Color Your Life With Hope

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
– Albert Camus

Going for walks in the northern hemisphere, these late September days, I marvel at the trees shimmering with hues of vermillion, titian orange and marigold that light up the landscape. If you are like me you are enjoying the autumn rhythm of shorter days. And yet I have heard from some of you saying you feel isolated by COVID-19 sheltering in place and/or fearful about the unstable political climate.

Let me share a few things that could help. Worry and unease contract our Ch’i. “When our Ch’i is weak, we are more open to absorbing negative external factors–bad luck, bad Feng Shu, and bad Ch’i –that may come our way.”(H.H.“Professor” Lin Yun). So despite external conditions we can brighten our outlooks by creating our own invincible season. Color is one of many Feng Shui principles that strengthens our Ch’i. Making color adjustments in our homes, wardrobes and offices revitalize our mental, emotional and physical energies. I see this often after a client adds color to their home or wardrobe. They express confidence, they feel they are in a better place and hopeful about the future. 

Fall for the color that makes you happy.
For your office
Red color has a stabilizing effect on the eyes (which are connected to the heart). Place a red object in the area directly across from your entry. This focal point allows the mind to get clear before you move on to your office tasks. A side note: red, symbolic of happiness, is a colorful antidote to anxiety.

Purple color has a calming, peaceful influence. It enhances visualization. If you meditate it will enhance your meditation practice and that improves your decision-making at work. Make a red and purple pillow and sit on the purple side to minimize anxiety. Or if you need to change your luck to good, sit on the red side, it raises your Ch’i.

Green color is associated with vitality. If your desk is too close to the entrance to your office or cubicle or your desk is in line of the home office door this diminishes your energy. Place a lush, leafy green plant on your desk. Its life force dispels negative Ch’i that may enter.

For your wardrobe
Red amplifies your reputation. Wearing red with the proper intention will increase your visibility both in a mundane sense and the transcendental scope. It will build your career and increase your options for success.

Green is associated with springtime, a fresh start and hope. You can look at green for a long time and not experience eye strain. Wearing apple green or blue can help minimize anxiety. Excellent for children in the first year of school or a child who daydreams.

Black, Green, Red, Yellow and White, the Five Element colors, help you interact with a person who isn’t listening, who thinks only of themselves, who argues with you and has “Yes, but Ch’i”. These colors do not change their behavior but help you respond to them with equanimity because they strengthen your Ch’i.

White color if you stress eat. Professor Lin said that when we wear white we are afraid we will spill food on our clothes so we slow down, are more careful and our stomachs will fill up faster.

For your home
Red paint for the front door for in Feng Shui symbolism, red means happiness, etiquette, power and strength. Though it protects against negative energy the main reason to paint your door red is it will continue to gather auspicious energy over time.

Green (any shade) in the kitchen can turn your finances to flowing again. Keep in mind the stove is symbolic of your finances. A vent or microwave over your stove oppresses it. Applying green above your stove will lift the energy, creating more opportunities for money to come to you: 1) easily 2) without pressure 3) and relieves worry.

Apple Green helps to deal with depression. If a friend or family member is feeling despair paint their bedroom an apple green to give them hope that a new beginning is around the corner.

Yellow, orange or brown in the center of your home helps you collect your Ch’i.  Often your Ch’i is depleted from work, raising children and overextending yourself. The center represents Health. Placing an adjustment here will help you respond to emergencies with surety and know that you can trust your decisions.

Rainbow colors in the bedroom (from my chapter in Recipes For Living Coloring Journal), “Stress creates a host of emotional burdens on your heart. If you add a complete color system to your room, for example, the rainbow colors, (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) you carry the frequencies of these seven colors. This spectrum creates homeostasis in your body. It mirrors the chakra system, the life force centers, that are the gateway between your endocrine system and cosmic forces. I love this strategy for peace. I find that displaying a scarf or a quilt invites a sense of serenity and a feeling of calm washes over me when I enter my bedroom…” Good choice for  a man searching for a partner,couples who are having disagreements or a child who may need help with their studies.

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.

