Tag Archives: color

Take Your Dreams To Heart

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“One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.”
– Buddha

You have an amazing heart and for that I have a special blog for you this month because I know it’s been a big job to hold strong, to have faith, to practice your best self when Covid-19 has pulled the rug out from under your plans and your future feels hijacked. You’ve got this and I want you to get more. I want you to know there is a benefit to the reality that is shifting before your eyes. These are fertile times for personal illumination and destiny is calling us to live our dreams through our hearts. 

Recently I have been enjoying a beautiful meditation by Gregg Braden. It opens the heart to the extraordinary feeling of bliss because this is the space from which dreams come true. And I am supplementing this opportunity for expanded intuition and creativity with four Feng Shui adjustments that correct and enhance “Li” the gua related to the heart.

Gregg shares we have 40,000 brain-like cells,  ‘sensory neurites’, concentrated in such a way that they are called the ‘little brain in the heart’. They can learn independently from the neurons in our brain. They can think and remember independently from the neurons in the brain. They communicate separately to us from the neurons in our brain…When we marry the heart and the brain together, when we harmonize the heart and the brain together, this extended neural network makes us different from all other forms of life. This is where our deepest empathy, compassion, intuition comes from. When we harmonize the little brain heart with the big brain in the head we can process information very quickly. Really fast information recall. Here is the reason why: when we access with our heart, using our intuition we don’t go through the logic and the fear, self esteem and all the doubt that we have in our brain which defends with ego resistance nor are we slowed down by our mental functions.

Our heart doesn’t work that way. Affirmations are powerful tools to implement change in our lives at any time. They are especially potent when we are communicating with our subconscious in a language that our subconscious recognizes. When we harmonize our heart and our brain, this is the hot line to our subconscious. Our affirmations of our perfect relationships, our healing, our dreams begins in our bodies. Extraordinary states of deep intuition are available through harmonizing the heart and the brain. There are three steps to creating this harmonious awareness that come from ancient traditions. (This can be performed just as you awake or go to sleep because these are excellent times for intention setting and opening the channel to the subconscious. Enhance the meditation with background music, lighting a candle, burning incense to clear energy, diffusing sandalwood or frankincense essentials oils. – Bette Steflik)

• Simply and gently place either one finger or your hand or your palms or the prayer mudra on the sternum of your heart. Your awareness will always go to the place in your body where you feel the touch, the sensation. Allow your awareness to move there.

• Slow your breathing. Five seconds on the inhale. Five seconds on the exhale. This sends a powerful signal to your body, from your mind to your heart that says I am turning my attention inward. You are telling your body that “I am safe”. That frees your body to let go of the stress hormones and the feelings of stress. When that happens the healing chemistry begins….Now the body is awakening to its powerful immune response and anti-aging hormones. Breathing slower you are telling your body it is safe.

• Create a feeling in your heart where you feel the touch. Feel one or some combination of the following four feelings: care for anything or for anyone. Appreciation or anything or for anyone. Gratitude or anything or for anyone. And compassion for or anything or for anyone. Researchers have found these four key words will trigger the experience between our heart and our brain to create that coherence .1 Hz. To the best of your ability feel those feelings and breathe from your heart center. Do that for 60 seconds. This ritual is ancient and primal. It is the key to the deepest truth of who you are in this world. The positive vibration you created will hold for six hours after you open your eyes. 

Why do this? This is where the super learning comes from. Or when you are working to solve or create something new: a book, poetry, music. Your creativity comes from this deep space.
– Gregg Braden

In the Bagua formation, Li, the Fame gua is connected to the Fire element of the Five Elements. The heart which is known as the Emperor in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the organ that represents this phase. When standing at the front door facing into your home, the location is the central back section of your house. It rests between Hsun, the Wealth gua to the left and Kun, the Partnership gua to the right.

If this area is missing or depleted by a design feature such as a bathroom it may be difficult to excel in your career, pass examinations, receive recognition for a promotion, improve your status, and connect with networking groups that can enhance your visibility and that affects your sense of esteem and well-being. Physically you may develop eye disorders. Mentally your clarity, whether it’s your goals, being self directed or your vision of your future, may be obscured. A side note when Fame is enhanced this activates and improves your career. Want more name recognition? More heart in your relationships? More joy in your life? Here are four Fame tips to increase your influence.

Correct A bathroom in the Fame gua depletes this area (see above). Place a mirror on the outside of the door. It will reflect whatever is in front of it and the bathroom will transcendentally disappear. The nuance from Professor Lin the door may remain open and the cure still works.

Color Red is associated with Fame and Fire. Color may be used to fill in a missing area. Painting the wall red with the visualization that the color is pushing the wall out will transcendentally correct the missing area of the house. The added bonus is you’ve added your “Wall of Fame”.

