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| Sunrise in Sausalito Catherine Al-Meten Meyers |
We are right in the middle of the Christian holy days of All Souls Day, All Hallows Eve (Halloween), and All Saints Day. Today is Samhaim, the Celtic New Year in the North; Beltane in the South. Between now and January there are at least 19 different holy days celebrated throughout the world. Diwali, the festival of light also comes at this time of the year. While we're probably not going to celebrate all the sacred days, we might want to take some time to spruce our homes up just a bit.
New Moon energy is an infusion of Chi that is coming to you. New moons wax and grow in intensity. What is coming towards you at this time? Prepare to receive a renewed flow of energy.
Entryway: When we cross a threshold or turn a corner in our lives, we move from one frame of mind to another. As the New Moon marks the beginning of a new month and year, we want to look at the entryway of our own homes. One simple little thing you can do is to sweep off and clean up the area around your entryway, inside and out. Sweeping, a practice Feng Shui experts say we ought to do daily, is one very simple yet dramatic way we can clear energy in our homes. Clean up the entrance, remove any unnecessary items (get rid of dead or dying plants), rearrange the mud porch to fit the seasonal changes, and freshen up the look of this whole area. What we see going in and out of our homes is crucial to our frame of mind. The entryway also reflects our personal health and well being. For greater abundance, improved health and well being, and for a greater flow of energy, clean the entryway and keep it clear, well organized, and inviting. This also extends to the gate to your yard or the stairway or hallway leading into your home. Clear the energy flow for what comes your way right now. Avoid lining shoes up right by the front door. This tends to indicate your abundance is walking out. Find a place away from the door if possible, or put the shoes in a cupboard or on a shelf instead.
Kitchen: Time to clean out the fridge. Get rid of all food, beverages, and condiments that are past their expiration date. You'll recognize them because many of them have already changed form or emit a disgusting odor. Toss and clean out the fridge, inside and out. Sweep the floor, clean the drains, counter tops, and stove top. In Feng Shui the kitchen represents the family's abundance. That being the case, we want to take care of the room we prepare and store our food. Go through the pantry and toss old, past their prime packages and cans of food. It's also a good time to sort through kitchen drawers and cupboards to get rid of items you do not use or need. Old dishes, cups, glasses, silverware, cookware, and the like. Make certain the cookware and other utensils you use are made of non-toxic materials. If they're not, toss them. What goes into your mouth or is used to prepare your food, makes its way into your system. Honor that by using good equipment. If you're on a budget, and who isn't, head to Goodwill or a local thrift shop. I've gotten some really good cookware this way. Also discount stores like Marshalls often have reasonably priced, high quality cookware. Avoid hanging onto old skillets that have wonky handles or scratched up surfaces, just because it hasn't completely fallen apart yet. Recycle and get decent cookware.
Light: The time changes just took place, and we are moving into the time of the year when days grow shorter and shorter and darkness prevails. "Put some light on the subject" is what my Mother would say as she went around the house switching lights on. At the time I didn't understand, but here in the North and with my vision not as great as it once was, light becomes a crucial part of living in balance. It's time to do what you can to add more light to your environment. If you can use full spectrum lighting, that's great as it is much better for you. In any event, add more lighting to each room. Along with lighting comes removing obstacles from your path. Good Feng Shui includes clear and open channels of energy in all the pathways in the house. If you use candles, use them carefully. An alternative to real candles are the battery-operated candles. They give off a warm glow and provide some extra light. Use dimmer switches to adjust the levels of light for different times of the day.
Overall Clearing: Feng Shui is about aligning all aspects of ourselves, the physical and the spiritual, our behavior with our beliefs, our thoughts and words with our actions. The New Moon in Scorpio focuses our attention on that which is motivating us on deep subconscious and unconscious levels. Look at your home, your work space, and other important areas of your life, and determine what their condition reflects of your own inner health and well being. How does the junk piled up in the corner, or on your desk say about your overall health? What does the sink full of dishes or the unreturned library books say about balance and harmony in your life? How do the unreturned phone calls or letters or the stack of unpaid bills say about flow and abundance in your life? How are your feelings and emotion affected by outside influences? And how is your inner well being stuck or depressed? Look at things honestly, not as a form of self punishment but to see more clearly what is working and what is not.
