in reply to @mir123 I like that. I am also a fan of rituals, and I hope you do not find mine odd. My demented friend actually taught me about rituals, including, but not limited to the use of smudge sticks to get rid of the bad energy in your house etc. Since my concussion I have been burning sage every morning, and because I cannot concentrate enough to paint like I used to, I am taking a ton of pictures of the burning sage ritual. I actually took a "selfie" of me drinking from an espresso cup of burning sage before my breast MRI this past friday. Whatever works right? Thanks for the great post. Several months ago a lifelong friend of mine essentially dumped me because she "just could not handle me having an immune disorder." Well, I had saved all the letters she had written to me going back to my college years 1982. I burned all of them in a garbage can , took videos, and then buried the burned up letters in the garden.....A couple of weeks ago I noticed that a photo of her that I had cut into pieces was poking up from the soil. I had cut a photo and the only part that came up was her eye....and I thought, "now that is a sign...evil eye?" This year was the first Christmas I did not get a card from her, and I think because I had performed what I called a "death ritual," the fact I did not get a card was not as upsetting as it might have otherwise been. Now I use a kitchen torch to light my sage. My neighbors must think I am a nutcase, but they enjoy living next to an eccentric artist who cannot relax since hitting her head in October...thanks again