Clutter can really disconnect the “flow” in your home – the flow of energy, that is. Is there a cluttered corner that makes you feel frazzled every time you look at it? According to the centuries-old system, it’s no coincidence that you automatically feel anxious or lose focus every time you pass by that pile of stress in the corner. Clutter drains energy and the only way to reclaim that energy is to get rid of the clutter.
By Elizabeth Toy
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art and science which follows the idea that the items you bring into your space and where you place them affects how you think, act, and feel. While Feng Shui may sound like a new-age concept, it’s actually been around for thousands of years. Feng Shui literally means “wind and water” and is all about balance and the flow of energy in your space. You can influence this energy by how you position your surroundings according to the natural flow of energy.
Feng Shui helps direct the placement of items to create the optimal flow of energy in a room, also known as “chi.” Chi, directly translated, means air. When done right, Feng Shui is believed to bring in good fortune and health and repel bad luck and negative feelings.
The ultimate goal is to balance all the elements in to your home to create harmony and nurture an environment conducive to the flow of energy. Read on to discover how you can bring this ancient Chinese art into your own home.
Basic Principles & Practices of Feng Shui
There are 5 core elements that make up the practice of Feng Shui: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water & Wood. Each element supports and can likewise be diminished by another. This doesn’t mean you need to start a fire or flood your home! Instead, placing items that are representative of these elements can help balance the chi in your home. For example, candles can represent fire and glass can represent water.
1. Invite Good Energy Right At The Front Door
The entrance to your home can either attract or repel you, guests, and potential opportunities! When you walk up to your front door, do you feel invited? Relieved to be home? Welcome? Or do you feel irritated, stressed, or even slightly disappointed?
The entrance to your home should radiate positive energy and give you good feelings. After all, your home ought to be your haven, and a place that you want to come back to. If it doesn’t, make a few simple changes. Wipe down the door, sweep the porch or buy a new welcome mat.
In addition, you can paint your door a different color. Red is the Feng Shui color associated with prosperity and abundance. Green represents growth and nature. Most importantly, clear away any clutter around the entrance so good energy can come into your home. And speaking of clutter…
2. Declutter
Clutter is the enemy of Feng Shui. If there’s one thing that can hinder the flow of energy, it’s the obstacle of a mess. As mentioned earlier, we all know how different it feels to enter a room that’s disorganized, compared to the feeling when we return to a beautifully clean and organized space. In the same way you can think more clearly when you aren’t distracted, energy can more easily flow when there’s nothing to get in the way. That said, if you don’t love it or need it, get it out of your space.
3. Fix or Get Rid of Broken Things
Likewise, if you have something broken that you’ve been meaning to fix, either fix it immediately or get rid of it, but don’t let it linger in your space any longer. Broken things will disrupt the flow of energy. They can even bring stress, reminding us of yet another task or even of an unhappy time. This includes any reminders of past unsuccessful projects or relationships.
If it doesn’t contribute to your life in a positive way, it’s time to part with it.
4. Invite Harmony with House Plants
Bring live plants in your home. Not only do plants naturally purify the air you breathe inside, but they also brighten your space and help to make your home a more relaxing place.
Just as spending time in nature helps decrease stress levels, bringing nature into your home creates a more peaceful ambiance. When choosing houseplants, keep in mind that those with soft and round leaves bring a more gentle energy.
5. Use Natural Light
Good quality light is essential to any space. Bring in as much natural light as possible by opening windows. Additionally, you can opt for full-spectrum lightbulbs, which basically imitate natural light sources. Unlike florescent lights, natural light boosts your energy.
Just making a few small changes in your space can dramatically change the way you feel in your home and space.
Five Fixes to Feng Shui Your Bathroom
The bathroom is one of my favorite places to reflect and center myself. Whether it be first thing in the morning or the last few moments before bed, the moments that I spend in the shower or brushing my teeth force me to slow my body and brain and think about the opportunities and people in my life that I’m the most grateful for.
As the bathroom is an area of waste through which water is constantly cycling through, it is an area that tends to leak energy and accumulates lower vibration. With these simple fixes you can easily better the energy in this space, which will improve the overall energy of your home.
1. Keep the bathroom door and toilet lid closed
Whenever the toilet flushes, all the of good energy in the vicinty gets taken with it. In order to guard this energy it is important to keep the toilet lid closed when not in use, and especially when flushing. Closing the bathroom door will aid in safeguarding the chi in the rest of your house.
