Can I Feng Shui My Brain?

                                                      

“Clutter is not just physical stuff; It's old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits.

Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.”  Eleanor Brownn

As I think about the quote, it reminds me of my summer seminar I did back in 2012. It brought back those ideas of how we let negative thoughts and memories sit around in our brain and mold and mildew, and stink up the place;  things like; guilt, unforgiveness, anger, fear, loneliness, sadness, hate and painful memories. Those past sad slices of our life certainly don’t inspire us, but we keep them around and cram them up on our shelf, like they were necessary editions, clogging up the space. These negative emotions do no one any good, yet we let them cling to us like leeches on our skin.  We play the victim, helplessly refusing to burn away these painful, blood sucking critters.  That negativity takes up space in our brain, and leaves less room for us to have healthy, positive, loving emotions like forgiveness, faith, joy, peace, hope and happiness..the things that inspire us. 

As I continue to work on cleaning up my physical environment, one can’t help but make a comparison with our mental environment (the brain).  As I grow older it feels like my brain space has down sized into more like condo capacity, and It’s getting harder to find room to store information.  So it appears I’m letting it go…forgetting it…But wait, don’t get rid of that...it could be important! I better find some more room up there!  If ever I saw a space that needs a little Feng Shui, it's my brain!

So…let me think about how I can de-clutter it: keep what I want, and what’s good for me, and get rid of the old overgrown, useless heavy weight stuff.  I have this visual picture of taking everything out of my brain and laying it on table, as if I was going to have a neighborhood garage sale.  Every thought and piece of information is an item to be reviewed.  That’s right…even my eight passwords!  There are memories; good and bad, thoughts of thankfulness, jealousy, love, hate, to do lists, promises made, last night's Fox news stories…as much as I can scrape out.  I’ll lay it all out. 

Now, it’s time to get rid of some of this useless crap! I need to get rid of anything that doesn’t serve me, doesn’t make me happy, isn’t useful.  I need to sweep out the old ideas, trash the toxic relationships and boot the bad habits; if it doesn't support my better self, it's toast! 

Maybe I should sort all this brain data into four piles:
Pile #1. Keep it ..it's a nurturing, positive, healthy thought. 
 
Pile #2. I no longer need or use it, and it does nothing but bring me down.

Pile #3. Act on it, then get rid of it. This is the 'need repairs' pile.  Make the call, write the email, say you're sorry, go to the Dr. and get it checked out...any guilt that I can manage to let go, old 'to-do' list items that keep nagging you, worry that continues to clutter the space...

And of course the old nemesis Pile #4 …. 'Don’t want it, but can’t get rid of it' pile.  These are the thoughts that make us feel bad about ourselves, feel guilt, pain, sorrow, anxiety...but we cling to it them as if they were overweight, unsightly pieces of great grandma's old bedroom set. 

Can you think of anything in your brain that reminds you of #4?

As always, the first step in change is awareness. Let's hear what Dr. Friedmann Schaub can tell us about decluttering our minds.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT5F99Esic4

 

Have a thought?  Email me: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com