Design Your Life Around Your Purpose

“Your life has purpose. Your story is important. Your dreams count. Your voice matters. You were born to make an impact.
– Author unknown

When you make a decision you’re dynamic and you are powerful (thank you Abraham Hicks). This mindset immediately creates a field that surrounds you with positive intent where everything moves in cooperation with what you’ve asked for and supports your alignment with your desires.

When you are in symmetry with your desires (this is where Feng Shui comes in) the design of your home, the arrangement of your furniture, the position of your desk, bed and stove, the alignment of Ch’i and the accents to the front door maximize the wish-fulfilling energy coming into your house. This positive Ch’i creates worlds. So you may want to consider this: envision the walls in your home, the shape of your furnishings, color and lighting in your rooms, less as physical, finite objects and more as you’re composing a directive to assemble the people, places and events you desire to experience. Consciously putting your home into order yields the good fortune (luck, money, love) that blesses you.

For my September blog I am offering a secret enhancement to design your life around your purpose. This cure is from Professor Lin’s infinite body of Feng Shui wisdom. But before I give you the secret cure, consider implementing these practices, they are 99% on the mark to help you succeed.

Professor Lin recommends that meditating daily has extraordinary benefits: it calms your mind, you develop the focus to act with discernment and it broadens your inspiration, all of which help you master your life. Allow meditation to have a place in your day to access your inner voice, your intuition, it has wise messages for you. Add journaling and chanting to encourage self-esteem and self-reliance. Include a personal mantra or Buddhist mantras to transform your inner dialogue so that you recognize what you nurture, you becomeThen this cure will be the most effective and powerful.

Place the bed, desk and stove in command position (you can see the door but not be in line of the door) because these areas are your command centers. You make more powerful yet meaningful Feng Shui adjustments when you understand how lack of command hinders your ability to stay aligned with your desires. The necessity for command position influences your sense of safety; you may experience lack of opportunity; anger and mood swings. In the case if the bed is out of command heart trouble, insomnia and illness along the midline (among other health issues) may arise. When your desk is out of command you may have an outdated perspective, unable to see both opportunity and trouble coming and experience lack of support. If you cannot see what is going on while you are at the stove, this suggests a downturn in finances, diminished good luck and heart trouble. Referred back to the 27 Bedroom Concepts for how to place your bed in command, it will apply to the desk too. If you have a question about command position I am happy to answer your inquiry. Please contact me bette@shenmenfengshui.com (I follow the Red Envelope Tradition). In Feng Shui Matters To Your Heart, I share a list of design features that affect your focus and clarity. The list can be useful when you are wanting to make a change.

Ba-gua Formation
Choose either your house or your lot, but do not mix and match them. Perform this sequence for either the house or the lot not both. It’s like saying you do not trust the cure’s effectiveness. These specific adjustments mentioned are meant to be suggestions. Please be mindful of the character and qualities of the gua you are enhancing. If you go your own way, your cure could be less effective and then you may conclude the cure does not work.

Perform this cure between the hours of 11 pm to 1 am (Zi hours) or 11 am to 1 pm (Wu hours). You will complete this cure in eight days. If you miss a day you must start over at Helpful People.

Day One
Begin with the Helpful People (Chien)Gua. It is located in the front right corner of the house or lot. Outside you can place a tall rock or a bird bath, a statue of a Buddha. Place something that has weight. Inside a photo of a travel destination you love. A mirror will expand this area with the proper intention.

Day Two
Move clockwise to Career (Kan). If you know a blessing ritual from the Black Sect Buddhist Feng Shui perform that. An image of water or an actual water feature or a photo of your ancestors or an affirmation for your career are appropriate.

Day Three
Next move to Knowledge (Gen). It is located in the front left corner of your home or lot). Hang a wind chime or place an image of a mountain or a pathway or archway. Something that leads you into contemplation.

Day Four
Continue clockwise to Family (Jen). Hang a wind chime to encourage good luck for the family. Or plant bamboo. It bends in the wind; it bows in the wind and implies having the flexible Ch’i to get along with family members. Or hang an image of bamboo in this area of your home.

