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housekeeping for the soul (foreword)

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HOUSEKEEPING FOR THE SOUL

A Practical Guide to Restoring Your Inner Sanctuary

FOREWORD

Imagine standing in front of an old house. At one time this structure was well-kept and inviting, but all you see are remnants of a home now in a complete state of disrepair. The flower beds are barren and desolate, with only shriveled remains of weeds. The exterior paint is faded, the chimney crumbling, and missing shingles expose the roof. As you carefully make your way along the cracked sidewalk to the front door you notice the windows are boarded up, blocking your view of the inside.  

The door is unusually heavy, but you push it open and enter, only to find more damage.

Imagine now that the forbidding house is actually your life, the everyday reality you have erroneously created, inherited, or simply allowed for yourself.

Seeing the stark truth of the lives we inhabit can be a shock. For many it can be depressing, even frightening.

Once awakened to our situation, do we move forward with determination to change it or, faced with an overwhelming renovation, do we accept life as is, feeling we have no choice?

Just as a neglected, weathered house can be restored to its original beauty, the house of our soul can be revitalized and transformed into a nurturing abode where a wonderful life can flourish.

Within these pages is offered a new approach to emotional healing:  Walking you through the house of your soul, room by room, using the familiar analogy of housecleaning.

My intention is to quite simply provide a strategy to improve your daily life, whether you are only in need of light dusting or whether a complete renovation is in order.

I also hope to empower each and every one of you by offering a new way to perceive your life situation. Nothing is ever completely hopeless. No matter how dismal our individual situation appears through the blindfold of illusion, there is always at least one path to follow that will lead us out of the darkness.

Please keep in mind that the first few chapters may be challenging to work through, but it's important for us to understand how we got here. Many of us are cleansing and organizing our inner selves for the very first time. Just as the initial efforts of renovating and cleaning a home—be it a house, apartment or other setting—are the most daunting, cleansing our inner world presents the same initial challenges. Once these first steps are behind us, the more enjoyable aspects of recreating ourselves can begin.

 In the pages ahead we will explore the hidden reasons behind the gradual erosion of our lives. Each step of the way, I will provide tools to bring the house of your soul back to its original splendor, as well as tools to maintain your new reality.

We will approach this together, task by task, creating an internal space you will be grateful to inhabit and proudly share with others, a true reflection of your authentic self. Perhaps for the first time, you will be honored to call it "home." 

Throughout this book I encourage you to explore the unknown which, for many, can seem so frightening. I gently guide you to explore the quiet caverns of your soul, just as you would the recesses of seldom-used closets or a forgotten attic. In doing so, you will expand your thoughts and perceptions, opening to new possibilities and ways of creating a new space within you and around you.

At the end of each chapter you will find simple affirmations, as well as a section entitled "A Taste of the Spiritual Unknown," where I share the ageless wisdom of various spiritual traditions for your reading pleasure and as another means of seeing life from a different vantage point.

After all, whether renovating or cleaning one's physical home, or cleansing and healing the house of our soul, it is good to take a step back, look at the big picture, and try to see it from different perspectives. Only then you will truly be ready for the task of creating anew, in a manner that is in complete alignment with the most authentic you.

copyright: John Hunt Publishing 2009

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