“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.
