Where Energy Flows

by Deb Swingholm 

I find such joy in observing and discovering the magic that exists within the movements of the elements and the seasons.  These cycles of the Earth and the moods of Nature are beautifully expressed in the Medicine Wheel, the Celtic Wheel of the Year and the Feng Shui Bagua. 

The Celtic Wheel and the Medicine Wheel are something I use daily, monthly, seasonally, yearly.  Honoring the seasons as they move and turn keeps me grounded and connected to the Earth.  I celebrate the Solstices and Equinoxes as points of transition.  These are days to pause and notice Nature, and contemplate the lessons and wisdom she is offering at that point in time.  I take time to see how my own inner rhythms are moving in relation to these natural cycles.  Often, these are periods of reflection and personal ritual.  

In my daily life and work, I use the Medicine Wheel.  I honor the Spirit Animals of each direction.  And, I invite each direction and each element to work with me, opening to their unique qualities and gifts.  There are many variations of the Medicine Wheel.  In the form I use, East represents Air, new beginnings, illumination, vision.  South is Fire, growth, energy, expansion.  West is Water, dreaming, transformation, insight, introspection and receptivity.  And, North represents Earth, grounding, wisdom, the elders and rest after completion.  A project begins and takes form in the East, and I walk with it around the Wheel as it expands and comes to completion in the North.  It isn’t linear – it is possible that one project may be in the East while another is nearing its finish in the North.

In Feng Shui, the Bagua is also a spiral of the seasons.  The elements are represented (five elements here instead of four), and the focus is on the movements and relationships between them.  Water nourishing wood.  Wood feeding fire.  Earth damming water.  As a feng shui consultant, I look for how the seasons, cycles and elements are expressed in a home or plot of land, how they are balanced or imbalanced, and make adjustments to bring them into a healthy flow. 

I also dwell in the Moon cycle.  To me, it is like a spiral within the circle.  When the moon turns new, I can always tell because  I experience a huge rush of energy and creative juice.  It’s like a gentle, energizing in-breath.  This waxing cycle is usually a potent creative time for me, as the energy builds and crests at the full moon.  When the moon wanes, the energy becomes quieter.  This is time spent incubating and dreaming.
 
The beauty really is in discovering the sacred rhythms pulsing in the midst of what is happening right now.  Discovering how these rhythms give shape and color to life.

© Deb Swingholm 2010. All rights reserved.

by Deborah Redfern

In the Five Element system of Chinese Medicine, Winter corresponds to the element of Water. The bagua area for the Water element is Career, meaning Deep Water. Did you ever wonder what the connections are between Winter, the element of Water and the Career area?

Water tells us more about transformation and the alchemy of change than ony of the natural elements of nature. A single drop of water in the life cycle undergoes the most radical of alterations: from cloud to fog, mist, rain, snow and ice; from fresh to salt water as it makes its way to the ocean; from part of a glacier or iceberg, to a waterfall or greak lake; a rapid river, or a tiny stream. And. at the end of the cycle the sun evaporates this water drop and returns it to the clouds to become again a drop of rain. Through all these states, water is quintessentially, water.

Deep Water means to go very deeply inside on any inner journey to find the quintessential nature that is you. I believe that through this journey you can find your personal alchemy which gives you the opportunity to turn your life around. It is a chance to transform from a person who is just putting up with a situation, to a person who is living their passion – a person who has found the gold. 

– Deborah Redfern,  Odyssey of the Heart:

Winter is also a time of dramatic transformation and alchemy. The growing season is over. It gets colder, there are fewer hours of daylight, and the trees are bare. In many places in the world plants whither and die back, and the earth is blanketed in a thick cover of snow. It is a time for outward stillness and dormancy. Deep inside the earth – perhaps under that blanket of snow - and inside trees, preparations are underway for the coming spring, and the season of rebirth.

People too need times of quiet and seeming dormancy in order to fully absorb the work we have done.  The energy of Winter and the Water element helps us in our inner journeys. It is a time of assimilating wisdom and preparing our inner ground as we consider what is next for us – where we are happy in our lives and where we wish to bring in change. It lays the foundation for us to be receptive to what is next:  new ideas, inspiration and experiences, and to let go of what does not fit for us, with a goal of getting closer to being our quintessential nature.

