Basic Feng Shui Cure #8: Elemental Colors Balance the Chi for Good Fortune

Note: This series explores the 9 basic Feng Shui cures.

Color plays an instrumental role in Feng Shui. Colors evoke different moods based on our personal preferences, cultural traditions, and simply the way they can open or close a space.

For instance, white or beige is a great color for a foyer or small, narrow hallway, as it makes the space seem wider and more welcoming. In China, red is considered a color of good fortune, and is a good color for a door or accent colors in a room.

You can also use the color that corresponds to the element in that section of the Ba Gua. In other words, black or purple would activate the wealth section of your home.

Finally, you can employ the elemental color cycle in your home to balance the chi of a space. The five-elemental color cycle, in spite of its name, can be used in versions of either three, four, or five colors. You can learn more about the five elemental color destructive and creative cycles in the article, “Use the Feng Shui Five Element Color Cycle to Change Your Life.”

Color selection in Feng Shui relies heavily on personal preference and intuition, but understanding the psychology and culture behind certain colors can help lead you in the right direction when picking the colors for your home.

9 Basic Feng Shui Cures to Change Your Life

Feng Shui employs nine basic cures in various forms. These objects can be used to:

- resolve unbalanced shapes
- fix “missing” areas of the Ba Gua in a home, apartment or on a plot of land
- adjust or re-direct the flow of chi
- activate specific areas of the Ba Gua related to different areas of your life

Personal Style is King
It's important, when using these Feng Shui cures, to pay attention to your personal style and your home's decor. While an object like a mirror or wind chimes can probably be found to blend in with or fit almost any surroundings, the danger exists of hanging a myriad of objects from your walls and ceilings that result in a cluttered look.

When you practice Feng Shui cures, your intention is not for your home to look like a gift shop in China town. Any Feng Shui cures should enhance your personal style and decor and make your home more comfortable to live in, while balancing, enhancing or redirecting the flow of chi.

For this reason, color (Basic Feng Shui cure #8) is one of the most frequently used Feng Shui cures. Everything must be a color -- why not use the elemental colors in complementary ways to balance the flow of chi?

Immediate Results
Many people see immediate results after employing one of the 9 Feng Shui cures to improve a particular area of their life -- especially when the cure is backed by strong intention. Taking action on the mundane level will increase the positive results to an even greater degree.

Often, seeing the Feng Shui cures in our home remind us of the actions we want to take to improve our lives. Taking this action, in turn, strengthens the power of the cure even more.

These are the 9 basic Feng Shui cures, which we will explore in depth in a series of upcoming posts.

1. Bright or light-refracting objects, such as lights, mirrors, crystal balls. An octagonal mirror, in the shape of the Ba Gua, is considered especially good luck in Feng Shui.

2. Objects that make sounds (wind chimes, bells and music)

3. Living objects, including plants, flowers, trees, fish bowls with living fish, aquariums and other pets.

4. Moving objects include both water features such as fountains and waterfalls, and other objects that move by wind or electrical power, such as mobiles, weather vanes, and windmills.

5. Heavy or symbolically heavy objects, such as stones, statues, rock gardens or a Yu bowl -- a Chinese inkpot with stones in the bottom -- can help “ground” and stabilize chi, creating a sense of stability and longevity.

6. Electric-powered objects, including televisions, computers, etc.

7. Bamboo flutes are frequently used in Feng Shui to raise the chi of a space and for other purposes

8. Colors - The elemental colors help balance the chi of a space

9. Others - This broad category includes the Ba Gua, as well as rituals we perform with strong intention.

Need help to figure out how you should incoporate these items into your space?

For more info, go here: Feng Shui Consultation Options

How Water in Feng Shui Relates To Wisdom and Wealth

Are you making a choice to spend as many hours as you can this summer at the beach? In Feng Shui, chi collects around water and expresses it beautifully in meandering streams, crashing waves and the endless cycle of a waterfall.

Water = Wealth and Wisdom

In Feng Shui, water is associated with:

- wisdom
- money and wealth
- social context or how you are perceived to others

Placing a water element in the wealth sector when you lay the bagua over your home, apartment, desk or place of business can have very positive effects. Water in the Li (Fame) section of the bagua, however, can present challenges for people in a household in regard to their reputation.

