Feng Shui Tips:  Presented by Certified Pyramid Feng Shui Practitioners and Members of FSII

Feng Shui Tips to Help Meet Any Goal

To break bad habits, change the furniture in the room the habit takes place. Habits are solidified by unchanging patterns. (Nancilee Wydra, FSII, Florida)  

You can get to any goal one step at a time. Select a motivating song and commit to doing one thing each morning when you wake up.  No song is longer than 5 minutes.  Whether it's cleaning out a closet or filing papers, 5 minutes per day is 150 minutes, or almost 3 hours per month or 36 hours a year.  Think about what can be accomplished by this simple action! (Nancilee Wydra, FSII, Florida)

Attract new opportunities year round - change your doormat at the change of the seasons. (Martha C. Britt, FSII, Memphis, TN, Martha@FengShuiProConsulting.com)

 Feng Shui Tips to Reduce Stress

            Leave the workday stresses just outside your front door.  Create an entrance that engages your senses with fragrant flowers, beautiful art, colors that invite and soothe and calming music playing. (Trish Allen McCabe, FSII, Florida)

          Taking time for you is also a great stress reducer working from the inside out and the effect is cumulative.  Take five minutes a day for you by sitting quietly where you won't be disturbed and pay attention to your breathing for five minutes.  Do not force breathing or change it in anyway, just tune in. Make this time for yourself every day.  As you become accustomed to this gentle practice work up to fifteen minutes per day.  It will change how you handle stress and create a calm centered state of mind.  (Trish Allen McCabe, FSII, Florida)

          When overwhelmed, stress out shrink your demands:

•       Reset the table with plates and flatware from the dishwasher (eliminate stacking in cabinet)

•        Hand wash and hang light weight articles in your bathroom (eliminate washer/dryer then back to hanging up)

•       Use your blanket/coverlet instead of a separate bedspread

•        Use a blower to clean out the house instead of a vacuum (Nancilee Wydra, FSII, Florida)

 Feng Shui Tips to Improve your Relationships

For a main bedroom, always have a bedside table for each side of the bed, each with a separate table light.  (Benjamin Huntington, FSII, New York, NY, www.fengshui-ny.com)  

Focus on your bedroom with the following suggestions (Janet Hall, FSII, Maryland, www.overhall.com  ):

o       Keep your bedroom free from clutter. Clutter is the number one enemy of Pyramid Feng Shui because it represents stagnation and disconnection, which can bring feelings of overwhelm, confusion, anger, tiredness and procrastination at hand. Clutter behind the bedroom door can represent blockage, inside the closet clutter can represent an unwillingness to examine emotions, and clutter beside the bed represents a desire to escape.

o       What's on your bed? In Pyramid Feng Shui too many blankets, pillows, or stuffed animals can symbolically be saying you have no room for anyone in your life, let alone your bed. If your bed is overcrowded and piled up with too many items remove them to make room for yourself and your love.

o       Couples should be aware that the bedroom should be more Yin - somewhat dark and quiet - to ensure not only a blissful rest, but also a safe, loving, and honored space in which they can be their selves. Lower light wattage, close drapes, use solid patterns, and muted colors to help achieve a more Yin space.

o       Make sure your bed has a headboard that you can comfortably rest against. In Pyramid Feng Shui a supportive headboard relates to support in your relationships.

o       Bringing in the "office," computer, exercise equipment, or television can cause your bedroom to have too much Yang energy - too much energy and over stimulation, which can cause restlessness and disharmony.  Remove items or screen off these areas. 

Feng Shui Tips to Quit Smoking 

          Changing one's patterns of behavior within one's space is very important - change where one sits while having that coffee, or reading, watching television, or talking on the phone - actually changing the furniture around will force one to change one's perspective and experience of the space.  You can also exercise or shower and dress before making and having that first cup of coffee - the one that goes so well with that first cigarette of the day. (Olga Biondi, FSII, New York)

          Smoking is a completely sensorial habit.  The initial step after deciding to make this lifestyle change is to identify how, why and which senses (sight, scent, sound, taste) are stimulated to smoke.  Here a couple of examples and helpful solutions.  Remember, make every effort to NOT substitute another negative habit...it's like switching seats on the Titanic! 

o       Sight: Watching someone smoking on TV can cause a marked desire to smoke.  Solution: if you can’t bear to change the channel, keep an array of healthy plants near the television to reinforce your new resolve.  Plants are a visual motivator to reinforce your positive new behavior and also create oxygen.

o       Sound/Hearing:  If the sound of a phone ringing encourages you to grab your cigarettes during the call, turn on a classical or light jazz station while you talk, to create a positive new routine. 

o       Taste:  Instead of reaching for a cigarette after every meal, brush your teeth instead.  A mint-flavored toothpaste will also reinforce your commitment to health. 

o       Scent/Smell:  Being around other smokers may be a temptation.  Carry a small bottle of essential oil (lemon, grapefruit, mint) and take an occasional whiff.  Allow your fellow smokers to indulge as well! 

