Monday, April 30, 2007

Letting Go Experiment: Month 10

Recently, a friend who has been following my letting-go experiment in this blog said to me, "Wow, when this year is up, you will have released 365 things from your life. That's a lot of stuff!"

My friend is clearing her home (and barn) to move and was wondering where she would find that many things to let go of. I have found that it's really not that hard. At this point, I have released nine and a half months worth of stuff - approximately 285 items, about 95% of it "material" (as opposed to non-material items such as beliefs, habits, behaviors, negative thoughts, body weight, and the like). And yet, when I look around my home, it still looks as full of "stuff" as when I started.

There's a lot of "stuff" we accumulate that we never seem to use - in closets, drawers, cupboards, cabinets, and in boxes stuck away in attics and garages. Feng Shui practioners tell us that this excess "stuff" blocks the flow of energy in our homes, even if it is out of sight. [To me, there is a parallel between this blocked flow of chi energy in the home and the blocked energy we experience from excess stored fat that many of us carry on our bodies.]

What this experiment is revealing to me is that I accumulate much more "stuff" than I need, use, or really want. As I think of this, I begin to understand the correlation, for me, between accumulation of material things, accumulation of body weight, and the inability to accumulate money in savings. And I think, "Well, if I don't even notice or miss the 285-plus items I've released this year, then clearly I'm over-consuming "stuff" just like I've been over-accumulating stored energy in the form of pounds."

This month, material things I have released include more weekly magazines, some costume jewelry, a few small knick-knacks, a phone, and a lot of foodstufs from my pantry and refrigerator (including some unopened items that count for this experiment). But again, as in last month's report, the biggest victories have been in the non-material realm.

For one thing, I joined Weight Watchers this past month (hence the clearing out of foods in my kitchen) and have already let go of about 5 pounds. Although these lost pounds do not "count" in my experiment until they've been gone at least a month, they will show up in next month's count. But it's not just pounds I've lost, it's also some non-productive habits, a lot of resistance, and some developing health issues that seem now to be fading away.

What have you released from your life this month? I'd love to hear your story.

I leave you with these words of wisdom: Spend Calories; Save Money!

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Although this Blog site is not set up to be interactive at this time, feel free to contact me with your comments.

Email: connie@conniekomack.com
Web: www.conniekomack.com

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Letting Go Experiment: Month 9

I am discovering that there is a correlation between letting go of material things and letting go of mental and emotional "stuff" - ideas, beliefs, habits, patterns, automatic reactions and feelings. This month I am definitely behind in letting go of material things, but I've had some interesting experiences in the non-material realm, the most recent being in this past week building up to the release of my monthly e-newsletter.

I have been writing and sending out an electronic newsletter (LifeWork Letter) once a month for a year and a half now. And in all that time, no newsletter has come out late (i.e. after the month is over) - until now. This time, my March newsletter came out in April.

Now, I am usually very good about keeping to schedules and doing things on time. And I used to get anxious and upset if I thought I might be late for anything - a party, a date, a movie, a meeting with a client, a newsletter release. This time was different.

I attribute this difference to the letting-go "practice" I have been doing since last June. This time, as I got close to my end-of-the-month release deadline and found myself in a time crunch, I was able to let go of this deadline and of the anxiety and stress it would normally cost me to do this. I accepted the reality that getting this done by March 31st would be very stressful, and would require a significant loss of sleep, and so I just let go and said to myself, "Oh well, this month the March issue will be late - so late that it will come out in April. How can I turn this lemon into lemonade?"

My first idea was to bring the newsletter out on April 1st and call it an April Fool's joke. That seemed like good "lemonade" to me. I could have fun with that. But then, I had an important family committment on April 1st, so that plan didn't work out and the newsletter finally came out on the 2nd - almost at midnight.

So where's the "lemonade"? Well, for one thing there will be two newsletters in April, and this will be a great opportunity for me to continue my exploration On Being a Peaceful Warrior in a Part 2 issue. In addition, this letting-go experience has been a great lesson for me, and now I hope for you also.

Perhaps you'll have the opportunity to say "Oh, well..." and just let it go!

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Although this Blog site is not set up to be interactive at this time, feel free to contact me with your comments.

Email: connie@conniekomack.com
Web: www.conniekomack.com