Does it mean that Winter is the only time that we can do this work? 

No, it simply means that the cycles of nature provide us with a natural opportunity to do the work, whatever season it is and the more in tune we become to the cycles of nature, the more natural the work becomes.  As well, the energy of the Element and season is often woven into our culture, in one way or another. At this time of year – year’s end – do we not naturally review and evaluate the past year, and makes New Year’s Eve Resolutions for the coming one? Although there are several months of winter and the dark time of year left, we begin to set the seeds in late December and early January.

Through using feng shui, we can also step into the winter/water element energy every time we make enhancements to the Career area of our homes, especially when we use a much deeper, contemplative  approach. Enhancements (cures or remedies) using this method would likely be totally unique, and can then be activated  by using the traditional Career/Water Element enhancements. 

Wishing you a juicily contemplative Winter season!

© Deborah Redfern, 2009-2010. All rights reserved.

by Deb Swingholm

Honey, raisins and apples served to ensure a sweet future. Breads and cakes baked with coins inside to symbolize prosperity. House cleansing rituals purge the home of disharmony and bad luck.  Firecrackers, drums and cymbals frighten away evil spirits.  

Each culture has its own timing and traditions that mark the ending of one year and the beginning of the new one.  And, for many of us, the New Year will be fêted on January 1st.  How will you celebrate?

You can easily find inspiration in the things your ancestors did to welcome a new year.  Or, you can consciously create your own year-ending and year-beginning rituals.  You’ll find this is a beneficial time to clean, re-organize and de-clutter.  It is a great time to do a Space Clearing ceremony.  It can be an excellent time for divination or personal healing rituals.  And, it is a perfect time to reflect on your life and appreciate the journey. 

This week I did a “Ritual of Reflection” – a review of the past year.  I often enjoy this thoughtful process nearer to my birthday in the spring, but this year it felt appropriate to do now, following the Winter Solstice. 

It is a simple thing to do this contemplative practice: 

Set aside at least 30 minutes.  Settle into a quiet, relaxed state and allow your mind to wander, going back in time through the year’s events.  Begin to write.  Longhand or typing, let the thoughts and recollections flow onto the page.  Allow memories to emerge in whatever order they come (there is no need for your list to be chronological). 

Consider all that occurred.  What did you accomplish this year?  What did you learn?  What were the challenges?  What qualities or skills did you gain?  In what ways did you grow?  What events and people did you encounter?  Who entered or left your life?  Consider the goals you realized, the lives you touched and the wisdom you acquired.

When doing this exercise, it is possible for strong emotions to surface.  You might suddenly feel you are being boastful or arrogant.  Or, you might feel sad or unaccomplished.  Notice any emotions, then let them float away.  Release any judgments and keep writing (of course, you may come back to these feelings later – they can offer insight and serve as a roadmap to places within that need healing). 

You might also notice that it is easier at first to recall the “bad” things – short-comings, disappointments, unhappy events.  These things have a way of hanging around in our psyches.  Write them down and then look a little deeper, fully crediting yourself for what was accomplished, experienced, created or learned.  It is important to acknowledge both the “good” and the “bad”.  Success and failure.  This kind of honesty creates a strong platform for clarity and inner growth.  

Continue to write until you sense the list is complete. 

When you are done, you can keep the list. It can be placed on your altar.  Or, you can burn it, returning the cold ashes to the earth. To complete your ritual, you can also say a prayer, set an intention or make a wish for the coming year. 

© Deb Swingholm, 2009. All rights reserved.

The pull of the New Year energy is upon me! 

This year I felt a strong desire to share what I do to prepare for a new year from my own visioning and planning process. (I’ve taught courses for several years now, called “Getting Clear” that incorporate feng shui and coaching, and other fun and juicy tidbits I’ve found helpful over the years). 

Please consider this your invitation to tune in starting January 5, 2010  to my Feng Shui Life Make-Over Course. It is FREE! You can follow along on my Feng Shui Studies blog, or follow on my Facebook or Twitter page!

I am looking forward to sharing with you and consider myself honoured and blessed by your presence. It is going to be an exciting New Year!

© Deborah Redfern, 2009. All rights reserved.