Day 21 - A Year to Clear - Check In WEEK 3 - Cultivating Awareness

Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

Lesson 21: Check In WEEK 3 - Cultivating Awareness

Today is to reflect back on the previous week and note down my discoveries and how I related to the experience without any attachment. Everything inbetween the problem and the solution.

I found the exercise about imagining yourself shedding a layer of yourself before you go to bed to be a really good exercise. I feel like this is a good tool to let go of your worries of the day and relax before you go to sleep. I haven't been practising it for some reason. I think I just easily fall asleep that I don't think about doing this extra step to have an even more peaceful sleep.

A lot of this week was focused on clothing. Simply connecting with clothes and seeing if they bring you joy and/or if you still use them and managing how you release them. I can say that I'm finding myself less attached to my belongings. I feel like I will wear what is practical without any thought behind it. I don't feel like my clothes make me as a person. I am finding that the reason I am having less attachment, is because I don't want to be another consumerist and want the minimalist lifestyle. I think about the impact the clothing industry has on the environment, so that makes my decision to care less about my clothing easier day to day, and in turn care less about my attachment to those belongings. Because I'm so focused on self care and awareness, trivial things like clothing, doesn't really matter to me anymore. So to me, I think that I'm growing in my own way.

Day 19 - A Year to Clear - Change It Up

Photo by Heng Films on Unsplash

Lesson 19: Change It Up

Today’s lesson has me picking out something that will make me feel really good and in effect make everyone else feel good.  Today I wore an Alphonse Mucha printed dress by Black Milk Clothing. It’s a hot day of 42 degrees (107.6 in Fahrenheit) and I am wearing this bright blue dress because it’s summery. It’s vibrant, it’s artwork and it’s fun. I have been complemented on this dress in the past and it fits well with the hot day. Although I’m feeling tired, I think my dress expresses some level of high energy and spirit. I took a pic of me in the lift at work and provided a stock pic from Black Milk’s website for more detail.

What was good is that I never really noticed the print on this dress. There is a zodiac wheel surrounding this crystal queen. This was widely printed in 1896, except I feel like the lady, is very much futuristic from that time period. I wish I could walk around with the head dress all the time but that wouldn’t be practical. This lesson has taught me to be more observant because I’ve had this dress for years and never noticed the finer details and in turn I appreciate this dress more.

Day 18 - A Year to Clear - Throw Off

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Lesson 18: Throw Off

Today's lesson to me is about some visualisation. We are to imagine at the end of the day, taking off our clothes as if this is a skin that we're shedding. When we jump into our PJs or nightwear, that is to be us becoming a new person.

I can say that I already do this in different ways. When I shower, I visualise the water washing away negativity and filling me with light. The other method I use when meditating is visualising light coming from above and showering over me, as I inhale, I take a deep breath of that light and when I exhale, I breathe out black negative energy. It's like a new me every time as I feel lighter, happier and ready to go!

I guess the only difference is that I don't always do this every day. So if I were to shed away the skin of today and rest a bit lighter, it'll mean I wake up with that rejuvenated feeling. I'll try it out tonight and see how I go.

Day 17 - A Year to Clear - A-Wear-ness Process

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Lesson 17: A-Wear-ness Process

Today is about taking one item of clothing from your closet that you don’t currently use, or it doesn’t look or feel good to wear. We are to reflect on the feeling that item brings us to feel any sense of needing to get rid of it or still have the urge to hold onto it. I’m not necessarily meant to get rid of the item but note the feelings that come as to why I hold on. The idea is to “notice the thoughts and feelings that are keeping you from letting it go.”

I have these red Mary Jane shoes with a slight heel. I haven’t worn them in a while but I do enjoy them. They are cute and go with the outfits I have that involve red. They are one of the very few red pair of shoes that I have but the last time I wore them, they gave me blisters. Never gave me blisters before though I believe because I put on weight, they didn’t fit like they used to. The reason why I keep them is mainly because they go with my outfits not necessarily for practical reasons. Most of the time, I have felt good in them so I don’t see why I should get rid of them unless they fall apart. In this instance, I have nothing but good thoughts about these shoes.

Upon reflecting on that experience, I’m not sure that I released any stuck energy. If that was the point, I didn’t feel it. This simple process taught by going through items one by one, I can easily release a lot more that I hold. Just because this particular item didn’t see me release, I can see the effectiveness of this method of clearing items - that it did serve a purpose some time ago but may no longer serve me now. I can see by adopting this practise how it can flow into other aspects in my life. If anything does not bring me joy, why am I holding onto it?

Day 16 - A Year to Clear - A-Wear

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Lesson 16: A-Wear

Today’s lesson has us thinking about what we are wearing (including underwear), raise your hand if it’s an outfit we don’t really love or feel uncomfortable in, and then to note down our thoughts.

Right now I’m wearing an outfit that I didn’t want to think about because it’s for work. I don’t really feel that great in it because I just put anything on that is sensible for work purposes. I don’t really care what I look like and don’t care for anyone else’s opinion on it either. Could I look better? Sure. Could I make more of an effort? Sure. Do I want to? Not really. I’ve even stopped wearing make-up just because I can’t be bothered really. I mean if I exercised more and toned up some areas, I think I could look better but for whose standards really?

After noting down my thoughts, I am supposed to acknowledge my feelings whether they are guilt, shame, embarassment etc and think about the possibility to have those feelings simply arise and do nothing to fix it or manage it. I suppose if I cared more about my appearance, this exercise would have been good to learn from. At the moment, I don’t do anything to fix or manage my feelings towards my outward appearance and I don’t think anyone should. My mother always taught me to look presentable and that’s what I do but I don’t go out of my way judging myself with every outfit I put on. I try a bit harder for special occasions but I have accepted myself the way I am so don’t squirm when I look upon myself.