Water on Your Property
Oceanfront or lake front property is highly coveted and more expensive than a land-locked plot. This has to do with a number of factors, including the positive energy that flows from water. A lake stocked with fish can, in the right circumstances, provide sustenance for the people who live there.

In general, if water flows toward your house or curves gently toward you, almost as an embrace, this is a best-case scenario. If your house faces the water, this is also good.

Be careful of:

- A watercourse that divides into two or more streams or tributaries, indicating a dispersion of water's force, which could create negative chi

- Sharp bends in the waterway, which form “straight arrows”

- Water flowing from the front to the back of a site without a break

- Rushing rivers in front of your home, which do not allow chi to gather

If your dream home is nestled on a lake or a slow, meandering river, this should provide good fortune, wealth and wisdom to the inhabitants. Of course, make sure the house is above the waterway (to avoid flooding) and far enough away that it won't damage the foundation.

4 Ways to Set Your Intention

When we set our intention on a goal, and then make a plan to achieve it, the Universe begins working with us, putting thoughts, ideas and people in our path that will help make it reality.

How can you begin to visualize your goal in order to make it your intention? There are a number of methods.

Create a visualization board - A visualization board includes pictures of things you'd like to have or visual representations of goals you'd like to achieve. You can find out more about how to create a visualization board here.

Write it down - Many people have said, “Goals that aren't written down are just dreams,” and it's true. Some people are more oriented to words than pictures, so writing down a goal might make it just as real as seeing it in front of you.

Use your imagination - There are a number of other ways to make your vision a reality. Before he begins writing any book, Dr. Wayne Dyer comes up with a title and has a graphic artist design the cover. By doing this, the book is already created; it's real -- now he just has to write it!

You can print out checks with dollar amounts you'd like to earn, create a screen shot capture of your bank statement and change the numbers to read as you'd like them to, or take a picture of the amount of money you'd like to earn.

If your goal is to lose weight, you may buy one outfit in the size you'd like to be and look at it as a reminder to stay true to your intention.

One client who wanted to travel more placed a small figure of the Eiffel Tower in the travel sector of her home, based on the bagua. Or maybe a pair of dice will inspire you to action toward that trip to Las Vegas you've always dreamed of.

When you use your imagination, there are thousands of things you can do to make your vision a reality.

Do You Keep a Gratitude Journal?

When we take time, late at night or during the still morning, to consider all we are grateful for, we realize how much we have. Some people may be grateful for the basics: a home, enough food to eat, a job that provides us with the necessities. Still others are grateful for the life they've created, which permits them to fulfill their true life purpose.

It is okay to be grateful for material things, as well as for our friends and loved ones, for opportunities to be close to nature, and for moments when we are completely present and fulfilling our life purpose.

When we take the time to write down what we are grateful for in a gratitude journal, we attract more of these things to ourselves. To add even greater strength to your words and harness the power of intention, keep your journal in the health, wealth, family or career section of the bagua. You may even want to keep short lists of what you're grateful for in each of these areas.

What would be in a typical page in my gratitude journal? Here are just a few things I am grateful for every day:

- My family
- My home
- My health
- The opportunity to do my morning Tai Chi exercises in the peaceful energy of Central Park
- The opportunity to help my clients connect with their true self and purpose
- Every single individual who reads this blog, visits my website or connects with me through social media each day

Have you considered keeping a gratitude journal? Would you? Please feel free to post some of the things you might list in a gratitude journal in the comments section below.

Energize Your Life with Feng Shui Firecrackers this Fourth of July

Firecrackers are not just for Fourth of July celebrations. In BTB Feng Shui, we use firecrackers year-round to elevate the chi of a space, drive away negative energy (killing chi or sha), and to mark a fortunate beginning to a new endeavor, such as a wedding or the grand opening of a store.

You can use firecrackers to mark an auspicious start of any occasion, to increase the energy in your home office, or raise the chi in a space that feels oppressive. Here are three quick and easy ways to use decorative Feng Shui firecrackers.

To celebrate an event - Hanging firecrackers in the doorway of a new business or a new home helps “blow away” negative killing chi (sha), paving the way to welcome positive chi into the space.

To raise chi - Decorative firecrackers, often made from lucky bamboo, can be used to raise the chi in a space with sloped ceilings or to counteract the negative effects of beams above a desk or seat.

