Feng Shui: clearing clutter from the home, the heart and the mind.

I am squealing with excitement for fall. It's always been my favorite season, but this year I feel that I will be the most productive and creatively inspired than ever before. Why? It may have something to do with all of the preparatory work I've done over the summer on many levels. I believe that you can approach self-improvement from different angles--either work from the inside out, or the outside in. Changes you make in your internal world will be reflected in the external and vice versa. The Chinese system of Feng Shui works with this principle, applying physical change to your surroundings in order to create energy flow in more subtle areas of your life. While I typically don't have a ton of resonance with Chinese culture, the elemental aspects of Feng Shui have always appealed to me and I have used it with great success.

One of the principles of Feng Shui is the movement of formerly stagnant energy. It applies to your living or working space in the same manner that acupuncture moves energy along meridians in the body. Clutter is a particularly important theme in my life that requires constant attention. My moon sign is Cancer and it has a lot to do with attachments to sentimental things, memories of loved ones, clinging to the past or staying in relationships that aren't healthy just because it's too hard to let go into the unknown. I have been a terrible hoarder and kept boxes and crates of stuff. Trinkets, old artwork, letters, photos, clothing that I never wore but still liked for some reason, fifty million pens and bottles of nail polish, shells and rocks and pine cones...a lot of this is stuff that I never look at or interact with at all. I also tend to keep more than I need for myself of things like towels, blankets, dishes, etc., just in case we have someone staying with us or coming over for dinner. This rarely happens so it's hard to justify keeping enough stuff to furnish a bed & breakfast in my small apartment. What many people don't realize is that personal and household objects hold energy in the emotions we have around them. A blanket that belonged to an old lover has memories soaked into it. Missing that person or still being in love with them might cause us to keep that blanket close to us. Unresolved emotions about a person might cause us to stash the blanket away, keeping it around but not wanting to use it. The act of ceremoniously releasing an object such as this effectively cuts the emotional cords that keep us living in the past, and we are then free to form healthy new relationships. It also clears the object and restores it to its original usefulness with a new owner, so giving things away is often a very good thing to do with items we no longer wish to keep in our lives.

So this is what I have been intently working on this summer--going through every closet and every single tub and box of stuff, all my art materials, clothing, housewares, every department of my life is getting an overhaul. It's amazing to experience the emotional recall that occurs when I uncover a forgotten object. I get to ask myself, how is this object serving my life in this moment? Is it functional? Is it useful? Do I have something that works better? Can I sell it and use the money for something more useful to me? Or can I give it to someone else who will make better use of it? And these questions parallel a deep process of self-inquiry that help me to sort out and release a lot of thoughts and memories from the past that only clutter my mind today. I am purging on so many levels and it's a beautiful, though arduous, process. The process itself requires a lot of tolerance because it often makes a huge mess as I explode each box of stuff all over the living room or kitchen floor, and it makes it so that I really can't have anyone over until it's all cleaned up. So I have been toiling away in isolation sorting through my entire life and I just know this will ultimately lead me to much more clarity and effectiveness in everything I do.


Most people I know who get rid of stuff either have a garage sale or donate the items to a thrift store or church. I thought of a great way to pass my things along while inspiring others to engage in a gift economy. I am hosting a barter fair at my home in a couple of weeks. Like the barter fair held in Tonasket, WA, this is a get-together for the purpose of trading goods which also serves as a fun social gathering. I have invited several dozen people to bring over their unwanted items as well as anything they have harvested from their garden, fruit trees or anywhere else they have encountered abundance, and share it with everyone. My intention is to pass all or most of my things along to good homes, and in exchange I would like to receive a much smaller amount of things that are truly useful to me (hopefully it's mostly food and drink!). Some of what I'm passing on could be sold at a yard sale, but I am guessing that anything I receive from the barter fair will be far more valuable to me than the little bit of money I would make sitting in my driveway all day to nickel-and-dime people.

Anyway, this is what's on my mind right now as I'm up in the middle of the night going through boxes and re-organizing my entire house. The night air is cold and I feel the darkness approaching, Halloween/Samhain is just around the corner and that is a magickal time for me. I am truly in my element in the fall--it's like I wake up from a year-long slumber. Look for lots more activity on this blog in the coming months. I have set an intention to update all my blogs at least weekly.

Here are some simple Feng Shui Tips for enhancing your home or office. I unknowingly have followed most of these, but just noticed a few that I am going to incorporate into my revamping process. Best of luck and health to you!