Where Energy Flows

“Sanctuary is a gift to yourself.  If you identify a certain space in your home as a sanctuary, you are investing in your soul. ”                

–Christopher Forrest Mcdowell

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.

I just wanted to share on of my favorite quotes.  It is relevant on so many levels….our physical living and working environments, our mental, emotional and physical well-being and in living to be our best.

“Your sacred space is where you find yourself again and again.”

–Joseph Campbell

Do you notice all the ways you use your senses as you move through your day?  Do you notice the subtle ways that your physical body interacts with the world?

The depth of connection to the world we experience comes largely through our five senses - touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste.  Everything we do can be a sensual experience:  Smelling the freshness of the grass that you just cut.  Feeling the soft, fluffy texture envelope your fingers as you knead warm bread dough.  Enjoying the rich, chocolaty aroma of your coffee as it is brewing.  Or just noticing the touch of the wind on your skin as you walk outdoors.

 When I was in New Mexico recently, one thing that amazed me was the luminous quality of the sunlight and the brilliant color of the sky. The shade and depth of blue was startlingly beautiful - I loved how it enhanced the delicate yellows and reds of the rock, and the way the smallest, puffy cloud was highlighted against it.  After a few days, I understood why artists like Georgia O’Keefe were inspired to create there.  I was aware that my senses were all on fire and my own creative spirit was “juiced”. 

Sensuality is also key in Feng Shui and Sacred Space design.  It is at the heart of how we make adjustments to environments.  And, as Interior Alignment™ practitioners, we often suggest changes that are meant to activate and please the senses.

You can do this as well.  Simply start by observing your sensory experiences for a few days.  You might even want to jounal your observations.

What are the things you notice as you first enter a space?  Are you more drawn to textures, colors, fragrances, fabrics, light or sound?  Discover which of your senses are most keen, which ones you rely on most.  And, then reward those senses by making changes to your surroundings that excite those senses.  Experiment with new foods or spices.  Add new colors or intensify hues.  Use more texture and layer in new fabrics.  Decorate with expressive paintings, photos or sculptures that speak to your heart and delight your eyes.  Use essential oils and experiment with a variety of scents.  And, taking this a step further, find ways to continually develop and expand your senses.  Consider, for example, taking up a craft that requires a high degree of tactile work, like weaving or pottery. 

Delight all of your senses and create more joy, creativity and passion in your life!

Copyright 2008, Deb Swingholm.  All rights reserved.

On an early Saturday morning, I sit in a quiet place with a warm cup of tea.  As I sit comfortably and relaxed with an uncharacteristic quiet mind, I hear the tingling of wind chimes which hang outside my door.  The sound is so special and reminds me of healing through Sacred Sound.

In Interior Alignment™, practitioners are taught that Sacred Sound affects people and all things both emotionally and physically. Using Sacred Sound in Space Clearing is one way to remove stuck and stagnant energies in a space.  Sound creates form even those sounds that are not audible to the human ear.  As the sound moves out from the source of the sound, the sound travels through the space and even through what we tend to believe are solid objects.  Science now tells us that nothing is completely solid as there is space between the molecules that make up the “solid” object.  Sacred Sound moves through all things with in a space.

Space Clearing with Sacred Sound can take many forms: Bells, chimes, gongs, singing bowls, tuning forks, ting shas, Drums, rattles, prayer wheels, clapping and voice (such as toning or chanting). Each space clearing tool is unique to the practitioner using the tool as the tool is an extension of the practitioner and the practitioner is an extension of Spirit.We have written about the importance of Intention many times within our blog articles.  This article is no different. Intention is the most important tool in space clearing.  The practitioner holds the client’s intention for the space clearing as well as the intention that the Sacred Sound will break up the stuck and stagnant energies, dispersing them and releasing them to Spirit. When I teach this part to students, I use the analogy that learning how to consciously space clear is like learning how to drive a stick shift car.  As you first learn how to drive a stick shift car, you wonder how you are going to remember to do so much at one time.  Driving the stick shift car you are shifting the gear shift, using the clutch and the break at the same time, using the turn signal, listening to the radio and turning the wheel.  This is all at the same time.  At first driving the stick shift car feels difficult and at times over whelming, but with practice you become very adept at the new skill.  After some time driving the stick shift car you become relaxed and enjoy the experience.

