Where Energy Flows

“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

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.

How do you manifest your dreams and desires? Do you have a clear idea of where you are going in life? Is your life satisfying and fulfilling most of the time? If you answered ‘huh’ (laugh) to any of these questions and you’d like to change that for yourself, read on.

People often ask me why do feng shui. For me, feng shui is an important component and often-neglected aspect of holistic living. I say, “It’s like staying in your one room apartment when your family has grown to 4.” If your environment does not match your current life situation, the healthy practices you employ may not be as effective and can inhibit you from being your personal best.

Another reason to employ feng shui is that it assists you in manifesting your dreams and desires. By creating an environment that visually and energetically matches who you are and where you are going, the likelihood of sustaining or creating your vision increases substantially. In this post, we will explore just one way to use feng shui to support your goals.

What do you want to create in your life?

The first and most important aspect is identifying what you’d like to manifest. Really take the time to delve into this area. Find a place that allows for a short time of quiet and introspection and take notes. For example, is it your desire to be in a relationship, find a new job, start a family, or take better care of yourself? Not knowing where you are going in life is like driving a car in unfamiliar territory without a map. You’ll get to your destination a lot faster with a mapped out route.

Incorporate physical representations of your desires.

Once you’ve identified a dream or desire, create a physical symbol of it. One way to do this is to make a personal collage depicting words, ideas, photos, symbols, colors and attributes of your intention. (See posts by Donna Thompson collages) This process takes you from the idea stage to the concrete stage of moving toward your objective. It is not important how big or elaborate your collage may be, but rather how accurate is it. In this situation, size does not matter (laugh)!

Energize your goals in a specific location in your environment.

Find a ‘power’ spot or use the bagua in your environment to create a manifestation ‘altar.’  (Check out previous posts on altars ) Gather meaningful objects, spiritual symbols, photos, candles, etc., together with your collage for your altar. For example, if your desire is to take good physical care of yourself, you may create a collage that physically represents this vision. A health ‘altar’ may also hold a healthy plant, some natural beeswax candles, a bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables and be arranged on a beautiful natural textile and perhaps the power spot is the kitchen table. After you have done all this now what do you do?

Imagine your desires as if you’ve already created them.

Using the example of a ‘health’ altar on your kitchen table, sit at your altar each day and spend a few moments imagining yourself manifesting your dreams. Light the candles, relax, and see or sense your future self enjoying your ‘new’ life. Imagine how vibrant you feel and how easy it is to follow healthy routines and practices. ‘See’ your interaction with others, and include as much detail as possible in your visualization practice. Offer prayers of thanksgiving as if you’ve already created your desires and are experiencing your new future. Then…

Let it all go

You may wish to do this practice for a few days or even a few weeks. At some point you will sense it is time to stop and let ‘nature’ take its course. Surrender to your higher source of power and trust the perfect solution will take shape. Detach from the actual outcome and be open to many possibilities. This step is critical because trying too hard can actually repel from you that which you are trying to manifest. This step requires trust, patience and openness to accept results that you may not have been expected. It requires acceptance that whatever happens is perfect and for your highest good.

In summary, you may choose to use feng shui and your environment to consciously create what you deserve in life. Be clear and spend quality time with yourself to identify the goal. Once you are clear about your intention, create a physical representation of your desire. Use your intuition or the bagua to find a ‘power spot’ to showcase your objectives. Spend a few minutes each day at your ‘power spot’ and imagine the intended outcome with feelings, images, sensations and any other practice that works for you. When the time is right, let it all go.

Enjoy the process and experience the magic in manifesting your dreams and desires!

©Catherine Hilker, All Rights Reserved.

It’s all about the chi

I have to admit if you haven’t experienced feng shui directly it can be difficult to relate to. Why is that? One reason is feng shui is often about what is not seen yet is experienced through other senses. For example, ever notice how uncomfortable it is to be in a dark, dirty, crowded space? What if that was your office? Do you think you’d be your best, creative self? It’s possible and also not likely. Now imagine yourself working in a space that is dark, dirty and crowded day in and day out but it looks bright and spacious. It’s possible for a space to look bright and spacious yet be heavy and dirty energetically. How do you know if this is true in your own space? To perceive any inconsistencies as to the way a space looks verses feels requires tuning in and playing with change.

Tuning In

Tuning in means seeing, listening and sensing on a level beyond what is considered “normal.” Think about a space that made you feel uncomfortable and you weren’t sure why. Or another space that made it difficult to for you to breathe deeply or concentrate fully. What was going on here? On one level, your body was responding to the chi (life force energy) of a space that wasn’t healthy for you. To perceive through other senses, requires paying attention, listening, and being in the present moment. Cultivating a ritual of stillness is a must if you’d like to perceive beyond your normal five senses. If you are not already skilled at tuning in, practice by being still and quiet on a regular basis. The state of being still, quiet and centered makes it much easier to sense subtleties in and around you.

