Congratulations on making it through to this page! Clutter Clearing is one of
those subjects that many of us seem to have heard about, but often find difficult,
unpleasant or too boring to do anything about. As my friends will tell you, I too
find clutter a challenge, so I am not without sympathy here. In fact, when I sat
down to write this page, I realised that I had to pause until I had tidied up a
little or otherwise the ideas and words would not flow easily and clearly. So, I
would invite you to read on, as it is just possible that this time, something will
finally click to help you through the quagmire.
Why is clutter important anyway?
Although we do not normally think in these terms, everything in our world,
everything in the Universe, is composed of energy. Some of the energies vibrate
at a very high rate so seem invisible to the naked eye; others vibrate at a much
lower rate and are thus denser, allowing us to physically see them. However, even
amongst the types of energy that vibrate slowly, there is a huge difference. Human
beings and other creatures vibrate quite slowly, but nonetheless we are able to move
around and be active in our own way. Stone vibrates very slowly and is one of the
densest energies that we commonly encounter. Although we do not tend to think in
terms of stone as a living entity, the molecules in stone do vibrate too.
Now, think of a mountain stream. When the riverbanks and riverbed are smooth and
clear, the water flows easily and powerfully, even though it may not look as though
it is moving at all. On the other hand, when the stream passes through a landscape
that is rough and dotted with boulders, the stream is forced to divert its path
around the rocks, often forming pools or eddies where the water seems to keep
swirling around but not going anywhere. The main body of the water, forced into
a narrower channel, seems to surge past, often gushing erratically, following its
new route.
Just as the stream has to divert around the dense boulders, so too do the higher
vibrational energies that surround us divert around dense or stagnant energy,
forming eddies of energy constantly looping around on itself, and are blocked from
their true course. For our purposes at the moment, the energy that we are interested
is chi or life-force. ***" All living things need chi to thrive;
blocked chi leads to stagnation and ultimately decay. You might like to think
of chi as "a breath of fresh spring or summer air" suddenly flowing into a
stuffy room; the occupants immediately perk up, breath it in, and seem to expand
and relax.
In your imagination, look at the stuffy room again (perhaps you can remember a
room in a house, or an office that you have been in that felt like this); you
may notice that the room seems small and confined (the ceiling may even look
low), and it may well have lots of furniture and "stuff" crammed into it. Even
if the walls are painted a light colour, the room is likely to look dark with
dark furniture and dark floor covering. Having the lights on probably won't help
it seem much better. It may even be difficult to make a path through to the window
to open in and let the air in. If the unlikely event that there are any plants or
flowers here, they are almost certainly going to be either dried or artificial;
real plants would be unlikely to survive in this atmosphere. Can you imagine
this room as being welcoming and relaxing? What would have to change for this
to happen, if you can manage to see it differently?
Now, just take another moment to imagine, or remember, a beautiful room that you
have been in or seen, and where you felt relaxed, at ease, inspired and uplifted.
I suspect that the second space feels much bigger, more open, and spacious,
probably with lighter coloured décor and fewer but more elegant and streamlined
furnishings. You may well see some lovely vibrant flowers or plants there. If you
try to imagine this room as being stuffy, you will probably find it difficult to
do so. (Please make sure to return to imagining the room as being a wonderful,
uplifting space before you finish this exercise - you may notice that you feel
better already just doing this.)
In terms of how we live and work, the stuffy room is like the rough riverbed,
where all the furniture, boxes, piles of paper, laundry and stacks of "Things To
Do" block the life-enhancing, replenishing and supporting chi. Instead,
the chi is forced into narrow channels through, or past, the space and
ultimately probably starts to stagnate, barely moving at all. If flowers or plants
cannot thrive in this atmosphere, what are our chances? On the other hand, the
beautiful, open room is largely clear of impediments to slow the chi down
or to block its flow; it is able to swirl around the space, accessing all parts
of the room, filling the occupants with a sense of well-being. Where would you
rather spend your time?
*** Probably the best available term for chi, qi or prana in English is
"life-force energy" though we usually simply use the Chinese name chi,
variously pronounced like "chee" in "cheese" or like "key" for a lock. I
have always found it interesting that we do not have our own word for it;
perhaps it is that English is a language of reason; what we cannot see does
not exist, and therefore does not need a label. Of course, science and
scientific instrumentation is finally beginning to develop to a point
where we realise that there is much that cannot be seen with the naked eye,
but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist; we just haven't had the means of
tracking it until now.
