Is Full-Spectrum Lighting Good Feng Shui?

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.

Feng Shui & The Redesigned Oval Office

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.

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.

How Feng Shui Changed My Life

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is, “How did you get into Feng Shui?”

I started my Feng Shui career because I wanted to transform other people’s lives as mine had changed over 14 years ago, thanks to Feng Shui.

A little bit of the story is on my website — I’d just gotten divorced, wasn’t happy at work, and generally felt that things weren’t going so well in my life.

But the question was, what could I actually do to make things better? I’d started writing Morning Pages and seeing a therapist, but it didn’t feel like enough.

I needed something visible, physical, that would reflect the changes I desired.

At this critical moment I enrolled in a Feng Shui course at New York’s Open Center. It was the first of many synchronicities I was about to experience, thanks to Feng Shui.

My first task was to identify my goals and dreams. I decided to focus on

• repairing my relationship with my family,
• crafting a more satisfying career for myself, and
• developing relationships with friends who had a positive outlook on life.

I still recall some of the changes I made to anchor these important Intentions.

• Photos of my Mom, Dad & sister went into the Family area, along with a thriving plant to symbolize healthy energy.
• Pictures of the kind of career I dreamed about, plus a black doormat to symbolize Water, went into the Career and Life Journey area.
• And I asked a few of my closest friends to give me small keepsakes to embody their positive energy in my apartment, which I placed in the Helpful People area.

I made other changes as well, rearranging furniture, clearing clutter and changing colors and artwork.

My apartment looked and felt like a completely different place: nourishing, welcoming, energized.

And the outcome was amazing: my career evolved into something I truly enjoyed, I settled into a more loving and sincere relationship with my family, and I created a network of wonderful friends who are still in my life today.

I discovered that the power of Feng Shui is the power of Intention, with visible and physical energies to back it up.

And that’s how I arrived at the point I’m at today.

Does anything about my experience surprise you?

Five Fabulous Feng Shui Travel Tips

Memorial Day weekend arrives next week (already?) — ’tis the season for hitting the road.

A big part of the adventure of travel involves spending your nights in new places.   Here are my five best tips for bringing good Feng Shui with you wherever you go.

1. Create a “Feng Shui Travel Kit.” Mine contains a tea-light candle & holder, a small stuffed animal to keep me company, and a scarf with all 5 Elements colors in it to display in the room.
2. Make life easier by designating a spot near the door for keys and other easily-to-lose essentials.
3. For stays of longer than one night, consider changing the light bulbs to brighten the space and bring in lively Fire energy.
4. Move one piece of furniture to stir up Chi energy and maybe even improve the flow of the room.
5. Make the room your own. Air it out and bring in fresh Chi by opening the windows. Add Wood vitality with a beautiful vase of fresh flowers.

Send me some Feng Shui pics from your travels and I’ll post them on the blog!

Happy Trails!

Feng Shui’s Wood Element: How Do You Feel About Silk Plants?

In Feng Shui we’re always striving to balance the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

Each element symbolizes important parts of our lives — the Wood element is all about New Beginnings and Family: vitality, growth, deep roots, our DNA.

The easiest way to anchor Wood is with healthy live plants, but if you have low light conditions or a “brown thumb,” silk flowers and plants are a good substitute.

There are a lot of absolutely gorgeous silk arrangements out there, and I use them quite a bit in my own home.

But I’ve been surprised to discover that a lot of people who can’t have live plants absolutely HATE silk flowers! (Why? I’m not exactly sure. If you hate silk flowers, please let me know why you feel that way )

What to do??

If you can’t grow live plants and won’t use silk flowers, here are a few other ways to add the vitality of Wood to your space.

• Vertical stripes: in upholstery & cushions, wall decor, curtains and more.
• Green items of any kind.
• Botanical prints.
• Tall, columnar shapes: floor lamps are just one example.
• Things made of wood that look like wood!

Is the Wood element present in your space?  Do you like the way it looks and feels?  Please let me know.