By Brad Jordan

Ever so slowly, spring has finally sprung in all of its glory here on Cape Cod.  We have been spending every available moment out in the yard   planning and planting, and ending each day exhausted and sore but filled with joy and hope for abundant results.

In the practice of Feng Shui, the exterior of your home or space sets the stage for the energy that comes into the interior. If there is no flow and harmony outside, good energies such as abundance, wellness, and safety could be blocked from making it into the inside. 

If you are just starting out, a key area to focus on is the front door which in Feng Shui is considered the mouth of chi.  The mouth of chi acts like a funnel and captures good energy to lead it towards the door.  To get a positive flow going, make sure that there is a light, clear, and visible path to the front door.  The door should be in good working order and painted a color that soothes your soul and brings the eye towards it.  Enhance the entrance with what we call greeters which serve to bring attention to a space and move energy through.  Greeters can be wind chimes, flags, and colorful flowers that are inviting and cheerful.  Consider attracting abundance with a fountain that flows towards the door or bubbles up and falls vertically.  Make sure that the pathway leading towards the door accommodates visitors appropriately and is a smooth and safe (a standard design rule is to provide a walkway if possible where two people can walk side by side to approach an entrance).  If your path is meandering, avoid dead ends or sharp and blind turns.  Guide visitors and energy to the door with smooth rounded corners.  Make sure that the entrance is clean and organized for a grounded feel.  The doormat should not be worn and dirty.  Decorations don’t have to be massive and overbearing to be effective.  Just go with your own taste and budget and what feels good to you. 

Your changes don’t have to necessarily cost money.  Make them as you can and then sit back and enjoy the fruits of your efforts.  Hopefully you will feel good and accomplished, and start to feel a positive shift which affects those who reside in and enter your space. 

Now that is good Feng Shui!

You can also get much more zealous in the yard by creating outdoor rooms to enjoy in all seasons.  We are currently planning an outdoor meditation and creative area which I will share in an upcoming blog.  

by Brad Jordan

Feng Shui is not just a way to design your home.  Clearing your clutter and releasing personal items that no longer serve you is one of the most fundamental first steps in practicing Feng Shui in your home or space.  This is not only a process to get started but also an ongoing practice as you and your spaces evolve and change.  Clutter is considered anything that you don’t use or love, and anything that does not serve you in your current life path.  It also is considered to be a representation of the inability to move forward and make decisions.  When you get rid of clutter, you make room for energy to flow and by closing one door you make room for new beginnings through a new one. 

I recently moved my grandmother’s piano back home with me from California to Cape Cod.  Her piano has been one of my most beloved possessions to have since she passed away almost 25 years ago, but lately I have been thinking about the fact that I really don’t play it much anymore, and it isn’t a good fit for the limited space that we have in the new house.  I started exploring my feelings about how could I bear to think about selling it or giving it away?   Or ultimately, what would happen to it if I passed on?  At a family get together I asked if anyone would like to have Nana’s piano and nobody had either a place for it or an interest in having it.  So the dilemma became more prominent and I started thinking that I want to know the destiny of the piano during my lifetime.     

Two weeks ago we were out walking the dogs and bumped into a neighbor.  In our conversation she mentioned that her daughter wants to major in music in college.  She currently sings and writes music and her piano teacher just told her mom that they should consider getting a piano because she is too gifted of a player for just a keyboard.  I immediately mentioned my piano and my willingness to let her have it, and after showing it to her and telling her the story, she accepted the gift for her daughter in tears with gratitude.  We got together and moved the piano next door and their daughter sat down and sang to a song that she played.  Standing there to experience this immediately brought an unbelievable feeling of love and peace for the decision that I made.  The weather is now warm and we are all outside a lot and everyone has their doors and windows open.  Through the past week while sitting on the patio or working in the yard, I have heard my grandmother’s piano playing through the neighborhood.  It is emotional and I am full of joy and thanks for this happy ending.  

And now that the door has closed for this chapter of my life, another has opened with space for a new dining room server that I have wanted for years.   Now that is good Feng Shui!   

