Spring Equinox Ritual To Wash Winter Away

“Spring is proof that there is beauty in new beginnings.”
– Matshona Dhliwayo

The spring (vernal) equinox, when polarities find balance: night equals day; yinyang distributes the eternal Tao; the sun and moon reflect heaven’s benevolence and the earth receives the hidden treasures from winter’s slumber. If we take time for reflection to reboot, to reset, and renew our life force, then our endeavors will be more powerful, our inspirations greater and our burdens lighter. Connecting our hearts to the galactic rhythm available on this day, resonance will be available when we need it most. Wash Winter from your front door with the Door Washing Charm. Enjoy!

The Door Washing Charm
A spring equinox ritual to harmonize and protect the loving energy of the hearth and home from the Goddess and the Green ManThis simple charm helps to safeguard the home and boost harmonious energies within. And who knows a little magical gift for your visitors too.
Materials
3 drops of orange essential oil. It invites good fortune, happiness and contentment.
2 drops of clove essential oil. Clove oil encourages courage and protection.
2 drops of lime essential oil for purification and love
Hot water
A white cloth
A bowl or bucket
Procedure
Place all the essential oils into your bowl and pour hot water over them. When the water has cooled stir well in a clockwise fashion. Next take your cloth and gently wipe your door starting in the center, work outwards in a clockwise movement. While you are doing this, say three times (either out loud or silently): “I protect this home and shield all within. Love, peace and harmony, I call you in…”

When you have completed the ritual, wring your cloth out under running water, dry it thoroughly and keep it for future cleansing. Where it is safe, pour your water outside. Feel the love and joy of spring.

Beginnings are potent. Whatever you do may it reflect what is important to you. A Black Sect Feng Shui adjustment when leaving the house for an important meeting or event like getting married or closing on a home, leave the threshold on your left foot. It will bring you luck.

Happy Ostara, Happy Spring Equinox

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.

Simple Feng Shui Rituals To End 2020

“You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how you feel about it.”
Danielle LaPorte

Feeling unsafe and uncertain have been the big themes of 2020. Jobs were lost, spouses divorced, family members died from COVID-19, homes went into foreclosure….We had to make tough decisions. Yet there were silver linings too. Couples bonded in ways they had not before. Parents spent meaningful time with their children. We discovered what matters most. As 2020 draws to a close I bring to you Feng Shui rituals and companion rituals that I believe offer a different way to reflect upon the year. These might be new for some of you or they might be a helpful reminder that ending the year with a positive mindset quickly releases the past and brings what you desire with sure footedness.

De-clutter your home. Clarity.
This first of the Feng Shui rituals might seem counterintuitive however the magic of de-cluttering is it wakes up the brain. 
It engages both the left and right hemisphere of the brain. In BSTB Feng Shui Professor Lin would say to move 27 things in your house to bring good luck. If you wish, move 27 things out of your home. Marie Kondo’s simple and gentle advice for releasing the physical things that no longer serve you honors the object and the process. First hold the object in question. Ask yourself does it bring me joy? Do I feel love? If not, thank it with sincerity for the time it served you and find it a new home.

Reflect and review. Release.
Another one of my favorite Feng Shui year end rituals. Purchase a new white candle(s). Find a place in your home where you will not be disturbed. Best times are 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. If this is not doable, perform this ritual when it suits your schedule. Orange or lemon essential oil are perfect for purifying your space. Pour a few drops onto the burning candle or in a diffuser. Or cut circles out of the zest of an orange or lemon and sprinkle around your room. Reflect upon the highlights and what brought you low points. Declare how you felt about each situation. Write these down on several slips of paper or just one page. Say out loud what you want to let go. Throw the paper into a small fire-proof cauldron or cooking pot or let the candle burn them. Feel the burden lift off of you. Feel your breath deepen in your tan’tien (belly). Feel the transformation in your heart. You have exited one portal and entered a new phase of your life.

Shift your focus. Forgive.
Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian art of healing, which developed as a social practice, is a way of resolving conflicts between people, families and groups. Ho’o means to cause something to happen so ho’opono means to cause something to be pono – to be right, to be good, just or caring and/or in alignment with all people, places and things. By duplicating pono the word ho’opono, is full of achievement, goodness is accentuated.

