Where Energy Flows

Denise Linn noted recently that often today’s Feng Shui consultants find it necessary to not only look at the Feng Shui components of a home (or professional space) but to look at the Feng Shui of the person. I’m finding with my practice that this is becoming the norm. In our more and more stressed economy, clients are running in way too many directions.

It is funny, the client wants you to come in and do a quick fix on the house, when the client clearly needs the arena to make decisions for personal change. Understanding how to explain this can be a delicate proposition. How do you say to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, “Well, your house is cluttered and in chaos and that is reflected in your person.”  That really doesn’t work. So we have had to learn new ways of coaching the client gently into creating the dynamic where they can see the need for personal Feng Shui change, even before there can be noticeable change in the building.

 Personal Feng Shui has become the first step in most of my consultations. That is followed by: Clutter Clearing, Earth Acupuncture, Space Clearing, and Feng Shui. What a wonderful difference that personal step makes.

Some things to consider personally:

• Do you find yourself running in circles and not really accomplishing anything?
• Looking at the bagau map, are you taking care of yourself in all eight areas?
• How is your personal health?
• When is the last time you actually: Sat down for a cup of tea? Read a book for fun? Took a walk in nature and listened to the songs of nature? Had an ice cream sundae for dinner?
• Is your relaxation going to the mall and purchasing more clutter for your closet and your home?
• Are you hiding from yourself by telling that inner voice you’ll get to YOU later?

 It is hard in today’s world not to keep adding more to our plate of life. On the other hand, stopping and smelling the roses is a wonderful thing and it might open doors you never dreamed could be opened.

© Roberta Binder, 2008. All rights reserved.

“Sanctuary is a gift to yourself.  If you identify a certain space in your home as a sanctuary, you are investing in your soul. ”                

–Christopher Forrest Mcdowell

Following up on Elise’s article on being ‘green’, so what about your face and body? Are the products you are using green? I would love to be, but finding natural products that work for me have been a problem. When I trained as an Aromatherapist I tried making my own natural concoctions. I guess it depends on your skin type but I found the beeswax based ones do not work for me (no Bert’s Bees for me). The odour of beeswax gives me a headache and I find the products sit on top of my skin and I end up looking greasy. Yuck!

The best natural product I found were just plain plant oils: fractionated coconut was one I used a lot, with a custom blend of essential oils. I loved the smell so they were successful that way, but I eventually believed the oil wasn’t really doing much for my skin. 

I’m lucky that my skin is in pretty good shape but I do need moisturizer and I get red patches on my forehead and nose. At one point I caved in and began to use foundation and I looked better (I thought so, and got positive feedback on how well I was looking) but I didn’t feel great about it. I never was much of a make-up girl and I think it is better to solve a problem than cover it up.

So I have been on the lookout for green products for the skin that actually work.  Recently I’ve started using Skin Biology. I bought some trial packages to sample and I’m using a copper peptide cream, squalane (which is from olive oil), and Calypsos oil (which is a plant oil combination), a very light body oil. I also got Emu oil with my kit. I am not happy about using an animal product as a cosmetic but my face and body like it. I did muscle-testing and dowsing to see it was right for me to use. 

To reinforce the Emu oil, today while I was at an outdoor market I found a local supplier. They were created by a local physician who developed MS and then recovered by using Emu oil as well as a number of other nutrional supplements. We got another small bottle of Emu Oil for my husband to try out and I bought a lip balm. I have to admit I didn’t have high expectations on the lip balm since I’ve been disappointed by so many others. But this one works. It is light, lasts a long time and doesn’t burn my lips.

After using these products for a week - alternating between the 3 facial blends - the redness is practially gone. If this keeps up, I’ll be tossing out the cosmetics for good.

So…how do feel about putting on a green face? Are you ready to go green? Here’s what one person I admire has to say on the subject. Take it away Kermit.

© Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.

