Nearing the Holidays? How Feng Shui Decorations Add Fame and Fire to Your Life

The holiday season is upon us. This is a time when families gather together to celebrate traditions passed down from generation to generation. It’s also a time of decorating, which helps to enhance your home and your life.  

Holiday decorations usually include the colors green, red, blue, white, gold and lots of  bright lighting. Whether you decorate with a Menorah or Christmas Tree, the objects you bring in to your home for the holidays will represent the energy of the Fire Element. Menorahs add fire to any room.  Christmas Trees represent growth; and the conical shape of the tree and all the lights encircling it also represent the fire element.   All decorations of bright colors, lights, garlands, and traditional objects make the home’s energy flow easily and create a joyful environment for family gatherings. 

                                                     

As you decorate, think about using the Feng Shui Bagua to help guide you in placement. The most auspicious of the Fire Element areas of your home is the Fame Area.

One of the Feng Shui principles is that everything is connected, so if you ask yourself, “Can adding the fire of holiday decorations to my home really affect my fame and reputation?”  – The answer is ABSOLUTELY.

                                                  

In the Feng Shui Bagua, represented as a grid of nine sectors, the Fame and Reputation area is located in the center back  of your home. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams,” with the center for grounding. The Fame and Reputation area of your home or business is about cultivating a good reputation and helping friendly relations spring up all around us, creating the best chances for a happy and secure future. How wonderful that the holiday decorations you add to your home can in fact set you up for a positive New Year. 

          

The element for this area is Fire, and the color is anything in the red spectrum. Red is one of the most powerful colors in the Chinese culture. It represents fame, fortune, joy, festivity, longevity, and protection from bad luck. Representations of this element can be used inside and outside of your home or business. 

                                               

Enhancements for the Fame and Reputation area inside your home or business:

• Christmas trees, Menorahs which represent cone, triangular shapes, and pleasant lighting, 

• Personal images and symbols of fame; diplomas, awards, trophies, and acknowledgements

• Things made from animals, such as leather, feathers, wool and/or bone

• Art and figures of animals, people, fire, sunshine 

• Items in the red spectrum

• Affirmations and sayings pertaining to Fame and Reputation and aspirations for the New Year

                                       

Enhancements for the Fame and Reputation area outside your home or business:

• Items that represent the sun, fire, stars 

• Holiday lights, up lighting around trees, twinkle lights

• Fire pits and BBQ grills 

• Items, flowers, plants in the red color spectrum

                                                  

Fire Elements:

The Fire element is represented by the hearth and when in balance enhances excitement, enthusiasm, leadership. In the Feng Shui Cycle of the elements the Wood Element feeds Fire, therefore adding representations of Wood, such as Christmas trees would feed the fire of your dreams, enhancing your opportunities and achievements.  

                                                

Sometimes your holiday decorations don’t fit exactly in the Fame sector of your home (center back), or the Fame area of your living room or den. If that’s the case any of the other Fire sectors also work nicely; Wealth and Prosperity or Love and Marriage.  Christmas trees also work well in Knowledge, Family and Health, but because of all the colors, lights, garland and ornaments can represent all of the elements and act as five element displays wherever placed. This is a win – win! Menorahs representing fire enhance any of the three fire areas, but like the Christmas tree, depending on the colors and what it is made of they can also hold all of the elements. You really can’t go wrong with holiday decorations; no matter where you place them you are activating the Ch’i (life force energy) and positive energy will come your way. 

                                      

Important Feng Shui Tip 

Clear the clutter from the room before you begin decorating, and keep it clutter free. This will help your calm, holiday energy flow and prevent your holiday communications from being “messy.”

      

I wish you a holiday filled with family, friends, harmony, happiness, excitement, and enthusiasm.  May your fame and reputation thrive!

