Feng Shui Water Features

Water features invigorate Chi flow. Chi is the positive life energy flowing through your environment. There are many indoor and outdoor varieties in nurseries, department stores,  catalogues and on line. The two most auspicious areas of your home for water features are your Career Area and the Wealth and Prosperity Area.

The Career Area is located in the front center of your home, where many have their front entrance. This is where career opportunities flow in. The Wealth and Prosperity Area is in the back left corner, and again this is where you want a flow of prosperity. 

This garden fountain further enhances the wealth area with its beautiful purple color.

 I have this 360 degree bubbler by my front steps, greeting guests and welcoming the Chi. 

I then have a small fountain just inside of the front door in the entrance foyer, which is in my Career Area.

Whether inside or outside, place directional water features so that the water "points" toward the house or into the room. 360 degree bubbling fountains work very well at bringing energy to the home. Still water features such as birdbaths also enhance the Chi but must be kept clean at all times.

Aquariums are very powerful Chi enhancers because they act as "5 element displays," bringing the energy of all 5 elements: plants (wood), fish (fire), sand (earth), rocks (metal) and of course water. Make sure these are well functioning and clean so that they enhance and don't drain energy.

Pools, jacuzzis and hot tubs are considered water features and must be kept clean and in good repair. Enhance these with good lighting, flowers and comfortable seating.

Using Personal Feng Shui Chi Enhancers

Feng Shui is not about just hanging crystals. It’s about finding the personal Chi enhancers that match your personality and style.  

Chi  Enhancers are the basic Feng Shui tools that are used as remedies for treating, stabilizing, enhancing and balancing the energy in any environment.  Select items from this list using the Bagua attributes to guide you.  As always in Feng Shui, they have to be ones that you love!  You can choose one or more per given area, but for them to work make sure that they delight you when you see them, and that they are placed with intentionality and affirmations. 

v  Art – Paintings, sculptures, collages, collections, textiles 

v  Colors – Surround yourself with the ones you love! 

v  Crystals – Round and faceted to circulate Chi  

v  Lighting – Electric, candles, oil, natural sunlight

v  Living Things – Plants, flowers, animals 

v  Mirrors – In general, the bigger, the better, except in bedroom

v  Objects of Nature – Rocks, shells, potpourri, seeds, pods, etc.

v  Sound Makers – Wind chimes, bells, music, instruments

v  Water Features – Fountains, waterfalls, ponds, birdbaths, etc.

v  Wind Dancers – Mobiles, whirligigs, flags, banners, weathervanes

Have fun with it!!!

Feng Shui Vision Boards

Vision Boards are simply a collection of images, words and objects that represent a physical manifestation of your feelings and thoughts; creating a doorway from the unseen to the seen.  They are known to produce profound expected, as well as unexpected results.

How To Create a Vision Board:

A Vision Board is a very personal, individualized representation of your hopes and dreams, so no two are alike.

·         Begin with a board (11x14 or 8 ½ by 14 are the most practical sizes, but anything goes). 

·         Think of your life in the course of a year, a season or an event, or even a loftier lifetime goal, then close your eyes and visualize exactly what you want to happen, how you want to feel.

·         Cut out images from magazines, calendars, maps, postcards, photos that represent these goals.

·         You can make it 3 dimensional by adding glitter, string, stickers, shells, rocks, magnets, beads etc… Remember you have freedom in creating YOUR board.

·         Use a glue stick, glue gun, tacks, white glue, tape etc. to adhere items to the board.

·         Add inspirational words that are very specific to your goals. Words are very powerful, they turn ideas into action. Therefore they need to be always kept in the affirmative. Positive, uplifting statements only. Focus on what you want your life to look life, not what is happening at the moment.

·         Add specific affirmations that you write yourself, as if the goal has already happened.

·         If you want to create a board with quantitative goals, add sticker dots to each one as you achieve them. (A real estate agent had a goal of selling 10 homes that season. She placed a dot on her board each time she sold one. This way she could honor her achievements and watch her goal manifest itself. )

The key is to keep it realistic. Can you say “yes” to everything on your board, or do you need to set a more achievable benchmark for the yearly timeframe. If you create a vision board for a loftier lifetime goal like, “I will be president of a company” before you have a job, on your board have that as the ultimate goal in the center, but also state positive ways for you to get the job that will in time will put you on the path to be in a managerial position and ultimately own a company. Your board has to have substance and you should be able to check off benchmarks as they are achieved.

