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CLEARING OUTER AND INNER CLUTTER

By Linda van Doornewaard – Holistic Therapist/ Reflexolgist

All this extra ‘stuff’ that we gather around us is quite unnecessary for our survival. Just as a plane needs to jettison extra weight if it needs to fly fast, your body needs to be light to be fit to function efficiently. Let go of unwanted baggage, both in your inner and outer worlds, to live a life of freedom and joy. Unnecessary baggage weighs you down. It’s a downward pull, not an upward evolutionary one.

Take a good look at your external environment – what do you feel about your living areas? If you are constantly looking for things, not remembering where you filed documents, not having the things you need when you need them, you are on a path to frustration and clogged mind-space. Not only is your external life cluttered, but your precious mind space is too, trying to fathom it all out.

Do yourself a favour and de-clutter your immediate external environment. Before you start to beat yourself up at the enormity of the task, first count your blessings. You are privileged to have been able to afford to buy all this clutter- now you just need to develop the skill of letting go.

1. Prioritise the room - Decide which room is the top priority.
2. Focus on the difficult parts - Take a long hard look at what you see in the room. Stagnant and cluttered areas like corners and closets should be tackled first.
3. Get out the boxes - Set up a system of plastic boxes: the first for thow-aways (anything broken/out of date), the second for giveaways (to friends, charities), the third for repair, and the last for things to keep but not in this room. Put on your favourite music, open the windows and have fun becoming lighter and free-er
4. Positive memories only - Decide what memories your items hold. Gifts you never like go to charity. Only keep things around you with positive messages.
5. Get ride of stagnant energy - Anything you have not used or seen in the past year gets given away. Unused things hold stagnant energy and remind you of things you wanted to do, but never did. If you have a storeroom of things that never see the light of day until you move house (only to be stored again) then you need to question why you hold on so much.
6. Feng shui your space - In Feng Shui terms, energy (chi) needs to circulate freely around your home. The main entrance is vital as this is where energy enters. Remove all clutter from inside and outside the main door and hallway and invest in bright welcoming lighting.
7. Spring clean your wardrobe - Wardrobes and clothes need to be cleared at least annually. Categorise your clothes according to use, then colour co-ordinate. If it doesn’t fit, give it, and their negative messages away.
8. Grab the handbag - Tip out your handbag or briefcase. Wallets and purses should be free of clutter or your money becomes stagnant. If your bag is full of old receipts, paring coupons and half eaten chocolate bars you’ll have to rummage through stuff each time you’re searching for your keys!
9. Desks next - Piles of paper on desks weigh you down, blocking creativity and progress in your career. Too many personal items detract from the work focus and create stagnation. Clear the cutter on your computer too: trash unwanted emails, out of date files, and establish clear filing systems.
10. Celebrate - Clearing clutter is the best anti-depressant there is. Removing stagnant energy allows a new lightness into your life and along with that come new opportunities. Your mind is calmer as you know where things are, precious mind space is freed and thus new ideas come in. You will soon be radiating peace, calmness and an amazing lightness in your inner and outer life!

DE-CLUTTERING YOUR INNER LIFE

1. Slow down - The first thing to do is slow down. Life is just a journey that continues even after your death. Remember that freedom and happiness cannot come where a mad race is being run after a  seemingly elusive goal. Never mistake frantic activity for genuine progress.

2. Choose your focus - In life whatever you focus upon grows. So choose to focus upon what you want in life, rather than what you do not want. You are the creator of your life experience so be clear about what you want and focus on this. Keep your mind free from all things you don’t want to manifest, as by thinking about them you are actually helping to manifest them.

5. Count your blessings - All of us have things in our life to be happy about, along with the things we aren’t so happy about. As we mentioned, whatever you choose to focus on grows in your life. So if you count your blessings and look to the sunshine, you don’t see the shadows of life, and your blessings grow. Write down ten blessings and each day, and whenever you feel your mood swinging to the negative, just get the blessings out and remind yourself.

6. Jettison all resentments and blame - Blame, complaints and resentments are heavy and will weigh you down more than anything else. If you truly accept responsibility for your life, you spontaneously release them. Holding onto some hurt or hatred over what others may have done in the past makes you their slave in the present. Stay away from negative people and those who are chronic moaners and groaners.

7.  Take a chill pill - The heart feels heavy when every thought and emotion is taken seriously. Moods are like water and it’s their nature to flow and change- in fact the word ‘emotion’ is defined spiritually as ‘energy in motion’. So accept this and do not give permanence to something so temporary. Remember that your true nature is neither thought nor emotion, rather a pure, free and light spirit. Look at every moment of life through its eyes.