This is the March blog drawing. To enter the drawing simply leave a comment with content regarding the topic of the blog. This month we are giving away a bottle of La Bomba Cleanser. A wonderful accent to your Spring cleaning efforts, this cleanser will not only help you clean your home, but cleanse it also. From March 1st through the 31st, leave a comment on this blog and you will be entered into the drawing.

Greetings and welcome to March! This is a month of green, green, and green! St. Patrick’s Day, Spring is finally beginning to show for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and people starting plotting and planning how to spend their tax refunds. Here at Pangaia Metaphysical Store we are definitely looking forward to the return to spring and all the green (and yes, we do also mean sales).

With Spring comes Spring Cleaning. And we certainly have ways of helping you with that. Cleaning is not just on a physical level. As we discussed in January’s blog and also in a podcast for Pagan-Musings, Cleansing is an essential part of leading a magical and spiritual lifestyle. You can spend all the time in the world cleaning your home and your personage, but if you neglect to cleanse, you will be just as “dirty” as you were when you started.

In January, I talked about de-cluttering your space and touched upon how to keep your spiritual and metaphysical self clear of other clutter. This month I am going to spend a little bit more time working on de-cluttering yourself and preparing the way for true change, health, and happiness in your life.

When it comes cleansing yourself you have to start by looking at what it is that is holding you down or holding you back. It is not always the most pleasant of things, but if you have taken advantage of the Dark of the Year to do your introspection, you already have an idea of what it is that you need to rid yourself of. Perhaps you even have a detailed picture or plan of what it is that you need to do. Now is the time to put that plan into action. I will use some personal examples here for you:

• Sarah is quitting smoking. She is doing this for many reasons, not the least of which is just a good idea.
• I am working on follow through in my personal life. I often set goals, but it is not so often that I actually manage to go through with them.

Using Sarah’s example first, how does one go about doing something which is very difficult for many people? Tell yourself that you are going to do it; then tell yourself that you have quit smoking. See yourself happier and healthier without the cigarettes. You can even see yourself with all that extra money in the bank or your wallet. Just think of how much you can save by not buying a pack of smokes every time you stop at the local convenience shop or tobacco store. Now that you have that picture in your head, it is just a matter of letting it happen. Yes, I make it sound simple. It is simple. (I say as I ponder reaching for a cigarette while I am writing this.)

Sarah has taken a few extra steps. Magic only works if you do something to make it work. She has purchased some specially blended herbal cigarettes, designed to help you quit smoking. It  may seem odd that one manner of quitting smoking is to smoke something else. I have attempted this method myself in the past, the only reason it did not work is that I did not have the will power to make it happen.

Now, on to my own issue of Follow Through. Why do I have such a problem with follow through? Most of it, I believe, is that I set too many goals for myself. If you have too many goals it is difficult to attain even one of them. So, what does that mean for me? I should set a time schedule for myself with appropriate and attainable goals. I am sometimes not very realistic with my goals. Not that they are unattainable, just that I try to do to much in one day, week, or even year.

Here is a typical To Do List for me, please not that this is supposed to be done in one day:

• Scoop litter
• Do dishes and put away
• Do laundry and put away
• Write at least one personal blog post
• Read two or more chapters of current novel
• Write at least 500 words for book project
• Review music for Murphy’s Magic Mess
• Upload latest permissioned music for Pagan-Musings & Musica Pagani

That doesn’t seem like a lot. But you have to also remember that I work a full time job, am constantly on the prowl for new products and artists for the store, and do try to have a social life. How does that daily list compare to my weekly goals? Well, let’s see:

• Finish reading current novel
• Read book and write book review for Pangaia Metaphysical Store
• Research topic and make show notes for next episode of Pagan-Musings
• Put together set list for Musica Pagani
• Put together master disc for Murphy’s Magic Mess (current theme, Pirates)
• Edit and put together up to 15 minute “talk” segment for Murphy’s Magic Mess (I am working on pitching a talk show for KZUM)
• Write at least 3500 words for book project (but which book? I am working on three.)

As you can see, my weekly list or goals is rather extensive. Shouldn’t be too difficult to manage, though. That is where follow through comes in.