To do the four phrases practice, we can use anything as a focus. We can use an emotion, a tendency towards certain kinds of action (e.g. impulsive buys or self-blame), a person, a place, an event, anything. We first choose our focus and then we formulate statements about it using the four phrases as guidance.  Inwardly, we say: “I’m sorry that __________.” Then “Please forgive me for ____________.” Then “Thank you for ___________” and end with “I love you.”We offer this “I love you” both to the focus of the practice and, ultimately, to the greater ‘something’ beyond.
– Adam Pearson

Complete the challenges on a high note. Chant.
“A mantra is a magic formula that, once it is uttered, can entirely change a situation, our mind, our body or a person. But this magic formula must be spoken in a state of concentration-that is to say, a state in which body and mind are absolutely in a state of unity.”
– Thich Naht Hahn

If you are having trouble with reflecting, forgiving or letting go, a mantra or an affirmation when repeated again and again will release your mind of the burden that is distracting you. This seed language is like a reminder note to be compassionate with yourself and open to what your heart has to say. I recommend the Six Syllable True Words Mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum or from Chinese Buddhism, The Calming Heart Mantra, Gate, Gate, Para-Gate, Para Sam Gate, Bodhi Svaha. Multiples of nine (the number of completion and peak accomplishment) are suggested. Nine means forever so you are setting your intention into stone, so to speak.

See the good in the past. Appreciate.
There is no one perfect or right way to say goodbye. There are ways that make the process of ending 2020 with “You got this! You are the eagle soaring into the sky.” Whatever you do as this week winds down to January 1, 2021, these Feng Shui rituals may initiate insight into the gifts of 2020. While you are sipping  your tea or coffee, give yourself a big hug and lots of love for all the ways you made the year yours. 

A well designed space allows you to access positive energy at all times. Please feel free to call upon me to help you arrange your home where you feel supported. I am available for a “Your House Is Talking” full consultation service or for an hour telephone conversation, 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 Thanksgiving Gift

“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.”
– John O’Donahue

We’ve been through more than we knew we could handle and though the struggle has been challenging, I believe we have been given this year to birth something new in each one of us. I admire your courage to overcome the obstacles that came your way and your fortitude to grow in love. The signs tell us we are coming into a state of grace and it begins with the Thanksgiving gift. 

Wealth is a reflection of good-heartedness, trust in the future and generosity. Here is my Thanksgiving gift to you as “something beautiful to hold in your heart to survive difficult times and enjoy good times.”

The Three Harmony
If a house is square or rectangle and there are  no extensions you can magnify this shape with the Three Harmony. It’s a method from Professor Lin to create auspicious extensions in your home. If you wish to improve your career, go to the Career gua (middle front) and place a mirror. Visualize a projection and in your visualization, the mirror becomes an auspicious extension. You may stop here OR enhance the mirror placement in Career, by placing a mirror in Wealth (far back left) and one in Partnership (far back right). These guas harmonize with Career and this adjustment is The Three Harmony of Water (water is the element of the Career gua). Complete with the Reinforce with each adjustment with your body, mind and speech.

Three Harmony of Water - Career, Wealth and Relationship. Add mirrors to each sector (guas) of the home. Shen Men Feng Shui, Portland, Oregon

             Three Harmony of Water

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.

Photo credit: Jack Hood, Flickr

Sun Moon Good Fortune Feng Shui

“Yeah we all shine on, like the moon and the stars and the sun.”
– John Lennon

Mid morning walks in August are invigorating. I point my feet south and start absorbing all the sights and sounds that make this life technicolor brilliant. It’s also a potent time to observe the heavenly bodies. The Sun and the Moon share the same sky (it’s also an early evening phenomena later in the moon’s lunation). I couldn’t be more “over the moon” because in Chinese Feng Shui this celestial pairing has two meanings. It can be a good sign for the collective or a personal gift that a positive shift is coming. If you’ve been staying home and staying safe that’s a wise decision but I wouldn’t want you to miss your shining moment in your career or your relationship. The timing is perfect to illuminate your projects and manifest good things.

