The Energetic Space
I’ve been going through bouts of cleaning house lately - literally and metaphorically. Not only did my “spring cleaning” phase decide to become a squatter and extend far into summer, I find myself with a much fuller reserve of energy than I have for a long time. I had some ongoing chronic issues that had built up over a number of years; now spending this summer recovering, I find my health and motivation soaring higher than they have in a long time. I’m taking advantage of this “go time” to really examine my space and walking through it with intention.
When we clean house, we tend to automatically think of the physical components. How much dust, where does the furniture go, do I really need all these sweaters? There have definitely been components of a physical clearing in the process (I believe the last count was 9 bags of clothes, 2 bags of kitchenware, 3 bags of etcetera objects, a pile of pillows and a vacuum that were all donated) but I found myself wanting to shift gears this week. I wanted to tune in and do some summer cleaning on the energetic presence of my home.
We had a guest stay with us last weekend. As any introvert or ambivert knows, having your home space play host to anyone (even friends and family) can throw off your groove. I found myself taking longer than usual to settle back into my usual routine afterwards. Doing dumb little things I never do - yolk dripped all over the floor during breakfast, tea spilled across the back counter in the living room. Multiple nights of laying down to sleep and several hours of just staring at the ceiling in the darkness. I figured it was time to do a big reset for myself and the space to make it feel “right” again.
In order to clear the entire house, I wanted to start in the back corner of the basement where the guest room area is, just to work my way from back to front, bottom to top. I had done space clearings before and figured it would be a sweeping through each room, quick and easy enough. I anticipated feeling the energy flow as I swept it all up to clear to the next.
What I did not anticipate was the metaphorical wall of energy sitting heavily in the very first corner of the basement.
It felt like trying to pull heavy blankets off the bed or two-day melted snow, thick and dense. There was a layer of the energy of the latest guest and everything they were working through at this moment. And then a layer of when parents stayed in the corner during an unexpected week-long hospital stay in our family. A layer of another family member staying when my dad was diagnosed as terminally ill and we thought he had days or hours to live. Layer after layer, traumatic energy after traumatic energy, tension sitting upon fear sitting upon upheaval. I knew that we carry different rooms in different areas of our brain but this was like each event crawled into my body and I felt them. Slowly, one layer at a time.
I took time with each room, taking care to treat each emotion and event as a sacred bridge. They were important moments that held important alchemy. And while they were important moments that lived in this space, they were no longer needed. Definitely no longer welcome. It took far longer to clear out the space than I had anticipated, and it certainly was not done in one sitting. Even yesterday, days after the first clearing, I could feel the charged air of kicked up energy swirling its way out of here. The feeling of warm magma buzzing in me. The space red and raw like scrubbed cheeks, exfoliating the very walls. I tried to write this post three or four times yesterday and the words wouldn’t flow; they were sticky and tangled up in the release like the rest of it.
It is so important to care for our space as we do for ourselves. There is a great shift into understanding the totality of self-care. Not just ice cream and sleeping in, not just moving at the gym three days a week. It’s regulating the nervous system. Returning to the breath. Tuning in to honor the way it communicates and allowing its natural rhythms. The same for our space - we must let it breathe. We must clear out the memories and charge of our physical space to connect to the energetic vessel it creates for us. As I write this I can feel the call for a second pass of a clearer, brighter reiki clearing through these rooms. A moisturizer after the scrub, a salve or boost to start fresh on the highest possible note.
What is one thing you can do today to show your safe and sacred space some self care today? The gritty, move-the-energy, elbows-deep-in-mud self care? It can be as simple as clearing some physical objects. A clearing or smudge. A dance party or karaoke session to put some good groove in the space. Or clearing the cobwebs and heavy memories from the furthest corners of your rooms to start fresh. Let me know below - or let me know how I can help you know where to start.