living creature craves it and needs it to survive. But what I find really fascinating also is the emotional impact that water tends to have on people. And speaking both from stories I've heard, but even from my own personal experience. You know, when I'm taking a shower, especially or a bath, but typically I don't do that, but usually a shower, you know, it kind of releases emotions that I don't expect to be released, you know, And I'm very strong headed. I'm one of those who don't handle emotions well. I tend to keep them buried and push down, you know, not healthy.

8:45 Everybody who's listening, seek therapy, here's something I need to do. But you know, when I step into a shower, it's like all of those things that have been pushing down is just I can't. It's just the water pulls it out and leases it, which I think is just you know, it's just it's so much deeper than just the fact that it's living. Well, you know, this is something that hits us in a much deeper, spiritual, more emotional way. Also, you know, I mean we even have like the idea of water. We use it kind of metaphorically. We talk about how emotions or pain things like that come in waves, and water is something that typically you know, forms waves.

9:29 So it's just really really interesting to me that it's as broad as it is in terms of just what it's capable of. Now, one thing I do want to ask though, because the book does say ritual baths, and so what I want to know is what really makes a bath a ritual versus just simply relax and relaxing soak. Yeah, that's a good question. So the moment you step into a space, and I'm speaking specifically from like my practice as a witch, you know, the moment I step into a space, no matter where I am. If I'm in my room, if I'm in my kitchen, if I'm at my hearth, I if I'm outside in nature. The moment you step into a space with a particular energy, a set energy where your head and your heart are connected and for an intention of some type of release or manifestation or promoting an energy of some kind and drawing it to yourself, that's the moment it becomes a sacred space. And so whether you are someone who has a bathronot and you know, I would like to talk about like the fact that you don't need to have a tub, you don't have to own a tub. Maybe you're just a shower guy, you know, or maybe you have some way that you can basin bathe or focus on other bathing practices that don't require a tub. But the moment you step in to that space, you are

11:02 activating that sacred space and grounding yourself in it. And the even even the steps that in processes that you go to to gather your tools and clear the space and prepare yourself mentally and spiritually to get into a bath, you are already beginning the ritual process. So it turns it transforms it from just like a routine part of your life to something that is very sacred and and it's simple, but it's very powerful. Yeah, Now, I'm sure everybody's going to ask this question, how can you know somebody get started incorporating ritual stick baths into their daily or even weekly lives.

11:55 I feel like simple as best, and I really can't start usless enough, and it's stressed a lot in the book as well. To start small and expand outward. So if your thing is herbs, start with one. You know, pick something that's super relaxing that makes you feel happy when you take it out of the big and hold it in your hand and smell it. It relaxes you, it calms you. Start with one. Start with an herb. If you like to have candles in your bathroom and in your bathritual because you really connect with the element of fire, choose a candle color that really fires you up, lights you, that makes you feel happy. Yellow or a red or a pink candle burning can do a lot for a ritual bath. Also, prepare your space like you mean it. You know what I mean, Like, like, we know what a lot of bathrooms look like. Okay, maybe not everybody's bathroom looks like my bathroom, but you know I have four people let live in my house, and so I need to go in there periodically and like, Okay, yeah, I'm going to clear and cleanse the space. I'm going to declutter the space, like I'm really preparing the space.

13:11 So it's just really about preparation. It's about choosing one or two things that really light you up. If you're a crystals person, you're just starting to dabble on crystals, get yourself a clear quartz that you can drop in the water safely. You know, just start start simple, Start simple. Get something a basket or a container to kind of hold everything in so that you have a place you can tuck it away and it's easy to bring out. I think that's sometimes in practice as a ritual practices. I think sometimes people get really overwhelmed, Like if I don't figure out this big thing, you know, with all the tools and the bells and the whistles, and I need to go and order all these herbs and salts and fancy things, you'd need nothing fancy to make this an effective part of your spiritual practice. So start really basic, Start simple. I feel like I want to encourage salts.

14:05 For most people. Sometimes it's some type of salts, because salts in itself is also extremely purifying as a substance, and it also browns the energy. So like let's say you're going into your bath with maybe some grief or some emotion, or you've just dealt with a breakup or your you know, you want to bring in some protection. Going in with some salts in your bath, to me serves a dual purpose. One, it's going to absolutely ground the energy that you're bringing into that practice, in that craft, in that sacred space. And also it's going to further help you kind of detox and kind of help remove or help release energy from your aura. And so that's those those are really basic things. Do not overdo it.

14:55 It's not necessary. Yeah, okay, yeah, I remember my friend when she told me about it her she said the same thing. Keep it simple, she Get yourself a bar of charcoal soap and start there. All right. Let's see, charcoal soap is wonderful to work with. It's super super purifying. Yeah, that's great. You just feel it can feel a lot lighter. Also, like dead dead sea mineral salts. I also like feel because that ties in a little bit of the physical benefits as well. Like if you get a dead sea mineral salt, that's going to also infuse your body and put really good stuff because you're because the organ is your skin. And so if the dead sea minerals are actually infusing your skin with all kinds of really good minerals, that's also going to give your body a boost, because I go to make it feel really really good.

