Everyone knows that cleaning up your house can be as spiritually effective as a yoga workshop. You feel fresh, clean and uplifted afterwards. This last week I felt the irresistible urge to transform my entire house. It was a small revolution, but it was worth it.
 
There’s a strong connection between cleaning and spiritual traditions. I love the way the physical environment becomes a reflection of your spiritual hygiene, although I’m not the best role model for it. I usually am quite inattentive on a practical level, not the type of person that instinctively takes the cups out of your hands at a party and starts cleaning them. I admire those people very much. I don’t have that by nature, so I have to learn that. Luckily, auspiciously, I ended up in a spiritual tradition that very much emphasizes the importance of taking care of the appearance of things.
 
In Shambhala traditions, a Tibetan form of Buddhism, you are encouraged to keep your space, house, meditation room clean, but also to pimp it where you can. Therefore you can always find fresh, artfully arranged flowers in their meditation centers.  Likewise, when we serve food, we try to serve it as lovely as we can, with eyes for detail, a little decoration where you can. It also accounts for the way you dress yourself. When a teacher is given a lecture for example, people dress up. It took a while before I got that, and it took some understanding from my part to finally not appear in my jogging suit to a meditation program.

I’m starting to get the importance of your appearance more and more. The way you do anything is the way you do everything.  People that look nice, take care of themselves, have a different energy than those who take to the streets in that same jogging suit. Although I am pretty much on both ends of the spectrum, I do enjoy the way my energy changes when I do decide to dress up, look nice, put fresh flowers in my house, vacuum clean. It really does go a long way.

I am sending you the feeling of a cleaned house, fresh flowers and a stylish outfit!

Namaste,
Geertje