Chapter 15
Bringing harmony and balance to your surroundings is the essential first step to having a clutter-free home full of positive energy. But removing clutter issues from your life for good involves a long-term commitment and a willingness to look within for the reasons behind the clutter. To stay on top of the “mound of indecision,” which is a more accurate emotional description of clutter, you should be continually focused on clearing the chi that surrounds you.
Healing the baggage created by excessive inner and outer clutter is not an easy task—at least not at first. Like any other emotion-based form of release, you will need to look deeply inward for any long-term solution to become possible. In this sense, recovery from repeated patterns of clutter is much like any other habit-breaking program.
The first step toward positive change is admitting to yourself that there is indeed a problem. This goes beyond the initial, “Gee, it’s a little cluttered in here.” It is more along the lines of the recognition that you are slowly becoming engulfed by your possessions. This awareness that there is a pattern to your life is the beginning of a more positive and lasting solution.
Clutter is about obstacles, and feng shui is about how to overcome obstacles. Think of yourself as your own “director of energy”—you alone control the flow of chi in and around you.
Next, you need to ask yourself whether you are ready to let go of your need for more things. Are you excessively needy? Are you insulating yourself with possessions to numb your pain about feelings of inadequacy or ambiguous self-worth? When will enough be enough?
Every time you consider a new purchase, ask yourself what need you are really seeking to fulfill. Sometimes, it truly is a practical purpose that you’re serving, such as purchasing a ladder to remove tree-clutter on your roof. But if it’s just something that you want because it’s interesting or beautiful, ask yourself what you’d be willing to give up in its place, with the idea that you’ll always try to keep the same amount of stuff.
As you already know from your life’s history of dealing with it, clutter can literally follow you around, creating extra baggage for both you and your loved ones. But inside the baggage of your clutter you will find a ticket to a new, more positive life—one free of the challenges and obstacles that have, in the past, held you back from your true potential. Emptying out the baggage allows you to retrieve this ticket, and embark on a new life full of positive, life-enhancing chi energy. Don’t be afraid to dig your way to this ticket, and to take the few extra steps to get back on the road to success.
Every time you make a change in your life or living environment, it changes the energy of space. Sometimes chi can get stuck in the middle of such changes, even if they are positive, healthy ones. To get the chi moving positively again in your environment, or simply to enhance what’s already there, you can enlist the aid of any of the following symbolic elements that are considered to be effective “cures.”
These lovely room accents are actually powerful movers of chi, reflecting light and life to all points around them. In feng shui, crystals are considered transmitters of positive energy, making them ideal “cures.”
A crystal, when hung from a doorway, ceiling, or in front of a window, can catch sunlight and redirect it all over an otherwise stagnant room. When you hang a new crystal, be sure to mentally state your intention as you do so. It can be as simple a statement as, “I hang this crystal to increase the flow of positive energy in my home.”
When a room is small, it can very easily appear cluttered—with only a few items actually in the room! Use mirrors when you want to lift energy or create an illusion of a larger room, but also when you want to reflect (or magnify, symbolically speaking) the most powerful corner of the room. For instance, you might want to emphasize wealth and prosperity in a small den or home office; here, you would do well to position a mirror to multiply the image of a clutter-free wealth corner of the room.
Particularly in the money or career areas of the bagua in your home, you may want to intentionally place a small fountain to symbolize or attract prosperity. Be sure to keep this corner free from the outside influences of clutter, as “junk-energy” tends to confuse the positive energy generated by the free-flowing fountain. You don’t want anything to get between you and your prosperity!
Many Chinese restaurants feature a lucky cat or frog statue near their cash registers. These are considered to bring wealth. If you are experiencing the inner clutter of stress and worry, consider placing a Buddhist Quan Yin (goddess of mercy and compassion) statue in the corner of the bagua most relevant to the source of your stress. For difficulty pertaining to children, place Quan Yin in the family section of your home’s overall bagua.
Sound is also a wonderful way to cure a space from its previous energy. Each time the wind catches the chimes, a new sound pattern is created—and a new energy results.
Living beings such as plants can act as energy buffers to the harmful rays of electromagnetic energy transmitted throughout your home. They can also balance out negative energy, particularly if you have lots of sharp corners in a room. Since plants have healthy and positive yang energy, they can counteract negativity from such sharp corners. If you use plants as a cure, just be sure to keep them healthy or they will lose their yang energy.
Ever wonder how you can have all the things you ever wanted in your life, but still not feel like your relationship has what it needs? Perhaps you could pair specific items (such as candles) together in a clutter-free relationship corner of your bedroom. This could “ignite” lots of possibilities for togetherness!
Light energy is a fabulously romantic way of curing a stagnant space, especially after you’ve cleared it of clutter. As the flames flicker toward the ceiling, so goes your attachment to your old possessions, freeing you symbolically from the bonds of ownership. This is why candles can be an especially powerful tool in meditation.
Curing yourself of your feng shui woes is not only healthy, it’s also necessary. Few of us has a home that’s always in perfect balance with free-flowing chi all around. Besides, wouldn’t some candles and wind chimes add a little much-needed romance to our lives?
