feng shui from fook.com

As you move forward with New Year goals and action plans, keep in mind that Chinese New Year is arrives with the new moon on January 26th, 2009. These next few weeks are a wonderful opportunity for getting your physical space in order. Here’s a reprinted article from a past FFS newsletter with tips on preparing your home for the Lunar New Year.

One of the things I like best about Chinese New Year is that it provides a second chance to catch up on all those things we meant to get done before the Jan. 1 New Year, but didn’t quite get to. And, for those who have slipped a little on their New Year’s Resolutions, it’s an opportunity to refocus.

Traditional Chinese New Year celebrations focus on home and family, and on ensuring that the New Year will bring lots of good luck. Much of this activity centers on thorough house cleaning to clear out old energy and make way for the new. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the New Year marks the start of Spring, so it’s a good time for “spring cleaning” even if the weather is still wintry in your part of the world.

If you don’t have time to clean and de-clutter your entire home before the lunar New Year, concentrate on your kitchen. A clean, food-filled kitchen is the center of family life and a symbol of health and prosperity, so it is especially auspicious for the New Year. Here are some key things you can do:

- Clean out your refrigerator and freezer. Toss anything ancient, mysterious, or “iffy,” and refill or replace anything that’s less than half-full (such as condiment bottles and jars). Defrost the freezer and get the inside of the fridge sparkling clean.

- Clean off the outside of the refrigerator, too. If your fridge is covered with magnets, photos, take-out menus and grocery lists, clear them all off to create a clean slate (you can put any necessary ones back after the New Year).

- Declutter your pantry shelves, and use or toss anything that’s been in there for months. Wipe down the shelves and clean the cabinet doors.

- Clean your oven and stovetop, and replace burner pan liners if they’re no longer shiny and new-looking.

- Replace worn and/or grubby oven mitts and dish towels with new ones.

- Get out a broom and thoroughly sweep the kitchen, and then from the kitchen out the nearest door. This symbolically sweeps out the old energy and any lingering not-so-good luck, to make room for better luck to come in with the New Year. On January 26th, make sure your broom is hidden away in a closet out of sight, and don’t do any sweeping on that day. This will ensure that all the new luck (especially money luck!) that comes into your home with the New Year stays in the home and is not swept back out.

- Do a big grocery shop a day or two before the New Year, so your fridge and pantry will be filled with bounty when the New Year arrives. Make sure any canisters (flour, sugar, rice, etc.) are full.

- Buy nine of the biggest, most perfect oranges you can find, and place them in a bowl on the kitchen counter or in the center of the kitchen table. Or, on New Year’s day, roll the oranges one by one through your front door to symbolize luck coming in to fill your house. Then gather up the oranges and place them in a bowl in your kitchen or living room.

- Prepare some of your family’s favorite foods the day before, to serve on New Year’s Day. Plan ahead, because using sharp knives on New Year’s Day is thought to bring bad luck, instead of good! (This is more superstitious than symbolic, but it does mean you can enjoy a good meal with the prep-work already done.)

If welcoming in greater prosperity is high on your wish list, add these steps to your New Year preparations:

- Pay all your current bills before January 26th this year, and pay off as much as possible of any debts you may have. Even a small additional payment on a credit card bill symbolizes your strong intention to prosper and become debt-free in the New Year.

- A day or so before New Year, stop by the bank or ATM and withdraw an amount of cash that’s more than you usually carry around, so you enter the New Year with a fat wallet. If money’s tight, fill your wallet with one-dollar bills and your change purse with pennies. Having many pieces of money around for the New Year is more important than how much it adds up to.

- In addition to the nine oranges mentioned above, place more bowls of fruit and nuts around your home and in your office, as symbols of abundance.

- Buy a new red garment and wear it on New Year’s Day. You don’t have to dress from head to toe in red, so long as you wear something red and new – even a small accessory will do, if that’s all you can afford.

Remember that Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate family. Even if you don’t bother with any of these preparations, it’s a good time to pick up the phone and call your friends and loved ones to let them know they are important to you.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and joyous 2009,
Stephanie R.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: In my present home the stove is facing the dishwasher, which I only use a few times a year. It this the same as the sink facing the stove?

A: A dishwasher that you rarely use is much less of an issue than the kitchen sink, even if it is directly across from the stove. Yes, there’s water involved, but when in use that water is not only fully contained (vs. an open sink), but is swirling and swishing around quite vigorously during the wash cycle so there’s an active quality to the energy compared to the more draining effect of a sink.

Stephanie

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: I am considering moving into a new place that has some Feng Shui challenges. First, the position of the bathroom is in the Family/Health bagua location. I worry that this would be a problem because I have some minor health problems and a very old sick doggie. I don’t want to make things worse. [here a list of other minor issues was edited out--SR]

Do you think there are too many challenges for me to tackle if I decide to move here? I am pretty happy at my present place except for my annoying neighbors upstairs. I would really appreciate your response. I have written to you before and your answers have always been very helpful.

