Tag Archives: beauty

9 Feng Shui Cures To Start Holiday Decorating ASAP!

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“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”
–Camille Pissarro

Holiday decorations up before Thanksgiving? Oh yikes? Or oh yeah! Trimming the door and whistling while you string the lights is undeniably a mood lift. TODAY reported in 2017 those individuals “who get their holiday decorations up early are happier” and tuned into their sense of well being. The sights and smells invoke pleasant memories. Decorating also tweaks our brain in just the right places, flooding it with dopamine, a feel-good hormone.

We’re also using a bit of color healing with all the ornaments, oranges and bright lights around the house. From the Feng Shui perspective, if we alleviate the continuous stress from the outside by lifting our spirits with beauty and calm on the inside of our homes this simple act benefits more than ourselves, it trickles out to our neighbors and community too.

“Beauty is one of life’s basic pleasures,” Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Nancy L. Etcoff was quoted in The Harvard Crimson. “We want to keep near us, feel more sympathy and compassion for and are elevated by what is beautiful.” Like neuroaesthetics, the science that quantifies the effect that beauty and aesthetics have on our brains, Feng Shui design not only awakens our brains but touches our hearts through enhancing beauty in our homes.

So let’s enjoy the prospect that by lavishing our homes with bits of green, some color, love, lights and soul we’ve contributed to our greater happiness and the true meaning of the season.

Adorn The Door Invite auspicious Ch’i. Start the holiday decorating nine days before Thanksgiving. Purchase a beautiful wind chime, one that pleases your ear. Put it in a special place and think about it every day. Visualize how it will bring good luck into your household. On Thanksgiving at 11:00 a.m. hang the wind chime from a red ribbon outside your front door. Say a prayer of grace, this reinforces your request. This enhancement takes your eye level gaze and preoccupation with worldly affairs and redirects them up. At this position, you invite the power of heaven to create joy, stability and forward movement.

Garnish The Front Entry Pomegranates symbolize fertility but for the holidays their usefulness can bring happiness to the family as well as good luck for your descendants. Display pomegranates in a table arrangement either at the front entry or the dining room table. If you like the pomegranate’s color and shape, display it as art in your home to attract these qualities year round.

Let The Sun Shine In Before Thanksgiving day (or any holiday) buy nine oranges. At 11:00 p.m. open all the doors and windows of the house. Cut nine round pieces of orange peels from nine oranges. You will have a total eighty-one pieces of round orange peels. Break the orange peels into small pieces. The word for orange sound like gold in the Chinese language. Begin at the front door, take a small handful, toss the peel upward, visualize that all misfortune, illness and bad luck are leaving. All is well. Take another small handful and with palm down, sprinkle the peel, sowing seeds of auspicious light and visualizing any negativity being replaced with new growth of good fortune, health and positive events. See sunlight or universal light filling every corner of your house. The light will evict any bad ch’i and misfortune and replace it with happy ch’i, prosperous ch’i and auspicious chi. Leave in all the rooms of the house. Say a prayer of grace and you are complete. Leave the peels for one night, three nights or nine nights for greater emphasis.

Trim The Table A Harvard study showed that we feel less negative around flowers. Looking at them first thing in the morning dissipates anxiety. “The positive mood that results from looking at flowers is likely to transfer to others – it’s what is called mood contagion,” says Dr. Nancy L. Etcoff. This feeling pervades throughout the day. A narcissus plant is both fragrant and it attracts prosperity for the year to come. Adjusting by sense of smell calms the nervous system. Feeling relaxed smoothes your Ch’i and puts you in good spirits when Uncle Harry arrives.

Picture Good Fortune Lemons, tangerines and oranges are a highly prized fruit. Fruit, in general symbolizes life and new beginnings. Orange or “Kum” in Chinese sounds like gold. It is also a prayer or wish for good fortune. Create an orange wreath with bay leaves for your wall or create a lemon, orange and mandarin garland for your stairway. After the holidays, if your stairway is facing the front door, paint the railing green to lift the Ch’i and keep good luck from rolling out the door.

Bedeck Yourself  Feel empower(red). Holiday decorating means pull out the gay apparel. Red in Feng Shui symbolism means happiness, righteousness, virtuosity, courtesy, etiquette, power and strength. If you want to put out a family fire, wear red. If you want to bring joy to the table wear red. If your son or daughter are not paying attention or giving you a hard time wear red. Red attracts auspiciousness and respect.

Take Out The Stress If tension has been running high all year long between you and your partner and you are feeling anxious and a bit depressed, place a round mirror in the bedroom to help eliminate tension and rough talk.

