It's Heady Stuff

If you’ve been following my blog for the last two years, you may remember that over a year ago, I cleared out a lot of books from my library. I’ve talked about clutter-clearing in connection to our bodies as well. Well, I’m at it again! This time I’ve shared 38 linear feet of books! I gave them to friends and most of the books are going to Nigeria to help start a village library. 

A huge release, but I thought I would feel lighter than I do. I’ve spoken to a lot of Soul Coaches and clients about this and most people do feel lighter so I wonder, “Why not me?” Then I had a dream. It was one of those long and complex dreams that had me sharing it with many others in search of its meaning. The dream reflected elements of my week, and my life and direction, and I began to ponder the question of too much clutter in our minds. It was as if I had too much clutter in my dreams!

The issue isn’t really about complex dreams, because what it really boils down to is cluttered minds! Do you spend time cleaning out your head? You will usually find time to do your laundry, bathe, straighten your house out and occasionally even clear off your desk. But do you consciously work on your mind? If you’re like me, you probably don’t do this often enough, or at all, but I think we can try this out together.

Here are some tips for Mental Clutter-Clearing in Five Easy Steps! (A journal is helpful but not required.)

1. Attitudes: We don’t have to dig very deep into our past to uncover attitudes that no longer serve us. Just look at this past week. Ask yourself: “What attitudes have I carried that made me feel victimized, angry or stuck?” Then see if you can shift them. Notice how often you say, “I always.” Do you think of yourself as a victim? Change “I always____” to “Sometimes I feel___” . Or, “I need” to “want.” See which one feels clear and which feels manipulative. Pay attention to attitudes that surface time and time again. Then spend a few moments listing all the things you are grateful for this week. Gratitude can lighten any load.

2. Take FIVE: Take five minutes to breathe. Easy, right? If I asked you to meditate you might get anxious that you’re not doing it right or worried that you’ll have to start doing yoga too (a good suggestion anyway). But I’d like to make this easy for you. Pause at some point during your day, sit with a straight spine, legs uncrossed on a chair. You can do this lying down but you may fall asleep. Breathe in and breathe out. If your mind starts to wander, simply narrate your breathing. “I’m breathing in, I’m breathing out.” Whenever your mind wanders, come back to your narration. When thoughts or feelings arise, just notice them without engaging them and continue to breathe. (Oh, I’m feeling angry). Do this for just five minutes, but if you’re really motivated, then doing this for five minutes when you wake up in the morning and five minutes before bed will double the benefits.

3. Get rid of it: Before you go to sleep, write a few lines of anything that grabbed you emotionally from the day or anything that stands out for you. Write down anything that might be bothering you in general or causing you to toss and turn at night from anxiety or stress. This simple exercise will allow you to clear your mind and let it go, rather than go to sleep with it still inside your head and your body.

4. More Emptiness: Write down whatever you dream about, if only a small, vague snippet of a dream. This will not only strengthen your dream recall muscles, but it will enable you to start the day with a clear mind, and give you access to your own wisdom from your dreams.

5. Repeat! Doing these exercises once will give you immediate benefits but they will be confined to the moment. Repeating this daily, will allow you to feel mentally lighter and clearer with long-term benefits.

Now you might wonder how, after clearing out hundreds of books, paying attention to my dreams and knowing all this, can I not feel lighter? And my answer is two-fold. One, life is complex and not everything that goes on is under my control. I recognize that fact and don’t struggle with it, though I may not like it. But the real reason all this clearing hasn’t lightened my load is that I’ve gotten away from these practices. So I’m climbing back on the wagon with you! Clearing our heads is only one part of the body-mind-emotions and spirit cleaning needed, but it’s the place to start. Who’s with me?