A year and a half ago, my partner and I purchased a fixer-upper, a traditional Cape style home that needs a lot of TLC.  With me as a practitioner of Feng Shui, it could seem ironic that we of all people ended up with a house with a somewhat funky floor plan that didn’t offer the best flow of chi in certain areas, and a significant lack of storage.  But it overlooks a salt marsh which is adjoining several acres of conservation land abound with wildlife, close to the beach, and we got it for a great price.  We seem to always pick up a diamond in the rough, or the orphaned child, only to remodel and make its potential blossom to become a home that people love to come to, and a place where we want to spend time.    

We have learned through our experiences that taking on a large remodeling project can be overwhelming and you need to plan carefully and stay to a short or long term schedule just to keep your sanity and avoid feeling stuck in a hole or a money pit.  It’s not for everyone, and we have learned through trial and error that there are some tasks that we just can’t do and some that we enjoy and do well.  But when we complete a segment of our remodeling plan we feel free, relieved, proud and happy.  We want to keep going on to the next phase.  We can feel the energy or chi moving with us.

In the practice of Feng Shui, it is considered important to not have lingering incomplete projects or things that are forever broken within your space.  This not only applies to remodeling projects, but anything in your life such as a work related project, a diet that isn’t successful, unpaid bills, a leaky faucet, or a door knob that keeps falling off.  You will never make room for new energy to enter your life if you are cluttered with old energy that is stagnant or energy that is broken and can’t go anywhere.  Broken items can also support an impression of a lack of wealth and abundance in your life.  

In our house, we have taken care of important functional issues that needed attention right away such as a new roof, furnace, fixtures, appliances, a damaged fireplace and dry rot.  Now we can focus on projects that will enhance the flow of the house and its overall feeling of balance.  This is the fun part because we are looking at each space and identifying areas that need to feel better and planning changes accordingly.  Our first significant endeavor is the finished basement which has choppy rooms and is very dark.  We’ve started tearing down a few walls to improve flow and are working on new colors and flooring options.  The basement has very significant Feng Shui issues to deal with and I will address those, along with our progress in my next blog.

So identify something that you need to get finished in your house or in your personal life, and concentrate on getting it done.  Then look at how you feel with the accomplishment.  If it is impossible to get it done, give it up, find an alternative, or delegate it.  I trust that you will start to feel your energy moving.   

But before I focus on the basement, I need to finish painting the trim around the new sliding door in the kitchen!   That would be good Feng Shui. 

I am sure that you have noticed that almost every gift or card shop, even Walmart, has those little affirmation signs and wall stencils that promote positive affirmations such as success, abundance, love, and health.  They are everywhere!  Even on t-shirts, and coffee mugs.  Most likely, you or someone you know has one or more.  Even I have a few such as the one sitting here at my desk that says “Don’t Wait for Your Ship to Come In.  Row Out to Meet It!”   Like the one on my desk, these signs typically say things like “Go for the Stars”, “Family Begins at Home”, “Strive for Success”, or “Someday My Prince Will Come”.        

We all like what the affirmations represent, and many of us look at them and attempt to move forward to make them come true.  But are we just thinking about what they say as we walk by?   Or have we figured out a viable plan?

In the practice of Feng Shui, it is considered that the environment around you is a profound representation of who you are, and where you have been, or are going.  Your spaces radiate a flow or energy called Chi, which is either moving forward at different levels, or not going anywhere. 

I once had a meeting with a client who after a tour of her house with me, expressed that she felt stuck in her career and where she lived, and wanted to make a change.  But every change that she tried, never seemed to work out.  I noticed that the house seemed cluttered with books and personal items piled everywhere in the main hallway.   On the walls, there were several awards from a career that she had long ago.  At the end of the hall was a sign that read “You Create Your Own Paths to Your Future”.    I asked her to think about this space.  Does it represent what you are looking for?  I told her that the clutter in her path and awards of a past life could be hindering her ability to move ahead.  This is called Sha Chi, which is a slow moving or uncomfortable energy.  I suggested that she work on clearing the space so that one can walk through freely and think about taking down the awards and putting up art that reflects a place that she would like to live and a career that she would like to have.  By doing this, you create Sheng Chi, which is positive and desirable.  Well a few months later she called me to share that after making the changes we talked about, she finally found a job that will eventually move her to a new city that she loves. 

So look at your affirmation boards and wall stencils.  And then look around the space where they reside and decide if they are compatible and complimentary.  Make adjustments that feel right to you, and make it happen.  That’s good Feng Shui!