Get It Going: Crystals are quick, easy cures for areas where the chi appears to be stuck. Round, multi-faceted ones work best; avoid hanging crystals with sharp edges.
Throughout this book, the concept of space clearing has been mentioned several times. But what exactly is this feng shui practice—and how or when should a space-clearing ceremony be done?
Space clearing is the process by which old, stagnant residual energy is encouraged to redirect into healthy, free-flowing chi. It is the removal and replacement of unproductive energy with life-giving new energy.
When should you perform a space-clearing ritual? After removing clutter, to be sure, but also after you’ve experienced major life changes, or any other disruption in your living space (such as a fight with your children or spouse). Basically, you should do a space clearing anytime you experience the feeling that your room’s energy has been brought to a screeching halt. Remember, the purpose of this ritual is to get the positive chi flowing again—and keep it moving freely!
Beware of false feng shui cures! Many unscrupulous sellers (particularly on the Internet) will try to sell you “lucky” feng shui talismans that are really aimed at making them money, not at helping your situation. Consider the intention of the seller before offering your credit card number.
There are items you can use to accomplish a space clearing in your environment, to clear it of the harmful rays of negative energy. First, make sure you are feeling healthy yourself, as you are the conduit of the newly created energy force. Meditation prior to a space clearing not only cleanses your soul before you begin, but it can also raise your vibrational energy level so that you are a more powerful conduit of positive energy.
Smudging with an herbal smudging stick is probably the most frequently used method of conducting a space clearing in your home. This method goes back in history to a time when smoke was used by Native Americans to purify land and belongings. You can either purchase smudge sticks at a metaphysical store or grow your herbs such as sage or rosemary for smudge sticks in your own garden. Once you’ve collected them, band them together with a string into a thick stick-like formation and light one end so that it burns like incense, emitting its scent as you walk through each room. Keep a small clay or metal dish handy to catch the ashes as you go. As you move through each room, mindfully state the purpose of each room and then walk clockwise through it, “blessing” each area of the room with its new clutter-free energy. If you wish, you can ask your spirit guides for assistance in this ritual.
Mineral sea salt, known by the ancient Greeks and Romans for its purification and restorative features, is also commonly used for space-clearing rituals. In fact, many Greeks still use it to ward off evil spirits! You can purchase sea salt at your local health food store. Wherever you intuitively sense that space needs to be cleared, you can sprinkle a small amount of this healing sea salt to energetically “lift” the chi in the space. Just one whiff of this rejuvenating mineral will lift your spirits as well!
Incense and other aromatherapy-related products can also lift energy and get it moving once again. Lavender is a preferred scent for its balancing effects on energy, and for that reason is often used in land healings as well. In fact, many metaphysicians and parapsychologists use lavender to make peace with spirits whose unrestful presence has been detected. Whatever scent you choose for a space clearing after decluttering, the best way to dissipate it into the air is by fire or water. If the scent is in incense or candle form, burn it to release the stagnant chi in the air; if you’re using aromatherapy oils, mix them into a small spray bottle with some water. Spritz away negative energy in every corner of your home—and keep a little extra for yourself, since you’ve basically created your own perfume!
You should try to clear clutter regularly—but particularly after an illness or major change in your life. After you clear the clutter that may have resulted from a stressful period, do a space clearing to help clear negative chi—and to rid your home of harmful residual energy.
The fastest, easiest, and most practical method for space clearing is clapping your hands in the spaces where chi needs to get a move-on or where a clearing has been deemed necessary. This method is especially helpful immediately following an argument or minor disruption in the environment, but can also be “handy” as an “on-the-go” space-clearing ritual when decluttering.
Since space clearing is such a meditative activity, you might consider beginning and ending each space-clearing session with a meditation session at your altar or in your “sacred space.” This will offer you the peace of knowing that each clearing has a beginning and an end, and that you can move on with your life with the full knowledge that you are doing your best to keep your opportunities in life wide open. What a great feeling!
Creating what feng shui practitioners refer to as “sacred space” is not limited to the practice of prayers with incense-filled altars. Ultimately, all of your living space should be sacred to you somehow. After all, each room serves a specific purpose in your life. Go through each room of your home and ask yourself, “What is this room’s intention? What are my intentions with respect to this room—what do I most seek to create in this space?”
Ideally, your living space both serves and represents you. It shows the whole world who you are and what you believe in. Sacred space goes a step beyond—it nurtures the core of your soul. In sacred space, you feel your physical, psychological, and spiritual best—you are literally at one with all that is around you. Here, you find refuge and respite from the cold, cruel world—and the ability to reach within to find the source of rejuvenation that allows you to travel back outside again.
Sacred Space: Creating sacred space doesn’t mean you have to have a candle-lit altar. Here is an example of a simple meditation area in a corner of a larger room. Note the symbolic angel wall sculpture, Indian picture, and natural reeds in a clay pot—a model of spiritual simplicity.
How do you create such a magical place in your own home? You do so first by identifying the best location for this kind of focus and introspection. Perhaps it’s a dining room filled with angels and the images of other “helpful people.” Or maybe it’s a bathtub where you’ve created a spa-like escape complete with candles, mineral sea salts, and soft music. Where do you most see refuge when things go wrong? That is your first clue to a possible location for sacred space.
