Basic Feng Shui Cure #5: Use Heavy Objects for Stability

Note: This series explores the 9 basic Feng Shui cures.
 
Feeling unsettled? Does your life lack stability? Do you jump from job to job, or always fear the next big change, simply because you're tired of flitting around without direction?

If you crave stability, placing heavy objects -- or symbolically heavy objects -- in various segments of the Ba Gua can help.

Outdoors, you can employ large stones or boulders to activate different sections of the Ba Gua. For instance, if you want greater job security, place a boulder in the career section of your yard. However, make sure the rock is not too close to your front door, or you will risk feeling “blocked” and stuck.

If you fear that your partner may leave and want a more stable marriage, place a heavy object in the marriage section of the Ba Gua. If your health constantly fluctuates and want greater consistency with good health, a stone, statue or rock garden in the health section of the Ba Gua will attract better health and longevity to you.

Heavy Objects Indoors
Indoors, a small rock garden that is symbolically heavy can suit the same purpose. You can activate different sections of your home, a room, or your desk using heavy objects.

The Chinese often rely on a symbolically heavy object called a “Yu” to add stability to a certain area of life. A Yu is a small Chinese ink pot with stones in the bottom. Placed under the bed in the master bedroom, a Yu will add a sense of stability and security to your love life and also help you sleep better.

Learn more about how to add stability to your life with heavy objects.

Meet the Love of Your Life in the Right Clothes

Are you seeking love? Commitment? Fulfillment in a romantic relationship and an eventual family? It all starts with a first date.

What you wear on that first date can increase the odds you'll form a powerful connection with potential for a long-term relationship. On the other hand, the wrong choice in clothes can make you disappear quickly from the person's mind as soon as the door closes on the evening.

Red to Turn Heads
If you want to turn heads, a red dress or shirt will do the trick. This sends a message that you are a person full of passion. Red, often the color of a Chinese wedding dress, is an auspicious color for most occasions, and especially for a woman or man seeking a mate.

Pink or Peach for Seduction
If you want to show that you're open to seduction -- and looking for a more intimate connection -- a pale peach or beige satin top, which blends with your skin and gives the illusion that you are almost nude, sends a subtle message to your date that you are both daring and passionate. Pink has the added benefit of being a lucky color for finding a marriage partner.

Whatever you wear, make sure you are comfortable. An outfit that is flattering in its fit, cut and colors will give you tremendous confidence before you even leave your home. That confidence will project itself as a radiating inner light, attracting others -- including that special someone -- to you.

Dress to Enhance Your Chi
If you want to impress your date, you can choose colors that enhance your most positive inner traits or, alternatively, colors that correspond with your sign in the Chinese zodiac. These colors strengthen your chi.

For instance, if you are creatively charged and ready to deliver stimulating conversation -- and looking for someone who can do the same - wear blue, red or purple.

If you wish to showcase your natural compassion, green, blue, black or red will send a message to your date. Black can also indicate wisdom, class and style. (Think of a black tie affair.) However, to avoid depressing black chi that could overwhelm the otherwise happy occasion, dress up the outfit with colorful accessories, such as a red evening bag.

By strengthening your chi for a special occasion like a first date, you increase your own confidence. The right colors also change the way people perceive you and affect their chi in a positive manner, as well.

Rainbow Colors to Connect
Most people respond to rainbow colors. Salespeople often wear this color in order to appeal to a broad variety of buyers; this technique can work on a date, too. Rainbow colors enhance every type of chi and support the virtues of all five elements.

It takes a certain personality type to pull off a rainbow outfit without looking like a clown. Consider, instead, using rainbow elements on your undergarments or in very small doses, like on a piece of jewelry.

The Five Elemental Colors
Instead of a rainbow, you can employ the five-elemental colors in any order on your outfit to bring good fortune during a first date. Using the five elemental colors in an outfit is a special Feng Shui technique used to increase your fortune during important events.

You can see that Feng Shui can help you dress for a successful first date. With so many different color options that will help you make it a night to remember, you can choose the combination that works best for you.

I'm curious, do you have a favorite first date outfit or color that you really like?

How Missing Areas Could Be Impacting Your Cash Flow & More

When you lay the bagua over the floor plan of your home or apartment, you may discover your home is not a perfect square or rectangle. This creates “additions” or “missing areas” in the bagua, which can affect many areas of your life, including your:

- fortune
- finances
- family life
- career advancement
- relationships with others
- marriage or love life
- relationship with your children
- health
- status
- ability to receive help from others... and more.

Every area of the bagua affects an important area of your life. If that area of the bagua is missing, your life will suffer in that area. On the other hand, an addition in the area can lead to increase wealth, health, social status, great relationships and more.

