Tag Archives: Nature

Celebrate Home. Earth Day 2019.

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photo credit: Shutterstock

“If we did not take care of Mother Earth where would we live?”
– Louise Hay, Hay House Publishing

Are you as astonished as I am by the beauty on this planet? I am ever grateful to Gaylord Nelson, senator from Wisconsin for proposing April 22, 1970, the United States’ first Earth Day. And I am excited that we have this annual opportunity to honor where we live. Earth Day’s influence has been immeasurable. It spawned laws that protect the environment: The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. Our quality of living would be greatly diminished if not for these measures.

If you’ve ticked Earth Day 2019 on your calendar and you want to make a difference, here are a few suggestions:
Pick up litter
Start a compost bin, at home or at school
Recycle or set up a recycling station
Turn off water when you brush your teeth
Switch to online bill payments rather than paper bills
Use public transportation
Turn down your water heater
Install energy efficient lights
Plant a tree
Eliminate single use plastic – plastic bottles, plastic forks and knives, etc.
Start a garden, indoors or outside
Make art from trash or otherwise re-purpose waste
More ideas at my 2016 blog Make Earth Day Everyday!

These simple Earth Day 2019 actions have a big impact on lifting the burden off of Mother Earth. But if your heart is not feeling the call to action, if you are seeking “the why” and haven’t found an incentive that touches your senses, I believe Rabbi Leah Novick’s explanation of Nature’s capacity to inspire humans may shed light. “They say the rocks dance strong, the plants sprout, the animals bring a powerful energy, and human beings bring speech and culture to the world. But we’re all unified in that the Shekhinah, the divine presence moves through all of us. From the Kabbalistic, the mystical perspective, it’s like this is where God comes through at the human and the earth level; that there are all different layers or levels in the Tree of Life in which the God energy is expressed, but the Shekhinah energy is the accessible divinity, the divinity that we can apprehend through the senses.

…when there is pollution and violence on the planet the Shekhinah takes the option sometimes to ascend into the Seven Heavens….so when we do good works, when we pray, when we meditate, when we sing, when we host people, when we give charity, what we do is pull her back down….(we feel purified and at ease – Bette Steflik) what we do makes a big difference in the world.”

I hope you enjoy Earth Day 2019 however you choose to celebrate, contemplate or honor your relationship to our dear beautiful, planet, Earth.

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.

Declutter Your Inner World

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“When many voices are speaking at once, listen to the one most quiet and gentle. That’s the one worth listening to.”
–Miranda Linda Weisz

Crisis, illness, challenges sometimes life comes at us fast. When we are blindsided by a work situation, a family argument that becomes a feud, an accident that sends us to the hospital, it can feel like the ground beneath our feet is giving way. We become anxious and unsure what to do. Stress builds and we may feel the only solution is to try to out run the disaster. But we do have options. One of those is to slow down, return to the present moment and breathe, for in this place we are empowered and can listen.

Chaos initiates change (if we allow it) and change awakens life affirming gifts within us: trusting in the unfolding of life. Breaking the habit of worry. Connecting to our core to hear our inner voice, that quiet, wise one, whose perfect wisdom protects us against the storms that thunder through.

Want to know what simple steps will connect you to your inner voice? I have composed a list of wellness methods from prominent practitioners in the fields of metaphysics, health and nutrition. These easy exercises will give you a jump start on de-cluttering your inner world because your quiet, gentle voice is the key to your happiness and success.

Ground
Remember what it feels like after a summer rain? You can get that feeling by walking barefoot on the ground. Nutritionist, David Wolfe purports that when we take off our shoes and plant our feet on the earth, within five minutes the atmospheric static electricity that has collected in our body discharges. Performing this easy method counteracts the positive charged electricity that breaks down our immune system. When we touch the earth we absorb its negative ions and they charge up our immune system. Studies report that there are measurable health benefits with grounding. Gaining a few ions does wonders for your frame of mind.

Reflect
Doreen Virtue extols spend time in Nature reminds us of the infinite abundance that we see all around when we walk along a path or in the woods. As we get in touch with Nature we get in touch with our own nature and our creative ideas come forth. Disconnecting can be a responsible investment where you access a new idea, a new way of doing things…maybe a time saving way of doing things, your new book emerges or you may invent something that helps the world.

Stabilize
Smoothing your nerves soothes your mind. The sound of a bell or the radiance of a light inside the front door gathers in pause, refreshment and mindfulness to the beginning and ending of each day. The cure is such: when you open the front door create an automatic response. Either wire the light (make it bright) so it goes on when the door is open or a clear sound is heard like that of a bell or chime. Set your intention so your nervous system is smoothed out and see yourself responding completely and with clarity to your environment.