Rainbows, colorful clouds, hail, lunar halos, shooting stars, sun moon in the sky at the same time, all of these can have consequential actions for us. In his workshops Professor Lin’s would teach, “Climate and natural phenomena have an effect on humans, both their physiology and psychology.” When the sun and the moon are visible during the day, it is a sign that the country (or area) will see great progress. If you see the sun moon during the day, it’s a personal advancement. Here’s what you may experience.
• Increased intelligence is available.
• Improved lifestyle; good things will happen for you.
• Advanced placement in your career.
• Purchase real estate for a good return or enhance your family relationships.
• Book a ticket or tune up your car for a trip.
• Begin a book.
• Make an investment.
• Declare a wish.
• All good things will happen genuinely. Actually if you do not see the sun and the moon it will still have positive effects. This auspicious phenomena can influence making a lucky investment. If you do see both (the sun and the moon) the gain may be more particular to you.

A secret within a secret
Catch the moment when you see the sun moon at the same time. Envisage the light of the sun and moon shining upon your children, your home, your office. Imagine the light shining upon a new project, a business deal, or upcoming event. See the blessings plentiful.
Warning: Do not hesitate. It must be split second timing. Focus on one thing otherwise the good fortune from this ritual will be diminished.

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.

A Feng Shui Money Cure To Make The Season Bright

“Our beliefs, mindset and emotions are the keys to an abundance mentality and attracting wealth effortlessly”
–Juliana Park, CFP

There are people who stay afloat in the most difficult of financial situations. They are not subject to the whims of a bear market nor a real estate slump. Money always seems to be within reach. How they maintain the flow of positive experiences in their lives is they practice wealth consciousness. Wealth consciousness is a belief immersed in abundance–an abiding affirmation that beauty, meaning and relationships exist in the world and surround them. They do not dwell on loss nor lack. They let go of the anxiety that seeds scarcity. They vanquish fear because they understand the law of attraction: what their mind attunes to, expands and becomes manifest.

To live at this level of certainty requires a shift in perspective and money will come. Evelyn Lim explanation of wealth in terms of money sums it up: “If you think of wealth in terms of money, then you will need to believe that there is plenty of money to go around and you have a share in that too. To be conscious of all the abundance that is available to everyone, to be aware there is plenty of money for everyone, is to have wealth consciousness.”

If you’ve been less than happy with your finances, managing your money affairs, even seeing results from your Feng Shui wealth cures, maybe doubt is flooding your consciousness. A closer examination of your beliefs about wealth, monitoring your thoughts about abundance and directing your attention away from lack can produce extraordinary results.

Envision there is plenty of money for everyone and this mythical Feng Shui money cure will surely put extra cash in your pocket to enjoy the holidays. Because sometimes all it takes is one decision, one adjustment, one cure to create lasting, positive change.

Three Legged Toad To Gather Wealth
Ch’an chi, the Money Frog
A fortune frog or money frog, is a mythical three-legged frog with red eyes and blazing nostrils. It carries a coin in its mouth and sits upon a pile of gold coins or Chinese cash with a string of coins at its feet or a crown around its head. The coin has a good fortune symbol and faces up to attract wealth and the crown or string of coins around its feet offers protection from misfortune. The coin in the mouth of the toad, specializes in calling forth wealth and it is said to be calling out to other coins. Legend says the creature emerges on the full moon to sit by the door of people with wealth and good fortune headed their way. The myth goes on to say the toad loves money and treasures.

Look for the following characteristics when buying the Lucky Money Toad:
Red eyes
Three legs
Seven star formation on its back
Five-Luck Coin of Emperor Qianlong in its mouth
Sitting upon coins or golden nuggets

You can place the Three Legged Toad either in your home or office. Either place it in the Wealth gua of the home or office, or you can place it in the Wealth gua of your office desk.
Here is the secret within the secret:
Every day during the day, place the toad facing the main door. Visualize that the toad is going out during the day to seek wealth and bring it home. Every night at night, face the toad into the home or office. Visualize that the toad is returning with lots of money. It is important to commit to this secret movement every day. Otherwise, you lose money (Professor Thomas Lin Yun). Adding a ruby (or red stone) in the middle of the ancient coin in the toad’s mouth symbolizes “kissing the stone”, a homonym for “sure profit.”

