Spring cleaning - 2022

 

Spring cleaning - 2022

This is "Dhanurmasam" - month so special to Lord Vishnu {of Vedic philosophy......} 

Let's do some spring cleaning......

Every day, starting today, let's start to clean our houses - little a day....

It can be any part of the house you choose to clean....

Some of you have maids/helps that do all this menial work. Yet, your wardrobe is cleaned/arranged only by you, isn't it? so you can do that or even cleaning or decluttering your purses/files also would be counted for this exercise....

Others, let's clean up the entire house in the next 7 days. Those who have hectic schedule, you can continue for few more days as you please....just clean every day - that is the rule........

It can be dusting, sorting, cleaning just about anything ......

If there is any doubt, please verify by asking questions - don't sit back because of doubts......

and every day, after cleaning up, just mention the same in the blog....you need not even tell how much you have cleaned or how much time you spent - even just "I cleaned today" also is welcome...

also read previous post for further clarification on cleaning :https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=cleaning any questions or comments/feedback on this link also welcome....

hope the link gives you tips on cleaning the easy way too.....

On Spring cleaning – The task of the sadhan for November 2024 – demystified

 

On Spring cleaning – The task of the sadhan for November 2024 – demystified

What does all this cleaning teach us?

How is cleaning related to healing?

How to relate cleaning to healing?

Refer all previous posts on sadhan for Novemeber to understand better. 

We have kept our experiences, emotions and feelings bottled up in so many various places that we feel suffocated and filled. No doubt, we don’t feel airy (free).

We feel cramped. We feel suffocated.

But when we sit in meditation and look at our hurt (here I have taken one emotion to explain. You can take any other emotion – the lesson is the same for all) we realize we have ‘pains’ that we gathered over the years and janmas too – if we dig deep enough.

Again, when we look closely at our various pains and hurts, we’ll realize they all had the same base and reason. The result was we played the ‘victim card’ in most cases or situations in life.

But, if we just sort those experiences right and look at them objectively we may realize that others behaving so was their nature (and they’ll bear karma for the same) but feeling victimized was our ‘choice’. We can still choose to ‘go free’ from that feeling. We can release ourselves from our guilt and shame.

We rearrange our thoughts, set right our emotions and lo, we have emptied ourselves of unnecessary clutter of painful emotions that we had been carrying all these years.

Cleaning the house is much more than sweeping and mopping.

Declutter your thoughts.

Set right your emotions, and bam – clarity of thought has increased dramatically – way to go!

Go clean – inside out!

**************** 

What did you learn this time via cleaning your house?

What did you understand about cleaning?

How do you feel at the end of this month about yourself and your home?

How to apply this in healing?

also read https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2022/08/reflections-on-cleaning-3.html

   

Reflections – on cleaning – 1

 

Contd....

Reflections – on cleaning – 1

Now, if we look at the above situation and act of cleaning, we’ll understand so many things about ourselves and our life! We also get our answers – to the questions long pending too!

Let’s see them point wise –

1.This Reiki channel did ‘cleaning’ the office. That was not ‘her job’. And yet, she did – why? Because she owned that office! She identified with it. She lived there for so many hours and so felt that keeping it clean was beneficial to her. She didn’t do that to ‘impress someone’ or to get a ‘raise’. She just owned it and did it.  If this Reiki channel can do that in her office, why are not we able to do the same with our house? Do we own our house? Yes, to demand things and comforts from it – many times. But, when it comes to cleaning, we think it to be ‘someone else’s’ duty and let it pass. Think about it! Who's stopping us from cleaning our office, our desk and our house?

“so she decided to clean the ‘long pending’ rack.” – look at these words here. She said it is “long pending”. Is it not the same for all of us? Are we not keeping ‘pending’ such jobs of cleaning?

Contd....