15:44 So no, Now for individuals who maybe kind of overthink things a little bit, I know you just said, hey, let's keep things simple, But especially coming from like someone like yourself who is a practicing witch, there obviously is a lot of meaning to various herbs and this idea of color theory, especially when it comes to candles and the type of color of candle you're using. How important is that in ritualistic bass or is it something that's like, don't think so much about that in the beginning. Just choose your favorite color, choose your favorite sense, regardless of what it means. So I would say I'm not quite on the level of just choose whatever you're drawn to kind of although you know, I don't like to keep I'm not a gatekeeper for anybody's practice. Your practice is your practice, so you do you, But like also like the colors the candles that or the herbs are and crystals do have you know, they do have meanings. So to me, it's like if you can find yourself, like we don't have to be a purist, you don't have to do it by the book, but if you have can develop a little bit of some basic knowledge and understanding about how it works, or which colors in which stones, which herbs are a good fit or a good match for a particular let's say, a particular sabot or a particular seasonal change of the season. So when I think about when I think about choosing your tools, for me, a really

17:17 basic and really simple entry point is also to think about grouping seasonal change times of year and then curing your herbs and your crystals around that. So like for let's say, for example, we're now in we're past Maybon, we're into almost a solnd now, and so this time of year is a darker time of year, We're going into some inward spaces, and so the herbs or flower essences, essential oils, whatever botanicals you want to work with that kind of correspond with a seasonal change can give you that framework that don't make it so overwhelming, doesn't make its overwhelming so you're not going in every time you have a bath going oh my gosh, what do I choose?

18:02 Well this time of year great things to work with are mug art, I mean we are you know, it helps us cross the veil. It helps us really connect with our ancestors. So keeping it and framing it around the seasonal change is really helpful. Things like cornflour and marigold are great for prosperity, and those associate with this time of year as well. So like into the winter months, you know, as we get into Embulk, as we get to Doyle, you'll and then in Bulk we can lean on the more wintry herbs and plant friends like oh, basil, bailey, rosemary, pine, even cedar, and just doing things like milk thistle and cammam miles. So like if you can kind of have a grouping of maybe a few that you work with at a seasonal change and even keep it to like four times a year, these are the things. And I'm going to kind of check in and then check in and see how you feel, like which one are you being drawn to? Like I may not be feeling the corne flower, I might not be feeling the mugwort today, but I might be feeling you know, the marrigold today, So feeling out, like definitely feeling out like what you need.

19:26 As you develop a relationship with your bath practice, your body is going to start telling you what it wants and what it needs, and that's kind of where the magic happens, and that's where some of the intuition comes into play. So as you develop sort of a relationship with your bath practice and some longevity with it, you will find that there are just there are times of year, times of the month that you want something different, and also thinking about like your mood and how you're coming into the space, because this is very different than some other practices, other spiritual practices, like you have to do a check in. You really have to check with yourself, like where am I coming into this space right now?

20:13 What do I need right now? You know, whether or not has to do with a seasonal thing, but where am I at right now? What is gonna? What? I need something gright, I need something beautiful. I need my camfile, I need my you know, I need my milk thistle. I need something soothing and nurturing. So once you know what you're coming in for and what you need. You can kind of navigate better, navigate like the tools and and what you're going to bring into the space, and sometimes it's nothing. So I also want to I also want to like and want your listeners to also know that, like you can go into those spaces with yourself and your you know, your emotions, your mud, your intentions, your your heart, what's going on, and your insides, and you can still come out feeling amazing.

21:08 You know. Yeah, I find like one of the most simple ways to do one of those type of a bathing rituals is to just stand in the water and envision whatever's bothering you, whatever's heavy on your shoulders simply being washed away and just imagine it rolling down your body and into the drain and disappearing. And it's so much easier and it helps lighten you a bit. But then adding all the other stuff, of course obviously has its place and its importance as you grow in your practice as well. One follow up question for you though, regarding all of that, So for people who are interested though in like understanding the meaning behind some of the items that they're going to use, the herbs, how important is it to actually cross reference some of the descriptions of these items. Is because a lot of people go online and unfortunately, people go to redd it a lot, and there's a lot of misinformation or Wikipedia. Uh so, yeah, so what are your thoughts on that and what's the.

22:11 Best I really think it's a good idea to get a couple of compendiums, you know, like witches compendiums or herbal compendiums. Also because safety is definitely something you want to consider, you know, when you're working with all of this, and you're right, there's a lot of mixed messages and misinformation. So getting a couple of really good compendiums. I'm sorry, don't have them up here. I'm looking at my bookshelf. Oh no, I changed my mind. I do. I do have one, you know, like a encyclopedia of magical plants, for example. This is going to tell you the correspondences, and it's going to give you some information about safety things you want to think about, like for example, heck, yeah, you know, I'm not going to toss eucalyptus or peppermint or you know that spicier verb. And even though I love using cinnamon for prosperity, it's not going anywhere near my skin, you know, because it burns. And so yeah, you definitely want to get you want to get familiar enough and with the you know, cosmology of the plants and also like how they work in our skin and how they transfer between the water and our bodies and how they feel, do you know what I'm saying? And so like, I don't think you can't not work with a cinnamon stick, but just put it in your tea and have a cup of tea handy while you're bathing and stir your little cinnamon stick for prosperity and your tea and drink it while you're soaking, do you know,

23:43 So like you can still like there's still a lot of flexibility. But yeah, I really, I really feel like online's not the best route. Get yourself a good couple of compendiums that you can lean back on, dog ear the pages, learn a little bit of about what each of the herbs and crystals means. As a framework, just a basic framework, and then it becomes a passion, and then it's something that you can keep adding to as you go. And also like I you know, a grimmore keeping a grimore or a little notebook or a keeping tracks somewhere of like, hey, I did this ritual bath and like I had a vision and here's what was in it, Here's what went into the bath, and this like helps me, or it helped me relax, and like I suddenly something shifted and I felt like super refreshed, or I had an idea that hit me and this was really creatively inspiring. Keep track of what you're using because some things are going to work for you that don't work for other people, depending on your energy and how your energy engages with you know, the herbs and the tools that you bring in, the botanicals that you bring in. Yeah.

