By Guest Blogger on August 4, 2011
The ancient art of feng shui can be difficult to explain to those who have never heard about it. Simply put, it is about balancing the energy of any indoor or outdoor space. The name is composed of two elements, feng (wind) and shui (water), and is based on Taoist principles. The core beliefs center around the five elements (fire, earth, wind, wood and metal), how to balance them in a room and how to promote harmonious energy. Harmonious energy can help with relationships, relieving stress and encouraging good fortune. The following are some feng shui tips.
1. Less is more
Removing excess furniture and belongings is good start. Keeping a room clean and clutter-free has a calming effect on the mind. Repeat this process often.
2. Color is key
Each of the five elements has meaning and colors associated with it. It is important to archive a balanced representation of all five in your room or space. You can use paint, artwork or furniture to help bring in all five elements.
3. Water is good
Having flowing water around helps stimulate your creativeness. Use a small fountain, such as a tabletop or wall mount, to tap into this element’s meaning. Water is an ancient symbol for abundance and prosperity.
4. Fresh air is healthful
Stale air is bad for your health and mental state. Open your windows when you can and try to get a cross breeze. If your home or office does not have enough windows, invest in a small air filter.
5. Plant life brings calm
Plants have a calming influence while radiating a strong and peaceful energy. Plants also make great air purifiers if buying a machine is too costly.
6. Mirrors add space
Mirrors help give the illusion of space, so they are very good for offices or hallways. They also bring in light from other areas of the house.
7. Hang clocks correctly
Generally a good feng shui practice if displayed in your kitchen, living room or office. However, placing them in an entrance way is unadvisable.
8. Keep bedrooms balanced
Your bedroom is important and its energy should be inviting, calm and exciting all at the same time. Help create this energy by removing all electronics or exercise equipment in the room.
9. Keep living rooms clear
For your living room, it is best to have an unobstructed flow of energy. Arrange your furniture with this in mind. It helps to envision water flowing. Would the water get blocked? Would it flow evenly throughout the room?
10. Keep kitchens bright
Your kitchen needs to be bright and welcoming. This can be achieved with several light sources, plant life and open windows. Yellow is a popular feng shui choice for most kitchens.
These tips are simple, but will give you a place to start. There are many books and magazine articles devoted to the art of feng shui if you are interested in more in-depth information. Happy decorating!
Michael Schnippering is the founder of Feng Shui at Work. After more than 12 years of practice he is committed to the true art and science of feng shui.
Photo credit: ooh_food
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By Guest Blogger on June 7, 2011
By Tisha Morris
Although I don’t have any linguistic rules to back me up, I feel like it’s not coincidental that the word “home” begins with the same letters as the word “holistic” (not to mention includes the word “om”).
Holistic living is being more and more embraced with conscious eating, preventive and alternative medicine, and simplicity. Holistic implies being “whole” or taking into account the “whole” picture – our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Historically, in the West, we have put a priority on physical health; while in the East, there has been a focus on spiritual health. Both are now being embraced and united with a holistic lifestyle.
And now our home is coming to the forefront as another component of holistic living. More people are realizing that their home can be a source of healing – a place of essential change.
Our home is second to our body as our physical dwelling on Earth. It is so closely related to our mind and body that the two have oftentimes throughout history been used interchangeably in religions, architecture and dream analysis.
And this I know is not coincidental. For the last four years, I have gone to people’s homes to help them with energy flow, clutter clearing and even color selecting. And what I’ve discovered is that our home is a mirror of ourselves. And as we make changes to our home, we are making changes to ourselves.
The energy patterns within you – physically, mentally and emotionally – are also present within your home. Have you ever had a great massage or bodywork where you left feeling great? And upon returning home, you fell right back into your old patterns – maybe your shoulders started to slump forward again or your breathing returned to being labored.
If the energy flow in your home is “off” then the energy flow in your body will be as well. Energy flow in your home can be affected by furniture, accessories, clutter and the quality of energy.
Here are a few things to consider in making your home part of your holistic lifestyle.
1. Remove furniture blocks. For the best feng shui, you want the energy to “meander” through a space. So imagine yourself as energy (because you are) coming through your space. Do you bump into any furniture? Do you hit corners sticking out? Are there tight places that feel constraining? Too much furniture can be major blocks of energy. And if they’re in your house, then those blocks are also in your life.
2. Clear emotional clutter. Clutter is stagnant energy. So if you feel stagnant in any area of your life, then there’s probably clutter lurking somewhere in your life that has taken form. If it’s your love life that’s stagnant, then clear out stuff from past relationships. If it’s your career that’s stagnant, clear out your office. If it’s your body that’s cluttered, then clean out your cupboards, fridge and clothing closet.
3. Inventory your accessories. Like a great outfit, accessories are essential. They can make an outfit. But if overdone, they can ruin an outfit. Such is the case with accessories in your home. Take inventory of the accessories in your home. You should love every one of them. Don’t use accessories to distract. I find that people who use too many accessories with an outfit are subconsciously trying to distract attention away from them personally and to their clothing instead. Don’t let your accessories distract you. Love everything in your home, including yourself.