I have not purchased from these sources but the images and description meet the criteria for the Three Legged Money Frog.
Feng Shui Supply, King Money Frog – Golden
Feng Shui Supply, King Money Frog – Bronze

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to share Feng Shui secrets and cures from the Black Sect Tantric School of Feng Shui. May your holidays be filled with love, good ch’i and abundant blessings!

If you are looking for some insights for Thanksgiving dinner, have a look at “Take Back The Holiday…” And if you want to get a start on Christmas decorating, read my “10 Feng Shui Decorating Ideas…

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.

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 Cures That Make A Place For Joy

And Doors Will Open For You!

“The most fearless thing we can do is keep showing up with love, gratitude and joy in our real, right-now lives.”
Sarah Bessey

The winds have let loose and leaves will soon cover the ground. September marks the time of getting everything in order and turning our attention towards eliminating what is unnecessary, simplifying our objectives and refining our surroundings.

As we draw inward the fluctuations in Fall make for a balancing act of minding our discernment, our emotions and our lungs. As we slow down to regain equanimity, big questions may surface. Have I accomplished what I set out to do? Do I have the courage to ask for what I want? Where can I find meaning that will bring me joy? If you’ve sought answers to questions like these but have only been stopped by obstacles, your home may have some answers.

The Children gua (Bagua) is associated with Fall. In the Chinese Five Elements this season relates to Metal. Step over the threshold of your home and turn your body right at a 45 degree angle, look to middle area and there you’ll find Tui/Children. The I-Ching describes Tui like a smiling, clear lake. The quality is joy based on steadfastness. When we harvest what we have sown, it brings happiness, pleasure and satisfaction. However if every autumnal equinox you feel anxious; you cannot complete what you started; there are blocks to reaping the fruit of your labor and there is no spice in your life; what is going on in this area? Are there stairs? Is there a bathroom? Is there a stove out of command? Any one of these design features may inhibit your full expression of joy. Correct the Feng Shui in your home and you will open the doors to your bliss.

Design features in the Children Gua that could be limiting your joy.
Bathroom: energy drain. Adjustment: Program a 3 inch round mirror to collect the energy that is leaving the house via the toilet. Position the mirror on the ceiling over the toilet bowl with the reflective over the toilet. Set your intention that the mirror counteracts the energy that is dissipating through the drain.

Stairs: move up and down. They are a fluctuating energy that creates instability. Cure: Program a wind chime or 40 mm crystal with the intention to lift the inconstant energy of the stairs upwards .

Stove out of command: cannot tell what is going on around you. The experience is limited opportunity; feeling out of control and ill at ease. Correct: Place a mirror the length and height of the tallest person in the house on the wall opposite the stove. Seeing what is going on behind you calms your brain and smooths your senses.

If you have made the adjustments and still feel a lack of courage and childlike wonder, your Metal could be depleted. Add yellow to the Children gua in your home. In the Five Elements, Earth is the mother of Metal and feeds Metal. It is represented by the color yellow. Place an yellow object (your child’s watercolor of the sun, a set of brass candlesticks, silk sunflowers) in Children gua and visualize the Ch’i of joy spreads like a sunbeam over the lake. You can take this down when you have regained your bliss.

Each gua is associated with a body part. With Children it is the mouth. If a family member is critical and harsh or talks, talks, talks all the time to fill the air, this is a Metal excess. Bring in a healthy, lush green plant and set the intention that the Wood’s vitality provides a complementary rising life force to the shrinking, critical, chatty, demanding Metal personality. Or if you have received feedback that you are overly critical, wear a non-metallic ring on your third finger of your right hand if you are a woman and the third finger of your left hand if you are a man. Visualize that you weigh the impact of your words before you speak.

Though white is the color for the Children Gua, you can add light tones of silver, light gray, yellow and light browns. Metal objects or art work by children stimulate joy. Always set your intention for the optimal activation of this gua.

Every season serves a purpose and life will always present you with change. Make a place for joy in your home and know that the right doors will open for you.

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.

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.

Photo credit: @HaywardMedia, Dreamstime

A Guide To Anchor Abundance In Your Home

“Abundance can be had simply by consciously receiving what already has been given.”
–Sufi saying

According to Chinese philosophy, Heaven Luck, Earth Luck and Human Luck are the cosmic trinity that shape the course of our lives. July 12th big Heaven luck becomes available to all of us and into the coming weeks. “The solar eclipse will be in the area of the sky called Punavarsu in Vedic Astrology, which means “return to the light”. Endless improvement and new possibility abound within the star. This is a star that promises renewal and new growth, even against impossible odds. Punarvasu holds the shakti of wealth and substance and is symbolized by a quiver of arrows.