I love space clearing.  I love to space clear using my drum.  I use a 15 inch Elk skin hand drum that I made in my Advanced Interior Alignment™ practitioner course in 2002.  As I begin to clear space, I feel the connection between the drum and me, a partnership.  The connection is palpable.  We are allies. I listen for a change in the sound of the drum as we space clear.  The speed of the drumming will also change as we move through denser energy and the denser energy begins to break up and move out of the space.  I will go back over the same space with my Eagle feather to smooth out the space after it has been shaken up.

As I stand in the center of the space, I sense or feel the space.  I can feel the change, but more importantly my client can sense and see the change as well.  Colors look brighter, and it is easier to breath.  The room looks crisp, clean and feels fresh.  The feeling of a Sacred Space.

There is an old saying, which I believe is Tibetan, “when a bell rings, its sound travels throughout the Universe and back to the bell”.  I like this belief as it can be attributed to all Sacred Sound.  This is a true blessing.

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

Staying in a hotel when on vacation or business trip can be uncomfortable from a feng shui and space clearing perspective.  I just returned from a trip to New Mexico.  I traveled with my friend and fellow teacher, Deb Swingholm. 

Deb and I shared a room while attending a shamanic course in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  When we entered our shared room we both had the same feeling, “get a different room”.   Deb did inquire but there was not another space as nice! We knew that we had to do some Feng Shui and Space Clearing in order to feel comfortable in the room.

As we went out to our rented car, I turned to Deb and said, “we are moving the bed from the extra room into the larger space”.  The extra room was next to the bathroom and felt isolated.  So, that is exactly what we did.  We dismantled the single bed and it moved between the fire place and a large walk in closet which was in the main room.  We also moved the small club chairs.  One chair was moved to a corner we had designated for reading and the other chair next to the fire place.  The second bed was in an windowed alcove that opened into the main room.

After we finished moving the furniture around, I placed one of my shawls over the full length mirror that hung on the walk in closet door.  We stood back and assessed our work by tuning into the energy of the room.  The room felt so much better as the Energy flowed with balance and harmony.  We used the room off the bathroom as a dressing room and storage for luggage.  This worked out so well as the extra room also had a door that we could close.  I also placed a sheet over the bureau mirror at night which comes from my Native American culture.  This transformed the main room as the room felt like a safe haven in the evening.

When we were finished arranging furniture, we set up a small altar.  Deb and I set our intention for the space and began a space clearing Ceremony.  We used our Drums and a [tag[bell[/tag] to space clear the rooms.  This is the first time Deb and I have worked together as a space clearing team.  I have to admit it was so much fun.

The bell is one of Deb’s primary space clearing tools and watching them work together was magical.  We transformed a space that began as a confined with stale energy to one of beauty and easy to take full deep breaths in.  And, we did all of this in less than an hour. 

We all know that keeping a sense of humor is vital. Well, Deb and I wondered what it would have been like to video tape this feng shui and space clearing to show on YouTube. We would have entitled the video, “What do Two Feng Shui Teachers Do on Vacation?!”

On the last morning that we stayed at the Inn, we had breakfast with a few of the other course attendees.  I asked them how they liked their rooms.  Their response was their room was fine and loved the view of the mountains. Deb and I told them that we were Interior Alignment™ Master Teachers and that we incorporated feng shui into our room by changing the furniture around and doing a space clearing ceremony. Their reply was, “I wish you could have done my room too I could have slept better!”

I believe the important thing to remember is that if you have a basic feng shui knowledge you can create a comfortable place for your soul and physical body anywhere you go.  If you add a space clearing ceremony to that same space, you create an intentional sacred space. 

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

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.