by Deb Swingholm

This year it looks as if my spring cleaning ritual will be a bit more thorough than usual.

We have undertaken some major renovations and physical changes in our apartment. It just seemed time to take on some big projects we’d been considering. 

The biggest change:  we are replacing the carpet in the two bedrooms with tile.  Both rooms needed to be packed up and emptied.  Eight-year old carpet was pulled.  And as I suspected, it was laden with dust and mold.  The rooms are now filled with dust, dirt, caulking, tile, grinders and workmen.  And, the adjoining bathrooms are piled with concrete bags, tools, buckets and other materials.  The bedrooms will also be re-painted once the tile is laid (seemed an obvious thing to do, since the furniture is already moved out!).

Today, we had the ac units serviced – dust blown out with compressed air, washed inside and out.  A new motor was installed in one unit. 

When the workers are done in a few more days, serious clean up and dust-busting will begin!  I think I’ll also be clutter clearing our two main closets, getting rid of old books and magazines, and doing a thorough cleaning of the shelves and cupboards in the living room and the bathroom cabinets.  And, all the drapes will be taken down and laundered. 

All of this represents a lot of work and chaos. But, in the end it will be a much healthier environment.   

 I invite you to make plans for your own spring cleaning.  Perhaps you won’t be doing quite as much as me.  But set aside as much time as you can – a weekend or a few evenings – and do a deep cleaning that includes vacuuming, dusting, washing surfaces and clearing of the most obvious clutter. 

I promise you’ll feel lighter and healthier.

© Deb Swingholm 2010. All rights reserved.

by Deborah Redfern

Here in the northwest, our hearts are full with the promise of Spring. Well, more than the promise…we are almost basking in blossoms and warm breezes. In this video, I explore the meaning of the Element of Wood and the season of Spring!

© Deborah Redfern 2010. All rights reserved.

By Ann Trump

Most mornings, I hear the birds chattering their greeting to the dawn at least a half an hour before I see them. I have several bird feeders around my house, but I have strategically positioned a feeding area outside my bedroom window between the Korean spice bush and the quince.  While I drink my first cups of coffee, before the day has gotten a firm hold on my attention, I allow myself the joy of bird watching.  I highly recommend it.  Back yard bird watching satisfies the yearnings of my soul, that place in me that wants a peaceful and calm demeanor, that place that trusts life and wants to leave behind the hurry.  Without effort, I experience an alert, meditative state.  Even on a busy day, if I stop for just a moment, and catch the scattering of sparrows as a noisy blue jay lands on and claims a feeder, I am instantly brought into the present moment.    

From a Feng Shui perspective, inviting birds into your environment is inviting good chi and blessings from Heaven.  Birds are symbols of new opportunities and good fortune. Feeding birds is a fabulous way to increase energy around the home and keep it from becoming stagnant.  Introducing a bird bath is a wonderful way to incorporate the water element into your landscape.  The material and color of the feeder can be a way to add a deficient element or enhance an area of the bagua.  Being mindful of placement, for example adding a feeder to the north area of your property or in a northern widow of your house may give you added energy and blessings for a job search, as the north represents career.

Tips for feeding the birds:

  • Keep the feeders full.  Birds will return to feeders if they know there is a  continuous food supply.  If you are new to feeding, don’t be discouraged if birds don’t flock the feeder the minute you fill it.  Be patient, they will find it.
  • Birds like cover when they feed.  Feeders hung near shrubs and trees or under porches provide safety from predators.  Try draping pine branches or grape vine around feeders that are too exposed.
  • Birds prefer wooden feeders to plastic feeders, with the exception of hummingbirds and finches. 
  • Don’t forget squirrels will invade feeders and have ravenous appetites.  Give them  a feeder of their own filled with corn and sunflower seeds, or buy corncobs just  for them.

There is a variety of attractive window feeders for city dwellers.  A red  hummingbird feeder is an ideal energizer for any area of the bagua that needs a  little boost and is a perfect feeder for apartments.                       

Experiment with homemade bird treats. Pinecones rolled in peanut butter with birdseed sprinkled on them is a nice project for children.  Hang them from your porch or on trees. Birds love suet.  Try the recipe below.

 Suet   

  1. Use as much lard as desired.
  2. Add peanut butter.
  3. Add any dried fruits or nuts that you have available.
  4. Mix in enough birdseed to make it desirable to the birds.
  5. Put the mix in recycled onion sacks and hang outdoors.

Bird watching and bird feeding is a soul pleasing past time and good Feng Shui.  On the wall above the cash register in my favorite Chinese restaurant there hangs a beautiful painting of One Hundred Birds.  The symbolic meaning of the Chinese painting is good fortune and financial blessings.  I have actually counted forty four mourning doves feeding at one time in my yard.  Arriving in pairs, I believe they bless me with the fortunes from Heaven.

© Ann Trump, 2010. All rights reserved.

by Minnie Kansman

For this entire month, I have been focusing on the art of allowing. Allowing more abundance, openness, healing, love and joy into my life. During this time I have also been noticing when I hinder the flow of these experiences into my life. How and why and when I place choke holds on my own happiness. The biggest block I find is the quality of my mind chatter. The negative thoughts that fly though my mind telling my why I cannot have what I want. Many pitiful excuses come up, and because they are in my mind, I am giving them emotion and intention, attracting more of what I do not want in my life.

Excuses like:

“I don’t deserve this.”
“I am not good enough.”
“The economy is too bad.”
“I don’t have enough money”
“I already have enough, it is selfish to want any  more.”

I have discovered that just reaching for the next highest rung on the ladder of emotional charge for each statement, I can slowly climb up to a much higher level of experience.. By holding a conversation with myself, I can let go of the bottom rung and begin to climb  higher to that place of attraction I am seeking. Like attracts like after all! 

So, “I don’t deserve this”, becomes “I am not here to punish myself, I am here to experience life.” Which can move to, “I am here to experience joy” which moves even higher to  ” This that I desire brings me great joy!

By the time I am at a statement like this I am smiling and know my emotions have shifted and I am in the energy that will attract more joy to my life. I have had amazing results with this “Happy Talk” in the few short weeks I have been practicing this.

Another “Happy Talk” example:

“I don’t have enough money” becomes, “I have money to stay warm and feed my family,” moves even higher to “I live in a beautiful home and have all my needs met.”

Try it, when you find your mind chatter talking in a negative way, by reaching for that next highest thought you can have about the situation. It is a form of self therapy, and truly does shift your perspective, and most importantly, your emotions. And we manifest with our emotions above all else.

Have fun Happy Talking to yourself!

© Minnie Kansman 2010. All rights reserved.

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