During our spiritual journey, beings tend to lean on other "experts" for guidance, rules and "how to", these experts could be your favorite Energy Healer, Reiki Master, Spiritual Guru; on social media, YouTube or anywhere they're accessible. Heck, you could be seeking most of your answers from Google searches and various blogs, which is fine, because you have to start somewhere. We all have looked up practices on how to burn sage, cleanse crystals, unblocking chakras, protecting your energy and so on on the web or in person. Sometimes, those steps are just what we need to get started and for some, it may not resonate. Searching for education and having a spiritual mentor/guide gives you support and or a blue print to follow but it's important to lean on the guidance within and create your own blue print because it's your journey. More than likely, your mentor is teaching from their spiritual journey because we can only teach from personal experiences and the lessons rendered. More than likely, the blogs that you read, come from the insight of another persons spiritual practices. So, if we want to truly be attuned to our journey, we need to make our own practices, cleanses, meditations, mantras, incantations and rituals that cater to us as individuals.
For instance, Smudging, which is the ritual of burning sage to rid of stagnant or negative energy in your space/home. If you look up "How to Sage", you'll come across dozens of different ways, multiple meanings and so forth on how to do it. When I learned about Smudging, the insight came from an individual, they told me what they did and I took what I learned from them, used it, but made some modifications to fit me. When I sage its like a party. I'm playing music, I dance, I invite my spirit guides and ancestors. I speak positive affirmations in each room. I cleanse my crystals and even myself. I open my windows to clear out the party lol. I'll then restore the energy with softer music, Palo Santo. I go in each space and spray my natural mist, restoring the good energy in the home. You may want to do something entirely different and that's okay. There is no rule book! So when people ask me the proper way to Sage, I give them the basics but I also encourage making the cleansing personal to them. This also applies to so many other tools and practices we use in the metaphysical realm.
I also get a lot of questions about how to cleanse and charge crystals or what to do when your crystal breaks. I tell people the basics but it's important to follow what your aura desires. I cleanse my crystals with Sage, Sound, Florida Water or Basic Tap water from my faucet and my crystals still vibrate high. I charge my crystals mostly in the sun because I'm drawn to it but every now and then in the moon when my aura tells me to. When my crystals break for what ever reason I keep the broken pieces, bury them or I try to put it back together. I just go with whatever my aura desires. I genuinely believe if you're operating within love and light, how could you be wrong.
Creating your own rituals empowers your journey. It helps you with seeking intent in life. It makes manifestation easier. You'll even start to understand yourself more as a being. Don't be afraid to deviate from what you read and what you're told. I can't see the Universe not accepting your practices because you want to make them your own. I see so many people shy away from learning about spirituality and spiritual tools all because too many outside forces have opinions or "answers". I say, find yourself one really good source for information and create your own spiritual realm/journey around that. Build independence within your light and vibrate high.
I hope this helps. Namaste.