How Do You Find Your True Life Purpose?

Many people, even very successful professionals, say they are unsure what they want to do or be in life. I understand! I've been there. In my life I've been a Wall Street stock broker, business owner, marketing professional and more.

But when I discovered Feng Shui, I knew that was part of my true life purpose: to help others achieve their goals and live a more fulfilling life. This manifests in many ways, including this blog and Feng Shui consultations.

When we are living our true life purpose, we are filled with peace. There are no questions of:

“Is this what I'm meant to do?”
“Why did my life turn out this way?”
“Why am I always longing for more?”
“Isn't there more to life than this?”

Doubts fade, as we live each day very clear about why we are here. Of course, even the spiritual masters stray occasional off their true path, but when your life purpose is clear, it's easy to get back on track by taking action that puts you back on your life path.

The first step to discovering your true life purpose is to begin seeking it. Be open to it. Embrace experiences and live with a mindset that all you want is out there, just waiting for you to claim it.

I have an exciting project in the works that will help you discover your true life purpose and then use Feng Shui to help you begin living it every day. Stay tuned...

Basic Feng Shui Cure #9: Use the Power of the Bagua to Improve Your Life

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



The ba gua is perhaps one of the most important, yet most misunderstood, tools used by Feng Shui consultants. One of the main questions people have is, “How do I lay out the ba gua over a space?”

In some forms of Feng Shui, including BTB Feng Shui, you do not need a compass to determine the proper direction in which to lay the bagua over a space. Instead, you place the front of the bagua over the space that contains the front door to the home or business or, more accurately, the direction from which the chi enters.

If you don't use your front door, you should still place the ba gua with the front door in one of the front three sectors. This means your front door will fall in either the knowledge & wisdom, career or travel & helpful people sector. It's also good Feng Shui to make your front door the main entrance to your home. Can you rearrange the space to encourage visitors and residents to use the front door?

Placing the Ba Gua
When you place the ba gua, you can place it over:

- a yard or plot of land
- an entire house (not counting garages or sheds)
- a single room
- a cubicle or desk

Place the ba gua so that the knowledge and wisdom section is in the front left when you are standing at the front of the space, looking in to that space. The wealth section would fall in the back left corner. Relationships would be in the back right, and helpful people/travel would be in the front right. You can refer to the diagram above for each of the sections of the ba gua and what they represent.

Activating Sections of the Ba Gua
As we discussed in this series, there are 8 different Feng Shui cures you can use to activate a specific section of the ba gua to improve the different areas of your life.

You can begin by looking at the different areas of your life and deciding what changes you would like to make. Then you would look at the corresponding section of the ba gua and think about what's currently in that space. How do you feel when you enter that area of your home? What can you do to make it more desirable?  

You can also start the other way -- by evaluating each section of your house first. Does the way each area make you feel correspond with that area of your life? For instance, if your knowledge and wisdom section of your home is cluttered, your thoughts may feel scattered, too. Sometimes, we may not even realize this is a problem until we analyze our home in this way.

Getting Help
The ba gua can be complicated to understand. If you have struggled for years with do-it-yourself Feng Shui, I offer email, phone, and in-person Feng Shui consultations to help clarify the concepts for you, and provide you with an action plan with Feng Shui tips that you can begin using right away.

Summer Camp for Girls, By Girls Teaches Horse Care, Golf, and the Power of Intention

If you haven't seen the press release, this summer I sponsored a summer camp for girls in Northern California.

How did this happen? This camp, organized and run by Alex and Kate Guernsey (ages 7 and 8, respectively), is the perfect example of using the power of intention to make a plan and achieve a goal.

“Steadfast and Resolute”
Their mother, Lana Guernsey, tells the story: “They started saying in January they didn't want to go to any summer camps, but wanted to run their own. I thought they might change their mind or that I could convince them otherwise, but no. They were steadfast and resolute that they were running their own summer camp. I finally gave in and told them that they would need a theme and should give me a proposal about what would happen at this camp, if that was what they really wanted to do."

Eight-year-old Kate followed up with a PowerPoint presentation outline of what five days of horse care camp would look like, complete with a camper and instructor schedule for she and her best friend, who were to teach the units.

“How can you say no to that?” Guernsey relates. “And that's how Cow Camp was born.”

Life Lessons from Summer Camp
For one week this summer, the Guernsey girls learned about marketing, finance, problem solving, time management and even how to motivate employees, as Kate hired one of her friends -- a camp attendee -- as an assistant.

Best of all, they hardly realized they were learning these lessons (which are rarely taught in school), as they gathered with their friends for fun activities like garden hose jump rope (a game they invented during the all camp water fight), plus field trips, mini-golf, swimming, and horse care.

