Spring Cleaning, the Goddess, and the House of Four Rooms

The Goddess Gift E-Zine

Spring Cleaning, The Goddess, and
The House of Four Rooms

March, 2009

Table of Contents

1. Goddess Whisperings: The House As Metaphor for Spirit
2. Spring Cleaning for Heart and Soul
3. The Goddesses of Springtime
4. Diva's Diner -- There's still time to reserve your table.

The goddess has a journey for you -- that's what my friend Lissa said a few years ago when I told her of a major crisis in my life. And those few words, the goddess has a journey for you, have added so much to my life over the last few years. By subtly reframing the lens through which we view the happenings in our worlds (especially the traumatic ones), some of the fear recedes and we somehow feel more confident to move on and successfully meet the challenges that life presents.

It's been a rough couple of months for me. In typical Athena-fashion, I'd taken on waaaay too much to do. Then I get diagnosed with lead poisoning and get to add an afternoon of IV-therapy to my busy schedule.

And, ironically, it was Athena again, or perhaps her Roman counterpart, the Goddess Minerva....who'd brought me the gift in the first place. Yes, I am appropriately thankful for Athena's gift, the invention of plumbing -- especially of the indoor kind. So perhaps I really should blame it on Vulcan, the Roman god of the forge (or his Greek incarnation, Hephaestus) for using lead to manufacture all those poisonous pipes.

Please understand that the goddesses don't always give you the gift you want, but they DO give you the gift that you need, the one that can lead you to your fulfilling destiny, the life that you were meant to live.

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And no, I haven't a clue what purpose the goddess had in mine for this journey of mine. If I've learned one thing over the years, it's that there is one and that it's for the greater good. But at first it didn't feel that way.

I hated to do it, but I finally broke down and held my very own "pity party"-- every little thing I was trying to do suddenly became impossibly stressful, and then, just to make matters worse, every time I opened my mouth my foot seemed to jump into it.

Such moments come to all of us, but we need to remember that there are goddesses waiting with outstretched arms to lead us back to the path that will take us where we need to be going, back to the things that matter most.

Although we are proficient and productive (or trying hard to be), and even though we are well-organized (or feeling guilty about not being), inevitably there are those days we come to realize that something is missing in our lives. Not enough 'Spring Cleaning', perhaps.

House As a Metaphor for Spirit

A metaphor that is part of Hindu wisdom describes everyone as being a house with four rooms -- one physical, one mental, one that is emotional, and another that is spiritual. Rumer Godden, author of the memoir A House With Four Rooms, observes that "Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person".

'The House of Belonging' is another useful concept about living the life that you were meant to live, the one where you are courageously true to self. It is well worth considering.

Sarah Ban Breathnach describes it as a metaphor for the "earthly home of the soul". She notes that in ancient Celtic tradition the concept is also used to represent the deep sense of safety, contentment, and joy found in connection with others who best could be described as "soul friends".

I count myself blessed to have such friends. One of them is providing words of wisdom for you this month, giving me a chance to spend more time visiting the four rooms in my house.

So I thank Rev. Laurie Sue, aka The Wedding Goddess, for sharing her inspiring thoughts on the art of Spring Cleaning . . . clearing the path for love, of Self or others.

Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Soul

Freshen your home and open up your love life

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Is your love life at a standstill? Are you feeling kind of stuck in the winter blahs and lack-of-relationship blues? Does life in general look a little messy? Do things seem out of balance and off-centered? If so, it may be time for a spring cleaning of the heart and soul!

I am convinced -- and I have seen -- that we can pray and Feng Shui our way out of a love rut … and into a great relationship.

It may seem wacky to think that a pile of old magazines or relics from relationships past that are collecting dust can keep new love at bay, but clutter and memorabilia can impact your love life. Why not utilize the stir of springtime to clean house in your life, on all levels, and get yourself even more tuned-up for love! A good, soulful spring-cleaning will bring you a fresh start for the season of love.

In order to truly be ready to engage in a good relationship, you have to be committed to bringing order into your life on all levels -- physical, psychic, emotional, financial, and spiritual. It is often a process of gently releasing, letting go, identifying and giving up that which stands in the way of letting love in. This includes unsuitable relationships and unsuitable ties to old flames (you know the ones!). Let yourself mourn what you must leave behind -- an important process-- and then you can move on.