Replenish Your Love Pine trees symbolize friendship and loyalty. But also any type of evergreen symbolizes durability and endurance. They never lose their positive energy and create an optimistic spirit. Place a young, live pine tree in a pot at your entry or in the great room. Begin your holiday decorating by engaging your entire family to trim it with favorite photos and ornaments. See your family feeling unified. After the holiday take it to the forest, plant it and visualize you are replenishing Mother Earth.

Trim The Earth Show loving kindness. A kind word, holding the door, buying a cup of coffee, letting someone in line, helping an elder cross the street or visiting a friend in the hospital builds community, defeats depression and inspires prosperity in oneself and others. Do one good deed in terms of the benefit of others and you benefit the most.

A well designed space allows you to access positive energy at all times. Call upon 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.

Plant. Love. Pray. Coping With Eclipse Energies.

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“If you adjust your ch’i well, your good ch’i will influence your heart. If your ch’i is good, love is created. And, love develops good ch’i.”
– H.H. “Professor” Lin Yun

The summer sky is ablaze with change. Eclipses and retrogrades activate profound advancement in humanity. But if all we experience is chaos and conflict while they transit, can we ever imagine we could live in grace under fire and find a softer, easier way to evolve? Yes! There is sacred way and your home is the key player.

If you are new to my blogs and presentations, I decorate interiors for the soul. Calmly arranging your space depopulates stress. Adjusting design details that cause conflict opens each room to love, beauty and abundance, waking up the spirit in your home and helping you cope with heavy energies, especially the current eclipses.

You can deflect those curve balls the cosmos has thrown at us by implementing a firewall of peace with good luck adjustments. I have selected six to help you get started living in grace under fire and finding your way home to love.

Shift If your luck is not good, every 9, 18 or 27 days, change some aspect of your furniture arrangement. You are changing the ch’i using the sense of touch. Your life force will be adjusted and awakened.

The best approach is move items that have not been moved recently. For example: your bed, the dining room table, the couch or the crock pot. You only need to lift the bed or table and then put it down in the same spot. The same holds true for objects that have been stored. At the moment the item is moved, the area beneath begins to breathe and shift. The space is revitalized, and the auspicious Ch’i begins to fill your home.

Alleviate If you or a family member or friend are suffering from an intangible stress. If you feel the weight of the world but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s causing it, make an adjustment in Helpful People. Nuance: in the office, the bedroom and the yard strengthens the effect.

Stabilize One of the best cures for calming the heart and mind:
Materials:
A circle of red paper
A brand new black pen
Tape

Procedure:
• Hold your breath and write “security” (with the new black pen) on one side of the red circle.
• In the same breath, write your name on the other side.
• Place the circle under your bed or chair, with “security” side facing the floor (adhere with tape)
• Visualize security and/or stability in your career, marriage, health, finances etc. You can also extend your visualization to include the stability of your family, your neighbors and everyone around the world. You might even wish for the stabilization of an unsettled, national or worldly, financial, social or political situation.
• Reinforce with the Three Secrets, using the Expelling Mudra to eliminate all obstacles (If you want to details I request nine red envelopes for this section, email me bette@shenmenfengshui.com).

Nuances:
If you write “stability”, you also may be able to help:
A child who cannot concentrate.
A parent whose child cannot manage time.
A wife whose husband frequently spends time away from home.
An employer whose employees quit again and again.

Plant Professor Lin was asked what to do when we live in an area that is vulnerable to floods, hurricanes, avalanches, earthquakes and natural disasters. He said planting trees will help vulnerable areas. He said, “Plant bamboo in every gua of a vulnerable area. You can also place bamboo in your home. It can be a picture of bamboo, a wall hanging, a flute from the Yun Lin Temple or a bamboo curtain. Bamboo is hollow, it bows in the wind. It provides peace, safety and support and drives away negative forces.

Love The secret to a successful life is performing a good deed daily.
Do these without expectation. Helping another person you shift not only their reality but yours as well. A kind deed improves your luck, circumstances and income. For emphasis do nine good deeds a day. But if karma has eclipsed your good luck, perform twenty seven good deeds in one day. Your sincerity is the most important part. Performing good deeds will strengthen your cures.

Pray Creating an altar in your home invests your home with an illuminating focus. It can contain a candle, incense, flowers, a crystal, a holy icon such as a Buddha and an object of personal meaning. Visiting the altar daily infuses your home with grace and your endeavors with a positive influence.

A well designed space allows you to access positive energy at all times. Call upon me to 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.

