Creating Love Altars and Vision Boards to Improve Your Feng Shui

In Feng Shui there is a belief that seeing things that make you feel calm or that you regard as beautiful help to nourish you. When you create a place where you can see those calming and beautiful things daily, you will create a place where your dreams and goals can be nourished and ultimately manifested.

Feng Shui Love Altars and Vision Boards can help you picture and realize your dreams. They 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 results, both those expected as well as unexpected, due perhaps to their influence on the unconscious or subconscious mind.

They both work on many levels:   

Vision Boards: 

A Vision Board is a one-dimensional board which helps you set and prioritize your goals and intentions. The process of creating a vision board helps to solidify these goals in your head and sends them out to the universe. Seeing your vision board regularly, with images and words representing your goals, and    wishes helps remind you of what you want to do, who you want to be, and what you want to have. The vision board helps to ensure that you continue to move towards those things, both consciously and unconsciously.  Vision boards are fun to make and tap into your creativity.

Love Altars:

Love Altars are three-dimensional vision boards. Rather than creating a board which hangs on a wall, you instead create a grouping of items which sit on a small table or counter.  I work closely with two amazing life coaches https://radianceandcourage.com  who work with women searching for their soulmates. As in Feng Shui their work looks at having these amazing women love themselves first, and feel whole, as they create space for their soulmates. As part of their training, they create love altars and place them in the Feng Shui Love area of their homes as a daily reminder of their goals and dreams. 

Most of all, whichever you chose – THEY WORK! They have worked for me and for others. I can look back at past vision boards I have created and am excited to compare them against the final results. I also have many clients who have created love altars who have gotten engaged and happily married. 

A client's love altar

How To Create a Love Altar:

A Love Altar is a very personal, three-dimensional individualized representation of your hopes and dreams.

• Begin with a special place ideally in the Love area of your home, or master bedroom. 
• Cover with a beautiful cloth (in the Love area think of red, pink, or white) 
• Cut out images and words from magazines, calendars, maps, postcards, photos that represent your love goals, or search online and download pictures from websites. 
• Add items in pairs, such as candles, lovebirds, crystals, scented oils etc.
• Write affirmations as if they have already happened, such as “I am in a loving relationship with     my soulmate.” 
• Look at it on a daily basis and recite your affirmations. 
  
                                      

How To Create a Vision Board:

A Vision Board is a very personal, one-dimensional 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). You can   also pick up poster boards at your local Dollar Stores.   You can think of your life in the course of a year (what you want to have accomplished this time  next year), a season or just a single event, for example a wedding. You can even envision loftier  lifetime goals such as career or family you have always wanted. Then close your eyes and visualize exactly what you want to happen. See all the details. Imagine your perfect home, office, or event setting. Imagine the people in your life as part of the vision. What else do you see? Hear? How does your vision make you feel? Cut out images from magazines, calendars, maps, postcards, photos that represent these goals, or  search online and download pictures from websites. 
• 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, and therefore they need to be always kept in the affirmative; positive, uplifting    statements only.
• Add specific affirmations that you write yourself, as if the goal has already happened.               For example: “I love my career. I excel in my position and I am given constant accolades for a job well  done. I am on the right path for growth.” 
• 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. )
   
                              

                                                               A vacation vision board 

Remember, these are guidelines; there is no right or wrong to creating a love altar or vision board. They are a personal representation of YOUR goals; therefore, must speak to YOU.


                                      
                                                  A vision board for our kitchen project

You’re done! Display your altar or 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 update it or create new ones. This is not an event – it’s a journey. Enjoy the journey and the unfolding of your life!

                                       

An Amazing Feng Shui Gift Opportunity

Are you looking for  the perfect gift to give? A gift that will keep on giving, and can help your friends, or family enhance the energy of their home, and consequently help them achieve their goals. 

Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement,  professes that making a few simple changes in your home can have an immediate and powerful effect on your personal well-being, as well as on the material aspects of your life. I call it empowerment through environment! You create a supportive environment for yourself by decluttering and enhancing the spaces in your home to help circulate the Ch’i.

