Independence Day and Detachment From Possessions

July 1, 2021

As we’re approaching July 4^th, I wanted to do a post about Independence Day. Instead of writing about our independence from Britain in 1776, I’m talking about an independence from “stuff”. As a Certified Professional Organizer, I help many of my clients detach from their possessions- when they’re ready, of course! For some people, this process comes very quickly and easily for them. As they declutter, they are clear about what they want and don’t want. But for others, there can be a lot of resistance. This resistance comes in the form of guilt, fear of not having enough, fear of not having what you’ll need, indecision, obligation to keep things, shame, and many other reasons. If you’re someone who knows in your heart that you want to separate from some of the physical objects in your life, this post is for you!

“Stuff” can have a real grip on people. It can really weigh you down! The burden of carrying all of the physical objects from home to home, maintaining the objects, keeping your living space tidy, and all of the memories that accompany everything can put a real toll on your mental, emotional, and physical health. In some instances, possessions can truly feel like possession entities- that they have a real hold on you. That they own you, rather than you owning them. Detaching from these possessions can be a sticky and messy process. In this post, I’ll give you some unconventional tips to help you detach from your possessions.

Bubble up. Imagine yourself in a bubble of white light. Have this light extend at least 10 feet above you, behind you, below you (into the ground), in front of you, and to the sides. It’s important to have this bubble around you 100% of the time, all day, every day, 24/7. Before you start decluttering, take extra care to check your bubble to ensure it’s nice and round. Consider this a filter between yourself and the outside world. This will help keep out anything that’s not serving your highest good. It will also help you increase your intuitive knowing so that making decisions about what to keep and what to let go of will be more clear.
Use a prayer. It can be easy to imagine inanimate objects as having emotions and feelings, especially for artists and/or highly empathetic people. Try using the Ho’oponopono Prayer for forgiveness, healing, and making things right. This is an ancient Hawaiian practice. There are a few different versions to this prayer, but the most commonly used one is very simple: “I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.”. Whether you’re intending for this prayer to go to the object you’re letting go of or to the person who gave you this object, the universe will hear you! This is an incredibly powerful prayer that will certainly bring you a sense of peace and grace as you’re allowing your items to find new homes.
Detach cords. If you’re feeling an obligation to keep something that you don’t really want, there are probably energetic cords that are linking you to the object. The cords are probably coming from a person- either someone who is alive or someone who is no longer living. Imagine that person. Where is the cord attached to you? Use your hand to imagine plucking this cord from your body. Then sense where this imaginary cord is attached to the other person. Use your hand to imagine plucking the cord from their body. Allow the cord to drop to the earth, or into outer space. (It will go to wherever it needs to go). Then do the process again (plucking from their body first this time). Are you sending a cord to them? Check to see if you’ve (unknowingly) attached a cord to them. Imagine plucking this cord from their body. Sense on your body to see where it’s attached, pluck that, and allow the cord to drop away. This is a very liberating process! Please note, this is different from “cord cutting”, which is not an energetically efficient method.
Create a selenite vortex. Get 6 sticks of selenite, which you can obtain at just about any crystal store. Arrange these sticks so that they are surrounding the objects you are considering parting with. Have the sticks pointing inwards. This will create a vortex of white light. It will also help clarify which items should stay and which can be released. You can allow this vortex to run 24/7 for days, weeks, months, or however long it takes, but DO NOT SLEEP IN THE VORTEX. Please email me if you have questions about this! This method also helps with space clearing.
Reprogram memories. What memories are keeping these possessions in your physical space? If you were to let go of these items, do you fear having regretful ruminations? Learn to reprogram habitual unwanted thoughts. Every time you have an unwanted thought, imagine a “cooling center” that can diffuse the heat from the thought. I like to think of this as a cold can of beer, soda, or La Croix in a nice icy cooler on a hot day. The quicker you can get your unwanted thought to an imaginary cooling center, the faster your brain’s neural networks will be able to reroute these unwanted ruminations to the cooling centers automatically.
You are the boss! You don’t need to apologize for not liking something or for having boundaries about what you want and don’t want in your space. Imagine not liking blue cheese. While you may feel polite by swallowing a couple chunks of blue cheese on a salad at a dinner party, you’re not respecting your body’s internal guidance system. This is going to get you into major trouble down the line if you let it happen too much. The more you respect your internal guidance system about what you like and don’t like, the more other people will respect and listen to you too. Practice expressing your likes and dislikes on a more regular basis, even if it’s for easy things like your favorite color. The more comfortable you get with expressing your preferences, the easier it will get to say no to things that you don’t want in your life.
Give thanks. Some of the hardest things I find myself needing to part with are worn out shoes and clothing. Giving thanks to all the memories we’ve had together helps me release the items. Even if it’s for something new or unused, by extending gratitude to the item, it will give you a sense of relief and freedom as you release the item back into the world.
Use “Buy Nothing”. Use Facebook to find a “Buy Nothing” group in your neighborhood. This has helped so many of my clients to be able to see the joy on other people’s faces when they receive the items. They know for sure that their items are going to a good home, and love helping out their local neighbors!