The Art of Dining Is The Art Of Living.
America has welcomed a smorgasbord of cultures to her shores for over three hundred years. She embraces diversity. At every table you can sample generations of blended families’ aromatic cuisines nestled next to roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie. But in 2013 even scrumptious sides and exotic preparations cannot mask that the praise and grace part of Thanksgiving dinner has been over shadowed by college football and Black Friday sales. To make everyone happy, we rush to get the food on the table and then we race to get it cleaned up and off to the next thing. And in all the dashing about, either we lose the spirit or feel too tired to revel in gratitude, delight in our family and savor the abundance. If this year meaningful connection is what you seek, invite into your home a three thousand year old “art of living” tradition. These six, auspicious Feng Shui trimmings may save you and Thanksgiving dinner.
Trim the turkey. Relish the magic. Create a new view of life. Start a novel conversation. In China, the symbolic meaning of peach is the wish for longevity. Peach is regarded as a magical fruit and offered as a birthday present. Moreover, Chinese ancient people believed that peach had the function of bringing auspiciousness and warding off evil, so peach has deep roots in the folk custom and aesthetics. The one who eats a magic peach will live six-hundred years more. Cling peach anyone?
Trim the table. Replace blues with beauty. Develop a nose for calm. Anxiety can keep everyone upset. 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 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.
Trim yourself. Feel empower(red). 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.
Trim the door. Invite good luck. Picture happiness. 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.
Trim the house. Make harmony endure. Let the sun shine in. A week before Thanksgiving (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 Earth. Show loving kindness. Soften the stress of the holidays. 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.
One thing 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.
