Where Energy Flows

We all love giving and receiving presents, and can acquire  a lot of extra stuff at Christmas time. I encourage my family to clear out some belongings that they’ve outgrown, to make room for the lovely presents they’ll be getting.

Sometimes we receive gifts which don’t make our hearts sing. Every time we look at them they slightly drain our energy. I donate unwanted presents to charity shops as soon as possible, and find that they are very appreciative of having new items to sell. I don’t even think about feeling guilty for giving these presents away. The people who gave them to me would not want me to feel bad about their gift. It goes against the spirit of giving.

If you are doing some last minute shopping for gifts, think about whether the recipient would love and use the present. If you are not sure don’t buy it. If in doubt choose consumable items, such as food treats, or vouchers. Ask the cashier for exchange cards. You wouldn’t want the other person to feel bad about the present they are giving them. Nor would you want them to hide the item at the back of their cupboard and bring it out every time you came to visit.

Christmas clutter also has an environmental impact, so it is important to be eco-minded when shopping. Buy quality items which will last, and are repairable. Avoid products with excessive or non recyclable packaging, and those which require a lot of batteries. Use recyclable wrapping paper, not foil or plastics, and remember to put used wrapping paper in the recycling collection.

Have a clutter free Christmas so your mind will be clear to think about those New Year’s intentions.

Copyright Helen Harvey, 2007. All rights reserved.

When I downsized my belongings five years ago, I gave away or disposed of nearly all of my Christmas decorations, keeping only those I truly loved.

I didn’t have a lot to start out with, but I did have a collection that spanned a few decades…what is it about holiday decorations that brings out the sentiment?

As we grow and change, our decorating tastes change to match. Often our homes reflect that growth, but holiday decorations tend to stay the same.

Each year there are beautiful new items in the stores we ‘must’ have — as well as any you might receive as gifts — and before you know it, the holiday ornament and decorating box is a large, complicated collection which takes a lot of space to store, a lot of time to put up, and confusion as you sort it all out each year.

This holiday season is a perfect time to de-clutter your holiday decorations and make life simpler.

How To:

1. As you open each box of decorations or take out each item, ask yourself if you really love it and it if reflects who you are now. 
2. Consider photographing any decorations that are no longer ‘you’ but are difficult to let go of because of the memories they evoke. Let them go and treasure the photographs instead.
3. Re-evaluate your recycling plans. Wrapping paper, ribbons and Christmas cards to be re-used? Re-using and recycling is a great idea, however I recommend you decide how much you keep each year, and give yourself a time limit for using them.
4. How about those broken decorations or strings of lights with burnt out light bulbs you’ve been meaning to repair? For things that need repair or cleaning, give yourself a time limit to complete that task — resist the urge to put it back in the box to deal with next year!
5. Package up the decorations that are still in good shape (please resist the urge to pass along the de-cluttering to someone else, especially a family member!) and make arrangements for its removal from the house.

Celebrate your success!

Wishing you love and joy during the holiday season and in the year ahead.

© Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2007. All rights reserved.

In the previous post, Neshi spoke of a  process in Interior Alignment™ of assessing  your home by noting what feels good and what does not.  Some problem items are obvious such as broken items, things that do not work well or areas that are cluttered such that they impede traffic flow.   But, what about the subtle things that you have lived with so long that they have slipped below your “don’t feel good” radar?  And when we speak of making you feel good or not can you look at your feelings in an objective way?  Are you ready for change?

In order to gauge your feelings you need to have a baseline.  One way to do this is to use your breath.  Sit quietly with your spine long yet relaxed.  Watch how your breath moves in and out of your lungs.  Which part of your lungs does the air move into.  Does your belly move with your breath, do your ribs move out to the sides and do your collar bones rise as you breath?  What is the quality of the breath-smooth, shallow, or ratchety?  Does your in breath last as long as the out breath and how long are the pauses at the top of the in breath and after the out breath?  Watch your breath a few minutes without trying to change it to get a baseline.

As you go through your home place your attention on the aspect you are considering. Check in with your breath for a couple of minutes.  This quiets your mind.  Then focus on an item such as a chesterfield, or hold the item such as a vase and recheck your breathing.

Your body can block unpleasant or intense feelings in two ways.  The first is to tense up and resist the feeling, clutching on the in breath.  The second is to become passive and limp to avoid the feelings, collapsing on our out breath.  What you are experiencing in your body you are also experiencing in your mind.  Check in with your breathing, noting any changes and consider where that feeling is coming from.  Is it worth keeping this item?

Are you ready to look at your home objectively?  There are no bad homes, they all have lessons for us to learn.  Feng Shui can help when times are difficult but when in a crisis it is hard to be objective about yourself.  Waiting for a crisis to call in help may not be the best use of a Feng Shui practitioner.  Recognizing that you may need assistance to prevent a crisis may help to avert that crisis.  Frequent clutter clearing whilst checking in with your home and your self and putting in place some enhancements  is pretty good life/home maintenance.

