Where Energy Flows

Many books on symbolism or dream interpretation include the meaning of the different rooms in your house. Last fall I wrote about what clutter might mean in the different rooms of your house.  Of course this is meant as a guide — it is not written in stone — but something worth thinking about if you are doing a clear out and clean up this summer. 

Attic: Represents things hanging over your head, goals or dreams beyond your reach. With clutter over your head there is a phsical safety issue as well, of having things fall through the ceiling, or of not being able to find things in an attic.

Bathroom:  Water is connected with the emotions - we use water analogies to describe emotions - someone is flooded with tears, is blocked up emotionally, has a meltdown (ice) - even verbal diarrhea which isn’t really a water analogy, but is connected with plumbing! Energetically speaking, plumbing is considered to be symbolically related to the body’s natural system of release. so clutter in the bathroom can interfer with the natural emotional releasing process.

Bedroom: The Bedroom is related to our inner self. Clutter in the bedroom can take the form of needing a great deal of privacy, hiding yourself or some aspect of your life from the world, being out of touch with your emotions or your inner self.

Basement: The basement represents your foundations or roots in life, as well as your subconscious mind. Clutter here can represent thoughts that hold you back,  Suppressed desires, unconscious beliefs, thoughts, patterns of behaviour, or the lack of foundation or roots in your life.

Cupboards: Upper cupboards, same for attic. Lower cupboards, same for basement.

Dining room: The dining room represents nourishment  on all levels and a sense of community on our lives. Clutter in the dining room can manifest as feeling unnourished, unnurtured, not taking care of your health, or lacking a sense of community in your life.

Kitchen: The kitchen represents the heart of the home, and in earlier times, the hearth of the home as well, where people cooked food, kept warm and gathered. Therefore the kitchen represents abundance and nurturing. Clutter here could mean you are not fully allowing abundance, the harvest — what you have been working towards, into your life.

Living Room: The living room represents relationships and connections between other people. It is where we unwind and relax after working all day, as well as to entertain friends and family. When the living room is cluttered, it can represent difficult or absent relationships, feeling unconnected from loved ones and your community.

Under: Sometimes clutter is not in a room, but in locations, such as under things (bed, cabinets, cupboards, etc.). When clutter is hidden away underneath things, it can contribute to feeling bogged down and cramped.

 © Copyright 2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

I thought I knew everything there was to know about removing clutter from a house when I moved from the east coast to the west, taking only what would fit into our RV.

Emptying the house was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Many of the things we liked but wouldn’t be taking with us were offered to family and friends. We had a giant house moving sale, then truck loads were donated to the Salvation Army, and by the time we left, we filled a dumpster with things no one would want.

In the end, we reduced our belongings by about 95 percent — as I said, only what we could take with us.  It was difficult both physically and emotionally. Five years later there is still a sense a loss over some things and a wondering…where did such and such an item go?  But the good part of it was that we learned all about clutter because there wasn’t much room to bring new things into an RV.

But, five years later, I realize we only thought we had learned about clutter. You know that saying about expenses increasing to meet income, no matter how much income increases? Well the same is true of belongings and space.

A few years ago we moved back into an apartment - a change that necessitated starting from scratch to outfit a home. And once again we had space we could fill. People began giving us things, we found ‘treasures’  and incredible bargains we simply could not pass up…

We’ve been apartment dwellers going on 4 years now, and while it is true that we are much more conscious of accumulating than we have ever been in the past, we have watched (almost helplessly) as old habits crept back into our lives. It has become obvious that there is much room in our lives to learn more about living lightly.

One of the things I’ve noticed is a tendency to give things emotions: that the knickknack a friend gave you (that you don’t love) will have its feelings hurt if you give it away. Or that the person who gave it to you will know it’s gone from your life — some kind of psychic connection. And so we hang on to things that are obviously clutter, until the appropriate time comes to let it go. And this is the reason people end up having to rent dumpsters when they move — all those deferred decisions finally catch up with them.

