Thursday, December 11, 2014

Balancing the Feng Shui Elements for Harmony

Has anyone ever said this to you?

“Every time I enter your office, I want to stay there and take it all in. It feels peaceful, harmonious, and meetings held there are always productive and pleasant.  The positive energy makes it a space where people enjoy gathering. ”

On the other hand – have you felt this?

“My bedroom is grey and monochromatic. It feels cold and uninviting. I don’t want to stay there long. Come to think of it my love life feels about the same; not many sparks or fire.”

What makes these two environments so different?  ELEMENTAL BALANCE

Nature’s Elements:
The elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are considered the building blocks of everything physical on earth.  Feng Shui observes that the most harmonious places in nature are where interplay of all five elements occurs.

Defining the Elements:
Elements do not have to be literal. In other words, you do not actually have to have a block of wood to represent the Wood Element. Colors, shapes, art and textiles represent the elements as well. Below you will find many of the various items that can be used to represent specific elements in your environment.

The Wood Element is found in:
Wooden furniture and accessories, wooden paneling and decks, all indoor and outdoor plants (including silk, plastic or dried), plant based cloth and textiles, floral prints, art depicting landscapes, gardens, plants and flowers, columnar shapes and stripes, the green and blue color spectrum.


The Fire Element is found in:
All lighting (electrical, candles and natural) things made from animals (fur, leather, bone, feathers, wool etc.), pets and wildlife, art that depicts people, animals, sunshine or fire, shapes such as triangles, pyramids or cones, the red color spectrum.


The Earth Element is found in:
Adobe, brick and tile, ceramics or earthenware objects, shapes such as squares and rectangles, the yellow color spectrum, art depicting earthy landscapes of deserts or fields.


The Metal Element is found in:
All types of metals, including stainless steel, copper, brass iron, silver, aluminum and gold, all rocks and stones such as marble, granite and flagstone, natural crystals, rocks and gemstones, the white and light pastel color spectrum, the shapes of the circle, oval and arch.



The Water Element is found in:
Water features of all kinds (fountains, aquariums, and birdbaths), reflective surfaces such as glass, cut crystal and mirrors, flowing asymmetrical shapes, the black and dark tones color spectrum, art depicting water scenes.



Assessing the Needs:
The fastest and easiest way to learn the language of “Elemental Combinations” is to evaluate your environment in elemental terms going room by room.  On a piece of paper list all the items in the room and what element they represent. Recognize that items can represent combination of elements; a wooden chair (Wood) when painted red represents both Fire and Wood, but if painted black represents Water and Wood. Once you have completed your list, notice what is dominant and what is missing.

Elements actually nurture or control each other.  For example, Fire melts Metal.  If you have a room dominated by Metal, adding a few touches that represent Fire, such as a red candles, or art depicting people or animals can help bring balance. (In our second opening example art depicting a romantic representation would also spark the person’s love life.)  Likewise, if you had a room that was lacking the Wood Element you could add some flowers (Wood) and a fountain, or mirror (Water) to further nurture  the wood.

See the complete cycles used to bring the other elements into perfect harmony:
To reduce/control elements use the Controlling Cycle:
Wood consumes Earth, Earth dams Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal and Metal cuts Wood.
To strengthen/nurture elements use the Nourishing Cycle:
Water nurtures Wood, Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth creates Metal, and Metal holds Water.

Quick Reference to Making the Necessary Changes to Establish Elemental Balance:
When the dominant element is Wood: Introduce the controlling element of Metal and highlight with Earth and Fire. Do not use much Water or Wood.
When the dominant element is Fire: Introduce the controlling element of Water and highlight with Earth and Metal.  Do not use much Wood and Fire.
When the dominant element is Earth: Introduce the controlling element of Wood and highlight with Metal and Water. Do not use much Earth or Fire.
When the dominant element is Metal: Introduce the controlling element of Fire and highlight with Water and Wood. Do not use much Metal or Earth.
When the dominant element is Water: Introduce the controlling element of Earth and highlight with Wood and Fire. Do not use much Water or Metal.

Have fun with this and feel your home's energy shift into positive harmony.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Thankgiving Decorating Feng Shui

What better time to celebrate your blessings than at Thanksgiving, which is a time when people gather with friends and families to share love and feelings of gratitude. Your home is a vessel for all these good feelings, therefore the more harmonious and welcoming you make it the more you let the blessings in. As we begin to plan for entertaining it's important to also prepare your home's Feng Shui energy. Preparing a home for the holidays implies a clean home with fresh energy, so clutter clearing and cleaning will be the desired initial Feng Shui steps; following steps include enhancing the areas following the Bagua, and having a balance of the 5 Feng Shui elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal

These gatherings usually take place in the dining room around a bounty of food, good will and laughter. Our dining rooms become our oasis where we nourish and renew our bodies, hearts and spirits. With Thanksgiving, it is the Earth element, the earth bounty, that is emphasized and celebrated. The element Earth is represented by shades of yellows, ceramics and rectangular shapes. Earth is enhanced by the Fire element represented by shades of red, cone shapes and representations of animals, people or fire. 




