In this troubled economy, every store and online outlet is having sales, constantly. One of the most unusual bargains I’ve seen is for a neti pot.
This is an Aladdin-style lamp, used to rinse out one’s nasal cavities. The basic idea is that you fill the pot with saline solution, tilt your head and pour it first into one nostril and then, repeating with the other side. If your sinuses are open, the clear solution just runs out the opposite side and all is well. If there is unwanted stuff, it gets loosened up and comes out (or down, as in the throat, and is to be spit out.) The result is that breathing is easier.
Hey, folks, it sounds a little gross, but it works for me. Mayo Clinic gives it a thumbs-up. For those who seek the holy in all things, there is some evidence that using salt from the Dead Seas has a special curative power. So we can count it as a spiritual aid. Or not.
As someone with a chronic stuffed-up nose, I find this a great alternative to going through life as a mouth breather. Yes, I do have to put up with a slight awkwardness and see and deal with the gunk, but breathing freer is worth it.
So consider adding it to your list. Hurry, supply may be limited.
Prayer Before A Neti-Pot
God, help me be open to cleaning out all the obstacles to feeling your holy breath. Let me recognize and welcome the power of your Holy Spirit, working within me as I risk this process of emptying out the gunk in my life. May I be open to all paths that lead to you, whether mystical or down-to-earth. Let me not spurn the helps you give us, even those in the guise of something so earthly as a neti pot. Most of all, help us trust that when it comes to your presence in our lives, the supply is never limited.
Amen.