We all have big dreams and plans for ourselves. Where we wish to be by such an age or what we plan to do for our retirement. Even something like where we are going on our next summer vacation. Being able to reach those goals and exceed them is where follow through comes in. Follow through is something that I have always had a problem with. Maybe it is a fear of success, as some psychologists would say. But I think it is more that I am worried about running out of things to do. Believe it or not. There is always so much to do, but the things I truly enjoy doing are not as vast as the things that I MUST do.

As you can probably tell from both these lists, I like to keep myself busy.  Most of what I do to keep myself busy further my own education and experiences. So why do I lack the follow through? I do not really know. I do know that if I set smaller goals it is easier to attain them. Perhaps I could change the 500 words a day to 1000 words a week. Much simpler, and if I exceed that 1000 words, more the better! Means I am that much closer to finishing the actual book.

The most important thing for me to remember, and perhaps for you as well, is to not neglect yourself. Make sure that you are leaving time to do the things that matter and are important. Spending time with friends and family, taking care of yourself, remembering to relax and enjoy what life has to offfer.

Spring Cleaning

Now, as to spring cleaning. As we discussed in January, preparing yourself and your home for new chapters in your life is important to helping those new things manifest. Take a little time to organize and sort through your life and your belongings. Remember the general rule of thumb: If you haven’t used it in 6-12 months, you probably don’t need it. I know, I know. Easier said than done. Take a page from Clean Sweep on HGTV and evaluate your schtuff (scientific term for the crap that accumulates around you). Do you really need it? Are you keeping it because it was a gift, but you will never use it? That sort of thing. If it is something of sentimental value, what value does it really have? Does it remind you of a bad experience? Does it really help you to move forward with your life?

I have lots of stuff around my home that is of sentimental value. I have a wood plane that my father made when he was in high school. What value is that? It reminds me to work with my hands, and it reminds me of him. I have a crappy looking clay candle holder with my brother’s name on it. That is something that I should clean up and give back to him. I have mountains of books. Now those I plan to keep most of. I just need to go through them and organize them. I am sure that in amongst the literally thousands of books I will find some duplicates, some that are damaged beyond repair, some that I will not need again (or at least for quite sometime). Asking me to separate myself from my books is like asking someone to cut off their dominate hand. But I can weed out some of the unnecessary.

While you are going through your living space and weeding out the things that you do not use, need, or ever realize that you still have; look around and see what else can be done to spruce up your home life and yourself. Do you need to sort, organize, and replace dishes, pots and pans and the like? Do you need to dig through your clothes closets and set out for charity those things that longer fit?

On a more metaphysical level, does a room or area of your home feel dirty, cloudy, uncomfortable or just not right? Perhaps you need to cleanse it while you are cleaning it. Our item for this month’s drawing is an example of what you can use to do just that. But there are many other things that you can do. Smudging, whether with sage or some other scent that you find restful, is very beneficial to clearing out the ickiness that can surround you in a room. Placement of crystals and stones can also be of benefit. Simply reclaiming a neglected space can brighten it and your whole home beyond belief. Not to mention that a routine or ritual of cleansing your living space can help bust that positive outlook on life and make you and your family happier and healthier.

Here are a few ideas for you:

• Wind Chimes can brighten a porch or balcony and help to dispel negativity.
• Candles of all sorts can help to relieve some of the dreariness left behind by the cold, dark winter months. Not to mention they make a great ritual accent to everything from meditation to quiet dinners to intimate hours spent alone with the person you love.
• Smudging with sage (loose or bundled) or other scents can help clear out the negativity that may have accumulated in your home do to the dark time of the year, your own depression, or some of the issue at home or work.
• La Bomba and other specially blended cleaning supplies can be used to not just clean the surface of your home, but the deeper spiritual layers as well.

Hope that this posting gives you some insights and some ideas on what you can do to make your home and yourself happier and healthier.

-Phil

This is the March blog drawing. To enter the drawing simply leave a comment with content regarding the topic of the blog. This month we are giving away a bottle of La Bomba Cleanser. A wonderful accent to your Spring cleaning efforts, this cleanser will not only help you clean your home, but cleanse it also. From March 1st through the 31st, leave a comment on this blog and you will be entered into the drawing.