Tag Archives: Fire

Take Your Dreams To Heart

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“One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.”
– Buddha

You have an amazing heart and for that I have a special blog for you this month because I know it’s been a big job to hold strong, to have faith, to practice your best self when Covid-19 has pulled the rug out from under your plans and your future feels hijacked. You’ve got this and I want you to get more. I want you to know there is a benefit to the reality that is shifting before your eyes. These are fertile times for personal illumination and destiny is calling us to live our dreams through our hearts. 

Recently I have been enjoying a beautiful meditation by Gregg Braden. It opens the heart to the extraordinary feeling of bliss because this is the space from which dreams come true. And I am supplementing this opportunity for expanded intuition and creativity with four Feng Shui adjustments that correct and enhance “Li” the gua related to the heart.

Gregg shares we have 40,000 brain-like cells,  ‘sensory neurites’, concentrated in such a way that they are called the ‘little brain in the heart’. They can learn independently from the neurons in our brain. They can think and remember independently from the neurons in the brain. They communicate separately to us from the neurons in our brain…When we marry the heart and the brain together, when we harmonize the heart and the brain together, this extended neural network makes us different from all other forms of life. This is where our deepest empathy, compassion, intuition comes from. When we harmonize the little brain heart with the big brain in the head we can process information very quickly. Really fast information recall. Here is the reason why: when we access with our heart, using our intuition we don’t go through the logic and the fear, self esteem and all the doubt that we have in our brain which defends with ego resistance nor are we slowed down by our mental functions.

Our heart doesn’t work that way. Affirmations are powerful tools to implement change in our lives at any time. They are especially potent when we are communicating with our subconscious in a language that our subconscious recognizes. When we harmonize our heart and our brain, this is the hot line to our subconscious. Our affirmations of our perfect relationships, our healing, our dreams begins in our bodies. Extraordinary states of deep intuition are available through harmonizing the heart and the brain. There are three steps to creating this harmonious awareness that come from ancient traditions. (This can be performed just as you awake or go to sleep because these are excellent times for intention setting and opening the channel to the subconscious. Enhance the meditation with background music, lighting a candle, burning incense to clear energy, diffusing sandalwood or frankincense essentials oils. – Bette Steflik)

• Simply and gently place either one finger or your hand or your palms or the prayer mudra on the sternum of your heart. Your awareness will always go to the place in your body where you feel the touch, the sensation. Allow your awareness to move there.

• Slow your breathing. Five seconds on the inhale. Five seconds on the exhale. This sends a powerful signal to your body, from your mind to your heart that says I am turning my attention inward. You are telling your body that “I am safe”. That frees your body to let go of the stress hormones and the feelings of stress. When that happens the healing chemistry begins….Now the body is awakening to its powerful immune response and anti-aging hormones. Breathing slower you are telling your body it is safe.

• Create a feeling in your heart where you feel the touch. Feel one or some combination of the following four feelings: care for anything or for anyone. Appreciation or anything or for anyone. Gratitude or anything or for anyone. And compassion for or anything or for anyone. Researchers have found these four key words will trigger the experience between our heart and our brain to create that coherence .1 Hz. To the best of your ability feel those feelings and breathe from your heart center. Do that for 60 seconds. This ritual is ancient and primal. It is the key to the deepest truth of who you are in this world. The positive vibration you created will hold for six hours after you open your eyes. 

Why do this? This is where the super learning comes from. Or when you are working to solve or create something new: a book, poetry, music. Your creativity comes from this deep space.
– Gregg Braden

In the Bagua formation, Li, the Fame gua is connected to the Fire element of the Five Elements. The heart which is known as the Emperor in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the organ that represents this phase. When standing at the front door facing into your home, the location is the central back section of your house. It rests between Hsun, the Wealth gua to the left and Kun, the Partnership gua to the right.

If this area is missing or depleted by a design feature such as a bathroom it may be difficult to excel in your career, pass examinations, receive recognition for a promotion, improve your status, and connect with networking groups that can enhance your visibility and that affects your sense of esteem and well-being. Physically you may develop eye disorders. Mentally your clarity, whether it’s your goals, being self directed or your vision of your future, may be obscured. A side note when Fame is enhanced this activates and improves your career. Want more name recognition? More heart in your relationships? More joy in your life? Here are four Fame tips to increase your influence.

Correct A bathroom in the Fame gua depletes this area (see above). Place a mirror on the outside of the door. It will reflect whatever is in front of it and the bathroom will transcendentally disappear. The nuance from Professor Lin the door may remain open and the cure still works.

Color Red is associated with Fame and Fire. Color may be used to fill in a missing area. Painting the wall red with the visualization that the color is pushing the wall out will transcendentally correct the missing area of the house. The added bonus is you’ve added your “Wall of Fame”.

Center Stage Li means “bright”. When you project yourself from a place of courtesy, professionalism and regard, you raise your esteem and others will view you as confident, considerate and connected. This place of power raises your status. Activate this area with diplomas, awards, and recognitions. The triangle shape is associated with this gua. Animals that represent Li are the tortoise, crab, pheasant (from The Form School) and shellfish. Illumination is a quality of this gua. A framed sunset or a rainbow are suitable for this gua as well.

Credit Believe in you, find your mantra and light your fire with an empowerment. Place an affirmation in this area, such as “I am so grateful and happy that I am now…(fill in the blank) or I am endlessly abundant with talent, skill, intelligence and joy that I utilize everyday. 

If you are looking to build a new home, remodel, plan a wedding, purchase a home or sell one, when you begin has tremendous influence on the outcome of your event. Beginning on the right foot with an auspicious date and time will bring success to your endeavor. Contact me, bette@shenmenfengshui.com for details of how I can assist you with getting started.

Allow me to help you arrange your home where you feel fully supported. I am available for a full consultation service or for an hour telephone conversation. Details are at this link Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

How To Build A Fire Under Your Reputation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have you decided this will be your year? “Boldness has genius”… start with one hour of Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

Spring Power. It’s Easy Being Green.

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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.