Spiritual cleanliness and order
- This page is part of an ERW course: Spiritual exercises, section Articles.
- By John Eagles, September 22, 2009.
We want to have a good spiritual atmosphere in the house where we live and the rooms where we reside. In order to reach this, spiritual cleansing of that space is needed on a regular basis. There are of course other methods through which the spiritual atmosphere of a place can be improved, but this article is about cleaning and making order.
It goes without saying that cleanliness and orderliness are of crucial importance to keep a good spiritual atmosphere. Our Creator is a God of order. Wherever there comes disorder it becomes very difficult for God and good spirit world to enter.
What is principled order? It is that it is clear what is subject and object. That what is more central should be protected and kept in a position of subject in relation to what is less central. To clean and bring good order to a room is the same as bringing order in the subject-object relations between objects in that room.
When a table is meant for writing meaningful texts, that table should not be full of garbage. We put our shoes down on the floor and not up on a cabinet where we also keep sacred books. When flowers are fresh we may put them in a vase on an altar, but when they became old their destination is the garbage can.
It is by bringing order in the subject and object relations between objects in a space that the spiritual atmosphere is improved. This is actually not at all an easy task. We need to know the function of each table, each cabinet, each chair etc. in the room. If a chair is meant for a special guest, we put it more on the inside of the room and not next to the door of entrance. We preferably don't keep our working clothes in a cabinet in a room where we have dinner.
Of course, when the available space is little, there may be exceptions to the rules above. But also in a smaller room with many objects, the same principles apply.
Long ago I have received a long training in this field. I had to bring order to a room in an entirely principled way. That process took several hours daily over a period of almost one year. When you really go the bottom of this and you research each object and item in a room, it is very difficult to find out its spiritual value and the proper place where to put it.
In order to prepare such a room, also spiritual cleansing is necessary. Cleansing is actually very similar to bringing order. When we clean, we make constant decisions about whether something is worthy to be kept or should be discarded. What we keep is subject in relation to what we throw away.
But also when we take a towel and wipe a table or a wall, there can be introduced a spiritual dimension to this work. There is a history for each stain. There is meaning in dirt. Some dirt came there just by accident. Dust collected. But certain stains may have a cause that is not heavenly. For example, a person is in a bad mood and stumbles and spills a glass of liquid. There came dirty stains in the carpet. In those spots will still be contained the energy of the bad mood. When you take away that stain and you pay good attention to what you feel, then you can sense the anger that this person felt who made the blotch.
When you try to cleanse a room in this way, you yourself go through a difficult process. To you come the feelings that were left behind by those who dirtied the room. You have to digest those feelings and replace them with good feelings. Such work should be done in prayer so you are sure that you bring in the most heavenly thoughts and feelings and you don't come under the bad feelings of what you are trying to get rid of.
Learning how to cleanse a room in a spiritual way is one of the best trainings to elevate your spiritual awareness of all that is around you. Do it in prayer and you will surely gain much from it and when you more deeply understand the significance, you may even begin to like chores that you have always disliked.
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