Tag Archives: incense

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.

August 21 New Moon. Ghost Month Customs To Make Any Hungry Spirit Happy.

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photo credit: David W. Ray

“…what we take from the spirit world is only a reflection of what lies inside ourselves.”
– Charles de Lint

If  you thought the Great American Eclipse was an experience, gird your loins, it’s Ghost Month where restless spirits soar from Hell’s gates. Often compared to Halloween, The Hungry Ghost month is a time when family honors their ancestors. They bid their spirits welcome with colorful shrines decorated with brightly lit candles, chrysanthemums, red paper lanterns and burning incense (symbolizing prosperity). Elaborate meals are prepared, a special chair is given to the wandering ghost to rest from its weary travels and hell bank notes (burned josh paper) will be in the spirit realm. The Chinese believe these alms enable the spirits to live at peace when they return. These customs are performed with sincerity but the underlying motive is self preservation. Families believe that if they feed the ghosts, they won’t curse them and good fortune will come their way. These traditions also raise a mindfulness about looking after those who are marginalized. It is an opportunity to teach children about easing the suffering of others as it is believed some ghosts who come back have no family to visit their grave and others have died due to unfortunate events.

On the 15th night of the lunar month, Taoists and Buddhists hold, Yu Lan, the Hungry Ghost Festival. It The full moon and the fall harvest are celebrated too. The evening is filled with rituals–a parade with floats of lotus-shaped lanterns riding on top. The procession makes its way to a river, pond or lake. It is said that the lanterns give direction to lost souls plus it helps the ghosts and deities find the food offerings left for them. To ensure your good luck for the reminder of the year, check out the do’s and don’ts  in “Ghost Month and Monkeys” for more Hungry Ghost customs.

Chinese fall: we enter the Metal season. Drawing in, recalling the stories of the year and stocking up on supplies for the upcoming winter. Discover what the month holds for your Zodiac animal. Rat: it’s a Three Harmony month for Rat. Bad luck that has followed you is now cleared away. You are feeling your best. Wealth and happiness are coming. Go with the flow and all will go your way.  Ox: expect adversities along with auspiciousness. Be cautious this month with friends and being a guarantor. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to investing. Once you’ve made your profit withdraw otherwise you may suffer a big loss. Tiger: you are in a Direct Conflict this month. Watch out for scoundrels behind your back and be mindful of driving as a traffic accident it likely. Disaster could befall you in blood shed or money loss. Use extreme caution or your efforts could go down the tube. Rabbit: there will be misfortune along with good fortune. Overall life is unclear. Be careful who you spend time with and avoid vain and materialistic pursuits. Be practical over trying to grasp for instant success. To be safe and healthy is a blessing indeed! Dragon: it’s a Three Harmony month. You will be blessed with a promotion and good fortune opportunities. Though you will experience financial good luck, exert good judgement when investing. Be mindful of your health. Perform good deeds. Snake: this is a Six Harmony month. Be mindful when traveling. Do all your mundane and transcendental cures. Think twice before you sign the dotted line. Promotion and academic advancement are slated for employees and children. Horse: your luck is good but be cautious and mindful when traveling. Avoid dark paths and dangerous places. Evade risky activities and water. (Ghost Month and Monkeys). Ram: someone in the family may be sick. Seek immediate medical attention. Coworkers may be in conflict and family causing disputes. Recite the Calming Heart Mantra frequently. Monkey: not a very lucky month. Legal disputes, financial loss and unexpected disasters may come calling. Watch out for misfortune, scoundrels and health issues. Keep your children away from water as well as dangerous activities. Rooster: your luck will be fairly smooth. With the Ghost Month secure your home against burglary. Be mindful of your family and keep them away from water and dangerous activities. Dog: keep a low profile this month. If you are already suffering from illness or bad luck, unexpected disasters might befall you too. Stay away from water and dangerous activities. Pig: the month is Mutually Offensive, and Confrontational plus it is a Ghost Month – double trouble! Safety should be first on  your list – home, travel and physical. It could be very stressful this month. Watch out for family members’ physical and mental health. If you request a cure from this forecast, I will ask you to honor the red envelope tradition. Have a great month, Zodiac friends! 

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

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.