Where Energy Flows

by Neshi Lokotz

I stand at the door of my basement storage room. I hesitantly peer inside the room to see boxes strewn and closet doors standing agape with piles of hunting gear on the floor. Pure unadulterated CHAOS!  I stand at the doorway with the back of my hand at my forehead like Scarlet O`Hara saying in a southern drawl, “Oh what ever shall I do!! I shall think about it tomorrow.”

Now this scene may or may not sound familiar to you (especially the southern drawl), but this is an annual occurrence for me. I also wonder how can I, as a feng shui practitioner and teacher have this clutter in my own home when I know how clutter affects me, my family and my home at both the physical and energetic levels. Well, the simple answer is clutter is a human condition and that clutter happens to all of us, even feng shui practitioners.

In feng shui clutter is defined as something that you do not love or use. The object is no longer useful to you or it brings your energy down when you see it or hold it. Only you can define what the clutter is in your home. Where you amass the clutter is also important to be aware of. Parts of your home represents areas of your life such as, the basement represents the subconscious and your past. The main floor, where every day living occurs represents your conscious and your present. The upstairs or attic represents your higher conscious and your future. Closets and drawers represent the inner you, that part of you that few people experience.

Clutter slows the flow of Life Force or Chi through your home. Chi can get stuck in and around clutter as well. I like to use the analogy of a department store that has clothing racks set very close together. As you try to walk through the racks as you shop you can feel the clothes on the hangers brushing against you and sometimes holding you back a bit. There are times when you cannot even get through and have to turn around to find a different way around the racks. This is how Chi flows through and around clutter. One major objective of feng shui is to have Chi flow balanced and smoothly through your home. This balanced and smooth flow brings the energy it takes to accomplish your goals, desires and intentions for your life. So your home is your friend and ally that support you and your family.

As a Native American my culture also helps me to see this chaotic basement through another lens.  I think, “What I can learn about this chaos using the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel”.  As we travel the Medicine Wheel to the North, the season of winter and the Winter Solstice, we become introspective and begin to reflect on our past year and on our life to understand what we have learned and experienced. We also think about what we will keep and what we will let go as we begin to plant the seeds of new projects and plans for the spring.

Bringing together the cluttered basement, what the basement can represent in feng shui (subconscious and past), and the meaning of the Spirit of the North in the Medicine Wheel, I set my intention to clean up the basement storage and to give away or through away items that no longer serve me. As I clear the clutter I understand how this clearing helps us to identify, determine, and examine life goals for the coming New Year. The clarifying of intentions that we want to set and acted upon in the New Year is energizing and uplifting.  As we clear clutter we make energetic room for the new goals to come into our lives. It is like holding our energetic arms and heart wide open to receive.

Wishing you Happy Winter Solstice, Holidays and Happy Clutter Clearing! 

Neshi Lokotz, 2009. All Rights Reserved.