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.

Feng Shui Design For Your Best Life

photo credit: Paintzen

“Recent discoveries in Western Science now add to a growing body of evidence suggesting Beauty is a transformational power… Through our experience of Beauty, we’re given the power to change the feelings that we have in our bodies. Our feelings, in turn, are directly linked to the world beyond our bodies.”
Gregg Braden

Moving a bed to take command in the bedroom, painting a front door crimson red to expand opportunities, positioning a desk so a voice will be heard…these mini experiences create beauty and offer peace of mind but they also are thresholds that beckon something extraordinary to happen. When we correct the structural deficiencies in our home’s design Feng Shui’s subtle positive power not only releases restrictions in our life but reflects a bigger vision of who we might become.

That vision begins at the front door. To discover who we might become we need to uncover the story our entry tells. The Feng Shui design metaphor of the front entry reaches into our career, reputation, the people who help us and the health of everyone in the household.  “…so place something attractive here so when you first enter your home you enter through beauty.” Louise Hay’s perfect action step is a great reminder to appreciate Beauty because we all have storms in our life. 

Plagued by headaches? Do you feel confused or lose stuff? You can open your entry to vitality when you place plants just inside the front door. They embody life force and generate a positive impulse. Green is soothing and can be viewed for a long time without causing eye strain. If one of your family members has an illness, place nine potted plants in the front entry. 

Discord in your family could mean there is a split view when you walk into your home. A split at the front door can stimulate the brain unevenly, you may think more and act less or act more and think less. There is a potential for illness along the midline from the head to the kidneys. When your eyes cannot focus on one object, you may feel confusion and it becomes difficult to make decisions. Everyone in the house may become impatient, anxious, out of sorts and not accommodating to one another. You At home you want to feel relaxed not harassed. Hang a beautiful chandelier to lift your eyes upward. If your stairway is causing the split, mount a crystal finial on the stair’s post, it will draw your eyes to it. Or hang a faceted lead crystal from the ceiling.

Conflict in your heart that you can’t put your finger on and is difficult to express suggests your stairway leads straight out the front door. This feature not only affects all the eight guas, especially health and wealth, but it can create conflict that is burns your heart and never gets expressed. Anger could take over your life. But there is hope. A planter outside the front door will catch the Ch’i that is escaping out the door.

Lack of risers can steal the Ch’i from everyone who enters your home. You may feel tired all the time and just can’t handle your responsibilities. As simple as it may look, it’s impact is debilitating. Plants underneath delivers vitality or uplight the stairs.

Restriction in your career might be mirrored by a blocking wall as you enter your home. Hanging a mirror or a beautiful landscape can expand your entry and give you a wider entrée. But here is an additional piece not widely known–sound–hang a wind chime on the door will open up the space. It’s lyrical quality can awaken your senses and clear your mind.

Need a boost to your career? A bright light at the front door is good for the career of everyone in the household so the brighter within reason.

Accent your entrance with a splash of red directly across from it. This design treatment can improve your reputation where you work. Red symbolizes happiness, virtuosity, power and inspire you every time you walk through the door.

Spring is a pioneering time, a time of great energy, tender shoots are breaking through the hard ground. I feel inspired by the vernal season and I am excited that winter has ended. It’s time to take up a paint brush, hammer, ceremonies, cures and start designing my own reality. Hope you’ll join me!

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.

Say Yes! To Abundance And Change

“There is only “yes” in the Universe!”
Abraham Hicks

Let’s start the new year with a big Yes! Big dreams manifest when you play with the design in your home! Design that nurtures, comforts, moves, attracts and manifests abundance. Feng Shui, is the game-changer and when we decorate our homes with beautiful decor, life force and lots of love (for love is Ch’i), prosperity flows right into our front door.

Are you ready for change? The Year of the Yang Earth Dog (why Chinese new year is celebrated ) begins February 16, 2018. Rumors promise it will be a year of harmony yet a mountain is a mighty big force to move. Eminent astrologers are predicting we can expect standoffs too. Maybe your parents, your spouse or your children will take on the stress. The month before the lunar calendar shift is a perfect time to prepare for the change. My method: measuring tape, deep breaths, chant a few mantras, then decorate for success. I want you to accomplish anything you set your mind to do, so I’ve included eight life designs I believe will inspire you to create abundance and manifest your dreams in 2018.