Center Stage Li means “bright”. When you project yourself from a place of courtesy, professionalism and regard, you raise your esteem and others will view you as confident, considerate and connected. This place of power raises your status. Activate this area with diplomas, awards, and recognitions. The triangle shape is associated with this gua. Animals that represent Li are the tortoise, crab, pheasant (from The Form School) and shellfish. Illumination is a quality of this gua. A framed sunset or a rainbow are suitable for this gua as well.

Credit Believe in you, find your mantra and light your fire with an empowerment. Place an affirmation in this area, such as “I am so grateful and happy that I am now…(fill in the blank) or I am endlessly abundant with talent, skill, intelligence and joy that I utilize everyday. 

If you are looking to build a new home, remodel, plan a wedding, purchase a home or sell one, when you begin has tremendous influence on the outcome of your event. Beginning on the right foot with an auspicious date and time will bring success to your endeavor. Contact me, bette@shenmenfengshui.com for details of how I can assist you with getting started.

Allow me to help you arrange your home where you feel fully supported. I am available for a full consultation service or for an hour telephone conversation. Details are at this link Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

The Messages In Color

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Choose The Right Hue For You!

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way…”
–Georgia O’Keefe

Your relationship with color began the moment you opened your eyes and took your first breath. It defines the boundaries in your world, touches upon every aspect of your life and creates a meaningful influence in your surroundings. It nurtures your health, replenishes your money, captures opportunities for your livelihood and strengthens your communication skills. You can broadcast your intention with color plus refresh your body, brighten your mood, remove clutter from your thoughts and find creative solutions for your questions. Color harmonizing your space allows you to align with your purpose and tap into your highest potential.

Have an idea? Run with it with the power of Feng shui color wisdom and the science of color. The color descriptions that follow help you understand the messages in color and work with scenarios you want to address: explaining how you feel to a coworker; asking your boss for a raise; planning a passionate night with your partner; mending a relationship; writing your memoir or sleeping peacefully. When you create a dynamic home design with color, you enjoy one success after another. 

Red is associated with happiness, passion and prosperity. Red inspires enthusiasm. A sensational color for your power outfit that will pull your resume and prodigious work history together is red–fire engine red, Chinese red, chili pepper red. Red in Feng Shui symbolizes happiness, courtesy, etiquette, power and strength. A touch of red at your foyer will stabilize your eyes (the gateway to your heart) and ground you when you enter your home.

Orange restores, warms and stimulates. It is a color to help you process your ideas. If you are a writer or want to try your hand at a creative project bring some orange, tangerine or mango to the craft table or tie a scarf around your neck to stimulate your throat chakra–you will speak your truth and play more successfully with the ideas that bubble up.

Yellow boosts your self-confidence. It brightens and promotes healing. If you have had a falling out with a family member and you want to mend your relationship, wear lemon or marigold yellow. It will raise both of your spirits. It will smooth out rigidity and inflexible opinions. Yellow is associated with the Earth and the center of your home. 

The center of your home is the center of the universe. It is your domain, your place to ponder, collect yourself, to pull it all together. In the transcendental sense this is your health. How are you feeling today? Every day? Have you checked the pulse of your home to see if its supporting you? If nothing else add yellow if you need to feel secure and trust your ideas.

Green refreshes your body and spirit. It is a common color in nature – grass, trees and vegetation – it can help you to feel grounded, creative and calm. It is easy on the eyes and you can look at green for a long time and not experience eye strain. It equalizes, relaxes and balances painful processes. Wrap yourself in a deep sage or emerald green chenille blanket. Sit quietly by candlelight in your meditation room, touch your heart with your hands, feel its pulse, and quietly focus on feeling serene.

Want to paint your kitchen? No. 1 consideration: if there is not a need to “cure” this area, begin with your personal preference. No. 2: if you or a friend is dealing with depression, apple green is about new beginnings. The mind can be persuaded to envision a future. Visualize in detail what that looks like. Mental pictures work wonders.

 Blue clarifies. It emits a sense of well-being. It also soothes, focuses, and cools down energy. Gums sore? That inflammation could be unexpressed anger at work. Wear a sky blue dress or blouse to get mental clarity on the underlying issue. Still need to cool down? Go to bed in a cloud of blue flannel sheets or periwinkle blue cotton pajamas.

Indigo cultivates your intuition and builds self trust. Find a world market or antique mall that carries exotic scarves from Turkey or pashminas from India. Cloak your body and enjoy the mystery of the deep inky blue. Develop your insights from the messages you receive both visible and invisible.

