“Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”
― Marie Kondō, 

It’s funny how intuition plays such a key role in all areas of your life. You don’t have to aspire to be a psychic or a medium to benefit from tuning in to your soul’s voice – in fact, I can’t imagine how I’d navigate the twists and turns of my daily life without it.

Your intuition is your personal soul- compass that will always point you in the right direction. It there to help you make the right choices about all kinds of things – significant and trivial. It can guide you when choosing a mate or a career, or steer you left or right when you’re searching for a parking spot. Plus, your intuition can help you to determine what things to keep in your life, and what to discard.

Which leads me to the topic of today’s discussion…

Many people I know have been talking about the book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. There’s even a Netflix series based on author Marie Kondō’s technique for clearing out the items in your life that don’t spark joy. I watched a couple of episodes and was struck by a couple of things. Here are three things that made me sit up and say “ah-ha”!

• The process that Marie takes her clients through requires that they learn how to determine what items “spark joy.” This is just another example of how an awareness of your inner voice, or intuition, can be strengthened through practice and repetition. People going through the process are instructed to leave the hardest decisions for last – waiting to tackle their sentimental items until they have strengthened their ability to determine if an item should be kept or discarded.
• The more clutter you get rid of, the more you are able to embrace the things that really matter, making space for the life you want to lead. As a spiritual teacher, I would add to this lesson the fact that clutter isn’t limited to physical possessions – you can also be weighed down by people, behaviors and beliefs that don’t serve your greater purpose.
• On a practical note, I realize now that I’ve been folding my socks ALL WRONG!

I do love a tidy house, but Marie’s philosophy makes me happy for a much more significant,  reason. I love seeing examples of practical uses for your intuition. People often ask me if the James Van Praagh School of Mystical Arts is just for people who want to be professional mediums or psychics. Absolutely not! Every single person can benefit from incorporating mindfulness, intuition, and a connection to Spirit into their lives. Doing so is the key to living your authentic life – eliminating the non-essentials to live free from fear and in harmony with your soul.

If you’re ready to take use your inner knowing to take decluttering one step further and start letting go of ALL the things in your life that don’t serve you, here’s my advice.

• Prioritize areas that need work. You can’t clean out a whole lifetimes worth of clutter in one day, and you can’t fix your whole life at once, either. Instead, focus on making continuous, meaningful improvements. And just like Marie recommends, if there’s something (or someone) you know will be hard to change or let go of, make sure you have the tools you need to tackle it. If there’s a belief that you have clung to since childhood, or a behavior that is ingrained, or a destructive person who you can’t cut your ties with make sure you are mindful and centered in your own power – then act.
• Be aware of what is holding you back. Are you feeling stuck and unable to move forward? Tune into the root cause. Are you clinging to something because of fear? Are you worried about what other people will say? Do old insecurities and beliefs have you second-guessing what your heart is telling you? Mindful awareness can help you to identify your roadblocks so you can move forward.

The universe will provide everything you need to reach your goal. Intuition, mindfulness, even your spirit guides, and angels are all available to help you keep what is meaningful in your life and clear out the rest. If your connection to Spirit and your own souls voice is weak or drowned out by the world around you, take a break. Attend a workshop or take an online course to remind yourself that the key to the pure, uncluttered life of your dreams lies within you!