What is Feng Shui?

It is about Feeling good and prospering.

Feng Shui is about the proper flow energy through your Space.

There are four attributes of Feng Shui

Practical: Arranging your environments for happiness and success.

Energy Flow: Through each space that affects your life.

Symbolic: Contents of your home tells who you aad and where you are going.

Personal: Your Physical, Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual energy influences your path to fulfillment.

Take a Balanced  and relaxed approach To Implementing the the 4 attributes of Feng Shui. Work on all four levels simultaneously. The principles of Feng Shui are universal and apply to wide range of cultures and because Feng Shui is not a religion, it does not interfere with spiritual beliefs. It is used to create positive energy, internally and externally, in a way that nurtures your soul and supports your life goals.

The Goal is for eventually, your living space to feel like a sanctuary that replenishes your soul and supports your dreams.

Practical Feng Shui

The following are some practical suggestions to begin your Feng Shui Journey.

• Clearing clutter is a logical step to accomplish your goals. Keeping your home and workplace clean and organized promotes happiness, efficience, and peace of mine.
• Finding room for new things in your life requires you to get rid of things you don’t use, want, of need. For example if your bookcase is overloaded with books you d,now you will never read you won’t have room fresh, stimulating works that can inspire and educate you to achieve your present and future goals.
• Adding sunlight to an environment lifts your spirit and expands your vision Bright light is synonymous with birth, creativity, and productivity. Darkness is associated with constriction, hibernation, and sadness.
• Bringing nature indoors adds harmony and healing to the surroundings. Studies have proven that plants produce oxygen and removes carbon dioxide, helping people to feel better. The gentle sound of a water fountain eased your mind, blocks out disturbing noises, and calms your nerves.
• Using different colors can influence your mood. Red and orange tend to stimulate and excite you; blue, green, and lavender calm and relax you.
• The bedroom is a place for rest.Working in the bedroom is not a good idea. Remove items such as computers and bills so you can leave the stressful day behind and concentrate on relaxation and quiet contemplation.
• Displaying pictures of you and your loved ones looking happy, healthy, and confident will bring a smile to your face. Everyone in your home will feel the positive energy emanation from the photos.

Energetic Feng Shui

Feng shui is based on the idea that everything is energy, therefore”energetic”. This takes some “mind Stretching” for the western mind since we are so focused on “sold, hard evidence”. The world and everything in it is composed of vital energy  that vibrate at different frequencies. It swirls in and around every living being in nature, in buildings, and in space, Energy from the sun, earth, and air breathes life giving energy into everyone and everything. Depending on the density of the energy, you may be able to see it. However, even if you can’t see it , it exists. You cannot see electricity, but  you can see it’s working results when you hit the switch.

This energy is labeled “chi” in China, “Ki” in Japan, and “prana” in India. Basically, it is the universal breath of life that connects everything.

Your personal energy is constantly interacting with your surroundings and the people and objects within it. You and every object in your daily life have the ability to absorb, project, and deflect energy. This is where Feng Shui enters the picture. Since you are continually affected by the energy around you, the energy must be healthy and life affirming. If is is physically, emotionally, mentally,or spiritually toxic; You will experience negative consequences.

Changing the energy in your environment influence the way you feel, think, love, work and play. Feng Shui teaches you how to redirect unhealthy energy and replace it with positive energy that support your physical, emotional, financial and spiritual health.

Health energy is moving energy. Like water, it needs to flow and circulate to be beneficial. There are specific rules to guide the vital energy evenly and continually through  your space. If you feel blocked in your life, you might simply need to clear the path of any obstructions so fresh energy can move freely in and around you .

The energy of your home

Each Item in your home has an energy field that continually interacts with your personal energy. Imagine an invisible cord running from your solar plexus to every object you own antd to every person you encounter. The cord is like a cable that sends signals to you at every moment. you are either uplifted or depleted by every interaction. Thus, you must be careful about what and whom you bring into your home. If you have to swim in the energy, it needs to be positive, or you may be sabotaging yourself. 

Symbolic Feng Shui

Symbolic feng shui is based on the idea that the contents of your home reflect who you ae. Your house serves as a mirror for your thoughts, passions, Morals, spiritual beliefs, hobbies and much more. You can change what your home is saying to you.

As you change the outer template of your home to encourage your unique dreams and goals, your inner life shifts.

If you really want change, it is imperative you become very clear about your dreams and goals for health, love, happiness and success, and are placing symbols for these within your home. When your intention for your future is crystal clear, and surrounds you, What you want tends to materialize in a better and faster way.

What the components of your home represent in feng shui.

