Dear Karen,

After a friend recommended your book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, I read it cover to cover and dug in. I haven't de-cluttered, EVER!!!!

I read your book over the Xmas holiday and started actually cleaning Jan.1, seemed like a great new year start. YIKES! It is now Jan.8 and I haven't stopped. Now, I'm not going very fast which surprises me since I'm usually a very speedy person. But I feel like my feet are in cement, and I'm completely overwhelmed all the time. I have trouble sleeping and more importantly, and the reason for this email, is the discontent and sadness I feel all the time. I'm a bear to my husband and am finding all kinds of past issues rising to the surface I thought I'd cleared! Everything seems to be crumbling from under me. I'm questioning my path in life and it's meaning, etc. etc.

I loved your book and the directions in it but feel very lost and almost hopeless as to what to do with these emotions. Not much of this is addressed in your book. Is this common? Will it pass (I sure hope soon). What to do while in it? Thanks for your help!

- K.W., USA

Karen's reply:

The degree of discontent and sadness you are describing is indicative of how far off track your life has gone. Clearing the clutter is allowing you to see and feel this at last.

It sounds to me as if you are at major turning point - the kind you will look back on in years to come and say, "And to think all this started from the time when I started clearing my clutter!" I've been through this intense process twice in my life and it was tough at the time but I've never regretted it. I came to realize that the pain I experienced was directly proportional to my refusal to let go and move on. The changes I made have led me to a life of happiness I never dreamt possible.

So rather than offering you a quick fix I'm going to wholeheartedly encourage you to continue, and can suggest the following things to help you on your path:

1) Do the Space Clearing ceremony described in my first book, Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, to clear out all the stuck energy that is embedded in your clutter. This will help you move through the emotions more quickly. (Note: There is a very brief description of the ceremony at the back of Clear Your Clutter but this is not enough for you to do the ceremony safely and effectively.)

2) Find a good astrologer and have your transits done to discover the bigger picture of what's happening for you at the moment. This will give you some direction and some sanity while it's all happening. If you need a recommendation, one of the best astrologers I know is Richard Norris, who is based in London (email: richardn40@hotmail.com, Tel: +44 (0)207 461 9177). He'll record your consultation on tape and mail it to you if you're not able to visit in person.

3) Understand that your emotional reactions are caused by activation of samskaras in your astral body. Read Regression: Past Life Therapy for Here and Now Freedom by Dr Samuel Sagan (available from www.clairvision.org) for the most lucid explanation I have ever read about how this works and, most importantly, what to to do about it. Click here for more information about the Clairvision School.