Where Energy Flows

Organization and creativity go hand in hand.  If you’ve ever walked into a messy kitchen and tried to bake or cook you know this.  It works much better when we start with a clean kitchen - then we get out all of the ingredients and make our delicious meal.  In the process we dirty a bunch of dishes and make a mess. 

The chaos that arises when you are in the process of creating something is active chaos.  I’ll give you an example from my own experience.  When I create a new class, I start out with a clean desk and a blank computer screen.  I make a rough outline and then pretty soon, I think of one of my books that I would like to look at.  While I’m at the bookshelf, I see a couple others that may have some ideas I would like to incorporate into the class.  At some point I will look for images to include in the presentation and I start looking at both paper and electronic images that I have collected.  After only a short time, my desk is covered with papers and books and my computer screen shows dozens of open windows.  My office is messy but it is all actively being used.  When I finish creating the class, I put everything back in it’s place and I create a place for all of the items associated with the new class.  That way, when I want to teach the class, I can easily access the materials.

So we see a cycle of:

• start from nothing
• create (byproduct is active chaos)
• re-organize
• return to nothing

Problems occur when we don’t take the time to re-organize and return to nothing.  If I leave all of my books and reference materials out and then start a new project on top of that, (And I have to be honest - this does happen sometimes.)  I end up working on top of passive chaos.  My old project now contributes to confusion and it slows down my ability to work.

Active chaos is a natural and desirable part of life.  Passive chaos will bog us down.  Make sure to take time to organize and re-organize on a regular basis.  Our space then allows for fresh new ideas to manifest on a regular basis.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2008. All rights reserved.

This time of year is great for introspection.  Especially here in Michigan where the cold weather is keeping us indoors, we have the perfect space for looking within.  I’ve been thinking about my New Year’s Intentions.  Now that it’s been 6 weeks since I set them, they seem less urgent and more impossible.  For example, I want to eliminate most refined sugar from my diet and I’ve just finished a whole bag of cookies (organic cookies but still…).

As a Feng Shui Practitioner, I often need to look at something from different perspectives.  When I look at my intentions from a new perspective - appreciation - my energy shifts.  I can appreciate first that I even set the intention and second that I had many successful days of living with no refined sugar in the past 6 weeks.  Instead of beating myself up, I look forward to gradually improving my diet over the next several months.

If you made any New Year’s intentions concerning clutter, organization, re-doing a room, or moving; take a moment and appreciate all you have completed so far.  Take a look at what you do like about your space instead of what you want to change.  See if your change of perspective gives you a renewed energy toward fulfulling your intentions in the coming months.

Also, I am pleased to announce that I will be on a radio program called Metaphysically Speaking hosted by Mike Holloway.  We will be talking about feng shui.  It’s this Saturday, Feb. 16th at 10:00 am (Eastern) and will re-broadcast on Sunday Feb 17th at 5:00 pm (Eastern).  Tune in on the internet www.whfr.fm.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.

In the past few days as I have meditated about my intentions and goals for the next year and beyond, I have captured my thoughts in a list format.  My next step is to take a big piece of posterboard and divide it into 9 squares.  Then I label the squares according to the bagua: Creativity and Children, Helpful People and Travel, Career, Wisdom and Knowledge, Family, Prosperity, Fame and Reputation, Love and Relationship, and Health (Center).

After my posterboard is ready, I write each goal/intention on a sticky note.  I put the sticky note in the most appropriate square.  For example, my trip to Florida in March will go in the Helpful People and Travel square, my financial goals end up in the Prosperity square and the new projects I’m starting this year go in the Creativity and Children square. 

When I am finished, I can see how many goals I have in each area.  If there is an area that has no goals in it, I will usually create one.  If there’s an area with *lots* of goals, I consider this my hotspot.  I look at that area of my home with a critical eye.  Is it set up to suppport my new goals and intentions?  If not, I know this area needs clutter clearing, a check-up on the balance of the five elements and a review of what everything in the space is symbolizing.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.

As I am setting my new intentions and renewing old intentions for the coming years, I have found myself clearing clutter and cleaning.  I am renewing my committment to using non-toxic cleaners and I’d like to recommend the book, “Clean House, Clean Planet”, by Karen Logan.  It’s got great recipies for non-toxic cleaners, comments on the ingredients in off-the-shelf cleaners and a break-down of what each recipe costs to create.  It’s great to have as a reference book and it’s also interesing enough to read on it’s own.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.

I received an e-mail recently that pointed out some interesting numerology for the beginning of 2008.