25:03 Now, something that Eric mentioned is intention when he's showering. How important is intention in this process and how should someone set their intention before beginning? Yeah, it is. I think it is really important to set an intention. And sometimes the intention is I just this is a step in my day. I got to get through and I just need to get through and get in my show. But like you know, other times, somebody's going to come in with a little bit more, and so yeah, I do feel like that initial that initial legwork and really distinguishing like what is the most needed because we also have to include that. Like there are other bath types of bath rituals. There are cold plunges.

25:51 There are base and bass where you don't submerge your body, just your hands or your feet go in. There's moon bathing where you can sit outside and bathe under the moon. There's steam sounda is, there's sound bathing. So like this is kind of the Pandora's box of practices that you can really craft and create to meet your own needs. And so yeah, I do think that self reflection is going to help you be really particular about what you need. Like if I'm if I'm a crying mess and I'm dealing with something really deep and emotional, i am not going into the cold plunge that's going to be could you know. But like if I'm dealing with some anxiety or I had a really intense day, the cold plunge is going to be the thing that just takes the edge off to bring me and pull me back into my body and get me grounded and help set my mind straight, you know what I mean. So, like thinking about your intention and setting your intention to me is just as simple as writing it down. It's as simple as writing it down or create as symbol and drawing it on your wrist, or taking some oils and herbs and salts and drawing a sigil on the bottom of your tub, but before you get in that represents something you're dealing with, before you even run the water, like, you can create a sigil that you can draw on your body or on the tub. And that's one of my favorites. And I've taught my kids how to do

27:23 that as well, because they go to ritual baths when they are dealing with big things. So you can draw an infinity symbol. If you're dealing you want to work with prosperity, you can draw infinity symbol in the water while you sit in the water. Take a little bag of herbs and just run it through the water or with your hands and draw the infinity symbol as you kind of focus your intentions. And water naturally helps you raise energy, and so when you get in the water or you're standing under the water, you can naturally work with that. And so I do. I really think it's it's great for any practice, but in a ritual practice like this, to come in with some idea, particular idea or intension I think really helps the process, It focuses the energy and helps you get a lot more out of it.

28:20 Okay, Well, so with that said, and you had mentioned, you know, bathing for like grief or even emotional blockages, but like, how does one well, and put it this way, it's very difficult for many people to really understand how to release their grief or even how to find a way through emotional blockages. So how, in your opinion or in your experience, can some maybe use ritual bathing to actually find a way to release that grief or find a way through those emotional blockages when it's just so hard on a daily basis to begin with. Yeah, Well, and one of the hardest things, of course that we face as oh, busy people and in a very unsteady, uncertain world right now, is taking time to honor the grief that we experience. We are all dealing with some type of grief on a regular basis, and we don't have endless time to like just grapple or deal with that those emotional spaces and what we're going through, and so setting that time aside. Grief is one emotion that we can actually intentionally work with and that we can actually transmute and help transform. Like we can actually go into spaces of grief. So when you get into a bath, let's say we choose some type of warming

29:51 bath that has some herbs in it to help soothe our hearts. What happens is we relax our nervous systems. When our nervous system is relaxed, that's when we can start to surface the emotional oh gosh, components of what we've been dealing with that we've been stuffing or avoiding, or resisting or just can't touch. Not everybody deals with emotion is easily, you know, And so really providing yourself that space and saying, okay, for fifteen minutes, I'm going to go in. If I have just like one release point or if I give myself that space just to touch that grief, let myself think about it, let myself presents it. It's getting present in that grief space, then I can have a moment to release and the water is going to help, the tools are going to help release it for the moment that I'm in. You know, grief is a journey. It's a process. It's not like it's a one and done. That isn't how healing works.

30:52 But we can give ourselves that space intentionally to deal with grief. Then when we're living our lives, if we don't want to go there, we don't want to turn towards it, we don't want to deal with it on a regular basis, we don't want you know, we want to preserve that time just for going into a grief space that can be really super effective and super cleansing mm hmm. And it's really just building a safe space for you to do that, someplace you can be comfortable, totally safe space. And also along that line, like not everybody is comfortable in the water, So I also want to say, like you want to develop a ritual baths baths practice, but you aren't somebody who wants to take your clothes off and get in the water. You don't have to do that.

31:43 Like you can still use a bathtub, you can still use that sphere. Maybe you just dip your feet in or you stay closed, you know, so you can Like they're so okay, don't want everyone And it's so cool to be talking to two men that are like, tell me about ritual bath because I think, like also like this isn't something that necessarily gets focused on and I really you know by that, and I appreciate that, Like, this is for everyone. This is not just for you know, women or women of a certainty or you know what I mean, or as spiritual ladies. This is for everyone, and it I feel like giving men a chance to touch their sensitive sides and really connect with their own hearts and really develop that as on, that healthy relationship with their masculinity, this can help a lot. Ritual bath can help a lot.