Or, as Kate noted, “At other camps, you can't even get to smell manure, but at my camp you get to do real horse care and touch real horses. Now that's fun."

"I couldn't believe how seriously the girls took the task of running their own camp.  They did everything on their own from managing the schedule to solving conflicts and teaching the units, and their campers were so engaged.  It was powerful to see kids teaching kids," said Lana Guernsey.

Lana went on to say, "Watching the girls run their camp was a great reminder of what happens when we listen to kids and validate their ideas.  The chance to design their own camp gave them a freedom to pursue what they really cared about in a way that doesn't happen very often these days and having a corporate sponsor made the entrepreneurial experience that much more real."

“Booked Solid!”
Alex and Kate used social media (i.e., sent out e-vites) to promote their camp, and soon had all five camper slots filled and began to build a waiting list. A key selling point, to Alex, was that “summer camp is 'funner' with your friends only.”

She continued, “My friends sometimes argue over who gets to play with me, and my camp was designed to help them become better friends with each other. Other camps basically make stuff, and do stuff, and eat. In my camp, we did stuff as a group, played together, enjoyed each other, and did stuff together -- as friends!”

Kate adds, “Other summer camps are boring and you have to talk to teachers you don't know. If I am running the camp, I don't have to talk to a teacher I have never met in my entire life.”

The camping activities culminated in a big sleepover at Alex and Kate's house, complete with a campfire, marshmallows and a chance to sleep outside under the stars.

One of the girls that attended said she liked that she “got to go to a camp that doesn't rot your brain.” What more can you ask for?

3 Ways Your Entrance Could Be Hurting Your Health and Opportunities

How do you feel when you enter your home? Do you feel uplifted, yet relaxed at the sight of the first room you enter, or depressed, stifled and unmotivated?

Do you frequently welcome visitors who love “dropping by” your home? Or do people look uncomfortable when they enter and leave quickly?

How your home's entrance makes you and others feel could also reflect the effects your home's entrance has on your life, health, wealth, success and happiness.

Let's look at 3 ways your entrance could be blocking your path to success.

Dark, narrow foyer - Chokes chi, limiting opportunity. May cause respiratory problems or difficulty with childbirth. A skylight, bright light on the ceiling and painting the entry light colors will visually open the space. Hanging a mirror on the wall you see as you open the door will create a sense of depth.

Foyer wall too close to the door - Inhibits chi, causing residents to feel as if life is a constant struggle. To create a sense of depth and permit chi to flow more freely, hang a mirror on the wall.

Front door faces back door or window - Chi (as well as money and opportunity) rush through the house too quickly. To disperse the chi and permit positive energy to linger in your home, hang windchimes, a Feng Shui Crystal or plant between the two openings.

5 Fast Feng Shui Cures to Improve Your Fortune

Do you believe Feng Shui is difficult? Do you think it will take a lot of money to improve the flow of chi in your home to bring you greater health, wealth, fortune and happiness? Are you afraid your home is so bad, it would be easier (and less expensive) to move?

Feng Shui doesn't have to involve redecorating your entire space, knocking down walls or adding extensions to a home. There are simple things you can do today to improve the flow of chi and introduce more positive energy into your apartment or house. This is especially important in apartments, where tenants may not be able to make extensive modifications.

1. Replace burnt out light bulbs. - Light (natural or electric) is a powerful form of chi. Dead lightbulbs indicate neglect and can create negative energy. Replace burnt out bulbs with new ones to introduce positive chi into a room.

2. Fix broken doors. Small annoyances such as broken doorknobs, squeaky hinges and even broken doors can nag at us every day. Spend a few minutes on the weekend fixing these things and your life will feel as if it's moving more smoothly.

3. Hang a mirror to make a space feel more open. We often call mirrors the “aspirin of Feng Shui” as they can help with chi flow in nearly any space. If an area feels closed in or cramped, hanging a mirror will open the space -- and it costs even less than painting or installing a new light.

4. Add living plants and fresh flowers. Reconnect with nature by bringing nature indoors. Many times when I visit a clients home, it feels like winter. The chi is very low and everything is dead with no life or color representation. One of the most effective and cheapest ways to make a space feel like a home is by adding plants, flowers or fresh fruit. Try it and let me know how it feels.

5. Display fresh fruit and vegetables. The saying is that first you must have health then you can get wealth. Take time to invest in yourself by purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables and display them in a nice bowl that makes you feel abundant. This simple act impacts how you’re seen in the world and the opportunities that you receive.

The Best Numbers for a Home or Apartment in Feng Shui

Feng Shui consultants sometimes employ numerology -- the symbolism of numbers -- to help in assessing the chi of a home, apartment or place of business. My Feng Shui Name Grader uses algorithms based in numerology to determine if a particular name will be positive, negative or neutral.

What are the best numbers for a house or apartment in Feng Shui? And why?

