Color Your Life With Hope

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.”
– Albert Camus

Going for walks in the northern hemisphere, these late September days, I marvel at the trees shimmering with hues of vermillion, titian orange and marigold that light up the landscape. If you are like me you are enjoying the autumn rhythm of shorter days. And yet I have heard from some of you saying you feel isolated by COVID-19 sheltering in place and/or fearful about the unstable political climate.

Let me share a few things that could help. Worry and unease contract our Ch’i. “When our Ch’i is weak, we are more open to absorbing negative external factors–bad luck, bad Feng Shu, and bad Ch’i –that may come our way.”(H.H.“Professor” Lin Yun). So despite external conditions we can brighten our outlooks by creating our own invincible season. Color is one of many Feng Shui principles that strengthens our Ch’i. Making color adjustments in our homes, wardrobes and offices revitalize our mental, emotional and physical energies. I see this often after a client adds color to their home or wardrobe. They express confidence, they feel they are in a better place and hopeful about the future. 

Fall for the color that makes you happy.
For your office
Red color has a stabilizing effect on the eyes (which are connected to the heart). Place a red object in the area directly across from your entry. This focal point allows the mind to get clear before you move on to your office tasks. A side note: red, symbolic of happiness, is a colorful antidote to anxiety.

Purple color has a calming, peaceful influence. It enhances visualization. If you meditate it will enhance your meditation practice and that improves your decision-making at work. Make a red and purple pillow and sit on the purple side to minimize anxiety. Or if you need to change your luck to good, sit on the red side, it raises your Ch’i.

Green color is associated with vitality. If your desk is too close to the entrance to your office or cubicle or your desk is in line of the home office door this diminishes your energy. Place a lush, leafy green plant on your desk. Its life force dispels negative Ch’i that may enter.

For your wardrobe
Red amplifies your reputation. Wearing red with the proper intention will increase your visibility both in a mundane sense and the transcendental scope. It will build your career and increase your options for success.

Green is associated with springtime, a fresh start and hope. You can look at green for a long time and not experience eye strain. Wearing apple green or blue can help minimize anxiety. Excellent for children in the first year of school or a child who daydreams.

Black, Green, Red, Yellow and White, the Five Element colors, help you interact with a person who isn’t listening, who thinks only of themselves, who argues with you and has “Yes, but Ch’i”. These colors do not change their behavior but help you respond to them with equanimity because they strengthen your Ch’i.

White color if you stress eat. Professor Lin said that when we wear white we are afraid we will spill food on our clothes so we slow down, are more careful and our stomachs will fill up faster.

For your home
Red paint for the front door for in Feng Shui symbolism, red means happiness, etiquette, power and strength. Though it protects against negative energy the main reason to paint your door red is it will continue to gather auspicious energy over time.

Green (any shade) in the kitchen can turn your finances to flowing again. Keep in mind the stove is symbolic of your finances. A vent or microwave over your stove oppresses it. Applying green above your stove will lift the energy, creating more opportunities for money to come to you: 1) easily 2) without pressure 3) and relieves worry.

Apple Green helps to deal with depression. If a friend or family member is feeling despair paint their bedroom an apple green to give them hope that a new beginning is around the corner.

Yellow, orange or brown in the center of your home helps you collect your Ch’i.  Often your Ch’i is depleted from work, raising children and overextending yourself. The center represents Health. Placing an adjustment here will help you respond to emergencies with surety and know that you can trust your decisions.

Rainbow colors in the bedroom (from my chapter in Recipes For Living Coloring Journal), “Stress creates a host of emotional burdens on your heart. If you add a complete color system to your room, for example, the rainbow colors, (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet) you carry the frequencies of these seven colors. This spectrum creates homeostasis in your body. It mirrors the chakra system, the life force centers, that are the gateway between your endocrine system and cosmic forces. I love this strategy for peace. I find that displaying a scarf or a quilt invites a sense of serenity and a feeling of calm washes over me when I enter my bedroom…” Good choice for  a man searching for a partner,couples who are having disagreements or a child who may need help with their studies.

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.

A Guide To Anchor Abundance In Your Home

“Abundance can be had simply by consciously receiving what already has been given.”
–Sufi saying

According to Chinese philosophy, Heaven Luck, Earth Luck and Human Luck are the cosmic trinity that shape the course of our lives. July 12th big Heaven luck becomes available to all of us and into the coming weeks. “The solar eclipse will be in the area of the sky called Punavarsu in Vedic Astrology, which means “return to the light”. Endless improvement and new possibility abound within the star. This is a star that promises renewal and new growth, even against impossible odds. Punarvasu holds the shakti of wealth and substance and is symbolized by a quiver of arrows.

