Where Energy Flows

Feng Shui teaches us that the architectural front door is the mouth of chi, meaning all the energy for the house enters through the front door. This is why the bagua map is oriented on the front door. But in practice it doesn’t always work that way.

What happens when the primary entry to the house isn’t the architectural front door? Sometimes the front and back doors become switched, e.g. the back door is turned into a front entry. Other times the front door and front access to the property is not used. Both of these scenarios happen for many reasons and is often a combination of factors, such as:

• adding a new section on to the house
• selling part of the building lot off or purchasing more land, which results a change to the access to the property
• rural streets changing (e.g.,  a path or right of way becoming a formal road, or streets becoming more or less prominent)
• disagreements with neighbours (disputes over property lines)
• front door not considered important

We also look at the access to the property in assessing the bagua. My parent’s house sits on a hill with streets on both sides and access to the house from both. The front door is oriented to the street which had several large businesses. When I was growing up, I used this street to come and go. All my friends lived there and I was best friends with the girl who lived next door. 

Over the years things changed. After I left home, the town council implemented street addresses and my parent’s address is on the ‘back door’ street. They purchased additional land on this street and made a place to park the car. Soon nearly all access to the house was from the back street, which additionally happens to have a spectacular ocean view. And today with more emphasis on the view the property offers, the back of the house is actually more auspicious. The front street — the one with the business — became less auspicious because those businesses dwindled and finally closed.

In small towns and country areas the front door often does not have the same kind of importance it does in cities and larger towns. In many rural areas the front door is never used. It isn’t in my parent’s house. The door that is used is on the side of the house. In fact if someone knocks on the front door, it is a sure sign of a salesman, or someone who ‘doesn’t belong’. In a lot of cases even the steps to these ‘front’ doors are not a high priority. When I was growing up it was not uncommon to see the front door with no way to get to it (funny to see doors six feet in the air with no steps). 

So, what does this teach us?  That the original architechtural front door is not always the mouth of chi. It can be difficult to know how to place the bagua and so we must consider the flow of chi. In Interior Alignment™ training, we take into consideration Form School Feng Shui, which has an emphasis on the path of chi and the strength of the life force energy. People often instinctively orient their home in a way that supports them energetically. In Form School for example, we look at protection at the back of the property and a wide expansive view in front. 

I teach that if it feels good, it is good feng shui. This is a great help in assessing certain homes that have their own rhythm and energy.

© copyright Deborah Redfern 2007. All rights reserved.

What are some of the first signs of dis-ease?  Pain, fatigue, poorly functioning digestive system, high temperature, and headaches.  When we are not feeling well with these symptoms we change our diet, protect the painful area, sleep, take medications and if the symptoms persist or worsen see a doctor or health care provider.

What are the signs of ill health in a home?  Bad smells, cracks or shifting in the foundation, plumbing disruptions and electrical failures.  When our house is not well we either patch it or repair it ourselves and if necessary bring in a professional.

The Bagua Map is an energetic representation of your life as it is reflected in your home.  (see bagua entries by Deborah Redfern)  The center of your home represents the health gua/area.  It is touched by all the other life areas and in turn affects all life areas.  Like the center of a wheel it functions best when all parts are in working order and balanced.

The center of a home is like the lungs of your body.   Your breath is the meeting ground for the concious and unconcious minds.  When you breathe in freely you experience life fully and when you breathe out freely you express yourself fully.

How can you keep the health gua energized to support your health?  Back to the signs of dis-ease.   Repair what is broken or not working well.  Oil hinges, repair flooring, fix door closures, repair plumbing and electrical problems, improve ventilation and update appliances.

Keep this area open, free to breathe and expressing your health goals/ideals.  Remove clutter stored under stairs or in closets.  Keep hallways free of clutter.  Free breathing gives you access to positive feelings emerging from your body.  Unrestricted breath allows you to center yourself in order to express your health easily.

Use this area to reinforce health goals by placing art and objects that represent health and vitality to to you.  Update frequently.  The element for this gua is earth.  The colors used to enhance this area are yellow (see entries on color by Deborah Redfern), gold and earth tones.  Use paint color, flooring, and accents with shades of these colors that are pleasing to you, giving you a feeling of being grounded and centered.

Interior Alignment™ encourages a balanced, natural flow in your home and in your life.  Look at the center of your home for  early signs of dis-ease and bring your home and yourself back into balance with Feng Shui.

Copyright 2007 Brenda Rosenberg   All rights reserved. 

The bagua is a map of universal energy. It is a useful tool as a focal point for our personal intentions. Having visual reminders of our intentions around us helps attract what we desire. Inspiring words as art, affirmation posters and vision boards are good examples.

Combining the power of intention with the energy of the bagua is a powerful way to make life changes.

Many of us want to attract a significant other to share time with, or to spice up an existing relationship. The relationships area of the bagua can be used to focus our intentions. In this part of the home display happy pictures of yourself with your partner. If your don’t have any use images of other people. Affirmations about self love work well here.

It is important to love yourself so that the power of intention can work in other parts of your life. If you don’t love yourself you are giving out the message that you don’t deserve good.  