Feng Shui Acts of Beauty

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Beautiful are those whose brokeness gives birth to transformation and wisdom.
– John Mark Green

Stress is no longer the by-product of a busy life, it’s a 24/7 affair. If you’re feeling it’s a life sentence you have the power to turn this around with a lifestyle change. Feng Shui acts of beauty create a stress free zone that allow only the good stuff in where the possibilities for something extraordinary can happen. In this blog I shed light on how design decorates our emotions in our partnerships and offer solutions that suggest a “transformational power where this power changes the feelings in our bodies” and links us to positive change in our relationships and the world.

Feng Shui Acts of Beauty
We may not see beauty as functional however it has a very important function. Creating acts of beauty eases our suffering. For couples whose love has gone sour it refreshes their relationship. It’s effective in softening conflictive opinions in the house when partners are at odds.

Pillow Talk
Minimize arguing by placing a mirror on the wall at the head of the bed. The nuance: hanging a round mirror invites soft words between partners.

Pear for a Pair
Let Nature help! If you and your partner cannot share–life, bank accounts, whatever it is, plant a pear tree in the yard. Pear in Chinese sounds like partnership, it symbolizes the act of sharing. 

Stairway to Happiness
A stairway in the middle of the house can magnify differing of opinions. It’s not just health issues that slip and slide but opposing viewpoints. Solution is a Feng Shui act of beauty: hang a 50 mm crystal ball at the top of the stairs to lift the Ch’i of the fluctuating energy and lift your hearts.

Fresh Starts
If vitality is lacking in the bedroom, add the color green, place flutes above the bed at the angle of Wealth and Partnership or use plants with flowers and fruit in the bedroom. A plant that bears fruit means that the growth of the plant has seen results and your efforts will bear fruit. Flutes have an uprising force so you are taking the next step (www.yunlintemple.org). Green is associated with springtime, a fresh start, vitality and hope. It is a prevalent color in nature from grass and trees to vegetation. You can look at green for a long time and not experience eye strain. Purchase sheets, a duvet cover or curtains or all three.

Partnership Perplexity
If your partner speaks their mind and you choke on your words. If you cannot cannot speak up when you have relationship troubles, purchase the Yundrung necklace from the Yun Lin Temple in Berkeley, California. The thunderbolt releases “Choked Ch’i”.

Fire Danger
Is love is simmering outside and your partner is cooking in someone else’s kitchen? A fireplace in the center can be the suspect. Add water like a mirror (above the fireplace) to put out the fire or place water in a jug close to the fireplace. Be sure to keep it fresh and do not let it evaporate.

Love Chimes
Has your partnership gotten to the place where one of you is holding back and now you are feuding? Try an act of beauty with sound. Placing a wind chime in the house can help get the reverberation of conflict and dissonance out of your systems.

For our mental health and emotional well-being we really can no longer afford to bring more stress into our lives. If this blog has triggered an avalanche of emotions, if you are curious about more acts of beauty for you home, I am available to help you with either a full consultation or 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.

Photo credit: House Beautiful

Sacred Space Is Where You Find Yourself

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“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.”
– Joseph Campbell

Beginning of June I made a reentry into the world of pigment, canvas and brush and I love it! It’s an online course from a remarkable painter. Listening to her I feel my excitement mount over the possibilities that lay before me as she extolled in her video, “The best painting, no, the most joyful painting, comes from a soul that is nurtured from the inside.” Her gentle encouragement has blown confidence into my heart and I feel a release of trepidation. In one short week I have learned, painting is not just what you put on the canvas but what you surround yourself with too. Who you are and what you love is right there in your composition of discovery, “Before you even pick up a brush, welcome what nourishes your soul into your space and you will find this nurtures your ideas and what flows from your brush onto the canvas.” Sounds a lot like Feng Shui? We are all creative, it’s what we have come here to enjoy. In a space that expresses all that you love, you foster your creative impulse. Your space is the threshold to your inner sanctum. Assigning time to cultivate what your soul desires, you champion what you came here to be.

You are the creator of your life, however life does not come without challenges. Oftentimes life changing events obscure your heart, your desires and what you love. They pull you off course and off balance: the death of a beloved; losing a pet; moving to another state; missing a promotion….These will and do come to you in life yet they need not define how you live the rest of your life.

Upon first meeting some of my clients they inform me they cannot let go of life changing events and are puzzled when they find clutter piling up when before there was none. Or they find they argue with their spouse, children, friends and coworkers for no apparent reason. Opportunities for career advancement passes them by. They may spiral into depression, lethargy and illness. If any of these resonate with you, if you are feeling disappointed, disconnected and distressed, it may be your soul’s S.O.S. to find yourself again.

