Archive for 'Nourishing Self-Care'
Starting Over
Posted on31. Aug, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
September. It’s my favorite month of the year.
More than just it being one of the most beautiful and bountiful months in New England where I live, September has always been a time of shift and new beginnings…
An invitation to show up, regroup, renew, start over.
But you don’t need to wait until September or New Year’s [...]
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In Praise of Spending Time Alone
Posted on20. Aug, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
If you could have a day or a weekend just for your self, what would you do?
After spending a weekend watching my two selves battling each other – i.e. delighted self vs. worried self [that I've lost my social mojo] – someone posted an affirming video link on Facebook called “How to be alone.” It’s [...]
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Making Friends with Food & Eating (= Clearing)
Posted on17. Aug, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
“It’s the desire—not its fulfillment—that nourishes you, because it’s the language of your heart. When you listen to that language, you hear your self.”–Geneen Roth
If you saw my little One-Minute Clearing video clip, you might recall my saying this:
“Here’s the thing about clearing: It is really not about the “doing” at all. It is [...]
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Managing the Mountain of Mail (or Whatever Burdens You)
Posted on30. Jul, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Another good question came the other day:
I am following your practice of clearing one item each day. My question for you is what about the stuff that comes into your home- like mail? I can never seem to get through it and it piles up – then if I clear only one thing, a [...]
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When in Rome
Posted on27. Jul, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.” -Rumi
I just returned from a glorious two-weeks in France and Italy, compliments of dear friends who invited us, and many frequent-flyer miles that were just waiting to be used.
Less than three weeks ago, this trip was not even in our dreams as a possibility.
The ease with which [...]
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One-Minute Clearing Practice
Posted on16. Jul, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Try this experiment: Watch the 3-minute video below and see if adopting a simple daily practice in home tending doesn’t help bring new energy into your home and life.
Even better: Set an intention before you begin your one-minute practice and repeat the exercise every day for a week. See if it doesn’t lead to creating new openings in [...]
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Birdsong + Coffee + Back Porch = Heaven
Posted on28. May, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
The title comes from a swoon I posted on my Facebook Page last week.
Actually it read: “Birdsong + Coffee + Back porch (after spring cleaning) = Heaven.
I had spent a good part of the previous day scrubbing and cleaning and decluttering our back porch – the catch-all spot for wayward winter accumulations. I was grooving [...]
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Nourishing the Mother in All of Us
Posted on07. May, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Did you know that I was chosen 2010 Mother of the Decade? Here’s the TV spot to prove it:
Stephanie Vogt Receives Prestigious Mother of the Year Award
Actually, this is a cute little gimmick from the folks of MomsRising.org. Just input anybody’s name and email address and she (or he) will receive their own customized TV [...]
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Gathering Your Clearing Mojo
Posted on23. Apr, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
What needs gathering in your home or life that you can do in one minute or less?
My spring newsletter might inspire you. The theme this quarter is about “gathering” – as in loose ends, all those papers cluttering up your desk, the clothes that you no longer need or love…
Gathering steam… gathering your self.
Click [...]
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Love, Earth
Posted on22. Apr, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Hugh MacLeod is a cartoonist with a beautiful, if quirky message. I subscribe to his daily cartoon blog: Gapingvoid.
Below is his message for today. Happy Earth Day everyone!
“Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanic Eruptions, She may not be happy right now, but she’s all we’ve got.
Let’s take care of her.”
–From Gapingvoid
Cartoon image: “Love Earth” by Hugh MacLeod, available for [...]
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Simple Rituals of Clearing and Letting Go
Posted on12. Apr, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
“To the unconscious mind, ‘real life action’ and and ‘conscious intentional ritual’ are the same thing!” –Your Spacious Self
If you think of dreams as the way that your unconscious mind communicates to you in special symbolic code while you sleep, ritual is one way you can consciously communicate back to your unconscious while you’re awake. To [...]
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Extreme Clearing vs. The Slow-Drip Effect
Posted on02. Apr, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
“Change happens slowly, then all at once.” – Unknown
Thanks to Mother Nature and major flooding in our area, we got a head start clearing the junk in our basement this year. Not easy. Not pretty. Not ideal. This form of “extreme clearing” is not worth waiting (or hoping) for. It’s too consuming and jangly.
I favor the [...]
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The Grace in Gathering
Posted on30. Mar, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” – Anne Lamott
It’s springtime: A return to my rituals of gathering.
Gathering clothes I no longer love (or can wear) to take to the Goodwill. Gathering and tossing the growing [...]
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Prayer
Posted on05. Mar, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Enjoy this prayer for love by Don Miguel Ruiz.
Music by Loreena McKennit
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Peace is Possible
Posted on16. Feb, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Peace is Possible
A group spent days visiting with the Dalai Lama focusing upon what they believe are five most important questions to be considered.
The five questions were:
1. How do we address the widening gap between rich and poor?
2. How do we protect the earth?
3. How do we educate our children?
4. How do we help Tibet [...]
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Cultivating Ease
Posted on12. Feb, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
Ease.
For such a little word, it lingers and expands if you say it out loud.
Repeat it slowly – with awareness – and you might even feel your nervous system relax.
Insert the phrase “I choose ease” into any daily routine, or a difficult situation, and you may notice the feeling of “expanding into” other [...]
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A Clean House
Posted on09. Feb, 2010 by Stephanie Bennett Vogt.
How important is it to have a clean house? How do you juggle a demanding job and a family and still have the time for basic chores like cleaning? My sister Martha, a hospice nurse and mom to a possé of adorable dogs and cats weighs in:
I used to clean my house as a way [...]
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Stephanie Bennett Vogt
WELCOME! I'd like to think of this blog in the same way I do a beautiful, nourishing HOME: an oasis to rest, refresh, and re-member [as in to gather the scattered parts of your self]. I hope you will stop by often and share what helps and challenges you to connect with your spacious self! www.spaceclear.com.
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Massaging a Meltdown
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Ladies, Are You Feeling the Blues?
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The Grace in Gathering
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Side-Effects of Clearing Clutter
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Coming Clear: Confessions of a Packrat
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Karen Johnstone: love it!...
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Stephanie Bennett Vogt: 'Fraid so, Lynne... guilty as charged. I'm a clea...
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Sara: Thanks so much for sharing that poem, Stephanie! I...
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