Clear your space~ Clear your Life: New Year's
Space Clearing Tips By Christan Hummel
(excerpted from the
best-selling book, the "Do It Yourself Space Clearing Kit. Available now
through: www.earthtransitions.com/special/)
As we embark upon this new
year, while it is a time for that new diet as we recover from the binges of the
holidays to shed the unwanted pounds they have brought, a time to embrace our
new year's resolutions affirming our ideals and aspirations for a better future,
it is also a time to let go of the old energies which may be lingering in our
homes to make way for the new. The start of a new year presents an opportunity
to turn our attention to the energetic remanants lingering from the past, for a
fresh start of the new year.
While feng shui has become a multi-billion
dollar industry catering to the likes of corporate CEOs as well as Hollywood
celebs, the aspect of feng shui, called space clearing, is quite accessible to
most of us. As such there are techniques that any novice can do to clear the
energies of their home or office to let go of the past, and prepare out space
energetically for the new year ahead.
Listed here are some simple space
clearing tips that anyone can use to clear our spaces of the vibrational
imprints of the past. Although these tips are by no means comprehensive, they
will provide a quick and easy way to align the energies of your environment with
your intentions for the new year. These 6 C's of Space Clearing will empower you
to sweep out the old and make way for the new in your environment.
1.
Clutter: To our subconscious mind, clutter triggers images of stagnation, stuck
energy and places where Life doesn't move. It usually represents the things we
are resisting and where we don't want to put our attention. Simply put: clean
out the clutter. Piles of laundry, papers, boxes, mail...whatever it is, when we
see clutter, our mind equates it with chaos and dead energy. So make a point to
dive into your clutter like a heat seeking missile. Go straight for it, put it
away, find a home for it, make decisions about it, address it! Once you move
that dead energy in your home, you will be surprised at how it moves in your
life!
2. Corners: Keep them especially free of clutter as corners are the
places where the Life energy or Ch'i of our environment comes to a stop like
traffic at a four way stop sign. Put things in your corners which move energy: a
fountain, wind chimes, or even a plant will keep the energy moving and flowing
instead of stagnating. Use some common sense and your intuition. Trust how it
makes you feel. There are many rule books out there, but ultimately, if you feel
more harmony, peace and joy when you look at that space, you will usually be on
the right track. An altar is usually a nice way to redirect the dead energies of
a corner. Put things in the corners of your home or office with intention
because these are special energy spots in the house.
3. Closets: Clean
them out! They are the bowels of our homes and offices, the storage bins for
old, dead energy. If you don't use it, loose it! Keep your closets clean, neat,
and free of unwanted, old, unused items. Yes, you looked marvelous in that dress
you've been holding onto for the last five years, and one day you'll loose that
extra 10 pounds and will fit in it again, but for now, give it to a friend, or
family member who can use it. When you loose that weight, you'll owe it to
yourself to buy a new dress! Don't allow your closets to become black holes, or
they will reflect that energy.
4. Ceremony: This is sadly lacking in our
modern society. Where we do have any kind of ceremony it is usually around a
sporting event, food, or commerce. Ceremony is a time when we honor life, the
seasons, and those aspects of living beyond the physical. It brings us in touch
with the worlds beyond our everyday, and reminds us of a vastness of Life beyond
our immediate attention. Make time for ceremony in your life and your home and
you will open a doorway into another dimension beyond this one allowing fresh
new ideas, inspiration and energies to flow into your home.
It could be a
simple ceremony like a ribbon-cutting ceremony to initiate the new energies of
your place, or popping of the champagne cork to signify the bringing in of the
New Year. Whatever the ceremony, when you do it with intention and awareness
that ceremony heralds in the energies of your intention in a much more profound
manner than when we simply and perfunctorily go perform the same act. Even the
simple ceremony of smudging a new dwelling can be quite profound when done with
an awareness of the intention. Burning a candle each night and ceremonially
letting the problems and worries of the day burn in the fire, is a simple
ceremony and one which keeps the energies of your home clean and clear of the
burdens of the day. Ceremonies to acknowledge and honor the ancestors of the
past, through music, song or dance, is another way in which ceremony helps to
keep the energies of your space clear and clean. Keep ceremonies simple and
heartfelt and they will do wonders to keep the energies of your space aligned
with higher dimensions and energies.
