Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody.
I'm your host, the Gentle YorkWarrior, and I'm delighted to be
back behind the podcast mic.
Apologies, there wasn't a showfor the last few weeks.
The other week I had this awfulvirus and it kind of affected
my throat.
It came out of nowhere.
No one I knew got it, so Ithink my body just needed a
(00:20):
massive rest.
But unfortunately it affectedthe throat so I had to have a
bit of time off from doing thepodcasting.
And also there's people's timeis really precious.
So and all the podcasts forthat week I just cancelled until
I was fully better, because Ididn't want to mess people about
, because I appreciate it's alot to go on someone else's
(00:41):
podcast.
I've been a guest on a podcastbefore.
It takes a lot of guts andgumption to put oneself out
there.
So I just want to say a bigshout out, thank you for the
guests that were meant to haveon.
You'll be guests again on theshow and thank you for your
understanding.
But I want to send a veryspecial shout out to Natalie.
I just want to say thank you,natalie, from the bottom of my
(01:02):
heart for sponsoring the show.
It makes a big, massivedifference for me to be able to
help me produce the show, and soI just want to say a heartfelt
thanks and if there's anythingspecific you would like me to
share on the show, do let meknow.
And, dear listeners, if you'reinterested at all in sponsoring
(01:23):
the show, if you look at theshow notes or you go to my
website, shamanichealingsorg,you will find a way to sponsor
the show there.
When I was ill, I was watchingprograms which I don't know what
really amassed.
To be honest, I don't even havea tv, because it's one of my
favorite things is to kind ofget rid of stuff.
(01:43):
I'm probably the opposite of.
To be honest, I don't even havea TV Because it's one of my
favourite things is to kind ofget rid of stuff.
I'm probably the opposite of ahoarder.
I wouldn't say I was completelyminimalist.
I do like some things, but I'mnot one for keeping on to things
sentimentally Though I do havesome sentimental things and as I
was watching these shows onhouse improvements and
(02:05):
decluttering and stuff and howI've kind of gone through my own
decluttering process over theyears, where I realized that
sometimes things that I had Ididn't actually want anymore
because they didn't haveparticularly good memories and I
felt okay to let them go, but Irealized how difficult it was
for people to let go of thingsbecause they see the memories
(02:27):
and things and generally thepremise of these various shows.
They kind of let people keeptheir memories but kind of
condensed the need to have allthese things.
And, unfortunately, having tohelp with clearing stuff for
living and departed relatives isquite a big process and it and
(02:49):
I feel that I would do it againand again to help these people.
But I feel that when I pass, Iwant to make the process as easy
as possible.
Don't worry, I don't plan to gofor a while, but I just felt
that it was really important toshare a show on how kind of less
(03:09):
can be more in our life.
Yeah, so this process, thiscathartic process of keeping
just the stuff that we reallyneed and letting go of the stuff
that we don't need and there'sbeen many people that have made
a living out of it, and MarieKondo is a person I read several
years ago and even had someonecome in.
(03:29):
Marie Kondo, the house reallyhelped me how to sort and tidy
things and though I'm not themost tidy person, I'm not the
most messy person either and atthe very least I have, like my,
my kitchen nice and tidy and mydrawers nice, and I think I'm
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probably a rare thing in thesense that I have a lot less
stuff than most people that Iknow, and I tend to wear most of
my wardrobe if I don't love it,if I'm not likely to wear it
again for a special occasion,and if it doesn't fit, then I
(04:13):
tend to donate it to charity.
So there can be a number ofreasons let's cut that again why
people can't hoard things.
It gives them a sense ofsecurity.
I've seen it quite often whenpeople have kind of come from
not much, they don't want to letgo of stuff and it feels like
it's wrong.
Or you can go the other waywhen you've come from not much
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and you don't feel like youshould hold on to anything
because you don't deserve it,sometimes it just ends up
getting bigger and bigger andbigger, until the fact that you,
your food covers are sooverflowing that you can't see
that the food has gone out ofdate.
And again, this is without nojudgment at all.
We're all so busy these daysthese things can kind of easily
(04:55):
happen.
But what I want to share you todo is that by cleaning or
getting rid of stuff that wedon't need or reducing the
amount of stuff in the housethat we have, we can see and
enjoy the things that we do liketo use and we can have, like a
cherished, cherished photos filewhich you keep in a nice box.
(05:18):
Or maybe you've got yourcherished wedding dress, which
you keep in the box, but maybethe 10 cocktail dresses that you
might have loved when, whenyou're 18 and you haven't worn
for 20 plus years, is time toeither sell them.
