Spring Cleaning Your Soul: Releasing Old Versions of Yourself

What if the clutter in your life isn’t just physical — but energetic?

In this episode of The Unity Code, Nicole shares an unexpected spring equinox reflection that turned into a powerful lesson on identity, alignment, and spiritual growth. While cleaning out old books, cookbooks, and pieces of her past, she realized how much of what we hold onto is tied to outdated versions of ourselves, old stories, and energy that no longer belongs in our field.

This episode explores what it means to honor who you’ve been without staying stuck there, how to release performative or outdated identities, and why spiritual growth often requires letting go before you can move forward. If you’ve been feeling heavy, emotionally cluttered, or like an old version of you is still taking up too much space, this conversation will help you clear it.

In this episode, we explore:

• releasing old versions of yourself
• spiritual decluttering and energetic clearing
• healing outdated self-stories
• honoring your past without living in it
• choosing alignment with who you are becoming

This is your reminder that growth is allowed, change is sacred, and not everything from your past is meant to come with you. 

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Join the Unity Code collective to participate in experiments: https://mediumnicole.com/podcast

Nicole Pope is an internationally-trained Evidential Medium and Soul Integration Guide dedicated to helping others reconnect with their higher self, awaken their gifts, and remember who they truly are.

To connect with Nicole, book a reading, or access her social media accounts: http://mediumnicole.com/links

Transcript

Welcome And The Office Swap

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Hello everyone, welcome back to the Unity Code podcast. Those of you that will see this video or upcoming ones on social media, you're gonna notice there's a new background and it's temporary right now because I'm still in the middle of it. But we over the spring equinox swapped out my daughter's bedroom for my office. So she got an incredible upgrade. She moved out of her pink room into the goth dreams of her soul as a 10-year-old. Um, the walls are gray, the accessories are black. She's in her twilight era. So there's twilight stuff everywhere in her room. I'm just obsessed. She's she's living the dream that I always wanted as a little girl growing up with this insanely fucking cool bedroom that, like, can I go sleep in there? It's amazing. And so that means that I have been relegated to the tiniest room in the house, which is fine. It's an office. I don't need a lot of space, but it really forced me to do a beautiful spring cleaning on the spring equinox, which was so appropriate. It was so appropriate. And when I woke up in the morning, and like always, because we all do it, I went to go just see the updates on social media. And the first fucking reel that popped up on one of the socials was a little girl singing let it go. And that was crystal clear to me as I tried to literally fit all of my life, all of my spiritual books, tarot cards, crystals, all of the things into this tiny postage stamp of a room. And I realized it doesn't all fit anymore. But isn't that a beautiful reflection of how I have grown and evolved, and not everything that I own fits this version of me anyway. And so in the decluttering, something absolutely beautiful happened because I was going through all of these bookcases behind me that you can't tell are bookcases because they're they're like cabinets with doors. But these are all books pretty much from my past behind me. And I'm talking about cookbooks and I'm talking about travel books, and I'm talking about literary books, nonfiction books, fiction books, books from high school, and going through and decluttering and figuring out what no longer fits this vibration of me, was all the feelings. It's all the feelings. It was frustration, it was feeling scared, it was feeling vulnerable, it was feeling overwhelmed as I went through all of the books, stacks of books. It was feelings of nostalgia and sadness. And ultimately, at the end of the day, it was such a beautiful reflection of the evolution of my soul and who I am in this lifetime. Because as I started with the cookbooks, I noticed I had so many cookbooks on entertaining. So many. Half of my collection is William Sonoma, if that tells you anything, everybody. So I had dinner party cookbooks, I had cocktail cookbooks, I had appetizer cookbooks, I had like cookie and dessert cookbooks. And I can't tell you the last time I've even opened any any of these, any of these. And it was such a beautiful moment reflecting back on the version of me that loved to be the hostess, the version of me that loved to have people over to cook for them, to bring people together, to listen to their stories, to listen to who they are, their growth, what's going on in their lives, and make them feel loved by literally filling their belly with delicious food and tasty drinks. Because that's who I used to be. I used to fill people with love through their belly. And it's so interesting to look at those cookbooks and recognize that part of me that has always nurtured people, that has always wanted to raise the vibration of people in a different way. And I didn't know how to express it then because that's the only way I knew how to express it, was by feeding people that I loved, which obviously has come down from my family lineage because food is so important within our family. I mean, we feed enough, we cook enough to feed an army. I remember when there was a tornado that went through my town, oh, 2001. 2001, the first thing I did was make lasagnas for the firemen, firefighters. So the first thing I did, I went to the grocery store and I got trays. I think I made six trays of lasagna and I dropped them off at the fire station because these workers were obviously trying to clear the debris and everything else that they were working on night and day 24 hours a day for weeks at a time. And, you know, just for the record, I live in Massachusetts. We get like one tornado maybe a year, and very rarely does a touchdown. So the tornadoes are very rare up here. And it was beautiful to reflect back on that version of me and love her and appreciate her and realize that's no longer in alignment with me. And it was so interesting to take those cookbooks and put them in the donate pile and almost like say goodbye to that version of myself because I'm so much simpler now. Because if you looked at the cookbooks that I was donating, I mean, these were fancy fucking cookbooks. These are for people that have big houses and gorgeous kitchens. And let's be honest, like beautiful clothes and love to be front and center and invite people in and repeatedly have dinner parties. And if you're going where I'm going, there was a version of me that's very Libra, that likes to be the center of attention, that loves to be doted on and appreciated and loved and very ostentatious. And as I've grown older, I've realized that's not in alignment with me. That's not who I am anymore. And what a beautiful recognition to say goodbye to the version of myself that was for me. This may not be true for you. For me, that felt a little more performative, that felt a little more in the public eye, a little more bringing in this is the shadow side of Libra, the jealousy of other people and the center stage stagedness so that all eyes are on me. And at a period in my life, that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to be center staged, I wanted to be loved, I wanted to be doted on. I wanted people to be jealous of me. I mean, we all have that part of our journey, don't we? I'm just saying the quiet part out loud. And it was wonderful to reflect back on how I've overcome that, how I've grown past that. Because I still love to have people over. But now it's because I love to have people over. I love to see people and bring people in and get to know them and talk to them and help them and just enjoy their company. But I do it in a very different way because I do it in a way that says, come on over, it's an open house. And I do it in a way that when people show up, I go to the fridge and I just see whatever food I have to feed them and I whip something together that's quick and easy and probably not impressive at all because it's not about the food, it's about the togetherness.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

