Live by design (not by default)
Is everything in your life working perfectly? By the end of this post, you will know exactly where to start and the steps to take to make it so! I like to demystify the ancient science of Feng Shui and bring it home. Here are the steps I recommend that all my clients begin with:
1. Clear the clutter. Clutter takes your energy down. You will notice the benefits of energy moving more freely when you remove that negative energy. The best way to do it is to just do it. You can check out my Clear Your Clutter Challenge which helps you begin gently, builds confidence and skills that will last your whole lifetime. Removing everything that you don’t love or use will have your home, office and your family glowing with bright free energy.
2. Get fresh: Fresh air and lots of light are what bring good energy into your home and life. Open the windows and push back the shades. Plants and flowing water act as air purifiers, bring active chi and also enliven your spaces to provide you with good quality air. You can also try ionic air purifiers and UV wands to freshen the energy in your home. (Check out the Window that unfolds to become a Balcony–Fresh Air!)
3. Do a space clearing: without this piece, it’s like living in dirty laundry. Space clearing removes negative energy and introduces higher order energy into your spaces. Especially when you move into a new home or office, but this should be done every day to start fresh and clear out the old. (How to Do a Space Clearing)
4. Develop your awareness:
a. Begin to notice the energy flow around your home: pay particular attention to the 4 most influential areas of you live in: your bedroom, your bathroom, your kitchen and your office.
b. Start to trust all your senses: Your good Feng Shui will come from your own ability to read the world around you, truthfully interpret it and have the courage to act on it. Building awareness comes from learning to read the input from our senses: the window onto the world. If your eyes are the window to your soul, your senses are the window to the world. Learn to read the information and to trust yourself is critical to success in life and in your own good Feng Shui.
i. Sight: Notice where you eye goes: where you eye goes, energy goes. Follow your eye and notice where it goes. Then really look at what is there. Here is how I let my eyes talk to me. What your eye sees, creates your reality. This step is very important, Feng Shui Masters thousands of years ago watched what was happening, corroborated with other and then developed the science we are still using today.
ii. Smell: Smells are a very important bit of information about the quality of life in your home, quickly eliminate foul smells and the underlying cause. Then, learn how to use aromatherapy to bring more and fresh life force balance into your home and life. For instance, lavender is antiseptic and calming at the same time, vanilla is warm, sensual, relaxing and sexy, citrus is clearing, grapefruit will help you lose weight and so on… Natural cleaning products are important to the life in your home because they clean without toxicity to life, they eliminate dirt, bacteria without harming the life around it.
iii. Intuition: I have found that Life speaks to me through thought, feeling and coincidence. The messages are subtle at first. Howard Gardener talks about the Genius Dip, we all had it at birth, it’s socialized out of us, that’s the reason it’s get back in touch with your intuition and begin to trust and act on it. You will find you have your own direct line to the GodForce and the Power of Now.
iv. Don’t rule out Taste, Touch and Hearing: Feng Shui is all encompassing and all aspects of your life are interconnected and interrelated. All your senses give you information, warnings and/or lead you to the next glorious opportunity. Feng Shui is all encompassing, includes Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Herbs and more; a true Feng Shui Master can look at your body and tell you what your issues are as well as look at your home and do the same. Begin to pay attention to what you taste, feel and hear. Then ask yourself, what is this telling me? Listen and act to heed the message.
5. Discover your Feng Shui Elements and your Astrological makeup: Knowing just the date of your birth, you can discover the energy that most supports you.
a. Nine Star Ki is the method I use to correlate space, time and Feng Shui as I have found it enormously accurate. www.NineStarKi.com will give you free your Primary Feng Shui energy, the first of the three numbers/energies that comprise your Feng Shui energy. Once you know these, you can use the other elements to create harmony and balance in yourself, your home and all your relationships. [Click here to get your 3 numbers that will help you discover and then use the colors, shapes and placement of those to balance and invigorate your life. ]
b. Your Western Astrology: Your Birth date, place and time, tells you another piece of the story. Feng Shui used to include all this information but throughout dynasties and thousands of years, much of it was deleted or permitted to be used by only the ruling classes. Luckily, Western Astrology still holds the keys. I use this because it can tell me things about your situation and energy that Nine Star Ki doesn’t. Feng Shui and Astrology is formula to help you get the most from your decorating. Use this free Western Astrology birth chart to get a glimpse of what Astrology can tell you. An expert Astrologer can help you make sense of energies that otherwise seem unfathomable. For your free astrology birth chart and explanation go to http://alabe.com/freechart/
6. Define the BaGua: The BaGua is a map of the energy of your home and how it affects the aspects of your life. You will know which area of your home (or apartment, office or desk) is associated with aspect of your life. I first use the Western Form School application because it is generally the easiest and works. [The other–the Compass method–works also but is a little more confusing. Whichever you choose to use, stay with it. Mixing the two at first will confuse you. Later you will see that both can apply and add another dimension to your Feng Shui.] Learn to use the Bagua grid –it only takes a few minutes but it is well worth it because it will show you how your home corresponds to the aspects of your life.
7. Use the Feng Shui Elements All things are comprised of energy but not all energy is the same. Some is upward moving (wood) some is outward and brilliant (fire) some is gathering and nourishing (earth), other is accountable and mentally stimulating (metal) while other energy is flowing, deep, spiritual, thoughtful or bubbly (water). There, you have just had your first lesson in Feng Shui element theory. The Ancient Taoist Masters noticed that all energy could be categorized in these five ways; they also associated colors, shapes and emotions, compass directions, seasons, times of day and human body energy fields, organs and food. There won’t be a test on all this but it’s true: everything is interconnected. Learn to use the elements to support you, your work, and your relationships.
8. Be Happy: Feng Shui is an inner and outer science. This may sometimes be the hardest piece to master but just by being happy, recognizing a thought for what it is and changing it to what you want to live is powerful Feng Shui. Smiling and knowing that your positive focus is bringing all your goodness to you is working. It is working and wondering just how your goodness will show up and delight you will bring more goodness and delight your way.
Everything is always moving, changing and affecting everything around it. You now know how to begin to use Feng Shui to make your life simple now!