In the practice of Feng Shui there are many fun methods to further achieve balance and energy flow which I will be discussing in future articles and workshops.     

In the world of Feng Shui, winter is considered a season that is very Yin. 

Yin and Yang are principles of the universe which are opposite and flatter each other when balanced together.  Yin represents dark, night, the moon, and is considered feminine.  Yang represents light, day, the sun, and is considered masculine. Yin and Yang are actually dependent on each other to create good health.   

Many of us look forward to the coming of winter after a long, hot and busy summer, where in winter we will feel like eating comfort food, taking naps, and curling up with a blanket next to a cozy fire with a good book.  As we know here in New England, winter can go on for months.  So imagine how you may end up feeling after a prolonged period of dark days, coldness, and nothing growing outside.  Perhaps kind-of comatose, weary, and unproductive?   A case of the blues?   

Bringing plants into your indoor space is one of the best ways to neutralize the sluggish energy of the Yin and help create a lively, creative, and healthy environment. 

Plants are considered Yang, and represent growth and life.  They give you a feeling of being productive.       

When bringing plants into your space, you want to consider placing them in places where you desire an active energy, such as an office, play rooms, living areas and family spaces.  Maybe not so much in a bedroom which is considered to be more of a yin space where rest and sleep are promoted. 

Here are a few tips on how to use plants to for optimum results:

·      Plants in the office are good for your career as they represent growth and abundance.  A Jade Plant, Money Tree (Pechora), or Bamboo specifically represent good fortune, but any plants that you like and enjoy will do.  Plants in an office are enhanced in brighter windows (Yang) such as the East, Southeast, or South. 

·      Generally it is suggested that you don’t bring thorny plants into your space as they represent a harsh energy and may bring in too much Yang.  But if you really like and have to have them, make sure that you place them in places that are safe to be near and not in a doorway where someone could brush up on them and get hurt. 

·      Bouquets of flowers are great because they bring joy and bright colors to the space.  Make sure though that you do not allow them to remain after they have died which would bring about a negative energy.  Avoid straw flowers as they are real flowers which are no longer living and bring about a negative energy.

·      If you don’t have a green thumb, artificial replicas of living plants or bouquets are OK as they represent a living, and vibrant plant.  

·      Caution that Bonsai plants represent stunted growth and will not bring you the energy that you are looking for especially in a space such as an office where you want growth and abundance. 

·      Make sure that your plants are healthy, with dead leaves and stems trimmed, and not allowed to be overgrown.  Overgrown plants can suggest a lack of organization and direction.         

·      If you are into gardening, use the winter to look through seed and plant magazines.  Look at garden design ideas.  All of this makes you feel that you are moving forward towards a new beginning. 

Last but not least, make sure that you have fun with your plants!  As living things, they respond to your loving care and attention, and will perform for you as a result.  That in turn I guarantee, will make you feel fulfilled and rewarded for your efforts and you will be happy.

That’s good Feng Shui.

A lot of my friends and clients say that they want or need a change in their space but have no idea where to start with a makeover or feel that they are not talented enough in design to make the effort.  They mention what they see as trendy on television or in magazines and feel compelled to have to use these ideas in their own space, though they are not sure if it is what they really want or like.  

Unlike many traditional ancient Feng Shui practices, Western Feng Shui doesn’t dictate the kinds of decorating styles that you should use, but rather it outlines how to blend elements together to make the impression of your space as natural and comfortable.  It encourages you to express how you feel about your space physically and emotionally, noting what you like about it and where you think it lacks.  You are also encouraged to identify what you love and feel is important to have around you.  

This really works…………..Try thinking about these things as they relate to your space.  Make a list of your results, and then go ahead and start to make small changes reflecting your results, one area at a time.  Make initial changes that you are comfortable doing on your own.  For example if you feel you need more light, try changing window treatments, opening shades and blinds, or adjust the lighting.  If you feel you don’t have room for storage, start cleaning out and either throw away or donate what you don’t need.  Change or remove wall art that you don’t like.  Once each task is completed, note to yourself how you feel and if you are noticing changes in your life.  By doing this you have started the practice of Feng Shui on your own with great results, and you should feel empowered that you have started to take control of your own environment.    

Keep your list and add to it as you learn more about yourself.  You can then start to feel confident about your choices and identify styles that work for you.