To promote good health and healing, place a bowl of fresh oranges in your kitchen where all can see them.  Orange promotes brain activity that supports health and well being.  (Trish Allen McCabe, Winter Park, FL, www.FengShuiByDesignOnline.com)  
 

Feng Shui Tips for Real Estate

Have you just moved?  Paint your front door a bright, welcoming color and use brightly colored flowers, a clear pathway, and a warm smile to attract people to your new home.  (Diantha Harris, FSII, Eastport, MI, www.lifepnet.com)

Feng Shui Tips for Children

If you or your child is having trouble studying, bring in the color yellow and the scent of rosemary to support the process of learning and assimilation of knowledge (Diantha Harris, FSII, Eastport, MI, www.lifepnet.com)

Avoid having tall pieces of furniture close to the bed in your child's room.  A bookcase that is over four feet can feel like a towering cliff to your child. (Benjamin Huntington, FSII, New York, NY, www.fengshui-ny.com)  

Feng Shui Tips For the Seasons  

To warm up your home during winter, add color with yellow, orange or red in a fresh or silk flower arrangement, throw pillows and afghans.  For additional warmth, burn cinnamon or orange scented candles.  (Debbie Roddy, FSII, Marco Island, FL, http://www.l-bfengshuidesigns.com)

To counteract feelings of isolation or loneliness during winter, use the color orange and cut down on your use of blues.  (Diantha Harris, FSII Eastport, MI, www.lifepnet.com)

Think Green in Spring - Green brings the balance of yin and yang in color and connects us to the Tao. Found within green are blue, which is yin and yellow which is yang.  (Joy Abrams, FSII, Phoenix, Arizona, 602-791-5223)

For summer gardens:  To communicate with nature, add plants, flowers and shrubs that attract butterflies and birds. Gentle night lights allow for evening enjoyment of the garden.  (Diana Armbrust, FSII, Bradenton, FL, diana@dianaarmbrust.com)  

Check What Flowers Say With Pyramid Feng Shui!  You can create 'true' smiles and cheer for all ages by placing fresh flowers into gathering areas of your space. (Gabriele Van Zon, FSII, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, www.fengshuiuniversal.com)

To balance the Yang festivities of the July 4th celebration (fireworks, noise, sun, laughter), be sure to provide a quiet, sun sheltered, intimate environment (Yin) for the elderly, babies and pets to avoid sensory overload and to accommodate personal preferences.  (Brenda Peisinger, FSII, New Freedom, PA, www.feng-shui-concepts.com)

During the warm months, add color to cool your home - use medium shades of blue and/or green in a fresh or silk flower arrangement, throw pillows or candles.  (Debbie Roddy, FSII, Marco Island, FL, www.l-bfengshuidesigns.com )

Mimic Mother Nature through use of full spectrum lighting in the fall and winter months and use dimmers to control lighting throughout the year.  (Connie Spruill, FSII, Canal Winchester, Ohio, connie@windwater.com ) 

Orchestrate Thanksgiving with meaningful colors and shapes:  squares for a sense of unity; circles for lively conversation; orange to connect and communicate.  Use these for: tables, seating, lazy Susan, centerpiece, candle garden etc.  (Gabriele Van Zon, FSII, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, www.fengshuiuniversal.com)

The Thanksgiving table is usually a long rectangle, symbolic of the wood element, an element that can grow infinitely…allowing an unlimited number of guests to join the table.  (Renae Jensen, FSII, Hope, NJ, www.DesignHarmony.com)

Prepare for those cold winter months; if you experience a harsh wind by your door, plant bushes or trees to diminish the wind's chill.   (Diana Armbrust, FSII, Bradenton, FL, diana@dianaarmbrust.com)  

To relieve holiday anxiety, take a scented bath, use aromatherapy, light candles, take time with loved ones, don’t over schedule – and remember to BREATHE!   (Joy Sue-Priem, FSII, Winter Park, FL, joy_sue-priem@iglide.net)

Holiday time is the perfect energy booster when used to decorate the outside of your home.   The lighting and bright colors attract good energy to your whole family. Decorate early and take down late! (Yvonne Phillips, FSII, Pittsburgh, PA, www.creativecolordesigninc.com )

Looking for a great Holiday gift?  Try a Feng Shui book along with a journal!  After reading the book, the recipient can record feng shui changes made along with the resulting benefits! (Robyn Nist, FSII, Uniontown, OH, robyndnist@sbcglobal.net)  

Feng Shui Help for Trauma and Disaster Situations

When disaster strikes, one needs to stabilize one's own core. To help with this process use the earth element which can be as simple as placing a square piece of paper under your mattress, or in the center of your room or your home. If you have lost everything, place the square piece of paper under your pallet as you sleep, and against your solar plexus (center of your torso) during the day. If you can control the color of the paper, make it the color of the earth you are familiar with. This will vary according to the area in which you live from black to brown to tan and even to red, yellow, or, very rarely, white. If you can't control the color, just focus on the square shape. Affirmations morning and night as you put your attention on the square will help.  Something like: The element of earth is stabilizing and supporting me so that I can rebuild my life in a positive way.  (Diantha Harris, FSII, Eastport, MI, www.lifepnet.com)

Use the color orange to overcome the effects of shock and trauma.  Drink and eat orange things. Try to wear an orange shirt. Do this visualization: Imagine the color orange coming up from the center of the earth, through your feet, up through the center of your body reconnecting all your energy centers, and up through the crown of your head. Imagine it then coming down around your body sealing and healing it inside and out. Use this technique any time you feel afraid, out of hope, discouraged, disconnected, out of energy, disempowered. Use this technique at least once daily until your core feels secure and healed.  (Diantha Harris, FSII, Eastport, MI, www.lifepnet.com)

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