The recipient of this valuable gift will be able to schedule an in person, or virtual consultation at their convenience. At that time they will:

• Learn the history and focus of Feng Shui.
• Learn how to apply the Bagua to the layout of their home, in order to locate each of the the areas related to their life.
• Identify their areas of greatest need, and their goals.
• Learn numerous ways to  declutter, and enhance the areas related to their goals.
• Experience positive shifts in the energy in their home and in their life.
• Receive a written report.
• Be able to connect with me for complimentary questions via email or text throughout their journey.

This is an amazing opportunity. Just text, or email me if you would like to purchase this once in a lifetime gift. 

Yes! Feng Shui Can Help You Achieve Your Life Goals

Are you looking to realize your goals? Feng Shui creates an environment that radiates out positive energy and nurtures your life. With easy Feng Shui enhancements, you achieve your life goals, and this workbook is designed to lead you to success in eight easy steps.

With over a decade of experience as a Feng Shui consultant, I have witnessed the power of Feng Shui to dramatically transform people’s lives. The goal is to go slow and take it one step at a time, which is why I created this workbook in a reflective step-by-step format.

Get ready to make those important changes in your life! My book will be available on Amazon this Winter. Stay tuned. I call it your personal Feng Shui consultation in a book, with lots of space for self reflection, easy to follow action steps, real life examples, and numerous testimonials from clients who found success through Feng Shui.  

                       Empowerment through Environment!

Enrich Your Home’s Feng Shui by Removing Excess Clutter

Our granddaughter loves to create beautiful works of art at her craft table, but soon the table becomes a huge pile of cut up papers, glue, paint etc. There was an excess of materials and not an organized way to replace them when done. My daughter came up with a solution to remove the excess and create an open area with a space for everything, as well as a magnetic board for her to display her masterpieces. She loves this area and it is enhancing the Ch’i in the Children and Creativity Area of her home.

                                                  From excess clutter to organized art area

How Clutter Affects the Bagua

There is often a correlation between excessive clutter and problems that occur in one’s life. For example, a cluttered desk or closet in the Wealth and Prosperity area can lead to feeling stuck with finances. Look at your home with Feng Shui eyes. What are you holding on to that is keeping you stuck?

Decluttering Made Easy

“I can’t keep up with my work . . . I go from one fire to another . . . I feel so overwhelmed . . . I don’t know where to begin . . . I feel blocked . . . I have no energy . . .” Do you hear yourself or others around you saying such things? Look around. Do you see piles of unfiled papers, items stacked everywhere, blocked doors, overstuffed closets, broken items . . . in other words, excess clutter?

It is time to clear the excess in your home that are holding you back. 

The task does not have to be difficult. You can transform your home from chaos to a comfortable, peaceful haven with the few-minutes-a-day technique I call the “Salami Method of Time Management”—slicing off one piece at a time. Think of eliminating clutter and organizing your possessions as an adventure that will open doors to new opportunities. By getting rid of things you no longer want or need, you will revitalize your home and make room for what you really do want to flow into your life, bringing you more happiness, clarity, and peace of mind. 

Feng Shui views excess clutter as a manifestation of two types of chaos: Active chaos and passive chaos. Active chaos is the clutter that results from your creating something, such as while cooking, painting, remodeling, reorganizing, etc. This clutter will be cleared when the project is completed. Passive chaos is the clutter that stays in piles in closets, under beds, in garages, and generally all over the house. This is the clutter that blocks the flow of the life energizing Ch’i and consequently drains your life. In Feng Shui everything counts, which means that your storage areas are as important as your most lived-in spaces. In other words, if your room is orderly because you have clutter stuffed in your closets, you are not practicing Feng Shui. 

                                                                                                                               A garage filled with excess to a more organized one

To begin decluttering, first pick up the items that are in plain sight and return each to its designated place.  Then either donate, toss, or recycle the excess items you no longer want or need. 

Once you have cleared the space of the visible clutter, move to a drawer or a shelf in a closet. Avoid overwhelming yourself and declutter just a little bit every day. For example, if a dresser is the first thing you see as you enter the room, clear the visible excess clutter from the top of the dresser first. Then move in a counterclockwise direction around the room clearing other areas of visible clutter. On another day, return to the dresser to declutter the top drawer, the next day the second drawer, and so on. Give yourself permission to remove items that you no longer use, are broken, or that hold negative memories. Either pass them on or toss them out.

