Recently I launched a couple of free trainings about our conscious and unconscious accumulation of physical and psychological stuff. L have been working with the first step to creating positive, healthful chi by helping people rid themselves of clutter.
Technical glitches and perhaps a poor choice of timing prevented me from reaching many people. Maybe I had not clearly said why I am doing this and with whom I really want to work.
The Why
The world has become fast food, rushed, instant gratification expectant, having more stuff of less value, polarized. There’s little time to consider where we want to go, and less time to think about how to get there. We’re so busy we don’t often know where we are headed. It is a dangerous course to be on. I see few signs of any correction. I’m convinced solutions will not come from above. If we want a sustainable future (which apparently the majority are not concerned about) each of us is going to have to do our part. Whatever that part might be.
Being sick and tired of my own passivity, I see Rome starting to burn. I spent years in an ashram where women ran the operation top to bottom. My Master would not allow men to run things – he knew far to well what men would do from our male dominated past. I learned something there – something important.
Here goes my rant.
In the “normal” world, we are caught in a patriarchal society where big is better; war is good for profiteering; corporations are people. This sets off alarms in me big time. In my book it’s time to let women into the game in a real, substantial way. Women don’t think war is good for business. Women don’t think the highest goal is the accumulation of money. At least, none of the women I know. Having been mothers, women know things men barely fathom.
But women are caught. Women who are breaking the glass ceiling too often are wearing suits, acting as if a man were running things. Even though they are playing by men’s rules, they are still often subtly shut out – of the golf games where things get done – of the hunting trips (where they can get drunk and blast their friends in the face…) Alarm bells are going off.
What if each woman could see what her gift is for the world? What if she knew her powers sourced from the Divine Feminine? Could we then change the world before we go over the cliff? I think we have the possibility of a better chance through embracing the Divine Feminine than continuing on our currently imbalanced road.
Am I advocating women should rush the halls of power and seize control? Not really. Many women I’ve met, having tried the corporate vision of success or not, are aware that that is not their God-given perspective or destiny. Small businesses they know. Services they get. Creating networks they understand.
Who are the women I resonate with? They are bright and interested in co-creating. They don’t have to have it all themselves. I’ve been able to do this wonderful dance where my wisdom meets theirs and beautiful things happen: like clarity; like emerging purpose; like apparent magic.
I want to reach more of those women. But rather than touting some big transformational course or gathering, I want to start with something simple that so many bright women can benefit from:
Knowing what is clutter and what is not.
Knowing how clutter holds a woman down and prevents her from becoming all she can be.
Knowing that the trap of unfettered capitalism has produced a suicide economy.
Not all clutter is of our own making. We are continuously bombarded by advertising on our televisions while we’re trying to relax, on the radios we listen to while driving, popping up on our computers when we log onto our favorite sites, in our email boxes – even with our spam filters. Madison Avenue has convinced too many that if we just buy this or that we will find fulfillment. If we just take this new expensive pharmaceutical, we will solve any physical, mental or emotional problem.
How much advertising is directed at women? Most of it is because women do most of the buying in this country (60-80% depending on the source). That, interestingly enough, includes buying men’s clothes. Yet most advertising campaigns are created and directed by men. If that isn’t manipulation, what is?
Women bond and socialize differently than men. There’s a hard wiring that comes with the female that is different than that of the male. One of the most import aspects of that difference is that women share and collaborate easily. Therein lies an immense power.
The power of the group.
Alcoholics Anonymous has demonstrated the power of the group for almost 80 years. Whereas medical science has never has found a cure for alcoholism, AA has generated thousands of sober, responsible people who no long use alcohol. It’s done with 12 suggested guidelines and the power of a commonly held intention: not to take a drink today. Simple, yet utterly profound. More powerful than all of the “miracles” of modern medicine.
The What
I’m going to start a series of telephone conference calls – fun and easy. Each one will examine one aspect of clutter and how one might eliminate it. The call will include input from participants sharing their personal experiences and what they have observed about the way clutter holds them back.
The call will close with my take on how Feng Shui plays into each aspect, and how we can use this ancient art and science to transform an environment.
Sound too simplistic? Perhaps. But the journey of a thousand miles begins putting one foot in front of the other. The benefits of Walking the Camino aren’t accessible to those speeding by in a Ferrari. It’s a beginning.
From years of teaching I’ve learned a great way to create a new freedom, a new clarity. And it comes, paradoxically enough, by getting rid of stuff.
And the cost?
Nothing. Free. You call, listen, and participate – either anonymously or as a named participant (your choice.)
There will be replays available for a very limited period of time. I know perfectly well not everyone who would like to be on the call can make every one. Busy life. But one caveat – just listening to a replay, while valuable, doesn’t have the power, the positive effect, nor the support that live participation has.
Commonly held intention combined with focused interaction equals amazing change. Freedom. Creativity. Clarity.
I will also have guests join me to add their wisdom and their experience. Women like my friend Aline Munsch who’s working in Saudi Arabia and quietly showing women how to realize their power. and there are others, perhaps not as dramatic, but equally qualified to share their wisdom.
I’d really like to hear your reactions and suggestions about this series of live calls before I finalize how and when.
On What’s Happening you’ll find a note that will put you on the list of get weekly notificationsof the dial in number and the day and the topic.Please do not worry about your contact information – it’s kept lovingly under secure encryption and never rented, sold or shared.
nor incredible exercise (although it does involve an exercise!) and, true enough, it only takes one hour. I’m posting useful hints and short bits about starting to get rid of your excess stuff. It is about losing weight – the cleaning, the storage $, the insurance to protect it, the stolen time justing thinking about where something is.