And so that simple, quiet, down-to-earth, entertaining version of me is who I've evolved into.

Releasing Performative Versions Of Self

Books And The Pressure To Fit In

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Because that is more in line with the authentic expression of who I am. I am no frills. I am no ostentatious anymore. I I don't care to be the center of attention because I don't value that. And it was similar reflections as I went through the remainder of my books. And just to give a few examples, those books were high school books that allowed me to think about the world differently, that allowed me to feel like I was smart, like I was angsty, like I was, you know, me versus society rebellious Nicole. That let's be honest, that part of Nicole never left. That's always been me. The one who wants to break systems, it's always been me. But it was a whole bunch of JD Salinger books, right? And it was a whole bunch of, you know, Jane Austen books. It was a whole bunch of um what's like Holocaust books. And it's so interesting going through this exercise while also having two tweens in the house, right? I'm a 10-year-old and a 12-year-old who repeatedly call me cringe, fucking live for this. I've been waiting for this my entire life. Cannot wait to embarrass the shit out of my kids, just for the record. It's on record. It's on record. It's so interesting to watch them go through this stage of mom, you're not normal. Mom, this isn't this is not how people do it at school. And can't you see how from such a young age we're programmed to fall in line with the norms of society, to be cool, to define ourselves externally so that others see us or perceive us a certain way? And as I looked at those books, I saw that exact reflection of myself. I saw that I was behaving and acting and even having preferences that showcased the person that I wanted others to see. And so you bet your ass, as I went through every single one of those books, I felt all of the feelings, all of the emotions, and saw the evolution of who I was into who I became. And of course, there's a part of me now that in the future I will absolutely define as cringe, which is totally normal. But I don't look at any of these as sad or broken or misrepresentations of who I was because they were who I was. They were the part of me that always belonged. And it is, isn't it a beautiful reflection to look at those different versions of me and love every single one of them because they've led me to be who I am today? And it doesn't mean that I'm still in alignment with any of those versions of me because we've grow, we evolve, we change, which is the way that it is supposed to be. But isn't it wonderful to also let those vibrations, those versions of you go? And the way that spirit shows me this beautiful evolution of me and of you is by showing me a map that looks like a road trip. The irony for this one is real for me. I'll explain in a minute. And how we have a destination, but we also have stops along the way. And those stops are what get us to our destination, but we don't stay there. They become a distant memory, a picture as we continue to move forward and grow and change and go to our destination. And so you wouldn't want to erase the stops on your road trip, but you also aren't gonna stay there. That's not your destination. And so you can choose to decide would you have rather detoured around that road stop, that part of your life? Would you like to pretend that it didn't exist?

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Are you or are you going to honor the version of you that found value in that era? Because I honor that version of you. I honor that version of me.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

But also I didn't stay there. And so as I took these books and I put them overflowing in my laundry basket and brought them downstairs into the garage, I'm allowing somebody else to receive that version of them. The cookbooks, the JD Salinger books, the Jane Austen books, right? The travel books that I don't need anymore. Honest to God, the early versions of my spirituality books that I took one look at and I'm like, oh, this does not represent me anymore. And I get to give those to somebody who is currently at that roadstop. And I get to give them the tools, the literal knowledge source that can help them be at that roadstop, be at that moment, be at that inflection point in their lives as they continue on and grow and change.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

And isn't that the point? Isn't that the point of our lives?