Breathe
When we breathe, we inspire and fill our lungs and body with pure Ch’i. Oxygenating our brain stimulates, motivates, encourages, influences, energizes and arouses us. Measured breathing, breathing in deeply and exhaling at the same rate, slows our thought processes down to a still point where we begin to access our inner voice.

Listen
Meditation according to Abraham Hicks allows you to expand to the fullness of who you are and resonate with the Source that is within you. Taking five minutes for a Yin meditative practice clears the blockages of frustration, worry and doubt. The Supreme Yoga Section One meditation quickens your good judgement; improves sleep and health; and helps you recapture your natural power and balance. A nuance to all BTB Feng Shui meditations from H. H. Lin Yun is before any nourishing method we begin with:
Rubbing your Palms
Rub your palms back and forth nine times so that they become quite warm and they if they don’t become warm after nine times. Back and forth is one time. If they are not warm after nine time then you might do 18 or 27 times. You want your palms to be really warm.

If you would like a copy of Supreme Yoga Section One Meditation please email me, bette@shenmenfengshui.com. The red envelope tradition applies.

I would love to hear how you stepped back into being and what you did to get there.

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 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 Miracles

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“Always throw split salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck and fall in love whenever you can.”
– Unknown

Eighteen years ago Feng Shui opened my eyes to a world of energy that lies below our awareness yet has the power to impact our environment, our relationships, our attitude and our future. It also produces miracles when nurtured. How do I know? Barbara’s story tells it best.

Barbara had fallen in love with a craftsman style home here in Portland and wanted to get started right away on aligning the energy with her lifestyle. Before the sale was finalized she requested a Feng Shui consultation. I gave her ideas about her home’s design but before I left we stepped into the backyard. I saw the entangled Ch’i from the previous owner’s neglect: the dark, overgrown vegetation; broken, rotting fence and the presence of hungry ghosts.

Aware of how it looked she wasn’t aware of what it meant and when I shared this, her eyes got very big. Instead of reacting Barbara dug in (literally for ten months) to do what she needed to create the paradise she envisioned. Once she moved she asked me to return to perform space blessings. I brought my ceremonial bowl, rituals, mantras, prayers and she supplied the high proof liquor, the rice, the special powders and the intention to bless her property. Together we made what we call in BTB Feng Shui “sacred food” to feed the “hungry ghosts” because Barbara was determined to start on the right foot.

We walked the property, chanted blessings and offered sacred food all the while asking the spirits to be well fed and leave, or stay and be helpful friends. Pretty uneventful until we stepped into the backyard where I tripped on “air”, the bowl flipped out of my hands and the rice went flying. A trickster hungry ghost had no intention of leaving. Fortunately we retrieved most of the rice, I got my composure back and we persevered. It nearly happened a second time. This was definitely a tenacious spirit. After we completed the ceremonies, I suggested that Barbara perform this same one over the next two days to strengthen the work we had done.

Before I continue I believe it’s important to share a synchronous moment prior to my arrival. As I was driving to Barbara’s home a crow flew alongside my car at my head height for a good distance. After I left the consultation, I consulted the I-Ching and shared with Barbara what I had received: Hexagram 27, what Willhelm Baynes calls“The Corners of the Mouth” (Toltec I-Ching calls it “Trusting Intuition”)
The Judgement explained:
The corners of the mouth.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
Pay heed to the providing of nourishment.
And to what a man seeks
To fill his own mouth with. 

Crows are shape shifters, their presence helped us shape shift the land. Barbara replied. “There was a really big energy shift right after I finished the last ceremony yesterday and in the morning crows were in in my front yard eating the rice! I got the sense they were taking it to another dimension, helping to shift and transform the energies.”

Over the months Barbara and her husband nourished the land with blessing ceremonies, cleared gnarly areas, removed invasive species, installed a new fence, met with the neighbors and planted their dream garden. Throughout they resolved to keep their hearts in the right place, be good stewards and be a positive influence for the neighborhood. 

And it worked!
Ten months later here are a few of what Barbara calls her “miracles”and what Feng Shui  would call “good fortune”. “We felt a huge shift once we put the plants in the area where the blueberries are. We met the owner of the apartments and it turns out we have a lot in common and he’s very much on board for cleaning up. During the time we were out of town, he removed the trees along the fence line and cleared out the brambly mess. He thought he might put up a storage shed but also mentioned selling the property. He told us it was his health that has kept him working on it. Another miracle: is before we moved here I wished that a yoga studio would be walking distance from my house. A new yoga studio opened nearby! And so far, I’ve liked every teacher. And it’s a few minutes walk from my house!”

I never underestimate the power of Nature to communicate and that all we need to do is open our hearts to Ch’i and listen with my eyes to discover miracles.

Happy Summer Solstice! May summer hold miracles for you.

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.