 The extraordinary power of a
real-live human being listening
to another—without fixing or
doing anything—is the heart
of compassion and clutter
clearing at its highest level.
—Stephanie Bennett Vogt
Circles. They’re round. They contain. They’re non-linear. They have no beginning and no end. They’re mysterious. They’re generative. They hold a space... Add open-minded individuals who are willing to be present and not attached to a particular outcome, and the circle becomes a safe, powerful, and transformative vehicle for clearing.
This is the design of my listening groups who come together once a week for six weeks to share their triumphs and challenges with clutter and clearing. Sometimes these gatherings generate a lot of animated stories, ah-has, relief, laughter, and maybe even some emotional charge or “weather” moving in to be cleared. Sometimes we just sit in silence and wait for something to happen.
People often walk away feeling lighter without having lifted a finger to clear at home!
The thing that sets the Clearing Circle format apart from the solo approach to clearing clutter is the effect of the witnessing process to release holding patterns. Participants find that their pain or shame, their fear or loneliness, is not unique to them. They see that everyone has their own special brand of holding on: their own embarrassing stories, messy foibles and dramas, silly quirks, dark secrets... These profound realizations help everyone come out of the closet, laugh more, and move forward into that magical spaciousness that surfaces naturally when we speak our truth.
If you feel you would benefit by sharing your clearing experiences with others and could use the support and encouragement, I recommend you organize a Clearing Circle in your hometown or neighborhood. If you already belong to a book group or support group, consider taking a six-week or six-month "side trip." Or ask some of the members with whom you feel most comfortable if they'd be interested in joining you on a clearing journey. If you can't find anyone to join you from your immediate circle of friends, put an ad in your community newspaper or convene a clearing group by going online to sites like Meetup.com and see if it generates any interest.
The simple steps for how to begin and maintain your own Clearing Circle are fully detailed in Your Spacious Self: Clear Your Clutter and Discover Who You Are. The guided six-week (or six stage) clearing program in this book follows this gentle sequence and is easily modified or expanded to suit your needs:
• Stage One: Feeling
• Stage Two: Refocusing
• Stage Three: Tending
• Stage Four: Easing
• Stage Five: Witnessing
• Stage Six: Enjoying
Read a Clearing Circle Testimonial
Back to Your Spacious Self
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