Feng Shui & Crystals – Perfect Together!

Sensing energy fields is really what feng shui is all about.

Crystal therapy is a tool used in feng shui to help keep chi moving throughout a space.

As conduits of energy, crystals can project, receive and reflect light, helping to revitalize and cleanse our environments.

A goal of feng shui is to imitate nature.  By working with crystals we can make a connection with the spirit of nature and create spaces that are nourishing and healing. Continue Reading…

Feng Shui – Being Inspired by Nature

Communing with wildlife and nature spirits in my garden is a favorite pastime for me.

My yard backs up to a bird sanctuary that is home to a forest and a wetland habitat.  As a feng shui practitioner and nature lover, I spend joyous hours reaping the benefits of  my environment while offering appreciation and taking in the wonders of Mother Nature.

One cold winter day, my dearest friend and I were sitting in my kitchen as she lovingly provided her support during a potentially challenging time (which thankfully turned out to have a positive outcome.) Continue Reading…

Seeing the World through Feng Shui-tinted Glasses

As human beings, we interpret our environment through our senses.  It is reported that 70% of what we experience comes from our eyes.  Our sight impacts our experiences more than any of the other senses.  Basically, we pay more attention to what we see than what we hear, smell, taste or touch.

A basic concept of feng shui is that everything is comprised of energy or chi.  We are constantly giving and receiving chi.  We’ve all heard the expression what goes around, comes around.  This can be applied to the exchange of chi.  What we put out, we get back.  

To really know somebody, take a peek at what things they have decided to live with. This exercise is much more revealing than words in a conversation!  Continue Reading…

You Snooze – You Win

We live in a society where sleep problems are all too common.  It is reported that the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep to help maintain a healthy body.  Unfortunately, only 35% of folks are achieving this. 

Today, most children have computers and TVs in their rooms.  Consequently,  they are not getting adequate sleep, and performing at low energy levels equates to not functioning at peak performance in school. 

Stress is considered the most common cause of sleep disturbance.  Filled with anxiety, thousands of people suffer from insomnia.  Either they can’t fall asleep, wake up several times during the night only to have trouble falling back to sleep, or wake up too early in the morning without feeling rested. Continue Reading…

Stop That Puttering and Start Decluttering

While I am not one for establishing New Year’s resolutions per se, I do firmly believe in making commitments that result in self improvement.  Energetically, the fresh start of a new year does lend itself as an opportune time for retrospection, re-evaluation and change.

Feng shui teaches us that to make changes in our lives, we can start by making changes in our environments.  Feng shui is about tuning into our personal spaces and taking inventory of what works and what doesn’t – both literally and figuratively. 

Clutter clearing is a branch of feng shui that helps us to sort our lives and restore balance.  As we clear out old energies, we bring in the new. Continue Reading…

Making Scents of Feng Shui

As human beings, we are emotionally impacted by scent.  In fact, our sense of smell is considered the only sense that evokes a purely emotional response.

Research indicates that smells are not filtered through the part of the brain that ruminates or analyzes, but rather though the part that responds and operates without conscious thought.  It is reported that our responses to smell take place within 10 seconds after exposure — with no thought process involved.  We react and then think.

Our olfactory sense is the oldest of the five senses.  Smell, emotion and memory are all linked in the limbic system of our bodies.  Not only do certain smells affect how we feel emotionally, but they can also affect our energy level.  When entering a room, we can either feel suffocated by a lingering perfume or enticed by the aroma of delicious food being cooked. Continue Reading…

Getting Ready for Fall — Feng Shui and the Metal Element

Mother Nature is a wise teacher.  She is flexible and loving, and through her actions shows us the beauty of going with the flow of  life.

Outwardly, it may appear that there is reckless abandon, but an order of universal intelligence lies at her core.  The basis of feng shui is to harmonize with nature by reverently and respectfully tapping into that universal intelligence.

Merging taoism, astronomy, alchemy, astrology and shamanism, feng shui is the system of living in harmony with the natural elements and forces of nature.  It is about the flow of energy (chi) and how it affects the human energy field. Continue Reading…

Feng Shui Enhancements Using Color Therapy

Every day we make choices based on color, some being of more importance than others.  The colored traffic light tells us to stop or safely go.  We stand in front of closets asking the age-old question:  What am I going to wear today?  If we are tired, we may subconsciously choose red for energy.  Need some nurturing?  Perhaps you will be drawn to green.

Other than a choice point in life, however, what exactly is color?  A free online dictionary tells us that color is ‘the appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person’s perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation of objects.’  That is a bit of a mouthful.  More simply put, color is the way our brain interprets the frequency of light.

The way color is perceived and experienced is largely based on our cultural background.  Colors give off vibrations and different people react differently to those vibrations.  They can either give us a boost or drag us down. 

From a feng shui perspective, colors used in our living space affect us physically, emotionally and psychologically.  Feng shui is about how a person interacts with his or her environment.  It teaches us to tune in and learn how to sense the energy of a space. Continue Reading…

Feng Shui Your Stuff Away—Breaking the Clutter Cycle

I recently participated in my town’s annual garage sale.  From a financial point of view, my profit was $203.00; not too shabby.  From an emotional point of view, however, I made quite a bit more.

To prepare for the big day, I started doing inventory in the usual clutter hangouts, the attic, garage and shed.  I then found my way into more personalized clutter spaces such as the closets, bedroom dressers and nightstands.

During the clearing process, I went thru items such as old paint, tools, toiletries, CDs, linens, magazines, books, jewelry, and the insidious holiday decorations.  There was no stopping me. 

I came home from work one night and before I was consciously aware of it, I was tackling the kitchen.  My cleansing ran the gamut, from the obvious junk drawer to the fertile breeding ground of tupperware.  Even canned goods were victims of my maniacal purge. Continue Reading…

Clutter – Take It or Leave It

As a feng shui consultant, I generally categorized myself as a clutter minimalist.  That was, of course, until recently. 

I just returned from a visit to Southern California, which is truly one of my favorite places.  The visit was magical and nourishing and taught me a lot about myself – including the fact that I have no idea how to pack a suitcase.  This knowledge, of course, would ultimately lend itself to a more interesting realization.

While living overseas many years ago, I had the luxury of routinely traveling to many different countries.  I am not really a novice traveler, but for the life of me I couldn’t narrow down what to bring on this particular trip.  Will I be warm or cold?  There was stuff for yoga, stuff for hiking,  sunning, lounging, eating, thinking – you name it.

By the time I was done packing and repacking, my travel bag was comparable to a chosen victim of the show What Not To Wear.  I guess I should have known I was in trouble when the limo driver called my bag the beast from the east.  Continue Reading…