The Road Trip Map Of Your Life

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Is that we are supposed to evolve and change and grow. And so are you looking back at parts of your journey with disdain, with cringe, with avoidance? And I realize not every part of our journey is something that we want to revisit. And I realize that there are parts of our journey that we are not responsible for that will impact our lives until the day that we die. 100%. And I don't want this to feel for you like a judgment on why aren't you accepting that version of you? But instead, I'm asking you if there are uncomfortable points in your journey, can you see how you've grown or evolved from it? Can you see how those moments in your life happened for you, not to you?

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Because we don't make it out of this life alive. None of us do.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

But can you do the best in your journey to grow and change and evolve into the person that is proud to be who you are today? Can you take the lessons that you've learned and discard the rest? Can you remove any of the low vibration chords, connections that come from again judgment, again, disdain? Can you take a look at those and ask yourself, do I want to carry that burden anymore? Do I want to carry that vibration anymore?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Is this still mine to hold? Because we're not supposed to get stuck in these moments. We're not supposed to get stuck in the bad parts of our lives.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

We are meant to move through it the best that we can and continue to grow and evolve and change. And still honoring and loving the part of us that went through it.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Because that version of you is part of your journey too.

Reframing Hard Chapters Without Shame

SPEAKER_01 21:43

And I didn't know why we needed to talk about this today. To be honest, I had a totally different thing I was going to talk about recording this podcast episode. This is a really serious one. But this is a lot of the work that I do with people is removing the stories and narratives and moments that you get stuck on and reframing them and allowing you to look at them from a different perspective so that you don't feel stuck anymore, so that you can honor that version of you, so that you can continue to grow and evolve and change because that is what spirit wants us to do. That is what our soul wants us to do. We didn't come here with a soul contract to say, I'm gonna go through this fucking horrible thing and I'm gonna sit in it the rest of my life. That is not what we sign up for. But there are a lot of systems and structures in place in society that benefit from you staying stuck.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

There's a lot of people in your life that benefit from you staying stuck.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

And until you remember your sovereignty and you bring the story within and you reframe it and you change it. And you remind yourself how fucking powerful you are and how badass you are, and how if you've gone through that, you can fucking go through anything in your entire life.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

That is the realization I want you to have.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Because you can sink or you can soar, but that choice is entirely up to you. And so this is your tough love message from spirit today, everybody. Are you gonna hold on to the clutter? Are you gonna hold on to the books? Are you gonna hold on to the stories that you tell yourself or that others want to tell you? Or are you going to notice what's in alignment with the current version of you or the future version of you? And allow yourself to purge what is not in your highest and best self. Because I'll tell you what, once I brought those books downstairs, the entire feel of this room changed. The entire energy of this office changed. The entire energy of me changed because it wasn't just getting rid of things. It was acknowledging the old vibrations of me that no longer need to be in my energetic field. And I felt lighter. And I felt so much better. And so maybe moving into this office only felt heavy because I was carrying the old stories with me. And when the walls are so much closer, those old stories and those old vibrations got so much louder. But I had a choice. I didn't need to feel it anymore. I didn't need to be with it anymore. I could pivot and take the next path.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

And that's exactly what I did.

Tea House No Dust Practices

SPEAKER_01 25:28

And so as you move throughout the day, throughout the weekend, I think I'm gonna challenge you. Because number one, it's a beautiful time for spring cleaning, isn't it? Isn't it the perfect time? I don't know. Maybe it's beautiful where you live and you'd rather be outside. That's fine too. But are you carrying dusty stories about yourself? I'm using the word dusty because there's a beautiful, I have a beautiful um scroll. I don't even know how to say it, that my cousin's wife, who is from China, bought me while they were in China. And it's beautiful. Eventually I'll put it up somewhere. Um, and it's this beautiful picture written in Chinese and it says tea house no dust. And I'm like, what does that mean? Her name is is um Pearl. We call her Pearl. It's not her Chinese name, it's her American name. What does that mean, Pearl? And she said, it means that when you go to talk to friends at a tea house, you allow yourself to let go of the low vibration energies that don't serve you. You get to talk about the things that are going wrong, the things that are shit. And by vocalizing those and removing them from your body, you are making everything clear and transparent between the two of you. And you're also removing those low vibration energies from your field. Because by voicing your disagreement with them, you're allowing them to be removed. Tea house, no dust, dust as in low vibrations. Talk to somebody, do some automatic journaling, do some writing, do fire, whatever it is. Write your shit on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope and fucking burn it.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

You get a choice with your life, with your story, with your vibrations. What are you gonna do with that choice?

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Because I promise you, if you choose the version of you now and the version of you that you are becoming, that journey, that energy, that dust gets so much lighter, which makes it so much easier to travel the next route on your journey and eventually to your destination.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

And there you have it. How are you feeling? Take a moment to do that quick little body scan.

SPEAKER_01 28:08

I just want to thank you for being here. If you listen to the whole episode, there are no accidents. There's something that you probably need to think about and remove from your vibration. So I'm here to support you. Let me know. Let me know how this landed. And if this podcast resonated with you, I would love it if you take a moment, especially if you're on Apple or Spotify, to leave me a review and let me know how you liked it. But I'm sending you all the love and stay tuned for more Unity Code next week. Take care, everyone.