Every person tries to clean clutter from their homes, at least twice a year. We call it spring cleaning, or fall cleaning, which is done before Christmas. Regardless of when you do it, you know how hard it is to part with sentimental “junk” that you have collected over the years. We all have some kind of memories attached to articles from the past that we keep. We hold onto these things and have a hard time getting rid of them, things like a romantic card, a child’s first drawing or project, letters from an old boyfriend, pictures without dates. I have boxes of these kinds of “memories” and want to be able to separate from them but sometimes find that I spend more time looking through them to decide what to get rid of than I actually do discarding them.

When we spring clean our belongings with memories, it becomes a very big chore. It is a necessary chore that allows us to have more space, light and energy in our home and ultimately in our life. We must then approach it as a chore, or any activity that we expend energy and time and prepare ourselves for a pretty big task.

We need to take a deep breath, inhaling good energy. As we exhale, we want to get rid of any old, stale energy that has us tied done. We want to inhale deeply, filling our lungs and mind with cleansing energy and oxygen, telling ourselves that this task will bring us a renewed spirit. As we exhale, we need to acknowledge the chains that bind us to all the memorabilia that we have collected over time.

As we think of the job at hand, we need to inhale clarity, so we can exhale clutter. We need to breathe in calmness so we can exhale emotional disarray. While thinking of all the possibilities of more space and light and energy we will have when we are finished with cleaning the clutter of our lives, we can exhale what stands in our way. We can have order in our lives by claiming the space and the light we deserve by eliminating the emotional clutter in our homes.

Once we are in state of relaxation, as we continue to breathe in fresh, new air and exhale tensions and stress, we begin to realize that our lives and homes have become less a place of relaxation than a place filled with memories, conflict and worries. We begin to sense that the memories that we have held onto have taken our freedom away by filling our spaces with clutter so we have a hard time making new memories.

When we decide to clear the clutter of our lives, we are choosing to let go of the old and embrace the new. There becomes a sense of hope and joyous feeling that our spirits will be lifted and our home filled with sunshine, brightness and positive energy again. It is as if we can finally realize that all the old stuff we have been hanging onto is holding back in history. The clutter that has been taking up space in our homes and hearts has kept us from moving forward.

As we finish this deep breathing exercise, we have begun the act of cleaning our closets, attics and minds of the clutter we have collected. With a renewed sense of wanting order and space in our homes, we can begin the task of getting rid of history that will not be important to anyone after we are gone from this earth.

In order to clear out the excess, the clutter, the stored memorabilia, we need to ask ourselves certain questions. As we look at each item, we must limit our time to one minute to decide its value when we ask the questions. There are 3 ways to get rid of clutter: toss it, donate it or keep it. The items you keep should only be 10% of what you have to discard. As you go through everything, the questions to ask yourself should be: What does this item mean to me? How does it make me feel when I look at it? Is it holding me in the past? Is it as important to someone else as it is to me?

If you determine an item too valuable to part with, then be grateful that you have it. When you determine which things won’t be important to others after you’re gone, then donate them or toss them. After you have cleared out 99% of the clutter, look around your home and acknowledge all the extra room you have and how much lighter and brighter your surroundings seem to be. Don’t you feel liberated, free and more energetic? Congratulate yourself for a job well done and then move on. You can do this every time you feel overwhelmed by the clutter in your life.

“Forgiveness means that you do not hold others responsible for your experiences.” ~Gary Zukav

If you’re like me, you have a garage or attic or basement full of junk–old clothes that don’t fit or that are outdated, boxes of children’s toys, paperwork you’ll never need or even look at again. We have sentimental attachments to things that are just taking up space.

These items, while maybe not physically holding you back, may be psychologically holding you back. They are definitely weighing you down. And yet, unless you have a real problem with an overabundance of ‘stuff’, it’s probably not that much of an issue.

What about the things you store in your mind? You’ll find some memories there of the pleasures of living–weddings, anniversaries, births–maybe some sadnesses–deaths and loss. These are what make up a complete life, the highs and lows, ebb and flow. You’ve also got knowledge and appreciation up there, as well as all of your abilities–how to bake a cake, change your oil, ride a bicycle.

