Clean the Latrine
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Cleaning house is my second worst thing to do on a daily basis. The first worst thing is ironing and cooking so I simply don’t do those two at all, therefore I would not be able to practice the presence while doing those tasks. But cleaning the house and washing dishes, etc. I must do at least once a month if not daily.
Probably the worst things are cleaning the bathroom and mopping the floors. Why do I dislike it so much? It’s not creative. It’s mundane. How many different ways are there to mop a floor and clean a toilet? And a bathtub? And a sink? The job doesn’t become creative until it has been let go for a very long time. Now you are talking about a challenge. This I can do. But is it healthy? NO!
I have decided to practice the presence while cleaning the latrine each and every day. First I set a pattern for this. How about starting with the tub. If you want to know the real reason I don’t like to do the tub, it is because I have gained sufficient weight to be unable to bend and gyrate around to clean it from the outside. It is uncomfortable and I cannot breath when bending over the rim. So what I will do is to get on my hands and knees when the shower is finished and wipe it out before I get out. I will try this for a while to see if it works. So far it has but next week will be the real test.
Next I will pour some Clorox into the toilet and swish the brush real quickly. I believe I should invest in some of those handy wipes for bathrooms. That way I don’t have to do a lot of gathering of rags, mops, etc. I can use them to wipe the rim and flush it down. This is getting a lot better.
Then comes the sink. I can use a handy wipe for that, too. I will just incorporate this into my daily morning routine and do the heavy stuff once a week.
Now that I have a routine, I am able to turn this into a mantra or even put it to music with a new melody each time I sing it. I can think of the bathroom as my head or my mind. At first it was filled with dirt, chaos, clutter, and germs in the form of old tapes, stinkin’ thinkin’, confusion, overwhelm, and low self esteem. Each time I swipe a surface I will pretend it is one of the old truths that I am whipping away and replacing with a clean idea in the form of a spiritual principle or affirmation. I will chose a new set of affirmations each week. Once the heavy cleaning is done, I will continue each day with the spiritual principle or affirmation until it is again time for the heavy cleaning.
So, here it is.
Wiping the tub… I clean and drain self-doubt. Spirit is perfect and I am one with Spirit.
Wiping the toilet… I scrub and flush excess weight. My body is a perfect home for my essence.
Wiping the sink… I scour and rinse away poverty The Universe loves to give me abundance.
Cheryl Gleghorn grew up in Milwaukee, WI where she attended St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church. The second of eight children, she started learning early on the power of love and compassion. Spirituality was her calling. Because of her affiliation with a marketing group while in her early twenties, she was introduced to the world of self-help and positive thinking … which led to the notion that there was probably a connection to God somewhere in all of that.
In 1996, Cheryl found Science of Mind; A faith, a philosophy, and a way of life. This is the connection to God she was looking for. This movement was started by Dr Ernest Holmes in the early part of the twentieth century… In 2002, after several years of study, she became a licensed practitioner under the umbrella of United Church of Religious Science (later- Centers for Spiritual Living).
Today she attends the Center for Spiritual Living in Bradenton, FL.
Cheryl teaches this philosophy, does spiritual coaching, gives prayer support, leads meditation and facilitates visioning groups.