 Connecting Your  Vision Board to the Bagua:

In the Feng Shui  Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, represented  as a grid of nine sectors. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams” , with the 9^th area being the ever important Center, or hub.  It is known as an environmental treasure map helping you locate specific energies in your home.  Incorporating these areas in your vision board helps to connect with emotional energy.

 No matter what your goal is, placing a picture, affirmation or word in the area of the map connected to the bagua area will make it more powerful.

·         Health/Friends/Family -  Represents strength, vitality, growth

·         Wealth/Prosperity - Gratitude and abundance

·         Fame -  Integrity, how you are seen, where you glow

·         Love/Marriage -  Receptivity and intimacy

·         Children/Creativity -  What makes you happy, childlike, creativity

·         Helpful People/Travel - Synchronicity, being at the right place at the right time

·         Career - The power and depth we have within, following one’s bliss

·         Knowledge/Self Cultivation - Personal growth, honoring the ability to self enrich and be at peace

·         Center- Grounding and centering

 

WEALTH PROSPERITY	FAME REPUTATION	LOVE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS
FAMILY FRIENDS HEALTH	CENTER GROUNDING	CHILDREN CREATIVITY
KNOWLEDGE SELF-CULTIVATION	CAREER	HELPFUL PEOPLE TRAVEL

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 Connecting Your  Vision Board to the 5 Elements:
Once you have your pictures, words, objects and affirmations on your board, and before everything is glued on take a minute to look at your board through the 5 Feng Shui Elements lens to ensure that there is a balance or colors and textures.

·         Wood - Represented by objects of nature, blues and greens representing growth

·         Fire -  Represented by lighting, brightness, fire,  red, people and animals or animal prints

·         Earth - Represented by earth tones, soil, yellow, stability and solidity

·         Metal -  Represented by rocks, stones, circles, whites, mental activity

·         Water – Represented by dark tones, water, asymmetrical designs, creativity

These representations can be in any of the bagua areas on your board, but a balance of all 5 of these will make your board more powerful.

 You’re done! Display your board in a location where you will see it every day. This will keep you grounded, help you grow and remind you of what you are grateful for.  It will help you create order out of chaos. Once you have achieved the goals on the board, update it or create a new one. This is not an event – it’s a journey. Enjoy the journey and the unfolding of your life!

 Feng Shui at Work:

We’re in the throes of a kitchen remodel. I have already placed affirmations for a smooth project in my Helpful People corner but am now creating a Vision Board.
                                                                                          

 

 In the Center I am placing a colored version of our architectural plan on a yellow background, representing the finished product and grounding element. In Career, I represented water with pictures of our black appliances, with words stating MOVING FORWARD.  In Knowledge I put the business card of our contractor. In Family/Health I represented growth by pictures of the mighty oak cabinets. In Wealth I put a log of our budget and the word AFORDABLE. In Fame I have samples of our red glass tile and pictures of our lighting. In Love, I placed pictures of our pair of lights over the sink and two hand blown glass love birds, as well as the words WE LOVE OUR NEW KITCHEN. In Children/Creativity I have the card of our kitchen designer. In Helpful People I have a picture of our quartz countertop (representing the metal element) with the names of all friends and contractors who have advised and worked on the project. Additional words such as COMPLETED, EASY REMODEL, NEW AND IMPROVED.  Once completed, I will place i the board in our current kitchen and as demolition begins move it to our temporary kitchen, and add to it as needed. Can’t wait to see the result!

Feng Shui's Treasure Map

 

One of the most provocative, powerful and important tools in Feng Shui is the Bagua (Ba‐gua) Map, represented as a grid of nine sectors. I call this the "Treasure Map" to enhancements. The Bagua comes from the Chinese Book of Changes, "The I Ching," and literally means "eight trigrams." These trigrams form the basic building blocks, or treasures that hold the most significance in our lives: career, knowledge/ self-cultivation, family/health, wealth/prosperity, fame, love/marriage, children/creativity, and helpful people/travel. Each of these building blocks is represented in the Bagua map, and is formed around a ninth sector which is the overall center, or grounding element of your life.

