Back To School, Back To The Office with Feng Shui

It seems too soon (!) but here we are: it’s time for the back-to-school, back-to-work routines of the “other” three-quarters of the year after the glories of summer.

How can Feng Shui help you ease back into the hustle and bustle of fall?

With Feng Shui’s calendar we can harness the power of the Five Elements: summer’s incandescent Fire becomes weaker as it feeds the Earth element of late summer, followed closely by the Metal element of fall.

Earth & Metal for Fall – The Season Of Joy
In Feng Shui, fall is the season of Joyful emotions, when we reconnect with friends, co-workers and clients.   Earth provides the energy for re-establishing these relationships, while Metal provides the stability and focus you need to make the most of them.

To get every part of your life ready for the season of activity ahead, here are Feng Shui tips for your home and office to help you harness the energies of the elements to your best advantage.

Fall Feng Shui At Home
1.  As the Fire-y brilliance of summer fades, keep the light alive and nourish your Earth element by bringing warm earth tones into your environment.

2. Re-connect with Earth by attending to indoor plants: fertilize them after the draining energy of summer, trim off dead material, and repot them or loosen up the dirt to give them some breathing room.

3. Support the Earth element by clearing clutter from horizontal surfaces like dining tables, guest beds and kitchen counters. Earth nourishes Metal, the element of maturity that helps you focus and bring closure to important projects.

4. Metal represents Children in Feng Shui’s Bagua.  If you have kids, this is the moment to help them fine-tune their bedrooms and study spaces as they return to school.

Fall Feng Shui For Your Office or Business
1.  Improve your ability to focus by adding Metal to your environment:  a metal objet d’art on your desk, a metal sign with your business name for your office door, a round box for office supplies…  (learn more about Feng Shui’s Metal element here.)

2.  In Feng Shui, fall is about the harvest and completion of projects.  Be proud of your business achievements so far this year: write them down, place the list on your bulletin board, and let your successes inspire your future growth.

3. As the quality and duration of daylight decreases, stay in contact with the Fire element by keeping your office well-lit.  Full-spectrum light bulbs are great for offices and will help you maintain your energy during the increasingly long days ahead.

4. A typical business Feng Shui challenge is that of too much Metal in the office: white walls and furnishings, metal filing cabinets and desks, shiny metallic accessories.

If this is the situation in your office, balance Metal by introducing healthy plants and/or red accessories.  Balance is always the key to good Feng Shui!

Don’t hesitate to call if you need a hand bringing these tips to life.  I’m available for Feng Shui consultations in New York City and via phone and email as well.

Do You Rent? 9 Feng Shui Tips That Will Make You Feel Like An Owner

Do you rent the place you live in? Are you eager to make it feel like home without having to make the massive changes landlords usually resist?

From a Feng Shui perspective it’s important that your space feel safe, beautiful and comfortable, but as a long-time renter I know what a challenge it is to bring these qualities into a space you don’t own.

Rentals can be tough, but with a few tips from Feng Shui you can feel like an owner until the day you move out (taking all your great ideas along with you!).

Follow these Feng Shui tips for best results — I guarantee you’ll feel like you own the place!

1. Place the Bagua over a floor plan of your home to understand how the energies are flowing. When you know how your rental space is mapped you can place artwork, colors and furniture to anchor your intentions and help you take possession of the space.
2. Personalize your home by replacing things that can be switched back easily when you move out. Adding your own switch plates, doorknobs, and even toilet seats can go a long way towards making you feel like the place is really yours.
3. Unblock the Chi by taking down unnecessary doors. Many rentals have doors that go unused or just get in the way. If you find yourself fighting with doors to closets and hallways, simply take them down and store them away until you move. You and your Chi will move through your space with greater ease.
4. Keep clutter to a minimum by following the best clutter-clearing and organizing advice you can find. The more respect you give yourself by keeping the space beautiful and organized, the greater your sense of ownership.
5. Place furniture using the Command Position. In a rental the Command Position is especially important because you have less control of this space than you would a home you owned. Placing your bed, couch and desk where you can clearly see the door gives you the sense of power you need to feel safe and secure.
6. Paint with rich colors if you’re allowed to. Nothing makes a house feel more like home than beautiful, rich colors on the walls. This is something landlords often object to, but they usually relent when you guarantee that you’ll repaint the walls white when you move.
7. Enhance or create views of nature, and balance the Five Elements at the same time, by either putting up curtains to frame a great view or hanging landscape art that carries your eye into the distance and distracts you from a not-so-great view.
8. Use mirrors strategically to give depth to narrow, difficult spaces and reflect light and nature. Be sure to use big, beautiful mirrors that light up the space all by themselves!
9. Have a Feng Shui space-clearing ceremony to cleanse the space and transform any negative energies that might remain from previous tenants.