32:39 So for sure. Yeah, well, and I appreciate you saying that because I've never been a bad person. My wife always has been. So when I take a bath, it's the intention of grounding myself and trying to meditate and yeah, what have you over just sitting in a bath. She probably unintentionally does that as well, but she bathes. But it is interesting that there is kind of that gap in between men and women too, that it's not as accepted that men like taking baths or should be taking a bath for ritualistic pursus if nothing else. So right on, now, I know my answer to this, but I really want to hear your perspective on it. Is, do you think ritual baths can strengthen intuition? Or psychic awareness.

33:42 Yes, I'm so happy to talk about this because holy cow, guys, if I could say, you know how many times I've been in a original bath experience, It's one place that my inner vision opens the most. And so if I'm like really seeking something, some guidance, some something that my relationship with my ritual bath, getting in there, relaxing my senses, really like tuning into my chakras, opening my energy fields, really getting in that space, it totally enhances. I instantly start to feel vibrational energy around my third eye and my crown chakra and connecting. I've had whole conversations with guide energies or ancestors and it's brought me back to my center and given me some direction forwards. So it is not uncommon to find a deck of Tarot cards also in my in my bathroom. My kids are like, what is going on?

34:49 Are they. Need waterproof? Yes, we do. Anybody that I could get on that so we can. We also need dog care proof because my one dog tore up a deck of my cards, so that can't be well spear proof. Those are gonna be pricey cards. I have a eru, but yeah, yes, I also have a dog. So yeah, so like it is, it is a very natural gateway like okay, so to be fair like also around the world, it is honored that like cavernous spaces where there is water is like a portal. It's a gateway and to other dimensions, other realms. Crossing the veil is very easy when you are in that space because the element water connects us into those spaces a lot deeper. And so if you're somebody who enjoys going inward to connect you, like I said, with guides or deities, or connecting in with ancestral energies, you can channel energy. Water is such a beautiful conduit for spirit energy, and so it's a great space to build your your psychic abilities for sure.

36:03 And I can vouch for that. So I can too. A mentor of mine actually had told me to start doing bast with sea salt specifically I was in Nebraska, had COVID, but I also really wanted to use it as a way to ground myself and start connecting with my spirit guys, because I have a hard time differentiating what's in my head. Is it spirit talking to me or is it me imagining spirit is talking to me? But she had said specifically sea salt over epsom salt, because it's a completely different chemical reaction.

36:47 Yes, that's accurate. That is very very accurate. And like magnesium salts or sea salt or excuse me up some salts. Yeah, very different function than something like that. That's a pure salt that can actually it does serve a purpose to help open up your senses, your psychic senses. Yeah, extrasensory perception can happen in those spaces quite easily. And then toss in an amethyst or a clear quartz crystal or you know, some herbs or oils that can help build that. Some mugwort, oh yeah, heck yeah, getting a little tea big running under your faucet that has some herbs that can also really relax and help you lean into your third eye, into your psychic senses. I'm all about Yeah, I'm all about the mug where bay leaves. Those are great for helping enhance your sec vision.

37:39 Okay, yeah, I. Do want to add and get your thought on it too. But so I'm that one who has ever used ritual bathing in the in this sense and actually getting into a bath or a shower to build or strengthen intuition or psychic awareness. However, one thing that I do do often is I was trying to think, like, how can I get around saying this twice? But I couldn't do. Okay, I had just throwing a potty joke because we're in the bathroom.

38:20 Okay, free back. How do you even recover from the room? Uh? What I happened to do is a meditation in which I envisioned starlight shining down over my head, and that start light turns into a shimmery kind of liquid that washes down over at the top of me and gathers around my body and at my feet, and then I meditate on the puddle that's at my feet, which to me is like this black almost like sparkly. It's not oily, but it's I don't know. To me, it's just like dark black, but it's like reflective and it's got these sparkles in it and allows me to kind of see my shadow self while also looking into various spirit guides and asking questions and learning about things that I'm trying to, you know, gain insight on. So what is your thought on doing a meditation like that as opposed to simply physically being in a bath or doing like moonlight bathing or things like that.

39:22 Oh my gosh, well that I'm very envious. That should have gone in the book, you know, a Sean Like I wish I knew you back when, because that should have been an exercise to go in the book. But like it can be an ad. And an addendum what the next printing right credit to you. But seriously, like that is a fabulous example of something that can be done. And you were not just in the presence of water. So like in a meditation space, you absolutely can create a connection with the element of water or like a bath light or like a do that even that visualization while you're sitting under the moon and connecting in with the moon's energy and so connecting in with moon energy is incredibly cleansing. It's incredibly sustaining and purifying. And so I absolutely agree with that incorporating that even in your in your bath or in your shower, or if you are fortunate enough to stand under a waterfall, even if not the if you're somewhere and you need a cleansing process and there's no water around or nothing else in sight, you can still do some type of cleansing process and you can use that. And I love the imagery of having that pool under your feet that connects you between the bridge of the earth and your feet, and that can bring in earth energy and help round you and help you can like release the energy into

40:55 that puddle that you want to release and have it slowly sink into the earth safely. I mean, you could go multiple different directions with that, but I think that's a fantastic suggestion. Awesome. Now, what would you say to people who think they don't have time for ritual baths? Well, you you know, ten minutes. You've got ten minutes. You know, Like, here's the thing with even a foot bath or a basin bath. You can keep some of your basin bath or a cauldron with energy in it, with herbs, with oils and so on and so forth.

