Where Energy Flows

Today is such a beautiful and glorious day here in Wisconsin. The final bits of snow have melted and we have a sunny blue skies day. In fact this is a Wisconsin kind of a day. We have 71 degrees with no humidity, the sun is out, the sky is cloudless and brilliant blue. Another good reason it is a beautiful day is I can actually open the windows to ask the Spirit of Air to freshen up my home.

For me the Spirit of Air dwells in the East. I think about how much I connect with the Spirit of Air. In the ascension courses I teach we spend quite of time on breath work and in my Interior Alignment™ Space Clearing work I use feathers, incense and sage bundles to assist as Spirit of Air. I love the smell of sage burning. In fact, each year the very first fire my husband and I have in our outdoor firepit, I give tobacco for all that we have and we are grateful for. I include pinches of cedar, sweetgrass and sage and smell the aroma of and watch as the smoke (the Spirit of Air) carries our prayers to the Creator.

When I perform space clearing ceremonies, my eagle feather, represents the Spirit of Air. I actually use two feathers (the name of my personal business) in space clearing ceremonies both are eagle feathers. One feather I use in the purification part of the ceremony and the other is my dance feather which I use when I dance in my Healing Dress for my clients at the end of the space clearing ceremony.  In my culture and in my clan, we believe that bird feathers carry the message and energy of the Creator. My eagle feather shaft is hollow which makes it is a clear conduit for divine energy. I pray that I too am the clear conduit for divine energy (the Creator’s energy) flow through me as it flows through my eagle feather.  My space clearing feather is simply adorned. I have only a deerhide leather tied on with a few beads. This simple adornment represents my belief in being humble as well as simple adornment means that the adornment doesn’t restrict my movement in a space clearing. 

Most times my primary space clearing tools are my elk hide hand drum, my eagle feather and my Healing Dress.  My drum breaks up stagnant and stuck energies (really shakes things up), my feather moves the stagnant energy remnants out, balances and smoothes out the positive energies.  My Healing Dress is to balance and smooth out the subtle energies and also gives a blessing to my clients.

When I teach the space clearing portion of Interior Alignment™ practitioner certification courses, we cover the Spirit of Air in section called the Alchemy of Air.  My students have the opportunity to feel what it is like to space clear with an eagle feather as this may be the one and only time they are able to have such experience. I am told by some students that the eagle feather vibrates or moves in their hand. This is such a special moment to connect with the Spirit of Air and the essence of Eagle.

May the Spirit of Air bring good tidings to you.

All Rights Reserved. Copyright, Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2008.

At this moment, I am in Santa Fe New Mexico and traveling with me is my friend and fellow Interior Alignment™ Teacher, Neshi Lokotz.  It has been a sacred and fascinating journey…  and it has reinforced the way we both view travel as a mystical adventure! 

As Interior Alignment™  feng shui teachers, we have been attuned to the spirits of the land and observing the way the energy changes dramatically from place to place.  We have also taken time to visit the sacred sites along the way. 
 
We spent one day at the Petroglyph National Park and another full day at Chaco Canyon. These two sites are sacred ground and as we entered, Neshi performed a traditional tobacco giving ceremony, asking permission from the ancestors and the spirts of the land to enter. 

It was wonderful to experience the energy of the land and connect with those ancient people who were here before us.  We could sense the ceremonies that had been performed there and felt the presence of the Ancient Ones on many occassions.  A few time we even heard the sound of drums or heard the Ancient Ones laughing or singing. 

From the designs of the petroglyphs and the alignments of the ancient ceremonial kivas, it was clear that the ancient people had a deep awareness of their environment and watched the movements of the heavens. 

Visiting the petroglyphs and the kivas brings the ancient knowledge that we all carry to a more conscious level - we know it is here and available to us, when we listen.
 
We are still on the road, but wanted to share with you just a tiny bit of our journey so far.. Visit my photo gallery here. 

© 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.

I sit at my desk, working at my computer, typing another draft letter for my supervisors to edit before final signatures.  My office space is a small cubicle on the third floor of a government building.  The building is grey cement with large windows on the exterior.  The interior of the third floor is grey blue.  All you hear in the office is the clicking of keyboards and some low voices in discussion.  The room is very quiet as people diligently work.