Day Five
Move to the back left corner to Wealth (Hsun). It is related to Wind in the I-Ching and also the Wood element. Water is usually depicted here. Hang an image of grasses blowing in the wind. Or place a convex mirror to expand the various resources to receive money.

Day Six
Continue on to the back center of the house or lot. This is the Fame Gua (Li). It means Radiance or Clarity also Clinging (as Fire clings to whatever it is burning). A spot light here to shine the light on your reputation or a crystal to add radiance to your visibility in your community.

Day Seven
Move in a clockwise fashion to Partnership (Kun) which is in the right back corner of the house or lot. This is an Earth gua. Containers, pottery, a bench, or a wheelbarrow are appropriate. Add pink roses in the house or plant roses in the yard in this area.

Day Eight
The last enhancement. This area is the Children Gua (Dui). It is mistaken for Creativity, creativity belongs to all the guas. A white statue for the lot or place a metal statue of children playing. Something hand made by a child like a drawing would activate the Ch’i. 

A home that is not a complete rectangle may have a missing area or in some cases like an L shape home, an extension. These need an adjustment before you begin the Bagua Formation cure.

Want to get started right away? Design your life around your purpose? Let’s get started! A well-designed space allows you to access positive energy at all times. Call me, 503-232-2543 and I will help you arrange your home where you feel fully supported. I am available for a full consultation 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.

January 9 New Moon I Holy Cow!

“We rise by lifting others.”
–Robert Ingorsoll

Will this new moon bring a horns of a dilemma or a precautionary tail?  The last month before Chinese Lunar New Year is referred to as the “tail end of the year”. For the next 28 days take time to be aware. Take a sniff, look about and when the coast is clear, tread softly and lend an ear. A kind word can curb that cute curly Ram tail from sending you high flying. 

Ox loves to help. The beautiful bovine is steady, practical, perseveres and has great strength, qualities that serve us in meeting life’s challenges. With the post holiday stress it is the perfect time to take account of how you feel. But it requires that you slow down. One way is to fit a few moments of exercise into your lifestyle. Not as a resolution but an opportunity to listen to your body. Go for something different: a yoga program, walking the neighbor’s dog, swimming at the community pool….The social time and the good it does for your body and spirit enliven your Ch’i. Choose something that energizes you and you enjoy and most of all invite a friend to join you. The mantra, “I am committed to my well being.” can also read, ”I am committed to my friend’s well being too.”

A bit of divine guidance can bring fruitful results. Here are soundbites for you in the Month of the Ox. Rat: the Heavens are watching. If you working diligently, Helpful People will come to your aide. “Once you have gathered a favorable time, an advantageous locality and the support of the people involved, prosperity will come to you.” Ox: it’s a mixed bag. Some good luck, some not so good. Watch your spending and financial loss. At work avoid getting into fights. Perform a good deed each day to turn events in your favor. Tiger: celebrations and worries. Good luck and bad. Your career is going well but take precaution against exhaustion. You may find friends and family turn against you. Meet it head on and resolve the matter. Rabbit: big emotional ups and downs but if you chant the Heart Calming Mantra, Gate Gate Para Gate, Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha, nine times, you will have the clarity to be objective and come to a resolution. Perform good deeds to help you get past any adversity. Dragon: a month to be flexible and open minded but know to quit when you are ahead. Avoid talking about others and listening to rumors. Snake: a Three Harmony month! Bad luck turns good and your spirits are lifted. If you want to win an argument use tolerance and appeal to the other person’s senses. Don’t visit funerals or grave sites. Horse: you luck has gone south. Work through issues in a low profile and diligent manner. Focus on family harmony, arguments may bring you bad luck. Ram: a month of “Direct Conflict”. Beware of financial loss and traffic accidents. Do not take risks with investments that appear precarious. Monkey: overall you are lucky and everything goes well. Help others gladly, perform a good deed daily to accumulate virtue and increase your merits. Rooster: a Three Harmony month! Everything should run smoothly. Prosperity is yours. Listen to experts for advice, especially in the case of your career. And help out with the health of a family member. Dog: a ”Mutually Offensive” month. Take time for self reflection and correct your mistakes. Blaming others is like spitting in the wind, it comes back to you. Pig: though you receive a lot of money this month be aware of unknown disasters.

