Is Burning the Sage, Sage Advice?

I was recently encouraged to burn sage over my personal property in order to cleanse it of any bad blood.  I bought the sage but I haven't burned it yet.  How exactly do you go about burning sage over things?  Do I put it in an incense burner?  Do I light a leaf and sweep it across things hoping it won't light anything on fire?  Is burning sage, sage advice?

Sage is supposed to bring cleansing to your life.  I certainly feel this spring the need for a deep spiritual cleansing of my life.  I wish to reawaken with a sense of renewed zeal for life and purpose.

I don't use much sage in my life because frankly to me it doesn't smell good or taste good when used on things.  The idea of actually burning it in my house makes me scrunch my nose up.  I wonder, how long will that smell last?  Do I have to keep smelling it in order for the cleansing to happen?

A friend of mine recently talked about cleaning out the rooms of your life to make way for what it is you truly want in life.  I loved the comparisons made.  Here are a few I found applicable.  If you desire to have a lasting relationship you must prepare for that relationship to come.  If you have taken over the man areas of your house but still want a man, where will he find a home?  In this respect my house is a mess.  I have been alone so long that I have taken over every inch of space, even that of my children's rooms.  So therein lies the correlation, am I truly prepared to have a lasting relationship?  Do I do things which could easily include another person or is my life lived solo?  That is an easy and convicting answer, I live my life solo.  I always say that if a man comes into my life and fits it perfectly then I will commit.  And yet I supposedly have a desire to have a man in my life.  Where can I find the room to clean out for him?

That brings me back to the sage.  On further investigation of burning the sage, the Latin word for sage means to heal.  If I am honest I probably could use a healing.  I need to heal from the closed doors and rigidity that rules my life, the constant no's and never yes.

To burn the sage you are supposed to use dried sage and light it (in an incense burner) while walking through your house.  You are supposed to have a purpose in mind for burning it.  If you have specific areas of your life that you want cleansed you should burn the sage over yourself but that is not to say you inhale the smoke, just be in its presence.  Focusing on the gateways of your home is important.  This is an essential place for cleansing in my home.  We get home and immediately as we pass through the door there is conflict.  We need cleansed of this conflict.  I feel my personal cleansing is in Jesus and my confession of sin but burning sage while confessing may help me breathe in the newness of the spirit.  As I continue to seek wisdom in life it seems sage (wise) advice to burn the sage and cleanse the stale air of my existence.