This eclipse has to the potential to accelerate motion…if there are places in your heart….money, time and emotional labor weighing you down; this solar eclipse can shoot the arrow of positive transformation into motion.”
Kari Field   

It’s the perfect time to make use of your unlimited ability to create the good in your life and your home is a powerful vision board to support that good. Beginnings have magic. Start on this solar eclipse, infuse your home with new energy and you will magnify the momentum that the stars have initiated. Reinventing your home enables you step into more of who you are. So in the spirit of supporting positive change and abundance, I have created this quick guide to open heaven’s gate to help you receive the good you desire.

Front Door/Chi Kou. Your front door invites into your home the ch’i of health, wealth, heaven, helpful people and opportunities. Its position favors your career, your future, your reputation, your head and your health. Take an assessment. Is it bright when you enter? Is there a pleasant fragrance or sound? Do you feel welcomed? If not then you are not expanding your abundance. Elevate your energy with the vital, life force of one, three or nine vital plants depending on the size of your entrance. If your entryway is dark and small, hanging a large mirror will expand the space. Put the spotlight on you when you install a light to come on or a chime to sound as the door is opened. Create a focal point! Place something opulent here, hang a crystal chandelier, an antique vase with peonies, a glass bowl of oranges (in the Chinese language oranges sound like gold). Red is a joyful color and auspicious. Add a red framed picture of person, place, animal (yes, red flamingo) or calligraphy that puts a smile on your face.

Helpful People Gua/Chien. Helpful People are those who make life easier. This is the realm of Heaven in the I-Ching. The Helpful People position in the house is in the front right corner. When you place an adjustment here, it stimulates movement in its opposite gua, Wealth. Images associated with this area are fruit trees, a prominent sky, the famous, a dignified ruler, dragons, lions, elephants, geese, horses and deer. Deer are deeply connected to prosperity and often replaced the God of Prosperity in ancient Chinese paintings and images because the words for deer and prosperity sound identical. An image of one hundred deer represent ‘prosperity one hundred times over.’ A simpler option is to display a painting or sculpture of a deer in your home or office and visualize the qualities of status, honor and advancement. These qualities are on the same vibration as abundance.

Wealth Gua/Hsun. The Wealth corner in your home is in the far left back corner of the house. Movement represents this gua. Water gliding along miniature rocks in a celadon green fountain, grasses blowing in the wind within gold frame, eight red fish surrounding one black fish painted on a scroll or a mirror that reflects the limitless sky. A classic Feng Shui wealth adjustment is imagine the wide array of possibilities such as an inheritance, winning the lottery, a monetary gift from a friend when you hang a convex mirror in this area of your home.

Center/Tai Chi. Your health is your wealth. The Center of your home represents health. If there is a lot going on here, it will “grab you in the gut”. If this is Grand Central Station you may experience digestive issues. A bathroom can deplete all areas of your life. Stairs manifest fluctuation in your finances. But if no specific design detail as mentioned is in this area that depletes this area, come to the center to set your life straight. Color lifts moods and feelings. One of the colors that represent the Center is yellow (gold too). It stands for power which is why the emperor of ancient China donned gold robes. Yellow gives a sense of tolerance, patience and wisdom gained from past experiences. Enhancing your personal power with yellow or gold, lifts your personal abundance and enables you to deal with any life situation with grace, flexibility and ease. Gold sconces, a golden statue, a golden light fixture, a yellow or golden circular rug, any one of these will focus your energy. Remember to add your intention.

Family Gua/Jen. Family harmony is foremost in the attainment of the Five Fold Happiness–an important concept to achieve: long life, wealth, peace, virtue and honor. When you honor the beginning of a season (such as the solar eclipse), career or project, you draw more luck to it. Placing an adjustment to honor family sets the tone to create good luck. The Family gua is the middle left side of the house. The Chinese Dragon is looked upon as the ultimate symbol of good fortune. It represents fertility, immortality, happiness, power and wealth. Fire up the untapped dragon within you by placing an image of a green Dragon in this area of your home. Green symbolizes hope, freshness and spring growth and the implementation of this enhancement raises the good healthy earth ch’i in your home.