Making a vision board of relevant images that speak to you is an excellent way to attract love and romance. Look for pictures of couples doing things that appeal to you, such as relaxing on a romantic tropical holiday. Displaying your vision board in the relationship area adds power.

All rights reserved, Helen Harvey, copyright 2007

Clearing your clutter is one of the quickest ways to change your life, but proceed carefully. Clearing too much clutter too fast can cause a healing crisis. We are so attached to our stuff that sometimes when clutter leaves our home it can feel like losing part of ourselves.

Denise Linn, Feng Shui for the Soul

Where does your clutter live? Under your bed? In the attic? The Basement?

According to feng shui principles, the places where clutter takes root is meaningful but we are often not aware of what that meaning is. The following examples do not have to be true all the time of course, but something definitely worth thinking about as you clear your clutter.

Attic: Represents things hanging over your head, goals or dreams beyond your reach.

Bathroom: Plumbing is related to the emotions. Repressed emotions: feeling blocked, holding on to the past, people or events. Excessive emotions: weepy, verbal diarrhea or ranting.

Bedroom: Needing a great deal of privacy, hiding yourself or some aspect of your life from the world, being out of touch with your emotions or your inner self.

Basement: Suppressed emotions, unconscious beliefs, thoughts, patterns of behaviour, lack of foundation or roots in your life.

Cupboards: Upper cupboards, same for attic. Lower cupboards, same for basement.

Dining room: Feeling unnourished, un-nurtured, not taking care of your health, or lacking a sense of community in your life.

Kitchen: not fully allowing abundance, the harvest — what you have been working towards, into your life.

Living Room: difficult or absent relationships, feeling unconnected from loved ones and your community.

Under: (bed, cabinets, cupboards, etc.) Feeling bogged down.

© Copyright 2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

In feng shui both the visible and non visible affect our happiness and wellbeing. Many people focus on keeping their homes well presented for guests, but their cupboards are full of half read magazines and uncompleted projects. Some even dedicate a whole room to this purpose.

My first experience of feng shui was having a consultation for my own home. The consultant said it was good that I didn’t have clutter. I remember thinking that it was lucky she wasn’t looking in the cupboards, but I knew in my heart that the clutter was impacting on my life, even though people couldn’t see it.

Hidden feng shui also relates to cures an enhancements. They work in our favour even though we can’t see them. An example of a hidden cure would be burying crystals in the garden to compensate for missing areas in a floorplan. An example of a hidden enhancement is placing red fabric over the mattress of a couple’s bed. You can’t see it under the sheet, but it helps to spice up the marriage. Hidden cures and enhancements are great if you want to maintain a particular decor or don’t want to display things that others might think are wierd.

Copyright 2007 Helen Harvey. All rights reserved.

I have always thought that the easiest way to clean and organize your home is to invite visitors in. We tidy and clean by looking at our home through the eyes of someone walking into our homes for the first time. But, we also tend to hide the things that are typically out for easy access or because they do not have a space of their own. If we could take a moment to consider each item by listening to its story as if we are considering it for the first time we could find where it could best be stored. Possibly we could learn that we don’t really need this item at all. If we could take a moment each day to listen to our bodies, we could find out that we breathe very shallowly when we are thinking about stressful things and take action to stop and breathe more fully. If we take a moment to listen to our children with fresh ears we may hear that they have been trying to tell us something important to them for a very long time.

What are the signs that we are not listening to ourselves? Are you aware that your body, mind and life are:

• Moving too quickly or getting stuck

• Out of control or over controlling

• Without boundaries or inflexible

• Careless or not taking reasonable chances

• Overly emotional or withdrawn and flat

• Feeling nothing or in pain and suffering

Here are 5 easy Feng Shui suggestions to becoming more self-aware by listening to what your home is telling you.

1. Your home entrance allows energy, people and opportunities to flow into your life. Clear what is behind the front door to allow life to flow in with ease.

2. What is the function of your bedroom? Separate your work from sleep space to support rest and rejuvenation.

3. Leaking faucets can remind us of others who constantly drain our energy day by day. Fix what is broken.

4. The colour of your spare bedroom remains faded from the previous homeowners. Enhance your creativity by letting your personality shine through colour.

5. Your children’s activities spread from kitchen to family room, into the basement and back again. Create a space that is just yours, however small, and call it home. Or, create a space that is just for the children.

We become more self aware by listening to our homes and our bodies. Our homes reflect who we are and our bodies reflect our emotional and physical history.

Here are 5 easy Yoga suggestions to becoming more self-aware by listening to what your body is telling you.

• Your head hurts from all the activities to be juggled today. Clear your mind of thought for 2-5 minutes before each change of activity.

• Are you eating, reading and watching television at the same time? Separate eating to help you focus on the enjoyment of food.
• Are the heels of your shoes worn thin on one side. Fix your base of support to walk confidently through your day.
• You walk to work each day on auto-pilot, not knowing quite how you got there. Enhance your awareness by discovering the world at the tops of buildings as you make your way to work.
• Your computer station creates neck and shoulder tension. Create a short break time every hour to look into the distance to rest your eyes. Rub your hands together and place your palms over your eyes for 3 minutes to refresh them.

Copyright 2007 Brenda Rosenberg All rights reserved.