Robyn M Fritz MA MBA
Series on space clearing for businesses
In Part 1 of this series on space clearing for businesses I discussed why space clearing should be your first thought for maintaining and growing a successful holistic business. Yes, staffing and client attraction and retention are essential, but without a clear space, you will always be playing catch-up.
I also explained how you can tell if your space needs clearing using all five of your senses and your intuition to determine a baseline for your business space, room by room. This “space inventory” will show you what areas feel perfect, neutral, and or need more attention in a focused space clearing (although the entire space should be cleared regularly).
Again, space clearing is the energetic, or vibrational, equivalent to vacuuming and dusting. Because everything is alive, including our spaces and the objects in them, everything that occurs in and around them spreads out and affects everything else in the vicinity—and goes home with people. Meaning? As we go about our day, little bits of our emotions and experiences spin off us and get left in the spaces we visit (and, yes, stuck on the people who pass through that space, so we pick up others’ “stuff”).
This is how energy gets “stuck,” or doesn’t flow smoothly. You can tell if business is off, or if people are tired or lackluster for no good reason. Space clearing gets the energy flowing smoothly again, acting as the background prop to happy, prosperous lives (and businesses).
This month I’m going to cover the next step in the space clearing process—zeroing in on what you want from the space you work in, from outlining what you need and want, which is how you fix imbalances, to the step most professional space clearing experts (and business owners) don’t consider: learning what the space has to say about itself and the people it encounters.
When You Know You Need Space Clearing
The thing we tend to forget is that nothing stays clear without assistance. That’s why we’re always cleaning house and organizing our desks. Vibrational clearing is actually more intense, because both people and spaces (and the objects in them) are alive and have feelings, and when emotions and thoughts spin off and mingle in a space, they inevitably clash.
Sometimes people are offended at the suggestion of a space clearing, not because they consider it “woo-wooey” (although some do), but because they think it implies that something is wrong with it, and, by extension, them. It doesn’t mean that at all. Change happens, and regular clearings help. Acknowledging change, or even a sudden disruption in your business, with a space clearing helps keep everyone at their best, including the space.
Even if things are great, space clearing can be a beautiful and uplifting ceremony to just have fun with your spaces.
Determining What You Need and Want from Your Business Space
Of course, you can clear your spaces yourself, and I recommend that you develop a regular practice of doing so. It will help you develop rituals that connect you with your spaces and the rhythms of life, especially if you do it monthly or seasonally. It will also help you stay attuned to what your space needs to be its best, which helps you be your best (honest).
There are also many reasons why you’d want a professional to clear your space. Having a neutral, objective outsider can provide insight on staff productivity and vitality; client comfort; remodeling or changing offices; and sudden or ongoing disruption, including trauma and, yes, “ghosts.”
Forming an Intent and Listing Specifics
So, the first thing you do is establish your baseline for clearing, as explained in Part 1. You employ all your senses to discover how your space appears to you: sight, sound, taste, touch, hearing, and intuition. That will provide insight into things you might want to deal with.
Next consider your goals for a clearing. You will do two things:
- You will determine what you need and want.
- You will ask what the space needs and wants.
Yes, your space is alive, remember? So you need to ask its opinion (you will probably be surprised). But start by deciding what you need and want in the clearing. What would you like to accomplish? Peace of mind? Relaxation? Creative spark? An inviting business space? A celebration? This is your general intent for a space clearing.
Then list 3-4 specific things you need and want from a space. You want more clients and more money. But what would that look like? How would it feel? What does it take to get that? What would the space look and feel like? And so on.
Write this list down. You will be sharing it with your space and whoever assists in the clearing, especially if it’s a space clearing professional like me.
After you’ve determined what you need and want from the space, you need to get input from the space itself. (Most people can tap their intuition to get some idea of this, but it also helps to bring in someone who talks with spaces for a living.) This is why I call my method of space clearing Space Cooperating—because we are bringing the space itself together with you, the human, to jointly cooperate to negotiating change (clearing) that works for both sides.
Yes, in this step, you ask the space what it needs and wants. Start by sharing the specific things you would you like your space to help you with (your list, carefully prepared ahead of time). Sometimes these things are difficult, because you might be moving from the space.
Then ask the space what it needs and wants from you so that you, and your space, can cooperate so both sides are healthy and balanced. Stunning things happen when people ask their spaces what they need and want. They learn the space’s personality quirks and interests, they hear its thoughts on their work, they get tips on how to get along (both humans and the space), and they get support for their creativity.
I had one small houseboat volunteer its walls, ceiling, and floors as a canvas for its new owner’s art. The closeness that developed between them still makes me smile. The bonus? The owner’s business also soared. In a clearing for a technology firm, I had each person tap into their space, and they soon vied to make their partnership soar. A large conference room was unused, and the staff was not cohesive, so I suggested they focus a group activity in it: they ended up using the gigantic conference table to create a holiday gingerbread village, an act that both gave back to the community and delighted the team, which learned to put the fun back into their jobs.
Once you get answers from the space about what it needs and wants, set aside time to collaborate with it. Compromise (cooperation) is essential: none of us get 100% what we want or even need. If what a space wants is impossible, explain why, and offer alternatives. This is simply keeping a clear channel of communication between you and your space, which will help keep the energy flowing.
Once questions and issues are addressed, a formal clearing is in order (energy healing), which I’ll discuss next month. But please take this two-way discussion seriously, and monitor your business on a regular basis. Once you learn to use your intuition to be aware of what your space needs, you’ll stay ahead of clearing issues, and you’ll have one less difficulty in maintaining a successful business.
Very often asking a space what it thinks helps spur your own development, from expanding your personal and professional life to a soaring creative one. Spaces are our intimate partners, and the relationship and team-building that comes from sharing insights and desires creates a closeness that nurtures both sides.
It matters. You matter. Your spaces matter. Tell them what you need and want. Ask them what they need and want. Great things happen.
Spaces get clear. And so do you.
In Part 3 of this series, (September) we’ll cover the space clearing itself, from a big initial clearing to daily maintenance.
In the meantime, try the steps outlined above. What do you need and want from your space? What does your space need and want from you? You’ll be ready to mesh the needs and wants of both sides in the clearing ritual I’ll outline for you.