Today, July 12, is an auspicious day. The energy generated from performing one cure will create a quickening, I hope you take the opportunity to start the magic of abundance.

photo credit: Jonathan Adler design. Simon Doonan photos

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.

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.

How To Build A Fire Under Your Reputation

“Let the world know why you are here and do it with passion.”
Dr. Wayne Dyer

In April I shared with you the creative Power of Wood. Now we have reached the second phase of the Five Elements where we ascend to the fulfilling Power of Fire. In Summer Nature is at its peak and splendor. Spring blossoms are now summer fruit, their ripeness accelerated by the expansive light, warmth and radiance of the sun. It is a time where all of life develops to its fullest potential. Fire, the marrow of summer, is hot, vibrant and voluminous. It is the element that merges with all that comes into its path. In humans it is expressed through intimacy, passion, touch, sentiment, vitality, understanding, communication and community. When we merge our hearts with the hearts of others and realize our humanness, we thrive best.

If you have longed to reach beyond your comfort zone; dreamt to share your vision in a venue the size of Yankee Stadium, improve the rhythm in your heart or find the clarity to finish what you start, these six BSTB Feng Shui cures may enrich your home with the luminous vitality to help you pursue what sets your soul on fire.

Located in the back of the house are three power spots, Wealth, Fame and Partnership. The Fame and Reputation gua is central, nestled in between the Wealth gua to its right when facing the door and Partnership to left when facing the door.

Rejuvenate Your Heart. Not only is Fame/Fire identified by a location in our home, it is represented by the heart that pumps blood through our vessels, instilling our body with mindfulness. In Chinese philosophy our constitution is strengthened through performing virtuous actions. If you need to rejuvenate your heart then build goodwill by doing good deeds among your family members, friends, colleagues and relationships.

Build Your Business. Your business will prosper when you foster interdependent relationships. Make a practice to give and receive support and assistance. You will become illuminated in your community with what you are famous. 

Polish Your Clarity. When the Fame gua is missing in your home it can manifest as a heart attack, insomnia, feeling scattered, burned out, lacking clarity, unable to focus, depression and unfinished projects. To complete the missing area, hang a convex mirror. As you place the mirror visualize the reflection of the house in the mirror and see it move into the missing area, filling it. See the individual tasks to complete your project fall into place. 

Restore Your Reputation. A bathroom in Fame will dampen the Fire element and deplete the gua. The heart may become weakened. We need the warmth of Fire to speak from our heart, to soften cold words, comfort grief from within or succor a loved one. We may also experience damage to our reputation, status and honor. Mount a full length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door and visualize it assumes the image of whatever is in front of it. See the bathroom disappear and your reputation restored.

Guard Your Health. Watch for design details in your home that will cause damage to your heart. Here is a short list: a stairway out the front door (illness along the midline); a kitchen in the center of the house (fire in Health); a bed on the door wall (heart arrhythmia); slanted ceilings (especially if you have low blood pressure); biting doors; a contrary door (where the door opens to the a wall), a blocking wall and any bed, desk or stove out of command.

Enhance Your Fame. Red is the color of Fire. Red is an energy source, a stimulator and a way of expelling bad Ch’i. If your reputation has been maligned, if you want to enhance your fame or if you desire to extend your reach beyond the city in which you work, paint a red wall in the Fame gua and set your intention accordingly.

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.

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.

Spring Power. It’s Easy Being Green.

Within each thing is contained all things. In the seed is the tree; in the tree is the forest…Each thing exists to nourish all others and in return to be nourished itself.
Vasant Lad and David Frawley, The Yoga of Herbs

At the moment I am writing, Nature’s Spring Power has bloomed all over the northern hemisphere. As if awakened by Prince Charming’s kiss, the sun’s radiance arouses the landscape, dissolving winter’s sleep. Green, vernal shoots burst forth and aromatic scents perfume the atmosphere where hungry bees buzz mightily ensuring that our summer tables are fresh with fruit. Everywhere is an intelligent, pulsating world of creation, nourishment and support.