41:42 You can keep that and move it from room to room and dip your hands in it. That doesn't take more than five minutes. Set your intention, ground your body, and set your intentions and put your hand or your hands or your feet into a base. I mean, so I get it. We are all so busy people, and you don't have to make this an hour long or two hour long process. I don't actually advise that. I think it's a little tough and a little hard on your skin sometimes to go that long. But I'm serious, like five to ten minutes, five to ten minutes, just get in, set your intentions, do your meditation, connect with the energy of the water, breathe release, boom, You're done.

42:29 And so keeping it simple, keeping it simple, saving maybe a once a month full moon bath that's a little bit longer, but keeping the rest of your practice short or simple. I think that's perfect. And like tonight, for example, I will maybe shower and head out to my cold plunge before I go to bed. I have at abundance of joyful energy today, but I'm going to need to bring the adrenaline down, and so the cold plunge will help me do that. I'll give thanks to the sky, to the moon for being able to talk to you and having a really good day. And that's it. It's it's literally under a minute that I'll spend out there just thinking, yeah, thanking the cosmos, thanking the moon. So it I appreciate that, and I uh empathize with the time element that is involved in any kind of craft or practice, but you work it into your your routines and suddenly it starts to become a little bit of a habit. So maybe you have a weekly ritual on Sunday afternoon, nobody gets into the bathroom, you lock the door, and you have your ritual space to do your thing, you know, Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

43:47 You know. One other thing I'd like to add that I personally do and that I personally enjoyed, And it's not so much bathing per se, but it's still using like I call it elemental meditation, and it's basically using things like water or fire. And for me, the fire element I'm very much associated with. It's one of my you know. And so what I'll do is I'll light a candle and I'll just hold it somewhat close, maybe a foot away from me, maybe a little closer, and just stare at the flame and just focus on the flame. And you do the same thing with water. You fill up a bowl or you know, a basin or something, and you just watch it and you look at the ripples in the water, the reflection, the movements, as you know, and you just try to clear your mind and focus on what's happening and you kind of build this connection with the element that you're holding in your hand, and it helps you to kind of recenter yourself and even around yourself in that particular element. And it's not you know, obviously it's not bathing, but for people who don't like to get wet necessarily or you know, put their hands in the water. You know, if I pick up a bowl or you know, fill a bowl of water and put on my table, my cat's dipping his paws in there and it's going everywhere, right, So I can't do that because he's like, oh, this is a game. No, we can't do this. But you know, for people who don't like to, who don't have the time and they don't want to get wet or you know, things like that, but they want to find a way to center themselves.

45:09 I do think that doing some sort of elemental meditation, even going outside and watching or look out to window, watch the trees, the leaves move back and forth, and you see and focus on the movements that are happening, you start to kind of connect and center yourself to the earth and the elements that you're basically your body's made up of. And also, like when you were talking and also made me think of like what it's like to sit like we have all this amazing technology. We have apps, we have meditation apps, we have also like crystal bull healing meditations, crystals. Sound sound bathing is just as relevant a form of bathing.

45:50 And so you want to lay on your bed and put your noise canceling headphones on and listen to you know, the gongs or sound bulls or excuse excuse me, singing bulls and you lay there and you imagine those waves going over your body. You are doing your chakras and your aura some major justice by allowing yourself to tap into that. So, yeah, whether it's a sound vibrations and then lighting a candle and doing some candle gazing to connect with fire element, especially if you need some energy and you're feeling drained, that's a really good strategy and a really good way to combine. I like where you're going with this. Or if you need some grounding, you are pulling out your grounding crystals and stones and or clearing crystals and stones. You need a good crystal clearing, you're drawing board, you're hematite, or you're pulling some rose quarts around you to clear the energy from the day.

46:49 And you can hold that or put it on your body while you're listening to the sound vibrations rolling over your body imagining all of that clearing energy. Oh my gosh, you can see that. Like, I don't want to overwhelm people, but like there is there's so many ways that you can utilize this because it's so versatile and it does just have to be yeah all you know for sure. And I also I keep adding, but for those like who because because the fire element is like so prominent for me, like for those of you listening who are associate yourselves with the fire element. You know, one of my favorite crystals or stones is obsidian, black obsidian, and especially like I have a little pendant, a pretty big pendant actually that I wear, and once it's like at your chest, you can just feel it pulling that energy out and it's like a deep emotional change. It's heavy, I'll admit at times, but it's so good for people who are associated with the fire element or who just want that strong energy to help again ground and clear them, but that their emotions and that heavy burdens that they have on the shoulders well, and.

48:04 A good way to like focus on which crystals or stones gemstones you might want to work with, is to even associate it with your zodiac signs. So if you know what your sign is, you can actually pick some stout stones and crystals that are related fits. So like the air signs, for example, I'm probably gonna lean more towards like a smoky quartz or a black tourmaline or yeah, obsidian because of the scattered energy that comes along with people that have a lot of air in their charts. Watery folks, I'm gonna lean towards something that is even similar that you know, super grounding, but also like clear quurts, so it doesn't overwhelm their energy. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, if you're somebody who's really super watery and sensitive, you want to pick the stones and crystals that are going to work with your energy and not add to what you're trying to kind of release or calm.