I had an idea, that if space clearing was combined with clutter clearing, the items needing new homes could be honoured and blessed for the intent behind them. I would make them part of a blessing altar, take photographs and bless and clear everything on the altar before the objects I no longer want to keep are sent on their journey to find new owners who will love and treasure them. 

And that would feel really good because I know that objects that have been part of a blessing altar are very auspicious gifts to give and some of my energy has gone into the item to be passed to new owners.

(c) Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.

As a feng shui practitioner, one of the things I love is that it can be presented to people according to their comfort level and belief systems. I use 3 levels, or intensities of feng shui, which are: 

1. cures and enhancements
2. home as a metaphor
3. Intent

 Cures and Enhancements
The first level is the initial feng shui set-up and arrangement of your home. This is the stage where you will deal with all the big items such as missing areas of the bagua map, arrangement of furniture, and the flow of chi. Cures and enhancements are often ‘one-time” something that is set up and finished. Other enhancements may be seasonal. 

Home as a Metaphor
In the second level of feng shui  I look at is the metaphors in your home. Every object in your home has an energy and ‘story’. Some of the stories are wonderful, others clearly are not optimal and still others are in a grey area. There is just something about it that ‘isn’t right.’

When there are mixed emotions about an object it is especially important to look closer. It might be an object that is beautiful to look at, but the circumstances under which you got it were less than ideal. Or there is a less than ideal history with people who are involved. Although you may not consciously think of the associations every time you look at the item, you may be aware that something is not quite right and it will affect the overall energy of the room and your energy.

Intention
In the third level, we bring your intentions into the equation. For example if your Intention is to find a romantic relationship, we will be looking at the metaphors in your home that either support, or do not support that intention. It is not uncommon for example to see that someone has put items in their home that sabotage your efforts to meet someone. Metaphors can also take the form of clutter or neglect.

I encourage my clients to remove those items that are not supportive and replace them with things that reflect your intentions. For example it might be images of healthy happy relationships in the relationship areas. Some people will choose to have traditional feng shui enhancements (pairs of things in the relationship area) but it can really be any symbol that supports your goals and dreams in life.

Some people may not choose to beyond the first level of feng shui - and this is neither right or wrong, but a personal preference. They may choose at a later date to go deeper in to the energy patterns of their home and I consider myself fortunate to be a guide in this process.

© Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.

Dr. StrangeRebmann, or how I learned to stop worrying and love cleaning my chemical free home - Part 3
Read part One & part Two

My family and I sure spend a lot of time in our kitchen. I feel lucky to have my own kitchen sitting in the Family & Foundation and Abundance areas of the home. I love to prepare and share good food with my family.

I suggest trying to keep this area free from Clutter when possible, especially because of how much time we spend in the kitchen, and how great it feels when it is clear and clean. As we know, it is a powerful metaphor to have your space clean and clutter free.

I have to be honest and tell you this room is where I use the most commercial products. While I would like to use all homemade cleaners, I have run into difficulty finding ones that work well here. Yet, I do have some good tips.

1. Surface Cleaner – Mrs. Meyers All Purpose Concentrated Cleaner. I bought one of these sometime last year, and I haven’t even gone through a fifth of it. I take one capful of cleaner to 16 oz of water – and I am set for several weeks of cleaning up counters, tables and highchairs.

2. Dishwasher – Ecover Dishwasing Detergent. It works well with my pots and pans cycle. I have to use a little more water, but I think the reduced phosphates is worth it. Also – substitute white vinegar in your rinse aid compartment – works great – no chemicals.

3. Liquid Dish Soap – Mrs. Meyers again. It just works so well and I can clean an entire sink full of dishes with one squirt. I have also had good luck with Seventh Generation Dish Soap – it requires more - but is a bit cheaper.

4. Stainless Steel Appliances – Mrs. Meyers Stainless Steel Cleaner. This is more like a polish, but it works very well. I only have to use it once a month or so – and my stainless steel appliances and compost bucket look great!