Or there's a lot of places thatthat will buy secondhand clothes
or donate them to a charityshop.
(05:39):
Definitely don't put them inlandfill, but donate them to a
charity shop.
Or, yeah, there's all thingslike that.
But be wary of kind of passingall your stuff on to someone
else, because sometimes peopledon't want the responsibility so
they'll give it to someone else.
I would say by all means try it, because sometimes relatives,
(06:00):
family members, friends mightwant our stuff, but I think the
best way to handle that is tosay to them I will not be
offended if you don't want it.
In that way, then they don'tfeel like obliged to take the
stuff on, because then it justends up filling up their
cupboards, or if you'restruggling to clear that the
house one of the tips that I waslistening to was like is to
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just say that you're doing yourkitchen is to find a space.
Maybe you do it on a sunny dayor something.
Lay stuff on your lawn and thenjust see count how many things
of each thing that you've got.
And if you've got a millioncups, then maybe take some of
them to the charity shop andit's not doing anything wrong.
By letting go of this stuffit's creating space so that you
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can fully let the house flow,the energy flow, and then things
flow into your life.
I'm going to do a process now ofgoing through my computer,
which is probably going to takea bit of time, but just to kind
of let go of any files therethat I don't need anymore or
that are just taking up space.
(07:06):
You know how we can kind ofhold on to things there as well,
which can.
I wish in hindsight that I hadfiled things in a better system.
Sure there's.
I'm going to look into the bestway to do that.
But from the spiritual aspect,when we kind of have things in
order, it helps our life to flowin a more fluid and beautiful
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manner.
But there's times, you know,when there's illness, all kinds
of reasons that can stop ourhouses being in the way we want
to be.
And also, you know, sometimeswe can put this pressure on to
have a show house or we thinkpeople will judge us by the way
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our house is.
But I would say the people thatcare about us and love us the
most will accept us how we are.
But if one's house is sort of aflow and that people can't get
around to visit, then that iskind of putting a barrier up
towards the loved ones that youmay want to come around and see
you.
So I think one of my biggesttips is not to try and take on
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the whole house at once.
It'd be too overwhelming.
The easiest place, I feel, is tostart with one's wardrobe and
just be completely honest.
Like if you've got 10 redjumpers, you're not likely to
wear all of them unless you wearred all the time.
Can you donate them?
I like to kind of store myclothes so they're all the same
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colors together.
I've done this for years andyears and then I know it became
the trend.
I saw online that people dothat, but I've kind of always
found that the best way to tosee what I've got is I put like
all the same colors together.
Uh, I even put at one point Iused to when I used to be into
shoes I even used to put thesame like the shoes next to the
(09:04):
the folder clothes, like in thewardrobe.
So then I'd knew, know whichwas which, but that was just
something that I used to do.
Yeah, I would say like clothesare usually the thing that takes
the most amount of space.
I have heard that old toys sothe kids have grown up and that
(09:27):
teddy bear that they had as ababy, maybe keep that, but then
the other 20 teddies plus thatthey don't use anymore, then
donate them to charities.
They will gratefully take onthose things.
I have also seen charity boxesat recycle centers where you can
(09:48):
put your cuddly toys into andthen they take them to a charity
.
So there's all ways to do it.
One thing if you've givensomething to a charity shop, but
obviously don't give somethingthat's like stained and awful, I
would say, speak to your localrecycle center and they will
tell you how to process that inthe most efficient way.
(10:09):
I know a lot of recycle centersin the UK at least.
I can't speak for othercountries.
They will do energy from waste.
So there is things that thatcan't go to charity shops, won't
fit into um selling or orthings like that, and they they
can advise you but they'll makeenergy out of that waste.
(10:30):
So there is ways to kind of bekind of green with it all.
But the energy that you feel, orthat I feel, when there's space
doesn't have stuff in that isnot used, it feels so calming
and a sense of flow and I cansee what I need to to get.
(10:51):
So if I want a specific book, Ican see it straight on the
bookshelf that I tend to give mybooks on.
I like reading, so I tend togive my books on.
I also share it with a bookclub where a book swap club,
where I'll put books into thatand then I'll just keep some
books that I know that I willlook at again.
I used to have like bookshelvesfull, like a lot of them.
(11:14):
I didn't bother reading again,I just thought, well, someone
else could be enjoying that bookrather than sitting on the
shelf.
I do have a couple ofsentimental ones which I only
look at every now and again, butI try to keep it minimus.
And then another place where itcan have a lot of stuff that
people don't need is the kitchencupboards, and it again I like
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to.
I go through my food every nowand again and I just check that
there's nothing coming up to theout of date thing.
