Spiritual growth is a lot like washing dishes.
As we move through life, we accumulate grime. This is baggage, limiting beliefs fear, that kind of stuff. And some of us accumulate more than others.
It’s like dishes. As dishes get used, they accumulate some food on them. It’s just what happens when that vessel is used for a meal, just like what happens as our physical vessel is used to experience this reality.
Here’s something fascinating too. We’re so much better with taking care of external things like dishes than we are with taking care of ourselves. Why? Because we’ve never been taught how to master our inner environment.
Let’s take this metaphor even further, as it applies to spiritual growth.
There are 3 general approaches when it comes to dirty dishes…
Option #1: Ignore
The first is to ignore them and let them pile up. Most people are pretty good with this, and don’t let dirty dishes pile up for too long. Because if you do this for long enough, you have a full sink and no more dishes to use.
Now here’s the parallel with the inner world. The vast majority of people completely ignore their “inner dirty dishes.” They choose not to look at the baggage, limiting beliefs and fears they’ve accumulated. And that’s why their home (their body) is a mess and they’re unable to make a proper meal (live up to their potential).
Option #2: Focus On The Grime
The second option is pretty ridiculous from the perspective of washing dishes, yet some people do this with their inner world.
It’s focusing on the grime instead of actually cleaning the dishes. Imagine someone over-analyzing the food particles and sauces on every one of their dishes. How did this happen? Where did it come from? Did I eat the wrong way? This is insane, right? Luckily, no one (that I know of) does this with dirty dishes. But some of us do this with ourselves!
This is the equivalent of getting hung up on our baggage, limiting beliefs and fears. It’s over-analyzing them and focusing on them instead of actually washing them clean.
We fall into this trap when we’re really hard on ourselves, when we become perfectionists or when we become obsessed with “shadow work.” We also get trapped in this when we spend too much energy focusing on what’s wrong with the world, other people and ourselves.
Option #3: Just Wash Em’
The third option is what most people do with their dirty dishes (thankfully!), yet very few do with their inner world.
When it comes to the inner world, the “ignore” strategy is what most people do. And some switch between ignoring and “focusing on the grime.” Neither of those are helpful.
The only helpful option is to wash our dirty dishes.
When you wash dishes, you don’t ignore them or focus on what’s wrong with them. You wash them, with full confidence that they’ll be clean when you’re done.
Why is this so hard to do with ourselves?
– It can be scary to look at all of the baggage we’ve accumulated
– It’s easy to fall into the trap of over-analyzing what’s wrong
All it takes is facing the dirty dishes and washing them, with full confidence that they will be clean.
And the cleaning process can be enjoyable too. We’ve all had that feeling of not wanting to wash dishes, but once we started, it was much easier than we made it out to be – and even enjoyable.
Think of the water as pure divinity, Source or God (whatever you prefer). And think of the sponge and soap as higher aspects of Self. Trust that by using these tools, the dirty dishes will be clean faster than expected.
We need the water, soap and sponge to clean the dishes, and they need us too! And for everyone who’s like, “I use a dishwasher,” the same principle applies haha. The work is done by co-creating with all aspects of Self, from the physical to the divine.
For our inner world, the cleaning process can come in the form of many things. There are countless tools to clean and re-harmonize our inner world. These include meditation, mindfulness, exercise, time in nature, eating healthy, contemplation, float therapy, psychotherapy, vulnerable conversations with people you trust, sound healing, massage, body work, entheogens, journaling, EFT tapping and many other modalities I often discuss.
Then it’s all about living mindfully. When we live mindfully, we create less of a mess and there’s actually less to clean. Yet when we live unconsciously, we spill our drinks and get food all over the place, creating a bigger mess to clean.
So treat your inner work like you treat your dirty dishes.
Don’t ignore the dirty dishes. But don’t over-analyze what made them “dirty.” Focus on cleaning, with full faith that it will all be clean. And that’s how we grow and evolve.
Live mindfully and enjoy the process.
Love and Blessings
– Stevie P