This is short description of my past workspace.  My cubicle was unlike most others as I had color in mine from well placed pictures and flowers.  My favorite place in my cubicle was just to the right of my computer screen.  I had a “special” place arranged with a picture of my husband and our dog, a small fairy figurine, a stone that I found on a walk, a special amethyst crystal and a small vase of flowers.  While most of my colleagues listened to music through headphones, I played my flute music CD’s at a very low volume. 

I had a fair amount of visitors to my cube.  If there was a short discussion on a project, informally, we met in my cubicle.  Friends would stop by on their break and spend a few minutes with me.  They always said that they felt so good in my space.  My cubicle was my Sacred Space.

Since I worked for a state government there were specific rules about religion.  So my “special” desk arrangement was not called an altar, but it was a work place altar and I knew what each item represented and the specific placement on my desk.  I knew the Feng Shui of my desk.  This was the Helpful People area of my desk according to the bagua.  My helpful people were my family, my canine spirit helpers, stones and crystals, the fairy and to honor all of them…flowers.

Most people have a way of placing items on their desk, such as family pictures, mementos, and “lucky” items.  I believe that arranging these types of items is natural and we do this arrangement by instinct or intuition.  When we begin to understand that every item we place has a special energetic meaning, then we step into the world of Spirit and we then consciously select those items and their placement. 

I am very grateful for my education through Interior Alignment as creating altars is integral in Space Clearing.  But even more important is that when we consciously create our own altars, our own “special” arrangements, we invite Spirit consciously into our lives.

© Yvette Neshi Lokotz, 2008. All Rights Reserved.

Imagine, you are in your bed, all warm and comfortable. Your pillow feels so good. Your eye lids become heavy, your muscles are relaxed, you take a deep breath in and let it out slowly.  This moment just before sleep feels so good. Do you remember this experience of moments just before you fall asleep? The feeling of being so relaxed…

This between awake and relaxed state can be replicated in meditation. This physical place between awake and asleep we in Interior Alignment™ call the beginning steps to a Synchro Alignment. Synchro Alignment is a form of guided meditation.  Synchro Alignment is a unique process to Interior Alignment™ that synchronizes and aligns a person’s energy and intention with their home. 

As Interior Alignment™ practitioners this is one of our best tools to assist clients to connect with themselves and to their home or business. Synchro Alignment is a process that relaxes the physical body and mental mind so that the creative part of a client can be more available.  This creative part is the Soul Self or the Higher Self. A Synchro Alignment can take as little as 15 minutes or as long as 45 minutes.

Practitioners of Interior Alignment™ are taught that they are facilitators assisting clients with feng shui and space clearing. Clients already know at a soul level what is for their best and highest good, even when it comes to what color to paint a room. As practitioners we facilitate this connection by using Synchro Alignment.

I wrote about Synchro Alignment in a previous blog article.  In that article, I shared that when I teach feng shui and space clearing workshops, I love to have the attendees experience a short Synchro Alignment.  I would like to share with you the topic I use for this purpose the most often, Finding Your Home Guardian.

Every home has a guardian.  Meeting your home guardian creates a special connection to your home or space. The Guardian can come in many different forms from an angel, a plant or to an animal. It is important to accept whatever form your Home Guardian comes in as it is unique to your home. Sometimes we “think” that we should have a Native American chief rather than a Victorian Angel. Your home’s unique vibration or unique personality is symbolized through the type of Home Guardian.

Once meeting the Home Guardian you can begin to forge a conscious relationship with your Home Guardian. For instance, my Home Guardian is an angel named Jedidiah. I ask Jed to help me with furniture placement, wall color and most times when I leave my home I ask Jed to take care and protect our home while I am away. Jed and my dog, Ginger, are the best protectors and caretakers of our home that we call La Vida Dulce (The Sweet Life). A Home Guardian may also assist you with healing your home. The most important element here is that you ask your Home Guardian for assistance. As in most cases, they can only assist you if they are asked to do so.