Neshi’s most recent post (Going Into The Quiet) inspired me to continue on the topic of quiet and stillness. In my own life, cultivating stillness has been a challenge. I was born with an abundance of yang energy and movement has been my mantra! As I matured, I’ve come to embrace the wisdom of getting quiet and going into the stillness to find my own answers to life’s opportunities. As many of the authors of this site have shared, Synchro-Alignment has been an integral part of our Interior Alignment™ practice….with ourselves, clients and students alike. Every time I’ve used this approach when making important decisions, I have been presented with clear and concise choices. As I’ve acted on those choices, I’ve experienced flow in moving forward in life. Synchro-Alignment

The most common segment of the bagua that represents stillness is the Knowledge area. The trigram for Knowledge is still mountain and the key word is wisdom. When I use the image of a mountain as a resonance field, I “tap” into the solid, quiet nature that a mountain represents. In addition, I imagine the wealth of knowledge and wisdom contained within the mountain having been on the planet for thousands of years.

Another important attribute to cultivating stillness for me has been breathing meditations. When I focus my awareness on extending my inhalations and exhalations, my mind chat immediately starts to quiet. The key to quieting mind chat is an essential part of going within. My left brain begins to relax and allows better access to information contained within. Cultivating a practice of quieting my left brain has been a very rewarding journey. (For some fascinating information about brains, check out Jill Bolte Taylor’s website Jill Bolte Taylor )

Consider the importance of cultivating stillness. I believe it is one path to creating a kinder and gentler world.

© Catherine Hilker, 2008.  All Rights Reserved.

I usually try to be as green as possible. I recycle, re-use, reduce, compost, and buy chemical free and organic products as much as I can.

There are quite a few parts of my life when I am not as green as I could be though. For instance:
• I use Charmin toilet paper. It is not recycled, it is chemically treated, it is not good for the environment in any way…but it’s good for me. The recycled toilet paper, that I have come across, is very scratchy.
• I shop at Old Navy and Target. I know these clothes are not made from organic cotton, and synthetic dyes are probably used too. But, the clothes are adorable and affordable.
• I drive, and kind of like, my car. Now, I did buy carbon credits for the use of my car for one year, and I think it was less than $60, but I know I should walk and bike more.
• I use chemical laden spider killer sometimes. I am getting better at letting the little spiders live and hang out it corners, but once they get big and scary – they die if I see them in the house.
• I’m a sucker for a nice Porterhouse steak – medium – with mashed potatoes and Caesar salad - mmm. I should be vegetarian or vegan, or at least buy grass fed beef. But, I can’t find it anywhere – and those mail order places are too expensive.
• I use bleach on occasion to clean my sink. It is the only thing I can find that really gets rid of the coffee and tea stains on the stainless sink.
• I still get paper magazines. I know that it would be greener of me to read everything online, saving trees. Yet, there is something so nice about being outside, or away from the computer screen for a while, and leisurely reading a nice magazine.
• I am unwilling to invest $35,000 in a solar roof to save $25 a month on electricity.

So, what does this say about me? It means I’m not getting as many green leaves on Facebook as I might want, and I know I should be better in certain areas. Or maybe it means, I do what I can. Maybe it means, who I am is enough.

This is a tricky subject, because I don’t want to encourage you to throw everything away and not worry about the environment. I want you to do what you can – to try – but to be comfortable with the changes and find your own balance.

I have some slight obsessive tendencies in my personality – and so do all the other women in my family. When I first discovered Feng Shui, I took my book and made all the suggestions it said in every part of my house, and then waited for things to change. When I first discovered Green Cleaning, I was a regular mad scientist with my funnels and mixers and vinegars. This is who I am – I really get into things. Can you relate?

I am really okay with some of my non-green ways…even though I truly believe in living as lightly and sustainable as possible. This time, I am working on being less obsessive and more me. And, I’m starting to kind of like this me - the recycling, green cleaning, composting, spider killing, porterhouse eating, soft toilet paper loving Feng Shui lady!

