Ever walk into a room and feel like the energy just isn’t right? You might not be able to put your finger on it, but something about the space leaves you feeling a little unsettled. Maybe it’s too dark or too stuffy or the colors don’t work, or maybe it’s the placement of the furniture.
It cold be you’ve stepped into a room with bad feng shui.
Here’s my personal experience with feng shui and energy. Years ago, when I was living in Manhattan, I read about a local “guru” who was reported to be able to organize and rearrange your living space so that you could have maximum energy. She practiced some obscure Asian art form whose name I couldn’t pronounce at the time, and it was said that when you organized your space according to the principles of this practice, you could not only maximize your own energy, but also attract precisely the things you wanted into your life – love, prosperity, you name it. Donald Trump was said to have had the lobbies of his building designed according to this practice.
The guru in question was a charming woman named Caroel Meltzer I hired her, I found her to be quite a character – a combination of Long Island designer and spiritual guru, and, as I later learned, the first American woman to be trained in China as a Master in this interesting energetic art form, which, of course, was known as feng shui (pronounced fung shway).
Well, it worked. From the moment she applied her magic touch – telling me where the “energy was blocked” in my apartment, creating ‘flows”, changing colours, putting symbolic materials in key places in order to attract love, romance, and prosperity – things noticeably changed. I’m not kidding. It was during this time that I began a new relationship, my income went way up, and the general “feel” of my Manhattan apartment become more airy and open. I swear, I could literally feel my energy rise, and the energy of the apartment was noticeably different, something commented on by virtually everyone who came to visit.
So what the heck is feng shui anyway? And how can it help you with your energy.
Glad you asked.
WELCOME NATURE FOR ENERGY AND HARMONY
Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of bringing harmony to an environment, based, in part, on tenets found in nature. Through design, the purposeful placement of furnishings and objects, and the use of color, a feng shui Master balances yin and yang, allowing positive energy, or qi, to flow freely throughout the space. It’s a system built on five elements – fire, water earth, metal, and wood – and the colour that symbolize each. How those elements interact can impact the energy of the environment in either a positive or a negative way.
Every area of your life is also represented by an area of your home called a gua (a feng shui map of a space is called a bagua). There are nine guas: prosperity, fame and reputation, relationships and love, creativity and children, helpful people and travel, career and life path, skills and knowledge, family, and health and all other life situations not mentioned. Each gua also has corresponding symbols, body parts, colors, and shapes.
When a space has bad feng sui, it gives off negative energy. The result could be mental or physical fatigue, stagnation in your career or love life, or a host of other unpleasant consequences. Although I’m hardly a feng shui Master – heck, I could barely pronounce it a few years ago – I do know a few basic principles more conducive to positive energy, both yours and that of the universe.
TIPS FOR ENERGIZING YOUR SPACE
Start with the room you feel most affects your energy level. The first step is to remove all clutter, which hols stale, negative energy (see page 224). In feng shuil, out of sight is not out of mind (a principle you’ve heard me state many times in this book). No matter where clutter accumulates – you attic, a hall closet, or that drawer you’d just as soon never open – it affects the energy of your home. If it affects your energy as well. In spades. Even if your’e not consciously aware of it.
No matter where clutter accumulates – your attic, a hall closet, or that drawer you’d just as soon never open – it affects the energy of your home.
Net, evaluate the lighting. In feng shui, light represents the sun, as a well-lit room promotes vitality and the smooth movement of positive qi. If there’s a lot of available natural light, then for goodness sake, let it shine in! If not, use lamps and candles to brighten dark spaces.
Another essential for energy is good air quality. Open windows often to keep air circulating, and use an air purifier or air-purifying plants to help filter out toxins.
If it’s the kitchen you’re focusing on, you’ll be relieved to know that the oven-sink-refrigerator triangle design of most kitchens actually balances water and fire, so it’s good feng shui. (By the same token, if you introduce too much of the water element, found in the colours blue or black, you might extinguish the symbolic fire of energy, so use those colors sparingly). As with everything else in feng shui, striking the right balance with color is important. For instance, red represents fire, so introducing it into a room can bring energy, excitement, and passion. But too much red may lead to anger or overstimulation. Although you want a calming bedroom, a bit of red – says, a decorative pillow or candle – might spark passion (which, for most of us, is a good things!).
For the most part, though, your bedroom should be a sanctuary filled with calming yin energy. The best colors for the bedroom are skin tones, anything from white to rich brown – it’s no accident that those gorgeous designer bedrooms, you see in catalogues are brimming with these warm, inviting colour! Everything in your bedroom should represent love and relaxation.
There should be symmetry in the bedroom, just as there should be in a good relationship. Place your bed in the middle of a solid wall (if possible) with nightstands on either side. Flowers and fresh energy and life to a bedroom. Note to people who use their bedroom as a combination office or exercise room: Anything that takes your mind away from sleep or sex should be banished from the room. Sorry. But trust me, you’ll thank me for it later.
Although feng shui is an art that can take a lifetime to master, you can use some of its basic principles now to increase you energy and you overall well-being. By becoming more aware of how furniture placement, colors, and décor affect your mood, you’ll be able to make your home more comfortable.
Even if you don’t meet your future wife, husband, boyfriend, or girlfriend, I promise that you will have a lot more positive energy in your life.
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