                                        

The Importance of a Positive Mindset in Feng Shui

Although we speak mainly of Feng Shui enhancing your environment to help you achieve your life goals,  it is also important to remember that Feng Shui is  about “wholeness”;  it’s also about  going within to enhance your inner self.  In Feng Shui everything is connected, so enhancing your inner and outer domain simultaneously will lead you to achieve peace and harmony. Therefore, having a peaceful, positive mindset in important. 

               

In time of strife, look to your inner growth and healing by exploring your thoughts and feelings in a positive way.  Evolving and learning from past mistakes is what makes the difference.  You can’t do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. 

                                              

I’m currently reading “The Four Agreements” by don Miguel Ruiz. In it he “reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering.”  Negative “self-speak”, as my Yoga teacher called “Monkey Mind,” works against the peace and harmony of Inner Feng Shui. 

Look to using these Four Agreements in your daily life:

1) Be impeccable with your word

2) Don’t take anything personally

3) Don’t make assumptions

4) Always do your best

Think about looking within, acknowledging what gives you stress and breathe in calm, peace, and most of all love. Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible yet so powerful that it is transformational. Breathe in love and you will bend versus being broken. 

                                                    

So how do we proceed?  We proceed by being mindful, choosing love, following the four agreements, and bringing balance and harmony back to yourself and those around you.

                                        

Blessings

Longing to Travel - Feng Shui Can Help

Are you ready for adventure? What are your travel dreams? We just returned from a fabulous trip to Italy, and many of my friends and clients are traveling now; Spain, Italy, France, Hawaii, Wales and all over the United States. 

Did you know that Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art that allows you to create harmony and balance throughout your environment, can also help you achieve your travel goals? The harmony and balance in your home will lend support to your life. When your life is supported through your environment it’s much easier to achieve the things you want such as wellbeing, love and travel!

You achieve your goals when you focus clearly on what you want to accomplish and then act accordingly. The first step in Feng Shui is to use the Bagua map to locate the area in your home associated to travel, and then use the recommended  enhancements and affirmations to drive your goals forward.  

The Feng Shui Bagua

The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams” with the center for grounding.  In the “I Ching” the Helpful People/Travel area of your home or business is located in the front right corner and is associated with the qualities of  synchronicity, inspiration, confidence and travel.  Our lives are shaped by our actions.  When everything is aligned, people and places give us the inspiration and guidance we need. Total synchronicity is defined as everything falling into place; being at the right place at the right time, and your life being transformed and enhanced by words or actions of those they met, or by traveling to a special place which changes your life forever.  

If your goal is to travel, then this area is worth enhancing:

Enhancements for the Helpful People and Travel area inside your home or business:  

• Art, photos, figures pertaining to places where you have traveled/want to travel, spiritual     guides and mentors 
•  Items in colors of white, black or grey
• Things made of metal  such as furniture, lamps, candle holders, frames, figurines 
• Quotes, affirmations and sayings pertaining to travel
• This is a great place for a travel vision board
• Add written or stated affirmations as if they have already happened. For example: "I am having so much fun on my vacation in Italy."

Enhancements for the Helpful People and Travel area outside your home or business:

• Garden art reflecting spiritual guides (angels, Buddha, saints)
• Items, flowers, plants in the color white
• Natural rocks and stones
• Circular or oval shapes
• Outdoor items from your travels

A Missing Helpful People and Travel area:

If your Helpful People and Travel area is missing from your floor plan, you can anchor the area by doing one or a combination of the following cures:  Anchor the missing area structurally using the metal element wherever possible, such as building a trellis or deck, planting flowers in a flower garden or planter boxes in white, adding a large stone statue of a spiritual guide or placing a large rock on the corner, or a metal seating area. (This could be a beautiful meditation area).  If the area outside is not accessible, you can symbolically anchor from the inside by hanging a 30 mm round faceted crystal, placing a mirror, and/or a picture representing helpful people or travel on the inside wall by the missing area.

 “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” Helen Keller

Have fun with all your enhancements and visualizations, Enjoy your travels!

