Where Energy Flows

There are a few colours in the spectrum that are stimulating and relaxing at the same time. Green is one of them and purple is the other: from the lightest lilac and lavender, to sweet violet and plums, vivacious magenta, and the deep earthy shades of wine, burgundy and eggplant.

There are a few symbols connected with purple, namely wealth, spirituality and power. The connection with wealth is because obtaining purple dye from natural sources is costly and difficult. Historically only those in high positions could afford it, such as royalty and the head of religious orders (for example the Pope of the Catholic religion.) These are of course, positions of power in society.

In feng shui, purple is one of the colours, along with blue and red that represents abundance and prosperity. Although I believe originally purple signified material wealth, the association it has with spirituality and insight can mean the inner wealth that comes from spiritual growth. Purple represents the crown chakra which connects us to our higher source and life path on earth. It is associated with psychic awareness and intuition and can be used to lift you into a higher spiritual plane.

Some of the uses of purple are:

• It is relaxing and at the same time mentally uplifting
• Stimulates creativity and motivation
• Balances the right and left brain (yin and yang)
• Opens consciousness of the higher planes of existence
• Can be used for inner purification and protection
• To assist in going on an inner journey for spiritual growth

However, purple can be…

• depressing in large doses or over large areas
• not a good colour to wear if you are feeling oversensitive and vulnerable.

In the Home: A lot depends on the shade but generally purple is a yin colour and best used for areas that have quiet or restful activities. As well, some shades of purple such as deep violet, eggplant or royal purple can feel cold and stark, and the message this gives out could be ‘unapproachable or ‘keep back’ both of which would tend to put distance between people. For this reason it is not a good colour to use in areas that you want to be highly social, so I wouldn’t recommend it for the family room, living room, dining room or kitchen.

However some shades such as lavender, lilac and magenta are warmer in tone and in home decorating I recommend these lighter shades; keep the deeper shades of purple as accents. Green also works very well as an accent for purple.

Purple is a great colour choice for bedrooms and the shade of lavender (and also the herb or essential oil) is useful for people who have insomnia. The lighter shades of purple are also suitable for a meditation or healing room.

Copyright ©2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

Your bedroom — it is the first room you see every morning, the last one you see at night.  It sets the energy for a peaceful, rejuvenating slumber and then sets the tone for the day.

So the first question is, do you sleep well in your bedroom? (Some people sleep well, but only after they get up and move to another room.)  If there are sleeping difficulties, do you lie awake trying to get to sleep or do you fall asleep easily but wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep?

What is your mood in the morning? Does your bedroom help you easily start your day or does it immediately set up roadblocks and obstacles, (e.g. you trip over objects on the floor, can’t put together an outfit, and then discover something isn’t clean or needs to be ironed, you discover a run in your last pair of hose and your shoes need polishing.) But hopefully not all of these on the same morning…

Where a professional organizer or clutter clearer would help you with organization, a feng shui consultant’s role is much broader. As a feng shui consultant, my job is to educate and suggest solutions on a wide area of topics, and also to work with your agenda — what you have called me in to help you with. While generally (in the Interior Alignment™ school of feng shui anyway) we won’t poke around in your closets to see if you are neat, if closet organization is on your agenda we will. But we will also look at the colours in your bedroom, the layout of furniture, artwork, symbols and how you use your bedroom - for example is it also a home office?

And while it depends on what your agenda is — what you want to work on — there is a universal ‘good feng shui’ bedroom formula. It goes like this (in no particular order):

1. Restful colours.

2. No TVs, computers, or exercise equipmement.

3. Matching or equal-sized bedside tables and lamps.

4. Artwork that is uplifting and symbols that support your goals and dreams.

5. A room layout that creates a feeling of safety and support.

6. A room that reflects who you are at this time in your life.

Copyright Deborah Redfern 2007. All rights reserved.