Where Energy Flows

When I began learning energy healing systems many years ago, I remember long, enthusiastic, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations I had with friends about which modality was deeper: was Reiki ‘deeper’ than Therapeutic Touch because the hands were on the body? Or was Therapeutic Touch more profound because the practitioner was sensing subtle energy fields around people?  Oddly enough, I remember hearing people’s opinions that massage was not as deep as Reiki. You can’t get much more ‘hands on’ than massage.  Hmmm… 

Our understanding of Energy is what has really deepened over the years: There is only one source of energy which operates exactly the same whether the modality is TT, Reiki or another. (I mention these two because these are the ones I’ve studied in depth.)

I see some of the same discussions happening around Feng Shui and Space Clearing today: that one type of feng shui (or the original or ‘real’ feng shui) is better than another, or that a particular space clearing ceremony is preferable over another, or is only effective so long as it is done with specific space clearing tools.

As an Interior Alignment™ feng shui and space clearing teacher, my main concern is the information being put out is fear-inducing and/or doubt producing. I’m talking about the schools who publicly ‘evaluate’ other schools. Imagine how a person would feel after reading or hearing an established teacher and/or school dismissing other schools…what if they are talking about your school?! I went through that stage myself when I first began practicing Interior Alignment™.

For a short time I honestly thought I had made a dreadful mistake in the school I chose, but when I was able to be objective, I saw the comparisons with the Energy Healing modality discussions and I also remembered the generosity of spirit that attracted me to Interior Alignment™.

What I learned from my teacher Denise Linn and Interior Alignment™ is that the depth, intensity or profoundness of the method depends on how focused the practitioner is and whether they understand Intention: energy flows where intention goes. Having compassion and integrity are also important.

The tools and techniques are not the most important thing. A $20 Bell is as effective as a $200 Bell if it is loved and treated with respect and as a sacred object. In fact, space clearing can be done with no tools at all: as with Energy Healing it is done through holding the Intent and being sufficiently focused.

So it is really what resonates within the practitioner, what interests and excites us, what feels like a natural fit, or makes us feel like we are ‘called’. On the other end, of the client, there is usually a vibrational match: the client will feel drawn to a particular modality, or a particular practitioner.  

A point a yoga teacher made has stuck with me: she said half an hour of a lower vibration emotion such as anger or fear can do more harm than eating white bread and sugar for a week. So rather than engaging in the discussions about what is best, authentic or deeper – which almost inevitably will lead to experiencing lower vibrational emotions – I simply know that if one school resonates with a person, it is the right school for them.

© Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.

We are closing in on the final days of December 2007. As we are busy with preparing for the holidays and caught up in the rush and hubbub, we tend to set aside some of the deeper meaning of how our homes help support us throughout the year.  We become unaware of our intuition and our homes when we are so busy.  As you take time out of your busy time to read this blog article, I would like to give you some information to consider for the coming New Year.

Interior Alignment™ is a system founded by Denise Linn. The Interior Alignment™ system is comprised of Instinctive Feng Shui, Space Clearing and Synchro Alignment. I would like to address Instinctive Feng Shui in this post. As professional practitioners of Instinctive Feng Shui we believe that our client’s intuition and our own intuition are our greatest allies in creating a vital energetic home that supports the goals and dreams of our client.

Many times, our client is already on the right track and just needs someone to validate this and encourage them, to empower them. Have you ever, moved furniture or artwork around? Have you ever stood back to look at the arrangement and felt either a “nope this doesn’t look right” or “yup, this looks good!” Well, this is your intuition telling you that this is good feng shui. As a professional we are also there for the client to suggest certain feng shui enhancements to encourage the balance of Chi, the elements and also the Yin/Yang.

Intention is the second most important ally in Instinctive Feng Shui. We assist our clients in clarifying their intentions for their homes, their space. What is really important to them? Then we suggest ways in which their home can help support them in their endeavors. I know this sounds a little out there, but we believe that everything has a life force. So, as we begin to move items in the home around, we add items or take items away…..we are basically using the items innate life force to better support the clients goals. As we make these changes, the changes are done with clear intention.

How can you begin to clarify your intentions on your own? Well, I would suggest you become a detective, a sleuth, in your own home. Your home contains hundreds of clues.

Since we are so familiar with our homes, we tend to look past these clues. Look at your home with the eyes of a detective. Start with your front door area. This is the architectural front door. Really take in what is there and how this area is welcoming guests, you – Chi. As you move around your home from room to room, look for the clues to what feels good and what doesn’t feel good. Make a list of the clues. Soon you will begin to see a pattern forming from the clues. At this point you can begin to identify what kind of feeling you want to have when you are home and how each room can support that feeling.

This is only a beginning to help you to identify your intention for the feeling in your home. There are many more layers to complete a feng shui assessment, but this is one step you can take on your own – empowering by using your intuition and awareness.

Copyright.  All Rights Reserved, Neshi Lokotz, 2007.

A few days ago I reviewed a great resource guide and DVD on reducing toxic exposures in the home for pregnant women and their babies. The title is Better Safe than Sorry - Hidden Exposures all Parents Need to Know, and it is put out by the Center of Education for Children’s Health and the Environment.

This is an excellent resource and very in tune with the Healthy Home part of the Certified Practitioner of Interior Alignment™ training. For many years Interior Alignment™ has stressed the importance of reducing toxins in the home. 

There have been so many changes in home environments in the last twenty to twenty-five years. Homes are more energy efficient and many do not naturally exchange air, unless we remember to open the windows or install an air exchange system. The huge increase of chemicals in our environment is creating chemical sensitivity in many people, and pregnant mothers, babies and young children are particularly at risk. 