Candles, red flowers and place mats as the fire element and a variety of earthenware containers, yellow flowers, table settings representing the earth element are popular items with excellent Feng Shui energy for the Thanksgiving celebration. All of these as part of your home decor will strengthen the feelings of being grounded with family and friends.


 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Your Car Can Reflect Your Feng Shui



Interesting to think that our cars also have Feng Shui, and being in them for a good length of  the day, like most of us are,  can have a positive or negative effect on our energy.  I  share this  article by Feng Shui practitioner Carol Hyder in hope that you look at your car differently and use it to help enhance your life.

Car Shui: What is Your Car Saying About Your Life?   By Carole Hyder

"One of the main principles of Feng Shui is that “your space mirrors what’s happening in your life.” Most of us spend a lot of time in our cars, either commuting to and from work or selling out on the road. It would follow then that your car can have as much influence on your life as your home or office. Therefore, the state of your automobile can impact dramatically the state of your well-being and productivity.  Since cars are an important part of most everyone’s life, it’s important to see how this mobile space may be impacting your life.

Here are ways your car may be giving you an obvious metaphor for your life…
1.       Running on fumes or running on empty. We use this description when our car is low on gas and we use those same words when we’re depleted. Keeping your tank at half-full or more might help you eliminate describing yourself in such an exhausted way.
2.       Brakes are squealing. When your car decides to let you know in an audible way that your brakes need help, you need to see if you need a “break” job as well. Getting those brakes fixed might provide you a chance to have your own breaks fixed.
3.       Oil leak. As crucial fluids leak away from your car, you may also be experiencing some leakage of energy, time, money, or creativity in your life.
4.       No opportunities. If your passenger seat is so full of stuff that no one could ride with you, you may be closing off some great ideas or opportunities that would love to ride along with you.
5.       Name your car. It’s been a known fact that a car runs better when it has a name, probably because the owner relates to it on a personal basis and takes better care of it.

Making your car as enjoyable as possible is what this is all about. It’s important that you see your car as an extension of your living space and treat it as such. Just like your house, your automobile will take care of you if you take care of it."

I’m glad my daughter gifted  me with these personalized license plates. They make me feel happy every time I see them, which in turn nurtures my energy. Good Feng Shui all around!


Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Enhancing Bathrooms Through Feng Shui



“Where the eye goes, the Chi flows.” Chi is your vital life energy, and this old Feng Shui saying especially applies to all bathrooms in your home. Can you see open toilets from your entrance, your bed, or anywhere else in your home? Is this the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning? If the answer is yes, you can bet that some of your energy is being drained.

Bathrooms are classically considered potential threats in Feng Shui because more often than not they are unadorned places with open plumbing that pulls your attention, your energy – your Chi – down the drain.  The bathroom and your home’s plumbing correspond to your elimination system.  It is here that personal cleansing rituals take place and where wastes are flushed away. However Chi can also be flushed out of your home via toilets and bathroom drains. Although there are no ideal places for a bathroom to reside, some locations are worse than others. If possible avoid homes with bathrooms in the back left (wealth) or back right (love and marriage) as these can cause drains in prosperity and relationships.

At the same time bathrooms are a necessary part of your home.  Therefore it is important to minimize opportunities for Chi to flow out of your home too quickly, taking with it your prosperity, health or relationships. All is not lost!  It is easy to correct a bathroom’s pull on your energy and enhance your life

Bathrooms should take on the qualities of the Bagua area they reside in, with these important rules:

  •   Keep your bathroom clean, neat and orderly.  Make sure you dispose of shampoo and other cosmetic bottles that are almost empty or too old to use. 
  •  Close toilet lids, sink stoppers and shower curtains to conceal water outlets, or cover the drains with small rubber mats used for that purpose. 
  •   Repair leaky faucets, shower heads, and toilets to prevent waste. 
  •  Install adequate lighting for convenience and balancing the watery energy. 
  • When all else fails, at least keep the door closed. 
  •  If your bedroom leads to a bathroom without a door, make it a priority to install a door, curtain, or screen to visually separate the bathroom from the bedroom. 
  • Ideally the toilet is placed so you don’t see it from the bathroom door (located in its own “water closet” or behind a wall or screen). When this is impossible, hang a round faceted cut-glass crystal from the ceiling between the door and the toilet to help lift and circulate the Chi.
This bathroom unfortunately resides in the Wealth corner of the house, but very successful enhancements have stopped the drain on finances. As you can see it is enhanced with the color purple, lucky bamboo, a lavender hanging crystal, and a picture of  9  Koi fish representing wealth. A purple tree was planted to anchor the corner on  the outside. The drains are always kept closed when not in   use. 
                                                                            
 

While this bathroom is is the Children and Creativity area of the house and contains many pictures of 
 children, metal and whimsical objects. Guests love to be entertained by cute baby pictures while using the facility.