                                                                                                                            A busy bedroom with excess items to a more peaceful one

Decluttering and removing excess items a little bit every day does not take long, and the results are noticeable almost immediately. You will start to feel the positive energy flowing through your home, your personal energy will be renewed, and life-changing opportunities will start coming your way. 

Increase Your Wealth and Prosperity the Feng Shui Way

When you express gratitude, you are really reflecting your prosperity. Prosperity does not refer solely to financial wealth. It also encompasses the richness of your life. Are you rich in friends, family, love, community, health, talent, career, self-fulfillment, inner peace and/or finances? How prosperous are you? You can easily take positive steps to contribute to your own prosperity—and Feng Shui can help. 

Feng Shui utilizes your positive connection with your environment to help clear the way for blessings to enter your life. 

In the I Ching, the Wealth and Prosperity area of your home or business is called “Persistent Wind.” It is not about winning the lottery or hitting it rich in the stock market but about steadily gathering resources to secure present and future happiness on all fronts. 

Begin your prosperity work by culling and organizing the old to make way for the flow of new abundance. Take time to look at your home’s Wealth and Prosperity area and ask yourself, “Is the area enhancing or draining my prosperity? What can I do to improve this area of my life?” 

In the Feng Shui Bagua, the Wealth and Prosperity area is located in the back left of your home or business.

The Elements for Wealth and Prosperity

The elements for the Wealth and Prosperity area are Fire and Wood. The Fire element is represented in any shade of red, ranging from pink tones to burgundy and purple; cone and triangle shapes; any type of lighting; anything derived from animals; art representing people, animals, suns, stars. Adding representations of the Wood element, such as plants or items made of wood, helps to nurture the Fire enhancements. And because Water feeds Wood, incorporating all three elements further encourages the flow of Ch’i. Picture a beautiful fountain surrounded by purple plants near a wooden table with a deep burgundy or red umbrella.

To help your prosperity I flow into your life, try a few of the following enhancements:

• Begin by decluttering the space.

• Add any shade of purple, red, or blue, which evokes the feeling of richness.

• Enhance with vibrant live or artificial plants having rounded leaves.

• Install water features such as fountains, waterfalls, or aquariums. Water will feed the Wood                      element, which in turn feeds the Fire element. Prosperity flows in with water,                                            both in the Wealth and Prosperity and Career areas. 

• Display art in the colors purple, red, or dark blue, that represent wealth, or depict                                       large family gatherings.

• Display valuable possessions.

• Add affirmations calling in prosperity.

Try a few of the  following  enhancements for the outside of the area:

• Continue enhancing with the colors purple, red, and blue in flowers, pots, cushions, umbrellas.

• Add a water feature flowing toward the home or business.

        (Waterfalls or 360-degree bubbling fountains work well here in letting prosperity flow.)

• Call in the Ch’i by adding flags, whirligigs, mobiles, or wind chimes.

What to Avoid in the Wealth and Prosperity Area

• Anything old, worn, and in poor condition

• Clutter of any form, which blocks prosperity from flowing

A Wealth and Prosperity Area Not Located Within the Bagua

If your Wealth and Prosperity 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 corner structurally, such as building a trellis or deck, planting flowers in a flower garden or planter boxes in the purple spectrum, adding a fountain, a seating arrangement or a figure representing wealth and prosperity. 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 of a prosperity representation on the wall by the missing corner. If the missing area happens to be a parking lot, you can draw a small symbol of a dollar sign, Yin/Yang sign or the trigram for persistent wind in the exact location, closing off the corner. In a lawn or dirt area a piece of rose quartz can also be buried pointing up in the exact corner to symbolize anchoring.

Sample Affirmations for the Wealth and Prosperity Area

• “I feel very comfortable with my finances.”

• “I have an abundance of blessings through my family and friends.”

• “I just signed a lucrative book deal.”

Enjoy all the prosperity your life has to offer!

Variety is the Spice of Life and so in Feng Shui

 

It is so rewarding and fun to enhance your home using Feng Shui principles. There are no hard and fast rules, but rather recommendations to help balance and improve the energy of your home. This positive energy will in turn help you to achieve your life goals.  

Feng Shui offers a variety of Ch’i enhancers for you to choose from. It’s not about just hanging crystals. It’s about finding the personal enhancers that match your personality and style.  All these enhancers are tools to help correct problem areas, balance the energy, and bring beauty into your environment.

