How To Unearth The Gift Of Autumn

“I noticed that Autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

In May I shared with you the power of fortuitous beginnings. In the Chinese calendar Autumn launched August 7. Hot will turn to cool. Fertility transforms into ripeness. Radiant greens fall asunder to sunflower yellow, crimson red, and radiant russets. Dew moistens the parched earth. By human standards everything remains the same from work schedule, vacations, promotions, school activities–but behind the scenes, Nature is changing as the wheel of time notches to the next season.

If you are a highly sensitive person, a lover of Feng Shui or someone who has an insatiable curiosity, these ideas offer uncommon opportunities to embolden your Chi and give you strength to embrace the shift into the cooler days.

Deepen the connection between you and your home  This mystical BSTB Frng Shui secret will smooth what may be out of sorts. It adds robustness. It draws success and resources to you. Professor Lin Yun would say everything in the house and every part of the house has its own spirituality. It’s true of every piece of furniture, of every system in the house and so he shared:

• When you touch the stove you can visualize the god of the stove is suddenly aware of you and that the god of the stove raises his head to look at you. And suddenly you’ve energized the god. And then you can ask the god of the stove to bestow blessings upon you and the family; that the family will have everything they need, that their resources will be bountiful.
• When you touch the desk you can visualize the god of the desk suddenly looks up at you. And you can ask the god of the desk to bestow blessings upon your career and your labor will produce really good results.
• When you touch the god of the bed visualize the god looks up at you and listens to your requests for blessings. You may choose to have better sleep or you may need healing as you rest in bed.
• When you hold a piece of “clutter” (Autumn is a propitious time to let go), you can tell that object you are retiring it and you are sending it away cause you are running out of room. Thank it for serving you well. Place it in the proper container which will go to its future destination.

Colors of Upliftment Fall is the perfect time to add touches to your decor especially if you live in a climate with more gray days than blue skies. This adjustment also helps with overwhelm and feeling afflicted. Design or accessorize with one of the three color systems. You could use the Five Element System (black, green, red, yellow and white), the six true words color system (white, red, yellow, green, blue, black  or the rainbow color system. Use the color, green, because it is a peaceful color.

Container of Abundance Baskets in your dining room or kitchen symbolize the gathering of crops (or in urban areas the gathering of ideas).

Circle of Happiness A wreath blesses, unites, insures harmony and offers protection. A circle suggests inclusion, enclosing that which is sacred and our homes are our sacred space. An autumn wreath may contain wheat, corn, gourds, sunflowers or fall flowers that grow in your region to celebrate the season. The Native Americans saw the sunflower as a symbol of holiness and fertility. Its color symbolized vitality and energy. In the Chinese culture it represents immortality and symbolizes long life and happiness. Its yellow color signifies vitality and intelligence. They are given on occasions to bring good luck to a student upon graduation or starting a new business.

Altar of Celebration A living altar adds vibrancy to your home. Add plants and flowers of the season. Whatever reminds you of the transition between summer and autumn. According to Ayurvedic tradition, holy basil/tulsi is high in sattva. It infuses the recipient with divine energy – body, mind and soul, it anoints one with lightness, clarity and warmth. A living plant in your home will bring good luck. The berries and flowers of elderberry boost your immunity with antioxidants and vitamins. They tame inflammation, lessen stress, and protect your heart and they show you  how to care for yourself. Goldenrod encourages to bring forth your unique healing in the face of adversity. Carrying the flowers in your wallet during the day brings money.

Keys of Joy and Life with Ease Helpful People make life easier. When present good fortune, abundance, lucky breaks, compassion and kindness are bountiful. Mentors show up and bosses see the best in you. It is related to the Metal element which encompasses Autumn. The  Children Gua (of the Bagua) is related to the Metal element. To enhance this area to  harvest what you sowed in the Spring, add either a metal sculpture, or a painting your child made  or perhaps a white vase with white flowers to stimulate your creative life force. If this area is missing there is no place for joy to express itself or your children may require additional help with their studies or they may be experiencing some other difficulty. Fill this in with a convex mirror. The visualization is very specific so if you need help, please contact me. Red envelopes will be requested.

I started writing my blog in 2013. I have written about the effects of Feng Shui design and what specific design elements and details to look for in your home such as conditions that create stuck Ch’i,  obstacles or challenges. If you are experiencing setbacks or you want to grow your business or improve what is already a good relationship with your home, family, your job or partner, I would be happy to help you with your space. I am available for “Your House Is Talking”  consultation service or for an hour telephone conversation. The description is 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: PNG Tree

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.

Closing The Gap On Joy.

“If you make joy your goal, you are eternally joyful.” – Abraham 

Do you love treasure hunts? Here is a pretty special one about Joy that I am excited to share with you and I think you’ll be excited too. I was searching the internet and came across Abraham and Ester Hicks. Their work is well known but up to now it had been in the background for me. I found one of their Q&A videos. I clicked. Flashes of truth appeared on the screen. Brilliant like a diamond, the talk encapsulated this phrase, “our reason for being is joy”. This time it really came home (literally)! Now at my house, Joy and Happiness have come to play and I am having the most delicious time. Joy is open, receptive, expanding and allowing. Happiness embraces “Yes!” Like Botticelli’s Venus, her presence uplifts. But it is not her emergence from the sea of emotions but from the senses that makes her presence most felt. I recalled H.H. “Professor” Lin’s immortal teaching, “We have 100 hundred senses in our body and Feng Shui helps us to open up to them.” Another piece of the Feng Shui puzzle landed in its rightful place–live your highest potential when you create mirror-like resonance between your senses, space, Feng Shui and Joy. 

Closing the gap. Abraham shares we will always be in a place of wanting. It is our inherent nature. It creates a life of expansion. Our part is to experience joy by matching our energy vibration to the things we want to experience. How do we close the gap? First admit the wanting creates anxiety. You ruminate and worry, “I want it but will I get it? I don’t have it yet but I want it…” relax into the dance until it manifests. But if you cannot and your thoughts are in a spin, know it will create resistance and push your desire away. Quelling your anxiety to receive what you want can be supported when you create a Feng Shui umbrella over your home. Where there is a blocking wall at the front door (limitations), create space with a mirror. Where there is a stairway in the middle of the house, (fluctuating health and finances) lift the Ch’i with a wind chime. Feeling good is the path to your desires. When you take your difficult design details out of the anxiety equation, you are poised to send laser-like focus to what you truly desire and care about and this has joyful side effects.

One more word. Well being flows from Joy and visa versa. A home where the Ch’i has been adjusted expands awareness, creates calm and supports your well being. The interconnectedness of well being, Joy and Feng Shui shine through a beautiful home that delights your senses. What more could you ask for than living in an oasis for Joy to expand.

But if Joy evades you.  Though I would love for you to feel Joy, there may come a time when you don’t quite know how to resolve a problem or you are overwhelmed by a crisis. Go to the Center (of your home). The eight trigrams of the Bagua were created as a representation of the thousands of things in the universe. However they cannot manage to cover everything. So, what is not covered, is in the center. Go there to find what you cannot find anywhere else. If, for example, you are having an issue with your oldest daughter and your not quite certain whether to place an adjustment in Tui (Children) gua or Hsun (Wealth) gua which represents the oldest daughter, remember the following: If you are not sure about the appropriate gua, or if you want to be “totally covered”, adjust the center as well. If something cannot be resolved, the t’ai ch’i also faces outward to all the trigrams. In this way you may find the answer. Herein lies the poetry of Feng Shui and the effectiveness of its wisdom will get you through. 

Happy Treasure Hunting!  

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.