Function At Your Highest Potential Beginning the year in a mood swing only blocks our higher instincts. But we can eliminate self doubt, anger and fear with a qigong practice. Similar to an acupuncture treatment tapping opens the meridians in the brain and dissipates excess energy. The clarity helps us to get an objective distance on the internal conflict.
Tapping the Head.
If you have trouble sleeping this practice can restore energy, enthusiasm and reverse the downward spiral of pessimism. Also if you have a problem to solve the answer may appear spontaneously.
• Use the ends of the fingers of both hands, tap simultaneously on the the head at least 108 times.
• You may repeat this cycle two more times for a total of three times or 324 taps.
• Perform this exercise every morning, noon and evening.
• Repeat for 27 days.

Open New Doors Literally! If you never use your front door (only entering through the garage) this can cause a sense of suffocation in the house. It will create lack of Ch’i of all kinds: health ch’i, wealth ch’i, spiritual ch’i… When the front door isn’t used, there is a feeling of no place to go nor a sense of oneself – the Ch’i is stuck. It’s difficult to feel abundance, make money nor ask people for money. Use the front door at least once a month. Or open it nine times a month. Nuance: The front door represents Helpful People. Create a well-defined path with lush greenery, colorful plants and lighting. Add a bright light at the door and for greater emphasis an automatic sound that goes off or a light that comes on upon entering the home. We need for Helpful People have to know where you find us.

Counteract A Financial Downturn December 2017 the east coast of the United States experienced a supersize snow storm creating a supersize void in income. Staying home and playing it safe was important, but making a livelihood is too. This Feng Shui solution can turn our finances to flowing again. Keep in mind the stove is symbolic of our finances. A vent or microwave over our stove oppresses it. Applying green above our stove will lift the energy, creating more opportunities for money to come to us:
• easily
• without pressure
• relieves worry

Spin The Wheel of Fortune If your financial situation has you worried, place an image of a wind mill into Hsun, the Wealth corner, of your property or home. If a three dimensional wind mill is used, make sure the spokes move. The movement will get your luck with finances moving again.

Promises From Heaven If there is an image of the sky represented in a picture in the home, a mirror can be hung in your Wealth corner to capture and move the image to Hsun/Wealth. A clear, bright sky represents heaven. The mirror may allow the kingdom of heaven to penetrate the material world bringing prosperity.

Advise That Keeps The Pocketbook Happy We need Helpful People in our life. We need the right advisers. We need not find someone who will send us down the wrong path. The front right corner of our property is the Helpful People corner. Place something here that has weight like a statue of a deity, a bird bath or a rock from Mt. Tai Shan or a sacred site. Or place inside the home a statue of a green or golden dragon (never place a red dragon for the poor fellow is cooked) or a running horse. These animals represent the power of Heaven (from the I-Ching this area is called Tian/Chien/Chyan which translates as Heaven).

Solve Good Luck Problems Calling on abundance from Heaven and Earth. When there is more than one problem to be solved and we do not have the money to do many cures. Turn the Pre-Heaven Ba-gua (flat mirror is preferable but convex will work) upside down; place Earth (three broken lines) at the top, and Heaven (three solid lines) at the bottom and adhere to the door jam or wall over the front door. Heaven is below and Earth is above. This reversal of positions brings Heaven to Earth. This notion of Paradise derives from Hexagram 11 of the I-Ching.

Meditate To Access Your Inner Guidance There is a place within you that is totally connected with the infinite wisdom of the Universe. It has all the answers to all the questions you will ask. You can learn to trust your guidance when you create a consistent practice of meditation. It will keep you safe. Supreme Yoga Section One. (red envelopes requested)

Do One Good Deed A Day Do it with sincerity and wealth will come quickly. Perform one good deed a day for 27 days. Stop for three days and start again. Perform the cures and ceremonies visualize this is helping our neighbors, the community, the city, the state, the country and the world. Performing good deeds daily will help the cures to work more quickly and draw in abundance.

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.