SO MUCH HAS BEEN SAID in recent years about the importance of creating a clutter-free outer environment and the positive energetic benefits of living and working in clean and organized surroundings. In my work as a Classical Feng Shui consultant, I have found this is often the most challenging task I present to my clients, as there usually is a psychological component connected to their clutter and their resistance to dealing with it. However, my excellent Feng Shui teachers did not cover taking a deep look at the inner dynamics involved, since clutter is one of many areas of energetic balancing to address during a consultation. Fortunately I have my Clinical Hypnotherapy training to help in that regard, as I have been both a student and teacher of how the mind works for a couple decades. From my professional experiences, the degree of outer clutter is a direct reflection of the amount of inner clutter a person holds onto. Getting a client to tidy up their home and office and throw away or recycle the massive amount of unnecessary and unused "stuff" they have accumulated and have a hard time releasing is only one part of the work to be done; if their inner issues aren't addressed, and I walk away with payment for Feng Shui services alone, the clutter is highly likely to build up again.

The same goes with how we use our minds, and whether we have lots of mental clutter that compulsively directs our choices and behaviors in a spiritually unproductive and self-absorbed manner. All the meditation we do is like a feather dusting if we don't bring in the heavy equipment of eyes wide-open radically honest self-inquiry and applied mindfulness in order to replace energy depleting thought patterns with energy enhancing ones. But as you can easily guess, the resistance to doing that degree of inner clutter excavation and disposal is even more difficult than the outer type. If you are human, you know what I am talking about, as it is a universal experience!

In my studies of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) I learned the value of framing ideas and concepts in a particular manner so as to avoid setting off potential triggers and stepping into egoic landmines that create automatic defensive reactions. This is truly an art in which I do not claim to be a master of, but it is very clear to me that because the mind and ego are so clever, it is of utmost importance to attempt to bypass resistance to doing personal inner shadow transcendence work and reframe it in a positive manner - i.e. as a form of selfless service to collective humanity. This is yet another in a long list of reasons why I believe with my entire heart and soul that the Way of the Bodhisattva - the compassionate Spiritual Warrior/Activist - is such a beautiful model for anyone living in contemporary society to embrace in order to hold internally the spirit of something much greater than the small self and all its quirks and neuroses, and instead see the journey as a treasure map for changing how we can approach our deep inner work as a joyful adventure ... instead of an arduous task.

The thing is, humans by nature would rather travel the path of ease and comfort, and are therefore drawn to practices where they can sit back and let someone else do the work - for example, have someone do energy massage on them, thinking by doing so all their rough edges will magically go away without even having to look at them. Or, as many have been told recently, convincing themselves all they have to do is "intend" their dark shadows to vanish without even acknowledging each one and taking responsibility for their own energy field and the impact it has, and instead expecting to become awakened souls without lifting a finger. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way; there is no "instant, effortless enlightenment," no skipping steps, and the notion we are at the center of all existence and can control all that comes our way is delusional elitism at its most extreme.

As Pema Chödrön wrote in her book, The Places that Scare You - A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times:

We can all do the dance of resistance as long as we choose to do so, but it actually takes more energy to resist than it does to surrender and just do the work. But because we fear the unknown, the tendency to use every tool in our bag of tricks (defensiveness, lying to ourselves, laziness, denial, justification, blame, procrastination, ignoring, "good excuses", etc.) appears to be easier and more desirable, when what we are actually doing is building a deeper and deeper pile of mental clutter to eventually sort through and be done with, whether it is this lifetime or the next. But in this time of great need, wasting an incarnation by indulging in the needs and neuroses of the one (a.k.a. "me me me" cravings and obsessions) instead of fearlessly transcending our own mental mishigosh for the benefit of others is, to put it bluntly, selfish.

One of my favorite teachers, the late Tibetan Buddhist master Chogyam Trungpa, said this:

Facing our minds with honesty, humility and fearlessness in order to acknowledge and transcend our cluttered, inefficient mental operating system for the positive impact and benefit it has on all we encounter is called the practice of Bodhichitta - giving birth to The Awakened Mind. Bodhichitta can only be actualized by disciplined, attentive, purposeful and passionate devotion to cultivating unsullied mindfulness along with heart-broken-open compassion toward all sentient beings, bar none, with no sense or projection of superiority or desire for personal gain. The Dalai Lama said. "True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively." However, it is important to not confuse enablement with compassion, as one of the kindest and most loving things you can do for another is not enable their darker tendencies and delusions. The key is employing "tough love" with calm, assertive softness and great care.

