“Pain happens, suffering is optional.” –Alberto Villoldo
It took me years to discover that every time I cleared a drawer or a closet I would come away feeling more congested and sluggish than usual. Sorting through a pile of books would always lead to my feeling gummy and cobwebby (just like the books)…and more thirsty, and achy, especially in my feet. The less certain I was about letting something go, the more foggy-headed I felt.
It took me years (of clearing, training, self-inquiry) to understand what was really going on:
- Clearing releases stuck energy – even if all you do is move one pile from one location to another.
- When energy is released, it has a way of bringing up what I call the “weather” (especially if the stuff or stress has been cycling around for a while).
- The less attached to the side-effects, the quicker they pass.
It is possible to feel (as I have so many times) more tired than usual, or more cranky and edgy and uncomfortable. Clearing can stir up a bout of emotional weather: a wave of sadness, grief, panic, anger. You may notice a desire to sleep more, or overeat, or quit. You may experience spaciness, memory lapses or mental fog, or, the opposite: more alive, energized, excited, and clear. You may feel awesome one moment, and completely fall apart the next – all in less than sixty seconds.
It took me years to realize: All these symptoms are NORMAL.
Clutter is a sticky, dense energy. The longer it’s been around, the longer it takes to soften its grip. As you begin to clear it away, your body will be responding to these changes – not unlike the stormy weather that gets stirred when a high pressure system collides into a pre-existing low pressure system. Consider that you are detoxifying your home (and yourself) and it may not always feel very good.
In the end it is all good. There’s hope, and there’s a secret weapon to reducing the negative side-effects associated with clearing. It’s called self-care.
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p.s. Learn five ways to ease the symptoms and support a successful clearing practice in these five blog posts [located sequentially in the Archives for July 2009, or found individually by entering these titles in the Search box]:
- Press Pause, Step Back
- Reduce and Repeat
- Soak in Salt and Soda
- Refresh and Beautify with Water
- Do Nothing: Reflections on the Art of Non-Doing
Happy clearing!
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[…] SpaceClear Reflections Cultivating Harmony & Balancein Your Home and Life « Side-Effects of Clearing Clutter […]
[…] benefit from this message, I invite you to read the previous two: “Side-Effects of Clearing Clutter,” and “Press ‘Pause,” Step Back.” To read in sequence, click the Home […]
[…] enjoy the full context of this message, I invite you to read my last three posts: “Side-Effects of Clutter Clearing,” “Press ‘Pause,’ Step Back,” and “Reduce and Repeat” – in that […]
[…] enjoy the full context of this message, I invite you to read my last four posts: “Side-Effects of Clutter Clearing,” “Press ‘Pause,’ Step Back,” “Reduce and Repeat,” and […]
[…] To enjoy the full context of this message I invite you to read the previous five posts: “Side-Effects of Clearing Clutter,” “Press ‘Pause,’ Step Back,” “Reduce and Repeat,” […]
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Ahhh…so that’s what is going on. Revising intro and 2 chapters for book proposal send-off in a few weeks is clearing “clutter” of inauthentic voice. Thanks so much for the clarity…and now I’ll give myself some self-care, and be mindful of my spiraling thoughts.
I continued today in the basement, didn’t finish filing but feel I have a handle on it. Felt the basement couldn’t wait, partially because I needed to clear out the space in front of the empty filing cabinets! Funny how it’s all connected. Even a few hours made a difference….physically I can feel it low down in my digestive system, or reproductive? It’s like subconsciously, even though I can’t see the basement when I’m in my living space, I can feel it, it’s heaviness, it literally pulls me down!
All connected indeed! The awareness of the palpable “heavy” energy you’re feeling is so powerful in the process of clearing. The ability to name and feel the “weather” is a clearing in itself! Thank you, Peggy!
This is just in time! I am in the middle of spring cleaning and couldn’t agree more about the side effects. Thanks so much for this piece- I had suspected it myself and love the empathy and confirmation.
I have a story to share regarding a space clearing for a client – the client’s little boy, generally a quiet and very sweet little boy screamed and cried himself to sleep the night after the space clearing. Mom and Dad were freaked out… their little boy never behaved that way. A delicate situation for all – especially for a still relatively newbie practitioner, but the general sense was it was very good for the little boy to be able to have that good cry. And by the way, the registered sex offender who lived across the street moved away not long afterwards.