How Can You Tell If An Area is Missing or Enhanced?

If a segment of your floor plan extends beyond the main rectangle or square of a home and is less than 1/2 of the total length or depth of the house (depending on where the extension lies), then this is an “addition.” You will find this area of your life enhanced. You don't need to do anything about an addition, other than enjoy its effects.

You may also lay out your home to take advantage of the addition. For instance, an addition in the wealth or creativity and children area would be a good place to set up a home office. Consider placing a library or study room in an addition in the knowledge area.

You may be missing an area of the bagua if the extension on your home is greater than one half the total length or width of the house.

If the distances are equal, you can use your intuition to determine whether you have an addition or a missing area -- does the house feel like it has an extension that goes beyond the main area of the house, or does it feel as if part of the main floor plan is missing?
Also consider some of the tribulations or successes you are facing in your life. Do they point to a missing area of the bagua (for instance, are you having money problems?) Or is an area of your life enhanced?

Cures for Missing Areas

There are several Feng Shui cures for a missing area. You can hang a mirror on the wall to project into the missing area. You can shine outdoor, all-weather lights on the missing area to “fill in” that space on the bagua.

You can also enhance the living chi of that space by planting shrubs or flowers that correspond with the elemental colors of that section of the bagua. For instance, a purple lilac bush in the wealth area will “complete” that segment of the bagua and help improve your financial situation.

Do you have missing areas or extensions in your floor plan?

What Kind of Mother's Day Flowers Will Make Mom Happiest?

In Feng Shui, different types of flowers have different meanings. The color of a flower can also make a difference when we talk about its effects on the chi -- the energy -- of a space.

You can use flowers to activate a specific segment of the bagua, as discussed in this article. You can also use specific types of flowers and plants -- as well as fruit trees -- to attract greater income, promote good health, or improve your fortune.

Give (Back) the Gift of Life

Your mom gave you the gift of life. Why not improve the living chi in your mom's space this Mother's Day and present her with a gift of fresh cut flowers or a plant? You may also consider giving mom live flowers or a fruit tree that she can plant as a year-long reminder of your love for her.

Selecting Flowers, a Plant or Tree for Mom

Here are a list of some flowers, plants and trees, along with their symbolism, so you can select the best gift for your mom's personality and life goals.

Peony - The beautiful and popular peony has long been a sign of luck, prosperity and elevated social status. This flower, especially in a red or purple variety, is perfect for Mom to place in the wealth corner of her home or garden.

Tree peonies - These woody shrubs, not to be confused with peony flowers, represent springtime, love and affection for beauty. The perfect gift to remind Mom how much you appreciate her.

Lotus - If your Mom is embarking on a spiritual journey, help her out with a gift of lotus flowers. Also a great gift for a spouse hoping to conceive.

Red persimmons - Is your mom the quintessential parent-preneur? Help her plant a red persimmon tree for good fortune in her new endeavors.

Apples - An apple tree represents safety and may be good for an older mom living alone, as a reminder that you are always thinking about her and her security. Plant the tree behind the house, but not touching it, for an added sense of protection.

Oranges - Want to wish your mom good fortune in everything she does? If you live in a tropical climate, an orange tree makes the perfect gift.

Evergreens and bamboo - Send Mom wishes for a long life and let her know your love for her will never die by presenting her with a small evergreen tree or potted bamboo. You can also use a small bamboo plant to activate the wealth or career segment of a desk, at work or at home.

Whatever plant, flower or tree you select for Mom this Mother's Day, make sure the leaves are bright green, lush and healthy in order to ensure your gift will infuse the space with positive chi.

How To Attract Positive People & Wealth into Your Life with Flowers

Have you begun planting your garden for this year yet? Even though April showers supposedly bring May flowers, it's not too late.  If you live in an apartment, you can use flower boxes for the same effect as a full-fledged garden. Fresh flowers enliven a space and activate the chi in a given area.

You can also use flowers of different colors to improve different areas of your life. When you lay the Feng Shui Bagua over your plot of land, you will see how different areas of your yard or home relate to different areas of your life. Similarly, different colors relate to the sections of the Bagua. To activate a particular sector, say wealth or helpful people, plant flowers of a corresponding color in that corner.

You can use this technique of adding colorful flowers to your property, home or even inside your apartment to:

- increase your wealth
- do better in school
- advance your career
- attract helpful people in your life

The Power of White Flowers
How do you achieve these results? Use the color that relates to the section of the bagua you wish to activate. For instance, if you desire to expand your social network with people who have the skill -- and desire -- to help you in your business, plant white flowers in the helpful people section of your yard, place them in a room of your home or apartment that corresponds with the helpful people section of the bagua.