What are your green habits and secret non-green indulgences? Let’s share!

You never know when there is a new brand of soft, recycled toilet paper that isn’t toooo expensive.

© Elise Rebmann, 2008. All rights reserved.

It is human nature to want logical proof that something works.  It is also human nature to procrastinate. And, as human beings, one of our best qualities is that we are exceedingly quick to adapt.  These traits can often become the challenges we face when it comes to implementing feng shui cures and enhancements…  We put things off.  We hope the problem will resolve itself.  We doubt and we question. Is this really going to work?  Will it be worth the trouble?  Will it be worth the expense?  Will I really see any big results?  Even as a feng shui consultant, I find myself with these kinds of nattering questions.

Take today.  I really need a new office chair.  The ergonomics of the small, metal dining room chair I have been using just don’t cut it anymore.  For one thing, the chair has no lumbar support.  It has no arms. And, it is too short.  My back hurts.  So does my shoulder and neck.  I know these physical discomforts are a result of many hours spent working in this chair.  And yet I find myself entertaining thoughts like “C’mon, will a new chair really make that much of a difference to my life?”

Of course, my consultant-self knows the answer is “yes”.  Absolutely. 

But, there is the lazy side of me I need to wrestle with; that part of me that would rather ignore the problem and hope it goes away.  I know I will have to spend a half a day, take the bus across town (we don’t own a car here in Thailand), shop for chairs, lay out the cash and then figure out how to get it home.  I talk myself into how it is just easier, cheaper and more convenient to stay here at home and try different sitting positions.  Pillows.  Even ibuprofen.

Eventually I know that my consultant-self will win out.  I will consider how a better chair will help me be more productive.  I will perhaps view it as a symbol of abundance and success.  I know I will feel more supported.  And, certainly more comfortable.  Soon enough, I will be motivated by the part of me that knows good feng shui and good ergonomics do indeed make life better!

In the mean time, I think I’ll try a bigger pillow.

© Deb Swingholm, 2008.   All Rights Reserved.

I have the lyrics from the Beatles song Let It Be running through my head, “in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” It is a song that keeps repeating over and over in my head. So, I take time to contemplate its meaning. I find that it is to write about how we can be calm and peaceful during times of trouble.

I recently wrote two articles for Where Energy Flows regarding the financial recession and what we can do to be positive during this time. Just the word recession has such low vibrational energy attached to it that we can feel our energy fall when we say or read the word.  I would like to try to bring up our energies through this blog article.

Interior Alignment™ taught me so many wonderful life lessons and also validated my conscious steps on my soul journey. One of these gems and validations is about meditation. As practitioners we are taught how to assist a client by using Synchro Alignment which is a form of guided meditation. As a teacher, I teach Interior Alignment™ practitioners how to use Synchro Alignment with their clients. Synchro Alignment has taught me how to be calm and peace during “times of trouble”. How we can bring those divine parts of ourselves all to one place and align so that we may be clear conduits for divine Creator energy. Interior Alignment™ practitioners know that our soul already knows the answer we just need to be quiet and calm to hear our soul’s voice.

The Onondaga Nation, calls meditation going into the silence or quiet. It is in the silence or quiet that we can hear our soul’s voice. We can hear the Creator through our souls.  As we use meditation as a tool to help ourselves to identify what we want from life, to set our intentions, we begin to live our lives from a peaceful place.

Once we set our intention to live our lives in a certain way, sometimes we just need to “let it be” and have the faith and believe that Spirit, Creator, the Universe is behind us as we do our part in our daily lives. 

As Mahatma Gandhi said,”we must be the change we wish to see in the world”. This means to me that we do our part and we start with ourselves. We start with ourselves by going into the quiet of a mediation to hear our soul’s voice as we make our way to a clear intention for our lives.

Blessings, Neshi.

© Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 2008. All Rights Reserved.