Feng Shui Tips & Blog

Feng Shui Your Office to Advance Your Career and Make More Money

In hard economic times, you need every advantage to advance in your career. But did you know that something as simple as the location of your desk and the placement of your office within the building could send you on the fast track to greater success and more money?

Feng Shui does not provide a "one size fits all" solution. It depends on a variety of factors, including how the chi, or energy, circulates within the entire space. Are you comfortable or surrounded by clutter? Do you look forward to coming to work in the morning, or do you dread sitting at your desk for eight hours (or more) a day?

These Feng Shui tips will help you create an environment in which you can feel productive, happy and successful.

1. Place yourself in a command position.
Your desk should be in the "command position." You should have a view of the room and the door without being in direct line of the door or a main walkway. Sitting in front of a door puts you in the center of rushing chi, which can adversely affect your career - you may get fired or want to quit.

It's just as bad to sit with your back to the door, where you may feel as if you are under attack by your co-workers. If you can't move your desk but are facing a wall, place a mirror on the wall, desk or on your computer monitor so you'll be able to see behind you. This puts you in a command position, where you can see what is coming at you-both literally and figuratively-in your career. It also prevents your co-workers from "stabbing you in the back."

Ideally, you should be able to walk around both sides of the desk. This encourages the chi to flow freely around the room. If one side of your desk is blocked or pushed up against a wall, it can impact your income, as well as your relationships with co-workers, customers and prospects.

2. Get you and your career unstuck.
When many people approach me about feeling stuck in their career, one of the first areas I look at is under the desk. Make sure you don't have anything, including books, shoes, a wastebasket or computer tower blocking your leg room. You should have plenty of space for your feet, without having to do a break dancing move just to sit down. Anything that inhibits your leg room could make you feel stuck in your job.

Likewise, clutter, heavy bookshelves or weighty pictures on the wall above your head can cause anxiety and pressure. The downward pressure these create may even give you headaches.

3. Open the door to opportunity.
Your door, if you have one, should open a full 90 degrees so be careful how much you put behind the door. Nothing should block a person from walking into the space. A clear doorway welcomes wealth energies into your work space and allows you to take better advantage of new opportunities.

4. Add life energy to your space.
You can apply the Bagua map, a tool used by many Feng Shui consultants to illustrate how different sections of a space correspond to different aspects of life, to your desk. For instance, the back left corner of your desk represents wealth and abundance. The back right corner represents relationships. What do you currently have located in the corners of your desk?

But even without any knowledge of the eight sectors of the Bagua, you can easily add life energy to your desk in the form of bamboo or a money tree plant. This can improve relationships in the office and amongst co-workers, as well as attracting wealth and good fortune to you.

5. Trust your instincts
When your minor adjustments are done, look around your office and consider your feelings. Are you more comfortable? Does the space seem to flow? Do any items create stress when you look at them or does your office create a calm, yet energized, feeling for you and others who enter? Do you feel productive or stagnant?

Does this help? Do these suggestions give you some ideas on how to improve your own office? I'd love to know if you have any other advice to add.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Use Feng Shui to Enhance Your Thanksgiving Feast

You can use Feng Shui to create a complete sensory experience for your Thanksgiving guests even before they walk in the door. Make sure the path to your home and the entrance is well-lighted, open and inviting. This welcomes guests, as well as prosperity and abundance, into your home.

Make sure the path to your home and the entrance is illuminated. Bells on the door will greet guests with a cheerful chime. Consider all five senses as you use these additional Feng Shui tips to inspire a festive mood in your home this Thanksgiving.

Before Dinner
When guests arrive, they will be greeted by the aroma of comfort foods. Offer them a beverage and snacks, such as an arrangement of nuts and other seasonal treats. Create color balance in your display of food to enhance guests' appetites. For instance, serve beige or off-white foods in brightly-colored, festive bowls, and arrange a vegetable tray with an assortment of peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery to present a range of colors.

Thanksgiving Dinner
Pay careful attention to the seating arrangement. A round table, with no beginning and no end, is best, but don't worry if your table is rectangular. Position it so everyone has enough space to sit. You don't want guests pushed into a corner or feeling trapped.

Glance around the room and consider each seat. Is a buffet table or china cabinet with sharp corners pointing directly at a guest? Corners create "poison arrows" known as Sha Chi or "killing energy." In the short term, these could make the person sitting in their path feel uncomfortable. You can drape live greenery across a sharp corner to lessen the negative energy.

Arrange chairs so that no one has his back to the door. You can move the table out into the center of the room if necessary. The host should sit in the command position, which is at an angle from the entrance into the room. This position allows the host to see the door but not be directly in line with it.

