Book Excerpt

If You’re Human, This Book is for You

Don’t let the word “clutter” in the title fool you into thinking that this book is written only for those of us who suffer from physical excess. If you’re one of those tidy, organized, neat-as-a-pin types, this book is for you, too. In fact, no matter what your housekeeping habits and lifestyle predilections might happen to be, if you live in a body that gets out of balance, thinks thousands of thoughts a day, feels pain and loss and fear from time to time, or gets caught up in worries of the moment, this book is for you.

First of all, in this book the word “clutter” refers to anything that gets in the way of experiencing your most spacious self. This definition of clutter is much broader than usual, and includes the myriad ways we hold on and create imbalance in our lives. This book will help you identify your particular brands of holding on. I’m sure you have one or two issues kicking around somewhere; if not in your home, most likely they lurk somewhere in your life.

Second, there’s being “clutter free” and there’s being “spacious.” These are not always synonymous. The difference is between thinking of yourself as a wind-up toy that needs to be unwound, and knowing that you are something way more, way bigger, than that. This book is intended to help you move beyond the veils, beyond the limiting beliefs of who you perceive yourself to be and what you think is possible.

Though I try my best not to make any promises, it’s fair to say that you will experience your most spacious self if you’re willing to feel the feelings that come up when you clear. Our body with its five primary senses is one of the most powerful resources we have for giving us feedback, should we choose to pay attention to it.

At the same time, I can predict that you might also experience your most contracted self, since clearing at any level has a sneaky habit of pushing our buttons. As we slowly dismantle the crusty armor of our holding patterns, the ego part of us that is attached to our comfort and everything else—including the kitchen sink—might squirm and blow a few gaskets. You’ll recognize this when you feel yourself getting cranky, tired, spacey; you’ll want to avoid, overeat, or hold on even more. You’ll recognize the ego-part when you hear your inner critic find every reason to discredit your efforts, convince you that this clearing thing doesn’t work for beans, and that this book is probably the worst one you ever read. If any litany of judgments derails you, remember: This is the “clutter part” of your mind talking, not the real you! The first step is to try not to give in to all that noise.

Another one of the points with which the small self might take issue is the notion that the practice tools are just “way too easy.” It is amazing how much our little toddler minds like to complicate our lives. When offered a way through that is extraordinarily simple, we balk. Hand us the keys to the kingdom, and we think there’s got to be a catch. It can’t possibly be this easy! Again, memo to self: clutter talking. Our cluttered minds have zero concept of simple.

This book is a journey of “shedding layers by shedding light” in ways that do not stir up a fear response. The slow-drip approach to clearing in this book may seem aggravatingly slow and maybe even trivial, but your level of success depends entirely on trusting and sticking with the program, no matter what your wind-up toy has to say about it.

–Excerpted from Your Spacious Self: Clear Your Clutter and Discover Who You Are by Stephanie Bennett Vogt

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