This eclipse has to the potential to accelerate motion…if there are places in your heart….money, time and emotional labor weighing you down; this solar eclipse can shoot the arrow of positive transformation into motion.”
Kari Field   

It’s the perfect time to make use of your unlimited ability to create the good in your life and your home is a powerful vision board to support that good. Beginnings have magic. Start on this solar eclipse, infuse your home with new energy and you will magnify the momentum that the stars have initiated. Reinventing your home enables you step into more of who you are. So in the spirit of supporting positive change and abundance, I have created this quick guide to open heaven’s gate to help you receive the good you desire.

Front Door/Chi Kou. Your front door invites into your home the ch’i of health, wealth, heaven, helpful people and opportunities. Its position favors your career, your future, your reputation, your head and your health. Take an assessment. Is it bright when you enter? Is there a pleasant fragrance or sound? Do you feel welcomed? If not then you are not expanding your abundance. Elevate your energy with the vital, life force of one, three or nine vital plants depending on the size of your entrance. If your entryway is dark and small, hanging a large mirror will expand the space. Put the spotlight on you when you install a light to come on or a chime to sound as the door is opened. Create a focal point! Place something opulent here, hang a crystal chandelier, an antique vase with peonies, a glass bowl of oranges (in the Chinese language oranges sound like gold). Red is a joyful color and auspicious. Add a red framed picture of person, place, animal (yes, red flamingo) or calligraphy that puts a smile on your face.

Helpful People Gua/Chien. Helpful People are those who make life easier. This is the realm of Heaven in the I-Ching. The Helpful People position in the house is in the front right corner. When you place an adjustment here, it stimulates movement in its opposite gua, Wealth. Images associated with this area are fruit trees, a prominent sky, the famous, a dignified ruler, dragons, lions, elephants, geese, horses and deer. Deer are deeply connected to prosperity and often replaced the God of Prosperity in ancient Chinese paintings and images because the words for deer and prosperity sound identical. An image of one hundred deer represent ‘prosperity one hundred times over.’ A simpler option is to display a painting or sculpture of a deer in your home or office and visualize the qualities of status, honor and advancement. These qualities are on the same vibration as abundance.

Wealth Gua/Hsun. The Wealth corner in your home is in the far left back corner of the house. Movement represents this gua. Water gliding along miniature rocks in a celadon green fountain, grasses blowing in the wind within gold frame, eight red fish surrounding one black fish painted on a scroll or a mirror that reflects the limitless sky. A classic Feng Shui wealth adjustment is imagine the wide array of possibilities such as an inheritance, winning the lottery, a monetary gift from a friend when you hang a convex mirror in this area of your home.

Center/Tai Chi. Your health is your wealth. The Center of your home represents health. If there is a lot going on here, it will “grab you in the gut”. If this is Grand Central Station you may experience digestive issues. A bathroom can deplete all areas of your life. Stairs manifest fluctuation in your finances. But if no specific design detail as mentioned is in this area that depletes this area, come to the center to set your life straight. Color lifts moods and feelings. One of the colors that represent the Center is yellow (gold too). It stands for power which is why the emperor of ancient China donned gold robes. Yellow gives a sense of tolerance, patience and wisdom gained from past experiences. Enhancing your personal power with yellow or gold, lifts your personal abundance and enables you to deal with any life situation with grace, flexibility and ease. Gold sconces, a golden statue, a golden light fixture, a yellow or golden circular rug, any one of these will focus your energy. Remember to add your intention.

Family Gua/Jen. Family harmony is foremost in the attainment of the Five Fold Happiness–an important concept to achieve: long life, wealth, peace, virtue and honor. When you honor the beginning of a season (such as the solar eclipse), career or project, you draw more luck to it. Placing an adjustment to honor family sets the tone to create good luck. The Family gua is the middle left side of the house. The Chinese Dragon is looked upon as the ultimate symbol of good fortune. It represents fertility, immortality, happiness, power and wealth. Fire up the untapped dragon within you by placing an image of a green Dragon in this area of your home. Green symbolizes hope, freshness and spring growth and the implementation of this enhancement raises the good healthy earth ch’i in your home.

Today, July 12, is an auspicious day. The energy generated from performing one cure will create a quickening, I hope you take the opportunity to start the magic of abundance.

photo credit: Jonathan Adler design. Simon Doonan photos

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.

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.