Clean Up Your Unclear Thoughts, Too!

Posted by KK on Apr 16, 2013 | 0 comments

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Inner Clutter

Posted by KK on Feb 20, 2013 | 0 comments

The great spiritual thinker, Eckhart Tolle, talks a lot about needing “space” within that exists between our thoughts in order for the essence of presence to be recognized. Having a mind full of endless thoughts, he tells us, is like trying to live in a room full of clutter and furniture. Our environment reflects our inner life. And sometimes the easiest way to dissolve a lot of chatter on the inside is to remove clutter on the outside.  Just as the clearer your mind is, the less tolerant you’ll feel toward outside chaos, so too the clearer your environment is, the clearer your mind will be. Thought follows action as well as the opposite.

So if you think your living space is not up to snuff, but “who cares? no one sees it,” or other things you tell yourself, think again. Give yourself the gift of space.

Thinking Out of the Box

Posted by KK on Dec 1, 2012 | 0 comments

The TRUE meaning of thinking “out of the box”–for me– is to stop thinking. Start breathing. If you have a clutter, organizing, or hoarding issue, give your brain a vacation. Chances are you’ve been OVER thinking the problem, fretting perhaps. (By the way, people who call themselves hoarders usually aren’t.)

Worrying and obsessing how to work out a clutter problem by banging your head on (in this case) the inside wall of your box, doesn’t  work. There is no opportunity to get a real perspective on the issue. Our beautiful computer-like brains are most effective at problem-solving if there isn’t a lot of emotional attachment involved. One way I’ve learned to trick myself is to imagine an organized and compassionate friend is looking at the problem. How would he or she handle it? What would your friend say about hanging onto that ugly cracked coffee mug just because your long-departed relative drank out of it?

That’s where we often get into trouble–sentimentality. A little goes a long way. You don’t need to hang onto your grandmother’s muu-muus if you have no plan to wear them. (Yes, you could cut them up and make a patchwork quilt, but WILL you? What would that same friend say?)

If you’re really courageous, don’t imagine your friend, really ask him or her. You may be surprised. Even if you only imagine a conversation with the other person, you might hear something you never expected.Welcome to the world outside of the box!