Chinese Lunar Year’s Eve is February 7, 2016. In my next blog I will share an opportunity for you to join in the celebrations, Zodiac Friends! May all your wishes come true!

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

Have questions about your home? Design it with vitality and beauty and feel at ease with 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.

Save Your Money From Going Down the Toilet!

photo credit: Milli.Az
Privy, lavatory, throne, potty, can, john. The 2 1/2 baths that provide convenience is a hot spot that robs your health and money, and your life just may be going down the toilet. Moving gray water away from the home is a necessary, sanitary, modern-day comfort. But the toilet’s drain also pulls energy out of the house. In the Feng Shui metaphor its location determines the types of loss (financial, health, bad luck, lack of concentration, missed opportunities) you experience in your personal life. If you’ve been devastated by illness and are running up medical bills or just experiencing unexpected expenses, there is a silver lining to your story. Combat the brown rim by familiarizing yourself with the following energetic principles then implement the Feng Shui cures provided to restore what has been lost.

Derived from ancient Chinese divination, the Ba-gua (eight sided template of life) is used to determined patterns in a home. Translated from Chinese “Ba” means “eight” and “gua means “trigram”. Before a consultation the Ba-gua is superimposed onto the floor plan of the home and the life situations are interpreted in relationship to the shape of the house. There are eight: career, self-knowledge, family, wealth, fame/reputation, partnership, children, helpful people with health in the center. A life situation is interchangeable with the word, gua and it has a three fold significance. It represents a meaningful postion in the octagon; it is symbolic of an influential life situation and  it correlates to a physical location in your home. The rooms of the house–living, dining, kitchen, bedroom, hallway, stairs, bathroom–now take on the individual meaning of each gua and this creates an underlying significance in your life. For example a living room might be located in the Helpful People (people who bring you money) corner or the Master bathroom might be situated in the Wealth gua (draining your wealth). For one area it might be boon, in another area a detriment. 

The bathroom placement affects all the guas; the following are the worst: (check your home to see if there is a match)

  • Center of the house. It depletes all the eight guas, draining finances and resources. Poor health may plague everyone in the home.
  • Wealth Gua (located in the back left corner of the house). All good fortune, good luck and Ch’i leave the house via the drain. 
  • Helpful Gua (located in the front right conner of the house). Loss of Helpful People who bring you money, pay you money for the work you perform and aid you with your career.
  • Children Gua (located in the middle right side of the house). Children are drained of their vitality which leads to being sick often. They may be distracted and cannot focus on their studies thus doing poorly in school. 

The toilet/bathroom in relationship to another design feature can cause health crises and financial loss. Do you recognize one of these situations?

  • A bed and toilet that are back to back (with only a wall between) can cause sickness in the head, even a brain tumor. Money can be flushed away. It can be difficult for a child to concentrate, losing time from studies.
  • Toilet over the bed will cause health problems. 
  • Bedroom facing a bathroom can cause stomach ailments.
  • Bathroom over the front entry will bring bad luck to the entire family living at home. It can lead to scoundrels and legal trouble. 
  • Bathroom adjacent to the kitchen. A bathroom is symbolic of a family’s expenses and the kitchen is symbolic of a family’s wealth. Money will drain away in this scenario.

The toilet seat down is a general cure but there are stronger adjustments to correct an offending bathroom that depletes the energy in a gua. Where possible hang a full length mirror on the front of the bathroom door. It will take on the image of whatever is opposite from it (the mirror) and the bathroom is no longer present. Even if the bathroom door is open the adjustment continues to work. “Sealing the Drains” is an excellent ceremony if you do not want or cannot hang mirrors in your bathrooms. If one of these doesn’t work for you, contact me.

Just as you would remodel your kitchen or paint your bedroom, Feng Shui is home improvement that nourishes the spirit of your place. Listen to your home and let it inform you how you can enliven it with changes that will put $$$ in your pocket and enrich your life.

One thing 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 class and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.