The Healing Garden: A Place Of Peace

Gardening For The Soil Gardening For The Soul

Finding Solace In A Changing World

ISBN 0-9733085-0-8

By Gwen Nyhus Stewart

Chapter 2 Clearing The Clutter

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In this chapter:

Ø Energy

Ø Internal Clutter – Clutter of the Mind

Ø Practical Steps to Changing Internal Clutter

Ø Deeper Levels of Internal Clutter – Unproductive Relationships

Ø More Practical Steps to Changing Internal Clutter

Ø External Clutter

Ø Other Kinds of Clutter

Ø Exploring Clutter

Ø Practical Steps to Changing External Clutter

Ø Remember

"The Divine Plan requires that you sometimes need to let go to see where spirit and destiny will take you." - Unknown

In our search for inner peace, an area often overlooked is the amount of clutter in our lives. Clutter is defined as a crowded or confused mass or collection and to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness. In terms of how I understand clutter, this is both an internal and external process. Internal clutter is those thoughts and feelings that keep us from experiencing the joy of being alive. External clutter is the bombardment of too many stimuli or material goods and the constant reinforcement by advertisers that more is better and that consumerism will buy us happiness. In your notebook, write down your answers to the following questions:

1. As you examine your thoughts and feelings about clutter, how much time do you spend

on past-future thinking?

2. Are you afraid to let people or things go because you don't think there will be anyone

or anything better in the future?

3. Are you holding onto things like memories or gifts that stagnate your energy because

they no longer serve any purpose in your life?

4. When you look around your home, office, or garden, what do you see?

5. Do your entryways resemble obstacle courses?

6. What do the cupboards look like when you open the doors?

7. What about all that paper you are keeping to read when you have time?

8. How about your closets, the basement, attic, or garage?

9. What about your desk, computer, and e-mail?