Comments on: Decluttering and the Meditative Life

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:15:53 +0000

You are so welcome, Judy. Whatever you can do IS just fine!

By: Judy

Judy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:36:27 +0000

I read this sitting in my house feeling like I am drowning in clutter. Normally I can let it ride but right now it feels as though it is swallowing me up and sapping all my energy. My perfectionist nature means that I struggle to start as I just don’t know where to begin the task is so huge and I can’t bear the fact that it feels as pointless as shovelling snow in a blizzard with a young family. Your blog has encouraged me to turn off the critical voice that’s telling me that it’s not worth trying because I realise what it’s really saying is that I am not worth it. I am going to forgive myself my imperfection of being untidy and when the time feels right I know I can pick a spot, do some and not be put off because I hadn’t time to do it all. Thanks for helping me turn off my critic and realise that whatever I can do is just fine.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:23:45 +0000

That’s my experience as well. So far I’ve only heard from one person (on our Facebook page) who finds decluttering stressful.

By: yournontoxiclife

yournontoxiclife — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:11:14 +0000

I have been thinking of writing a post on this! I find decluttering to be a way to put me in the moment. The end result always gives me “ease” and that really makes me feel like I am doing something so positive, so uplifting, it IS a meditation.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:42:16 +0000

Funny coincidence, Charlene! Clutter definitely robs a space of its calm!

By: Charlene

Charlene — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:01:38 +0000

Funny that I read this email today ~ *right after* I decluttered my living room! It had been piling up with boxes from items I ordered for my upcoming wedding. I kept the boxes for the small chance that I would have to return something. The last couple of weeks, where I normally would do my meditations in my sunny, peaceful living room, I ended up doing my meditations in my bedroom because it was more calming in that space. Tomorrow, I feel that I’ll be able to get back to my normal meditation routine, since I’ve restored that sense of calm.

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:48:25 +0000

Beautiful, Andrew! That’s how I experience it. Anxiety can be disorganizing, scattering our attention. That creates clutter which adds to the feeling of disorganization. It’s a vicious cycle of sorts. It seems like decluttering is a kind of antidote!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:39:15 +0000

This is so true…I’ve always wondered why i find decluttering to be so relaxing and calm-inducing Seems I’m not going mad! Remember feeling terribly anxious a couple of weeks ago (I suffer from chronic fatigue and get stressed easily, naturally this impacts on my energy levels and as a result I feel weary and irritable), and my room had been getting progressively more and more untidy and in a state of disarray; heaps of old paperwork, books etc, just clutter EVERYWHERE. I took one look at my room and thought; this will only stress me out more, but it needs to be done. Low and behold, after 10 minutes I found myself feeling strangely soothed, like the action of puttings things neatly into place was having a sort of hypnotic, harmonising effect on me. I felt more relaxed than I had in ages, it really did feel meditative!

By: karthik

karthik — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:41:23 +0000

I like your last sentence for your spontaneity. Many of my blog posts are spontaneous too.. No real bullet points to expand on, just write with the flow. I might just as well go with the flow in life!