Arriverci 

                                               

Be Kind to Flowers – They Can Enhance Your Life

I love the Zen of daily walks in nature. Even walking through town, I gaze at the beautiful planter boxes and gardens. They uplift my spirit. 

Flowers are the quintessential Ch’i enhancers for our homes. They provide us with the beauty and wonder of nature and help us stay connected and grounded to the natural world. Another alternative to fresh flowers are artificial flowers which have the same uplifting effect. Did you know that flowers bring nature into your home, enhance your health, help calm your mind and improve your attitude?  

Yet with the extreme heat and drought, it’s easy to let our flowers wilt and die. Unfortunately, the vision of dead flowers around your environment can have a draining effect on your energy and consequently your life. In Feng Shui, everything in your environment is either nourishing or draining you. Which do you want?

                               

Just like everything in Feng Shui, flowers can uplift the Ch’i if beautiful and healthy, or deplete it if sick, dusty or depleting. If your plants begin to wilt and look sickly, move them on and replace them with vibrant healthy ones.  Artificial plants need to be always kept clean and dust free to have the same uplifting effect.

If you do have planter boxes, keep them healthy and vibrant. They do not need an abundance of water, or if you want to conserve water fill them with artificial plants. 

In the home, think of the qualities of the Bagua areas you want to enhance and use flower colors to enrich the enhancement. The same goes for the location of your planter boxes: Red flowers at an entrance for Career, white for the Helpful People or Children and Creativity areas, yellow for the Center, pinks or reds for Love, purple for Wealth. Use the beauty of nature to paint a palette of colorful enhancements in your home.

                                        

Don’t let your planter boxes drain you. Surround yourself with vibrant beauty and see what a difference it makes in your life!                                      

                                   

                                   

Join me in more Feng Shui fun!

Here are some easy ways to join me in learning the powerful art of Feng Shui.

The first is through a relaxed, instructive, and fun virtual home or business consult, which takes about two hours, in the comfort of your personal environment.  After an initial phone call to discuss your needs, my process, fees, and to schedule a consult, you would just email me a picture of the layout of your home, and pictures of each room.  I draw the Bagua over your layout and return it to you for refence and create a slideshow of your pictures on my computer.  At the time of the consult, over the phone, I share an introduction to Feng Shui, the principles, focus and Bagua map. I then virtually move through the pictures of your home, recommending enhancements for each area. For booking the consultation, you receive a written report and future unlimited, complimentary questions and pictures via text or email. I try to be available to you as you navigate through the process of enhancement. 

The second fun way to learn about Feng Shui is by going to my website www.fengshuibymaria.com and clicking or articles, which I have organized by topic in a table of contents. You can also scroll through my Blog to get other ideas.

                             

Whatever venue you choose, you will not be disappointed. You can read other clients’ experiences in my testimonials.  Your new learning will lead to life changing enhancements, and a lot of fun!

Images Play an Important Part in Feng Shui

While working with clients, I help them move their art and objects to the most auspicious places for enhancement and Ch’i flow.  That is because, pictures., symbols, sculptures and other images may trigger subconscious associations for us and serve as psychological motivators. They can be used as powerful Feng Shui cures to encourage certain associations, strengthen intentions, or prompt emotional responses.  For example, a picture of a happy couple makes us think of love and relationship, a trophy connotates fame and success, a picture of an expensive car can be an symbol of wealth and prosperity. 

Of all the Ch’i enhancers, I find that working with colors and art gives you almost instant gratification. Art is the soul of a room; it gives it energy and life, and it is easy to identify how it enhances the Feng Shui of a space.  To enhance the Ch’i in your home, choose art that elicits positive feelings and makes your heart sing. Remember that in Feng Shui everything is alive and is constantly talking to you. What you surround yourself with can nourish or drain you. Therefore, ensure that every art piece in your home is one that you love and that portrays a serene or inspirational subject matter. Art depicting violence, death, distortion, or negativity is not recommended. 