Purple transforms energy on a higher level. It relaxes the nervous system and has a calming mental effect (not to mention boosts sex drive). It is wonderful to adorn a space where you meditate. After a long work day, gently refocus your attention and nourish your mind, when you slip into a flowing, satin robe of deep purple hue. Feel the luxury of its abundant warmth and sensuality. And while you are contemplating your bed and bedroom, check out Under The Covers With Five Element Color to see what colors work best for your bed.

Pink inspires love and romance. Hot pink and fuchsia stimulate passion. Be playful and use your imagination. Your brain is the biggest sex organ. You can do wonders with sheer magenta fabric to lead your partner to the boudoir.

Black connects you to your wisdom. It helps access deeper thoughts and express them in a meaningful way. If you need to take command of a situation wear black to express your authority.

White purifies. It is recognized as innocence and cleanliness in the west.  In the east, it is the symbol of death. If you have tried everything and still cannot shed those extra pounds wear all white. You will be so concerned with keeping your clothes spotless that you will be very careful about what goes into your mouth. No spaghetti sauce or chocolate fudge sundae for dinner.

Have you decided this will be your year? “Boldness has genius”…start with one hour of Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your home.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

Feng Shui Solutions To Create Summer Magic!

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“Pick up your wand and carry on.”

We’re in the height of Wizard* season. Summer. Sun. Radiant. Transformative. Fire. It’s a don’t wait energy. It’s a build your momentum, be bold and feel inspired kind of zeal. Pull a Harry Potter movie off the shelf, pick up your wand and strap on the mantle of your imagination. When you commit to suspending your belief about the reality of your current circumstances, the moment you let go, magic enters. Begin now.

Hold That Thought!
“You must find the feeling of abundance before abundance can be yours. You must talk about how it will feel when you are living it. You must talk about why you want it and what it will feel like to live it. When you think a thought for 17 seconds, that thought has enough momentum that another thought like it will join it. And as you maintain that thought for another 17 seconds and another and another…then pretty soon you have 68 seconds of like thoughts. And then you have momentum that begins the realization process. And what happens then is thoughts will rendezvous with you. Ideas will come. Inspiration will happen and you will have fun, not just achieving manifested reality but imagining it and that is really a lot of fun.”
–Abraham Hicks

Set The Path of Least Resistance!
“The path around your home is also the path of awakening.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh

You hold the wand. You know your rockets of desire will manifest through focus and clarity (17 seconds +). Begin with a strategy to harmonize your home by removing distracting energy. Make a list of design details that affect your physical and emotional well being. Then start the transformation! Here are a few general Feng Shui solutions to create summer magic. Soften blocking walls with beautiful art work; diffuse a poison arrow with a radiant crystal; uplift your stairs with a wind chime and turn your thoughts around with a mirror at the stove. Remove mental chatter by donating furnishings that have emotional ties and drain your energy. Refresh your surroundings with luminous color and sparkling light. A wizard knows a unifying pattern creates a sense of ease, a welcoming ambiance and will train your vibration to move upward allowing the space for you to rendezvous with ideas, inspiration and fun.

Expand Your Thinking About Abundance! 
Abundance is more than money Ch’i coming from the wealth corner or your career. There are six more guas that create the alchemy of abundance. Impulses can come as innovative ideas that support you (adjust Family or Knowledge). Foster relationships that build your business to a prosperous status (activate Partnership gua). Generate an ample sense of well being that provides the stamina to push on (build the Center). Develop strong ties with mentors, benefactors and clients who aid you when your luck is down (tune up Helpful People). And I am excited to share one of H.H. “Professor” Lin’s secrets that will give the Feng Shui in your home tensile strength. There are eight guas which creates four pairs. When you place an adjustment in one of the pairs, it profoundly activates its partner. Here is how they pair up: Wealth/Helpful People; Fame/Career; Knowledge/Partnership; Children/Family. If you have plans for home improvement and you are including Feng Shui, you will want to add this. And please let me know how it works for you. I’d love to hear about your process.

Recently a client shared she could best describe her Feng Shui journey as, “Fun!” She told me how she loved searching for a colorful dragon for her office. It engaged her senses and sense of play. It was her excitement about the possibility of positive change, her engagement with the process and finally transforming her space with the sacred objects she created through her heart and intention that helped her realign with her desires. “If you are are in tune with what you want, you feel enthusiasm, peaceful and satisfied with your desires. The Law of Attraction responds to this.” (AH) Indeed!

*The Five Element Archetypes: Wood – The Pioneer, Fire – The Wizard, Earth – The Peacemaker, Metal – The Alchemist, Water – The Philosopher
– Between Heaven And Earth, A Guide To Chinese Medicine

Feng Shui touches on every aspect of life. I invite you to try Feng Shui A La Carte.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.