# on cleaning, attitude, owning the space we occupy, healing self, happiness, procrastination, laziness, little miracles, little nothings of life, mundane routine of life, abundance, on choices, opportunities

also read suggested : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2017/02/indian-mythology-advaitha.html 

Points to ponder & questions to ask :

• Why do we postpone cleaning?
• Do we have a list of long pending 'works to do'? Is it not time to take it out and work on it???
• Who do we think will come to clean our place if we keep postponing doing it?

 

Reflections- On Cleaning – 2

 

Contd....

Reflections- On Cleaning – 2

It was clean as slate. I beamed. Now that cleaned corner inspired me to do more cleaning. I went to my other balcony where I had my plants. It was mess with plant mulch etc. first, I loosened up soil in all the pots. This caused more sand to fall on the floor. I was glad. It was good. Now, I can clean all in one go. Then I cut old and dead leaves and branches. I trimmed the plants. Good again! Now, I put the trimmed mulch in various pots and covered with soil. I was glad of my work. Then I saw ‘ash’ from my daily homam handing in the cover. Time to put manure to the plants. I put ash in all the plants. This too was long pending!!

Next, I had to sweep and wash the balcony. It being very small and with multiple small pots, it actually is a very laborious job than otherwise. But, I was in a zone! I tucked my saree to let the Universe know that I am on war footing today. Yes, cleaning is a job of a soldier. I swept, washed the floor.

Now, the balcony was as new as a bride – gleaming and shining! I loved this part the most of any cleaning, where I just looked at the area cleaned and grinned as an Olympic Champion. Each unto his own! My little jobs were equally daunting and equally satisfying to me! I felt relieved of so much of ‘nagging’ from my head! I felt light! It wasn’t outside cleaning that I had done. I had cleaned my inner clutter. The inner voice that kept pestering me, belittling me, demeaning me stopped. I felt I had won over this little vicious ‘me’ within me! I had won one more battle against myself!

Contd....

# outer world reflection of inner world, on cleaning, cleanliness and happiness, abundance, attitude, little nothings of life, mundane routines of life, spirituality in day-to-day life activities, perception, awareness, mindfulness,

also read suggested : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2018/08/bhagavatam-krishna-answers-king_29.html 

and also 

https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2017/02/indian-mythology-advaitha.html 

Points from the post :

"It was clean as slate. I beamed. Now that cleaned corner inspired me to do more cleaning." - Cleanliness by itself gives us joy. And once we start cleaning, even little patch that is cleaned will inspire and motivate us to clean the other areas of house.

Same is the case with Self. Once we become aware of our qualities that is not up to the mark, we start working on them and find that if we decide we CAN and we DO overcome our weaknesses. Even little progress is enough to inspire us to be walking this path with more dedication, vigour and commitment. 

" I felt I had won over this little vicious ‘me’ within me! I had won one more battle against myself " - Every time we overcome our old habit of living in pain and giving pain, we have won a battle over ourselves. Trust me this is the most satisfying war ever fought. It is the ONLY war worth fighting. We can never feel 'confident of ourselves' till we have overcome that 'nagging voice' within ourselves. We need to lift ourselves in our own eyes. This is not for someone else. This is not even for heaven or hell's sake. NO! This is not to please some God or Guru. This is to earn respect in our own eyes. 

This is the battle we fight with ourselves to win over ourselves to gain appreciation from ourselves. Such a joke!

Just think about it!

Spring cleaning - 2022

 

Spring cleaning - 2022

Further to https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2022/12/spring-cleaning-2022_19.html?showComment=1671485700541 

to those who got back with " experiences of cleaning yesterday" through blog post, sent reiki for them .......

if you notice or make any observation, insight, understanding while cleaning your house, do get back with them too.....

but for me to send reiki to you even a simple 'i cleaned' would do though.....

# cleaning, cleaning house, self healing and cleaning the house, inner world reflection of outer world, daily routine of life, being spiritual the easy way, mundane routine of life, simple joys of life, 

previous post worth visiting on similar topic https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2009/05/belief-systems.html

Kabir ke dohe - On cleaning!

