Tag Archives: transformation

De-stress The Holidays With Full Moon Rituals

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“The moon does not worry….It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.”
– Taoist Master, Deng Ming-Dao

Not only is the year ending in a few weeks, but this month closes the decade. Questions are likely distracting you. Will I get it all done? Can I afford the expense of the holidays? Will my family make demands? Will my in-laws get along? There is a light on December 12, a full moon light that has the potential to shift you out of any anxiety and transform that anxious state into bliss; to bring heaven to earth allowing you to enjoy the season with family and friends.

The numerology of the December 12 Full Moon (1212) signifies something has changed for the better and you have gone through some type of portal or gateway. It means “Have faith in your dreams. You are on the right track.” If you read my blogs you are familiar with my message: Feng Shui is a portal through which you can advance your development by consciously designing your space. To access the auspicious full moon energy, I have included four methods to add to your Feng Shui toolkit. These rituals will help you enhance your savvy, establish a mindfulness routine and unleash the power within you because in your being you’ve got this.

Cool down
Full moon light clears your thinking. We are all innately wise but how do we access it at will? The wise men of times past would consult the Heavenly bodies to heal their hearts and minds. If they needed a remedy, a healing, a purification, they consulted the moon or the sun. The December 12 full moon light can bathe you with its restorative power. If you feel fuzzy, distracted, angry or overwhelmed, walk out into a clear space like a park or a field, free from electrical wires. Stand facing the moon. Open your arms to receive. Feel the cool, yin energy. See your body, your mind, your spirit relax and the moon’s essence washing over you. Neither Motrin nor Benadryl have the power like you to put the pieces back together when life is out of balance.

De-clutter
Full moon energy increases your attention to detail. Marie Kondo’s simple and gentle advice for releasing the physical things that no longer serve you is a wonderful full moon ritual. Begin days before the full moon. Take fifteen minutes. Hold the object in question. Ask yourself does it bring me joy? Do I feel love? If not, thank it with sincerity for the time it served you and find it a new home.

Release
Full moons highlight endings. This is an opportune time to purge emotions, trauma, grief (if you are ready), suffering and what has been blocking you. Purchase a new white candle(s), find an area where you will not be disturbed. Best times are 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. If this is not doable, December 12 is an auspicious date so you can perform this ritual at any time that is suits your schedule but ideally you want to see the moon when you look out the window. Orange or lemon essential oil is perfect for purifying your space. Pour a few drops onto the burning candle or use a diffuser. Or cut circles out of the zest of an orange or lemon and sprinkle around your room. Visualize the light of the full moon encircling you. Write down what you want to release on several slips of paper or just one page. Say out loud what you want to let go. Throw the paper into a small fire-proof cauldron or cooking pot or let the candle burn them. Feel the burden lift off of you. Feel your breath deepen in your tan’tien (belly). Feel the transformation in your heart. You have exited one portal and entered a new phase of your life.

Amplify
Full moon power can increase your intuition. Performing rituals illuminate your senses, not just your mind. They have the capacity to activate a full body awareness. This advanced awareness accesses your subconscious which can annex universal information/super knowledge, the source of all creativity (Edison accessed infinite intelligence to create his inventions. Mozart wrote his music note perfect the first time. He said when he sat down to write the entire opus, it would come into his mind and he would simply transcribe it onto paper). If you need an answer to a difficult problem, give it to your subconscious at bedtime and it will download a creative solution. But you are not limited to sleep to source your creativity, you can do this at any time of the day. Maintaining a daily meditation practice is key. It helps you focus on your goals and inspiration will come to you more easily. If you do not have a mediation practice contact me and I would be happy to discuss what BSTB meditations might work for you.

Full moons expand human consciousness. We are in need of big compassion this time of year. His Holiness, Grandmaster Lin Yun gave us a secret to a successful life: perform a good deed every day. By helping another person, you shift, not only their reality, but yours as well. A kind deed will improve your luck, circumstances and income. Kindness is the antidote to the economic down turn. For emphasis do nine good deeds a day and if you need to really shift energy, twenty seven good deeds in one day. But remember that your sincerity is the most important part.

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.

photo credit: Old World Witchcraft

3 Ways To Transform Stress In Your Home

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“As we head into the dark time of year, let’s take a moment to check in with our practice of compassion, for ourselves and others. Let’s notice our reactions as we encounter pain and suffering, our own and that of others. Notice when we open our hearts and make friends with the discomfort and when we go into fear, anger, resistance or stuckness. Our heads might not know where we are at, but our bodies can give us loads of information.”
–Sacred Circle Dance

We are experiencing an unprecedented exposure to media, download of EMFs and anxiety over global events. These kinds of stress undermine our sense of safety and control in the world. If you are having difficulty sleeping; concerned for your family’s safety; wondering how to minimize conflict at home, on the road and in the workplace, there is a way to help your life go right. Not only compassion transforms stress, creating your home as your center of strength can help you act with confidence in an uncertain world. If you are ready to make-over your home, here are three key areas that will help you revolutionize your inner state and create a sense of safety.

Begin with those who make life easier.
Look to the front right corner as you face into the house, this is Chien, Helpful People help us accomplish what we set out to do. In the I-Ching this area is represented by Heaven. Heaven Ch’i is effortless in its ability to manifest.

