Before you hit the books, why not leave what you don't need behind?

Before we know it, we’re right smack in the middle of 2010 and the frenzy of the school year has just begun. Students, parents and members of the academe will soon find themselves going through a whole range of emotions, from excitement to dread, from relief to mind-splitting stress. Whether we want to admit it or not this aforementioned range of emotions can take its toll on our overall health, affecting how we feel and certainly how we look. Nobody wants to kick off the school year on a negative note, so it may be worth taking some time out this last weekend of May to clear yourself of any doubt, fear or insecurity you may have left unhealed from your last educational experience, whether you’re the one going to school or the one sending someone to school. It would also be beneficial to learn how to create a sacred space for yourself at all times — someplace you can run to, physically, mentally and spiritually when you find yourself carrying more on your shoulders than your laptop bag.

First of all, let’s tackle the issue arena. What would be a good way to say goodbye to those memories or experiences that may be weighing you down? Worrying causes lines, wrinkles, breakouts — you name it — not to mention stress eating, avoiding activity and even an addiction to products and activities that will do nothing for you in the long term. Right now would be as good a time as any to list down the things that you feel cause you undue stress, or better yet, those things that repetitively cause you undue stress.

Is it the study load? Your classmates? Teacher? What your next step will be? Now, if you have the opportunity to get out of town then here’s what was once recommended to me when I felt myself going round and round in that hamster wheel of seemingly bad juju:

Take with you a trinket small enough to carry in your hand that you will later on use to “store” every bad memory you can think of (I was blessed enough to have been gifted with a small black obsidian charm in the shape of a gourd). You can get something similar at Accessory Lab in Rockwell or if you know of a Chinese charm shop they will have these gourds as well since they are used to attract wealth or abundance. If you don’t have time to shop then simply pick up a smooth stone, the darker in color the better. 

Next, if you are out of town spend some quiet time alone, even if it’s in your room, and visualize that all these negative thoughts about everything — let’s say those days you feel ugly and fat — are being placed inside your trinket of choice. And when I say “all of these negative thoughts,” I mean all — leave no thought behind. As you take time to do this, you will be surprised by how many old issues rear their ugly heads during this period. Acknowledge them and continue to store.

When you’re done take a long, hard look at yourself in a mirror and remember what you look like now, with your past in the palm of your hand. Go outside; if there’s a lake, the sea, or an empty open space within walking or driving distance, go there. When you get to that space turn your back toward it and, holding the trinket in your hand, say to yourself “What I no longer need I leave behind me.” Without turning around, throw the trinket behind you as far as you can (a caveat: make sure before you even start that there is no way you’re going to hit anyone passing by) and then walk away and don’t look back. With every step you can choose to chant, “With every step I take I move closer to true joy and happiness,” or whatever will evoke a happy feeling.

No time to go out of town? Creating this kind of cleansing can be done at home. Instead of throwing the trinket behind you, find a small plot of earth, even if it’s the soil of a potted plant, and bury it. This time you can say “I place this in the earth so that it may be recycled and harvested as pure positive and abundant energy,” or again, anything along those lines.

The advantage is, you will probably see a glow when you look in the mirror as you acknowledge that you have freed yourself for a whole plethora of new adventures. A spring in your step as you enter the school grounds? Optional.