Where Energy Flows

Yesterday, I went to the local market here in Chiang Mai (Thailand) and had an interesting Feng Shui experience.  The market is a trove of Feng Shui eclecticism and as I walk along, shopping at the various stalls, I always watch for brightly decorated altars, unusual good luck charms and other Thai variations of Feng Shui application.  But, today’s lesson was a little different…

When I bought the first item on my list, the vendor gave me change, and one of the coins she handed me was rather old and discolored.  The woman was reticent to give it to me.  She shook her head and was quite apologetic, saying that it was “mai suai”- not beautiful.  But, I smiled, said I didn’t mind, and went on my way. 

Later at another stall in the market, I pulled this same coin out of my purse pocket to pay for a basket I was buying and was shocked when the vendor rather abruptly handed it back to me.  “No, I cannot take this”, she said, putting it back in my hand and literally pushing it away. 

She was willing to lose the sale altogether, rather than take the discolored coin.  But, after some negotiation, she agreed to let me pay less - an amount that included a different, shiny coin.  After a few moments of confusion, I understood.  This was about luck.  This was about the Feng Shui of money!  My purchase was her first sale of the day and she didn’t want to tarnish her luck with a tarnished coin.   

I walked away smiling, intrigued by this exchange, and began to wonder about how to apply this in my life.  Even though much of traditional Feng Shui symbolism is related to money, luck and good fortune, I had never considered how Feng Shui might relate to the contents of my purse. But, this encounter with a tarnished coin made me think about how to use Feng Shui to increase our wealth, starting with our wallets.

 Here are just a few ideas: 

• Consider your wallet or purse as an extension of your Wealth/Abundance Gua.  
• Be mindful of the way you treat your wallet, your purse and your money.  For example, do you treat your purse like a place that protects your wealth or does it become a handy place to toss candy wrappers and wads of receipts? 
• Organize your wallet.  Cut up expired credit cards, remove old receipts, etc.
• Try to use new bills and coins, even if this means an occasional trip to the bank to exchange worn, dirty money.  There is something very uplifting about giving and receiving “beautiful” money…..
• Carry an amount of cash that feels like “enough”.  Nothing says “I’m not abundant” like an empty wallet.
• Keep something in your wallet that symbolizes money-luck.  This could be a gold or silver coin, a pearl or a stone such as citrine, aventurine or emerald (I carry a small polished emerald in my wallet).

I am sure you can come up with more ideas for bringing good Feng Shui to your wallet.  And, may you be blessed with good fortune and an abundance of bright, shiny coins!

  Deb Swingholm, 2008.  All Rights Reserved.

I have two tall beeswax candles in my bedroom which is also in the Health area of my home. They are a lovely golden color, they give off positive ions, and they smell ever so slightly sweet.

They are really bugging me and I need to take them down.

But I haven’t.

You see, I am leaving them there because they:
1. fill up an empty wall well
2. are the perfect Health enhancer (Earth color and Fire that supports Earth Energy)
3. were really expensive
4. give off positive ions

They are bugging me because I convinced myself I needed them, and that once I had them I would feel good. So these poor, innocent candles now represent stuff that I think I need in order to make myself feel better. Stuff isn’t the answer of course. The answer is learning how to feel better without buying anything. This isn’t all that easily done – it takes lots of practice, time, patience, and love.

I am worth it though gosh darn-it!

The candles stay for now. I do like the way they smell. I also like how you have to work at shaping beeswax candles as they burn. You have to keep pushing down the wax, yet without causing an overflow.

I find this extremely symbolic of inner strength and health. You have to keep at it, pay attention and stay in the flow. Just remember not to push too hard and too fast because you might cause an overflow.

© Copyright Elise Rebmann, 2008. All rights reserved.

When filling your vehicle with petroleum, gasoline, means paying substantially more than this time last year, we have to wonder how can we approach these times of recession in a more positive way. As Interior Alignment™ practitioners and teachers we have the ability and tools to assist our clients with supportive feng shui and space clearing techniques to achieve this goal.

How can feng shui and space clearing help me pay for my full tank of gasoline?  Well it starts well before filling the gas tank. Now more than ever we need to be clear about our thoughts and intentions. Having a clear intention about what kind of life do we want to live and what is important to us in this life is the foundation for creating that life we wish for.  It is times such as these that help really identify what is important to us, such as being financially secure or having a fulfilling peaceful life. Once we are clear about our intentions, then it is our emotions behind thoughts that support or rather fuel the intentions to bring them into the physical world.  This is also the basis of the Law of Attraction. When we have this clear intention, emotions and thoughts then we turn to feng shui to help turn our homes and work spaces into areas that can support these intentions.

First we ensure life force energy is invited and welcomed into our home-mouth of chi which is our front door. Second, that life force energy can flow through each of the rooms of our home and energize critical areas that hold our intentions and spend more time and energy there (abundance altars). Third, we ensure that the natural elements (fire, air, wood, earth, metal) energy is balanced to be in harmony with nature. Fourth, that yin and yang energies are balanced so that those opposing energies in nature are balanced in our home. When we have these items in balance, then our home is ready and able to help us to create what we desire.