4. Clear the energy. No one likes to sit at a table in the restaurant before it’s been cleared of the dishes left by the people who sat there before. And no one certainly wants to live among the energy of the previous owners of their home. You don’t want to be subjected to the energy patterns of those before you. If you have never cleared the energy in your home, now is the time! It’s quite simple and effective. Sage smudging is the most common method by which you light the end of a sage bundle and waft it around your house. Add your intention to the mix as well.
So as you become more conscious of your diet, exercise, spirituality and so forth, become conscious of your home as well. As you love your home, you will love yourself.
Tisha Morris is a certified life coach, feng shui consultant, energy healer, yoga instructor and author of “27 Things to Feng Shui Your Home” (Turner Publishing).
Photo credit: Janelle Beh
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By Guest Blogger on June 22, 2009
Laura Benko, Feng Shui Consultant
In 2001 I came down with a bad upper respiratory cold and upon a routine doctor visit, my blood work indicated something more serious was going on. After quickly being diagnosed with a rather grave prognosis, my head was in a WTF spin when 24 hours later my primary care physician was suggesting an “inevitable” bone marrow transplant. Three other opinions and extensive tests all later confirmed a different type of bone marrow cancer with a more hopeful outcome and an indolent, slow moving trajectory: Polycythemia. My next step was leaving my job at a company that represented film directors to think about my health and focus on a plan.
Days later, while in a bookstore, a book about Feng Shui and health fell on my head. Yes, it literally fell on my head. A ray of sunlight beamed upon it too, but each time I have relayed this story I have left that part out because it really sounds so incredibly hokey – but it’s true. I always had an interest in this topic, so I bought the book, made some changes in my home and immediately felt a difference. When I heard that the author was giving a lecture in New York, I ran to attend and left feeling so impressed by the depth and interconnectedness of this ancient art of placement. I called up the author’s office and asked if I could work for her in exchange for going through her training program. As luck would have it, she happened to need someone that week. I ended up helping run her business, graduating from her training program, studying with other Feng Shui masters and then eventually leaving to start my own Feng Shui consulting business.
Early in my wellness journey I began to shed some of the suggested, traditional plans of attack and found solace in alternative therapies that just made sense to me. While zoning out in acupuncture, I realized that Feng Shui works in the same way. Energetic pathways run throughout our bodies in the same way they run throughout our homes. Whether blockages are emotional (feeling jammed up, stuck, can’t move on) or physical (high blood pressure, stroke, tumors, cysts, sluggish organs, artery plaque) clearing the clutter in your environment and letting go of things that no longer serve you can have an enormous impact in allowing the fresh pathways of chi (or energy, or life force) to flow.
Need to speed up or slow down the flow of energy in your body? Look into the colors that you’re surrounding yourself with. Red is a stimulating color and considered auspicious in Feng Shui but an abundance of it is not recommended for proliferating cancers or those prone to stress and anxiety disorders. Do you have challenges with certain organs? Tap into the energetic properties of particular elements. The water element connects to the kidneys, the wood element to the liver, the fire element to the heart, the earth element to the spleen and the metal element to the lungs. Each element can be represented in your home in literal and symbolic ways and when there is a great imbalance of one or all elements in your surroundings, chances are you will experience imbalance too – especially if there is a pre-existing condition or a propensity for a particular organ weakness.
One important thing to remember is that each individual has different needs and what might be considered a balance for one home might not be the necessary balance for another. That is why before I start a consultation, I need two things from the client: a hand drawn floor plan and 1-2 written pages about what is currently going on in their life. When I enter a home, I first sit down with the individual or couple or family and discuss those specific challenges in detail before I walk through the home and make recommendations.
Even though a great amount of Feng Shui information is based upon thousands of years of ancient Chinese information, it’s also blended with modern psychology, urban planning, interior design and science. My favorite layer in this ball of wax, under the psychology category is symbolism. Symbolism often clearly illustrates how the emotional underpinnings of our issues come to the surface in our surroundings. I see it in nearly every single consultation I do. Sometimes it’s a subconscious manifestation, like, the frazzled client who “couldn’t get a handle on things” and yet there were literally no handles on any of her cupboards or drawers. That constant, day-to-day grappling without knobs in her home eventually took its toll and exacerbated the struggle that pervaded every area of her life. Another example is the blended family that was trying to create unity among their children yet had “his children” on one side of the dinner table and “her children” on the other side, with divides in their sleeping areas as well.
Couples struggling with marital discord who have pushed one side of their bed up against the wall will create a feeling of one person being trapped and unheard. An imbalance of “his” furniture or collectibles vs. “hers” is sure to cause an imbalance in other dynamics as well. And to all the people who can’t sleep at night, for goodness sake, get the treadmills, piles of work and pictures of crashing waves out of your bedroom. Once these associations are brought to light, a new intention is set in place and these no-cost recommendations are made, you are shifting the energies in your environment and therefore, in yourself. It’s by looking deep beneath the surface that we really start to see the connections between our external and internal lives, which then allows the best in both to unfold.
Laura Benko is the Feng Shui Correspondent and Home Expert for the television show Live It Up! on WLNY every Friday morning. She lectures around the country and writes for various home and design magazines.
For more information: www.BenkoFengShui.com
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