49:03 So calming stones and crystals. If you're a fiery energy, you know, and you feel like you need to tamp that or it just kind of kind of gets a little wild. Your energy gets a little wild at times, or you're super busy or feeling burnt out, you want calming stones, you want an adventuring or an amethyst to calm and soothe. So like this is also like another entry point is to think about Yeah, just to think about your zodiac sign and like it can help give you enough like options to begin with, and then you can start developing a little bit of a relationship with those tools and decipher whether or not. Like like you said, when I put that obsidian on me, I can feel it pulling the energy. If you're sensitive and you feel that, you're gonna know if you need to pivot if it's too much and you need to use something. So like part of ritual bath practices is experimentation and willingness to dry stuff until I get it. So there's nothing that needs to be perfect about any of this, and it's a holy mess at times because you get the flowers floating and the things so like good strainers and drain sure keep your keep your plumbing happy by putting a good strainer in your tub. Yeah, stuff like that.

50:25 Okay, I have another follow up question, Sorry, Justin, I keep I know, I know Justin's ready for to ask some questions too, but I'm just need more hold on, So you have been talking a lot about crystals and using stones in your practice. What is the importance then, when you're using them on a daily basis or near daily basis to actually take the time to cleanse those stones, as some of them tend to build energy. And is it even important if you're using your bath rituals since water tends to be a cleanser for stones, especially running water in particular. Yeah, well, and you I mean another another part of that is really no in your stones and crystals because some of them absolutely cannot go and sullater, you know, otherwise they're going to disintegrate, you know, start to disintegrate.

51:08 So know your crystals and stones well and know whether or not they actually should go in the water. But in other words, like you can also just like you can also balance them outside and around the hub. You don't even have to put them in the water. There's lots of different ways to work with them. If you want to just hold it in your hand and project some intention while it runs under the water and then set it aside. Did that answer your question? I think I actually just got lost. And it was yeah, I mean, it's how do you cleanse a stone after it's already. Yes, so okay, let's say you've you've bathed with it. Absolutely, it's soaking up your energy, it's connecting with your energy.

51:49 So you want to have a regular practice of cleansing, and the simplest, the most basic, is to put your crystals out in a window ledge under the moon, especially the full moon, to kind of clean and cleanse and clear, give them breaks. I also have had the experiences of fracturing stones or rocks that I work with, and I feel like if something fractures or breaks, that is a signal that it's done, it's done its work, it's done what it was supposed to do. It helped absorb some type of energy. It sort of took one for the team. So like, rotate out, don't if you can, If it's possible to develop a relationship with your tools, like they're there for a particular reason and purpose, and then sometimes it's time to them for them to move along. And if something happens to a crystal or stone or you lose it, which happens a lot, you know, it's just done.

52:47 Don't oh ravaging through everything to try to find them. But yeah, cleansing them is really important because even though they're going to be sitting in salt water or in a bath with you, they're still absorbing and working with your energy. So they do need to break They need to breathe, they need to be treated well. They need to have a bath under the moon or their own separate salt bath to clear and cleanse their own energy. Yeah, I would. I would give that, it would. I would definitely do that periodically. Okay, the two part question, So first and foremost in terms of breaking stones, like I get the idea of something breaks, you know, out whatever way, whether it's dropped or it's like you know, it's just worked through, its its its life. If you will, would you feel the same way if you have a cat who is very particular and pushing things off the shelves and break stones because I have a broken stone that he's just like.

53:50 Well, yes I do. Because I think our animals, you know, they're familar, there are little spiritual beings and they work with us, you know, so if that's if that's happening, I mean sometimes they're just rascals, but like if they know and can sense, I think animals are so sensitive to way more sensitive to energy than we are. And if something's done and they you know they or they hide something, I would trust that sometimes the messages that it's time to move that tool along, and your little guide or being was helping you out, your little ally was helping you out to kind of deliver that message to you that you're done. That's not your tool anymore.

54:34 It's time to time to replace it or expand your horizons and get something else to work with. Yeah, So second part here you did mention using moonlight lunar energy basically to cleanse stones. Some people might be like, oh, well, that's just solar energy reflecting off of the moon. So what if we just throw our stones into direct sunlight? Is that effective? And could it be a problem for your stones? And I'm sort of like, again, I like to come into these spaces being like, I'm not gonna keep everybody's you know, there's no tried and true do you know the if you think about the energy of the sun versus the energy of the moon and the bright heat that can you know? I mean, I mean you would you like to sit out in the sun yourself and absorb all of that heat and the intensity of the Sun's energy versus sitting out under the moon, which is gentle, nurturing flowing energy also equally powerful. So I feel like you like some of these things are just like kind of common sense where you ask yourself, like what kind of energy do I want to give the tools that I work with, you know, and if it feels right that it needs to be sun like I need to infuse these tools with some sun like really powerful daylight and energy of the sun, which is really energizing, go for it, you know, but just be mindful that they're also like like us. You know, there is a limit,

56:08 and there is a point at which too much of a good thing can be too much of a good thing, you know, And so it is it to take great care around around just thinking, being conscious of what you're doing. But no, I mean, I work with some people that only connect with the sun. They don't connect with the moon. And so if that's what you want to do, and you want to actually infuse your tools with Sun's energy, absolutely one percent Gofer, But just know that they're sensitive too, you know, they have limits. Too, right, And I do want to add too, like if you are using like sunlight, so pure solar energy, you don't want to keep it. You know, your stone sitting in the sun nearly as long as you might keep it in moonlight. Because some stones can be affected by ub raised. It could change the properties, the color and things like that. So that is something that you're concerned about and just consider when you're working with your stones.

