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.

Creating an abundance altar in your home or on your property is a great idea during these times of recession.

When creating an altar intention is very important.  Begin by identifying what abundance, wealth, and prosperity means to you personally.  This is a definition 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. Identify what kind of life do you want to live. Identify what is important to you in your life.

Once you identify your definition for abundance and what kind of life you want to live, look for symbols that will hold these definitions for you.  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 Prairie 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 sustenance 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.  Your symbol of abundance needs to mean something to you in order for the symbol to have power.

Consider placing your abundance altar in the Wealth area of your home for the maximum 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 or career.  This symbol of your personal business or career may be your business card or a brochure. You may even want to write out your intention on a beautiful card to place on your altar. 

As you receive payment for service to your clients or have your paycheck automatically deposited, place the payment or your payroll receipt 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, a lingam stone placed in a red glass bowl filled with sand so that the lingam can stand upright. I also have citrine stones which are known as the merchant stone for abundance. And, I have my business card in a prominent place on the altar as well. 

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 and hold the intentions for your life as Chi or life force energy flows through your home, may your altar receive the attention from the Universe. 

© Copyright Yvette Neshi Lokotz, August 2008, 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.

For the next month or so, I am spending time in Ohio, where I grew up.  This area of Northwest Ohio is called the “Oak Openings Region” and it is one of the Midwest’s rarest ecosystems, with oak woodlands and savannas, dunes, prairies and floodplain forest.

One of the few remaining Oak Savannas in the world is found here in the Oak Openings Preserve.  The savanna is comprised of Black and White Oaks that live side by side with a mixture of grasses, sedges, wildflowers, ferns and shrubs. Some very specialized animals are also part of the area, including the rare Lark Sparrow and several species of butterflies such as the Frosted Elfin, Persius Dusky Wing and the federally endangered Karner Blue butterfly.

I cherish the Oak Openings Preserve.  It is a place that truly feeds my soul and brings all my senses back into balance. 

I spend as much time as I can out walking the trails and taking photos.  For the last two weeks I have been out nearly every day photographing the wild Blue Lupine, which is incredibly abundant this year.  These tall, graceful stalks loaded with deep purple-blue blossoms are simply beautiful.  As I stand surrounded by these flowers, I feel my whole body respond.  I breathe deeply and slowly.  All tension melts away and the most wonderful sense of lightness and joy fills my whole being (there are photos of the wild lupine on my website photo gallery).  It’s just a perfect way to  start the morning!

The preserve has been expanding in recent years.  And, as people become more aware of the importance of the unique Oak Openings ecosystem, many property owners near the park are dedicating some or even all of their land to restoring rare and native plant species.  Conservancy groups are partnering with local residents to reestablish the region’s natural vegetation.  Even some local businesses are setting aside small areas for native gardens. 

This practice of landscaping with native plants is sometimes referred to as naturescaping or xeriscaping.  Interior Alignment advocates healthy, “green” practices such as this.  We believe in caring for the well-being of our Earth and our work includes harmonizing the land and connecting with nature in ways that nurture body and soul.  Wherever you live, I would highly recommend that you consider planting native to at least some degree.  Some of the benefits of naturescaping are:

• Low Maintenance - Native plants evolved to grow in local conditions. They do not require watering, chemical pesticides and fertilizers or frequent cutting.
• Water conservation - native plants need less water, so you can conserve water resources.
• Health - Traditional landscaping can use large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, some of which are suspected carcinogens. During rains, these chemicals often run off into public water supplies, lakes and rivers. 
• Land Health - Many typical landscaping plants are not part of the original ecosystem and therefore contribute little to it and in some cases actually cause damage and displace native plants.  Naturescaping contributes to the overall health of the land.
• Savings - The cost of maintaining a naturescape can be less than that of a traditional landscape because a naturescape essentially takes care of itself.
• Song Birds - song bird populations have dropped steadily for the last several decades and much of the decline is due to habitat loss.  Naturescaping is beneficial to native and migrating birds.  Other native animals benefit as well
• Enhancing Life - An ecologically healthy landscape offers so much beauty, color, sound and wonder to all of us. It is cleaner, healthier and it can bring enormous joy and a sense of being in harmony with the natural world.  And, this is what Interior Alignment is all about!