To activate a section of the ba gua - You can hang firecrackers in the relationship or fame section of the ba gua to activate the chi in that space with explosive energy.

Since Fourth of July -- or Independence Day -- marks the beginning of the United States of America and its independence from England, it's appropriate that we celebrate this holiday with explosions of firecrackers.

What areas of your home could use a “lift” with the explosive power of decorative Feng Shui Firecrackers?

3 Myths About Creating The Life You Desire

A lot of misinformation about Feng Shui, intention and creating your perfect life circulates the Web. Let's explore three myths about Feng Shui and the power of intention.

1. You are not in control of your life.

Aspects such as your environment, your name, and your upbringing affect your life. Also, some people are just “born lucky.” While it's true that luck and destiny are factors that can change your life, we can overcome the odds by taking responsibility for our actions, minimizing the effects of negative events, and maximizing the return on “lucky” events and opportunities.

2. Other people can manifest their own destiny, but I can't.

They must be smarter or more evolved than I am. Anyone can use Feng Shui, meditation, visualization and intention to manifest everything they want in life. Often, people come to this realization following a near death experience or other powerful, life-changing event in their lives. But if you are tired of your situation and feeling stuck, you have the power to change your circumstances.

3. Feng Shui is complicated.

When you hear people talking about the ba gua and the “wealth corner” of your home, or using the five-elemental color cycle to activate the chi in a given area, you might get the impression that Feng Shui is complicated. That's not true. Many of the Feng Shui tips I share in this space can be applied quickly, easily and inexpensively -- and you'll begin to see results right away.


If you'd like to take Feng Shui in your home to the next level, though, you may want to call in an expert. I can help you evaluate the chi of your space, recommend changes to your environment, and even perform a space cleansing. Check out my Consulting Services for more information. 

Creative Ways to Build an Effective Vision Board

A vision board or visualization board helps us to “see” our goals and desires right in front of us. The key to a successful vision board is to create it with intention. If we remain mindful and in the moment as we look for pictures and magazine clippings or even take photos of things we want, it can help us fulfill our intentions.

Use the Bagua
To strengthen the power of your vision board, you may wish to place it in a spot in your home that relates to the vision board's main goals, based on the bagua positions in Feng Shui.

In other words, if you have a vision board showing your dream job, place it in the career section of the bagua. A vision board related to having a baby might be placed in the children and creativity section. And, of course, a vision board related to money -- and all the things money can buy -- would go in the wealth corner of your home, apartment or office.

Use Your Imagination
Your vision board should reflect your goals, desires -- and your personality. Some vision boards may be cluttered, with photos overlapping. Other people may prefer clean lines and perfectly straight photos in a symmetrical layout. Create your vision board however you feel comfortable doing so. If it feels right -- and inspires you to greater achievements -- then it is right.

Christine Kane shares her success story of a vision board on her blog. Have you ever used a vision board? Did it help you keep your intention in the front-and-center of your mind to achieve your goal?

Feng Shui Your Living Room for More Stimulating Conversation

The living room, along with the kitchen, is a space in your house where people congregate. The room -- and its inhabitants -- will be affected by factors such as:

- Colors used in the room
- Placement of furniture
- Use of light (natural and artificial)
- Window, door and fireplace placement
- Use of mirrors
- Placement of the room within the house
- Overall feel, ambiance and scents within the room

Keeping in mind that a living room should make guests and residents feel comfortable, safe, and enlivened but relaxed, let's consider some of these Feng Shui factors within your living room.  

Best Color for a Living Room
If you want to welcome guests into your home, using an array of the five-elemental colors will do so. The best colors for entertaining are light yet lively blues, greens, pinks, whites, or different shades of off-white, including beige and tan. Use accent colors -- including furniture upholstery, throw pillows and trim -- in multiple colors to encourage stimulating conversation.

Lighting
Natural light is a great way to uplift chi. However, a west-facing window may let in too much light at certain times of the day, giving people headaches or creating stress as oppressive light shines into the home. East-facing windows let in gentle, warming light that makes people comfortable.

Artificial lighting, too, can raise the chi in a room. If you have a dark corner, consider placing a lamp there to encourage the flow of chi. Living room light should be soothing, with the means to create brighter light if needed.

