What's coming out of the closet?

No, this is not about the orientation of my personal life.  This is about procrastination and letting go.  Organizing is not my thing, yet it is one of those necessary evils.  As a Water element, I am a big idea person.  I can think of ways to save the world, but not want to attend to cleaning out the closet.

I have been getting strong internal messages for about 6 months that I need to have my personal things, clutter, old projects and other unfinished business in better order.  It is really about being ready.  Ready for what, I do not know.  Perhaps a new opportunity, relationship or adventure is coming up.  Perhaps it is just the peace of mind of knowing what you have and where it is.  Since I would rather do just about anything except organize, I did all those things instead.  :)  I think its called procrastination.  Don't get me wrong, I have been doing lots of important things, but just not the big one that has been calling to me.  I think it's more than that though.  It is about priorities and reassessing values. 

As I contemplated my looming project, I sensed my Watery boundaries.  I started thinking of the energies of all the other elements of Chinese Medicine.  Wood and their ability to take action.  Fire and how they stay upbeat and optimistic.  Earth being the Peacemaker and bringing their nurturing and attentive ways.  Metal, the Alchemist, who are calm, disciplined and methodical. 

So when the day came that the excuses were flimsier than the internal pressures to let go and move on, I decided to call in the energies of the elements.  I began to set the intention for what I wanted to bring in and wrote those on a big paper and kept it in the area I was working.  I made sure a window was open for fresh air exchange and an escape for trapped and stagnant energies.  I lit a stick of frankincense incense to purify and cleanse, turned on the music fairly loud, and I energy tested all of my clothes and jewelry.  I ended up looking a tad eccentric in my purple sequined top and white linen pants and sporting some fine jewelry!  Not your typical closet cleaning outfit.  I did the daily energy routine and then I checked my elements with the Star Diagnostics while thinking of the project.  It was Metal that needed help.  I needed to pull in the energy of the Alchemist.  

This actually was not a surprise.  The Metal element contains the 2 meridians of Lung (LU) and Large Intestine (LI).  My own pattern has tended toward an imbalance of LI.  This element is the Autumn, the time when the leaves fall off, so it is about letting go.  The other emotion connected to it is grief.  Doesn't have to be about just a physical death, but could be about lost dreams and other such things we are holding onto and giving energy to.  When we organize, we must let go of what is no longer useful, otherwise it is just stagnant energy.  Letting go of all the things we don't require seems to be calling us in the times that we are in.  As things seem to be speeding up, extra baggage and old patterns of attachments need to go.  Also no time for procrastination and distraction either. Almost everyone I talk to including colleagues and clients confirm this same desire to purge pressing on them. 

In working with the Metal element, I first worked with my Neurolymphatics (NL) .  I raked and pressed along my upper chest or sternum area, (LU) and then pressed and rubbed along the outer thigh where the seam of a pant leg would be (LI).  I pressed as hard as I could as it was painful - an indication that I really needed it - from the upper part of the thigh to the knee.  (Rubbing in this direction helps those that tend towards being constipated, going up has the opposite effect.)  Next I began to work with the Neurovasculars (NV) for the element of Metal which are located on the top of the head.  I just held them very lightly while holding my forehead with the other hand.  I did this until I felt a pulse or for about 5 minutes, while thinking of my project.  This helps settle the emotions down and helps remove the resistance. 

Water elements do better when they have support.  So since no one was volunteering to help me and the elves and faeries never showed up in the middle of the night, I asked my friends the elements to help me.  Every time I looked in the mirror I would giggle at my outfit (Fire) and it kept me feeling light, and the smell of the incense would ground me (Earth), my jewelry kept the Metal near me, the intentions written down activated my Wood  and kept me focused, and I even called in the Philosopher of the Water to keep me observant and curious about my needs and regularly washed my hands of the energy. 

So what is all the hoopla about cleaning out a closet?  This is only the beginning of a big journey.  I want to clean out every drawer and closet.  Moving out the old, neglected areas and projects.  It could take a very long time, so I will need these friends a lot.  I may even need physical support at times, maybe a Metal, for whom it is easy, to help and support me with some suggestions, to detach from something emotional, to keep me contained.  But for now, I have 3 big bags of items I no longer need or want, ready to go to the women's shelter for someone who desperately does.  A new life cycle for some stagnant energy.  Along with it go some of my memories and attachments.  Getting ready... Energy moving forward and out of the closet.

Lynn Bretsnyder-EEM-AP

 

Comments

[Lyn Milum]

Lynn this is really pertinent for me, too. I will remember to call in my element partners, and the loud music really helps me do anything domestic! Clearing out my environment, making it feel spacious and welcoming - that is really important to me. I'm so glad you wrote about this, sharing your inspiration and understandings.