57:08 Right on, Can I go now? Yes? Sorry? Something that This is an interesting question for you to answer, because I'm really intrigued by what you're gonna say. Can richel bass be part of a couples or even groups spiritual practice or are they best done alone? Oh my gosh, Well, communal bathing practices have been done for Oh my gosh, that's ancient. That's ancient. That's as old as time. But so like communal bathing, there are there are places around the world where you can actually enter into. Actually, we have a place in Minneapolis called Watershed, and I got to meet the owner of this spot.

58:00 Her name is nel Rukel, and she her background is in communal bath and so like coming together in those kinds of spaces is incredibly healing. Coming together hot springs or i mean lakes are communal bathing experiences, and so sometimes you can meet people and connect people in those with with people in those spaces, So you absolutely can go in with a group mentality and with an intention to like form a different bond together and have an experience together that can be really invigorating and also really cleansing and purifying, and so those shared processes are really special.

58:44 If that's something that you want to check out, I really encourage trying a communal bathing space. It's phenomenal. Else outside of that connecting within your couplehood, there's a few things I have to say about that. It is ritual bathing together can be incredibly healing for a couple. And also there is something known as sex magic that can also be intensified and enhanced through uh the journey of connecting with the water element and using that as a conduit for the intentions that the couple wants to bring to their relationship for healing, for you know, for for cleansing, also releasing, and also bonding in those spaces and really intimate vulnerable ways. So oh heck, yeah it you You know.

59:36 I have to say that always always practice with consent so that everybody is on the same page, whether you're in a group or whether you're with your person you want to have consent. You want to make sure that everybody's on the same page, because there is just just like any kind of intimate space that you enter into, water touches us on really deep emotional and spiritual levels, and we can get really super vulnerable in those spaces. And so having everybody kind of prepared when are we done, what is the signal when this needs to end? Or when you know, what are we trying to get out of this? So we're both on the same page. So I don't advocate for people like surprising people with those kinds of experiences. Make sure that everybody gets a chance to be on the same page and just talk it out.

1:00:24 And it's a wonderful experience to have, yeah, in a group or with with your person. Okay, so I know you have a lot of this stuff in your book, but for those interested in diving deeper, what is the best way for people who have your book or who are about to purchase it to really approach it. Is it front to back you should read it? Or is it more intuitively picking baths that call to them or I mean, what's your thoughts on that? Okay, my thoughts on it are and this is usually with what this is my third published book, they're almost always the format is almost always the same. I always advocate that you read, at least read get through the interroduction in the first few chapters, because that's going to prepare you with some context. And especially with ritual baths, there's a whole section on safety. There's a whole section and like preparing yourself, your mind, your body for a ritual bath experience to set yourself up well. But then after that, oh my gosh, it bounce around. There's a little lum index that has all the exercises in the bath.

1:01:27 So like you can jump to the meditation, ritual bath, you can jump to the you know what I mean, Like the psychic bath, you can jump to there's a witch's bath if you want to just do that one. So like, get yourself through the first three or four chapters first, and then if something doesn't appeal to you and you know about it. Some of the chapters like not Ancestral Veneration isn't front for everyone. Not everyone's going to use a bath for grief processing, but maybe they are really digging the psychic development chapter or bathing with the Zodiac or bathing with the moon and so yeah, you can absolutely dog ear right in the book underline highlight your favorite things. But yeah, right to start at the beginning first.

1:02:16 Well, that's how you have to start every book. You have to start at the beginning. If you get to the middle of a fictional book, you've missed part of the entire story. I mean, it's like starting life in the middle. If you're just born in Boom, you're thirty years old, it's like, wait, what do I do. To mention you've just damaged your mom? Pretty well? Fair? Yeah, didn't cross my mind in that bar. All right, Jeanda, It's been a blast talking to you, but we are getting close to the end of the show, so I want to give the mic to you and tell everybody where they can find your book, find all of your other work, how they can connect with you.

1:03:00 Mike sat yours, thank you. I the best way to get to know what's coming up. What I have available is my website. So that's my first and last name. Dot com Shanda Parkinson, C H A and D A like Panda Parkinson, p A, R K I N S O N dot com. I have a YouTube channel so you can find me on on the web. There you can connect with me on Facebook. You can can also connect with me on Instagram, and so those spaces are the best way to find what's coming up. All my books are there, tons and tons of freebee stuff. I've done other podcasts and I've written articles and there's other books available. So yeah, that's that's the best way to find out what I'm up to.

1:03:45 And I just I love having coffee dates with people virtually, So like, if that's your thing and you want to talk to me about ritual bess or anything else that is interesting to you in the psychic realm or spiritual realms, set up a coffee date virtual coffee date with me. That's no charge, and we can just get to know each other. Awesome, pretty awesome. Yeah, and I may have to take you up on that, because you know, I have a couple of mentors, but I feel like adding another one would be beneficial. So fun. I would love that. I would love to get to know This is my first time meeting you both, so I would love to get to know each of you and what. Yeah, this has been a really fun, worm and engaging conversation. I'm super appreciative. Thank you.