 

Kabir ke dohe - On cleaning!

 

Nahaaye dhoye kya hua

Man maila na jaye

Meen sadaa jal mein rahe

Dhoye baas na jaye

नहाये धोये क्या हुआ 

मन मैला ना  जाये 

मीन सदा जल में रहे 

धोये बॉस ना जाए।  

What is the use of taking a bath or washing and cleaning

for the dirt of the mind doesn't go away 

As fish is ever in water 

and yet even after cleaning its stench doesn't go away...

It means:

Don't be so stuck up on just the rituals (like cleaning the body etc) for any amount of cleaning the body doesn't do away with the dirt of the mind. Just as the fish is ever in water and yet its stench remains with it forever!

Concentrate on the cleaning of intentions, attitudes, and emotions from within for only that remains and that matters - both to you and in the end!

(those who can translate better, welcome)

Meanings:

meen - fish

nahaaye - taking bath

dhoye - washing

baas - stench (bad smell or odour)

# kabir, dohe, on cleaning the body, rituals, 

read suggested on related topic https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2009/05/belief-systems.html

and

https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2017/12/me-my-guru-stories-and-all-god-god-in.html 

and

https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2020/11/change-perspective-lady.html 

read all the links given or only one - your wish...

come back with your understandings and observations.......

Reflections- On Cleaning – 2

 

Contd....

Reflections- On Cleaning – 2

And to think I took all these days’ nay weeks to get to work. By delaying I had not reduced the work. But on the contrary, I had felt ‘little’ of myself. I gained my pride by completing this simple task. I earned my self-esteem and self-respect by making the right choice today to do over postponing to do.  If found myself. I found job. I celebrated happiness. Such is the way to ‘catch life’ in our hold. It didn’t better my health. It didn’t bring back ‘lost relationships’ in my life, it didn’t’ increase my bank balance. And yet, I felt more energetic, joyous, happy, smiling, glad, satisfied in a long time to come!

Rightly said “It takes ONLY SIMPLE THINGS” to reclaim your life!!!

Beware of your mind which gives understandings in these way:

“My mom always asks to keep the house clean, now I understand why she said it etc etc”

“My sister/aunt/etc always keep the house clean. They are not even Reiki Channel and yet…”

“I always go to sleep only after cleaning the entire house” and such related statements – if this is how logic and your mind gives you an understanding, mark this post and let it go. Go heal yourself for couple of months. Read this post again. Then again go back to healing and then come back again. Do this till you get it right!

Don’t let your mind fool you into believing ‘wrong understanding’ as ‘having understood’.

Be smarter than your mind!

***

Contd....

# outer world reflection of inner world, on cleaning, cleanliness and happiness, abundance, attitude, little nothings of life, mundane routines of life, spirituality in day-to-day life activities, perception, awareness, mindfulness,

also read suggested : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=Me%2C+My+Guru+-+Stories+and+All%21+Clean+the+House%21 

Points from post :

"By delaying I had not reduced the work. But on the contrary, I had felt ‘little’ of myself." - We have right to postpone cleaning - both outside and inside. We can choose to be who we are for all the eternity to come! We can choose to still play all the games we are adept at. 

But just as by delaying outside cleaning our inner voice keeps nagging us and robs us of our peace of mind, so too, unless we heal ourselves from within the inner voice will not let us 'just be'!

So better now than later....Why postpone doing the inevitable?

Start today, start now and do it honestly....

"I gained my pride by completing this simple task. " - Respect, confidence, fearlessness, courage - all are earned by cleaning ourselves. They are not received from outside. As we heal we gain these things. And people ask "But I have done this healing, then why didn't get this material benefit?" Material benefit is the side effect of healing, not the purpose. The main benefit is that we gain respect for ourselves. Our confidence increases. We overcome fear! What more can we ask for!

"Mind games" - are also given to keep you safe from misunderstanding this post. Till you master your mind, it is not to be believed with logic and understanding. Be alert of your mind!

