"Life is what happens to us while we are
[busy] making other plans."
–Allen Saunders
Dear friends,
We've all had those days when life shows up unannounced, in ways we didn't ask for, or see coming.
That was me at Costco the other day on an ordinary weekday afternoon. The place was packed and it wasn't even Thanksgiving!
It started with someone mindlessly wandering off with my cart. She had gone quite a distance and would have kept going if I hadn't run to stop her.
Didn't think much of it, until it happend again! Different person this time. Caught in the act. This time I'm laughing.
Until I'm not. As I'm checking out – doing that rushing thing that we do when the lines are long and we just want to get outta there – one of those big, unwieldy, flatbed carts full of huge sacks of grain comes out of nowhere and rams into the back of my legs.
Ouch! Seriously, dude?! Are you frickin' kidding me!?
That's when I lost it. Lost my center, my resilience, my patience, my equanimity, my humor, my mojo... all of it went poof out the window... not from pain so much as from shock, fight-and-flight activation, and moving too fast. The energies were clearly wonky that day and I had no bandwidth to deal with them.
It reminded me of this cartoon I love by Hugh McLeod:
The good news is I know enough about stuck energy and spaces (and people moving through them) to know that stress is not personal. No one set out purposefully to hurt me that day. It's just energy; energy that can get disturbed when we're unable to process the chaos as it arises because... we're not paying attention.
Yes, left unchecked, a glob of stress can stick around and grow into a veritable minefield of mindlessness and short tempers for all of us to bump into – especially in big box stores full of people at holiday time.
And while we cannot control the mindlessness or the madness, we can change our relationship with it and raise our game.
We can actively choose to slow down and simplify the moment we become aware that something is off. We can use our senses to tune into the energies in a space that might be wonky. We can detach and surrender when we realize that these energies are not ours. We can choose self-care to reverse the effects of a chaotic situation – by having a good laugh, perhaps, or even just looping back to slowing down – to
bring us back to feeling good again.
These five S's are infinitely adaptable, fast-acting, and far-reaching. Over time we discover that a daily cycling of these five simple steps can ripple out into the world, release funky energies in a space, and clear them. For good.
Yes, all from doing nothing more than simply being aware and taking none of it personally.
If you could use some help cultivating the Five S's – a roadmap to navigate life's curve balls and bumpy waters – my newest book A Year for You is your perfect practice guide. It will grow your awareness and spacious muscle to help address,
release, and/or smile at anything that comes your way. (Makes a great gift too.)
There are other good ways to grow a mindful clearing practice which I share below – including my all-new A Year for You mentoring program that I will be leading in 2020. Keep scrolling for links and details.
Happy clearing!
Stephanie
Cartoon credit: "Glob of Chaos" by Hugh McLeod
Speaking of slowing down, I had a lovely conversation with Sister Jenna recently, host of the syndicated America Meditating Radio Show.
We talked about my "Five S's": how they work to reduce overwhelm and promote a clearing practice that feels good and lasts.
Our interview was preceded by the most soothing meditation with Danielle LaPorte, which had the additional bonus effect of calming me.
Click the green button to listen to this free 30-minute recording. It includes Danielle LaPorte's yummy bonus meditation which opened the conversation.
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Mentorship Program
Join Stephanie live in 2020
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Just a quick heads up: with the support of my publisher, I will be offering a yearlong mentoring program using my new book A Year for You as a guide.
This live "virtual clearing circle" is an opportunity to...
- work with me in person
- take your clearing to a whole new, deeper level
- release the underlying causes – the patterns, resistances, attachments – of anything that holds you back
- connect with fellow participants in a more intimate way
- give yourself a nourishing sabbatical without having to leave your home, job, or family – a year just for you!
Details, dates, and cost coming soon in my next email. Stay tuned!
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The Creative Cure
Tap into your wisdom, intelligence, and creativity
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Do you feel creatively stale, unmotivated, uninspired? Author, teacher, and creativity wizard Jacob Nordby, is offering a new course to help open up your creative channels, get the energy flowing, and experience more of who you are. Julia Cameron, author of the Artist's Way calls him "part mystic, part Merlin." Click the link for details.
Bonus: He is offering a special discount for my friends. Enter "CREATIVECURE" discount code for $30 off tuition when you enroll.
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Need help unplugging from the madness?
Here's a good list I found on the internet that can serve nicely.
My online courses and books make wonderful "presence" too ;-) Keep scrolling for details and links.
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Clearing Online
Join over 200,000 participants!
Check out Stephanie's popular online courses on DailyOM designed to lift, lighten, and enlighten.
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The Practice
Maintain and deepen
A Year for You book distills two decades of clearing's best practices into five simple steps – slowing down, simplifying, sensing, surrendering, and self-care – designed to reduce overwhelm and cultivate a clearing way of life.
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A Year to Clear book is the "Camino of clearing." Its daily, "slow-drip" wisdom takes you on a revealing journey designed to release what is holding back – from the inside out.
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Your Spacious Self book introduces you to a whole new (game-changing) way to clear your home and life in ways that support, nourish, and last.
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Stephanie Bennett Vogt is a leading space clearing expert, teacher, and author with five books and four online courses. She brings forty years of experience to SpaceClear, a practice she founded in 1996 helping homes and people come into balance.
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