Please don’t hesitate to call if you’d like advice or guidance for bringing these tips to life. I’m available for consultations in rental-happy New York City, and long-distance, too!

Lose Weight & Get Healthy with Feng Shui

The benefits of Feng Shui extend into many parts of your life, as it brings its positive effects to your health, your wealth, your relationships and more.

You’ve learned a few Feng Shui bedroom tips for getting a good night’s sleep, but what about other health matters, like staying in shape and losing weight?

Feng Shui has excellent ideas about improving and maintaining your health. Here are a few that will help focus your intention on slimming down and getting healthy this summer.

Is your kitchen in sight when you enter your home?
The first thing you see sets the tone for your experience every time you walk through the door of your home.

A first view of your kitchen – especially your stove or refrigerator – may trigger hunger pangs even if you’re not hungry. Diminish its impact by screening it from view or disguising the appliances.

For example, clearing magnets from the refrigerator will reduce its visual impact and “magnetic attraction.” You might also cover the front of the fridge with a material that helps it blend into the background.

Are your counters clear — or crowded?
A cluttered countertop creates a sense of confusion that can distract you from just how much you’re actually eating.

Bring order to the kitchen by clearing the counters of everything but the items you use every day (that’s every day).

When Chi energy has room to flow, this sense of clarity extends to the foods you consume. You’ll be more likely to prepare only what you need, when you need it.

For more great info about tuning up your kitchen, check out these Top-Ten Kitchen Feng Shui Tips.

Is your diet aligned with the seasons?
Feng Shui extends to the particular foods you eat, keeping your body in balance by eating foods that are in season.

Summertime, for example, is the season of the Fire element, characterized by hot weather, long days, and conserving energy in the heat.

The best foods for summer refresh and cool you down – salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, light carbohydrates, and raw foods.

By contrast the best foods for winter are hot, expansive things like stews, casseroles, dried fruits and beans: food that warms and nourishes us as we expend energy in the cold.

So in summer you need to watch out for a very modern challenge: air conditioning that “fools” your body into thinking it’s winter. You may be eating heavy “winter” foods just when you need to be at your lightest.

If you’d like to know more about the Feng Shui of food, please let me know.

Do you have a “cluttered diet?”
Avoid eating between meals and drink lots of water to keep your body clear, stay energized and give yourself a feeling of fullness without calories.

Is your body’s Chi energy moving?
Finally, what would a health and weight-loss article be without a reminder about the benefits of exercise!? Chi energy reacts to your attention and intention.

Keep moving and your Chi will respond with good health and a feeling of lightness, energy and clarity.

Seven Steps To A Good Night’s Sleep

Are you surprised to learn that 74% of Americans suffer from lack of sleep?

Sleeplessness has been connected to everything from a lackluster love life to a wide range of physical and emotional health problems – and now it’s even been found to be associated with weight gain and the obesity epidemic.

If you suffer from insomnia there’s a lot you can do to make a change for the better. Here are seven steps you can take to give yourself — and the people you love — the gift of deep, healthy sleep, every night.

1. Remove the mirrors from your bedroom. This is my #1 Tip because I have seen it help so much, over and over again. Look around for places to relocate them: in the hallway, on the back of a door in another room, or in your entryway.

2. Either remove the TV or cover it up so it won’t “call out to you” when it’s time for sleep. TV’s emit so much energy that they keep your room awake 24/7; their lights always seem to be flickering; and they’re so reflective that it almost feels as though there’s another mirror in the room.

3. In the same vein, move all the books from your bedroom to a place where their stimulating nature will be welcomed – your office or living room, for instance.

