An Uncluttered Mind

It is somewhat easy for me to help my clients with organizing their homes or work spaces. Often it does not last and they build up their chaos very quickly because their mind is not uncluttered. In my experience it is the old habits, that return without mercy and of course without clear intentions and a calm mind, there is little chance to conquer them. I am not suggesting that people with a chaotic lifestyle have cluttered minds, as a matter of fact I have seen the opposite. Many of us are very happy and successful with a crowded desk, a messy home and the habit of being late.

I, for example had to learn how to let some things sit and am very proud of myself, because I used to be a control freak that needed it spotless in order to feel right. Others collect and can’t let go in order to feel safe. Some of us have completely lost their senses and are unaware of their surroundings. We tend to hoover in the past, going over the same thoughts again and again; or we are pondering the future, planning, imagining, hoping… We should be here, taking the moment as it is, at least equally. What else can you do to give your brain a rest?

There are many different categories of cluttered minds and really, everybody benefits from the practice of awareness. Some are overwhelmed by their chaos and many are longing for less. Most of my clients need to realize that while reorganizing their homes, in order to find lasting peace and simplicity they need to work especially on decluttering their minds..

It is often easier said than done, or lets put it this way, we want fast results with minimal effort, but this is not possible. What we can do, is take it step by step, room by room, day by day. By the way, clearing a space does give you immediate results and you will encounter great satisfaction- it will just fade without the right mindset! So dwell on the satisfaction and progress that is made everyday, instead of the negative, and use that momentum to take the next step. Out of my own experience, practicing awareness and decluttering has quite the positive snowball effect and once you get going it gets bigger and better!

The thing is, that nobody can do it for you and you can’t do it for anybody. Which means I can help my clients with guidance, ideas and a hand, but they are responsible for the changes. Luckily, since everybody has to create their own lives, that means that there are many different ways of doing so! I believe that everybody has their own story and it is alright to find your own way. Therefor everybody needs to experiment and search out what is good for them and the only way you can truly do this is by practicing awareness.

I use different approaches in my everyday practice of awareness and I give my clients the following three pillars as a foundation: Enough sleep, healthy food and daily exercise. You can practice awareness throughout the day, sitting still in meditation may be one way to start the day but it is not the only. A good friend of mine laughs at me when I talk about yoga and Headspace, a meditation app that I am using, and he would refuse to try. He does not realize that when he makes music, sings and writes songs that he is fully in the present, performing awareness! Try to find your way of exercising being in the moment. On my website I offer workshops and one is precisely on “Meeting the Present”. Maybe you want to read up on it, because for some of us it helps to feel the “present” in order to recall it again.

Enjoy your practice!

From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow– Aeschylus