Positive Energy at the Table
Unscented votive candles placed around the table create a sense of warmth and joy. A lively centerpiece of fresh flowers, pumpkins, gourds and fruit activates the energy at the table. A creative arrangement will also spark conversation. Make sure centerpieces are low to the table so they don't block your guests' view of each other and inhibit conversation.

Hanging a mirror on the wall next to the table "multiplies" your feast, encouraging abundance in the year ahead. Serve a unique dish that has significance within your family. You can also ask your guests to bring one of their own "signature" dishes and share the recipe with everyone.

Enhance the atmosphere with fun holiday music or a playlist of your guests' favorite songs. Keep music low so it doesn't interfere with conversation.

After-Dinner Activities
It's okay if everyone wants to retire to the living room and watch the football game, but consider other social activities you can enjoy while the game plays in the background. Play a board game or put together a puzzle. Remember to snap lots of photos and share them with your guests after the event.

Why not start a tradition of taking a walk outside to appreciate the scenery and the cool autumn air? After all, the practice of Feng Shui teaches us to celebrate our environment, both natural and manmade.

What Thanksgiving traditions make guests feel comfortable in your home? Will small changes to your holiday décor improve the atmosphere?

5 Ways Of Dealing With Depression Without Drugs

Feng Shui can be used to help alleviate depression and feelings of being "stuck," which are so common in today's society. Often, an individual just needs a gentle nudge to return to his correct path, where he can be his true self.

I should know; I've battled feelings of depression and low energy. A combination of Feng Shui, proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and re-connecting with nature alleviated my depression and placed me on a path toward fulfillment.

My career has soared. I have a stronger drive for achievement and activity and I am truly grateful and happy. As a result, I've been fortunate to help many others welcome energy, drive and the feelings of joy and gratitude back into their lives. That is my true path.

1. Feng Shui Your Space: A Feng Shui consultation may be the first step in getting "unstuck." A Feng Shui consultant can recommend ways to shift the energy of a person and space, creating amazing transformations.

When I perform a Feng Shui consultation for a client who is feeling stuck or depressed, I pay close attention to the entrance of the space. The entrance should not be blocked, which prevents energy or chi from entering the area.

I'll also take a look at the work environment, specifically under a person's desk. That part of the office should be clean, clear and permit plenty of leg room.

I often introduce life energy into a space. You can do this in your home or office by adding living plants, fresh flowers, raw fruit or moving water.

There are also specific Feng Shui cures and remedies you can employ. For instance, you can use Feng Shui Wind Chimes To Help With Depression.

2. Reconnect With Nature: It's easy to lose your connection with nature and, for many people, this leads to depression.

Don't you feel rejuvenated after spending a day at the beach or a few hours hiking in the mountains? Try to make nature a small part of your life every day. Spend more time outdoors walking, hiking, cycling or simply sitting in the park appreciating the environment.

3. Diet & Nutrition: Chronic fatigue is an indication that the body's "batteries" have run down. Resistance drops and illness or disease may strike.

Often, fatigue is caused by a critical deficiency of active enzymes in the diet and an overabundance of "dead" foods: processed, preserved and over-cooked foods, eaten in incompatible combinations.

Many fad diets literally starve cells of nutrition and energy and permit toxic wastes to accumulate in the tissues. This prevents the body from generating and directing energy for work or play, since all available energy must be used to keep the body alive.

According to The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity, denatured, processed, preserved, canned and cooked foods should compose less than 50 percent of the daily diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains to give your body the energy it needs and combat chronic fatigue.

Sun Ssu-mo, the Tang Dynasty Taoist physician who correctly diagnosed and cured the nutritional-deficiency disease beriberi 1,300 years ago, a full millennium before European doctors did in 1642, wrote in Precious Recipes: "A truly good physician first finds out the cause of illness, and having found that, he first tries to cure it by food. Only when food fails does he prescribe medication."

4. Proper Exercise:

"The Tao of nurturing life requires that one keep oneself as fluid and flexible as possible. One should not stay still for too long, nor should one exhaust oneself by trying to perform impossible tasks. One should learn how to exercise from nature by observing the fact that flower water never stagnates and a busy door with active hinges never rusts or rots. Why? Because they exercise themselves perpetually and are almost always moving." (Sun Ssu-mo - Precious Recipes)

In this passage, Sun Ssu-mo succinctly distills the essence of Taoist exercise principles. If we observe nature, we see that rhythmic movement is the foundation for cultivating essence and energy.