The second step of sacred space creation is to honor the space once you’ve designated it. Does this mean getting on your hands and knees and worshipping it? While you can certainly place spiritual “reminders” in this space, honoring it refers more to keeping it free of clutter, so that your intentions can stay focused and you can reflect on your life’s potential without any outside interference. Here is the place you will come to for self-nurturing and a reconnection between the inner and outer you.
Everything in feng shui is energy-based and symbolic. If you fill your sacred space with things you no longer use or need, you are in essence sending the message to the Universe that you are comfortable with obstacles. Consequently, since the Universe mirrors back what we project outward, you will find yourself repeatedly faced with new obstacles and challenges strewn along your path.
Clearing the clutter when creating sacred space can be one of the most fulfilling aspects of feng shui—with the biggest psychological payoff. If you have a hard time letting go of some items that are in the way of sacred spaces, give them away to others who might find them meaningful—and bless them on their way out the door!
With the respect that you show each corner of each room comes the gut-level commitment to the well-being and purpose behind each. Long-lasting change won’t happen until you add your willingness to commit to permanent solutions.
If you don’t make a commitment to decluttering—and get support from other members of your family to keep up the momentum—you’ll be back where you started in no time. Allowing the clutter to pile up again and again will only create more frustration and a source of constant stress.
Since decluttering is a powerful process that can remove negative obstacles from your life, it’s no accident that it remains one of the most difficult chores in feng shui. Know that you are not alone in your struggle to gain control over it, and that there are many tools and resources that can help you stay on the path of good chi. One way to remind yourself of your commitment is to create sacred space zones in each of your rooms, with altars that allow you to give thanks to all who have helped you in your new endeavor.
When you can finally achieve the clearing of space both physically and mentally, you will have also removed barriers to your higher goals. Just remember that, as goals change, needs change, and many items that served you before will no longer serve you on the road ahead.
Or, you may want to use a checklist to help you stay focused on clearing your clutter “hotspots” (see Appendix C for a checklist you can copy). If you need additional support, enlist the help of friends or relatives to help you stay on the “clutter wagon” for good. In many cases, they will secretly be relieved that you asked!
You’ve finally removed all of the clutter from your home, and it is now the peaceful oasis of which you’ve always dreamed. Clothes are neatly put away—with breathing space to spare—in your “closet Nirvana.” The storage boxes are full of the things you have chosen to keep in your life, but out of the sight of others.
Then, almost without warning, it happens. Just when you’ve rid yourself of all of the excess knickknacks, old makeup, and furniture that no longer serves you—just when you’re on top of your own stress-free, clutter-free home—you begin to notice clutter piling up on the dining room table, or in the hall closet, or on your bedroom floor. “I’ll get to that next weekend,” you say to yourself—only next weekend becomes the next until several more months pass and suddenly you can’t walk through your hallway anymore without stumbling over something. What have you done? You’ve allowed yourself to relapse.
Even if a relapse drags you back to that horrible place you were in the beginning of this book, you shouldn’t feel defeated. Relapses happen—and, in fact, given your lifelong patterns of clutter-a-holism, they may well be expected along your path to more positive, lasting change.
Remind yourself of your commitment and purpose to clearing your surroundings of chi-inhibiting clutter. In the beginning, wasn’t it about ridding yourself of the stressful feeling of being overwhelmed by, even choked by, your possessions? Weren’t you spending a lot of time wondering whether you owned your possessions—or they owned you? Return to that place you were when you began the process of feng shui decluttering. Now think of how far you’ve come since that time. No doubt you’ve already made much of the positive progress that will help you stay on a clearer path to your future! A relapse here or there is not likely to keep you from this ultimate and worthy goal.
Stay mindful of what you want in your life and why you want it there. If and when relapses occur, always look within first for the answer as to why and how it happened. Forgive yourself. Then, get busy clearing the clutter—one more time! Allow yourself time to develop a pattern of clutter removal. Very few people are able to stay on top of things well the first time they try.
When you’ve finished removing clutter after a relapse, you should always do a fresh space-clearing ceremony to remove the negativity of the previous clutter in the room. This is the feng shui way of room refreshening!
Once you’ve developed a regular pattern of clutter clearing, you’ll feel like a 10,000-pound weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Not only will your physical load be lighter, but your emotional and spiritual load will seem much more bearable as well. You’ll be free, happy, and well adjusted—and secure in the knowledge that you can positively affect your own life. By clearing the things that no longer matter, you’ll open yourself up not only for new possibilities and opportunities, but also for your ultimate, greater good.
With no more clutter in your life, you can experience the healthy flow of positive chi—the energizing life force of the Universe—all around you. But you can also become the inspiration for others who are seeking the same peace of mind that you’ve achieved. With all that you’ve done to clear the paths in and around your home, you’ll have earned the title of “coach,” remembering all the while, as author Richard Bach once said, that we teach best what we most need to learn.
Congratulate yourself on all the fantastic work you’ve done—for both your inner and outer environments!