Playing With Change

Another way to perceive the way a space “behaves” is to play with change. For example, if you find a particular space is not really working for you and you’re not sure why, start with rearranging the furniture. Pay particular attention to your relationship to the entrance of your space in your seated or lying position. Being in a command position (seeing the door from your vantage point) usually feels more empowering and comfortable. Another way to play with change is remove clutter, visual disarray, and objects you don’t use or love. In their place add natural elements like plants, stones, water features, and lamps using full spectrum bulbs. One of the easiest ways to creating change is painting with color. Painting a room is a very cost effective way to shift a space in a dramatic way. I typically recommended a finish as close to flat as is practical for the space. When using a flat finish, you end up with a color that has depth because light is absorbed verses reflected off the surface.

Healing Spaces

So let’s return our focus back to the original question, Feng Shui as a Healing Modality? I’d answer that question with yes, yes and yes!

Consider the next three scenarios with that question in mind.

Doesn’t it feel great to receive a warm hug when you’re down? Create at least one room that behaves like a warm hug every time you’re in it and nurture yourself regularly. Ask yourself, what colors, textures, objects, elements, and furnishings would a room like that have?

Doesn’t it feel wonderful after completing an exercise program…especially when you really didn’t want to do it? You are likely to be filled with vitality, vibrancy and strength. Ask yourself, what colors, textures, objects, elements and furnishings would represent vitality, vibrancy and strength?

Doesn’t it feel great to be abundant and prosperous? Abundance and prosperity makes room for you to be generous and gracious. Ask yourself, what colors, textures, objects, elements and furnishings represent abundance and prosperity?

Do you see where I’m going here? I’m encouraging you through these questions to consider how your environment does support healing and to tap into your unlimited creative potential to do just that. Why? Because how we live is what we take out into the world. Make it good!

© Catherine Hilker, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

The earth has received the embrace of the sun
and we shall see the results of that love.
-   Hunkesni (Sitting Bull)

As a teacher and practitioner of Interior Alignment^TM, Interior Alignment Website I often use a technique called Synchro-Alignment with my clients. Synchro-Alignment is a guided meditation process that guides one to quiet the active mind and enter a deep state of relaxation. When the mind is quiet, such as the theta brain wave state, an individual has better access to deep inner knowing. The purpose of doing Synchro-Alignment with a client (which is uniquely associated with Interior Alignment^TM) is to become aware of what is best in a specific situation. Here’s an example of my own experience.

I had a colleague perform a Synchro-Alignment for me. The purpose was to meet the spirit of our home. In going through the process, I discovered the front entrance to our home was metaphorically hidden. I had to struggle to find an opening to get in, and once I did, the whole house was wide open.

I was very struck by this experience for a couple of reasons. One, the home we live in has a small and narrow foyer. Our guests have to enter in a single file until arriving in the living room. Then the space opens up. The other thing that struck me is that I had a tendency to be guarded. (And I still do in certain situations.)

The light bulb went off! If I had a tendency to be guarded, then of course I’d have a difficult time finding the metaphorical opening to our home. And, yes, I would be “attracted” to a home with a narrow entrance. The next step then became very obvious to me. It was critically important that I open up the foyer visually which I did with mirrors and lightening. And it was very important that I paid attention to my tendency to be guarded. As I have experienced, being guarded disconnects me in ways that I find unpleasant. And this awareness was a huge shift for me.

So, the point of sharing this story is to encourage you to find ways to enter the theta brain wave state and uncover the hidden gems in your unconscious. Entering this state can be achieved by listening to music designed for such a purpose like Tom Kenyon’s pieces. Tom Kenyon’s Music Entering this state can also be achieved by breathing very deeply with eyes closed. The information obtained in this way goes beyond the thinking mind which often blocks access to “real” issues. Give it a whirl and see what happens!

© Catherine Hilker, All Rights Reserved.

Our inner world is reflected in our outer world. What we think and feel (conscious or not) and what we see and do becomes our reality. And we create our reality in our spaces and in our lives through these experiences whether we are aware or not.

I was reminded of this concept during a recent feng shui consultation. A client was very concerned about a personal family situation and wondered if feng shui would help this other person. In asking some very probing questions, I came to NO feng shui would not assist this other person. The external changes in the physical environment would definitely raise the vibration of that space, however, without a willing participant to make changes on the personal level, the higher vibration due to feng shui changes would likely be “pulled” back down.

Here’s another example. I know of an individual who has serious hoarding issues. Her very concerned friends decided among themselves to treat this individual to a spa day and clean up her house. The individual I’ll call Marianne, accepted the invitation for the spa day and reluctantly allowed her friends to clean up her house. The project took on a life of its own and after two dumpsters and thousands of dollars later; Marianne had a clean, beautiful home due to the efforts and generosity of her friends.

Well time passed, Marianne’s friendships dissolved and her home returned to its hoarded, blighted state. All the feng shui in the world wouldn’t be able to assist Marianne because she didn’t want to change. For Marianne, the higher vibration of her “new” home wasn’t incentive enough to make the kinds of changes that required her to live in this new way. In other words, her inner and outer feng shui weren’t harmonious and something had to give.

For the best feng shui results, cultivating inner chi is essential and paying attention to all parts of ourselves is key. Cultivating and nurturing our spiritual, mental, emotional and physical selves becomes important components to consider. In addition, living in balance with work, play, self-care, being of service to others, relaxing, learning, growing, etc. are key ingredients of success.

So consider addressing your personal feng shui when doing feng shui in your physical space. You will likely find the results impressive!

© Catherine Hilker, All Rights Reserved.