Carleana ~ A Soul Coach's Journey: Camino 2014 ~Day 7

Day 5 of Air Week: Clutter – Energy Up/Energy Down:

Today’s affirmation: “Fresh, invigorating energy fills my life”

Three Levels:

#1 Energy Up/Energy Down – get in touch with items in your surroundings; do they life your energy up or do they pull your energy down

#2 Clutter Questionnaire and clearing one area – The questionnaire lists a number of items in your home, workplace, car, etc and asks you to answer yes or no to questions like, is this in need of repair, do you use this, do you love this, etc

#3 Employ the power of Metaphor – This activity takes level two to the next step...if you said ‘yes’ to something that was important to you...ask yourself why? What does it represent for you? It may even mean looking at projects you’re struggling with and break them down. Often things are not as overwhelming as the initially appear; if....we can look at the situation in sections.

With all that I’m going through right now...I didn’t really do #1...partly because, a lot of my stuff is already ‘sorted’ out and when the time is right and when I feel less sensitive, frustrated and wounded....I will allow myself to do this with less contaminated emotion. I did look at #2 and used it to look at the projects I feel more overwhelmed by, a loss of control over and in essence...a little afraid of. Without getting into personal details, I will use a ‘metaphor’ to explain how I looked each of these areas in my life.

Imagine that closet or worse...the “messy bedroom”; when we first open the door and we see the mess, we look at it and think “OMG...this is going to take forever! I’ll never get this done.” And with that approach, that’s right. Because, we’ll say...”I’ll do this when....”, then close the door and forget about it.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. You move a mountain one shovel load at a time. Each journey begins with one step. Choose your analogy.

Stop...turn around and let’s open that door again. Don’t look at the whole room/mess. For now, this moment...let’s pick one thing. Dirty dishes.

The focus is dirty dishes. Are there any dirty dishes in that room? If so, collect all of them up, take them to the kitchen and...either set them on the counter, load them in the dishwasher or wash, dry and put them away. Take a break and reward yourself. Great job ‘self’! Or maybe you’d like to read a chapter of your book or, sitting and sipping on a cup of tea; or enjoy a small piece of chocolate. Now...back to the room and the focus is on something else ~ garbage. Anything that looks like garbage, pick it up and put it in the bag. When that is done...ask yourself, can I try another task before I take a break and celebrate or....shall I reward myself now. Maybe that’s a 5 minute break, lunch time or...maybe that’s all for that project today and you close the door. The reality is, tomorrow when you open that door....you’ve already completed a portion of the task. Now you feel less overwhelmed and your energy is up. You feel inspired and empowered to move forward.

Often, I find when I do this, I end up putting on some fun music, may be burn a scented candle or incense to maintain my motivation. Before long, my ‘reward’ includes throwing in a load of laundry or taking out that trash or dusting. In no time, I’ve not only finished that initial project, but a few others as well; that’s when I “Play Full Out” and really reward myself. Maybe I soak in the bath or dinner at a favourite restaurant or a new book, perfume.... The point is....the reward becomes two fold...the task is complete and...I’ve recognized and honoured myself.

DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED; if you live with even one other person!!!!!!! I soooo get it ~ I no sooner get that one room cleaned, move on to the next and....you’d never know I cleaned the first room. OMG....how frustrating can that be. Even though you’ll likely be the one to clean it again....that is OK! As I said...the point is....you set an intention, you achieved it, and the task was complete. You MUST honour yourself for that! The rest....it doesn’t matter; at least for now! We can discuss how to deal with the “others” another time, but today...it’s about “me” and the moment.

I pulled a card from my deck “Messages From the Wee Folk”; Wee Folk meaning the Faeries, Gnomes, Sprites....the sacred energies and guides we have in nature. The card I pulled was “Balance”. It reminds us that we are multifaceted; each part of us is a very integral part of who we are as a whole person. I am not “just” Carleana.... I’m a woman, I’m a daughter, a sister, a mother, a friends, a mentor, an active participant and leader in my community, I’m an estranged spouse, I’m a spiritual guide, I’m a healer, I’m victim, an advocate, a visionary, an explorer....and so much more, but bottom line...I am who I am. And each of my parts makes me Who I Am!

I am proud of who I am; each and every part of me. They give me opportunities to be thankful, resourceful, assertive, strong, gracious, loving, humble, protective... alive. In order to be all that and so much more...it is important to remember to check in and maintain balance it all of my life...in all that I am and can be.

Two years ago to....speaking of being gracious and strong...and balance; I began day 4 of my Camino de Compostella. I didn’t sleep as well as I had hoped. My feet, while they feel much better, are still sore particularly a couple of the blisters. The shoes were a gift from the heavens and all my guides; my reward! Even today, as I allow my soul to go back to that moment....I feel the ease of pain from my feet. The soft spongy soles of these shoes and...the freedom my feet felt; ahhhhh. The socks provided added protection and...the bandages, extra cushion.

Some of the things I remember about this day was the foggy, chilly and dewy morning. As I walked, I felt the dew drops; my fingers were numbed by the morning’s chilled air; but it was fresh and clear.

The beautiful little “Ant Cafe” and how I spent too much time, just sitting and enjoying how I felt there.

Walking around a bend, into a ‘town’, and there before me....a herd of cattle, drinking from a town water reservoir.

And then...learning that scent I had been enjoying....eucalyptus trees; forests of them.

The Camino can be done in a variety of ways...I chose to arrange to have predetermined stops set, meaning I booked my hotels, with breakfast and supper included and my luggage transferred from point A to point B daily. Some people rely on hostiles. Today, one of the stops required for the passports was a hostile. OMG....Americans – English as a first language! There was a group of mission workers who were there working to help maintain this hostile for pilgrims on their Camino. I can’t compare this hostile to any others....but I can say I was very impressed. Nothing like any accommodations I’ve ever see anywhere else either; but I dare say...the place really felt like it hadn’t changed is the 1800’s when it was first built ~ the real 1800’s; not Hollywood’s version of that time period.

The scenery was beautiful...the sun warmed up the air and...I made it through another day.