To get the most benefit from art and colors, match them with the function of each room. Choose romantic and sensual for the bedroom, lively, colorful art for the living room, and powerful and motivational for the home office. Use the Bagua map to help you choose the appropriate images and colors that correlate with the goals in your life.   Each of the nine areas of the Bagua is associated with colors and art representations. For example, if you want romance, and your Love and Marriage area is in the dining room, choose images that are romantic and appropriate for your dining area. If you wish to improve your health, and your Health and Family area is in the bathroom, display images that evokes radiant health and vitality. 

                                           

Career Area:

Images - paintings, photos pertaining to moving water (oceans, rivers, etc.), asymmetrical shapes, and black frames    

Colors – black or dark colors

Knowledge and Self Cultivation Area:

Images- paintings, photos representing calm nature scenes (forests, ferns, vineyards, etc.), columnar shapes, and wooden frames    

Colors – blue and green

                                                   

Health, Family, Friends Area: 

Images - paintings, photos representing fresh, healthy vibrant flowers, family, friends and/or you in a healthy state, columnar shapes, and wooden frames    

Colors – blue, green, and floral

     

Wealth and Prosperity Area:

Images - paintings, photos or sculptures representing opulence and wealth, tall round leaf plants, bubbling fountains, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames    

Colors – purples, blues, and reds

                                      

Fame and Reputation Area:

Images - awards and certificates, paintings, photos or sculptures representing celebration, animals, birds, stars suns, fire, upward movement, inspirational quotes, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames    

Colors – Red

        

Love and Marriage Area:

Images  - paintings, photos or sculptures representing romance, pairs of items, pictures of you and your significant other, pictures of couples, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames    

Colors – reds and pinks

                                       

Children and Creativity Area:

Images  - paintings, photos or sculptures representing creativity and whimsy, pictures of children or child art, round shapes, and metal frames    

Colors – whites and pastels 

                                               

Helpful People and Travel Area:

Images - natural stones, paintings, photos or sculptures pertaining to spiritual guides, and/or mentors, places you have traveled to or aspire to visit, pictures of mountains or natural stone, circular shapes, and metal frames    

Colors – white and grey

                                               

Center Area:

Images - paintings, photos or sculptures representing earth scenes, deserts, wheat fields, yellow flowers or trees, rectangular shapes    

Colors – yellows and earth tones

                                     

Look at the art you have in your home. Jackson Pollock said, “A painting has a life of its own.” What is each piece “saying” to you?  No matter how positive and creative you may be in your inner world, if your home or work surroundings are contradictory or present energetic barriers, you are likely to find it difficult to manifest all that you desire. By paying attention to the flow of energy around you, beginning with the images and colors that surround you, you can align your inner intentions with your outer realities to make your life a conscious act of creation.

The Feng Shui "Center" is the Heart of Your Home

How grounded and connected to your center are you feeling right now? Are you at peace with your decisions and comfortable with you life’s flow? If not, what can you do to improve that? Feng Shui can help!

Feng Shui teaches us the importance of balancing the five elements, and enhancing the eight trigrams areas of the Bagua in your home. But the Bagua is made up of nine areas. The "Center" is not a Bagua trigram but is called the “hub” of the wheel – the core of the Bagua. Not one of the eight trigrams but what’s known as “The Center”. This is the most powerful area because it grounds and energizes the rest of your life’s treasures. You can nurture your ability to remain centered through life’s many changes by directly connecting with the earth every day. I call it the HEART of the home.

   

In the Feng Shui  Bagua  Map, represented  as a grid of nine sectors, the Center area is located in the center  of your home/office/business. The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams.” In the “I Ching” the Center area of your home or business is a neutral place; a perfect balance of yin and yang – a place of peace. 

                                         

The element for the Center is Earth, suggesting the importance of arranging your life around a solid base. It is related to the color yellow and symbolized by the shape of the square or rectangle. Enhance this area when you want to cultivate the experience of being grounded and centered, or when you want to harmonize and balance different parts of life such as Love and Career, or Wealth and Creativity.