I like to put them near thefront so then I can use them up
before they go out of date.
(11:54):
So, touch wood, I tend to havevery, very few and far, far
between.
I'd say like 99.9% of the foodthat I have I tend to eat within
date.
That's just a figure that I'veworked out in my head, so it's
not an exact science, but I tendto use everything up because I
put the stuff at the frontthat's going to go out of date
and then I'll devise meals fromthat.
(12:17):
Again, I know there's a lot ofguilt about throwing food away
and of course we should try notto waste food.
But if things are past the usebefore date so the use before
date then you can't eat them.
Again, it's better to get ridof that stuff and then
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concentrate on keeping itcovered so that you can use the
stuff that is usable If there'sfood that's in date, that's in
date and that you don't want.
There are.
So there's so many food bankspopping up in the UK, I think,
because people can't afford tolive anymore.
There's been so many popping upand people that are working
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because the cost of living is sohigh these days that people are
using them, and I feel there'sno shame at all if.
If you need to use one of thefood banks, I know that they are
always looking for food.
So if the food is in date andthe packaging has not been
opened, then look in your localthing and do contact them and
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take the food to them.
If it is out of date,unfortunately you'll have to
expose a bit, if at all possible, if it's too much.
You think, oh gosh, there's somuch, it's too much to do.
Why don't you just do like ajar or can a day, and then that
way it doesn't feel sooverwhelming?
So we are all so busy, we allhave so much pressure on
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ourselves, but trust me, whenyou've got less stuff in your
house, you're going to feel somuch more better about yourself.
Life is going to flow a lotbetter, and just think about the
people you're helping that.
There was some.
We were doing some car bootsales but to be honest, it was
taking a lot of our energy upbecause it was quite an early
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start drive and taking the stuffand selling it and we were
finding we weren't getting thatmuch for it at all, which is
which is fine.
But then we thought actuallywe'd rather give it to charity,
because they weren'tparticularly like high value
items.
Or just to say, if you do havehigh value items, there's a lot
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of auction houses, okay, theywill take a cut but they will
sell the stuff for you, which isreally good.
So if you do think you've gotsome high value items that that
you want to sell, then do reachout to auction houses.
But we in the end ended upputting the things on our step
and just saying free and take,and I think everyone took
everything apart from one itemwhich we thought actually we're
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going to keep this one itembecause we thought, yeah, it's
actually a nice thing and wedecided to give something else
away instead.
So then we had the space andthen like garages oh my gosh,
garages can be such a dumpingground.
But the thing is right, there'sno point having a million
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things in your garage and youcan't see what you've got.
So if you want to keep some offcuts of wood in case you're
going to use something, justhave a few of the off cuts of
wood again.
You can take the rest of someoff cuts of wood in case you're
going to use something, justhave a few of the off cuts of
wood again.
You can take the rest of theoff cuts of wood to the
recycling center if you feelthat you, we put drawers in ours
, so then we can see what we'vegot on each thing.
So if you've got a gardeningsection, you'll put the garden
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section in together.
The tool section.
I do a little bit of DIY, butnot to.
I don't have the skill set northe inclination to kind of learn
to the same standard as mypartner.
But tools, do you need like 20screwdrivers that are the same
size?
Again, there's a lot ofcharities that would be very
grateful to have these tools.
(15:55):
There's some charity, there'slots of charities out there.
Do just go online and findwhat's in your local area and
then in the lounge, you wantthat place, the living room, to
be a place of calmness.
So if you've got, if you've gotkids and you've got loads of
toys.
Minimize the amount of mess byhaving storage and and and
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putting the same types of toystogether, and then that kind of
inspires the children to putthem back in the same place.
And then the bedroom shoulddefinitely be a place of
sanctuary.
So if your bedroom isoverflowing with laundry, you
really don't want to have yourbedroom as the laundry
processing place.
Try and find a different area.
Maybe you can kind of jiggleyour kitchen around a bit so
(16:40):
that there's a place to processthe laundry and have specific
baskets with people's names on,so that your kids can have a
basket that you put the cleanlaundry into and then they
process it into their room,rather than you having a
mountain of clothing.
So these, these are quitepractical things I'm giving you
because I just wanted to kind ofhelp you on the practical side.
(17:04):
But what does a clean, tidy,flowing house mean to me?
It makes the place more kind of, more like a sanctuary, a place
of peacefulness.
You're more likely to meditate,you're more likely to do things
that are going to help you withyour daily life, you're more
likely to sit and read if you'resitting in a nice calm space
(17:26):
and you're more likely to havefun and family time together if
the lounge isn't overflown withmess.
