When you clean your house you are pushing things around from one place to another. Clothes go from floor or hamper, to washer, to dryer, to closet, and back to floor or hamper. You are using a portion of your time and energy, intending to make a difference, but are you really changing anything? Intentions are a powerful tool in creating change, but sometimes we must look at what we are actually doing with our intent.

We recycle what we already have acquired and we repeat what we know until we are willing to step out and make a change in our patterns of thinking or behaving. This does not mean that we need to change our intent, but it requires us to make a shift in our energy, and where we place it in our lives.

What can we do to make a difference and change the time and energy that we expend recycling what we have and know? Making a difference would be giving the clothes away to someone who needs them. Giving away what you have acquired or sharing what you already know is a way to spread the light. Kindness expands our vision and allows more room for acceptance and change.

How can this be applied to your everyday life? Ask yourself what you are doing to clutter up your life, your mind, your family or your relationships. It takes a lot of time and energy to sort out and organize all of the materialistic possessions, unhealthy ideas, the emotions associated with them, unneeded habits that were once used to sooth or protect us. Sometimes the people in our lives have run their course. They have provided for us the lessons and experiences that they are here to give us, and then it is time to move on. Hanging on to these things can sometimes only cause more pain and confusion. We need to start from within ourselves. We need to learn about ourselves and who we are.

We need to love and accept ourselves exactly as we are so we can love and accept others for exactly as they are. Doing this raises our vibration. We become attractors of light, good and change. We open doors and windows for ourselves and others, allowing in the light, making room for change.

Kelly Dakin, Reiki Level II Practitioner, lives in Augusta, Maine. You can visit her at www.myspace.com/reikiroom.