Polishing The Mirror

“As you live deeper in the heart, the mirror gets clearer and cleaner.”
– Rumi

With tonight’s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival celebration I am reminded of the tens of thousands who venture out of doors to dine on moon cakes, drink wine with loved ones and pay homage to their ancestors. I too have worshipped the moon as I held my sake cup up high to the sky at the Portland Japanese Garden. In ancient China women would bring out water-filled basins to absorb the perfectly round moon used to purify their homes when they cleaned. This gentle influence can pull an entire ocean from shore to shore. And because of its power, it has been collected for centuries to remove heat from an angry heart or clear a furrowed brow of confusion.

Like the water basin filled by the moon, mirrors can also be filled–sometimes it is the moon’s yin essence, sometimes the sun’s vitality, yet it is always filled with intention. A “programed” mirror can create soft words between partners, pull water across a bed to attract money or flip an oppressive building upside down. Understanding how this esoteric magic works has largely remained untapped. If you desire to understand the transcendental nature of your mirror cure or if you are a first time seeker of Feng Shui, the following wisdom may give you a greater appreciation for an ordinary mirror.

Mirrors Help Us Release Judgement “The Mirror is an ancient Buddhist symbol for clarity, completeness of perception and purity of consciousness. A mirror reflects a thing objectively but what we see in the mirror is not the thing itself. Because the object is not seen directly, it may be seen more accurately – more clearly, without judgement and with great perspective. This can lessen the tendency to see a thing as fixed or solid and encourage better understanding. The mirror or perception, more effectively propels the mind toward insight and compassion than mere argument or lecture.”
Baronet 4 Tibet

Mirrors Fill With Whatever Is Before Them A mirror has no color, no image and can fill itself with whatever is before it. This “empty” nature is what makes it possible. Take an object like a vase of red flowers and it becomes the flowers and the vase. Take it away and place a bowl of oranges and it becomes the fruit. We, humans, are also capable of reflecting what is before us. However we may not be conscious of the effect of the content of what fills us. Often this leads to unhappiness and limitations.

Mirrors Give Us Insight Looking into the mirror’s reflective surface reminds us of the impermanence of nature and bends the limitations of our thinking. We may experience a sudden insight that the thing is not good nor bad, not beautiful nor ugly. And we begin to see ourselves in the same way and embrace our true nature.

Polish The Mirror In Your Heart Sprinkling your day with meditation, spiritual breathing, chanting a mantra, for example, Om Mani Padme Hum, and taking walks, help you shift from a busy mind into focused perception. These precious, out-of-time still moments create a direct path to living deeper in your heart. The stillness polishes your mind and with your intention refreshed, your wish projects into the mirror and beyond the wall on which it rests, expanding all possibilities and opportunities.

Mirrors

  • Bagua mirrors protect everything that are behind them. Most often they are hung outside to protect everything within. Their power rests in the power of the eight trigrams, the five elements and theory of yin and yang.
  • Convex Mirrors widen an area of view, they broaden the scope of an adjustment creating an array of possibilities.
  • Concave Mirrors widen an image and soften a potential threat such as a knife-edge or an oncoming road.
  • Sun Moon Mirrors create balance that is represented by yin and yang, night and day, the moon and the sun. This universal balance of light can create clarity, cultivate good judgement, keep you safe and strengthen your prosperity. When life gets a little frenetic, this mirror can be like the ocean–calm, steady, rhythmic and pure.

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.

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 house.

Investing In The Wise Counsel And Comfort Of Your Kitchen

“The kitchen really is the castle itself. This is where we spend our happiest moments and where we find the joy of being a family.”
Mario Batali

On a recent Dr. OZ segment, a financial adviser shared how as a young married man he tackled money issues “When my wife and I were first married we would have ‘kitchen table talks’. We came to an agreement that any item we wanted to purchase that was over $25 dollars we consulted the other.” The kitchen, like no other room in the house, helps us to focus on family, it is the heartbeat of the home.

Though texting while dining on fast food have preempted meal time, the kitchen, according to Feng Shui principles, still has the most influence on our good health, family harmony and fortune. It is here we prepare meals, smooth over hurt feelings, children share secrets with mom and the family enjoys happy moments. The space of wise counsel and comfort, this room invites having real conversations. The strength of this bonding time helps us to walk with our heads held high across the threshold and out into the world.

Do you feel your kitchen could use some extra love? I am delighted to share these nine fresh Feng Shui fixes (with emphasis on the stove), to help you get started on nourishing your space.

The stove is the key to family prosperity and harmony. It has a significant role as wealth generator, creating family unity and keeping us free from legal trouble. When we lovingly prepare our food it nurtures us, our lives become fuller and we manage what life delivers with ease and grace.

Stove in command position. If you are standing at the stove and facing a wall then you must turn your head left or right to see what is going on behind you. This takes you off balance. Over time your body will conform to this unconscious posture that influences your attitude where you may feel out of control and ill at ease. You may experience a downturn in finances or plain bad luck. In regards to the stove placement, you want to see what is going on behind you by placing a mirror on the wall in front of you. It should be the width of the stove and ideally doesn’t cut off the top of the tallest person in the household when you look into the mirror. Some stoves have a microwave above then place a convex mirror (which takes in a 160 degree view). Visualize your heart trouble resolving and an upswing in your finances.

Stove seen from the front door. Or is the first thing you see when you enter the house. Family problems may not be resolved. There may be accidents involving blood, blood disease or surgery. 

Stove under a microwave or collection of pots. The ability to make money will be oppressed. Either remove the microwave and pots or hang a wind chime over the position where the cook stands at the stove.

Stove in line with two doors, one on either side. Members of the family may argue a lot, especially about money. And their fortune may diminish. Adjust this inauspicious placement by hanging a 40 mm faceted crystal or wind chime on both sides of the stove between the door and the stove.

Stove in a corner. The cook cannot move around the stove very easily. This affects the quality of food and family finances. The occupants may be limited in career choices and opportunities. Mirror the wall to the side of the stove and visualize that the space is expanding and the Ch’i flows more easily.

The Work Triangle If you follow this arrangement then fire and water placement do not become an issue.

Stove and refrigerator placement. Contrary to what you may have heard, the refrigerator has a motor that generates heat, it is not a cooled water element. This does not present a problem to the stove. Best placement for the sink is across from the stove not adjacent.

Kitchen placement. The best placement for the kitchen is behind the midline of the house. Too close to the front door and a parent may be eating in someone’s kitchen. This placement threatens the family’s stability.

Kitchen color. Select pleasing colors according to your home’s palette and your personal aesthetics but keep these Feng Shui and Five Element principles in mind while choosing. According to H. H. Lin Yun white is the best color for the kitchen. It shows off the colors of the food. White, the color of the Metal element, is compatible with the kitchen’s basic element fire (fire overcomes or melts metal). Avoid all black kitchens because black, the water element, destroys fire. Do not choose red or there will be too much heat and the cook will always be hot tempered. Red and black accents are fine. Apple green is a color that signifies hope and the vitality of spring. 

Looking to create a lifestyle change? Feng Shui A La Carte will help you experience the well being of happiness right away. 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.