Autumn is a great time to do clean-up tasks in your garden. Chores like digging up crowded bulbs and dividing them into more plants for another area, or to give to cherished friends. Fun things like raking up dead leaves and grass clippings to make a sweet compost for the Spring plantings. We do all those things that are needed to put the garden to bed for the winter fallow time. The necessary time of rest for Mother Nature has come around again.We also tend to our indoor space in autumn. We put up the autumn decorations, and pack away the summer seashells. We pull out those frayed and faded summer clothes, and donate them to the local thrift store. Although I know down deep in my heart that they are well past their usefulness, I sometimes have a hard time relegating them to the rag pile because of all the good memories they represent. I would like to think that someone else might still have a chance of making good memories in these clothes, so I pass them on hopefully. We also unpack the heavyweight winter clothing in anticipation of colder weather. I try on everything again just to be sure it still fits, I still like it, and it is not in need of repair. Twice yearly I go through this cleaning-out ritual – in Springtime and in the Autumn. It’s a family tradition handed down through the ages. This time I had a light bulb moment during the process. I realized that rarely do we spend time cleaning out our inner landscape. You know what I’m talking about. That space between your ears. The moldy file cabinet in the gray matt er. When was the last time you cleaned that out? I suggest that now is a great time of year to do just that.

      Start by actually listening to those little things you say to yourself all the time. Then start to notice how many things you tell yourself repeatedly. Then ask yourself “Who Says?” Just who told you that about yourself? Was it ever the truth about you, or did you just accept it into your home (head) without discussion? Is it still true? You know what I’m talking about. Those little digs, ridicules, snickers, and snorts that degrade your sense of self-esteem. The “I’m not good at ____”, or the “I can’t possibly do _____”, or the “I always ______.” I did this for just a few days and really caught myself being mean to me! Once I began to notice them I started a campaign of radical de-programming. It took a little effort at first, and I felt a bit odd, but I got better at it the more I practiced. 

      For example, I am notoriously hard on my belly. I told it things like “I’ve always had a big belly, even when I weighed less than 100 lbs. in high school” Now wasn’t that a mean thing to say to me! Who said I had a big belly? Well I grew up in the Twiggy era of skinny fashion models, and became a model at a young age. I’m sure that my teacher at the modeling school must’ve said that I needed to work on that huge belly bulge around my 14 year old 96 lb. waist. I distinctly remember doing thousands of sit-ups every week to flatten that bulge. Is it still true? After so many years of telling myself that I have a belly bulge I’m certain to have created that very thing! While talking to a friend this week she made the comment that she has been working out at the gym like a maniac trying to get some weight off. I sympathized with her, and said I needed to increase my crunches to whittle this belly bulge. She huffed to herself “someone that looks that thin should no way be saying something like that.” I was startled. Could it be true? Did she see something I didn’t? I’ve always had this big belly – isn’t it obvious? Maybe not…

      Then I started to talk to myself. I said “Isn’t that funny how I tend to carry my stress in my belly? I get indigestion at the slightest provocation. I tend to honor my gut reaction to people, places, and events. I protect my soft underbelly when I’m attacked – sometimes physically crossing my arms over my stomach in a protective gesture.” This was getting interesting. I needed to do some autumn clean-up, to blow out those dead leaves, and to gather up the debris and burn it. My belly began to feel better immediately. Then I started to reprogram my old tapes. As I looked at myself in the mirror while getting dressed for the day I would stroke my belly softly and tell it how appreciative I am of it. I’d tell it what a good a job it is doing holding my top and bottom half together, what a wonderfully toned and perfectly functioning belly it is! Then I began to notice what I was putting into my belly. My diet became healthier overnight. I actually have a flatter stomach than I thought I did! And if it is a bit larger than the average fashion model – SO WHAT! I took a lot of pressure off of myself during this process, and lightened up a bit too. 

      I suggest that you try this autumn clean-up in your own head. It will do wonders for you too. I am positive that your body hears everything that your mind thinks. Every cell in your body is plugged in to that same microprocessor, and reacts to the slightest command. Repeated commands multiply the effect. What are you telling your body? 

© 2006 RuthE Forrest All Rights Reserved