2. Place a crystal on the tank of the toilet
A crystal on or near the tank of the toilet will help to stabilize the energy that passes through the toilet. Select a crystal whose energy speaks specifically to any needs or voids in your life.
3. Fix any leaks
In terms of energy, leaks can metaphorically be interpreted as a type of waste. Any waste in your home can manifest as financial waste in your life, as well as a frazzled emotional state. Do yourself a favor and double check your pipes to make sure you don’t run into any issues.
4. Add mirrors
Mirrors are Feng Shui magic, they can make walls and doors energetically disappear. They also have the abilty to push energy back. In addition to adding several mirrors strategically in your bathroom, add one to the outside of the bathroom door to keep energy from entering unnecessarily.
5. Balance the Feng Shui elements
Because the bathroom is overwhelmingly characterized by water, balancing it will the other Feng Shui elements will create the most soothing space. Add candles for purifying fire, and a bit a wood to soak up some of the water’s energy. Metal will add an air of freshness, while a few potted plants will add earthly nourishment.
Nine Ways To Feng Shui Your Bedroom
When I was a kid, I shared a bedroom with my big brother. Around fourth grade, my parents decided it was time I move into a room of my own while my brothers shacked up. I was very excited to finally have my own space and privacy. However, the change was very sudden and I didn’t adjust well. Not too long after I moved into my new room, I began to have nightmares.
But Mom knew just what to do. I come from a Chinese family and my mom, especially, believes in Feng Shui.
After I had nightmares night after night, my mom determined that something was off in the room. Rather than blaming my nightmares on late night snacking or horror stories, she immediately decided that my bed needed to be moved. After considering the location of my room in the house, and then the directions of sunrise and sunset, my mom moved my bed so that my head pointed in the optimal position. As a 9-year-old, I rolled my eyes at the idea that the placement of furniture could affect my dreams, but to my surprise, the nightmares stopped that same night.
Here are a few quick Feng Shui concepts for your bedroom.
1. Avoid Sharp Edges
There’s nothing welcoming about sharp and pointy items, especially if they’re pointed at an entrance or worse – right at you! Sharp edges represent “poison arrows,” which bring negative energy into your space. We all have a few sharp edges in our homes, but we can balance them out by bringing in items with smooth and rounded edges, like plants with round leaves or even using curtains and mirrors to create a barrier. You can also simply point sharp edges away from you.
2. Shrink Large Windows
While ceiling-to-floor windows are a current trend, having a window that is too large can leave you feeling vulnerable or exposed. Add curtains to create privacy and a more comfortable ambiance. After all, your bedroom is one of the most private of spaces you spend you time.
3. Minimize Electronics
Not only are cell phones, tablets and the like a distraction, but all electronics release an electromagnetic energy even when they’re off. Keep your electronics away from your bed for a more restful sleep. If you have a TV in your room, covering it with a cloth can help maintain a more peaceful energy.
4. Organize Your Bookshelf
Just like anything else, keeping your books organized can contribute to good Feng Shui, not to mention, an orderly and calm environment. If you don’t know where to start, think about size and color, with the more sturdy and supportive books on the bottom and lighter, paperbacks up top. You can create both rows and stacks of books and display knick-knacks or mementos on your bookshelf to keep it from looking monotonous.
5. Purchase a Headboard
A headboard can help create a feeling of security, especially while we’re sleeping, knowing there’s something between your head and the wall.
6. Bring Down Tall Ceilings
High ceilings are lovely, but can make you feel small. To create a cozier space, decorate the lower half of the room with rugs and pillows, or even paint the ceiling a darker color.
7. Re-position Your Bed
Just like Momma said, it’s important that your bed is in the optimal position so that you feel safe and not vulnerable. Your bed should be positioned so that you’re never taken by surprise. Opposite of the door is ideal, so that no one can ever barge in and startle you with your back toward them.
8. Downsize a Large Room
While a big room can feel luxurious, it may also leave you feeling vulnerable, which you never want in your most private of spaces. Arranging your furniture away from walls or painting your walls in warm colors can make your bedroom feel spacious but still cozy.
9. Keep Work Out of Your Bedroom
The bedroom is for sleeping and romance, not work! Just like your desk at the office isn’t the ideal place to nap, don’t bring your work into the bedroom. Separate business and pleasure (and rest) and designate a purpose for your spaces to maintain the right mentality and peace in both environments. This is important especially if you work at home.
