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Clear your mental clutter and worry forever

If you are like most of us, you have at least some clutter lying around in your house, on your desk, or even in your bag. If you have physical clutter, you will also have clutter in your mind. Karen Kingston, author of the million copy bestseller, Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, explains what to do about some of the most common forms of mental clutter, such as worry and panic.

 

 

 

Stop worrying

I once heard it said that worry is like a rocking horse – no matter how fast you go, you never move anywhere. Worry is in fact a complete waste of time and creates so much clutter in your mind that you cannot think clearly about anything. The way to learn to stop worrying is to first of all understand that you energise whatever you focus your attention on. Therefore, the more you allow yourself to worry, the more likely things are to go wrong. Worrying becomes such an ingrained habit that you have to consciously train yourself differently. Whenever you catch yourself having a worry-up (and ask those close to you to also help point out to you when you’re at it again), stop and change your thoughts. Focus your mind more productively on what you want to happen, rather than what you are worried might happen, and dwell on what’s already wonderful in your life, setting up a resonance for more wonderful stuff to come your way.

 

Make a list right now of all the things you worry about so that you’ll spot them next time they turn up in your mind for a free rocking-horse session.

 

Stop criticising and judging
This is another total waste of time and energy, especially when you realise that everything you criticise and judge about others is something you don’t like about yourself. The greatest critics are those who deep down believe, for whatever reason, that they themselves aren’t good enough. Change these inner insecurities, and the desire to demean others will magically melt away.

 

Another important thing to understand is that we humans only see a segment of reality in the greater cosmic scheme of things, so we are really never in a position to judge anyone or anything. A street drunk may in essence be the kindest, sweetest soul you could ever meet, but if you judge him simply by appearances or get on some high moral platform about his behaviour, you will miss that quality completely.

 

Don’t clutter your mind with these pointless poison arrows. Instead, tune in to the highest aspects you can of everyone you meet and be amazed how they in turn respond to you from the best of themselves.

 

Stop gossiping
Stop constantly titillating yourself by gossiping about others. Gossip clutters your psyche and only shows how little of consequence is happening in your own life. Live and let live. Refuse to indulge in or listen to gossip or scandal in any form,and make it a point of integrity that you never say anything about anyone that you would not say to their face.

 

Stop moaning and complaining
Moaning, complaining and blaming everything and everyone else for what is happening in your life clutters your speech and thoughts in such a way that most people don’t even want to be around you. Focus on what you are grateful for and the gods will heap more goodies upon you. Keep moaning and groaning and you’ll be on your own.

 

Stop mental chatter
Psychologists estimate that the average person has about 60,000 thoughts per day. Unfortunately, 95% of those thoughts are exactly the same as the thoughts you had yesterday. And these are the same as the thoughts you had the day before that. And so on. In short, most of your mental process is unproductive, repetitive chatter going nowhere. Another problem is the constant babble of external stimuli that is so prevalent in the western lifestyle. So many people have the TV or radio constantly turned on ‘for company’, or spend their time reading trashy novels, aimlessly surfing the Net, and so on. Then suddenly, one day, you are old or sick, and you realise you have done nothing with your life. All your thoughts are other people’s thoughts and you have no idea who you really are or what the purpose of your life might be.

 

Declutter your mind for restful sleep
If you lead a busy a life and have lots of ‘things to do’, you may find it difficult to switch off and relax. In particular, you may find your mind full of stuff when you want to go to sleep. Here’s a good tip: keep a notebook and pen by your bed and just before you go to sleep, scribble down all the things you have to remember to do. Then just forget about them and go to sleep. If you wake up in the night with more things on your mind, just open one eye, scribble them down, and carry on sleeping. At first, you may need to keep a small battery operated light next to your bed. With practice you can learn to write in the dark with your eyes shut. After a while you’ll learn to get your whole list on paper in one go and sleep through the night, undisturbed by thoughts or worries.The busier you are, the more important it is to completely relax and take time off to rest and regenerate during the hours of the night.

 

Karen Kingston is one of the world’s top feng shui and space clearing consultants. Her book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, is a feng shui ‘must read’ classic, and has sold over two million copies in 25 languages. She lives in Australia with her husband. More books on supporting and managing your mental health can be accessed through The Reading Agency and the Society of Chief Librarian’s Reading Well Books on Prescription book list.