Furniture Placement
Place guests in the command position, with a view of the door but not directly in front of it. All furniture should be arranged in a way that encourages conversation, and all furniture should face the door, but not sit too close to it. Be careful of having two couches or two chairs in parallel lines facing each other -- the people who sit there most frequently may argue.

Use of Mirrors
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors in a living room are consider auspicious in Feng Shui. You can also use mirrors to strengthen certain bagua positions within the room.

Window, Door and Fireplace Placement
Wherever the door and windows are situated, be sure not to place seating too close to them. Guests may feel uncomfortable with their back to a window, but a seat with a window view may encourage daydreaming and quiet contemplation.

A fireplace can be an auspicious addition to a home, but make sure not to put any seats too close to the fireplace. Seats should not face the fireplace, either, or the people in those seats maybe become combative and argumentative, with too much fire chi. A fireplace is best with a mirror placed above it to draw the residents' chi upward.

Placement within the House
A living room is best place in front of your home's central line. It is auspicious if the living room is the first room people see when they enter a home or apartment -- guests will be encouraged to stay, relax and chat for a while.

Overall Ambiance
When you are done assessing the chi in a room and rearrangement of the different elements in the room for better Feng Shui, look at the room's overall ambiance. What is the first thing guests see? What scents are in the air? Is the room's overall layout, color scheme and design pleasant?

Trust your instincts when you use Feng Shui in your living room and you'll create a space in your home or apartment that will encourage friendship, success and happiness in every area of your life.

Find a Mentor to Advance Your Career and Increase Your Income

Do you always get the help you need, when you need it? Do co-workers jump in at the 11th hour to make sure you meet that important deadline? Do influential people offer advice that can help you advance in your career? Do you have wise people in your life who are helping you in your spiritual development? What does your social network (both online and in real life) look like -- is it filled with people who can help you achieve your own financial, personal or spiritual goals?

If you answered all these questions with a resounding “Yes!”, you can stop reading and continue on your path to fulfillment. If not (and I'm guessing you answered “sometimes” to most of them), you can use Feng Shui to attract more helpful people and mentors into your life.

Why Seek Out Mentors?
The quantity and quality of mentors we have in our lives will greatly impact the wealth we can earn in our career. A working mother who knows she can find good child care will have better focus, leading to greater success at work. An intern with a supportive supervisor will advance quickly in his chosen career. A husband with a wife who encourages him in his business (or vice versa) will do well.

It Begins with the Bagua
We can increase our wealth by enhancing the helpful people/travel (chyan) section of the bagua. You can apply these tips to your home's overall floor plan, your office, or a single room.

The chyan position of the bagua corresponds with the element of metal. If your kitchen is located in the chyan position of your home, hang those stainless steel pots and pans proudly from the walls or ceiling.

If your living room is situated in this segment of the bagua, introduce metal windchimes, a mirror, brass lamps, or shiny trophies representing your achievements. Photos of your favorite people, family and friends -- or people you would like to have as mentors -- in metal picture frames will activate this corner of your living room, office or study, too. Since gray is the color associated with metal, black and white pictures work best.

Since fire “melts” metal, avoid the color red or anything associated with fire (including a fireplace) in this segment of your home or office.

Focus on Travel
If your business involves travel -- or if you'd like to travel more -- you can also store your luggage in this section of your home or office. In addition to photos of helpful people, you can add postcards of your favorite places, vacation souvenirs, and anything that reminds you of traveling.

One woman, planning a trip to France, placed a metal replica of the Eiffel tower in the “helpful people” corner of her desk. She's packing her bags for her getaway now.

Invite Helpful People into Your Home
Once you've activated the helpful people segment of your home or office, you'll find that help comes to you when you need it. However, don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it, even if you have to pay for it.

Consider hiring a maid. Coming home to a clean house will lift your energy, so you can focus on your career and pursuing your passion. All the best managers learn how to delegate tasks -- paying an extra $30 to $50 a week to have a sparkling clean home where the chi flows freely is a wise investment.

To Find a Mentor, Be a Mentor
After you've used Feng Shui to strengthen the helpful people section of your home, you may feel more inclined to help others, as well. Look for opportunities to support others in their career, to help family and friends, and reach out as a mentor yourself.

This combination of the “mundane” and the “transcendental” will yield the best results when it comes to attracting helpful people into your life. 

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