Clear Your Clutter, Create Potential with Feng Shui
The first step in learning to have more with less is to allow yourself to go with the flow, or let go of resistance. In other words, don’t accumulate boulders! Life is often like a river with many boulders, but if we relate ourselves to the water, rushing through and between the obstructing rocks, we see that there is a perfect path carved out for us. Struggling against these boulders can waste our precious energy. As we learn to go with the flow however, we see that though the rocks seem like something to be struggled against, it is not actually necessary to take part in this struggle. Most of us have had this realization while learning to swim. Once we relaxed, we were able to float, without expending very much energy. The less energy we expended, the calmer and more still we remained, and were able to float more easily.
Collecting Clutter is like creating boulders in our lives. We all do this sub-consciously and instinctively on some level. Sometimes we have a need to create obstacles when we feel we are not ready for the next step in life. This is normal, but we want to avoid becoming too comfortable, or stagnant. What do you do then, when you recognize this pattern in a particular area of your life, or your home and you decide that it’s not working for you anymore? You may start to feel that it’s time to move on and allow the next stage into your life. Eliminating the clutter, or physical boulders in and around your environment is the first step to initiating change and creating potential. There are enlightening scientific thoughts on how we can create potential by getting rid of clutter, freeing up space, and achieving more with less, literally, by getting rid of clutter. These will be examined, but first, let’s take a look at our immediate environment.
In Feng Shui we talk about how to arrange our environment for optimal flow, least resistance and allow a healthy flow of our life energy so we can achieve optimum performance. It’s important to take note of how well you are operating in your environment currently, and make changes as necessary. Being in the flow and being aided by our environment creates an ideal situation in which we are able to accomplish more and expend less energy.
We respond to our environment and our environment responds to us. Have you ever noticed that when you get your life moving in a new direction, have a breakthrough, complete something you’ve been working on, or someone near you makes a change in their life that directly effects you? You will often find yourself clearing out clutter, re-arranging your space and moving things around as if you have suddenly discovered a reserve of energy and inspiration.
What is Clutter made of?
The word ‘clutter’ comes from the English word clotter-meaning to coagulate. When you ignore that pile of paperwork on your desk, that pile of “stuff” is stagnant energy. The clutter is an outward sign of what is happening in your life- you have avoided dealing with an issue and your attention has been elsewhere, your energy has been expended on other pursuits. It’s like a snowball effect, as clutter attracts more of the same. In Feng Shui, the opposite process is also true. An outward effort to right something in your physical environment will affect your internal world- how you feel, react, and experience…
What does clutter do?
Some of the effects of clutter include lack of focus and clarity, feelings of being professionally, creatively, spiritually, or romantically stuck, insufficient time and attention for yourself and your family, increased stress, irritability and depression.
Peter Walsh wrote the book Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? He says “It’s no accident that at the same time we are struggling with the “epidemic of obesity,” we are also living in homes weighted down with clutter and filled with “stuff.”
Clutter really is like a blood clot. When we think about our environment, we need to think of it as an extension of our bodies. When our bodies have a blockage, this creates disease which can interfere with other important areas in our life such as the energy to do what we need to.
Clutter creates a physical block in our environment as well as a block that stands in the way of resolving life issues or making progress. Unfinished business, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual clutters your heart and mind.
The unfinished or abandoned projects and objects in your environment are a representation of the things you have not finished in your personal life. Seeing them around you or even just knowing they are there is a constant drain on your energy. Larger issues will affect you on a larger scale. For instance, putting off replacing your roof is going to have a stronger affect on your life than a messy junk drawer. So with clutter clearing prioritizing is really the first step. However, don’t forget that even the small things such as a leaky faucet, or a pile of paperwork can be a nagging source of stress. If serious time restraints or a tight budget constrict what you are able to do, then starting out small can still offer a significant improvement.
How can you Deal with Clutter?
Clutter Clearing gets you out of your rut. It shakes up the frozen parts of yourself and allows them to come out into the light where their symbolism can be examined and where you can listen to and act upon them.
If you can’t seem to decide on priorities for your business, you’ll realize it’s time to clear off the desk and catch up on paperwork. And if you’re not eating as well as you should, you’ll remember that clearing off the kitchen counter and cleaning out the fridge will help get your eating habits back on track.
Physical Objects taking up your precious “Space”
In and around your home or office, items that are used or admired on a regular basis are infused by your energy. They have vibrant, positive energy. Objects that are useless, neglected broken or un-needed and un-organized, are dead. The more intentional, clear and inspired your life is, the more you tend to surround yourself with objects that support your goals and provide inspiration. These objects are useful and beautiful. When we’re stuck, uninspired and neglectful of our goals and priorities, we tend to accumulate objects that keep this cycle going.
Too Many Things in Too Small of a Space
If you lack the space you need to fit your belongings and do your activities, your creativity and feeling of freedom at home can suffer. Unless your family is growing you probably don’t need more space. Instead, try to re-proportion the amount of items which occupy each room in your home. Keeping too much around will make you feel restricted in your environment and your breathing may often become tighter and shallower. Give yourself space in your own home.
Time Clutter
Do You Feel Rushed, Distracted, Behind, or Overwhelmed?
We won’t always feel attachment to every physical object in your environment. Some items, like a messy junk drawer, a wedding gift we never liked or useless items come about from circumstance. Usually you’re too busy or distracted to even notice them…
Random clutter drains you however, as each item attaches onto you with an invisible string representing a past goal such as being a fixit person, penny pincher, dutiful employee or super-mom.
Shed the physical clutter to wipe the slate clean and release a precious store of your own energy to be used on more realistic goals and endeavors. Your perception will immediately be that you do have the time to do what you wanted to do. It’s not really that your schedule has changed but more your perception of how “busy” you are changes. This can help when your goal is to re-organize your schedule, find more time to do things you love or stop multi-tasking.
Why do we Allow Clutter to Collect? Some reasons we hold onto clutter are the following
Physical clutter can represent unfulfilled needs or goals. Do you currently have personal needs that aren’t being fulfilled? Sometimes, we have physical symbols of those needs within our home. When you begin to work with particular clutter habits it can bring to light beliefs and clues to who we are and why we hold on to certain types of clutter in certain areas within our environment.
Physical Clutter is sometimes used to validate who we are
When we aim to go through a life transformation, most of the time it can be emotionally, mentally and sometimes financially daunting. Resisting making the physical changes that need to be made in order to change your life can be an extra hurdle between you and your goals. Often times this is the case and we don’t realize it. It’s very difficult for most of us because we are living under such a mountain of stuff that we can’t imagine our lives being any different. We become accustomed to stuff, like a cocoon.
Physical Clutter Can Fill a Void
A general blanket of clutter can sometimes feel like a type of comfort. You may not be identifying with particular items as much as the idea of how much you have. Some people describe a feeling of loneliness after cleaning and getting rid of things. This can be common, since clutter occupies our thoughts and energy to such a degree, that it acts as a distraction that can keep you from taking the next step in life, such as going through with a change you fear.
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