The best numbers for a home or office are 1, 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9.

One signifies a new beginning or birth, always an auspicious event. The number 2 represents balance, as in yin and yang.

The number three in Feng Shui, just as in Western culture, possesses mystical powers: the three wishes of fairy tails, Christianity's Holy Trinity, and the geometry of a triangle. Six and 9, as multiples of 3, carry good fortune, too. Nine, additionally, represents the culmination of a cycle, things reaching a pinnacle. The Chinese word for nine, chou, sounds like the word for longevity. If you live in a home or apartment bearing the number nine, you can expect to stay there for a while.

The number 8, similar to the number 3, also carries fortunate energy. In Cantonese, the words “eight” and “prosperity” sound alike. Additionally, the ba gua possesses eight trigrams.

House Numbers to Avoid
In Feng Shui, the number four is considered unfortunate. It sounds very similar to the Chinese word for death. In Chinese architecture, four is avoided. Chinese architects sometimes “cut off” corners of buildings to create an eight-sided building, and buildings in China are sometimes missing the fourth floor just as, in the United States, some architects eliminate the 13th floor.

Contrary to Western culture, the number 7 is also considered unlucky in Feng Shui. Chinese memorial services for the dead traditionally take place every 7 days for 7 weeks.

Five is considered a neutral number.

How to Calculate Your House Number
If you have a single digit house or apartment number, it's easy to judge whether it will be auspicious or not. If a home has a 2, 3 or 4 digit number, you can look at each number individually, or you can add the numbers together, and then, add those numbers (if there are two or more digits) together to get a number between 1 and 9. That number will tell you whether the home or business will help attract good fortune for its residents.  

Fortunately, with 6 positive numbers and only two numbers believed to bring misfortune, it should be easy to find a home with a fortunate building number.

If you take time to assess the Feng Shui of a house before you buy,  you may want to take into consideration the number of the building.

The Feng Shui of New York City

Just as every human being and every home has a different energy about it, every city has a unique chi -- the life energy that animates us and everything around us -- as well. Some cities are vibrant and full of life. Others are sedate, solemn. The people, businesses, architecture and even the predominant colors in a city contribute to the chi of that space.

New York: From Rushing Chi to Peaceful Solitude
One of the things that makes New York such a wonderful place is the variety of chi that circulates through every city street, park, museum, shop and apartment in Manhattan.

On Wall Street, the gray buildings and older architecture breeds solemnity -- this is a place of business, no room for frivolity. 

In Central Park, you'll find the chi of children and dogs running -- fun-loving and innocent -- meandering paths, and areas filled with natural life of all kinds. Healthy living chi collects here, which is why it -- and New York's other parks -- is a favorite gathering place for native New Yorkers and tourists.

A Change in the Chi of Midtown
The chi of midtown has shifted significantly in recent years. In the past, the rushing chi of this area could be stressful, creating pressure and a rushed feeling. While stagnant chi can limit opportunities, rushing chi can cause financial difficulties and health problems for people in the area. It can also make people irritable. The traffic and crowds created rushing chi that led to anxiety and confusion for many people.

Now, with Times Square closed to vehicle traffic, the chi is able to collect in the area, creating a high energy environment that is full of life but no longer rushed or panicked.

Times Square is now a pedestrian-friendly area, with tables where people can sit, relax and enjoy the diverse surroundings and people that are part of city life. The chi -- as well as the people -- collects here, adding more vibrancy to the area. This also creates a healthier environment for people on a practical level -- with no cars, buses and taxi cabs on the street, there is less noise or air pollution.

The bright colors that populate Times Square on street signs, moving billboards and large flat screen monitors creates a true rainbow of elemental colors, which encourages creative thinking and positive chi.

New York Feng Shui Consultations
What about your New York home? Does it reflect the chi of the street where you live? Would you like help bringing some of the positive life chi from your street into your apartment? Or maybe your surroundings aren't the best, and you'd like some help creating a vibrant yet peaceful space in the middle of a neighborhood with stagnant chi.

While I'm blessed with many opportunities to help people all over the world with Feng Shui, I also love providing Feng Shui consultations to fellow New Yorkers right at home. Check out my Consulting Services to find out more.

5 Ways To Connect With Your True Self

When we are aligned with our true self, we find a sense of inner peace and joy that is hard to describe. The mundane questions like "Will the money last until next payday?", "Will people like me?", and "Am I doing the right thing?" vanish as you achieve a state of quiet self-confidence. Does that sound appealing to you?

Here are five ways you can open your heart to embracing your true self.

1. Be in the Moment. When we are in the moment, we are keenly aware of our thoughts, emotions and even our breath. Our mind isn't wandering to other times or places. We are absorbed and engaged in whatever we are doing, whether it is writing, thinking, listening, or even just doing chores. In The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes, ""When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it." Being in the moment means simply "being."