Spring cleaning - TV rack

 

Contd....

Spring cleaning - TV rack

So you see it is just not about cleaning the house.

It is just a small exercise that reflects where we have grown, where we still need to work and where and why we lack a few things and abilities in our life.

Is it clear now?

What is clear now?

There is a marked connection between who you are, your sadhan, your healing and its effect on your lives.

Sadhan and healing though are related to spirituality they very powerfully impact every aspect of our life – the smallest of our acts too are governed by who we are!

As I always say “Bhogi hone ke liye bhi yogi hona zaroori hai”

“Even to enjoy this World, you need to be detached from it”

If the connection is clear, what are you waiting for?

Start cleaning the self – the mind where we reside mostly!

You know the various drills – right?

Concluded.....

******************* 

# spring cleaning, cleaning, healing, outer world reflection of inner world, change self and see the World change, heal self, healing the World, 

read suggested https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/2022/07/reflections-on-cleaning-2_0614053454.html 

What is the whole exercise do to you?

How did you go about with this sadhan?

What did you gain?

What did you lose?

What is the moral of the story?

Experiences, understandings, observations if any.....

 

Reflections - On cleaning – 3

Contd....

Reflections - On cleaning – 3

Points to ponder and reading the post right: Bathroom represents our deep, dark shame or guilt. It represents all that we are ‘throwing’ out of us that are ‘disgusting and harmful to us and our well-being’.

1."One bathroom was irritating me for quite some time. It was due for cleaning." It is possible you haven’t healed of late and the dirt has settled on you

OR

You are healing regularly but even you know it’s not complete or good enough.

2."Reasons many and valid – lack of time and energy and disinterest." Reasons are same for both cleaning – be it outside or inside.

3. "Just a little was good enough. Just a little cleaning pecked me up". Don’t look at all that needs to be addressed. It would be mountain size and our lack of time, energy and interest would make it even more difficult task.

Instead, take a little of healing – like you pick up one aspect of healing and start dusting the ‘cover of anger, jealousy, shame and guilt (and so on)’ over self! Before long you’ll find the ‘dust’ cleaned and you’ll find yourself radiating through every pore of yourself.

Just one step at a time.

Just one technique a day.

Heal just one aspect a day! 

Contd....

# on cleaning, outer world reflection of inner world, character and attitudes, facts of life, mundane routine of life, purpose of life, life as we see it, spirituality and daily little nothings of life, life is a teacher, teaching moments during the day, wanting something, rights and responsibilities, 

previous posts on this topic : https://kantipadam.blogspot.com/search?q=Reflections-+On+Cleaning+%E2%80%93+2 

On spring cleaning - Do away with unused items!

 

Contd.....

On spring cleaning - Do away with unused items!

Physically, the space is cleared.

The shelves look empty, clean and sorted.

Psychologically – it’s relieving. Feels unburdened.

Spiritually – we need to ask what are the things we need to keep. The things that are of no use can be thrown away.

The house that we stay in for a very short time in our life – well, we are ‘so proud’ of keeping it clean. We do this cleaning religiously. We take time, money, interest and energy to decorating it.

Then how much more should we bother about the mind that needs to be cleaned?

Is it not already established that it is what is in the mind that impacts our body?

Anything that takes us away from our ‘glorified version’ can be done away with.

Lies, manipulations, deceit and badmouthing that we have pushed under the carpet – let’s vacuum them off our ‘mind space’.

Our shame and guilt that we have hidden in our closets – let’s throw them away!

The ego that we carry on our sleeves – do we really need it that much?

Look at it closely to see how it is harming our relationships and life.

“Cleaning” is for the house we live.

“Healing” is for the body, mind and intellect that we live in.

Understand the relationship. 

Act accordingly!

Be as enthusiastic of cleaning the mind and ego as your houses!

Happy cleaning!

Concluded.....

************ 

# spring cleaning, clarity of thought, mindfulness, awareness, chaotic and clarity, healing