If you are like me you may want to harness this Spring Power for now and when winter’s twilight comes early and the leaves have fallen. It’s definitely the way of Feng Shui. You see, thousands of years ago in order to align with the seasons of creation and decay, the philosophy of the Tao, Yin-Yang theory and the Five Phases evolved. The Tao is the governing order of all things. However to explain the Tao’s movement through time, the Yin-Yang Theory of opposites emerged followed by the Five Phases/Seasons which further differentiated its dynamism as exemplified by the five powers, Water (winter), Wood (spring), Fire (summer), Earth (late summer) and Metal (fall).

You can imagine in the waining days of the year how a burst of Spring Power could keep your system running at its optimum. The Wood element is represented by Spring. It is a creative season. It’s symbolic of new beginnings. Its meaning is to be on purpose and be the change. It is benevolence and compassionate understanding, qualities we find useful in certain stages of our development, our relationships and our careers. Building the Chi in your home with Wood cures gives you the drive to remove stagnate energy and finish projects that have been languishing.

If your bedroom feels devoid of life force, your health is suffering from too much Yin Ch’i, or you want to enhance the energy in your home, here are five BSTB Feng Shui cures that invest your home with positive energy that will take you in a new direction.

Spring clean any time of year. Whenever there is an excessive build-up of stress and frustration, it’s time to pull out the oranges. When Ch’i becomes blocked, oranges have a warm, sunny, sweet aroma that convey joy and positivity, dispersing moodiness and irritability (Gabriel Mojay, Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit). To change the Ch’i and the fortune of you and your home, purchase nine oranges. During the hours of  11:00 p.m to 1:00 a.m. cut nine circles (zest only) out of each orange for 81 circles. Break these down onto a dinner plate and chant a mantra or say a prayer that invests the peels with the light of 10,000 Buddhas. Take a small handful of the peels and start in any direction. Every few steps, scatter the peels throughout the house until the plate is empty. Allow for them to stay for one night, three nights or nine nights. For a detailed version of the ceremony, send me an email (red envelopes requested).

Show your ‘face’ to the world. What story is your front entry telling? Does it represent who you are ? Does your door knob working properly and easy to grasp? This is how you grasped life. Do you have vital plants in and around your front door? Plants are life force. We are most aware of their rising yang energy in Spring but they are useful in balancing our Ch’i throughout the year. Your front door can be enhanced with healthy round leaf plants on either side. They lift your Ch’i and attract prospects. If sustainability is part of your philosophy, purchase native, evergreen plants that require little water as a green addition to the Feng Shui.

Transform worry into calm. Bamboo has a long and humble connection to the Chinese culture. If your children live away from home and you are concerned about them you can hang a bamboo drape in the Children/Tui gua of your home. If your child has a dangerous occupation, sport or hobby, hang a bamboo drape in the Children gua of your home because bamboo is symbolic of safety, it provides safety.

Work peacefully for money. The drooping bamboo leaves cross one another, as if they are composing the Chinese character “An” (tranquility). Being both hollow and soft inside, it symbolizes humility (the Chinese word for hollow means to be humble). Its hollowness allows it to bow in the wind. The sound a bamboo flute makes is peaceful and it can drive away negative influences so it protects. If you wish to have money and work peacefully for it, hang a bamboo drape in the Wealth/Hsun gua of your home.

Double your happiness. To nurture a partnership that you have already created add the Spring Power of nine lush plants in the bedroom. The demands of work can deplete your energy. The plants’ life force will support your own and expand your mental focus so you can dedicate time to your partner. A nuance to this cure is place fruiting or flowering plants as they symbolize that your efforts will bear fruit.

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.

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.

December 17 New Moon. Be The Difference.

Anything is possible if you’ve got enough nerve.”
JK Rowling

December 17 new moon, enter Ox. Ox folks embody endurance, honesty and diligence. True to their strength, they take on hardship anytime and anywhere. We have the opportunity to glean from their Tao of resilience and fortitude for our own winter survival. And though we may be distracted with new year anticipation, let’s keep the tempo with Ox advice this December 17 new moon: keep your focus and be the difference! Always generous, Ox is gifting us with super-strength for our super power because as Ox would say, “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.”

