Life suspended?

This is a question from a recent client that I thought everyone could benefit from reading the answer. I look forward to hearing your opinions.

I feel like my life is in limbo, as if I am always waiting for the second shoe to drop. It is difficult for me to make major decisions right now because of the economy. I definitely feel my life is on hold. I don’t have a lot of money to make any significant changes to my house but I desperately want to do something to help me move my life forward. Can Intuitive Living help?

You are certainly not alone. The entire nation is living somewhat as you are, all of us holding our breath waiting to see what will or will not happen. This mass emotion only furthers our individual unease.

With the seemingly never-ending bad economic news, most people are living life on pause, suspended in space, waiting for something to happen, good or bad before making any decision on a daily basis. Being in suspended animation leaves us feeling anxious, stressed and tense. On the outside we all have smiling faces and re-assure one another that everything will be fine. But on the inside our minds are going a mile a minute of the potential catastrophe that lies ahead. This leaves us living a daily life that is not full of its true potential. Below are seven steps to clear your mind, help you live each day to its fullest and to enjoy the moment of ‘now’.

1. Unclutter at least one area of your home or office: doing this will give you a sense of accomplishment and renewal of energy flow. Removing clutter removes the dam that is holding back your creative mind and aspirations allowing them to move forward. Be sure to pick an achievable space to unclutter (such as a closet, desk, or kitchen drawer) so that the task gets completed in one sitting and does not become yet another item on your to-do list each day. If you finish it with ease, pick another space to unclutter on another day.

2. Sit still for five minutes each day and listen to your thoughts and answer them: We are running in so many directions these days that we forget to listen to ourselves. If we sit still for five minutes each day we begin to recognize a pattern of thought, whether they be positive or negative. You cannot undo negative thoughts until you realize you are having them, to realize you are having them you need to be still. If you sit and hear yourself saying: “I shouldn’t be sitting here, this is stupid, I should be out looking for work because I have no money.” Answer this thought with “I can allow myself five minutes out of 24 hours to just sit still and relax, I work hard all day, I deserve these five minutes”.

3. re-arrange your room: You may not be able to afford new furniture, carpeting or even paint, but the simple task of re-arranging the furniture in a room can completely change your outlook. It is refreshing to the mind to see something “new” in a room, to have a different movement pattern, or even just to clear the energy in a space. Whenever I am feeling mentally ‘stuck’ I start moving all my furniture around. My husband and children think I am insane but after it is done they always tell me how much nicer and ‘better feeling’ the new arrangement is. Try it! The worse that can happen is you move the furniture back to its original location.

4. Give, and expect nothing in return: give of yourself, just a smile, a hug, an understanding nod, a little extra tip to the waitress, helpful advice, a phone call to someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile, a small token of appreciation, or even a card. Do not expect a return smile, or gift, just leave with the satisfaction that you gave a bit of yourself to someone else who may have needed it. Doing this without wanting payment back liberates us to express our true emotions to those around us and makes the giving mean that much more to the receiver. If you do this often you will find that you will begin to be on the receiving end of such good intentions.

5. Re-affirm your aspirations: Take a good look around your home or office. Are you reminded constantly of the negative state of the economy? Do you have newspapers and magazine laying around with headlines that scream out to you? Do you have rejection letters, old resumes, and sticky notes all over your computer monitor reminding you of every task to be done or want ads lying around. Keep all these daily reminders out of sight, and better yet toss them in the trash. Place items around your home of only positive things such as fresh flowers, pictures of you with loved ones smiling and laughing, a travel magazine, or a book by some one that inspires you. The important thing is to remove the negative reminders and replace them with positive ones. This does not mean that you can never leave yourself a reminder note or look through the help wanted ads. Just don’t leave them lying around day after day. If you must keep them, file them away neatly.

6. Armor yourself from negativity: All of us know at least one Eeyore in our lives. Those people who always say, “what’s the point?” “do you really think you are qualified for that job?” “Why would you even try? You know you can’t do that.” Armor yourself against these people. They serve you no good. If you are like me and take what people say to heart, you might want to try this exercise. I was taught this exercise by an acupuncturist and have found it to be very useful when dealing with negative people. Take a very deep breath in, as you inhale, slowly picture yourself being covered in gold armor and the words coming at you bouncing off your armor. As you exhale, the voice you hear becomes muted and dull (to entertain myself, I hear the words coming at me in the voice of the adults in Charlie Brown cartoons). Your armor protects you from those negative thoughts entering your brain. If this is too much for you or you just can’t visualize this, you might try to envision that with each exhale you are blowing the words away from you. I have found another quick solution that works well: while your Eeyore is talking to you, smile, a lot! It tends to confuse them and they will leave quickly and you are left with a smile on your face.

7. Remind yourself to be happy with what you have: You have, right now, exactly what you need. It is the wanting of more than you need that causes anxiety. Love what you own, want what you have, and you will be a wealthy and happy person.

In times like these it is important to keep your mind clear and focus on the now. You do not know what lies ahead on your path, you only know what is underfoot now, you can only do what you know right now.

Enjoy the moment.