Decluttering the Mind Palace
Fall will be upon us soon and I feel the urge once again to declutter and organize my life. Fall is one of two seasons in which we can feel supported to cleanse not only our bodies, but also our minds and homes. In the fall, the body wants to release excess heat accumulated over the summer and the associated emotions like anger, frustration, irritability and sharpness so that the body-mind is ready to receive and assimilate the grounding and healing nourishment of winter. In spring, the body-mind is naturally and literally melting away the excess stored energy and fat that bolstered our immunity and helped us survive winter. In both seasons, the body’s channels, called srotas in Ayurveda, naturally open to allow the body to clear and prepare for the next season.
So, if you feel the urge to declutter the basement or that closet, September and October is a good time.
You have heard me say it before, but I will say it again,
“Everything is connected, including the state of your living and work space.”
When it comes to our living and work spaces, they are a direct reflection of what is going on in the minds of everyone living under the same roof.
In mnemonics, or memory-enhancing techniques, the mind is like a palace that can store, encode, and recall anything, sort of like that basement or closet with past memories. If our living and work spaces reflect our minds, our minds are equally influenced by the state of these spaces.
Marie Kondo, the professional organizing consultant, has so carefully explained this spiritual phenomenon:
Cluttered home ⥂ cluttered mind
Holding On To “Stuff”
In the satsang that I lead, we once closed with a beautiful and honest share by one of the participants. The person shared about how she was holding onto furniture that she no longer needed or wanted. But there was something about the memories that resided in these pieces of furniture that seemed to beg her to keep them. Maybe she could find a use for them at some future point to justify them continuing to take up space in her home. The shadow side of that thought was this one: as soon as she gets rid of the furniture, she will need it and regret that she let it go.
The shadow side is the reason why I have held onto stuff in my basement longer than I needed to before finally doing a big purge a few years ago. If I’m honest, I held on to stuff so long from a fear of lack and loss. In the case of the satsang participant, this beautifully self-aware woman understood that she was holding onto furnishings that no longer served her because they represented a past version of herself. She was ready to move forward.
What “Stuff” Teaches Us About Attachment
You are familiar with the concept that we have to let go of something in order to receive our next gift/role/etc., right? Then why do we get stuck holding onto things in our lives that feel like an accumulating burden?
Furnishings and physical "stuff" are powerful metaphors for deeper layers of our being (emotions, thought patterns, opinions, limiting beliefs, and so on). Releasing and moving on from these thought patterns is akin to stepping out of a prison of our own making.
The Prison With An Open Door
Paramahansa Yogananda described our lives as a cage of our own making with an open door. This metaphor includes all levels of our life and the habits, ego, attachment, and meanings we apply to our bodies and to the circumstances, people, and/or “stuff” we collect, ingest, and experience.
Rumi also asked, “Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?”
I cannot answer that question for you. But in my own experience, I don’t want to move because I am comfortable with what is familiar, even if it is causing me pain, physically or emotionally. It is the unknown that feels more scary.
The Sometimes Not-So-Gentle Nudge
In my observation of my life and others, when we stay stubbornly rooted, knowing it's time to move on, we may get an unwelcome, but necessary, assist in getting out of that prison. I think of one of my cats being unceremoniously dumped, cajoled, or dragged out of their pet carrier at the vet’s office so that the vet can examine them. Leaving the safety of the carrier is for their highest good, even if it leaves Patrick or Bohdi feeling exceedingly open (and ruffled) to their new experience.
In life, when the Universe is ready for us to move on from our stuckness or complacency, it can send something or someone we perceive as "negative" to pry us out of our stagnation so that we move on. This symptom, illness, loss, or circumstance where we must take action can feel quite painful at first, because our resistance to change is often what creates this perception of pain or inconvenience.
Transformation has happened. But in which direction?
Well, if we are open enough, we can own a painful circumstance that has nudged us out of a comfort zone by acknowledging the progress made in our personal evolution. If we’re feeling really spicy, we can even feel gratitude for the experience and the growth and resilience we would not have gained without it.
Or we can contract and cling to the past. We can hold tightly to memories, that past version of ourselves, and put ourselves back in our prison with the open door.
There is no “right” or “wrong” direction. But, we need to be honest with ourselves that the choice is ours and own that choice and the inevitable consequences, come what may.
How do you view the “stuff" - physical, emotional, thoughts - in your life? In what ways are you attached to it? And are you willing to let go of what no longer serves you, especially if you sense in your body, mind, and/or soul that it is time to let go and move on?