Balance and moderation are also key factors. How many times have you started a difficult or time-consuming exercise regime only to abandon it after a few weeks-or a few days? Start slowly so your early success will spark your drive to continue. In addition to structured exercise, look for ways to introduce more physical activity into your everyday life.

The Spring and Autumn Annals tells us: Essence and energy, body and breath, are indivisible: when the body does not move, essence cannot flow; when essence cannot flow, energy becomes stagnant.

Keep your essence moving like a mountain stream by practicing controlled deep breathing balanced with rhythmic physical movement. Body and breath will harmonize and vital energy will circulate to every organ and tissue in the body.

5. Meditation: Meditation purifies the mind and restores the spirit's primal powers by withdrawing all distracting thoughts and disturbing emotions from the mind. Meditation is to spirit what diet and nutrition are to essence - an indispensable tool for cultivating and conserving that treasure.

Emotions are regarded as major causes of disease in Chinese medicine. When unbridled by firm intent, they can cloud our minds and vandalize our precious reserves of essence and energy. To restore conscious awareness, one must empty the mind of all thoughts and pacify all emotions in the solitary silence and peaceful serenity of meditation.

In an article entitled "Mental Muscle" (Omni magazine, June 1992), Kathy Keeton writes:

"When the psychologists Charles Alexander of the Maharishi International University in Fairland, Iowa, and Ellen Langer of Harvard University, taught transcendental meditation (TM) to a group of octogenarians in eight Boston-area nursing homes, 100 percent of those who practiced meditation 20 minutes a day were still alive three years later, while 38 percent of their peers who did not meditate had passed on. This is reminiscent of legends of Himalayan yogis using similar techniques to live more than a hundred years...

Alexander is one of a growing body of scientists who believe that we can muster the power of our brains to stay healthy, to heal ourselves when we're sick, and, quite possibly, to extend our life expectancy."

Combining Feng Shui with proper nutrition, exercise, meditation and time to reconnect with nature will put you on the path to health, happiness, longevity, peace of mind, greater drive and ultimate success.

How many items listed above are you doing? Why not try adding a new one each week for the next few weeks? Please come back and share your results!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Turn Your Bathroom into a Spa Oasis with Feng Shui

In Feng Shui, the bathroom is a sanctuary where you nurture yourself.

Does your bathroom rejuvenate you in the morning and help you relax and unwind in the evening, or does it create chaos, increase stress and promote tension in your life? 

Consider the following aspects of your bathroom and implement some of the suggestions to create a spa-like experience that uplifts your energy and renews your spirit.

1. Bathroom Colors: The best colors for a bathroom include lighter shades of green, yellow, blue, silver sage, lavender, and yellow.

The bathroom already has an enormous amount of water energy represented with the sink, tub, shower and toilet. Colors that incorporate the “wood” element, such as light blues and greens, feed off the water element and create a sense of balance.

Avoid colors such as red, purple, emerald, navy, brown and black; they make the room feel smaller. Additionally, red, purple and black represent the fire (red and purple) or water (black) element, which can make the water element in the room undesirably strong.

I recently worked with a client who had a small bathroom decorated entirely in red. The room felt tight and constricting. I felt my body tense as soon as I entered. I suggested that she paint over the red with a lighter cream or white and introduce green accents in the form of a shower curtain, rug and towels. Her bathroom now feels like a lush, personal oasis that she loves.

2. Life Energy: Many homes I visit have a lot of candles in the bathroom, especially on top of the toilet tank. While it’s relaxing and romantic to soak in a tub by candlelight, candles represent the fire element, which actually strengthens the water element already in the space.
 
Instead of candles, bring live plants into the bathroom to balance the water element. You can even replace those candles on top of your toilet tank with a lush green plant.
Of course, you can keep candles in your bathroom. Simply store them out of sight when you are not using them, or keep only a few displayed. This change is easy and inexpensive to implement, and you’ll notice a difference right away.

3. Proper Ventilation: You want good air flow throughout your whole house to promote the flow of chi, but it is especially important to have proper ventilation and fresh air circulating in the bathroom. Run the fan when you take a hot shower so you don’t create mold and mildew in the bathroom.

4. Scents: Your bathroom experience should encompass all your senses. Small pots of fresh herbs, such as lavender, rosemary or sage, add a relaxing scent to the space, while offsetting the water element in the room. Try to avoid using air fresheners that may add toxic chemicals to the air; look for natural alternatives whenever you can.

5. Organization: What do you see when you walk into your bathroom: the curling iron, makeup and brushes scattered across the vanity? Or do you notice bath salts, folded towels, organized baskets and soothing lotions?

Consider organizing the space to display items that are pleasing to the eye. Keep your hair dryer and other styling tools tucked away out of sight. Even when they’re not turned on, these items emit electrical energy that can energize a space too much.
 