We’ve also got some junk up there. One of the fastest ways to get rid of this junk is the act of forgiveness. In an upcoming article I’ll give you some specifics on how to use forgiveness to dispose of some of this useless garbage.

The ultimate purpose of forgiveness is not to make you a better person, it’s not to benefit the person you’re forgiving, and it’s not even to make you right with God or work out your karma (though these are all side benefits of forgiving).

The real purpose is to clear out your other than conscious mind, to free it up from any negativity that is holding you back and preventing you from achieving everything you ever wanted.

‘By beholding be become changed.’ That’s one of my favorite Bible quotes.

This means, that the more you focus on, the more you are going to become what that focus is. Are you focusing on creating money or on debt? Are you focusing on health or on sickness?

To focus on bitter feelings and hard knocks and tough life lessons, then that becomes a piece of us. One of the reasons we’re here on planet earth, the school called earth, is to learn to understand we are in dominion, not domination, and we are able to have everything we ever wanted.

Try this: imagine you’re dividing your unconscious into sections and lump all of the ‘bad’ parts–the troubles, difficulties, problems, resentments–into one section.

What percentage of your unconscious is being consumed by that mental garbage?

If you took it all and assigned it a value. . .a percentage, as in, well, 5% of my unconscious, or other than conscious, is taken up by this junk. How does that affect you to think of that large a chunk of your mind is engaged in negativity? What if you had to give 5% of your income to a really negative cause? I’m assuming that would not please you.

When we employ the process of forgiveness, we clear out that 1 or 5 or 15% and make space for more of what we want.

Coming soon: Part II–the process of forgiveness is mapped out for you.

While for so many people this holiday season is about rampant commercialism, keeping up with the Joneses and rushing to keep up with a hectic schedule, we should all jump off the speed train and take time to not only appreciate the true meaning of Christmas but also to embrace the true spirit of Christmas.

Emotionally this is a difficult time of year for so many. Depression and anger drive up the rates of suicide and domestic violence. Stress builds upon stress to destroy the holiday cheer of many.

The underlying problem for so many people is that they focus all their energy on what they do not have rather than embracing what they do have — that is what Christmas spirit is all about.

Whether or not you are an ardent Christian, if you live in the Western World then you know that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. The Christ child is a symbol of love, light, hope and peace that makes this such a joyful season for true believers. However, even among the believers, there are some for which this message is not enough to overcome the depression, anger and stress of the season.

That is why it is so important to embrace the true meaning of Christmas. You need to reach down within yourself to find the spirit of Christmas. In order to embrace the true Christmas spirit you must be willing to give. Give of yourself, your time and your love, and give of your worldly possessions. Do not think of the gifts you give to others as an obligation or duty, but think of it as a symbol of your love for them. While no gift can accurately reflect the love we feel for those who are near and dear to us, we can show them that they matter by spending time and thought to create or select a gift with meaning.

My son likes to make his gifts and spends a long time designing and then creating these items. Granted, we could have bought a sweatshirt with “world’s best grandpa” printed on by a factory, but I expect that his grandfathers will cherish the shirts he designed himself and then created with fabric paint — misspellings, oddly-formed pictures and all. If you are struggling with your Christmas spirit then perhaps you should avoid the mall entirely this season and find a different way to give?

Embracing the spirit of Christmas also means giving to those beyond our immediate sphere as well, especially those most in need. Obviously it is easy to throw some money in a Salvation Army collection, and that is certainly worth doing, but if your Christmas spirit needs a boost then perhaps you should try something more hands-on.

Local churches, schools, and charitable organizations can usually give you a list of opportunities to give and help. For example, through my church we have taken up a shoebox collection (creating an assortment of holiday gifts that will fit into a plastic shoebox and then are shipped to need children overseas) and bought coats and clothing for needy children in our community. I helped wrap the coats and clothing as well as contributed to both campaigns and it did wonders for making me appreciate what I possess.

Embrace the spirit of Christmas and find the true meaning of the season to bring more joy and happiness into your life.