Living with consciously-chosen, transparent Bodhichitta 24/7 is about paying close attention to our thoughts, choices, actions, and behaviors with every breath we take, and totally dedicating ourselves to achieving full spiritual awakening in order to benefit all sentient beings as impeccably (e.g. the cleanest use of our energy) as possible. Bodhichitta is sometimes referred to as the "Wish Fulfilling Jewel," because like a magic jewel it brings true happiness and spiritual abundance, beyond the "manifestation" of any self-absorbed transitory and superficial material desires.

Pema Chödrön says this:

As taught in the Buddhist traditions, there are two levels of Bodhichitta, aspirational and engaged:

Aspirational Bodhichitta is the humble and pure wish to clear out the clutter of our inner shadows and delusions for the sole purpose of helping to lead our fellow human beings toward their own awakened state, free from suffering. Aspirational Bodhichitta has two stages:

Engaged Bodhichitta means mindfully and attentively engaging in the practices and behaviors that bring about Bodhichitta, by taking the Bodhisattva vows that will move us away from the spiritually self-destructive thoughts, choices, behaviors and actions that keep it out of our reach. Our vows are renewed upon awakening and before we go to sleep, as well as throughout the day. We pay attention to where our mind goes and the results it creates inside of our being (either experiencing mental and emotional equanimity, or experiencing suffering in response to any situation that crosses our path), and slowly dissolve our fixation on incessantly spinning our minds over past events or mentally projected future scenarios.

Teaching the art of developing Bodhichitta is not exclusive to the Buddhist traditions; many great teachers frame the practice and its value on the spiritual path with other terminology. The essence of Bodhichitta is Christ-like love and concern for anyone who is suffering, including ourselves. Additionally, cultivating Bodhichitta is about training our minds to run more efficiently from a spiritual perspective by removing all unnecessary clutter, and again, many teachers and traditions discuss this disciplinary practice in varying ways.

For example, A Course In Miracles states, "You achieve so little because you have undisciplined minds." A major portion of the book is devoted to showing us that we do have control over our minds, and that our minds don't have to be running wild and vulnerable to a myriad of distractive influences, and we can instead choose to see it is truly possible to change how we think by engaging in consistent mindful practice to develop mastery over our habitual and non-productive thought patterns.

Taoist master Lao Tzu said, "To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." We decide what anything means by our thoughts; once we have experienced the balanced neutrality of mental stillness and clarity, we are at choice to create and apply new and more positive meanings to virtually everything in the Universe.

Don Juan Matus, spiritual mentor of the late Carlos Castaneda, called the discipline of Bodhichitta as "stopping the world." He taught that having a cluttered mind that is all over the place causes you to lose spiritual power, and therefore, your ability to attain a fully awakened mind. (There is debate as to whether don Juan really existed or was constructed by Castaneda, who later in life fell into the traps of fame and power that many teachers who have not cleared their vulnerability to those egoic shadows fall into - but regardless, many of the teachings are extremely valid and useful to those choosing the path of the Compassionate Spiritual Warrior.)

For anyone who wants to see the outer world change, his or her inner world must concurrently be transformed, and be transformed again and again. Playwright George Bernard Shaw said, "Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

Pema Chödrön says this about the power of Bodhichitta:

So how do we begin to train the mind and cultivate Bodhichitta? The Dalai Lama says,

With that understanding in your awareness, let your Process Journaling exercises this month be about where, when, why and how you direct anger and hatred toward yourself. Write down all the times you experience either emotion rise up within you, what you tell yourself via your negative thoughts, and what circumstances prompted such strong emotional responses. Realize that indulging in either volatile emotion directed inwardly is committing violence against Self, and know that if you want peace in the outer world, you must create it first in the inner world. Take some deep meditative breaths (called tonglen, as described in depth in last month's column) to help you process this energy away; with each outward breath releasing this Self-destructive energy, and with each inward breath, bring in the energy of compassion, forgiveness, patience, and loving kindness. By engaging in this practice mindfully and consistently, you will begin to clear out the old mental clutter that impedes your spiritual growth, and from there, can apply the same technology to where, when, why and how you direct anger and hatred toward anyone.

Next month, we will go deeper into the practice of cultivating Bodhichitta.