Getting Unstuck:We all have times when life is more difficult than it is at other times. Energy or Chi, gets drained or trapped or stuck. And we do too. And sometimes we can't see a way out of a difficult or unsatisfying situation. We meet challenges and obstacles that simply confound us, and drain us of energy. One thing we can do during those times though is to take small steps in those areas where we can make change. Right now think of a place in the house that needs tending to. For example, it might be the stove top. Or it might be the top of your desk, or the counter in the kitchen. Or the table or landing area by the door. Right now, go take 5 minutes to do something about one of the areas that is bugging you. Just 5 minutes. Set a timer if you must. Or if you honestly feel you don't have 5 minutes, take 2, or even 1. But do something. I'll be here when you get back.
Okay, I think that was about 5 minutes, and I managed to get several things done. The top of my stove is clean, the pot of leftovers from the chicken broth I made is strained, and now either down the drain or in the garbage. The silver candle holder has been polished (with toothpaste; it actually works well), and the filtered water is refilled. One thing I have learned about energy is that way too much of ours gets used unnecessarily in worrying about something or of making mental excuses for not doing something. Granted we get involved in other things and don't take the little bit of time out to do some simple things. We all do that as well. A couple of weeks ago, I was struggling with some editing I'm doing on a book I'm in the end stages with. I knew I needed to take a break, but I wasn't doing it. All of a sudden I became obsessed with thoughts about 'what's under the sink?" In the years I've lived here, I don't recall every doing a thorough clearing out. I just keep stuffing things in the cupboard. After a couple of days of having that on my mind, I knew it was time to take a look. Past time really. So I did. It took me no more than 5-10 minutes to clear out from under the kitchen sink and to rearrange things. I took the empty plastic tubs that I'd been storing and not using for three years, out to recycling. I did it right away because otherwise I knew I'd store them somewhere else.
The key with moving energy, is to eliminate stuff as much as possible. Get it out of the house, and then get it to an end destination. One of the problems we have in our physical life as well as our nonphysical life is we move energy around, but do not eliminate the source of the blocks. So by getting rid of 'stuff' that has no purpose in our physical world, we somehow unleash the energy that it takes up. The same thing goes with our patterns of behavior and thoughts, but today I'm encouraging you to tackle the physical realm. Honestly, it does unleash energy in those other areas as well. Read my meditation blog if you're interested in finding out about behavioral and psychological traps and blocks. Right now, let's remove some of the traps that are eating up energy in our homes.
Another thing I want to add, is I've found some easy, non-toxic ways to clean and clear. Toothpaste to clean silver. Baking soda and vinegar to clean and clear drains. Mrs. Meyers (no relation) cleaning products which are now available in my market, not only smell good but they also work well. Alcohol and newspaper to clean glass without leaving streaks. Baking soda, Dawn, and vinegar mixture to clean the oven (so happy to find this works). Do yourself a favor and find non-toxic ways to do your cleaning when you can.
The New Moon in Scorpio may bring some of the trash to the surface right now, because it has to be cleared out so we are open and ready to accept our good, the abundance, and flow of energy coming our way. Clean up (yourself included, take a shower or bath), clean out, and organize your home, office, and life so that energy flows more freely. Clean the sheets, you'll rest better. Drink enough water, and eat healthy food. Slow down, and focus on the little things that you can do. The other big stuff will sort itself out as you become more energized, productive, and clear about what really matters. Have a beautiful week. Love to hear ways you find to help clear out the cobwebs for a clearer view of your life. Happy Halloween. Boo!
