Many of us are living very busy lives.  With so much to manage on a day to day basis, it’s easy for clutter to pile up in various spaces & rooms within our homes.  Do you “feel” the energy of those cluttered spaces?  Do you avoid those cluttered spaces or rooms where too much “stuff” has accumulated?  This is how the energy of clutter and too many objects affects us, even if we do not realize this yet.  When we choose to simplify and clear all of the open and hidden spaces in our home & work environments, positive shifts in our productivity, creativity, relationships, health, and overall level of abundance – begin to unfold.  Embrace change and apply 9 feng shui remedies to improve your life.

What is Feng Shui?

The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui refers to the arranging of spaces in order to achieve energy, harmony, and balance.  The Cantonese pronunciation, “foong swee” or the Mandarin pronunciation “fong shway” are translated into English as “the way of Wind (feng) and Water (shui) or “the natural forces of the universe”.  Good Feng Shui fosters health, wealth, creativity, strong relationships, and self-confidence among other things.

According to the principles of Feng Shui, a happy home is one in which you and your space exist harmoniously.  It also encourages us to engage with our home in a more mindful way.  In a more practical way, Feng Shui provides a wonderful guide on how one can enhance the feel of any interior.

How to apply Feng Shui Design Principles

The design principles of Feng Shui differ greatly from the techniques that we know in the West.  If you would like to Feng Shui your home, the first thing you need is a Bagua Map.  This is a chart that symbolically divides your home into nine different areas.  Each area represents a particular meaning.  Becoming familiar with the Bagua is an essential part of Feng Shui decorating and provides guidance for selecting colors, furniture, artwork, and more.

Directions for Using the bagua

• Center the Bagua over your house or individual room.
• Align the bottom of the Bagua with the wall of your door.
• Your door will be in either the Knowledge, Career, or Helpful People areas on the Bagua.
• You will now see which parts of your home/room contain chi linked to different areas of your life.
• To enhance your life, you can apply a Feng Shui remedy to the respective area on the Bagua.
• The corresponding colors can also be used to improve a life situation (ie. put red, pink or white in the marriage area of your house for a better relationship).

The key concept of applying Feng Shui to any physical environment, is to align and harmonize invisible energy, referred to as qi  or chi.  The energy within a space is believed to have a significant impact on our overall happiness.  Feng Shui aims to use placement to create a positive energy flow throughout the home in a way that supports a good flow of chi within each person who inhabits the home or work environment.

The 9 Feng Shui Remedies

• Light-Refracting Objects
  • Mirrors are a Feng Shui cure-all that can attract good chi and resolve design problems.  They can also deflect bad chi, bring energy to a space, and symbolically double wealth when properly placed.
  • Glass-faceted crystal balls are imbued with symbolic power to activate chi and disperse threatening chi.  Ideally they should be hung in increments of 9 inches (18, 27, 36, etc.) – a mystical number.  3/4″ – 1″ diameter balls are sufficient.
  • Lights can stimulate weak energy and also move chi upward.  You’ll feel more energized in a brightly lit room.  A dark room can be depressing.
• Sound
  • Wind chimes or bells redirect and moderate chi flow.  They can be used to break up fast-moving chi or to draw chi.
• Living Things
  • Plants flowers, and aquariums have nourishing chi and lift energy.  Plants have a life force that makes a room relaxing.
• Bamboo Flutes
  • Direct chi upward and symbolize peace.
• Moving Objects
  • Water fountains (water symbolizes wealth) or mobiles generate positive chi and neutralize menacing chi.
• Heavy Objects
  • Rocks or statues can stabilize the energy of a place or a situation.  Placed in the right spot, an unsteady relationship or career can improve.
• Electrical Objects
  • Computers and televisions add energy to a room.  Putting a computer in the “wealth” corner of your office can lead to greater success.
• Colors
  • Through artwork, painted walls, and decor, colors can enhance and balance chi flow, create peacefulness and encourage good fortune.  (Use the colors on the Bagua as a guide).
• Transcendental Remedies
  • Mystical symbols or rituals that need to be applied by a qualified Feng Shui practitioner.
• Feng Shui Power Boost
  • To activate more powerful chi when applying a Feng Shui remedy, focus on your intent (i.e. improve career) and visualize how you see this intent taking place in your life (I.e. job promotion).

Essential Activity

Identify one of the most cluttered spaces in your home.  If working on a whole room is too overwhelming, build your feng shui confidence with a small space (ie, closet, cabinet), or focus on a section of one of your most cluttered rooms.  One way to make the process easier is to take everything out of the space, and then put the most important and useful items back into place.  Consider some new furniture choices for your home, new decor, and new paint colors.  Buy new storage containers for ease of use & functional organization, and only keep items that bring you joy.  Apply some of the Feng Shui Remedies to your home and work environment and be aware of the positive experiences that will flow into your life.