5. Consciousness: The power of this
cannot be overstated in my experience. Where we put our consciousness, we put
our life energy. So find the aspects of your home or office where you have
vacated your consciousness, those closets, corners, and dead zones that you
pretend are not there, or wish weren't. For some people, it could be a room
where their dead parents used to live, or where the kids used to live before
they went off to school, or the pile of paper in the office that calls out for
help, but we pretend isn't there. Put your consciousness into that space, with
intention, and yes, even ceremony, and notice the MAGIC that happens when you
do! Energy flows where attention goes!
6. Cycles: There is a rhythm to
Life, a time for growth, and a time for death. Cycles are important to observe:
moon cycles are often used for planting, cutting hair, beginning new projects.
Similarly, observing the cycles of the sun of day and night, being more active
during the daylight hours, and winding down in the evening when there is less
energy available. As well there are the larger seasonal cycles, solstices,
equinoxes, and the times in between them (what the Celts called the cross
quarter days.) When we are in tune with and align consciously with these cycles
of nature, the rhythm of Life, we find more harmony and balance in our
lives.
The season of Winter is a natural time to go inside--hibernate in
the cave like the bear--reflect, pull our energies inwards, a kind of death to
the old, so that we can go forward in the Spring with new energy and enthusiasm
unencumbered by the past. Then, beginning on Feb. 1st (ground hog's day) we
enter the cycle between the Winter Equinox and the Spring Equinox, a time
traditionally honored by the Celts as the time to plant the seed of the new idea
so that it may sprout in the Spring. When we follow these cycles, we harness the
Life energy of the planet begin to dance to the same beat of Life. So by paying
attention to the cycles of Life, we begin to work with them to receive the gift
of their energy.
With some small investment on our part, we can
dramatically change the energies of our environment making our homes a sanctuary
to reflect our highest intentions and dreams.
Smudge Sticks: For Cleansing,
Clearing, and Ceremony
Many religious and spiritual traditions practice
the burning of herbs for emotional, psychic, and spiritual purification. Using a
smudge stick is part of many American Indian traditions. Smudging is a ritual
way to cleanse a person, place or an object of negative energies, spirits or
influences. You might want to smudge when:
* You've been feeling
depressed, angry, resentful. * You've had an argument with someone. *
You're going to have a special ritual or ceremony. * As part of a general
spiritual housecleaning. * To clear your crystals of any negative
energy.
In Native societies the herbs used for smudging are considered
sacred. Treat your smudge stick with respect, and be respectful about the act of
smudging. I find that it is particularly centering to have an intention in
mind.
For example, if you are feeling depressed visualize the smoke
carrying away all your feelings of depression. If there was an argument imagine
yourself and the person with whom you argued being at peace with each
other.
If you are clearing your crystals prior to programming them thank
both them and the smudge stick for helping you to realize your goals.
In
smudging your room/house you may want to affirm that your dwelling place is a
temple for body/spirit. Practical Notes
Smudge sticks are most easily
lit from a candle flame. (Matches generally go out before the stick is lit).
Once there's a flame blow it out so that the smudge stick is smoldering, not
burning. The idea is to get curls of smoke, not to set the smudge stick afire.
(Special note: Don't smudge while infants, pregnant women, or people with
respiratory diseases are in the room.)
If you're smudging objects,
such as crystals, you can hold them in the smoke. If you're smudging a group of
crystals you can fan the smoke over them.
In smudging a room walk about
the perimeter, giving special attention to the corners and the places behind
doors. I like to wave the smudge stick in a slow circle. You can also fan the
smoke throughout the room with a large feather.
If you're smudging
yourself fan the smoke so that it touches all parts of you. You may want to
especially focus on areas where you feel there are blockages or where there has
been or is physical, emotional, or psychic pain.
If you're smudging
someone else (a client for whom you're doing healing work, for example) do the
same.
Have a fireproof receptacle to put the smudge stick in when you've
finished, such as a shell or glass or ceramic dish. It's ideal to put the stick
out in sand, if available; otherwise, press it against the bottom of the
receptacle. You can also use a SMALL amount of water.
Always make sure
that a smudge stick is out before leaving the room where you keep
it.
Lets all make room for all the new blessings and beginnings 2008 has
to offer, clean house. Blessings Tara