1:04:31 Good, awesome, and we appreciate you too. It has been great. Thank you so much. And yeah, thanks for being on Paratruth Radio. My pleasure. You all have a great night to you. Okay, bye bye. All right, folks. That was Shonda Parkinson, author of the book of Virtual Baths. There it is once again for you, great conversation. I wasn't expecting her to pop off away. But for those of you that want to check her out if you want, if you go to our website or Luellen dot com. Uh and I'm sure you can find it pretty much everywhere. And so yeah, what are your some of your final thoughts on ritualistic bath.

1:05:24 I mean it's beneficial. I think it's very beneficial. I think people should absolutely give it a try. I've done it, and I do it pretty regularly, especially when I'm going through heavy times in my life. You know, you and I have talked about it personally, but we've also discussed on air on air here. You know this this past year for me personally has been pretty rough. Twenty twenty five has been tough ones. So you know, I've spent a lot of time just sitting in a shower and it mind you like when I take a shower, said, I don't take them any baths, and I don't. It's I haven't taken one in a while. But you know, when I take a shell or I'm typically not just standing it. When I do a show, I sit down on the ground, on the on the tub floor, right, I just let that water beat on me. Honestly. One of my favorite things I tend to do now is more of a what do you call it, like like a physical therapy. Basically I have a comb in there.

1:06:16 I would just comb my hair like something. It depends, you know, something of little lights, some a little rougher on my scalp, just to like get that feeling move some of that energy and that water across my scalp. I do this thing called muscle scraping. Basically you use like this plastic or there's various stoneware where you kind of just rub the muscle down with these objects and you kind of help scrape away tension and release toxins from the muscles, which can sometimes it bruises, not in a bad way. It's not painful by any means, but the bruising comes from releasing those toxins and the muscles that build up over time, especially when you're working regularly physically, I mean, like the physical work and you're not you know, maybe not working out regularly, you're not massages, That stuff builds up. So you know, those are things that I do literally on a daily basis, and just that alone helps to helps me to kind of like ground my mind in the hair and now and like you know, doing the scraping brush, you know, combing my hair and stuff.

1:07:17 Just the feeling of it kinds that doesn't help me focusing on something other than all the things that to be going wrong, you know, in life. And have to say that, you know, this year and life in general sucks. You know, it's not the case by any means, lots of ups, but we all know that those heavy times tend to be a lot heavier than the good, you know, so it is, Yeah, it's very important. And you know, like we've shared hair on the show. You don't have to necessarily be in a bath or take a shower to do this. You can do various types of meditation, whether it's you know, flame meditation, water meditation, sitting out in the moonlight, you know, any type of thing like that.

1:08:00 You know, water, though, especially is very prominent in releasing emotions. I mean, a lot of people around the world listening right now probably recognize the type of feeling that you have versus a day full of sun and a day full of rain, right, And rain tends to bring out the emotions that are typically buried. Maybe we're a little more depressed. Maybe you know, we tend to cry a bit more for some maybe it releases You're joyful. You love rain, you know, And it's just the way that water tends to work with the individual. So yeah, you know, I think this is all very important, and I think it's important for everybody to do some sort of meditation, not even just you know, ritualistic baths, but just in general to help around yourself, kind of experience a little bit of an emotional and spiritual stability, and to learn about yourself.

1:08:50 Yeah. No, I agreed, one hundred percent. I'm it's funny you mentioned the muscle scraping thing. I mean, that's kind of a massage technique, especially with stones. The sad part is, I can't excuse me just sit down to meditate anymore. So when I'm going to do a meditational bath, that's that's the little or what I'm using it for. Yeah, and I don't know why other than you know, there's so much stimulation around period that just sitting you can't I can't get my mind to stop. No. I feel it that that hot bath specifically, you're letting all that tension melt away physically, so it helps the mental part too. So I hope you guys have enjoyed today's episode. It's one that, like I said, hit near and dear in my heart because I have started using ritual baths for a while now, but I've made an intention to do it at least once a week. So if you could create your own ritual bath tonight, what intention would you set? Peace? Love, protection, something else all together?

1:10:10 Get in on the conversation, drop your answer in the comments. Or We have just recently created a the Paratruthers Community, a Facebook group. If you are on Facebook and follow us, get into the group. Tell us what you think as well, just mention the episode you're talking about so we know what you're what you're referencing, and just sorry. Also regarding that group, it is an open group, so you don't necessarily have to follow us to be a poet, right, and so we will have that link also here on Spotify, pretty much anywhere you can find these podcasts, you can click that in, you know, pop on in, join us, and let's continue the conversation.

1:10:52 Yeah. Yeah, So I'm trying to think we've got gosh, what's his name, Jason off It next week and after that we're gonna be getting into Thanksgiving mode, so stay tuned to all those episodes coming up. You said Thanksgiving mode, and immediately my phone just popped up with a notification saying, hey, Thanksgiving episode recording this day. Weird? All right, well, coincidence has happened, but so do actual messages too, like share, subscribe wherever you're at, but until next week, where you'll find us, same time, same channel.

1:11:42 My name is Justin and I'm Eric Pace.