As a practitioner and teacher of Interior Alignment™ I find that Synchro Alignment empowers a client as well as a student practitioner. Synchro Alignment allows us to connect with our Higher Self. It also encourages us to connect with our creativity and imagination. It is no wonder why Synchro Alignment™ is such a powerful Interior Alignment™ tool.

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

Sometimes places, homes, or businesses can feel sticky, heavy, or just plain weird. Usually that is the point where I just want to leave, get outdoors and take a deep breath of fresh air. 

Clutter can make a home feel this way, yet sometimes it can be as pristine as a museum, and still have that oppressive heaviness hanging around. As a feng shui consultant, many times I would feng shui a home to the nines, and still there was something missing, like the air still needed to be lifted of an unseen fog. Lower vibrational energy from strong emotions like arguments or depression can be absorbed and held by the wallpaper, the carpeting, and the furniture. Additionally energy can get stuck from lack of movement, use, or neglect. Old, forgotten, disrespected, unwanted and unloved; a space can also feel how you feel about it. (Think basement here). 

Space Clearing to the rescue! The loving attention of a Space Clearing Ceremony can immediately shift the energy in a place. As Interior Alignment™ practitioners, we use a wide variety of tools that lift and transform.  Burning white sage, using rhythmic drums and music, or ringing Balinese bells can make all the difference. Of course, the intention we hold while using these tools is also an important part of the process. When a Space Clearing is complete, the air looks crisper, and one can breath deeper. It is a healthier and more radiant place to be. And when we feel good in our space, we tend to infuse that mood into our work, our relationships, and our community.

There are many layers to learning the art of Space Clearing. And, if you would like to take your training to a deeper level, you are invited to join me for an intensive Space Clearing course this summer, called Beauty, Space, and Balance - An Exploration of Advanced Space Clearing Techniques.  Along with Master Teachers Deb Swingholm and Neshi Lokotz, I will take you on a magical journey to learn the inner workings of this sacred practice. 

© Minnie Kansman, 2008. All rights reserved.

Valentine’s Day Thoughts…. 

As I sit here watching yet another beautiful snowfall, I wonder about Valentine’s Day and its meaning.  I wonder about how its meaning has affected my personal life.  Ahhh….and then memories of the early days of my marriage drift through my mind. 

Paul and I have been together for 29 years and married for 28 years.  That is a lot of years and a lot of memories.  Some of those memories were caught on film and others are found only in the recesses of my mind.

We were so very young when we married in 1979.  Both Paul and I were 19 years old, just mere children.  Of course at that time we were convinced that we knew what we were doing and we were old enough to begin our married life despite what some of our parents thought and said. In each of the dwellings we called home, I always had a special area for our wedding picture, a candle and small mementos like special stones from special places we had been together.  In those early years I had no conscious knowledge that I was creating an altar to and for our union. I had no conscious idea that the intuitive creation and placement of the Marriage Altar created a certain loving energy that helped us to have a stronger partnership and marriage.  All I knew at that time was that it felt so good to have a special place in our home that reflected how we felt about each other.

I now know that the placement of the marriage or romance altar is very important.  Placing this type of altar in the Relationship area of your home or room can enhance the items placed on the altar and most importantly carry an extra surge of energy for your intentions for your relationship.  In Interior Alignment™ we believe that everything has a consciousness.  This means that everything has a life force, even the stones and the wax of the candle.  This also gives reason to deeply consider what items are placed on an altar.  The items energy or vibration becomes your ally or friend to add energy to your intentions for the altar, for your life.

Some of the WhereEnergyFlows Blog authors will have blog articles about the Bagua and the Relationship gua.  There are also past articles about the Bagua and its placement to identify what area of your home is the Relationship area.  The mechanics and application of feng shui and space clearing information is truly important, but in my mind, not quite as important as your reasons, thoughts and intention as to why you want a particular altar. Take time to sit with a cup of tea, watch the snowfall and remember the reasons why you love the person you love, remember all the good and fun times together, remember the words of the vow you said to each other.  And, then go and create a meaningful and loving altar to your union.

Happy Valentine’s Day,
Neshi.

All Rights Reserved.  Copyright Neshi Lokotz, 2008.