Space Clearing; Making Your Space Sacred
by Tamara Aires
When it comes to making your home your own sanctuary of sacred space, there are three specific areas to address: physical grime, predecessor chi, and clutter. Low-level energy always accumulates around grime, dirt, grease and crud, and it inhibits forward movement in life. Unclear thinking and confusion becomes normal and a person may feel literally ‘stuck’. Remember the phrase “cleanliness is next to Godliness?” This is the exact reason many beliefs dictate that ones shoes be removed before entering a sacred place. This is always true with religious buildings, but many people keep this same practice in their homes for the exact same reason. You should consider your home a sacred space… and taking your shoes off reduces (by at least half) the amount of dirt tracked into your home, and reduces low-level energy being carried in.
“What has happened before” is recorded in the energy of the environment… the walls, the floor, the furniture, etc. Layers of energy from owners and occupants and their circumstances build up invisibly. This energy, called “predecessor chi,” lingers in a space. This lingering energy should be taken seriously and cleared, because especially if it is negative (death, divorce, bankruptcy, other tragedy), it can profoundly affect persons newly exposed to it. The concept of predecessor chi is why it is important to clear any items you come by in a second-hand way, and why it is important to clear your own items before you donate them.
This brings us to clutter, which is probably the most common of all feng shui environmental energy blockages. The origin of the word clutter is “clotter” from Middle English, meaning “to coagulate.” Clutter blocks all energies and impedes everything, will bring your energy flow to a dead stop, and is practically guaranteed to affect your health in some negative way. There are four major kinds of clutter: things you don’t use or love, things that are messy and disorganized, too many things in too small a space, and unfinished things. Each of these clutters affects you in a very different and distinct way.
Clutter and low energy together can form a dangerous cycle; one thing always becomes two, two things become three, and energy blockages grow. Thankfully, the opposite cycle is also true – you clean and gain positive energy, which empowers you to clean more and more! Take care to keep your home clean and tidy; do this proudly and with diligence, as you would maintain and clean your own body.
Remember, our environmental energy is symbolically mirrored in our internal selves. Space clearing is extremely effective because shifting away negative energy and unblocking the flow around your home, will immediately and automatically remove obstacles, open doors, and bring new opportunities for harmony, abundance, and satisfaction in your personal life.
Here are some tips to get you started: start small with one drawer, box, or cupboard, then work up to the bigger things. Try the ‘box system’ of organizing by having a box for trash, a box for things to be fixed or repaired, a box for recycling, and a transit box for things that go in another room or place; then use the boxes – don’t make more piles of stuff. Also, visualize your work paying off; for example, if you clean your attic, see your head, your thoughts and your future, becoming clear and bright… or, while mopping your floors, see your bad luck being thrown out with the dirty water. Be sure to acknowledge your own cleaning accomplishments and give yourself a little treat when you do clear some clutter. Lastly, stay organized and clutter-free after you get there.
After your space is clean and clutter-free, that’s the perfect time to perform an official feng shui space clearing ceremony. There are many different ways to do space clearings however, they are typically done with sound or smoke. Contact me for more information – I am here for you. Got a feng shui question? Please send it my way! Happy holidays and a lucky, prosperous New Year to everyone!! Om Mani Padme Hum!! Namaste!!
Tamara Aires, Colorado Harmony
Feng Shui Education and Services