In January we struggle between leaving holiday mode and new year work demands; it’s possible to be caught in a clash. But before you end up in bed this December 17 new moon try this cure to strengthen your immune system. Within a 99 day period change the furniture three times. Or rearrange the furniture every 27 days, for three consecutive times. When you do it that way it will take a total of 81 days. It wakes up the Ch’i and removes any stale or blocked energy. And if you are already drained from a difficult work environment try this method. Before going to bed, peel an orange in one piece. It gets you to breath deeply and focus so you don’t break the peel. After this visualize the room is filled with the scent of the orange. Oranges signify abundance. The citrus aroma cleanses your etheric field and releases stale Ch’i. The transcendental meaning: oranges bring good luck and good fortune for it (chéng zi) sounds like gold (Jin) in the Chinese language. Everyday for nine days, peel one orange and leave the peel somewhere in the room. At the end of nine days you can dispose of the peels. You can eat the fruit everyday. You can also do the cure in your car if you are distracted a lot of the time and your distraction created an automobile accident. Do it in your office to avoid petty people coming around. Put the peels in your office drawer. And always, always set your intention.

Happy New Year! Live your dream in 2018!

Chinese Lunar New Year aka Spring Festival is February 16. Until then we are steeping in winter so protect your 7th vertebrae (in Chinese medicine where illness enters your body) with a scarf and mind what’s happening to your Chinese astrology. This December 17 new moon take a fresh approach to work, enjoy! Rat: it’s a month of challenges, you might say, adversities. What you plan may not come to fruition. For the next 30 days be cautious when driving. Do not make investments either. Put extra effort into your work and you will see advancement. It is a time to focus on peace and harmony in the family. Ox: a lucky star shines on you, it is a six harmony month. You will find wealth comes easily and your plans will come to life. With the assistance from Helpful People your relationships will be flavored with auspiciousness. Perform one good deed a day and you will gain additional fortune and merits. Tiger: you will have on one had disaster and the other auspiciousness. You have a lucky star that will eventual transform any disaster into peace. Perform a good deed a day and both prosperity and wealth will exceed your expectation. For those who are trying there is a chance to conceive. Your interpersonal relationships will be harmonious. Planning will go smoothly. Rabbit: your luck is mutually offensive. Avoid disputes, this gives scoundrels an opportunity to undermine you. Monitor your spending with your income. Do not visit the sick and the bereaved and watch your mental and physical health. Dragon: this is a three harmony month. Expect good results in your business endeavors. If you are a employed you will receive get promoted and receive a raise. If you are an official your future looks bright. If traveling any distance, perform the BSTB Feng Shui cure “Walking on Six Feet of Red Cloth”. Snake: your talents and skills are being recognized. You are riding high because events around you are bringing in good luck but all the same be mindful and do not let your guard down. Instead strive for a higher achievement. Horse: this is a direct conflict month. You luck is on the low end. Though you may work faithfully and not complain, there may be expressed resentment against  you. Your emotions may be low this month. It is advised to practice, BSTB “Inhale Exhale Breathing Exercise” to relieve pressure and avoid physical harm. Ram: the luck of the month is most confrontational. There could be one stressful event after another. Be mindful of your health, there may be illness and injuries. Your emotions may be in turmoil too. Do not act on impulse and stay clear of disputes. Monkey: the clouds have parted and the sun is shining bright. Helpful People will come to your aid and your endeavors are moving with ease. Your mood is improved and you have a bright future ahead. Rooster: there is the possibility that you will be confronted with situations, meet them head on. Face it with openness when it doesn’t go your way. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Also don’t be impetuous or quick to judge. Dog: misfortune is dissolving with the clouds. Helpful People come to your aid and wherever you look, there is prosperity and harmony. During this time that your life is running smoothly focus on harmony indoor interpersonal relationships. Pig: the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Your endeavors are going smoothly and your future looks bright. Cheer up!

If you request a cure from this December 17 new moon astrology forecast, I will ask you to honor the red envelope tradition. Have a great month, Zodiac friends! 

Thank you to Khadro Crystal Chu, Black Sect Esoteric Buddhist Feng Shui for your unfailing command of Feng Shui and Chinese metaphysics.

Have you decided this will be your year? “Boldness has genius”… with one hour of 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.