Living the Feng Shui Way

Purposeful Living or...Spontaneous Combustion!
By: Life Design Strategies Newsletter

Last week in Chicago.....Spontaneous combustion! On Thursday afternoon, amid boxes stacked to the ceiling in rooms and hallways throughout the house, a fire "just happened," said Fire Department spokesman Lt. Dan Young.

Spontaneous combustion can occur, Young said, when oily rags or certain household chemicals undergo chemical reactions that produce heat. Conditions in the house were right for such a reaction since it was packed so tightly with boxes and other objects that firefighters had only 18-inch aisles to walk through, he said.

And in Finland… Recently an art student decided to inventory every object in her 2500 square foot home and present it as her final thesis. She used traditional archeological methods and discovered she owned a total of 6,126 objects. Here's her analysis of how often she used each object:

Objects never used - 1457 Objects used less frequently than once a year - 2209 Objects used once or twice a year - 1411 Objects used every month - 587 Objects used every week - 401 Objects used every day - 61

That’s only 17% of items used every month or more, and 1% used every day. That’s a lot of clutter!

There is no end to clutter. This week, I found my attention being drawn to a pile of spiral bound notebooks - my journals. I have written a journal ever since I can remember.

About 10 years ago I borrowed a friend's incinerator and had a ritual burning of my journals in her back yard. In those days my journals were full of angst and I became depressed whenever I read them. It was ever so freeing to rip the pages out and see them burn!

Now I write journals more to declutter my mind. They are full of ramblings, insights, resolutions, to-do lists and anything else that happens to be floating around in my head, usually in the mornings or when I can't sleep. My journals have provided a valuable container for the clutter of my mind. I’ve carried them with me to many countries. They cover 3 distinct phases of my life, 2 of which I've moved on from.

Because they've been a valuable tool, it’s been easy to assume the information held in them to be valuable also. However, I never go back to read them. Yesterday as I sat with the pile of journals of course I heard that voice on my shoulder saying, “what if you regret it” so I took a peek, just in case. Within a very short time I felt my energy being pulled downwards.

What use is decluttering my mind if I keep the clutter in a closet in the Health & Family area of my home? What does that do for my health and my family relationships? And there is no area of my home I want to have anchored in the past - not my Wealth & Prosperity, not my Relationships, not my Career. I know I've integrated the important things and moved on.

Your things hold emotions. By letting go of that which no longer serves you, you also let go of the emotion that is connected with the item. Often it's fear and sadness. Fear and lack are embodied in the question, “What if I need it after its gone?” While you embody this vibration, it prevents you embodying the vibration of abundance.

As long as you're holding onto things through fear or sadness, you keep the energy of those emotions locked in your body and they determine what you attract into your life - like attracts like.

Of course, your journals may serve a different purpose. The important question is how they affect your energy and are they holding you in the past.

This week a client cleared out 2/3 of her closet and soon after, found herself beginning to write an autobiography she's been attempting to write for 4 years. Clearing the secrets out of her closet freed her to write about her family secrets.

Clearing clutter does bring up emotions. It takes courage to want to live in the present and be all of who we can be. And it's also a matter of timing.

When I am ready to move to the next level I become aware of a new area of clutter either it's been there all along, or it has recently become clutter because I've moved on. Either way, I celebrate these pulls towards decluttering - they pull me towards who I truly am. They enable me to create purposeful living rather than 'spontaneous combustion'.

For information on where different aspects of your life are represented in your home see: http://www.LifeDesignStrategies.com/BaguaMap.html

Look at your belongings and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do I love this?

2. Does it make my heart sing?

3. Does it speak to my soul?

4. Do I use this?

5. Does it fit into my lifestyle as I am currently living it?

6. Does it bring me joy and ease?

If you get a 'no' to these questions, ask yourself where these items fit into your life. Send them off to another home with your blessing and move them out of your past and into the present of someone who will find joy and purpose in them.

Be aware of the emotions attached to items you no longer need, take some deep breaths and let them go. Feel what you need to feel. Know you are releasing emotions that have been stopping you being fully in the present. Take good care of yourself and feel the shifts you are making.

Vicky White is a Certified Feng Shui Consultant and Life Coach who works with clients both locally and internationally. Get your FREE 7-part e-course “Your Secret Weapon: Powerful Feng Shui Tips To Give Your Business The Competitive Edge” at http://www.LifeDesignStrategies.com/0

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