For
those of us who missed the chance to make changes in the New Year, all’s
not lost. The Chinese New Year (Year of
the Wood Horse) begins 31 January. This
presents the perfect opportunity to start clearing our space – both internally
and externally.
Clearing
out outer and inner space is vital for the promotion of balance and well being. Cluttered
rooms full of unused and unwanted things only cause energy to stagnate. If rooms are too full they impede the free
flow of energy in and around the room. Over time that blocked energy can affect
the people using that room. Feng Shui (the
art of understanding the flow of Chi’ or energy) considers the rise and fall,
and stagnation or flowing energy in one’s environment. Blocked energy creates disharmony and
imbalance. A healthy energy flow creates
harmony in our environment and also within us.
A
cluttered mind and body, stagnant with unhelpful attitudes and beliefs is also
unhealthy. When body energies are blocked
or congested, then physical, mental and emotional issues arise. Feelings of sluggishness, depression,
anxiety, and problems with weight, body aches, digestion begin to manifest as
the result of impeded energy flow in the mind and body.
To
usher in the New Year (both Western and Chinese) with a clean living
environment and with a lighter healthier body and mind, here’s how to begin:
Heads Up
Decluttering
your living quarters can be challenging as can changing one’s eating and
sedentary habits, and one’s beliefs and attitude. The process of creating space, free flowing
movement in our homes and office and in our minds and bodies, require some
checking in with ourselves, and also a touch of non sentimentality.
Tackling Your Living Environment
Which
one amongst us hasn’t threatened to clean out the garage or closet and years
later the job still needs doing? So if
you’ve been meaning to clean out your cupboards and office space, now
is the time to do it. Begin in one
room.
Throw
out those items that you’ve yet to find a use for or grow into again. Chances are if you haven’t sold, reused or
reinvented that ‘handy’ item by now, then you aren’t likely to do so in the
future. So get rid of it. Pay attention to your feelings, thoughts and
reactions as you come across items whose existence you’d forgotten. If you find
it wrenching to part with, then remind yourself that someone else could use
it. The other upside is you could get a
tax deduction for donating your unused things.
Taking on Mind and Body
Cleaning
out our mind and body can be equally, if not more challenging. Sitting still long enough to discover how and
when our ‘problematic’ beliefs and attitudes contribute to our difficulties, is
admittedly not easy. We all know that running
from our problems don't solve them. For this reason, amongst others, we need
to develop some courage to honestly and compassionately face what we don’t like
in ourselves. Awareness is the first step.
Having
a bad temper has long been my biggest growth area. After years of hard lessons, I’ve learnt to create some space around my
tendency to flare up -- by acknowledging my habit, breathing
deeply, and checking in with my body, I then decide how to act or not. Allowing these feelings space to manifest
(sitting with them), I am able to notice the tell tale signs of growing anger in my body. By recognizing
what is happening in my body, I am better able to pause my reactive spouting. This has spared me and and other people from
unnecessary pain. A space, brief as a
breath, is enough to make room in your thoughts, and feelings.
Meditation
is a great way of creating space in mind and emotions. Mindfulness is especially effective because
it trains us in arresting our reactivity, thereby creating a pause between the
trigger incident and our response. After
clearly seeing what’s happening, you can then choose to act or not. Mindfulness practise can also be extended into daily
activities like walking, driving, working, and while relating to loved ones, co workers and friends.
Other effective healing modalities in releasing blocked energy and
creating space is Pranic healing, Reiki and acupuncture. These practises harmonize body, mind and
spirit by decongesting blocked energies and revitalizing deficient energy spots
in the body, mind and environment.
May
you be in harmony.
