Wellness & Mindset-it's an inside job

Minimalist Madness-who says you should be one!?

June 8, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I’m seriously sad to read the article, Let’s Celebrate the Art of Clutter in the NY Times. Here’s a case for Minimalist Madness, lets talk about it and what it means to be a professional organizer…

Where did this author (who I admire for her blogging over at SlowLoveLife) get the impression that the professional organizing industry is there to make clients feel guilty about their stuff? We have an incredible trade organization, NAPO, that works diligently to teach organizers (those who choose to invest in their career by joining) skills and mindset to help clients without any judgement and how to know when to walk away or suggest other professional’s involvement (such as Hoarding situations). Generally I try to alleviate any sense of guilt, it’s does no good for anyone and is not the motivating factor I every try to work with.

Each client and person is different and those of us who are passionate about helping people organize are usually trying to help those who WANT to be helped. Most of us follow ethics that very much frown upon someone else hiring us to work with a family member or friend (best of intentions can lead to much psychological damage), I would never do it! I find the topics of organizing and stuff both very subjective. I agree that minimalism is being “oversold” in some ways but I’ve walked into many a clients homes who are frustrated and overwhelmed about all the stuff they do not cherish, but don’t know what to do with. As long as you are not a slave to “Stuff” that you do not love, want etc then why keep it? I hope Dominique Browning is leaving a sizable inheritance to her children to maintain her warehouse of stuff indefinitely, better yet she should donate it to the Smithsonian archive…I’m sure they would love that!

We all live within a spectrum of chaos and order, collecting and being minimalist…one is not right, the other is not wrong.

Saying that the entire organizing industry is built on trying to make people believe they should live a certain way is uninformed and irresponsible. What is your personal legacy? Do you want to be known for your stuff?

Embraced by the Hands of Chaos

May 26, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset

During my transition from Textile Design career to professional organizer I wandered upon a meandering path and came to recognize the beauty of not having an exact direction or total clarity. There were moments of utter darkness and chaos and moments of magnificent beauty and peace.

This transition was a time of loss of lifestyle, community, career, family and of our 3 kitties. We felt very alone, but we wanted something different so we embarked upon an adventure of risk. There was a period of 18 months that I had no JOB, leaving me with a lot of time to feel like all I had ahead was more chaos and lack of direction. I knew with my intuition that this would change and that if I could find a way to embrace the “dark night of the soul” that I could be transformed. This dark period felt chaotic as my mind argued that this was crazy and we would not make it. This poem by the Sufi Mystic Hafiz is fitting.

Love wants to reach out and manhandle us,

Break all our teacup talk of God…

The beloved sometimes wants

To do us a great favor:

Hold us upside down

And shake all the nonsense out.

But when we hear

He is in such a “playful drunken mood”

Most everyone I know

Quickly packs their bags and hightails it

Out of town.

What on earth had we done? We invited ourselves to be turned upside down! We choose to put ourselves on this new path because we had a vision of something better! After darkness always follows light.

Having emerged now from this period of darkness I see how profoundly rich and fertile a time it was. I often think of the time’s of “Darkness” as a time of being empty but I now realize that the process of creativity is one of emptying and giving birth. Darkness is a time to let ideas grow and take root, to find stillness and prepare for the birthing of great creations to come. I am finally learning to embrace the creative process that cycles through chaos, darkness, emptiness and the birthing of new ideas and creations .

The Goddess Chaos (Eris) birthed all of creation and she will tell you nothing is more chaotic than birth but the result is a creation miracle!

Full Moon Spring Walk

April 4, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography, Wellness & Mindset

If you are just seeing signs of spring emerge where you are this Easter weekend I hope you will celebrate the season by going out in your environment to really notice all the ways that Spring is emerging.

Just now there is a Full Moon Eclipse. I’ve planned to spend it on the beach, stretching my arms and eyes out to both the Sun rising and full Moon setting, directly opposite one another. At this beautiful time of year I invite you to share a Spring walk through a very special garden outside of Charleston-Cypress Gardens.

Come along with me…

Spirea

Red Bud

Wisteria

Tulip Magnolia

Anemone

I’m not sure about you but Spring has certainly come on in a big way in my life-personally and in business. I’m a busy, busy bee, how about you? I hope your weekend is deeply restorative and relaxing-filled with all the delights of Spring as it Bursts Forth! Happy Easter, Full-Glorious-Spring-Blood-Moon-Celebration!

PS. If you would like to see a few more shots from Cypress Gardens, visit my Flicker album.

How I found my Superpower Gifts

February 27, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset

I recently attended a 3 day Business Retreat called “Click” in Asheville with my coach and mentor, Christine Kane. I had never thought about what my superpower gifts were before then! At this event, I met about 150 of the most inspiring, intelligent, purposeful, smart, talented entrepreneurs I’ve ever been with in one place…Christine rocked us out of our comfort zones and called us to Become more of who we are called to be and to get out and share our SUPERPOWER Gifts with the world!

