It took a long time to realize that my mind that was always thinking-thinking-figuring things out- figuring things out had a huge impact on my life.

I never realized the importance of space in my mind.  After all, it was my mind that helped me to rise academically, it was what was most prized about me by everyone I knew, it was so much of how I had defined myself.

I had become accustomed to always filling my mind— books, lectures, new articles, problem solving, research and more figuring things out.  Learning is powerful and vital,  but I had no space to “just be me.”

As this carried on, the thinking became mental pressure, stress, comparison, looking for the “right ways” to do things that was outside of myself. Someone had to have the right answers and I wanted that information.

The more I looked, the more it evaded me. It was a recipe to stay stuck, frustrated and puzzled.

It was creating clutter.  I was blocking my own “manifestation” ability. And all the while,  I thought I was doing something that should bring me success?

It wasn’t the books and lectures and data that was making me stuck… it was all of that stuff and no breaks that was dulling my own sparkle.

Today’s feng shui is all about moving into a minimalist mindset.  It was this vital clutter clearing that didn’t just transform my home, but, in essence, it cracked open a world of possibility, abundance and so much more ease.

A minimalist mindset is everything to me now.  I need time for reflecting without trying or analysis. I need space.

In fact, when I feel I’m too deep in analysis, I know I need to walk away from whatever I’m doing because I’m on the wrong energy track.

I wash windows, scrub the oven, make a salad, call a friend, bake cookies…

Even in writing this, while inspired to write the first words, I had to take a long nap to write the rest with a fresh mind.

I know, you probably can’t nap or start deep cleaning in the middle of work.

But, you likely can meditate.

5 or 10 minutes meditating can make the hugest difference in your day.  I know that some people like to start and end the day this way, but I like to use it as a break when I’m mentally starting to fizzle or I feel pulled in too many directions.

I am not trained to meditate. I sit, close my eyes, breathe and try to focus on my inhales and exhales, counting them now to stay more in tune with the breath.

I know, I could do 100 things differently, but this works for me, it’s simple and why make it hard?

If you’re working too hard, shift to enjoyment instead of pressure. 

My once-very-cluttered mind would start to spin, and I’d see this as vial to my success.  I needed mental pressure and all kinds of rigor to “know” that I was working hard enough.

Even though I had success, I also had this really enormous limitation while believing the world worked this way:

If I gave 100,000% of my hard work and this is the result and it’s still not enough (money, creativity, impact, etc) than exactly how hard would I have to work to have enough?!

I had a very false equation in m mind that you are rewarded only and evenly according to the amount of hard work you do.

Don’t get my wrong, I still do a lot of work… but it is all really really fun.  And, if it’s not fun, I know I’m doing something wrong.

The energy with which you do things is more important than what you do.

I say this to everyone. I believe in this wholeheartedly.  When I started to live this truth in action, my life transformed.

When your mind is vigilantly seeking to be right and make sure it’s all right, you won’t be able to summon your creative energy.

“Creative energy is the opposite of control,” as the story goes, so if you try hard to control things, you are not creating.

The energy is off.  Even if you create something that’s “technically perfect” out of all that forceful perfectionism, it might not resonate with that “it factor” of genius that we all love.

I think that’s why I am so obsessed with handmade objects now, cooking my own food as much as possible, getting into the visceral rather than the pre-packaged.  There is art and energy involved that is inimitable.  I think I may have even found new bedding that’s made by hand by someone who’s energy I love on Instagram.

This is all contrary to all things I was raised to believe.

I started teaching (my secret is coming out— I started a Feng Shui program for pros— The School of Intention) and I teach it LIVE because there’s something incredibly visceral about the experience.  It’s an adventure every single session. It works.  It feels right.

It may not always be live, but until I ‘m ready to capture all of this same essence in pre-filmed video, it will be live every time.

These are the things that thrill me now— how can I put more awesome energy into the day?!

How can you put more awesome energy into your own days? 

Cluttered minds breed clutter everywhere.

At the same time as I’d spend a lot of time in a frenzy of very arduous work and struggle, I’d see emails pile up, to-do lists getting overwhelmingly huge and all kinds of junk accumulating in my car, my purse, my wallet, my desk… my computer…

My cluttered mind wasn’t just limiting what I could do, it was also breeding clutter everywhere in my life!

Pay attention to your instincts.  They are there for a reason! 

You can mentally reason yourself away from instincts.

You can smash brilliant ideas because they go against rules.

You can stop awesome ideas in their tracks because they’re so crazy.

Or, you can listen and flow and don’t quickly dismiss the voice that goes against reason.

Many great artists wait for, hope for and wish for accidents to happen, paint to spill, a frame of the film to get glitchy, an act of intervention from a mystical place that makes everything amazing.

Minimalist mindset is about right now.

Right now is this amazing, brilliant moment full of potential.

When you can simplify, you can actually live so much more powerfully.

You can start now…

Spending a few minutes meditating. 

Walking away when you’re thinking too much. 

Listening to your instincts instead of brushing them aside.

Opting for more fun over a few more hours of work when you’re tired and uninspired. 

It can be that easy to start tuning into a whole different flow.

From that place, everything starts to become about energy.  It becomes more true, more resonant and more powerful. 

This shift can change everything!

xoxo

Dana