There is a very specific spiritual law that states that “nature abhors a vacuum.” Get rid of something and something new can come in. All of the worlds religions have specific ways to release the old -- from body, mind and spirit. And in Feng Shui, releasing clutter is the number one step to transforming your life. And there is a reason for this: If your life is too cluttered or filled up with “stuff,” if your house is messy or your mind is disorganized, if you are not honoring your body or your spirit, it very hard to feel connected to your own divine nature and therefore it is difficult to create a life of your choosing. It’s harder yet to magnetize a partner who has it together and can brings a lot to a relationship.

This is the time to at least start to rethink your romantic game plan and slowly work your way toward transforming -- or releasing -- the relationships that are not your soul mate and the things in your life that do not represent the kind of relationship you would like to be in.

The best bet for a fresh start is to make symbolic gestures in the physical realm. Clearing the decks of disarray will help you create a healthy foundation for your life. And then, a healthy foundation in your life will help you create the space for your love to come in. These things take time. Be gentle with yourself but start somewhere!

Click to read the rest of 'Life Cleaning Tips'

Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway is a non-denominational wedding officiant and relationship coach known for her warm, loving and creative approach to blessing couples in love and helping people find true love. She’s author of Wedding Goddess (www.WeddingGoddess.com) and Find Your Spiritual Soul Mate (www.selfhealingexpressions.com)

The Goddesses of Springtime

Need the help of a goddess to inspire your spring cleaning? Call on one of these goddesses of springtime to motivate you to get moving!

Spring is the time for rebirth and renewal. It's the perfect time to reclaim the heady powers of youth. And it's a time to chuck out any weary cynicism that doesn't serve us well as we reach out to embrace the new possibilities that are spread before us. In short, it's time to shed the old, itchy skin and start over again all glowing and refreshed.

These are the lessons of the goddesses of springtime. You can follow the links to read their myths.

Talk about a goddess makeover! For Kore, the young daughter of Demeter, it was time to leave the idyllic innocence of childhood and to put on her big girl pants and become Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld. Never mind she didn't choose to go on this frightening adventure -- but it did force her to learn to love and to decide for herself. She chose to stay, becoming a woman in the process.

Persephone reminds us that, no matter how many roles a woman plays in her daily life, she can handle them with grace. But to do that she must take care to 'go home to Mamma' (the Mamma within, of course) from time to time to allow herself to be the one who's pampered and, yes, even babied for a little while.

The goddess Brigid, and the Celtic festival of Imbolc, urge us to nourish the tender new urges that try to establish themselves and become part of our being . . . and also to be gentle and forgiving when we face our own weaknesses and failures.

And as actor Robin Williams once reminded us,
Spring is Nature's way of saying 'Let's Party!'

Think of the rowdy festivals like Mardi Gras or Carnivale with all those fantastical floats and carousers tossing trinkets to the crowds. They were brought to you care of the Egyptian cat goddess Bast who taught that you can't spend all your time putting out fires and that sometimes you need to let go off all the responsibilities and allow som e wild abandon in your life.

Our Lady arrives in spring and bids each of us to find our passion, the purpose and meaning of our lives. She empowers us to achieve the great things that we've only dared to dream.

Last Call for Diva's Diner, the 5th Annual Goddess Contest/Collaboration . . .

Whether you're a "Love to Cook" or "Hate to Cook" kind, you've got something to share and we'd love to have it!

Plan A:

Eat like a goddess. Dine out.

Oops! Economy tanked. Nudget busted, go to Plan B.

Plan B:

Eat like a goddess. Dine in.

And pick up a few prizes along the way.

Submit your mouth-watering, time-saving, goddess-honoring recipes for the contest. The odds are good and here are the prizes:

All participants will get a free e-book of the entries . . . when we get around to get it compiled, that is.

Celestial Chef Award : A Goddess Shrine from the Goddess Glass Art Collection, created by famed artist, Colin Heaney. Collectible. Valued at $100.

Diner's Choice : In addition, Gift Certificates for the Goddess Quiz or Greek Gods Quiz will be awarded to the 'FavoriteFive' as voted for by E-zine subscribers.

It's not too late! Deadline: March 31.

Leave your yummiest tribute to the goddess at:
Diva's Diner: Where the Goddesses Dish It Out!

Back next month with the story of the Goddess Ostara and the history of the Easter bunny.

Till then,

remember to . . .

Love your life,

for it is your home.

Sharon
The Goddess Path To Goddess Gift