Spiritual Downsizing
by Rev Charles Cox
It’s okay to wonder… what the heck is Spiritual Downsizing? And NO it is not God laying-off Angels, or the universe making spirit guides work with extra hours to save spiritual overhead costs. The idea of Spiritual Downsizing comes from the idea that everything in our life a reflection of our spiritual side. When I was younger I desperately worked to be more ‘spiritual’ and yet my life was a mess. I couldn’t focus on following the road less traveled because I was carrying too much baggage with me; beliefs that no longer worked for me, resentment about past hurts, money worries, job worries etc. I was focusing on the wrong things. I was spending too much time and energy on things that simply did not support my spiritual journey. My hope was that if I were more spiritual, my other stuff would get resolved. The truth I discovered is that when I focused on cleaning up my stuff… I felt more spiritual.
But wait, am I saying that these real world situations affect my spiritual path? No, I am saying they are a reflection of your spiritual path. The most important metaphysical principle, I believe, is the one that says “As above, so below”. Some folks who read this principle use it as a way to punish themselves, making themselves feel worse than they already do. This would not be a useful way to recognize this principle in your life. When things are in turmoil, you need to note that somewhere you’ve wondered off the path. All that is required is a course correction on your part and you’ll begin to see results right away.
Spiritual Downsizing consists of looking at five areas of your life where you can make minor changes that will have a huge payoff mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Clean Out The Closet and The Garage.
Stuff. We love stuff. We buy it, trade it, donate it, sell it online to one another and then we throw stuff away. People's homes become cluttered with stuff. On a metaphysical level, our physical stuff is a reflection of the energy stuff we all carry with us. But most of stuff, energetically speaking, is not even in our sights; we throw it in a closet, hide it in the basement and forget it in the garage. Think about the amount of stuff we have that we have forgotten about that’s just packed away in some dark corner in our home. You want new things in your life? Are you feeling stagnant? You can’t have new things until you make a place for those new things. Tackle a small closet first. If you truly need it, or it has sentimental value then by all means keep it. If you approach this honestly, most of what you find will not fall into either of the categories mentioned. Have a garage sale, sell your things on eBay or better yet, find a charity to support and donate your things to them. Clean out your space energetically and watch all the wonderful things that will come into your life.
Start a Project You’ve Been Putting Off.
None of us have unlimited time on this Earth. Don’t invest your time and your energy into waiting. Start something today. Heck, stop reading this now and go start something. Do you want a new job? Refine your resume and start handing it to everyone you meet. Do you want to meet new people? Join a civic organization, a singles group, find a church or a book club. If that is what you want then get busy doing it. Do you want to move across town or across the country? Start making plans today. I believe that energy follows intention which means that once you start a project spirit steps in and begins to help with the details. Forget about ‘how’ this is going to happen, get out there and take your first steps and see where the project leads you. I think sometimes I get too invested in trying to make sure my life is the same day in and day out, but when I look at nature I see that all things are either growing or they’re dying. Where are you in that mix?
Live Where You Are Now.
Have you ever been lost on a country road? You stop, pull out a map and then realize that you don’t know where you’re at so the map isn’t much help. We do this in life every day. Take some time to take an honest inventory of where you’re at. If you’re feeling alone, acknowledge it. If your cash flow is crunched, acknowledge that too. By honestly seeing where you are at, you can more easily take steps to get back on the right path for you. You can chant affirmations all day in your garden but eventually the weeds will win. There is huge power in seeing yourself for who and what and where you are. Stop waiting for outside circumstances to change in your favor; recognize where you’re at and take steps to get where you want to go!
Tie Up Loose Ends.
This is a biggy. Do you have outstanding bill due someone? Go pay it. Did you borrow $20 that you never paid back, find that person and pay it back. Have you acted badly and owe someone an apology? Go apologize. We invest tons of energy into things we just let fester; loose ends that, in most cases, could be easily resolved if we would just resolve to do it.
When was the last time you told someone that you loved them? Not just a partner or family member, but people in your life that you love and hardly ever take the time to tell them that. No one knows when their number is up. It is a terrible burden to lose someone and never take the opportunity to share with them how you feel about them. Go tell someone you love them!
Leave the Past in the Past.
Several years back I hired a new assistant. Within days I heard about her awful divorce and her rotten kids. If I didn’t keep her on track, my day would be filled hearing of her misfortunes. After a week or so I said, “When did you get divorced?” “Fifteen years ago!” she said. I was flabbergasted. To listen to her tell her story, you would think she was in the throws right now of all of this. I realized that in some areas of my life I do the same. How can I fully engage the present moment? How can I be there for friends and family? How can I stand present with God? How can I do anything if I am living in the past? None of us can say we haven’t experienced hard times, or misfortunes of some kind. The experience is not the lesson. It’s what we do with the experience that either empowers us or beats us down. And that choice is ours. What stories are you telling that would be better left in the past? Find new empowering stories to fill your mind with. Share those with your friends and family. Live in the powerful present and let the past live in the past.
Finally.
Don’t take my word on any of this. Try it for yourself. Tackle just a small area of any one of the subjects above. You will see improvement in your life, there is no doubt in my mind. Take those initial victories and work on another area in your life. You’ll have improvement there as well. Now you’ll be well on the road to reducing the number of energy leaks in your life. It will take less energy to live more fully, and that is the goal of Spiritual Downsizing.
© 2008 Charles Cox. All Rights Reserved. Republished by Sunset Spiritualist Church with consent of the author.