Suck it up!

Did you know that one of the fastest and most effective ways to shift the energy in your space is to vacuum?  It's true!  If you're feeling stuck or feel like the energy in your home or office is feeling a little stagnant, it's time to pull out that old Hoover.  Make sure to take a moment to centre yourself  with a few deep breaths before you begin.  While you vacuum, focus on clearing the energy in the space and making way for what you would like to come in to it's place. 

I recently attended a talk by Felix Conradi a vibrant and engaging Space Clearer and energetic healer who has trained with Karen Kingston and this was his advice.  So give it a try and as always, please let me know how it goes!

Feng Shui - It's Alive!!

Your stuff is talking to you.  Can you  hear it?

It may sound a little creepy, but everything that surrounds you is alive and is talking to you all the time.  That's right!  I'm talking about the clothes on your body, the pictures on your walls, the books on your book shelf, that pile of magazines in the corner.  Even your garbage can is talking to you.  This is one of the main principles in Feng Shui.

Can you hear what your stuff is trying to tell you?  Here's a hint...  Not only is everything around you alive, but everything that belongs to you is connected to your energy.  If you can imagine, there are little energetic threads connecting us to all of our stuff, and those threads are constantly sending little messages to us.  Some messages are louder than others.  What's so cool about Feng Shui is this idea that when you work with your stuff, you are actually working with yourself.

Take a wedding ring for example. Out of context a wedding ring is a small circular piece of metal.  To the person who is wearing it, however, this small circular piece of metal contains a thousand stories about the person who gave it to them.  Not just about the moment when the ring was placed on their finger but all of the moments leading up to that one and all the moments after. 

Now consider a wedding ring that no longer lives on your finger, but lives in a drawer in your dresser.  What is that little piece of metal telling you?  How many stories are attached to it?  How does it make you feel?

Not all of our stuff has a voice as loud as a wedding ring but you would be surprised.  Take a moment to think about your closet.  Imagine yourself standing in front of your open closet door and looking at what's there.  If you like, I invite you to get up and look at your physical closet.  What's living in there?  I imagine there are some clothes.  Take a moment to check in and see how the things in your closet make you feel.  How loud are the voices coming from the hangers?  What are they telling you about yourself? 

It's not so bad now, but I used to have a closet full of clothes that were yelling at me.  Telling me that I was fat, that I should lose weight, that it's no wonder nobody loves me, etc... etc...  I finally got tired of being yelled at and let go of all the clothes that didn't fit me any more.  I wanted to be able to look in my closet and only see clothes that I liked and that I could wear at that moment. 

What happened next was really miraculous.  After years of steadily gaining weight, I slowly but surely began to lose weight.  I didn't go on a diet, I wasn't consciously trying to lose weight, but slowly my body began to change.  I have no doubt that it was connected to me taking that long hard look at my closet and letting go.

Try it for yourself and see how it makes you feel.  If you're not ready to let go of the clothes, at least put them in the basement or in a separate container. 

I invite you to start a conversation with your stuff.  See what it's telling you about who you think you are and who you would like to be.  Here are a few questions you can ask your stuff

1. Do I love it?
2. Do I use it?
3. How does it make me feel?
4. Do I love it now, or did I used to love it?
5. Does it represent who I am now, or who I used to be?
6. Where did it come from and who gave it to me?
7. What does this remind me of?

Have fun talking to your stuff and let me know how it goes by commenting below or dropping me a line at spaceforlife@gmail.com.

Make a Date!

If you are having trouble getting stuff done, you might just need some support.  Read on..

For example.  I've been trying to deal with some filing I had hanging around for...  let's see now... ok, I'll be honest...

 *deep breath*

ONE YEAR!  

There, I said it!

 Anyhow, obviously I've been having some trouble getting to this pile of filing and what I really needed was a little support and motivation.  I had tried scheduling time to do it in my palm pilot, but the task remained unchecked.  I tried making a commitment to myself to deal with it, but obviously it didn't work.

So this is what I did instead.  I made a date! 

This is a fantastic tool that I learned from my friend and mentor Elizabeth Verwey, small office mentor and creator of The Mentor's Circle.

The Miraculous Motivational Date!

 Step 1 - Find a Buddy

Find a friend or colleague who could also use some support.  I like to do this with other folks who are self-employed, but I find that most everybody has some tasks that they've been putting off, whether it's doing their taxes, cleaning their bedroom or setting up a website.

Step 2 - Make a Date

Choose  a date and a time to work together.  Choose a time of day that is good for you energy wise and set aside 2-3 hours.  For example, this Wednesday I had a date from 10am to 12noon.

Step 3 - Choose your Task

This is a great opportunity to tackle what Elizabeth calls the "yucky jobs".  These are the jobs you've been putting off forever, like making that phone call, filing your taxes, getting started on your website, cleaning your office etc...

Step 4 - Make the call - Make it quick

At the beginning of the first hour, call your buddy  and check in for two minutes each.  During this check in you will tell your buddy what you're going to accomplish in the first hour and your buddy will do the same.  This is not the time for a chat, you're just calling to say "I'm going to clean the bathroom now!" or "I'm going to finish editing my essay!".

Step 5 - Call back

At the beginning of the next hour call your buddy back to check in.  Celebrate your accomplishments from the first hour and set your goals for the second hour.

Step 6 - Repeat as needed

Depending on how many hours you have set aside, repeat steps 3 - 5 as needed.  I encourage you to choose a different task or set of tasks for each hour.  If you are working on one larger project for the whole time, break it up into manageable and distinctive chunks.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can't tell you how much I love this tool!! 

I actually managed to get this blog up in only an hour using this tool.  If I hadn't had the clear time structure and support, I could have spent days trying to choose the "perfect" layout and the "perfect" colours.  Instead, I just stuck to the time I had and put what you see here up on the web.   

I also finally got that filing done, this morning in fact.  Phew, it feels good!

Try if for yourself and let me know how it goes in the comments below.

ox

Cecilia

p.s. If you're reading this and you're not on my list, you should really get yourself on it!  Just pop on over here to join!  All the cool kids are doing it!