Copyright 2007  Brenda Rosenberg  All rights reserved. 

All clutter has an energetic hold on us, even when it is not in our living or working spaces. Many of us have things stored in our parents’ or friend’s garages, or in paid storage space. This can be costly, draining, and a nuisance for the people storing it.

Sometimes we store things elsewhere because they don’t fit with what we are doing at the moment. This can be a temporary arrangement, for example, we are moving overseas for a while, or permanent, because our belongings have outgrown our space. When putting things in temporary storage it is important to set a time limit. Temporary storage can easily turn into permanent storage which we aren’t dealing with.

Businesses store archived records out of necessity. Archived records should be looked through occasionally to see if they are still needed for taxation purposes or other obligations.

Sometimes people borrow things and still have them years later. Try to get closure by gifting them the item or asking if they want to buy it. By dealing with off-site clutter you’ll also clear you subconscious mind of clutter and feel energetically free.

Copyright Helen Harvey 2007. All rights reserved. 

Many ancient practices have principles that are similar.  One can align the practice of yoga and feng shui in many ways.  Here is one.  The bagua map has eight sections or guas that surround the central health gua.  In yoga there are eight limbs connected to that central practice.   Yamas and Niyamas are one limb.  They are ten ethical precepts that allow us to be at peace with ourselves, our family and our community.Let’s look at one of the Niyamas-Shaucha or living purely.  The word pure is used to describe that which is clean, clear and free from extraneous elements.  Living purely involves creating an environment that supports a clean body and mind.

”Saucha is a testament to the positive power of association. …. Practicing Saucha, meaning “that and nothing else,” involves making choices about what you want and don’t want in your life.  Far from self-deprivation or dry piety, the practice of shaucha allows you to experience life more vividly.”  Donna Fahri  in Yoga, Mind, Body and Spirit

Clutter clearing allows you an opportunity to free yourself from extraneous “things” or parts of yourselves that you do not “need”.   This in itself can support change in other areas of your life because you have taken the time to make a clear choice and act upon it.  To free yourself from the weight of yesterday’s projects and the collection of  “I may need it tomorrows” can be best done when you are centered, relaxed and objective - in the present moment.

Yoga changes you little by little over time.  One day you realise that something has changed in your body, breath or mind.  Feng Shui is also a process.  Perhaps begin by clearing clutter in some small way by sitting down with the junk drawer, your purse, the glove compartment of your car or even your sock drawer…………….

Copyright 2007  Brenda Rosenberg  All Rights Reserved 

Where does your clutter live? Under your bed? In the attic? The Basement?

According to feng shui principles, the places where clutter takes root is meaningful but we are often not aware of what that meaning is. The following examples do not have to be true all the time of course, but something definitely worth thinking about as you clear your clutter.

Attic: Represents things hanging over your head, goals or dreams beyond your reach.

Bathroom: Plumbing is related to the emotions. Repressed emotions: feeling blocked, holding on to the past, people or events. Excessive emotions: weepy, verbal diarrhea or ranting.

Bedroom: Needing a great deal of privacy, hiding yourself or some aspect of your life from the world, being out of touch with your emotions or your inner self.

Basement: Suppressed emotions, unconscious beliefs, thoughts, patterns of behaviour, lack of foundation or roots in your life.

Cupboards: Upper cupboards, same for attic. Lower cupboards, same for basement.

Dining room: Feeling unnourished, un-nurtured, not taking care of your health, or lacking a sense of community in your life.

Kitchen: not fully allowing abundance, the harvest — what you have been working towards, into your life.

Living Room: difficult or absent relationships, feeling unconnected from loved ones and your community.

Under: (bed, cabinets, cupboards, etc.) Feeling bogged down.

© Copyright 2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

In feng shui both the visible and non visible affect our happiness and wellbeing. Many people focus on keeping their homes well presented for guests, but their cupboards are full of half read magazines and uncompleted projects. Some even dedicate a whole room to this purpose.

My first experience of feng shui was having a consultation for my own home. The consultant said it was good that I didn’t have clutter. I remember thinking that it was lucky she wasn’t looking in the cupboards, but I knew in my heart that the clutter was impacting on my life, even though people couldn’t see it.

Hidden feng shui also relates to cures an enhancements. They work in our favour even though we can’t see them. An example of a hidden cure would be burying crystals in the garden to compensate for missing areas in a floorplan. An example of a hidden enhancement is placing red fabric over the mattress of a couple’s bed. You can’t see it under the sheet, but it helps to spice up the marriage. Hidden cures and enhancements are great if you want to maintain a particular decor or don’t want to display things that others might think are wierd.

Copyright 2007 Helen Harvey. All rights reserved.