Off White Living

This weekend my husband and I began to conquer the jungle known as my backyard.  We spent nearly an hour digging up this holly root (in the pic).

The whole experience has gotten me thinking about what it means to dredge up old “stuff” and pull out roots that are deep and strong.  After recently reading the book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, I am on a mission to rid my life and my home of the stuff which hold me back.   So much of the “baggage” I keep around, including yard debris, keeps me  from moving forward and it also stresses me out . Stress = want to eat, which is no good.  I know that in my life, I have associations and attachements to ways of being, thinking and living that are not working for me.  For instance, I have fears around not having “enough”.  Therefore, I have a tendency to do two things:  First, I always want a lot of food around to compensate.  This began for me when I took a job that paid 50% of what a previous job paid.  That pissed me off deep inside and made me fearful.  That is when my food issues were the worst ever.  Secondly,  I will take things which I don’t want just to ‘have’ something.  I’ll buy something on sale because its inexpensive or I’ll take somebody’s second hand items to fill space.  The end result is ultimately that I feel “less than”, which also makes me want food.

Food issues are certainly stimulated by fears for me.  When I cleanse the house or my body, I am loosening up old energy, expectations and feelings.  This can sometimes make me edgy, which I have noticed this weekend.  The frustrations in my life about everything not being perfect certainly arise.

In the past, i’ve also found a great way to release pent up energy using a root food: Ginger.  This might be appropriate to share since my cathartic experience around yard clean-up was centered around a tree root.

Try this to detox your skin, release anger, and purifies your digestive organs

Run a hot bath and  close the shower curtain and door, so the room is steamy.
Cut up about 1/2 cup ginger root and throw it in the bath along with about 1/2 cup sea salts.
Get two towels to take in the tub with you.
Hop in, the water should be slightly uncomfortable, but not painful
Cover yourself with the towels in the tub so the heat stays on your body
You should be sweating, it should feel ‘edgy’, versus relaxing
Stay in for about 20-minutes.  Drink TONS of water when you are done.
Take a warm shower after draining the tub, but not a cold one.
Drink some ginger tea if you really want to keep the heat moving.

Go to bed.  Journal to release any feelings that popped up.