White also corresponds with children, so planting white flowers in the section of your yard that corresponds with children can help a couple increase their fertility to conceive a child. White flowers in that corner of your home or yard can also bring good fortune to your children and improve your relationship with them.

Increase Your Wealth with Flowers
Similarly, violets or other purple flowers in the wealth corner can help you increase your income, as blue, purple and red are colors for wealth. Imagine the results of planting red roses, violets and lavender bushes in the wealth corner of your home, or in a flower box or placing in the wealth corner of your apartment? Not only do these colors look beautiful together, but you'll attract wealth to your home with positive living chi.

Attract Love with Flowering Plants
A single person hoping to attract love can activate the marriage corner of the home or apartment with white, pink and red flowers. If you want year-long positive results when you plant flowers, keep blooming seasons in mind. You may need to plant different flowers at different times of the year in order to ensure year-round success.

Will you be purchasing flowers this week? Is so, what colors?

How to Use Feng Shui to Bring Vitality to a Dead End Street

Cul-de-sacs are often called dead-ends for a reason. If you feel drained of energy, tired, and blocked in your life, and you live on a cul-de-sac, your street could be draining your home of life-affirming chi. The movement of chi into a cul-de-sac is too quick and violent, leaving the home's inhabitants drained of energy, depressed and unmotivated.

If the cul-de-sac where you live is square, the homes facing the corners will receive the worst negative effects from this rushing chi -- but Feng Shui cures can abate difficulties. Or if you are in direct line of the road, it may lead to divorce or financial difficulty.

Adding Cures to the Cul-de-sac
If permitted by regulations, you can add an enclosure to the center of your cul-de-sac. This small enclosure should house trees, a fountain, windmill or flagpole. This will slow the flow of chi while keeping it moving through the cul-de-sac, circulating into homes, and leaving in a healthy way.

You may also add flags to your house, and the other houses in the cul-de-sac, or use lighting on the rooftops.

Using Feng Shui Cures on the Homes in the Cul-de-sac
If rules and regulations prohibit adding a structure to the center of your cul-de-sac, you'll have to limit cures to individual houses. To re-direct the flow of chi and counteract the draining effect, you can:

- Place a windmill on the roof
- Add a mailbox or trees
- Plant tall trees in the back yard, especially near a bedroom to protect the bedroom from the rushing chi and help occupants sleep better.

What Can I Expect During a Feng Shui Consultation?

If you're having problems related to your career, finances, romantic relationships or overall mood, a Feng Shui consultation might help. By altering your environment and surroundings under the watchful guidance of a professional, you'll be able to see positive changes take place in your life.

When a Black Sect Feng Shui consultant visits your home for a consultation, expect an interactive experience. Black Sect Feng Shui employs both transcendental (spiritual) and mundane (connected to everyday life) methods to improve the flow of chi (energy) through your home.

The Feng Shui Ba Gua in Your Home
Black Sect Feng Shui does not use a compass to determine the trigram positions or the direction in which to overlay the ba gua over a space. Instead, the Feng Shui consultant will determine the position by which chi enters your home (usually through a front door, but sometimes through another door), and lay the ba gua over the space with the front door in one of three front sectors of the ba gua.

He will also find the central palace (tai chi position) of your home, and assess the placement of important rooms (including the kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom) in relation to the central line and central palace.

After completing a site survey, in which he uses his knowledge of Feng Shui, observational skills, intuition and other techniques to assess the chi in the space, he will assess your Feng Shui needs in relation to your personal chi and the dynamics of your home.

Working with your Feng Shui Consultant
At the start of the consultation, the Feng Shui consultant will discuss with you the areas of your life you feel need help, where your priorities lie, and what your future goals are.

Be prepared to think -- and speak -- in depth about the areas of life covered by the eight Trigrams and the tai chi position (the central palace). You'll want to consider strong and weak areas of your life, and how your surroundings may affect these areas. It's a good idea to brainstorm your goals in regard to these eight areas. It may help to ask yourself the following questions:

- What role does money play in my life? Do I have enough? Do I spend it (or lose it) as quickly as it comes in? Is increasing my wealth a major goal right now?

- What are my goals in regard to children? Do I want to conceive right now? Do I desire better control as a parent?

- Do I feel creativity lacking in my life?

- What is my reputation at work and in my community? Is it important to me that I'm highly regarded amongst my peers?

- Am I stuck in my career or advancing quickly? What aspects of my business life would I like to improve?

- Am I looking to further my education or take part in career development? Is this a priority right now? How are my children doing in school?

- How is my love life and my relationship with my partner? Or am I seeking a romantic relationship?

- How are my relationships with others in general? Do people help me when I need it? Do my friendships have a fair amount of give and take?