And if you need someone to helpwith this, I believe there are
some charities that will comeand help as well.
So if you're feeling like youcan't do it on yourself, can you
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ask a good friend to maybe likehelp you for like half an hour
once a week or those kind ofthings.
So there is ways around it.
But the spiritual side feelsthe most important thing.
It just makes it makes thehouse feel like a warm hug.
When it's in a disarray.
I get very affected by, like,lots of mess and, like I said,
(18:12):
I'm not a neat, overly neatperson, but I least like the
place to be clean, surfaces tobe cleaned and just the stuff
that I need about.
I know sometimes people saythat they have organised chaos
and know where things are, andI'm no doubt there are some
people that can live that way.
And I know when I get in areally creative mode sometimes I
(18:34):
can get a bit messy, but thenI'll always kind of go back and
tidy it all up.
It's really interesting howeveryone's different actually,
and it's what makes it moreinteresting.
But, dear listeners, what wayscan you tidy up your life and
what ways will it make you feelbetter?
Yeah, I'd be really interestedto know.
(18:57):
So, as always, here is ameditation inspired by life, and
I thought I'd do reshare theloving kindness meditation,
because I think we need to bekinder to ourselves, we need to
be kinder to each other and, ina world that is so strange these
(19:21):
days, the more that we can sendlove and kindness to each other
, the better it is for us all.
Top tips for the meditation iseither sit nice and cross-legged
on the floor with a nicestraight back always nice to sit
on a block or a cushion,although that's not available
(19:42):
for you.
You sit in a chair with theback nice and straight.
The important thing is you'renot slouching and if you're
doing something that requiresyour concentration, all you need
to do is just pause this andyou can reconvene the meditation
at a time that is good for you.
If you're doing the meditation,let's begin tail with an
(20:03):
elongated ease, a rhythm.
If you need to fidget, justkeep coming back to the
breathing.
Try and resist the temptationto fidget.
Just keep coming back to thebreathing.
Try and resist the temptationto fidget.
Slow equals a calmer state ofmind, from your energetic heart
(20:25):
centre, the space in front ofthe heart.
Imagine a big, bright, beaminglight of love emanating from
your heart centre, a green,vibrant, uplifting, so large and
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bright that it has the abilityto fill the room.
That it has the ability to fillthe room as you beam your love
out into the world.
Imagine love beaming down toyou from the universal heart in
return.
So the more love you give out,the more love you receive back.
(21:12):
Keep going with it Deep, slowbreathing, allowing yourself to
fill up with light, allowing thelove to expand and grow, grow,
grow, grow.
Let it go Big and bright.
(21:34):
Give up the fight.
Allow this illuminating,beautiful power of love as it
comes down to youunconditionally from above, as
you share and you care and youfind your natural flair.
And you care and you find yournatural flair, you heal and
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reveal the heart of your soul.
It's not always aboutovercoming goals, but being
present, being in love, beinglike so peaceful, like a dove
floating, flying above.
Keep going with it, slow, deepbreathing, and allowing yourself
to fill it with light.
Don't fidget, don't give afight.
(22:27):
Allow the love to expand andgrow.
Step into your inner, god,goddess, and let yourself glow.
Send that love to the firstperson you could imagine next to
you and just imagine in turnthen passing the love to the
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next person and the next, untilthe love just builds, and builds
and builds and it eradicatesall evil, allows it to go back
to the light and transform intolove Without judgment.
(23:11):
You allow the world to heal withlashings of love from above.
So each person, each personpasses love on to the next.
All done with kindness, no oneis vexed.
The love just grows and grows.
(23:33):
The light is omniscient, allhealing, all knowing as it grows
and grows and grows.
And in a moment you find someinspiration, a single thought
from up above.
How can you help others expandand find ways for deeper love?
(23:59):
Allow the silence for themessage to come.
Give up the fight of thinkingyou have to be perfect.
Know that you are always loveand always worth it.
(24:23):
So as you start to breathe morepresently into the room, come
back to the moment, come back tothe now.
Allow yourself to flower likenature on a spring day and don't
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let boundaries stop love comingyour way.
So inhale and exhale.
Inhale and exhale back into theroom.
Do this meditation daily, oronce or twice a day and it will
allow you to feel more love and,in turn, give more love out to
the world in an expanded way tohelp others.
(25:05):
I believe love can heal theworld and this meditation is the
perfect antidote to hate, andperhaps over the next week you
may come up with some more ideason how you can help others in
an expanded way.
Remember, it doesn't have to beflash.
Even the smallest gesture canlift up someone's day.