1/1/2008 breaks down to 1/1/1 (2+8=10 which is a 1 vibration).

1/11/2008 breaks down to 1/11/1.

The number one is often seen as a symbol of new beginnings and I’ve decided to use that symbolism to my advantage this year. am planning to spend the first 11 days of 2008 visualizing and setting my intentions for the next 11 years.

To add some ceremony to the process I will light 1 candle and spend 11 minutes in meditation/visualization of my future each day.

Would anyone like to join me? What would you bring to the ceremony?

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.

Water is one of the Five Elements of feng shui.  When the Five Elements (metal, water, wood, fire and earth) are balanced, we are more comfortable and productive.  Since many indoor environments have little or no water, I often suggest adding water to a space.  Essential oil misters (which also make great gifts) are a fun and delightful way to add the element of water to your space.

There are many brands of essential oil misters for sale.  Along with making sure the bottle contains pure essential oil, use your intuition and your sense of what smells good to choose your mister.  You can also make them yourself.  This year I decided to make essential oil misters to give as gifts.  I created the misters with charged water.  This water is infused with the vibration of special words and it adds that vibration to the space that the mister is used.  The last ingredient, pure essential oil, adds a refreshing smell as well as special vibrations that come from the essential oils.   

I’ve outlined my process below.

I used:

• Filtered water
• A glass bowl
• Small polished rocks with the words:  love, power, miracle, freedom, success, passion, wisdom, create, and health
• A blend of essential oils that included Lavender, Sweet Orange, Ylang Ylang, Chamomile and Patchouli
• 4 oz. mister bottles (a mister is a bottle with a fine spray nozzle)
• Labels

I arranged the rocks in the bottom of the glass bowl and then poured in the filtered water.  (Note: If you’d like more information about using the vibration of words with water, see Masaru Emoto’s book The Hidden Messages in Water.)

I let the bowl of water sit with the rocks in the window, next to a sun chime for 24 hours.  The water is then infused with the vibration of the words, the sun, the stars, the moon and the chime.

After 24 hours, I filled the mister bottles. 

Then I added between 15 – 20 drops of essential oil to each bottle.  Use your judgment to decide how much essential oil to use for your misters.  Also, use care in handling the oils.  They are very concentrated and should be used with caution.  It is not advised to apply essential oils directly to skin.  To learn more about essential oils I recommend The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless.

Last I made up some fun labels and put them on the bottles.

To use: Shake to mix the oil and water.  Then mist.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.

Feng Shui is the study of how to bring the balance of nature into our lives. In feng shui, assessing and adjusting the five elements (metal, water, wood, fire, and earth) plays an important role in creating comfort, productivity and harmony in our home and work spaces.

At a recent gathering at a campfire, someone posed the question, “Why are people so mesmerized by a campfire?” From a feng shui perspective, we have several answers to this question. First, let’s look at pure feng shui theory. Some of the words we associate with fire are passion, integrity, expansion, transformation, and warmth. Just sitting near a fire will bring us closer to the experience of what these words mean. That alone sounds great doesn’t it? As a bonus, if we look at the Five Element Map, we see something else as well. We can see that fire has a nourishing (or creative) relationship with earth and a controlling (or destructive) relationship with metal. Earth, associated with being grounded, nourished, and strong is fed by the fire. Metal, associated with being judgmental, is melted by the fire.As we gather around the fire, we experience warmth and transformation (from fire), our sense of strength is nourished (fire creating earth) and our judging thoughts melt away (fire controlling metal).

Second, I have my own associations with a campfire. Part of feng shui is the process of becoming aware of our memories and associations with the things in our environment. When I was young my extended family would gather at a cottage in Northern Michigan. I associate the campfire with singing, laughter and community. These were some of my favorite times as a child and any fire I experience these days brings those feelings into the present. You will have your own memories and associations that come into play as you sit near a campfire.

Third, in feng shui we can look at our experiences from an energetic or spiritual perspective. Since ancient times, man has looked at fire as a purifier. Fire is an element that reaches up to the heavens and in many traditions is thought to connect man with spirit. Fire can take our thoughts, purify them and send them up to the heavens. Being near a campfire activates our connection with sacred spirit. The fire allows us to be one with our creator, our self and others.

No wonder campfires feel so good! Whether we look from a theoretical, personal or energetic perspective, a campfire has power. Feng shui gives us a glimpse into the characteristics of that power. To take it to the next step, when you are at home, light a candle with the intention of bringing all of the power and magic of a campfire into your home.

© Copyright Ann Kucera, 2007. All rights reserved.