6. Lighting: Make sure your bathroom is well lit and that you have additional lighting options such as multiple lights or lights on a dimmer.

7. Mirrors: Bathroom mirrors should permit you to see your entire face. If the mirror is not hung at the proper height, and the image cuts off the top of your head or chin, it is slicing your energy. This can lead to problems of self-esteem or feeling “incomplete.” It’s best to have one mirror rather than multiple panes of mirrors, so the mirror does not cut your image into segments.

8. Etiquette: The toilet seat should always be down with the toilet lid closed. Do you really want that bacteria going into the air when you flush the toilet?

9. Proper Maintenance: Fix any leaking faucets and keep the fixtures clean. Dripping water is said to “drain” your wealth and can lead to financial difficulties.

These are just a few ways you can incorporate Feng Shui into your bathroom and your life. How do you feel when you walk into your own bathroom? What do you like and dislike about other bathrooms you’ve visited?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

How To Use A Feng Shui BaGua Mirror

If you ever visit a Chinese Souvenir shop or Feng Shui shop, you'll notice these octagonal shaped mirrors with lines (trigrams representing each section of the BaGua) painted on wood around them. Many people like the looks of them but may not know why or how you should use them.

The BaGua mirror is used to diffuse strong energy directed towards a specific point. A general guideline is that they should never be hung inside a home or business and only be used on the outside. There are special circumstances when you would hang one indoors but 98% of the time, always on the outside of a residence or business.

Examples of when to use a BaGua Mirror:
1) If your home or business is at the end of a T-Intersection,
2) if you have a corner or sharp object pointing at the front door,
3) if you are experiencing unpleasant energy from a particular area around your home or business.

It is then appropriate to hang a BaGua Mirror pointing towards that direction. Many times, if a person is having difficulty with a neighbor or receiving tension from a particular location, a bagua mirror can be hung pointing towards that direction. Individuals typically notice a shift of energy right away.

The most common position is to place it over the front door for a business or home. Keep in mind that this should be diffusing energy that you find difficult and not necessarily because you just thought it should be there because it was for sale in a store.

I recently visited a home that had 6 BaGua mirrors hanging in the bedroom and hallway. I asked the individual why and they said, I don't know, because I thought that is what you were supposed to do and I always saw them at the store so I picked up a couple.

There actually was a recent law suit in San Fransisco's China Town where a store owner was suing another store owner because they placed a BaGua mirror over their door and was pointing at their business. This is the wrong approach when thinking about a BaGua mirror. It does not necessarily reflect the energy or send energy back to that location to make them suffer but actually is a method to transform the energy and disperse the energy.

So the next time you see a BaGua mirror, don't feel that you need to purchase it for Feng Shui unless you have a specific reason for placing it.

To purchase a BaGua mirror or other Feng Shui items, visit www.LuckyCat.com.

Ever had difficulties with a loud or noisy neighbor?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Feng Shui Wind Chimes To Help With Depression and Laziness

Have you personally been feeling lazy or have been witness to someone that spends a large amount of time in bed?

Consider placing a wind chime in the center of the bedroom to uplift the person's chi. This can also be used if a person is depressed, lazy, suicidal or feeling stuck and not feeling like they can achieve anything.

The wind chime should consist of five hollow tubes that produce a clean, clear, sweet sound and should be hung from a red string. The five tubes represents the power of the five elements consisting of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.

Would you consider hanging a wind chime in the center of a room?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Feng Shui Colors For A Bedroom

Each week, I have numerous conversations with single men/ women and married couples on what the best color is to paint their bedroom. Of course each person or couple has their own unique style and many times I will tailor my suggestions based on the specific person, couple or space.

In general, pink is considered to be one of the best colors for the bedroom because it is the color associated with relationships. Pink is also thought of as an auspicious color combining the fire/ passion of red and the metal element of  white. Pink represents love and pure feelings of joy, happiness, and romance.

Light blues and light greens are positive colors for a bedroom as well as small accent colors of red. Green represents tranquility, hope and freshness as seen in spring growth or that of a new plant or leaf.

If an individual is seeking to get married, then they may want to consider painting the bedroom pink or peach.

The color peach aligns with "Peach Blossom Luck," which represents attraction and love. A person that is single with peach blossom luck will be outgoing, social, make new friends and have numerous admirers. However, once married, consider painting the bedroom a different color as it can lead to adultery.

I typically don't recommend chocolate brown in the bedroom as it can give a heavy feeling. Some believe that it can be used to create a stable, established impression, I equate it to autumn, when leaves turn brown and fall to the ground.

