Your Spacious Self: Clear the Clutter and Discover Who You Are

If there is one person who specializes in making things simple, it's Stephanie Bennett Vogt, author of this award-winning book. As a space clearing expert, Stephanie is a firm believer that "behind our stress and stuff is an infinitely spacious place one might call stillness or joy," and clearing a path to our true nature is easy to cultivate, one small step or drawer at a time. In the course of ten years, Stephanie made some profound discoveries while clearing the clutter from her own life that she decided to write a book about the process that she hopes will inspire others. "Your Spacious Self" brings the process and importance of organizing into a new light. Stephanie says that, contrary to popular belief, people's "stuff" is not the problem. The act of holding onto this "stuff" is what paralyzes people; it's what prevents people from experiencing their full potential. In her book, Stephanie offers a new model of powerful clearing that combines ancient eastern principles of space clearing with western practicality of clutter clearing. With thirty-five years of experience and study in metaphysics and various healing modalities, Stephanie, a born communicator, improviser, and organizer, incorporates her knowledge into "Your Spacious Self." Still, Stephanie preaches that there is nothing more important than embracing the present moment when it comes to letting go This book is engaging, practical, and well-structured. She wrote it with the intention of helping people identify beliefs that create clutter, discover the long-lasting power of clearing, experience self-care, join together with others in forming clutter clearing circles, and bring wonder into their daily lives. The book's main idea is rooted in her business, SpaceClear. In 1996, after years of teaching high school, Stephanie felt her life needed a change; a drastic one. Realizing how much joy she felt in helping people create beautiful spaces that support, nourish, and inspire others, she started her own business. She founded SpaceClear, a private consulting and teaching practice dedicated to bringing homes and their occupants into balance. With over a decade of experience as an expert space clearer, Stephanie's "Your Spacious Self" should be read by anyone seeking revolution. [...]

This is a amazing, life-altering book!! I've read many other feng shui or decluttering books, and Your Spacious Self goes way beyond the rest - it's SOOOO holistic - such a combination - not just de-cluttering, but good soul stuff too! I highly recommend it for individuals, but also for groups. Three friends and I used this book to form a Clearing Circle - and the book was so helpful as it gives you weekly suggested meeting formats, which is a great support. All four of us loved the book, and it has helped us each immensely in our lives - it's amazing how de-cluttering impacts ALL areas of your life! We've all been excited about our clearing journeys - ranging from basements, to email inboxes, to smaller steps (like Stephanie Bennett Vogt writes in this book - one paperclip at a time). One of my friend's job situation has changed for the better and she has a few exciting job opportunities in the horizon, and she truly believes it's because she de-cluttered mentally and physically and thus opened room for these opportunities. Since I'm so busy with kids, my decluttering has been on the smaller side - for example, cleaning up the sippy cup level of that drawer, or the lazy Susan, or 1 bathroom. A powerful excercise in that regard has been the idea of everything having it's own place - just putting the dental floss back every night in the same place has been MIND BLOWING!! Truly! And has flowed into other areas! Another powerful unexpected outcome for me has been Stephanie Bennett Vogt'S concept of emotions being just 'weather' - now when I stub my toe or 10 hats fall on my head, I just let it be THAT - a stubbed toe or 10 hats on the ground, instead of the good old days when it snowballed into so much more. Granted, some days I can't help that, but overall, I've been AMAZED at the change in that regard!! What a gift this book is! It has changed my life!

Self-improvement and self-motivation books are everywhere, these days. You can follow the laws of attraction, you can find your north star, and you can discover the person you were always meant to be. But how do any of those approaches apply to the piles of papers and memorabilia that are filling up the corners of your space? They probably don't. But that's OK. Stephanie Bennett Vogt can help you come to grips with that problem. Vogt's process is quite different from that of the organizational experts you see on cable TV. It's not as simple as merely sweeping through a room one afternoon, dividing the stuff into a "keep" box and a "toss" box, and setting up new cabinets to house the remainders. Vogt is a "space clearer." And "space" is here defined quite broadly -- so much so, that once you start reading, you realize that you and your own "monkey mind" are the first spaces that need the most clearing. While she does attend to the physical mechanics of sorting and finding a home for each one of your cherished possessions, the majority of the text goes much further than that. It calls for introspection, for thinking before and during and after, and for understanding the reasons why your clutter accumulated in the first place. Along the way, you are sure to experience "weather" -- feelings that move through your entire body as you proceed. Key for me personally is noticing the "tolerations" -- the broken bits or unfinished projects that sit well within eyesight but have become such a part of the landscape that they're no longer seen. Now that I can give them a name, I'm finding even more of them! And I took care of a few before I was even done reading the book. Many of the chapters include repeatable mantras, "try these" activities, clearing practices, and recommendations for conducting a local clearing circle as a support and advice group. Vogt has an easy-going manner and presents her ideas well. Even so: this is not the kind of book that you can just read once and fully grasp or internalize. Some of it, quite frankly, is currently just beyond my mental and spiritual reach. But I expect to continue to learn from it in the months to come. I have already incorporated some of the mantras (which helped me through a stressful meeting) and have benefited from the analysis of "weather" and emotions. As Vogt says in the final chapter: "The clearing journey never ends; it just gets better, more juicy, and more fun!" An inspirational and instructive paperback for seemingly incurable pack-rats.

For those who are still having trouble de-cluttering, I highly recommend this book. Stephanie's book is by far the best I've read about de-cluttering--and also about Space Clearing. I highly recommend it to anyone who feels "stuck!" Melody LeBaron Transforming Space, Transforming Self

Your Spacious Self transformed my understanding of 'tidying up.' Never before did I view external clutter as a pathway to internal growth, as stuck energy, and as something that was separating me from my true essence. Before you tackle another closet, read this book!" The author truly understands your resistance to getting organized and starts where you are. She is skillful and clever in guiding you to the deeper issues "getting organized" represent. And the journey she takes you on is surprising and insighful. DO order this book. It's very accessible, readable, and compelling. You are certain to emerge with new insights -- and a new YOU! I loved this book! -Susan Page, bestselling author of Why Talking is Not Enough