Fierce Waves in Maine

I just got back from vacationing on the Maine coast, struck as always by its fierce beauty.

Over the weekend that ferocity turned tragic when a huge “rogue wave” swept a little girl to her death. I didn’t realize waves could be “rogue”, only huge and strong.

But in Feng Shui the element of Water is also known as “The Abyss.” Water connotes danger and the courage it takes to face it, which was plain to see on the rocks where the waves were crashing.

Water is also associated with money and finances: sometimes you have to take a big risk to make big cash flow happen. Those huge, scary waves will be haunting me for a long time to come, though.

How much risk is too much risk?

Why New York City Has Great Feng Shui

New York City has been one of the most prosperous cities in our relatively young country right from the get-go.

New York’s healthy, wealthy history can be explained by its strong and harmonious combination of the Five Elements:

The Water of the rivers and harbor brings trade and energy to the city, while its relatively flat and welcoming landscape, the Earth element, is open for business and healthy living.

A solid foundation of granite, the Metal element, provides a strong underpinning, and the Wood element is strongly present both in our well-loved parks and tall, tree-like skyscrapers.

Finally, the entire city is oriented towards the south, bringing in all-important, nourishing sunshine, for the Fire element.

Every successful, thriving city contains a similar confluence of the elements. What’s your favorite Feng Shui city or town?

Photo courtesy of www.freefoto.com

Bad Feng Shui Colors for Kids

Here’s a list of recommended colors for kids’ bedrooms, featured recently in a major magazine.

From a Feng Shui perspective none of these color combinations belong in a child’s bedroom!

These are all “Yang” colors — great for rooms where a lot of activity takes place, like a playroom, perhaps, but definitely not a bedroom.

A child’s bedroom needs to feel like a sanctuary from the busy world: safe, secure and quiet. Choose “Yin” colors for your child’s bedroom that will help him or her calm down and sleep well.

There’s lots more on the topic of color in Feng Shui in my latest newsletter.

What colors make you feel soothed in your bedroom?

Bank Logo Feng Shui

A look at these two pictures will tell you a lot about what’s going on in the banking industry right now:

Feng Shui would say that Bank Of America, with its aggressively Fire-red color scheme, has “burnt through” its cash, management, and goodwill.

JPMorgan Chase on the other hand, utilizes deep Watery blue, the color and element that most powerfully symbolize cash flow in Feng Shui. Currently considered a strong survivor of the financial crisis, Chase actually removed the Red from their corporate identity about two years ago.

From a Feng Shui perspective, it seems to have served them well.

Good Client News: A Baby On The Way!

I’m sending out best wishes today to a client of mine (who will remain unnamed — but you know who you are!) who let me know this morning that she’s pregnant.

This is great news, something she’s been hoping for since the end of last year. A few months ago she called to see if there were any Feng Shui suggestions I could make that might help things along.

Who can truly say why and how things happen the way they do, but I’m grateful to her for letting me know about the wonderful timing in this case. It seems she made several of the adjustments we discussed and discovered she was indeed pregnant very soon thereafter.

Sigh… I love a story like this, and am sending all my best wishes for a happy ending early next year!