2. Meditate. No matter how busy we are with our work or with worldly affairs, we should strive enter into the inner silence to attune ourselves with with our higher self. By silent devotion we can deepen our awareness of divine love and wisdom. In this space, we should feel God's all-creative Intelligence working through us. The closer we live to God and our higher self, the easier life becomes, the more connected you are with your life's purpose and the easier it becomes to connect with your true self.

3. Journal. Writing down our thoughts, feelings and goals helps us pinpoint what is really important to us, an important step toward getting in touch with our true self.

4. Surround yourself with positive people. When you surround yourself with positive, uplifting people, it's hard not to be positive and uplifting yourself. If you don't know anyone who is a truly positive example of living in alignment with his or her true self, you can read the works of people like Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle and Wayne Dyer in order to absorb that positive energy and learn from their knowledge.

5. Use Feng Shui. When you adjust your surroundings to enhance the flow of chi, you will instantly feel more comfortable and at peace in a space. This involves keeping pathways clear for chi to flow freely, using colors that complement your personal chi, and encouraging lots of uplifting energy into a space. Introducing elements of lifting chi, such as plants and water, increase your focus to help you remain in the moment.

When your surroundings are aligned with your true self, you'll have more energy and be in a better frame of mind to find your true purpose in life. For a more precise evaluation, a professional Feng Shui consultant's opinion should always be sought to create a space where you can truly thrive.

Dress Your Children for Success

We recently talked about how the color of your clothes can make you smarter. You can also dress your children in certain colors for greater success.

There's a reason many children's toys and room decor products are in a rainbow of primary colors -- rainbow colors give young children (grades K - 6) all the virtues represented by the five elements, giving them the strong basis for a successful life.

Middle school age children thrive in black and green, which promote wisdom and encourage benevolence, respectively. In high school, students should continue to wear these colors, as well as red to encourage reason, as their reasoning and logic skills continue to develop. If you have an irrational teenager, (and which teen isn't, at times?) light green, light blue, or dark green for benevolence, or a combination of white, black, and green.

Best Colors for Athletes, Scholars and More
If you have a child who has trouble focusing, is hyperactive, or even diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, black and brown will calm the child down, help him focus, and also enhance loyalty. The color yellow for any child will bring out loyalty, honor and honesty.

Here are a few more colors and the traits that they will encourage to balance your child's chi:

Red and green: athletic ability and coordination
White or black: Intelligence
Green or blue: benevolence or liveliness
Black: calmness, focus
Rainbow colors: spirituality

When taking tests, encourage wearing the colors of black or white as this can help with concentration, intelligence, concentration and overall test scores.

How to Balance Your Personal “Chi” for Success, Peace and Happiness

We talk a lot about “chi” in Feng Shui. We often translate the Chinese concept of chi into the word “energy,” but it is actually so much more than that. Chi is present in every living thing and in the earth, itself.

According to Feng Shui Master Lin Yun in the book Living Color, different kinds of chi exist:

- chi that circulates in the earth
- chi that permeates the atmosphere
- chi that animates our bodies

The Chi Within Us
The chi within us could be described as our spirit, our energy or our essence. Without chi, we are merely flesh and bones. Chi is what makes us innately “us.” It's how we are still recognizable after 10, 20 or 50 years, even though every cell in our body has regenerated. Our personal chi defines our looks, our personality, and every characteristic that makes us each individuals.

Balancing Our Chi
In Feng Shui, we can use many methods to balance our chi, including meditations, cleansing and the use of colors (in our wardrobe and in our surroundings). When we balance our chi, we our balancing the yin and yang within ourselves.

Definitions of Yin and Yang
So what is yin and yang? Yin and yang are complementary opposites. Yin energy is female. It is dark, contemplative, quiet, and passive. Yang energy is masculine, light and active. Together, they form a whole -- called Tao -- which is literally translated as “the way.” According to Buddhist philosophy, Tao is the way of the universe, the natural order of things.

With this knowledge, you can see why, if your chi isn't balanced, you may feel stuck, depressed, restless, and unable to live up to your greatest potential. You are working against the natural order of the universe.

Chi must flow, unimpaired, through our entire body. It stimulates our brains, our muscles and our organs. It makes us able to move, think, and live. If chi does not flow well to a specific part of our body, we may experience illness or even paralysis there. If Chi cannot flow to a major organ, we may die.

When we are in balance, on the other hand, we feel as if all is right in our universe, which leads us to accomplish the greatness we were put on this earth to achieve.  A Black Sect Feng Shui consultant can not only help you balance the chi in your surroundings or perform a space cleansing on your home or business, but can help you balance your energy so that you can achieve the success you desire.