4. Make your bed every day. An unmade bed reminds you of the stresses in your life, while a neatly-made bed welcomes you with a feeling of serenity and peace.

5. Learn to meditate, or get back into the habit for 10 -15 minutes a day. Meditation is a natural relaxation technique that comes to your aid when you find yourself tossing and turning at night.

6. Use earplugs to block out the littlest sound and get yourself in touch with your own breathing – much better than counting sheep!

7. Place your bed in Feng Shui’s Command Position, the spot in your bedroom where you feel most in control. When you’re easily able to see the door, your defensive instincts will naturally relax, helping you to sleep through the night.

And don’t forget to get some exercise. Surprise your dog with an extra 15 minutes’ walk, climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator, walk home from work.

If you can sneak in a few extra moments of moving around each day, you’ll be that much more tired when it’s time for bed.

Take charge of your sleep life, and your whole world will change for the better.

What are your secrets for getting a good night’s sleep?

Nine Feng Shui Tips For Tough Times

When times are tough, Feng Shui provides a unique and powerful kind of support that isn’t offered in any other place. 

It helps you set up an environment where you feel safe and secure, and guides you to create a positive and comfortable place to live or work when you’re feeling challenged or anxious. 

Feng Shui’s Bagua Energy Map identifies and addresses nine of the most important parts of your life: Wealth, Family, Career and so on.

After you map your space using the Bagua, use this information to give yourself support and energy where you need it. 

This is one of the ways that Feng Shui enhances your life by enhancing your space.

Download the Bagua map here, and discover nine ways to boost your serenity, confidence and sense of abundance. 

Start Here
To begin, align the map so the entry to the space lines up with the bottom of the map where it says “Entry Quadrant.”  You always enter your space through the  “Travel & Helpful People,” “Career,” or “Knowledge & Self-Cultivation” area.

Starting with “New Beginnings” on the left side of the map, here are nine ways to enhance your space with Feng Shui when times are tough.  Give each one careful consideration and use those that apply best to your personal situation.

1. New Beginnings:  If you feel stuck and want a fresh start, the perfect symbol to place in this part of the Bagua is a healthy, vigorous plant with an upright growth habit.  (If you’re not a “plant person,” see my recent post about plant alternatives) No spiky (ouch!) plants, please!

2. Wealth & Abundance:  In Feng Shui the source of Wealth is Gratitude.  Place something here that symbolizes prosperity to you and for which you feel truly grateful. 

This may be something with monetary value, something personally meaningful (such as a photo of your family), or anything that reminds you of how much you have to be grateful for.

3. Fame & Reputation: How do you wish to “shine your light” in the world?  Place something here that symbolizes that idea: it could be as simple as a bright light or beautiful candle.  Whatever it is, be sure to invest it with positive energy.

4. Love & Marriage: This area is about loving your partner (if you have one) as well as loving yourself.   It’s associated with the Earth element, which represents the nurturing, physical side of life. 

Make yourself comfortable, create a cozy spot for yourself, and set yourself up to feel nourished in every way.

5. Children & Projects: This area is about having confidence in the future. It’s the ideal place for representing your hopes with a vision board or other symbol of optimism.

6. Travel & Helpful People: This area of the Bagua also means “synchronicity,” the amazing and wonderful coincidences that change your life for the better.   Place a photo or piece of art here that honors the people who have made a difference in your life.

7. Career:  The element of Water corresponds to the Career area, representing your life’s journey.  Water also symbolizes cash flow in Feng Shui, so watery artwork or water feature is ideal for this area.

8. Knowledge & Self-Cultivation:  Make time to keep learning and growing so you’re ready for the changes ahead.  Symbols of calmness and inner growth — books, a serene piece of artwork, something to meditate on — are perfect here.

9. Center: The Center of the Bagua, representing vitality and health, brings everything together.  A clear and open Center helps keep all the other areas connected and in balance.  

The Center is where Yin & Yang come together, bringing your entire space into harmony.

Given the special challenges in today’s world, it’s important to consider how every area of the Bagua may be influencing your life, for better or worse. 

So take a deep breath, use your imagination, and put Feng Shui to work to enhance your life in nine different ways.