Using the Bagua:

This grid, illustrating the nine sectors (treasures) of your life is intended to be superimposed over the floor plan of your home. The home’s main entrance is always located at the bottom of the grid, (in the knowledge, career or helpful people sector). Once you have identified where your entrance falls in relation to the map, you can identify where the remaining areas of your environment fall. Now your home can begin to tell the story, and shed some light on issues you may be facing in your life.

If your life is working perfectly then you’re probably already intuitively practicing Feng Shui, and you have balance and positive energy flowing through your home. However, if any of the sectors or building block areas are stuck, and causing you stress, then personal enhancements using the Bagua Map are the way to go. The key is to activate and keep the Chi (vital energy) flowing through your home.

 

Learn more about enhancing your home and life through the Bagua on:

http://fengshuibymaria.com/pdfs/newsletters/EVERYDAY_FENG_SHUI-Treasure%20Map-BaguaBeniciaHeraldArticle%208_11.pdf

 

 

Feng Shui Sound Makers for Harmony

Sound makers such as wind chimes, bells, bead curtains and gongs summon and protect harmonious Chi.  Their musical sound can also signal someone’s approach, enhancing safety as well a sense of welcome.  Their melodious sound can lift people’s moods, transforming stress or lethargy into a more harmonious energized state.

The black and red wind chime in my Career Area home entrance invites  the positive Chi to flow in,  with its watery black color and red representing prosperity. I can hear the lovely sound from my bedroom, bringing me peace and contentment.

Romancing Your Home with Feng Shui

In her book, The Western Guide to Feng Shui for Romance – The Dance of Heart and Home, Terah Collins states that “Every square inch of your home is considered equal in importance. It all counts. To hold happiness in place, it’s important to balance the whole house with Yin and Yang influences.” http://westernschooloffengshui.com/

Your home is alive with energy and critical for your wellbeing. It’s important to create a relationship with your home and nurture it as you would a significant other. Create areas that you love within your home and show gratitude for what your home offers you.

Look to the following areas to beautify, enhance and nourish:

The Front Entrance: The all-important mouth of Chi, which welcomes happiness into your home.

The Living Room:  Which shows the world who you are.

The Dining Room: Where you relish the good life and replenish yourself.

The Kitchen: Where you nurture your body, heart and spirit.

The Home Office: Where you do your creative work, and sit on top of the world.

The Bedroom: Your oasis of serenity and sensuality.

The Sanctuary: Wherever this is it rejuvenates your spirit.

The Bathroom: Avoiding the draining of energy and providing you with an everyday spa.

The Closets, Garage and Storage Areas: Giving everything a good home.

Romance every part of your home and create a personal paradise.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Guide-Feng-Shui-Romance/dp/1561708143

 

This bathroom,  by being romanced and loved gives back to its owners by shining vibrant rays from the crystal knobs. This is a happy room!

 

Plants as Feng Shui Chi Enhancers

Plants are among the many Chi enhancers that you can use to correct architectural problems and enhance your energy flow. To do this it is important that they be healthy and vibrant. They also clean the air around us, making their use invaluable.

Make sure you choose “friendly” plants, such as those with wide, rounded leaves or those having a soft, graceful appearance. Among many others are: schefflera, philodendron, pothos, jade, croton, Chinese evergreen, peace lily, ficus, ivy, and most dracaenas, ferns and palms. Blooming plants are also an excellent alternative to fresh flowers. These include begonias, gloxinias, chrysanthemum, violets, Gerbera daisies and cyclamen.

Avoid “unfriendly” plants with a sharp or spiky appearance, or place them in a location away from people.

Plants have a myriad of uses: They soften the hard angles and sharp corners found in furnishing and architecture,  like this artificial pothos hiding and softening the sharp corners of this armoire.

They also fill in unusable spaces. This large ficus is in the shape of a heart in the relationship corner of a bedroom.

 

 Plants can be made a part of a 5 element display bringing in the wood element or other elements depending on the color of their flowers. This beautiful orchid works to embrace the couple in the picture with its “pair” of stems, and evokes the earth and fire elements in the red and yellow colors, as well as wood from the plant itself  and metal in the vase.

 

Consider using silk plants in dark, high or untended areas, but ensure that they are kept clean and look vibrantly alive.  Place your plants in beautiful containers, making their “homes” pleasing to the eye. When a plant becomes diseased, infested or unsightly, it’s best to “give it back to God” and replace it.