Copyright Deb Swingholm, 2008.  All rights reserved.

What is space clearing? This is the number one question I receive when speaking to a new space clearing client.  Space Clearing is the act or process of energetically cleansing a space of unwanted residual or stuck energies.  What this statement means in every day terms, for example, is that in a space clearing a practitioner can remove negative past memories held within a home or clear away a feeling of stagnant closed in feelings.  The practitioner uses intention and special Ceremony to clear away these residual energies.

Why is it important to space clear your home? Many of my clients first want the residual energy removed of past owners or of past issues that held a big emotional charge.  For instance, have you ever gone into a room soon after an argument occurred in that room?  Many times you can still feel the emotions.  This is where the proverb, “it was so tense you could cut it with a knife” comes from.

A space clearing practitioner creates a special ceremony based on a clear intention set by the client.  This preparation for the space clearing is vital as a clear intention and the emotion around that intention is the fuel to bring the ceremony to life.

In Interior Alignment™, we call this special ceremony, Purification.  Purification is like clearing debris from a stream.  We remove the energetic blocks so that Chi, Life Force, can energetically flow smoothly though out the home or space.

As professional space clearing practitioners we are trained to use our intuition and space clearing tools such as bells, Drums, incense and feathers as part of the purification ceremony.  When we are finished space clearing the entire home or space, we then instill the clients intended positive energies into the home, such as love, peace and Abundance.  The client then has an energetically clean space to enjoy their positive energies that fill their home.

© Copyright Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2008. All rights reserved.

A common desire when working with clients in their homes or through life coaching often focuses on increasing prosperity, abundance and wealth.  Who doesn’t want to live the good life without feeling overwhelmed and stressed?  In our culture, instant satisfaction and results are the desired norm for many.  In some cases, instant results are possible; however, the most stable things in life come through persistence, consistency and commitment.  In other words, reaching our desires is a process.

The trigram for the wealth, abundance, and prosperity area of the bagua is “persistent wind.”  As one of my teachers put it, “the slow, steady accumulation of precious resources and priceless blessings.”  To feel truly abundant requires a consistent practice of being grateful.  A consistent awareness of being thankful for all the Abundance represented in our lives.  Like the abundance of friends, family, time, pleasure, creativity, soul searching, knowledge, being of service, and of course, financial resources. 

Gratitude is a natural state of prosperity consciousness.  It is very difficult, if not impossible, to experience lack or limitation while being grateful. When we are appreciating all that we have in our lives, we are a magnet for even more!  So, if you are like me, you’ll probably benefit by toning up the gratitude muscle through a consistent, ritualized practice.  Here are some suggestions:

At the end of the day, record all the things that you’re grateful for in a special journal.  And enter your dream state from this expanded place.

• Regularly offer smiles or other friendly gestures to those you encounter during your day, whether you know them or not.
• Give of yourself and precious objects without attachment.
• Focus your awareness on the upside of situations.
• Be generous with your time, your special talents, your positive encouragement, and your creativity.
• Most important, feel deserving of all the good things that you desire.

May you have all you desire, readily, easily and joyfully!

© Catherine Hilker, 2008. All rights reserved.

Do you make an overall plan for the New Year? Most of us do.  Here is a simple guide for making plans that have great chances for success.

Your home acts as a mirror which reflects what is happening to you on an inner level. Whenever you make internal changes — or plan to, as in New Year Resolutions, it is a perfect time to scan your home and work environment to see how your home (or office) support those resolutions. 

Look to see if there is anything in your environment that might hold you back or sabotage your efforts to bring productive change in your life. You might find clutter, objects or photographs that have negative connotations, or energy blockages. Take steps to create a physical environment that matches where you want to go in life.

Add colors that are personally healing, forward looking and that support your progress. Use the bagua map to help you define and focus on goals. If improved diet or physical healing is your goal, start by checking the Health gua in your home. If abundance is your goal, check your Abundance gua. If finding your soul mate is your goal, check your Relationship gua and so on. 

Finally, to create plans for positive change that stick, write it down. When you write down goals and plans you act as witness to yourself. You can write it as a contract, as a commitment or as an affirmation. All of these steps will help you to create positive change and make lasting changes in your life.

Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2007. All rights reserved.