• Electricity stands for your life force, your own inner spark. if you find yourself in the dark without electricity, you may feel depleted or unable to function. Circuit breakers that regularly blow might that your feel overloaded and need to relax more.
• The plumbing represents your feelings. ,because water is associated with your emotional life. If the drains are clogged, you might find that you are holding in your feelings. A toilet that constantly overflows may indicate that your emotions are overwhelming and spilling out right and left.
• The roof and walls symbolize security and support. Don’t’ let your roof become dilapidated, or you may feel insecure that your life is caving in on you. If your walls have holes, cracks, or peeling paint, you may feel as is your support systems are coming  apart at the seams.
• The Floors represent our grounding and stability. Floorboards should be strong, or you might feel unsure about the ground you are walking on .

Objects and their meaning

Every object in your life has a memory association as well as an energy attachment that affects you. These are represented by two types or symbolism. The face-value symbolism is the obvious one A piece of art that portrays starving children in a third-world country elicits a specific kind of reaction. A photo of a colorful garden in France inspires a very different set of thoughts and responses. At face value, you can make quick determinations as to what kind of energy each item in your home is radiating.

The type of symbolism is connected with your personal thoughts, feelings, and memories. Every object comes with a history – a history of where you bought it, who you were with, who might have given it to you, what your relationship is or was with that person, if you like the object, if it was expensive , and was happening in your life at the time. That is a lot of information for you to process instantaneously. Most of the time, you are not even aware of how each object affects you. Decorate your space with happy and joyous objects. Certainly, a surplus of upsetting ones will bring you down. You must understand that energy, positive or negative, reverberates through every cell of your body and constantly influences every aspect of your life.

As we discussed earlier, you are attached to each object by an invisible energy cord. Each momento, photo, book, chair, and CD ifs saying something about and to you. As your look around your home, review one object at a time. Ask yourself if it makes you happy or sad. What is your first thought or reaction? Does this item bring you joy , irritation, anger, sadness or a feeling of being drained. Did a loved one give it to yo? What is your current relationship with that person? Is it keeping you stuck in the past or moving you forward? Who owned it previously. Inherited items, antiques, and objects from previous marriages have the energy of the people who owned them.

Since you know that each item carries the energy imprint of the owner, pay special attention to those particular items in your home. In part two,we  will learn how to purify the energy surround objects. You should give yourself permission to put  away items that deplete you or that make you feel melancholy. Feng shui encourages you to keep only those objects that bring you joy , love and happiness.

Personal Feng Shui

Your life is complete when you integrate balance, flow, and positive energy into your body, mind, and spirit using the principles of feng shui. Your health is precious; without it, you cannot wholeheartedly enjoy a harmonious existence or the material pleasures of life. as you incorporate feng shui in you home, promise yourself that you will replenish your personal energy at the same time. Taking care of your physical, emotional mental, and spiritual life Is predicated on how much fresh energy you can bring in and circulate through your body. Whether you are eating healthy foods, expressing your feelings, stimulating your mind, or finding peace through spiritual practice, energy is in motion. Sometimes too much energy exists in a specific area, causing congestion, at other times, you are not getting enough energy. You feel depleted, and its important to bring in more.

From a personal standpoint, you need to do the “inner Work’ while you make the physical changes to your home.Creating the right internal conditions in your mental, emotional and spiritual life will open the door to ease and contentment. Happiness and fulfillment comes from within. Fortunately, there are wonderful techniques and tools to bring them closer to your heart.

In part 2 of this article, will will look at the some techniques to harmonize and energize your inner world.

but before we bring part one to a close, i would like to leave you with a “quick fix’ remedy to get you on the feng shui path to true and lasting fulfillment.

         My personal “Letting Go” List

• letting outside factors dictate my emotional state.
• being hard on myself when I am learning something new
• having credit card debt
• focusing on “lack of” mentality
• toxic people and list their names
• limited thinking
• being shy
• playing small
• being a ‘neat freak’ but yet not a pig
• Being apathetic about the issues that I care about.

Make sure to add to your list those trivial things that may appear as” no big deal” yet can make you crazy:

• getting upset when I walk in the kitchen first thing in the morning and the counters are not wiped clean from another person using the kitchen. (I am a neat freak) but yet it’s ok if my messiness runs amuck at times.
• judging other people and making them feel wrong for doing things differently than me.

All of these little annoyances take a toll over time and are often projected to others in unhealthy behaviors. Give yourself some time to list things that interrupt your peace of mind.

“Things I Desire to Bring In List”  (State these affirmations in the “Positive” as if they are ARE In Your Live now.)

• I have the ability to control my inner state of being and choose happiness no matter what is happening outside of me.
• When I see something not as tidy or clean as I like, I happily clean it up. It only takes a second
• I focus and contemplate on abundance and things I love
• I love being wealthy and debt free
• I am bold and beautiful and effectively promote myself
• I am informed, Intelligent and  compassionate. I do what I can to make a difference.

Acknowledgements: Two thirds of this article came from Feng shui your life by Jayme Barrett and published by Sterling Publishing Cl, Inc. New York.

Image: Well by Nature Lobby