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.

The Most Yang Day Of The Year

At 7:28 (EDT) this morning the earth was tilted at its maximum angle towards the sun, in the Northern Hemisphere.

This is the Summer Solstice — the longest day of the year, and the most Yang day of the year, when the sun’s arc peaks and it shines brightly on us the longest.

Now the cycle turns again towards the darkness of Yin, which gets to its maximum point in December.

In Feng Shui the season of the Fire element has begun: hot, bright and filled with activity.

Celebrate today by staying outdoors to enjoy the sunshine for as long as you can!

For your further enjoyment, here’s a little photo diary of Solstice celebrations around the world.

photo courtesy wikipedia.org

How Water Fountains Can Help Your Cash Flow

Are you anchoring your intention to create good cash flow in your life?

One wonderful way to do this is by adding a beautiful water fountain to your home or office.

Moving water symbolizes a healthy flow of money through your life: calm, steady and nourishing both to yourself and the people you support and connect with: family members, your community, businesses with whom you work.

Place your fountain with the help of the Bagua map. A water feature supports you best when situated in the Career/Life Journey, New Beginnings/Family or Wealth area of your home or office.

Being careful to place it in one of these areas will ensure that the water’s flow nourishes your finances, rather than draining them.

To get started, check out the gorgeous small fountains at tabletopfountainstore.com. I love the variety they offer — they’re definitely my favorite online fountain vendor.

As I write, I’m aware of the soothing flow of my own small fountain. Lovely!

photo courtesy tabletopfountainstore.com

The Importance of Shape in the Feng Shui Garden

Continuing with this week’s garden theme, I was happy to hear from Jane who reminded me about how the shape of plants can help create good Feng Shui in a garden.

In fact the shapes of the plants are an ideal way to balance Feng Shui’s Five Elements (without having to plant one single colorful flower!).

The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. (Here’s a short article about the Five Elements if you’d like to learn more.)

Each element is associated with a specific shape that’s easy to cultivate in your garden.

The Wood element is symbolized by tall, columnar shapes: trees and tall plants, for example.

Fire can be represented with triangular leaves, and Earth with plants that have a more squarish shape.

Metal, one of the elements associated with your finances, is associated with round shapes. (This is why the round-leafed jade plant is often called the “money plant.”)

And Water can be symbolized with sinuous shapes, like vines.

What are some of your ideas for bringing Feng Shui into your garden? Pictures are welcome

Open Spaces Feng Shui on the Maine Botanical Garden Blog

I’m excited! The Maine Botanical Garden Fan Page has featured my posts about their Lerner Garden of the Five Senses.

The Five Senses Garden provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about Feng Shui’s Five Elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water — and get ideas about using Feng Shui in your own garden.

I invite you to leave questions and gardening ideas in the Comments.