To enhance your Center area inside your home:

• Art in earth tones (yellows, rust, browns)
• Items made of ceramics or pottery
• Items in the yellow color spectrum
• Ceramic tiles, bricks
• Rectangular shapes 
• Quotes pertaining to feeling centered and grounded
  
  

                                    

 To enhance your Center area outside your home: (Especially important if you have a U shaped home)

• This is an ideal area for a courtyard or atrium   
• Garden art and statuary in ceramics
• Ceramic tiles, pots and benches
• Items, flowers, plants in the yellow spectrum
• Square or rectangular shapes   
  
                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Element of the Center:

The element for this area is Earth, which is represented by the soil.  When In balance in your home it enhances a feeling of being grounded, balanced, organized, and stable. Too much earth makes you overly disciplined and conservative, while too little brings on feelings of spaciness and chaos.

 It's time to get grounded! Hanging s simple earth tone piece of art will begin moving the Ch'i paving the way for a more centered life.

                                        

Blessings 

 

Creating a Gateway to Your Feng Shui Paradise

In Feng Shui one of the most important areas of your home is your front entrance. This is called “The Mouth of Ch’i” or where the positive life force energy enters your home. From the outside realtors refer to this as “curb appeal.”  It is recommended to somehow create a “gateway” for people to enter, using an inexpensive arbor and colorful flowers. This can also be a gated area, or just a border of healthy flowers. It gives people the illusion that they are entering into a special place, setting the tone for a special coming experience. In Feng Shui the flow of energy is very important, and the gateway establishes how the flow of energy or Ch'i enters the garden.

                                   

Create an entrance or gateway that is enticing, with views of a comfortable path leading inside, with hints of warmth, protection, and enjoyment ahead. Remember that every structure within the garden creates its own energy, therefore it needs to be structurally sound, inviting, and beautiful. 

                                      

This size of the gateway should be proportional to the house. Gates should open inward and be symmetrical, friendly, and inviting.  If using vines on your gateway, keep them trimmed to keep them from engulfing and blocking. Finally, as in everything in Feng Shui, always keep your gateways in good condition, to avoid negative energy from entering. 

                                        

                                       

Some sort of accent, such as a small water feature, a statue, a bird bath, or interesting plants should be a part of the entry experience.  There should be a nice flow to the entry without sharp turns.  Another suggestion is to put something that moves in front of your house: a flag, windsock, whirligig, and or fountain. Movement attracts attention and draws people in.  Look at your home from various angles to ensure that the first thing you see is uncluttered, engaging and beautiful.

                

Welcome to your Feng Shui paradise!

Strengthening Inner Feng Shui Through the Hawaiian Ritual of Forgiveness

Having just returned from the Zen of the Hawaiian Islands, I was exposed to the ancient Hawaiian philosophy of Ho’oponopono, causing things to move back into balance. This Zen concept means that when you are in balance, nothing is off. This is perfectly tied into Inner Feng Shui. 

In Feng Shui you strengthen your center when you connect with your inner self, creating a harmonious environment to live and work.

Your life unfolds based on how you think. If you think the positive thoughts, then life unfolds accordingly. If you think negative thoughts, then life unfolds accordingly. Controlling your thoughts is one of the most difficult things you can do, because the mind, left to its own devices can randomly jump from one thought to the next. One thought makes you happy; another makes you sad, another thought starts you worrying about something that only “might happen”. 

                                   

Whenever you are having difficult thoughts that are non-productive and stressing you out, it is time to take control of  them and focus on happier ones, expressing gratitude. The practice of Ho’oponopono will do just that,  and you can do it in just four easy steps. 

Just stop to take a few deep breaths, find something of beauty as a focus, and repeat this mantra to yourself: 

                                                            I am sorry.

                                                            Please forgive me.

                                                            I love you.

                                                            Thank you.

Let your light shine, with calmness and peace. 

Blessings