- What is my overall health? Do I have any illnesses or ailments? Do I have a lot of energy everyday? Do I sleep well at night?  

- What is my overall mood? Am I typically in good spirits?

Intention in Feng Shui
Since intention plays such a large role in Feng Shui, it's important to visualize the improvements you'd like to make in your life, and to know that the Feng Shui cures an expert implements will help you to realize these positive changes.

Learn more about working with a Feng Shui consultant to experience your full potential.

Feng Shui Don'ts for the Bedroom

Is bad Feng Shui in your bedroom hurting your love life and relationships? If any of the following describes your bedroom, making a few changes with the intention of attracting and keeping love in your life can help.

Don’t: Place photos of family and friends in your bedroom. If you must have a photo in your bedroom, it should be of you and your lover during a happy moment. Abstract representations of couples, as well as any items in pairs, are also good.

Don't: Have a home office or lots of books in your bedroom. Your bedroom is supposed to be used for two things: rest and romance. You don’t want items that remind you of work, learning, or finance in this space. If you have a very small apartment, and have little choice of where to place your desk, place a partition in the room so you can’t see the desk from your bed.

Don't: Keep exercise equipment in your bedroom. Just like a home office, exercise equipment creates too much energy for a space that is supposed to be a sanctuary. Exercise equipment in the bedroom can make you feel restless – or guilty if you’ve missed too many workouts.

Don't: Place mementos (especially love letters from exes) under the bed. The space under the bed should be kept clear. If you are tight on storage space, it’s okay to store a small box with blankets, bedding or clothing beneath the bed – but only soft items.

Don't: Have only one nightstand. If you want balance in your relationships, create balance in your bedroom. There should be room to approach your bed from either side – don’t position it with one side against the wall. You should have two nightstands, as well as two lamps. Look for other opportunities to place “two” elements in the room to attract love in your life. For instance, a set of matching candle holders or similar artwork in matching frames hung symmetrically, create a balanced look.

Spice up Your Love Life with Feng Shui

Would you like to enhance your love life with Feng Shui? Perhaps you’re planning a romantic at-home rendezvous this Valentine’s Day, and you’d like to create the best atmosphere for intimacy. You can use Feng Shui to turn your bedroom into a hot spot more luxurious than a four-star romantic getaway hotel.

1.    Set the mood with the right colors.
Red accents add fire to a room, ensuring a passionate ambiance. Just be sure not to overdue the red in the bedroom as it can lead to arguments.

2.    Let the air (and chi) circulate.
The moment you enter your bedroom sanctuary, you should begin to feel relaxed and romantic. Clear away clutter and open windows (if weather permits) or use an air purifier to keep the air clear. Consider placing a bowl of fresh fruit, such as grapes and strawberries, near the bed.

3. Use scents.
You may want to employ some aphrodisiac scents in the air. Fragrances should be subtle, not overpowering. Pure essential oils work best. Some aphrodisiacs for both men and women include:
-    Licorice
-    Sandalwood
-    Cucumber
-    Jasmine
-    Vanilla

4. Appropriate lighting
Your bedroom lights should be on a dimmer switch, permitting you to set the mood. Better yet, a few natural, non-toxic candles (such as those made from soy or beeswax) create the perfect lighting for a romantic mood.

Learn How Mirrors in the Bedroom Can Enhance Your Relationship

Many Feng Shui experts warn against placing mirrors in the bedroom. Multiple myths and superstitions surround mirrors. People who are against placing mirrors in the bedroom often have one of three arguments:

1. Some people believe that when you sleep, your spirit and energy leaves your body. As your energy or spirit returns, it may get confused and enter the mirror rather than your body.
 
2. Some people believe mirrors in the bedroom effectively “double” the number of people in the room and can lead to extramarital affairs.
 
3.  People claim that if you wake up in the middle of the night and spot yourself in the mirror, you may get startled and have a hard time falling asleep again.

However, these are simply beliefs steeped in superstition. From my point of view and practice, mirrors in the bedroom can actually enhance a relationship.

A large round mirror on the wall above the headboard can relax the eyes, reduce tension and improve a marriage. Add a mirror near the foot of the bed, and you’ll see an infinite doubling of the image, which can provide a sense of joyful expansion, completion and advancement. Both options can actually improve communication with your loved one. Mirrors can also be placed on the left and right sides of the bed for a similar effect.

One thing to be cautious of, however, is that the bedroom is yin energy and mirrors can be considered yang. Be careful about energizing the bedroom too much with a mirror that reflects morning sunlight into the room.

Aside from that one consideration, however, mirrors in the bedroom can actually relax couples and enhance relationships. Place mirrors in the bedroom wherever you feel comfortable doing so.