So Fresh and So Clean---Clear your Gut, Cabinets, and Mental Space
Five years ago it would have sounded ambitious enough to simply embark on a month long dietary cleanse. The idea of giving up sugar and alcohol alone seemed downright miserable. Yet, I was surprised to see how this more comprehensive approach to cleansing—-combining the dietary with the cleansing of physical space and unhelpful thought patterns—-seemed to actually reinforce each other.
Six of us just finished this 4 week program, targeting a cleansing of the body, mind, & physical space. The results were powerful. It was amazing to see that as I did deep cleansing and organizing in my closets and cabinets, it felt like there was MORE SPACE to give to the things that I really wanted to direct my attention. As I felt more of a mastery in being able to make choices about what weed out of my home, I could feel that same sense of confidence carry over to the choices I’d make when deciding what to put in my body. I never anticipated that this program would help me in decision-making, getting faster and clearer about what to keep/ingest and what to discard/refuse.
What really surprised me was how much less I needed—-that filling my body, mind, & space with all that stuff had been clogging me up in more ways than I had even realized. (Doing a series of three colonics helped too to see some of what had been clogging me up!)
My digestion began functioning better, which I attribute not just to healthier foods & drinks for the month, but also to eating just the right amount. Now, the healthy foods I was ingesting had enough SPACE in my belly to get broken down and assimilated.
When there was more room in my kitchen cabinets and closets, I could feel a breath of fresh air every time I opened them up. Clothes and food items that had been shoved in the back were rescued and then thrown out, donated, or rediscovered. Not only did I begin appreciating some things I had forgotten about, but once again, there was that much more space for the things I already used regularly, which meant I could appreciate them more too.
We’ve all heard it over and over, what a consumer society we live in, here in the U.S. However painful, this cleansing process really brought to light the ways I personally feel enticed and fall victim to consumerism.
Buy this super cheap item on sale because you never know, you might want it at some point… Keep that full feeling in your belly…God forbid, you ever feel hungry! Watch this, respond to this text, or that fb thread, keep your mind constantly busy so that you are sure to never feel bored!
I couldn’t help but wonder, “At what cost does all this extra stuff, activity, and clutter come with?
How much is it chipping away at energy I could be giving to the things that really matter most?”
I began noticing all of the times I had a negative thought about myself or someone else and wondered what subtle, or not so subtle, effect these thoughts were having on the outcome of certain aspects of my life. What else would I have space to think about and give my energy to if negative or judgmental thought patterns were not clouding my consciousness?
Even though all this was all experiment over a month’s time, and I’m pretty sure I’ll never become a minimalist or give up sugar or alcohol forever, my overall takeaway was this: More often, less is more. I can’t help but wonder if we all replaced our consumer-programed mindset with this one, how much less junk would be in our guts, our cabinets, our thoughts, and ultimately, in our planet as a whole.