Below is a list of possible enhancers. Each serves a purpose. As always in Feng Shui, they must be ones that you love!  You can choose one or more per given area, but for them to work make sure that they bring you joy, and that they are placed with intentionality and affirmations.

v  Art and Colors– These are my favorite ways to enhance. Using the Bagua choose art that represents the area.

v  Career – Moving waterscapes, such as oceans, lakes, streams (Black)

v  Knowledge and Self Cultivation – Calm wooded landscapes (Blues/Greens)

v  Health, Family, and Friends – Florals, family pictures (Blues/Greens)

v  Wealth and Prosperity – Art which represents opulence (Purple, Dark Blue, Red)

v  Fame and Reputation – Art which represents celebration or achievements ((Red)

v  Love and Marriage – Romantic art, or representing pairs (Red, Pink, White)

v  Children and Creativity – Whimsical art, representing children (White, Pastels)

v  Helpful People and Travel – Travel art, spiritual guides, mountains (Grey, white, black)

v  Center and Grounding – Art representing the earth, deserts, fields (Earth tones)      

                             

v  Crystals – Round, glass, faceted ones are hung to anchor missing areas, circulate Ch’i  in tight spaces, and to block Ch’i from escaping.

                    

v  Lighting – Electric, candles, natural sunlight all represent the fire element, and are especially
helpful in the Wealth, Fame, and Love areas.

                                           

v  Living Things – Plants and flowers are especially helpful in the Knowledge and Health areas, although their specific colors can aid in enhancing a specific Bagua area.

                                

                        

v  Mirrors – These are called the “aspirin of Feng Shui” because they can be used to anchor missing areas, enhance the Career area, and block negative energy.

                                             

v  Objects of Nature – Rocks are particularly helpful in the Children and Helpful People areas. Anything like shells or seed pods can be placed where they have the greatest association. For example, in the Love area if they were collected with your soulmate.

                                             

v  Sound Makers and Wind Dancers – These are great for calling in the Ch’i. Windchimes, whirligigs, flags and bells are particularly helpful in the Career and Wealth areas.

                     

v  Water Features – Fountains, waterfalls, fish tanks are particularly helpful in the Career and Wealth areas. Make sure that the water is flowing towards the house.

                                 

Using Feng Shui to Find Your Perfect Home

Lately I’m getting many return clients, who are requesting help finding a new home. They are looking for a new start, away from some of the issues that needed enhancing in their prior locations. 

Are you looking to buy or rent a new place?  After moving in, would you rather hear this, “This house has been so lucky for us! Since we moved in all good things have been happening,” or, “Since we moved here it’s been just one bad thing after another?”  Obviously, you want to feel that moving into a new place has enhanced your life. Feng Shui can help!

Buying a house can be an exciting experience, even if at times filled with fear and doubts. Applying Feng Shui to the process of buying a house is a wise investment on many levels; it will give you peace of mind, as well as assure that your house is a good financial investment.  Good Feng Shui means good energy, and people are always attracted to it! This will sure help with the house sale in the future. 

While looking at the floorplans sent to me by my clients, found myself focusing on the positive as well as the potentially draining Feng Shui features of each house.  

Use the following checklist when looking for homes or apartments, whether buying or renting:                                   

What to look for outside of the house:

1. Location, and Lot Placement

Be sure your house receives good energy from its surroundings; a clean street, neighbors with well-kept up  homes, and nice front and back yard.  You also want to try to have a pleasant view from the front of the house.  Even if the house does not have an actual view, are the others homes well-kept and are there trees or flowers to enhance the view?

What to avoid 

• No downward sloping land behind the house. You want the house to have a good backing. In Feng Shui this is the classical armchair design with trees or a slope/hill to your back, and trees/shrubs on either side, keeping you grounded and protected. 
• Houses close to a power generator, utility pole transformer, or high-tension wires:  An electro-magnetic field within twenty-five to fifty yards of your home can be highly detrimental to the health and nervous system.
• Houses close to excessive noise: The presence of loud noises will disturb rest, distract from work, and affect intimacy. 
• River, rainwater drainage ditch or roadway behind the house: River, rainwater drainage ditch or roadway behind the house also weakens and undermines the stability of the house. Prosperity and good opportunities are easily "washed away". 

