What is Smudging, And Are There Benefits?

Oh, and why do I feel so weird and wonderful?

I attended a class on shamanism. That is a far path from growing up in evangelical, small-town Ohio. The first thing we did in the shamanism class was a smudging ceremony. There we were, standing in a circle, taking turns holding a seashell with burning white sage, wafting it all over each other using a giant bird…