By the time I left I realized my Superpowers are “Visioning” what a space can become, guiding clients through that process and making them cry with tears of joy when the space has been transformed;)

my superpower gifts

Photo Courtesy Christine Kane-Click live retreat, Asheville, NC 2015

In 2011 I went through Christine’s Uplevel Your Life program and it was a trans formative process of awakening and being called to live my dreams. That 7 week program helped me realize so many things! I was being called to BECOME both the Artist I’ve always known I am and a Professional Organizer.

That was a BIG year! I launched my business, went to Penland to explore my art and my husband and I packed up and left family and friends in DC to move to Charleston, SC without jobs lined up or much $$ left in the bank…it was the biggest leap of Faith I’ve taken so far and it’s been an amazing and rewarding ride.

What track are you on? Where will it lead you?

This is what it means to take imperfect action with intention and faith and it is the most rewarding action that will ALWAYS move you towards your truth.

I knew that Christine’s way of working with Soul and Strategy got me results and I continued to follow her over the past few years. Towards the end of last year, after losing a big client, I realized I was being called-pulled to once again UP my game again (because we always will be called and it’s our JOB to respond!) so I enrolled in another Christine program called Becoming 360.

Sometimes we have to uncover and make our roots visible to feel grounded!

This program helped me root into my current and future direction for my business and since then I’ve been working behind the scenes to make some BIG changes such as Re-launching my website, launching a newsletter for the first time and adding Virtual Organizing to my services…All of these changes and additions will be revealed at the first of next week and I can’t wait to share them with you!

I’m standing at the summit, envisioning all the future has to offer! Can you see it too?

So…this weekend my site might be down for a bit here and there as we work to migrate everything over to the new site. I am so excited about this and have been working with a fantastic web designer, Sarah of Dodeline Designs to make this transformation happen exactly as I envision it! I’ll see you on the new site very soon, have a wonderful weekend!

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How Powerful we really are

February 11, 2015 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset

Let’s talk about Power. Lately, I’ve given a lot of thought to the just how Powerful we really are capable of being. Do you think much about this?

I know I do, I mean it’s in my name! I thought it was pretty special when I became engaged to and finally married into the name Powers. What a POWERFUL last name to have! How could I not put this name to good use in my business and in my life? It wasn’t really until recently that I really started to think about PowerStudio and what a gift it is for me to get to know and get more comfortable with my own Power and how I can share this opportunity with others. It’s like a WORD of a LIFETIME (as opposed to word of the year).

Sometimes–we forget our Power…but then something magical happens.

This magic can come by way of solitude; a walk in nature, laying on a yoga mat, meditation or by way of gathering with a group of Powerful People! And we remember just how powerful we can be too.

Oh how easy it can be to forget though! Some days it seems like it takes a million affirmations and reminders to prop ourselves up. The last couple days have been like that for me. I’ve had a power crash. This can happen after something big and amazing comes along. Have you noticed this?

You experience an amazingly powerful shift and realize you are capable of anything! You are on a power HIGH! You know what you are capable of, you can visualize it, you are IN!

BUT then, the what if’s, fears, naysayers and old stories start to SCREAM in your head that you couldn’t possibly do this, no way, you will fail, not gonna happen, forget about it, just shrink back to where you belong alright already? What now?

OMG, shit, I had this plan, but it’s not gonna work, but I thought I could do this, but can I!? God, I’m so confused I don’t know what to do, I think I’ll just curl up into a ball and hide…maybe cry a little, feel sorry for myslelf, have a little or BIG pity Party? Yeah, that will make me feel better, oh crap, it’s not making me feel better I feel worse! I’ve got to stop thinking this way, I know it’s NOT TRUE!

Wait, what is that? I feel a glimmer of my power, it’s buried in there somewhere right? Maybe I can find some people to help me remember. I think I’ll just crawl out for a minute and see if I can find SOMEONE, ANYONE in my tribe to remind me.

And then you do and they do and you start to feel better, a little more powerful, a little stronger and you find the courage to come out a little further, a little further and you do something nurturing for yourself and you have a FRICKING Ephiphany! Wow, this is a moment! I realize that I have not only POWER but SUPERPOWERS (PLURAL)! I am not only good at stuff I’m FANTASTIC at some stuff, how did I forget that? Oh yeah, those fears.

Humm, what about fear? How does it affect my Power? I know it does, maybe I can just let go of those fears and my power will come back to me. Is that how it works? I’m trying, it doesn’t seem to be working, the fears are still eating away at me, scattering my energy, making me feel powerless. I just need a break from all this struggle, all this fear.

I think I’ll go for a _____(hike, yoga class, swim-you fill in the blank) so I can take a fricking BREAK from all this fear. I need some sweet relief for a minute, please Jesus, just give me some sweet relief from the fear and the feelings of powerlessness.

And there it is! Right in the middle of sweet surrender the gift of POWER is presented! Forgot about the fear, the fear didn’t have my attention. I remembered how POWERFUL I AM- I FELT IT!

Then I made a choice, I choose POWER. Guess what? When I choose power, fear recedes. It doesn’t know how to stand up to my power and I realize in that moment that all I have to do is CHOOSE my power over fear.

When I step into my power I release fear. It can not hold on any more. I choose my power! What do you choose, POWER OR FEAR? Don’t get swept away by fear…