In A World of More is Better, Choose Less and Find the Clarity You Seek

Finding Clarity By Clearing Out the Junk!

Our breath is such a vital part of our health and yet we rarely stop to notice or observe how it’s affecting our lives. Oxygen is essential and how you breathe is directly linked to how you feel. If you are looking to bring more clarity into your life then it’s time to clear out the junk both in your environment and in your head.

Today we are surrounded by devices designed to hack into the way we think. Data collecting is so effective that computers know what you want before you do. Information is more accessible than ever before and we have endless knowledge today at a click of a button. A world where information is power has passed. Today the internet has us drowning in too much information and with so much knowledge at our fingertips, it can be hard to know what is true and where we should direct our focus. We have become a society of wondering generalities, making us the most depressed people in history.

Everyone is vying for your attention, and yet we cannot seem to focus on anything for too long. Remember going to see a double-feature in the movie theaters? Who has time and attention for that these days?

If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, then get clear about what you want and where you’re going. Clarity is power. The more clearly you can focus your attention on where you want to go the more success you will draw into your life.

It’s time to filter out the junk!

We humans like things. We save up and work hard to acquire things. We fill our lives with things. We fill everything!

We have so much stuff that we have created a multi-Billion dollar industry just to store our things. We seem to think that all these things will fulfill us. Parting ways with something locked away in a storage unit seems like more work than paying for the storage unit to hold it.

In reality, all these things are doing the opposite. They are weighing us down and causing stress and overwhelm.

It appears Tyler Durden of Fight Club was right when he said, “The things you own end up owning you.”

All of these things we are lugging around with us have a mental, emotional, physical, and even spiritual effect on our livelihood.

• Digital junk is scattering your brain in the form of thousands of unread emails, and too many apps on our phones.
• Clutter around our home is piling up and being stuffed into the closet or room that you never seem to have the energy to go through.

All of these things are keeping you in a state of overwhelm and it’s preventing you from moving forward in your life. It’s time to start downsizing. The more you have to manage around you the more clutter forms in your thoughts.

The more you let these piles and papers, and old tucked-away treasures eat up space in your life the less space you have in your mind to find the clarity you need to be productive and peaceful.

Breathing out the Junk

Your nervous system is constantly sending messages from the brain to the body about what’s happening in your world. When you are caught up in a stressful moment your breathing changes. It becomes quick and shallow and your heart rate steadily increases. This causes you to tense up and affects your breathing pattern more. Now if you are constantly living in stress this short, shallow, tension becomes the norm and leaves you more susceptible to disease.

One factor adding to your stressful life is that closet or room or drawer that we all have that we continually stuff things into that “one day’ we’re going to go through. It’s the emails you saved to read, and all the other lists of to-do’s that you are constantly putting off. It’s building up in your home and in your mind all the while affecting your health.

By simply learning to breathe properly you can start to release 70% of the toxins currently running through your body. This will elevate your mood and invites in more focus and clarity.

Breathwork has become a mindfulness practice that is used worldwide. Intentional breathing helps clear out the mind-clutter and creates space for better decision-making. Numerous studies have found that conscious, slow breathing has a direct effect on the chemical levels in the brain. It has been shown to…

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Decrease pain levels
• Promote better sleep
• Increase focus
• Strengthen the immune system

There are a ton of practices out there that are used for a variety of purposes that range from better sleep to athletic performance, and even to induce a psychedelic experience.

The act of controlling your breath helps center your mind. The calmer you feel in the mind the more receptive you are to notice the subtle body. As you relax you begin to make space for clarity.

Linking the Internal and External World

One of the things about the breath I absolutely love is this give-and-take relationship it provides to your outer and inner world. Every inhale is accompanied by an exhale. You cannot give without also receiving. Your breath is constantly showing you messages about what’s happening inside and what’s happening outside.

The less you have cluttering your mind and environment the more you can use your breath to focus on getting clear about your life.

The truth is you don’t need more things. You need less. You need to create space for clarity to come to you. This is an inside job. Conscious breathwork will shine you up from the inside, and clearing your things away will shine your environment on the outside.

You may not think that all the things are adding to your stress, but it is the micro stressors in life that add up to big issues down the road. We all know the importance of taking care of the big issues but it’s the subtle things that add stagnation to our bodies and mind. Subtle things like clutter.

We all know that a clean environment helps soothe our minds and helps with production levels. So give it a go, and take it in baby steps. If thinking about cleaning up a whole room seems too overwhelming then start by clearing off a counter, or a drawer. Tiny steps that lead to big rewards. Accompany this by consciously breathing and directing your mind and breath into a space of more clarity.

4–7–8

One of the more popular breathing techniques popularized by Dr. Weil is 4–7–8 breathing. It’s easy to see why. This is a great stress reliever that focuses the mind and promotes high levels of concentration and relaxation. I suggest practicing this method once a day just after tackling your baby step clearing of clutter. This method will calm you and give you a greater sense of clarity.

One of the best things about 4–7–8 breathing is that you can do it sitting, or laying down. It’s a great way to put yourself to sleep and reset your nervous system. So how is it done?

1. Sit up straight in a chair with your feet firmly planted on the ground and your back free from support OR sit in a meditation seat on the floor OR lay flat on your back in bed.
2. Exhale completely
3. Through the nose inhale deeply into your belly for a count of four
4. Hold your breath at the top for a count of seven
5. Exhale through the mouth completely with a big whooshing sound as you count to eight
6. Pause for a moment, empty of breath, and repeat for 10 rounds

That’s it. It just takes a few minutes for you to relax your mind and think more clearly.

In a world of more is better, choose less and find the clarity you seek.

Originally published at http://heart-lightstudios.com on June 14, 2022.