  • Activating this niche with a Feng Shui adjustment draws Heaven onto Earth. Placing a sacred object here invites the people and sets up the events that come to your aide. An image or statue of dragon (no red dragons for that is a cooked dragon), horses, a goose, lion or elephant represent this area. You could hang an image of a special place that you have traveled to or long to visit. Or mount a wall clock for this gua is associated with time. How we manage our time is a mark of success. Make your visualization precise.

Hold your family together.
Locate the center of your home. A strong center can contain you and your loved in the thick of the intricacies of everyday life. If the center of your home is weak, your life can spin out of control. Check for the following details.

  • A stairway in the center creates instability which can lead to worry and restlessness. Loss of Ch’i can destroy your sense of peace and leak energy from the entire house and your energy too. Hang a wind-chime or a mirror at the top of the stairway. Or paint the railing green.
  • A bathroom in the center will deplete all the life situations that the Bagua contains. Your life’s resources will either vanish slowly or be depleted in an immediate surge down the drain.
    Place a mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. This “transcendentally” removes the bathroom by reflecting what is in front of the mirror, hence the bathroom “disappears”.
  • Other details that should be avoided in the middle of the house: boiler; motor; electrical service box – your main disconnect; oven; fireplace; generator. If something electrical or hot exists in the middle of the house, you can paint it green or decorate it with a green plant or place a green plant on top of it.

Avoid dissonance and exhaustion.
Walk to your bedroom. Check to see if your bed is placed on the edge of a “cleaver” shaped room.

  • If the master bed is on the edge of the cleaver, words may be cutting and sharp. This creates dissonance among family members that can spread beyond the walls of your home and impinge upon your life in exhausting ways. If you have a cleaver shaped bedroom, place a mirror on the wall opposite the bed to pull the bed off the knife edge. 
  • Subscribe to my blogspot for more bedroom help. Receive 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind.

If you want more information about design that contributes to stress, lack of safety, ill health and conflict, check out Floor Plans Matter. I describe one design feature in each of nine floor plans. My hope is that you start to think of your home as your source to regenerate your energy where you can face the world with good humor, trust and feel empowered to make a change for your own good.

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

Photo credit: LoveFairyGarden, Etsy.com

Mud not clean, but it is what you need to grow.

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Mud is unavoidable. Plop. plop. Giant drops. Spring started in biblical fashion, wet, soggy, take a soaking weather. Heaven had conspired to macerate every penetrable fingerbreadth of earth. To stay inside was the safe alternative rather than experience getting stuck. Thich Nhat Hanh’s soothing voice softened the backdrop of thunderous rain. His talk: the nature of mud. Coincidence? Maybe not. When it stopped, the rains wet force brought floods of mud. It was everywhere. If you could sell mud, it would make you a fortune. Playing in mud were happy days for me as a child. I couldn’t wait to twirl the mud swimming tadpoles and make mud pies. When did it happened that I sidestepped mud? When did we disconnect from the life giving medicine of mud?

Some of my client’s stories are a stark reminder how powerful our present circumstances and past memories can keep us caught in a storm. One dear friend felt his home was sucking him under. He felt it would kill his spirit if he didn’t leave. What appeared like a drastic measure was a summoning of courage to save his own skin. He began a pilgrimage, visiting havens to collect the fragments of his past. One experience he described was so compelling I felt equally compelled to share he need not feel inundated by the ooze of his memories. I sent him a compassionate teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh. It was meant to reassure him that vicissitudes bear gifts, “Mud…not clean, doesn’t always smell good but it is what the lotus needs to grow. It cannot grow from anything but mud.” “Remember friend, your mud makes you a lotus.”

Mud, glorious mud. Mud represents a meaningful part of the lotus flower’s development. In Buddhist teachings, we humans are born into suffering, it is a vital part of our experience. The sacred lotus grows in the deep mud, far away from the sun. Yet eventually it reaches the light becoming the most beautiful flower imaginable. If you’ve struggled to accept your fears. If you’ve felt your burdens have undermined your redemption. If despair reminds you of what you feel you have failed in, it may be difficult to see that these muddy waters make you the exquisite human being that you are. And you are!

Rain renews the earth, it is a blessing. And renewal is a universal theme this time of year. It is inherent in all manner of life’s DNA. The mud the lotus grows in is the “rising and blooming above the murk to achieve enlightenment.” Rebirth and renewal need not only be a physical transformation but also a change of heart about your ideas about life. It can be the renaissance that changes the course of painful memories by forgiving and saying prayers of gratitude when you receive a second chance.

When you feel the pain of your past, hold yourself gently as you would a crying baby. Thich Nhat Hanh shares: breathe in, come home to your body and say softly, “I recognize in you there is pain.” When you breathe out say to your mind, “I will take good care of you.” Mindful breathing brings concentration, insight and liberation. When you feel anger rising, you are not in your body. ”Breathe in, you are home. Breathe out, you realize the miracle of life.”

When you breathe mindfully you grasp the root of your passion. This simple mindfulness practice brings peace and the gift gives rise to find wise, funny and creative ways to reinvent your glorious mud.

There are many metaphors in Feng Shui for creating awareness. Rather than “the aspirin of Feng Shui” as a mirror has been described, it is like your higher consciousness, your Buddha nature. It does not judge, it only fills what is before it. It reflects, it expands, it can bend or turn an image. Like mindful breathing, enhance your confidence and your command of the present moment when you place a mirror before you at your bed, desk or stove and may your blessings multiply in this month of the Dragon.

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.