Feng Shui, clutter clearing and your authentic self
A feng shui Article
By Stephanie Roberts
Have you
ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control, the universe so
unresponsive to your needs and desires, that you couldn't help it: you
just had to clean up? By paying attention to these impulses we
recognize the deep connection between our personal environment and our
innermost selves. It's as though by shifting the arrangement of our
belongings we hope to rearrange the molecules of our emotional lives as
well.
Feng shui
teaches us that our spaces both reflect and affect our physical,
mental, and emotional wellbeing. When our homes become cluttered and
disordered, other aspects of our lives tend to feel gridlocked as well.
It's a chicken-and-egg kind of situation. Not only does a cluttered
home reflect a distracted and cluttered mind, it also makes it hard to
focus and think clearly. It gets easier and easier to stop making the
item-by-item decisions that could put you back in control of the mess
and help you to feel more in control of your life.
Eventually,
we give up. The task seems overwhelming, and the clutter is so
pervasive that we can't figure out where to begin. We slog through our
days thinking "someday when I have the time I've got to clean this up."
Clutter clearing becomes an abstract goal that awaits a mythical future
time when our calendars will be free of obligations, we will awaken one
weekend morning well-rested and energized, and mysteriously through
some unseen grace we will have acquired the focused clarity and
enthusiasm that will finally inspire us to dive in and get it done. We
wait for the moment to be right before we begin, so beginning never
happens.
We're
approaching the clutter challenge backwards when we think this way.
Regaining a sense of clarity and order is more easily achieved by
putting our space in order than by trying to order and control our
thoughts in a disorganized space.
Clutter
saps your energy and erodes your spirit. Clutter makes it difficult to
get things done, enjoy peace and quiet, or spend time the way you
really want to. It adds to your stress, slows you down and drains your
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual strength. Clutter is
disempowering.
In feng
shui terms, clutter is both a symptom and a cause of stuck energy.
Opening the dictionary we see that "clutter" derives from the Old
English word "clott", which means: "to cause to become blocked or
obscured." Like a blood clot blocking circulation in our veins, clutter
prevents energy from circulating through our homes and our lives.
As a feng
shui consultant, I have worked with many clients who complain of
feeling creatively or professionally blocked, or who bemoan the lack of
a sense of purpose or direction in life. What I usually find in their
homes are lots of things that don't reflect their personality or future
aspirations. These people are surrounded by objects that have been
allowed to wander in unchecked at the door or that linger on the shelf
long after the relevant stage of life is past.
On an
energetic level, all this stuff is preventing a clear vision of self.
Anything that is neglected, unwanted, or unappealing to you will drag
your energy down every time you look at it. Even a beautiful object of
great value does nothing for you or your home if you don't like it.
This is why we include "anything that you do not love" in a holistic
definition of clutter.
Everything
that surrounds you should be working for you in some way. If the things
in your space are not supporting you and contributing to the positive
quality of your life, it is time to do something about it!
The defeat,
fatigue, and depression that you feel when you think about your clutter
will start to evaporate as soon as you put yourself in action. The hard
part is getting started, but once you do the magic will begin.
Clutter-clearing
creates space for us to discover our true path in life and to define
who we want to become. With this new vision we can consciously choose
to surround ourselves with objects and imagery that reflect and support
our authentic concept of self.
[exerpted from "Clutter-Free Forever!", Lotus Pond Press, 2003]
Stephanie
Roberts is the author of "Fast Feng Shui: 9 Simple Principles for
Transforming Your Life by Energizing Your Home", a #1 most popular feng
shui book at Amazon.com. Her new "Clutter-Free Forever!" e-book and
Home Coaching Program are now available from here