2. Doors

The front door is very important in Feng Shui as this is the entrance of Ch’i or positive energy. Good colors for front doors are any shade or red, which signifies protection and prosperity (and is easy to see), or black which signifies water and the flowing in of Ch’i, the life force energy. Doors should be sized proportionally to the house. Ideally there would be a curved path leading to the front door. Even if the path is not curved, be sure that it can be lined with healthy flowers or plants, lights, or additional elements to create positive energy as you walk to your front door.

 What to avoid 

• Front doors that are blocked by trees, walls, brickwork etc.:   The energy needs to enter freely. If the entry does have blockages, consider how much work it would take to these have removed. 
• A front door that is directly aligned with a back door or large picture window: When you open the front door, can you see straight out the back of the house through a large window or sliding glass door? This may sound like a good thing, but in Feng Shui it is considered negative as it allows the energy to rush straight though the house resulting in a loss of “good energy.” There are corrections for this, ways to slow down energy, but the ideal house would have some walls in-between.  

 What to look for inside of the house:

1. Main Entrance and Foyer

The entrance foyer is one of the most important areas of your home. How well the house is able to maintain and nourish good energy is much determined by what is happening in the main entryway. What do you see as soon as you come into the house? Ideally you would want to see a pleasantly designed living room or hallway. If the first thing you see is a wall,  place a beautiful piece of art (waterscape or natures cape) and an arrangement that would lead the eye in the direction of the energy flow into the home. Avoid placing a mirror facing the entrance, as that would send the energy back out. 

What to avoid

• Stairs directly pointing to your entrance:   Stairs leading immediately up or down directly from your front door create a “river of Ch’i,” flowing the energy away too fast. This is a particularly negative design in Feng Shui, and although there are corrections. It is best to avoid it all together.

                                      

• A bathroom or a closet door as the first thing you see: Bathrooms are known to be drains on your Chi.  They are not conducive to good energy if they are the first thing you see as you enter. Closet doors indicate blockages. Remember that you want the Chi to enter slowly and meander through every aspect of your home, thereby nourishing you. 

2. Room Positioning and Shape of the House

 The floor plan is very important when buying a new home.  In Feng Shui the ideal shape for a home is rectangular with no missing areas.  This way the energy remains in the house and each area of your life is nurtured. These areas, when missing from your home create an impact on your life and therefore it is important to use the Feng Shui Bagua map to analyze the shape or location of rooms of the home you are considering. 

Using the Feng Shui 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 center area being for grounding.  Missing any of these areas in the layout of the floor plan will create a void of energy in that area. 

Room positioning is also very important to consider when relocating. For instance, the ideal location for a master bedroom is in the back right corner (the Love and Marriage area), kitchens work well in the center (the Grounding area of the home), children’s rooms or craft rooms are auspiciously placed in the middle right area (Children and Creativity ), home offices activate the Ch’i in the Fame (Back middle) or Career areas (Front middle). These are not hard and fast, because in Feng Shui all areas can be enhanced, but if you can begin with a house that already has a good structure you are that far ahead of the game.

What to avoid

• Extremely odd-shaped homes:  The overall problem with odd-shaped houses is that they have no easily defined center and are therefore fragmented. They will also tend to have many missing areas. 
• A garage under the bedroom, or in the Love and Marriage Area:  Garages are very active spaces therefore a bedroom situated over a garage also experiences the same level of activity and tends to disturb one's sleep. Garages tend to also be harder to keep clean, uncluttered, and organized. If you are single, looking for love, or are struggling with a current relationship, the garage’s chaotic energy will add to the problem. 
• A bathroom in the Wealth, or Relationship Area of the home:  Bathroom in your Wealth or Partnership corners tend to act as drains and you may see both prosperity and relationships "go down" the toilet or down the drain. As with any Feng Shui corrections, the appropriate use of colors, shapes and symbols can be used to strengthen these corners to overcome the bathroom's draining influence; but given the importance of prosperity and the fragility of relationships, why not avoid these if you have a choice.

You can usually correct Feng Shui problems and by being be mindful about it overcome the negative energy. Many corrections, enhancements and cures are on my newspaper columns – www.fengshuibymaria.com.  

The goal is to  choose the correct house with good Feng Shui, in order to avoid having to make numerous corrections –so, if you have the choice, why not begin with the best.