As natural sunlight dims with the approach of fall and winter, keeping your Chi energy “lit up” can become a challenge.

Full-spectrum lighting, which simulates daylight conditions indoors, is often used as a form of “light therapy” during the winter months. To a limited extent, this is considered good Feng Shui, especially in offices.

On the plus side, full-spectrum lighting compensates for low natural light, creating positive Chi energy during the day.

But full-spectrum lighting can be too much of a good thing.

From a Feng Shui perspective, full-spectrum lighting is appropriate during true daylight hours only. As natural sunlight fades at the end of the day, your Chi energy naturally desires darker conditions.

It — and you — will be over-stimulated by lighting that continues to say “sunshine” while it’s perfectly dark outside.

So, switch over to conventional incandescent (or CFL) lighting at sunset to create lighting conditions more consistent with the dimness of the evening.

By bedtime you’ll feel relaxed and ready for the refreshment of a good night’s sleep — and another sunny day tomorrow.

Today’s news includes an entertaining article about President Obama’s redesign of the Oval Office, in which designers and celebrities weigh in on the new design.

Wow -- that's a lot of brown.

How is the new Oval Office from a Feng Shui perspective?

Very brown. Very heavy. Very Earth.

Everything in the center of this office looks heavy.

In Feng Shui it can be a good thing to anchor the energy, but here it looks like it would be very tough to get new ideas off the ground: there’s no lightness to it at all.

So much Earth energy throws it out of balance in terms of the Five Elements. The dark blue lamps (Water energy) can hardly compete with all that Earth, and the apples on the table don’t provide the uplifting Wood energy that might lighten things up.

To me it now feels like the energy is stuck (and of course I have a few ideas for what Obama and his designer could do about that )

What do you think?

photo courtesy of the New York Times.

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.

Warm Feng Shui colors for 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.)

Feng Shui: a key component for your office.

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.

Here’s a quickie for you: a fascinating article from yesterday’s NY Times, “When Feng Shui Helps Determine A Deal’s Fate.”

Checking the Chi at the Empire State Building.

There are many ways to evaluate a space using Feng Shui and this article touches on just a few of them.  I’m not surprised to learn about Feng Shui’s growing influence as Asian businesses become more prominent in the US.

And one of my favorite types of jobs is evaluating a space before a business moves in so that egregiously bad Feng Shui can be avoided.

What do you think?  Is it wise for businesses to assess the Feng Shui before setting up shop in a new location?

I came across this license plate on our recent travels and felt a chill pass over me:

Yes, I would have to agree.

Sending this message to themselves, to everyone around them, and to the universe itself is probably not going to help to bring the abundance into this driver’s life that I suppose they must be seeking!

What do you think: am I taking this too seriously?   Or would this bother you, too?

While I was on vacation these past few weeks, the Feng Shui world lost one of its best-known Masters, Professor Thomas Lin Yun of Taiwan and Berkeley, California, on August 11.

Feng Shui Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun

The Professor was one of the first to bring Feng Shui to the West over 25 years ago.

He is perhaps best known as the co-author with Sarah Rossbach of the earliest Feng Shui books in English, including Feng Shui: The Chinese Art Of Placement from 1983.

Professor Lin Yun influenced my life because many of my teachers learned Feng Shui directly from him.

Here are a few excerpts from the very moving message we received from Crystal Chu, CEO of the Yun Lin Temple in Berkeley.

“With deepest sorrow, I am very reluctant to let you know that the saddest thing has finally come upon us. Our beloved great teacher, His Holiness Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun left us yesterday….

“Some of us chanted at his bedside to pray that his Ch’i would be received by the Buddha in the Pure Land.

“One of the messages I received during the chanting was from His Holiness, and he said: ‘I have taught you more than enough, now is the time for you to go on by yourselves.’”

The Professor will be sadly and sorely missed by the entire Feng Shui community.

We’ve looked at how moving the CEO’s desk transformed the Feng Shui of this office; this post takes a look at a few of the other high-impact Feng Shui adjustments.

Here’s the Before photo of the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)’s desk:

CMO's desk, Before

The desk was crammed into a corner and far from the window, a wonderful source of natural light in the office.

From a Feng Shui perspective this location was also a problem because the CMO was sitting directly in the “line of Chi energy” entering the office.

Here’s the After photo:

CMO's desk, After

Great, isn’t it? Once the two desks were moved, the office even had room for a small meeting table to accommodate visitors.

The bookshelves were cleared of unnecessary items and have become a nice design element for the room.

Office meeting area, After

Finally, here’s a shot of the entry into the office (you can see where the CMO’s desk used to be). The office is missing one Bagua area, Travel & Helpful People, so to adjust for that I recommended hanging the large mirror you see in the entry hall here:

Office entry with good Feng Shui

All in all the office feels and functions much better now for all concerned.

What do you think?

Creating offices with great Feng Shui is a key part of my work, and I recently had the good fortune to work on one where Before & After pictures tell a lot of the story.

The office belongs to a small tech firm that consists of two principles — a CEO and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) — who hire freelance specialists on an as-needed basis.

They wanted an office that felt, looked and functioned better, where they’d be proud to meet with clients and vendors, and that inspired them to do great work every day.

The CEO’s desk was our first priority. Here’s the Before photo:

CEO's desk, Before

The desk faced away from the door, distracting the CEO and putting him at a disadvantage when people came into the office.

He sat facing a window, which may be good for daydreaming, but isn’t so great for focusing on the task at hand and the huge desk was a clutter magnet, too.

Here is the “After” photo:

CEO's desk, After

After we moved the desk across the room and into the Command Position, or Power Spot, he felt more focused, visually engaged, and “in charge” of his business. He decided that a smaller desk worked better for him, too.

The CEO told me he felt more inspired after this key re-positioning. The office layout makes more sense — the Chi energy flow is better, and it’s more obvious that business gets done here.

Stay tuned: in the next installment we re-position the CMO’s desk and deal with the entryway and an important “missing” Bagua area.

ps: They’re so busy that they’re getting ready to hire an assistant. Do you think it’s the improved Feng Shui?

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!

In Feng Shui, the best position for your bed is the Command Position, where you can easily see the door but don’t face it directly (here are a few recent posts about good Feng Shui for your bed and bedroom).

But what if there’s no other place to put it?

One solution for this is to add a footboard to your bed, but footboards aren’t always ideal for a number of reasons: they can make you feel trapped, there’s not enough room for one, they’re just not your style.

Since the whole idea is to give yourself a sense of safety and security while you sleep, here are three other ways to give yourself the best Feng Shui as you sleep:

1. Shield yourself by placing a chest filled with heavy blankets at the foot of the bed.
2. Place a low screen between your bed and the door to the room.
3. I especially love Noren curtains or something similar that give you a partial view of someone approaching.

Noren curtains for a Feng Shui bedroom.

What do you think? Do you have some great ideas on this topic?

photo courtesy of visitjapan.com