Many Chinese stay away from having white blankets on their beds because it is similar to the shroud that covers the dead and fear sleep will seem like death. Although, plain white sheets  or white sheets with flowers or colorful designs are fine. The use of pink or red sheets and blankets are used by those seeking to get married or by newlyweds to ensure wedding bliss.

Photography by Nick Johnson

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Feng Shui Master Helps Shape Cemetery Garden

By Christine Morente, San Mateo County Times

SAN MATEO — King Tong Chan's mother will finally rest in peace.

For three years, her bones were kept in a temporary spot inside Skylawn Memorial Park after spending nearly 10 years in a cemetery in China.

According to Chan, family members are allowed only a 10-year lease for a plot. After that ends, the bones have to be moved or cremated.

Now, his mother awaits burial at Eternity Gardens at Skylawn, a relief to the 81-year-old, who also purchased space in the cemetery garden that adheres to Feng Shui principles.

The grand opening was Thursday morning.

"It will bring fortune to my afterlife," Tong said in Chinese. Michael Wong of Pacifica helped translate.

Eternity Gardens was created to emanate prosperity for future generations.

The 9-acre cemetery is outlined in the shape of an eagle, its wings outstretched.

The powerful symbol was made to fly toward the Pacific Ocean, or eternity. At its back is the coastal mountain range nearby Highway 92.

So far, $18 million worth of space has been sold to families. Eternity Gardens would eventually encompass a little more than 6,000 plots.

"They (the Chinese) really care about the end of life, and we respond to that," said Allison Rodman, a spokeswoman for Lifemark Group, which owns and operates Skylawn Memorial Park and other funeral homes, crematories, and mausoleums in the Bay Area.

Eternity Gardens was the group's final phase of a $100 million project that also built the Lifemark Center last year.

Hong Kong Feng Shui master Eagle Wong consulted in the building of Eternity Gardens.

Feng Shui is an ancient practice that focuses on the placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment.

Adrienne Wong, in charge of landscape architecture for Eternity Gardens, said Feng Shui masters were initially hired by Chinese emperors to determine where they need to be buried.

How that perfect spot is chosen is based on the four pillars of destiny, which is the person's year, month, day, and time of birth. The place of birth also is important.

"The Chinese believe that the soul or spirit of a person still lives and still helps the family," Wong said. "They can help for a thousand years."

Eagle Wong said the right burial site will bring a strong and beneficial energy to nourish the person buried there.

Eternity Gardens also features upright grave markers. Wong said they would work as antennas to attract the right signals, benefits and good luck from above.

During Thursday's opening ceremonies, Taoist monks from San Francisco blessed the area, and traditional Chinese lions danced to ward off evil spirits.

Lifemark is still waiting for a permit from San Mateo County to allow burials. It's expected to come next week, said Chuck Hotchkiss, general manager of Skylawn Memorial Park.

Ben Kwok of Pacifica hasn't bought a plot yet, but considers it one of his top choices because of the surroundings.

The 54-year-old wants to be buried facing east, toward Hong Kong.

"Hopefully, there's an afterlife I can see," Kwok said.

Source: InsideBayArea.com

8 Ways To Feng Shui Your Entrance For Increased Wealth And Prosperity

When reviewing the Feng Shui of a home, there are 3 critical areas to consider, including:

1. Main Door, Front Door or Entrance
2. Kitchen
3. Bedroom

Here is a brief clip sharing 8 ways for you to improve your wealth and prosperity by welcoming new opportunities and wealth energies.



What is the first thing you see or experience when you walk in your door? Is anything behind the door so you're not able to open it a full 90 degrees?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.

Feng Shui Office of Barack Obama and John McCain

What does the Feng Shui of your office say about you? When reviewing the offices of Barack Obama and John McCain, I notice a couple of interesting factors from a Feng Shui perspective.

Barack Obama does not have his desk positioned in the command position. Meaning that his back is to the door and is difficult to see what is coming at him. Based on his office set-up though, the couch is in more of a command position. I have a feeling this may be where he spends a lot of his time listening to others and sharing thoughts.

It could also say something about how he may view his job if he were President, listening to all sides and coming up with his own view or opinion. His space allows the chi (life energy) to circulate easily throughout the space this bringing in health and opportunities.

John McCain's office has a feeling of being stuck. And based on where the seating is in the room, I imagine that those that sit in the room never truly feel comfortable or at ease in the space. And with many of the items on the desk, may represent so many ideas and a lack of focus or completion.




What do you think? Would you change anything about either office?

 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment below or subscribing to the feed in the upper right hand corner to have future postings delivered to your inbox or RSS feed reader.