I urge you to create a sacred space to renew your connection with your inner self, especially if your life is chaotic. Claim an area of your home, make it just for you. Size does not matter, it can be a room, a nook, even a chair in the corner of your bedroom. This space is for you to explore, to write, draw, paint, chant, sing or listen to Nature. It is your time to connect to the sacred and in doing so imagine a clear vision of your future. I encourage you to get started. To make it easy here are six insights for creating a sacred space.

Lighting The choice of lighting can set the tone for a room. More light is energizing, lower light is relaxing.

Mood This is your special area to invite stillness, to be silent, to be contemplative, meditate and pray. These methods engage an inner dialogue with your soul. Add pillows or a comfortable chair. Your body needs to be supported.

Decor Plants’ life force bring you into balance in an natural way. Flowers invite beauty. They add color, Ch’i and oxygen. Choose soft fabrics to hang or drape. Create an altar with candles, incense burner, essential oil diffuser and natural objects like feathers, rocks and shells. Choose what is meaningful to you. Consider placing an object that is related to your spiritual practice.

Color Purple transforms on a higher level. It relaxes the nervous system and has a calming mental effect. Pink opens the heart. Green refreshes your body and spirit. It can help you feel grounded, creative and calm. Yellow enlivens your health. 

Wall Art Display an image or images of the ocean, mountains, lakes, meadows, gardens, spiritual teachers, mentors, deities or angels and you’ll create an ambiance for harmony and reverence during this time of inner engagement.

Music Choose whatever inspires you. You want it to be soft and low, in the background so it is supportive of going inward. Select authors who arouse a sense of mystery such as Rumi, Hafiz and Emerson. Their words invite transcendence. And remember be selective with the words that live in your sacred space. You want them to summon contemplation and divine connection. 

“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” (Joseph Campbell) Each opportunity to create reciprocity with your soul bathes your mind in clarity and rallies you to live the life you were meant to live.

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

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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.

Sacred Space: Incubate Your Dreams In 2016

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“Sacred space is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”
– Joseph Campbell

Contrary to belief that winter is a season of sleep, there is evidence it is a transformative time. While plants and wildlife slumber in dormant bliss, celestial events conspire to help us prepare for the deep well of opportunities coming this year. Winter Solstice the light returns to the Northern hemisphere. The days lengthen and swell with the increasing light. January 1, our inner light is ignited with the entrance of the a new year. Midpoint between Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox, February 4, “Lichun”, the light of Spring arrives. Bursting through the frost, the hearty, winter plum blossom exemplifies forging ahead and so we tackle our plans. The timed cues between Heaven and Earth remind our spirit to renew our vow to ourself and the year ahead. 

Our spirit is the mystical, intangible part of our nature and important because it knows precisely when to act and what makes us happy. If we fail to recognize its value, joy remains beyond our grasp. This is reason alone to honor its place within us and create a space of its own. The highly respected Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, says of sacred space, “To live in a sacred space is to live in a symbolic environment where spiritual life is possible, where everything around you speaks of the exaltation of the spirit….This is the place of creative incubation…Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.”

If you’ve always written out your resolutions it might time to blend them with a spatial solution. Here are some basics to help you create a sacred space that will give you the support you need to incubate your dreams in 2016. You want it to be comfortable and away from noise. It can be a bedroom, study, workspace, a corner of a room, chair or your backyard. Keep in mind it is an intentional space that quiets your mind, frees you from stress and provides peace and healing. 

Create an altar or area where you can place special items to heightened your awareness of withdrawing from the world and honoring time alone. You may place fresh cut flowers, life force such as a plant or plants, an aquarium or a water fountain. Sights and sounds should be pleasing and meaningful. Scent is also a powerful tool to follow a path of awakening. A diffuser or dish of orange or lemon essential oil bring clarity or place a bowl of nine oranges. These add color and good fortune. Burning incense is a form of prayer. These methods engage your five senses and enhance the purification of your mind. If your space only has room for a table with a candle, add natural elements such as a shell from a favorite beach, a rock from a lakeshore or a special piece of wood that you picked up from the mountains. If there is a deity that is near to your heart, a statue or a painting is appropriate. If it is a Buddha statue like Quan Yin, Green Tara or Amitabha Buddha honor it with water offerings, food offerings, incense and candles that are placed on a tier below. Devote 5-30 minutes a day to meditate, journal, read or draw. At first you might feel resistance to getting started but if you select a time each day you can commit to, the demands of the world will vanish as you fall in love with this quiet, still time in your day. And when you leave give gratitude to your space for giving you sustenance and joy.

Have questions about your home? Want to feel more vitality and joy?. There are tried and true Feng Shui design principles that my clients share have garnered them success. I want you too to receive the same opportunity so I created Feng Shui A La Carte to get you there.

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.