Making Space (Part 1) - Clearing Out
There are two ways to make space: the first is to clear out whatever is taking up space, and the second is expand the container.
Let’s imagine your home as an example. If it feels cramped and too full of stuff, it’s a bit chaotic and uncomfortable. “I wish I had more space,” you think. You have one of two options. The first is to remove unnecessary clutter and clear out anything you don’t need or use. (Think Marie Kondo) Voila, more space. The second option is to buy a bigger home. Voila, more space.
There is a lot of attention these days on clearing out accumulated clutter. If you have a plan (and the ability to release your attachments to material items), then it’s an incredibly effective way of making more space without upgrading to a bigger space. It’s also lighter and more efficient: less stuff to tote around. Otherwise, you inevitably opt for bigger and bigger spaces, or eventually get swallowed by your stuff.
In the non-material (energetic) world, there is actually a lot to be said for expanding the container, too. Because you are not confined to any physical limitations (there is a finite amount of physical space in the world), energetically expanding your container also yields fabulous results. We’ll talk about that in “Making Space (Part 2) - Expanding the Container.”
For now, let’s focus on the merits of Marie Kondo-ing your physical, emotional, mental, and energetic bodies.
Getting Swallowed By Your Stuff
If you aren’t on board with some version of Marie Kondo’s life philosophy — less is more, so get rid of anything that doesn’t inherently bring you joy — then you are probably familiar with the feeling of drowning in things. Too much clutter, not enough zen.
If you didn’t grow up a minimalist and instead adopted the practice at some point in your life, then you likely remember the feeling of being swallowed and inundated by stuff.
If you’re a lifelong minimalist, then congratulations, you’ve got tons of practice and that’s going to make this whole thing a lot easier for you.
By releasing attachments to stuff, you can let go of what you no longer need and live in the moment with a lot of space and ease.
You discover that your cramped living quarters are actually way more spacious than you had ever imagined. It’s easier to stay organized. You feel like you can breathe again. You feel unimaginably light and free.
Marie Kondo-ing Your Stuff
To streamline your life, make space, and get free, just follow five simple steps:
Recognize that you’re holding onto stuff that you don’t need and that it’s weighing you down
Admitting you have a problem that you can do something about is the first step.
Take an honest inventory of all that stuff without judgments — in neutrality.
Don’t feel enraged or upset by all the “useless” stuff all around you. That will put you in an anxious mindset and set you up to get overwhelmed, shut down, and go back to ignoring the problem.
Don’t get sappy, sentimental, and attached to all of the things that you could just never bear to part with. That will have you feeling nostalgic and set you up for equating things with love and happiness. You’ll get stuck in memories, dig down really deep and stubborn roots, and you won’t be able to let go of a thing.
Instead, evaluate your things with an honest eye and a neutral mind. Marie Kondo insists that you put everything you own (one category at a time) into a single group so that you can see exactly what you have and what you don’t need anymore.
Recognize specifically what it is you don’t need anymore & let it go
Marie Kondo suggests that you pick each item up individually. If you feel joy when you hold it, then keep it. If it doesn’t spark joy, cut it loose. Physically put it in the donate or garbage pile and get it out of your home.
Lather, rinse, repeat
Keep going until you unload everything that’s been weighing you down. This will take time and patience. Don’t be in a rush.
Make it a lifelong habit.
Once you dump everything from the past, even if you don’t make it a habit to continually buy new things, it just seems to happen. Clear things out seasonally and as you go. Maintenance mode is a lot easier.
Marie Kondo-ing Your Life
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the above scenario and steps are actually an apt metaphor for the physical, energetic, emotional, and mental house cleaning that you can do to dramatically change your entire life.
In fact, I’d argue that if you start clearing out all of your baggage first, it makes it a whole lot easier to clean out your physical space afterwards. Your surrounding physical world is a material manifestation of your internal state and vice-versa.
The more you shift on the inside, the more changes will manifest in your surrounding world.
So how do you clear out all of those bodies we talked about?
Recognize that you’re holding onto stuff that you don’t need and that it’s weighing you down
Admitting you have a problem that you can do something about is the first step.
Take an honest inventory of all that stuff without judgments — in neutrality
Don’t feel angry or upset by all the stuff you are holding onto. Don’t fear the negative emotions or memories that you have been stuffing away. That puts you in an anxious mindset and set you up to get overwhelmed, shut down, and go back to ignoring the problem. Or worse, you might get overwhelmed and self-critical and just start taking a jackhammer to everything.
Don’t get sappy, sentimental, and attached to visions of a previous version of life that you somehow deem better than the current one you’re living. That will have you feeling nostalgic and set you up for equating the past with love and happiness. You’ll get stuck in memories, dig down really deep and stubborn roots, and you won’t be able to let go of a thing.
Instead, evaluate your thoughts and feelings with an honest eye and a neutral mind. You can achieve this through a steady meditation practice. Use your breath both as a focal point and as a tool to help you understand what’s going on inside of you. Cultivating a meditative mindset creates a deep, trusting, and neutral awareness of yourself.
Mind - When your mind gets caught up, your breath can help you separate yourself from your thoughts and observe them in neutrality.
Body - Your breath can show you where you store physical tension. Where is it easy to breath into? Where do you feel a form of resistance or tension? This physical tension is a buildup of unprocessed emotions that you have stored in your body.
Emotions - Your breath can show you where you need to breathe to experience and let go.
Energy - Your breath shows you where your energy flows and where it gets stuck. Again, this can have a lot to do with unprocessed emotions and other unconscious patterns in your life.
3. Recognize specifically what it is you don’t need anymore & let it go
Get in touch with thoughts, emotions, feelings, and sensations. Anything that feels heavy in your physical or emotional body, sticky in your mind, or like a blockage in your energy is something you’ll want to cut loose.
Mind - When your mind gets caught up, use your breath to soften and let go of thoughts.
Body - Use your breath to breathe deeply into spaces of physical tension, and release that tension out of your body with every breath out. Be patient and loving in this process.
Emotions - When you feel overwhelmed by strong emotions that you have been hoarding (stuffing away) because you are afraid to feel them, just let them fill you up. Stay connected to your breathing to help your process them a little bit at a time.
Energy - If you want to get your Chi/Prana flowing into certain places to release energy blocks, breathe into those places.
4. Lather, rinse, repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
Keep at your practice. This process takes time, patience, and a hell of a lot of compassion for yourself. Keep going until you eventually unload everything that’s been weighing you down. Don’t be in a rush.
5. Make it a lifelong habit.
Once you dump everything from the past, even if you don’t make it a habit to continually acquire new baggage, it just seems to happen. Clear things out as you go. Maintenance mode is a lot easier.
Clearing Meditation
Looking for a quick reset? Shed some energetic baggage with this guided meditation for clearing. This 25-minute guided visualization is most effective while lying down, so get comfortable and get ready to let it all go.