Four Tips for Creating Abundance During the Holidays

Holiday time, wonderful as it can be, is also a time of year when events can conspire to throw us off balance.

It’s a time when Feng Shui, with its emphasis on Balance, Abundance and Good Health, can be really helpful.

Here are a few tips for creating balance and abundance throughout the holidays.

Tip #1: Create Abundance with a Gratitude Journal
In Feng Shui, abundance stems from gratitude. Drawing abundance to yourself is connected to recognizing the people, events and things you’re grateful for, which is why the nightly ritual of writing in a Gratitude Journal is such a powerful tool.

The gratitude you honor in writing energizes your abundance.

My personal experience with the Journal has been transformative.

I created my first journal 14 years ago at Thanksgiving. It was a chaotic time and I found myself wondering what, exactly, I had to be thankful for.

But each night, as I began to recognize the many things for which I felt grateful, I breathed more easily and made emotional space for the life I desired.

Setting up a Gratitude Journal couldn’t be simpler. Give yourself the gift of a small notebook and pen to keep near your bed.

Each night just before you turn out the light, make a list of the things you’re most grateful for in that moment. Write down at least five things, every night.

I guarantee: you’ll soon find your life transformed: calmer, richer, and more beautiful.

Tips # 2, 3 & 4: Abundant Holidays at Home
Since so much of the emotional action takes place at home during the holidays, this is also a great moment to create good Feng Shui in three critically important areas: your entryway, kitchen and bedroom.

Feeling welcomed into the quiet of your own space after a long day of festivities can lift your spirits like nothing else.

Do a few simple things to create an entry that truly welcomes you by taking a moment now to clear any clutter that’s accumulated there and think about what you can place there to create good cheer when you open the door.

In your kitchen, the foundation of your health and wealth, it’s time to wipe down the countertops, make room for Chi to circulate freely, and create a kitchen you can enjoy with family and friends without having to rush around making it presentable before they arrive.

Your bedroom is the underpinning of your emotional health. Take a good, non-judgmental look and remove anything that’s creating a feeling of pressure or chaos: too many books, too many photos, not enough physical comfort: whatever it takes, make your bedroom your sanctuary.

And be sure to make room for your Gratitude Journal while you’re at it

Feeling Stuck? Check Out The “Magic Of 27 Things”

Do you occasionally feel absolutely stuck, like you don’t know what to do next or how to get out of your own way?

Feng Shui has a simple yet surprisingly effective method for getting you unstuck: just go around your space and move 27 things.

You can pick each thing up and put it down in place, or move things around, or best of all pick up 27 pieces of clutter and move them into the trash.

I just used this strategy to get myself going on a logy-feeling Monday.

I began by just picking things up and putting them back down, but before I knew it was on a roll, putting things away, throwing things out, and easily touching 27 items in no time flat.

It was fun to count to 27 (a powerful Yang number in Feng Shui) and when I was done I felt really refreshed — my Chi energy was moving

Do you have a great tip for getting unstuck?

Feng Shui Tips for a Thanksgiving Kitchen

Here comes Thanksgiving, the biggest family holiday of the year, a time of abundance and chaos when you need all the tools at your disposal to stay balanced and calm.

Whether you’re hosting the festivities or not, this is a great time to bring good Feng Shui into your kitchen, the room where you create health and abundance for yourself and your family all year ’round.

A kitchen with good Feng Shui looks, feels and smells like great things are happening.

Start by cleaning the stove and making sure all the burners work so good Chi energy can flow freely.

Then give yourself space by clearing the countertops of seldom-used appliances and utensils. Take a look at the top of the fridge while you’re at it — maybe those cereals and snacks would be happier inside a cabinet

And when’s the last time you edited the front of the fridge?

Once you’ve created visual clarity, set something cooking that makes your home smell wonderful: cider with cloves? Oatmeal cookies?

The more you can engage all five senses — sight, touch, taste, smell and sound — the better the Feng Shui you bring into your space, and your life.

Your Entryway: Paint It Black?

In Feng Shui, the entryway is considered one of the top most important areas of your home or office.

The entry always falls within one of three areas of Feng Shui’s Bagua Energy Map: Travel & Helpful People, Career/Life Journey, or Knowledge.

Most frequently the entry lies in the center/front of your space, which is the Career/Life Journey area. As you can see on the map, the color associated with this area is Black.

It’s black because this area is symbolized by the Water element: deep, mysterious, flowing, the perfect element to represent Chi energy flowing into your space.

But that doesn’t mean you have to paint it black!

To get Chi energy flowing in your entry area, choose something watery yet lively to represent the element. Here’s a great example:

Pictures of water, flowing textiles, even a water fountain, any and all of these are perfect for a Feng Shui entry.

Does this give you any ideas? How do you think you can bring the Water element into your space?

What’s The First Step To Good Feng Shui?

Feng Shui is full of great advice for transforming your life, but it’s impossible to begin such an important journey without having some idea of where you are — and where you want to go.

So the first step towards creating good Feng Shui is to know yourself and the goals you desire.

Do your desires include better relationships with your life partner, your family, your children? Would you like better health, new romance in your life, a smoother career path?

What are your most important life goals right now? Do you have two or three that are top priority right now?

This blog is full of information about specific Feng Shui tools that can help you start defining your goals and bringing them into reality.

I invite you to leave your questions about how Feng Shui can help you achieve your goals in the Comments.