Hi Everyone,

That’s a picture of my 12 year- old Sebastian, in bed, with his true loves- his soft toys. Look at the expression on his face. I wonder what’s going on in that beautiful mind that makes his face look so bewildered? His face is divine, yet quite crumpled like the sheets and curtains on the bed.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much your physical world reflects your internal mental, emotional, psychological world?

I know that Sebastian is probably just thinking, hey mum, don’t invade my space with taking photos – however, on a more serious note, I’ve learned, through my practice as a life coach, that our external environments are often subconscious statements to the world about where we’re at mentally and emotionally. Our environments can say a lot about us. They contain data by which we can assess ourselves and by which others assess us. They impact our mood, our stress levels and our results in life and vice versa. Therefore, if you change the internals you can be motivated to change the externals and conversely, if you change the externals you can be motivated to change the internal landscape of your life: from the outside- in OR from the inside – out.

How you feel about your environment is important.

We are inter-dependent, interconnected organisms and if we disregard any aspect of our environment this can and does have a profound effect on our lives, our wellbeing and the lives of those around us.

So how do you feel about your personal physical living spaces – your home, office, bedroom, kitchen, garage or yard? Every little corner of your life has relevance and impacts your holistic being. How much love do you give to your personal living spaces? How much do you allow clutter to accumulate with material possessions like storage boxes in your living or bedroom; old clothes you have outgrown, in your wardrobe; the unread piles of magazines; the rusty bike in the garage? These are all reflections of you on some level: of your attitude around letting go; your fear of loss or deprivation issues; your organizational skills; your call for help or to be left alone; your attention (or lack thereof) to self-care, self-image, self-love and self-fulfilment. Your physical space can inspire you, relax you, worry you or depress you. These things impact the quality of your life and the outcomes you have in your life.

Interview with multi award- winning home and lifestyle Designer- Jane Brown

janebrowninteriors.com

In today’s Blog, I’m particularly happy to share the expertise of the multi-award winning home and lifestyle designer, Jane Brown. I interviewed Jane on my radio show on 24 April and we discussed how she had combined her personal self- transformation work with her professional interior design skills, to offer her interior design clients, the experience of having the transformation of their living space reflect and be a part of their personal transformation. We talked about being able to express your personal desires, dreams and ambitions through the space you inhabit- like attracting a loving partner by making your bedroom inviting to romantic love. We also discussed the idea of ridding yourself of emotional baggage and mental clutter as you undergo a declutter of your home environment. Pretty cool eh? Let me share some of those insights with you.

How clutter affects your mood

Clutter is a word that I can feel. Can you? Like something underfoot you want to kick out of the way.

Just imagine if I asked you to visualise walking along the beach as a way of helping you relax and ignite your creative juices. Now imagine if the beach in your mind’s eye was full of litter and junk. How is that going to affect your mood? Is that a relaxing and inspiring image? How many guided meditation CDs have you paid for and listened to that ask you to envision a polluted beach?

Here are a few points for you to consider:

• Princeton University’s Neuroscience Institute decided, five years ago, that the subject was important enough to conduct a scientific study on the impacts of physical clutter on the brain. They found that a chaotic or disorganised environment makes you more irritable, less focused, more distracted and more stressed than a clutter free environment.
• Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science based on the principle that man’s destiny is connected to his environment, and links specific areas of your home to specific areas of your life. One of the basic tenants of Feng Shui is that harmony in your living space is key to living a harmonious life.
• In my clinical experience, I find that I can tell a lot about a person’s mental state once they describe their home environment to me. Are they overly controlling and rigid or are they chaotic and disorganised? Their environment indicates what state of mind they might be living in: wounded child; lost child; 50-year-old adolescent; critical parent; rescuer; control freak; Peter Pan; avoidance of intimacy; fear of loss and letting go.

How do people feel about changing their environment?

Many people ignore their physical space and seeing it as merely “shelter” or irrelevant to their goals in life or happiness but many others genuinely would love to make changes to their living space, but as Jane tells us, they feel tremendous discomfort and overwhelm at the thought of it. It is important not to stay stuck at the level of fear, avoidance or procrastination. It is important to be open to change for your greater good.

Spiritual teachers remind us about the importance of having a beautiful space, how this uplifting power promotes your wellbeing: your living art, in your space. Often people don’t know how to create a beautiful space and stay stuck in unfinished business internally that is reflected by their external space. Abundance isn’t just about money – it’s about richness and connection and being able to create something that fulfills you. You don’t need to spend a fortune to change your physical environment to match a better version of you or a more accurate version of you. You just have to believe that the outer world matters and apply yourself.

Tips from Jane

Could your bedroom be keeping you single?

Life pretty much begins and ends in the bedroom. We spend a third of our lives asleep in our bedrooms. Yet, often it is the most overlooked room in the house.

Looking to manifest a new relationship? Then you’ll need to make the physical and energetic space in your environment to include one. If your bedroom is loaded with clutter, you’ll want to create space and move out some of your “stuff”. Imagine inviting someone new into your room and what that person will feel when they see your current space. Use your own personality to envision the energy of the person you want to attract. The bedroom has to be the kind of space that serves a loving couple.