I once joked in a profile that my hobby was “attempting to meditate.”
As a physically dynamic person, sitting still and watching my breath and thoughts has always been a struggle. However, in my meditation attempt this morning, I found myself visualizing scrubbing and polishing my internal world; starting at the base of the spine, coming up the back, into the mind and then back down the spine.
How to start your fall cleaning meditation
Cleaning one’s space can be helpful for restoring peace and order in one’s world. So why not try some internal fall cleaning for yourself? Here’s how:
- Take a comfortable seat.
- Let the breath be even. If you prefer, count the inhale and the exhale.
- Be present and accept with what is.
- Choose your favorite cleaning gadget, Maybe it’s a Swiffer, a tile scrub brush, or a soft cloth. Whatever the tool, see yourself polishing clean the residue from the previous day, or the projections into the future.
As you do this, can you focus on the removal of debris without aggression or obsession, but rather with patience and kindness for all that has built up? Pause in between each round of traveling up the spine, towards the center of the brain, if you can manage it, and again back down the spine.
How to find internal tidines
External tidiness is not necessary to achieve prior to internal tidiness. Watch any impulse to leave your seat and go dust the floor or finish the dishes. Do you first. All else will follow.
If the spine or torso isn’t working for you, you can also focus on different parts of the body, clearing the emotional cobwebs from the limbs, sweeping or saging, whatever method speaks to you. Focusing on the eyes, you can imagine cleansing yourself of any rigid perspectives, unhelpful patterns or painful distortions of reality that may be happening. You can focus on the mouth, dusting off words that no longer serve you or others. Let yourself be creative.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ali Psiuk is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) at Well Clinic who strives to assist others in creating a life worth living and to lessen suffering.
According to Ali, “We are all naturally equipped with a drive towards health and wellness but sometimes we get stuck and need to reach for outside support. Never lose hope. Psychotherapy can help.”