5. Floor Cleaner – I use water. Unless it is raw chicken on the floor where I would feel the need to use some disinfectant, I use a damp microfiber mop. It works great!

6. Other cool tricks – Salt and Lemon Juice Paste for rust stains. Combine into pastes – leave on rust overnight – wipe off in morning. No need for CLR at all.

Next week – the rest of the house and laundry!

In the Midwest we are still experiencing frigid cold and snow.  Promises of warmer weather to come and the seed catalogs coming in the mail turn our thoughts to spring.  As the snow will eventually melt, giving way to nourish the soil, I begin to consider my closets and basement.

Consider this thought…as we spring clean our homes, clearing clutter we make space for the new coming into our lives.  In the January/February 2008 edition of Body & Soul magazine there is an article called More than Enough b y Terri Trespicio.  In this article Terri states that, “any feng shui consultant worth her salt will tell you, to bring about more of what you want, you have to make room for it.  This, in fact is one piece of the theory behind the Asian art of placement.”

Of course, being a feng shui practitioner and teacher, I whole heartedly agree with Terri.  I would add that when you include a clear intention of why you are clearing out what no longer serves a purpose for  you or that you don’t love, the clearing of clutter has a spiritual quality rather than being another annual task we create for ourselves (which by the way could be considered a ritual/ceremony – spring cleaning).

As we add the intention of allowing space for the new to come into our lives, we can then turn our thoughts to adding blessings for what we have consciously decided to keep in our homes, in our lives. Being grateful for all that we have and being open to all the blessings that are to come into our lives. Adding a simple and quiet ceremony, such as lighting a single candle as you state your intention, brings the meaning of space clearing to your spring cleaning, creating your own sacred space.

As we complete this annual spring cleaning, we breathe a little easier and notice that we feel lighter and happier.

Just as the melting snow nourishes the soil, we nourish our souls with our spring cleaning ceremonies.  As we begin to prepare for the new seeds to become flowers of blessings coming our way.

© Neshi Lokotz, 2008. All rights reserved.

In my work (and in my own life), I often find a direct correlation between what’s going on in a person’s life and it’s physical representation in the home. For example, I consulted with a successful business woman who had all the exterior symbols of success. She had a lovely home, beautiful furnishings and an orderly overall appearance. Her walk-in closet was another story which prompted a conversation between us. She admitted that on the outside she appeared calm and together, yet inside herself she often felt chaotic. Her home reflected this statement. Everything that was open for public viewing was orderly and together, however, her private closet that no one saw but her, was in chaos.

There are many translations between how we experience life and how those experiences show up in our homes and businesses. This particular post will explore the area of blocked energy which may be experienced in life as swimming up stream, going around in circles, inability to make desired changes, and feeling especially weighted down. Because our homes are physical representations of ourselves, if we are feeling stuck or blocked, their physical expression may look like the following bullet points.

• Doors and drawers that don’t open completely, are in need of repair, or are not used.
• Hallways, walkways, and doorways that are congested with objects, furnishings, and clutter.
• Overgrown bushes, trees and vegetation.
• Garages, basements and attics filled with unused items.
• Passageways narrowed with furniture.
• Closets and cupboards filled to capacity.
• Oversized furniture in small spaces.
• Clothes, shoes, accessories that are not worn.
• An over abundance of toys, electronics, televisions, books, collections, etc.
• Anything broken or in need of repair.

Now, during the season of winter, is an ideal time to address any issues of stuck energy in the home. (Summer is fine too if you live in the southern hemisphere.) The season of winter is quieter than others and is naturally aligned with looking inward. Winter also gets us ready for spring, the time of year that bursts forth with new growth and change.

In getting started, chose the area that is the “loudest”. In other words, the project or task that has been the most nagging. By addressing the most annoying task first, it often provides the support to continue tackling the rest of the project. When addressing any project, it helps to solicit the support of friends and family to stay committed. And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Have reasonable expectations in setting time lines to meet your goals. The best way to make permanent change is to be consistent, persistent, dedicated and loving. Your body will thank you and so will your home!

© 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.