Many of the products mentioned in the Better Safe than Sorry DVD are things you would not necessarily think about as being harmful but in fact most homes contain a complex cocktail of pollutants from many common household products (see Helen’s post Natural Cosmetics for a Healthy Home for example.) These common household products can include formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, ozone, radon, sulfur dioxide and particulates from cigarette smoke.

The Better Safe than Sorry guide tells you what products to avoid in the workplace while you are pregnant and what to use in your home — which are the safer plastics, what to look for when setting up your nursery, and how to read labels on cleaning and personal product labels to make informed choices. And there is much more.

You may be aware that a Certified Interior Alignment™ Practitioner can help you design a child-friendly environment (for example see  Brenda’s post on creating emotional safety for children through feng shui.

But did you know CPIA’s are also trained to do a Healthy Home assessment? We can help you to create a healthful environment for whatever stage of life you are in — from your 1st pregnancy and baby, to welcoming your new grandchild into your home. 

As Interior Alignment™ practitioners, we are trained to assist our clients to determine and focus on what kind of energy do they want in their homes or offices. As Interior Alignment™ teachers we assist our students in clarifying their intentions to practice Interior Alignment™. As I prepare to teach my next Interior Alignment™ certification course, I am pondering this energy allocation dance, a dance that is choreographed to our individual and unique personality and spirit. As I teach those who study with me, we discuss a term I call, energy allocation. Energy allocation is about how and where we want to spend or expend our personal energies: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. As we become clearer as to what we want to spend or expend our energies on, our quest to identify what kind of energy do we want in our homes and offices becomes easier. An example of this energy allocation is how do you spend your physical money. Money is a symbol of personal energy. You allocate your physical energies to go to a certain kind of job or work, you spend 8 plus hours a day, 5 days a week at this work or job. The energy exchange for your attendance and productivity is a paycheck or payment in money. How then do you take this physical money and decide how to allocate that energy? How does this translate into your intentions for the kind of energy you that would like in your Wealth or Career area of your home or office?

Another example of energy allocation is how you spend or allocate your time. The measurement of time is a human creation. Since we created this measurement, we have the opportunity to decide how we want to spend that measurement or allocate our energy within that measurement. As you clarify your intention for the kind of energy you desire in your home and life you then decide how and when you want to spend your time energy. What are your priorities and how do you want to spend your time within those priorities? Many of my clients and students rank family very high on their priorities, yet they realize that they allocate very little time to their family. Determine what the quantity and quality of the time that is spent with your family. Quality is just as important as when or how much time you spend or allocate. Ask yourself, how focused is my energy that I spend with my family?

Another layer of energy allocation is focus. Once your intentions are clarified and you know what kind of energy you would like to have in your home or office, then determine how well do you focus your energy on the activities that support the intention. I believe that this is how we consciously live our life and how our home can support our intentions for our life.

Energy allocation is a term I use to assist others to identify and clarify their dreams, goals and desires for the kind of life that they truly want to live and create a home that will support them, a sacred space. Have fun allocating your energies.

Copyright. Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2007. All Rights Reserved

Do you have an abundance altar in our home or office? Did you know that an abundance altar energizes the area of your home or office that the altar resides in? Why of course you did, but let’s share about a certain idea.

As a Master Teacher and Educator of Interior Alignment™ Certification courses, I share with my students about how an abundance altar is helpful in their own professional practice.  As with any altar creation, intention is very important.  Begin by indentifying what abundance, wealth, and prospertity means to you personally.  This is a definintion beyond Webster’s dictionary.  Once you have a clear meaning for abundance, wealth and prosperity, you can begin to clarify your intention for your abundance altar. The time and energy that you take to define abundance, wealth, and prosperity is worth the effort as you will begin to accept that your definition may not mean abundance to another person. 

For instance the energy of Buffalo (the American Bison) is a symbol of abundance for many Native American Nations.  I have a statute of a Buffalo with her calf on my abundance altar.  (I am Prarie Band Potawatomi and my Nation takes the stewardship of the Buffalo so seriously that we have a herd on our reservation to stay connected with the Wisdom of Buffalo.)  The symbol of Buffalo means health and vitality, life force, to many Native peoples. Not only did it provide sustance but Buffalo also provided shelter - a home, clothing and luxuries.  The Annishabe Nation, you may know this Nation as the Ojibiwa Nation, may use the symbol of wild rice in their definition of abundance.  What is your definition of abundance, wealth and prosperity?

Consider placing your abundance altar in the Wealth area of your home for the maxium assistance from your home to support your intentions, life goals and desires.

As you place thoughtful items on your abundance altar, consider including a symbol of your personal business.  This symbol of your personal business may be your business card or a brochure.  As you receive payment for service to your clients, place the payment on the abundance altar for a few days so that you may show your gratitude and also bless the payment.

I would also suggest placing a candle of your favorite color and scent on the altar. You may want to research the energetic qualities of colors (see Deborah Redfern’s IA blog articles about color) and the energetic qualities of certain flower essence or essential oils scents to add another layer of intention to your abundance altar. 

On my abundance altar, I have a candle with the essence of Angel Wings, my lingam gifted to me by my teacher, Denise Linn, which is in a red glass bowl filled with sand so that the lingam can stand upright. I also have citerine stones on my altar that were gifted to me by friend and co-Master Educator Rainy Jordon.  Citerine is known as the merchant stone for abundance. And, I have my business card in a prominent place on the altar as well.  (Please see picture)

Each time I light the candle I have in my mind and heart all that I am grateful for and that I am open to all the positive abundance and prosperity flowing to me from Spirit. 

May your abundance altar energize your home.  Blessings, Neshi.

Copyright Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2007.  All rights reserved