Space Clearing is the otherside of the Interior Alignment™ coin. Once the feng shui is in place, then a space clearing to remove unwanted energies that are no longer useful to us can be released. The template is set through the clear intention, the feng shui supports the intention, space clearing clears blocks to energy flowing to that intention. Space clearing brings all the aspects of the Universe to help support your intention through prayer and ceremony. Your home becomes a sacred space that supports the life you intend to live as you and your home are in balance with all of nature and Universe.

What is your intentions for your life and are what are you emotions around your intentions? Its time to seriously know what you want from life.

© Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 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 I was contemplating beauty, I remembered the Navajo prayer about “walking the way of beauty”. 

At the heart of the Navajo Way is the concept of harmony; seeing the natural state of the universe as having harmony, balance and equilibrium.  This concept is often translated as ‘Beauty’ in English.  The Navaho believe that well-being comes from being in harmony – being in right relationship, knowing yourself, knowing your purpose, following your heart and living in harmony with yourself, your culture and your surroundings.

Healing, wholeness and joy come when we are fully walking in this beautiful balance.  When things are out of alignment, when illness or problems arise, there is an underlying disharmony that must be put right. 

Interior Alignment shares this philosophy and I have collected many versions of this lovely prayer, which is used as a chant in healing ceremonies.  I share two here with you:

In beauty I walk

With beauty before me I walk

With beauty behind me I walk

With beauty above me I walk

With beauty around me I walk

It has become beauty again

It has become beauty again

In Beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With Beauty may I walk.
With Beauty before me, may I walk.
With Beauty behind me, may I walk.
With Beauty above me, may I walk.
With Beauty below me, may I walk.
With Beauty all around me, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of Beauty,
lively , may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of Beauty,
living again, may I walk.
It is finished in Beauty.
It is finished in Beauty.

 

May you walk in harmony and may your life be filled with beauty.

Copyright 2008, Deb Swingholm. All rights reserved.

A few months ago I wrote about how my husband and I enjoyed watching a colony of bees that decided to build a hive on our porch.  I also wrote then about the mystery of disappearing bee colonies, and now that it is summer it seems like a good time to revisit this story. 

Bees and other pollinators are suddenly in decline due to a phenomenon that has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder. 

While the exact cause has not been established, there is some evidence that bees are dying due to disease, loss of habitat and pesticide use.  Other possible explanations include a new parasite, flowers that produce less scent and a combination of stresses such as poor nutrition, limited or contaminated water supplies, and the need for bees to be transported long distances for pollination of particular crops.

In some areas of the world the bee loss is being described as “catastrophic”, with some beekeepers in 2006 reporting between 30-90% losses. Similar losses were reported in 2007, but scientists do not know how many bees have died overall, since statistics only reflect what is happening in managed colonies.  

Consider for a moment what will happen if the pollinators of our planet disappear! 

About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. And, bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value. 

Ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs and Burt’s Bees, a maker of natural personal care products, are among companies who have pledged money for research and begun efforts to help save the bees.  The problem affects about 40 percent of Haagen-Dazs’ 73 flavors, because ingredients such as almonds, cherries and strawberries rely on honey bees for pollination.

Haagen-Dazs has created a new limited-time flavor - Vanilla Honey Bee - and will use some of the proceeds for research on the disorder. Burt’s Bees has introduced Colony Collapse Disorder Lip Balm to “soften your lips while saving honeybees.”

The US government is also taking steps to approve financing for bee research.

One reason I am an Interior Alignment^TM Teacher is to awaken people to the interconnectedness of all things.  All creatures are a vital part of the web of life and we human beings balance carefully on the shoulders of all other life on this planet.  It is essential that we live in harmony with the rest of the animals and plants on this beautiful rock we call Earth. 

This summer, if you find a hive in a spot that you believe would be harmful to you, your children or your pets, please do not spray the hive with chemical poisons. Contact a local beekeeper to relocate the hive.  Also, raise awareness by sharing information about Colony Collapse with others.  You can even write to your local news editors - newspaper or television - asking them to run the story and highlight local beekeepers as helpful resources. 

Help the planet, save our ice cream, save the bees!

Copyright 2008, Deb Swingholm.  All rights reserved

Space Clearing often happens spontaneously, I have discovered. 

I did a load of laundry today, careful to check my pants pockets for kleenex (tree pollen season, you know).  However, I quickly discovered that I’d missed something.

When I pulled the wet clothes out to toss them in the dryer, I noticed my clothes were covered with little flecks of what looked like dead, brown leaves.  Wow, I thought, how did I manage to get dead leaves in there?  I figured I must have gotten some leaves rolled up in the cuff of my pants or maybe in a sock.

Then my fingers touched something thick and soft…

I instantly recognized the small deerskin bag that had held my tobacco and blue corn, which I use when I am out in nature hiking and taking photographs.  I often give tobacco or corn or small, pretty stones as an offering to thank the nature spirits for particularly beautiful or spirit-filled moments. 

As I plucked all the bits of tobacco off my clothes and out of the bottom of the washer, I had a good laugh, thinking how the washing machine and my laundry had been thoroughly blessed!  (and I have to say, it feels great to be wearing the clothes that were space cleared in the process!)

Copyright 2008, Deb Swingholm.  All rights reserved.