A: If you stay put until you can find a place with fantastic feng shui you will probably never get out of where you are now. Some feng shui issues are more difficult than others, but all of our homes have bathrooms somewhere (hooray for indoor plumbing!), plus all kinds of other stuff going on like poorly placed stairs, inconvenient doors and windows, beams of one kind or another, missing corners where you’d rather have an extension: the list goes on and on and on. EVERY place has feng shui issues of some kind: that’s why there are so many different ways to correct, deflect, diffuse, or remedy them all.

If you love the new place in spite of a few feng shui challenges, and feel that you will be happy and comfortable there, go for it and plan to remedy/correct what you can.

Hopes this helps you make a decision you’ll feel comfortable with.

Stephanie R.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: I am moving to a new office and my bookcase will go with me. My desk will face the door. Should the bookcase be on the wall beside the door where it will face me, or should it be behind me where I won’t see it while working? These are the only available locations for the bookcase. I do have constant reference to the bookcase.

A: If you need to access the bookcase frequently throughout the day then surely it would be more convenient to have it behind you, where those items are within reach. Inconvenient furniture arrangements are not good feng shui.

However, it’s also not good feng shui to have anything but a solid wall behind you at your desk, so it would be a good idea to sit in a cushy “executive” style chair with a high back, so the padded back of the chair is a buffer between you and the shelves.

You’ll want to take the overall size of your office into account. Top priority should be given to placing your desk so you have ample room to move around behind it and to sit there without feeling hampered or cramped. You may have to try it out to be sure: if your chair bumps into the bookcase every time you get up or pull the chair out to sit down, the space there is too small and the bookcase should go beside the door.

Wishing you success in your new office,

Stephanie

Q+A POLICY
The purpose of this Q+A service is to clarify modern feng shui principles and remedies, and to help you make sense of contradictory teachings you’re likely to come across. If you are new to this blog, please read the Q+A Guidelines (see sidebar on left) before sending me a question. Do expect that I will edit your message for clarity and focus, and that it will be several days (often longer) before I post a reply. Keep in mind, too, that you’re getting my personal opinion on the topic. If you ask someone else, you might get a different answer.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: We are currently remodeling the bathroom of our Victorian house. My husband wants to close off a door to a closet with drywall in order to create new wall space in our too small bathroom. This would mean that there would be an empty space in the center of our home that is completely walled off. Imagine We do have plans to eventually open up that space into another room, but that could be a year or more in the future. In the meantime I am worried that closing off this space this could have some negative effects. I would be so thankful to have your input on this. I have not been able to find an answer for this after many months of searching.

A: In feng shui terms, closing off an area in the center of your home is a truly terrible idea. My advice: don’t do it.

Surely you can put up with the minor inconvenience of not enough wall space in the bathroom until you are ready to do more complete renovations? Closing off the bathroom access to that space at the same time as you open it on another side isn’t going to cause any problems.

Hope this helps you and your husband reach agreement on an approach,
Stephanie R.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: I am moving soon and I am concerned that packing may disturb my chi. Any advice you could give me about the ideal order of packing things or which items should be moved in first would be appreciated.

A: In my opinion, worrying about how your packing process or method or sequence might “disturb your chi” is way overthinking things, and implies a reluctance to shake things up that you might want to reconsider. Moving is a big deal, it should be a disruption and upheaval. Otherwise, why bother? If the move is not by your choice, then I suggest you see it as the universe giving you a solid nudge in a new direction and accept that as a good thing.

You can’t grow and prosper without change, and we have a choice to embrace that or fight it. The fact that you asked me this question implies that you see the natural stress and mess of moving as something you have to guard against. Why not embrace it as part of the process of getting from where you are to where you are going? Have you considered that maybe your chi could use a good shake up?

I do recommend, if possible, that you declutter during the packing process, so you don’t take unnecessary stuff with you. Other than that, just box the stuff up and move it.

Enjoy your new home!

Stephanie R.

Q+A POLICY
The purpose of this Q+A service is to clarify modern feng shui principles and remedies, and to help you make sense of contradictory teachings you’re likely to come across. If you are new to this blog, please read the Q+A Guidelines (see sidebar on left) before sending me a question. Do expect that I will edit your message for clarity and focus, and that it will be several days (often longer) before I post a reply. Keep in mind, too, that you’re getting my personal opinion on the topic. If you ask someone else, you might get a different answer.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: Is there a right or wrong bagua area for the television set?

A: No. If you truly want to be fussy about it you can consider the television to be an electronic device (fire chi) and think about it in terms of the ba gua that way, but I wouldn’t bother. More important is to realize that TVs tend to become the focal point of whatever space they are in, and to drive your furniture layout, both of which affect chi flow.

The worst place for the TV is in the bedroom, especially if you watch a lot of news; the bedroom should be a place for rest and rejuvenation and the visual stimulation (not to mention all that bad news coverage) of the TV is not conducive to a good night’s sleep.

Remember, feng shui is not just about the ba gua. The ba gua is important, but it is not the only factor.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: Is it true that the bed in the master bedroom should not be placed above the kitchen oven/stove? That would be the “power” position in my bedroom & I’d like to move it to that spot. But I’ve read that it’s not good for the heart for the bed to be above the stove. Placing the bed against the other available wall would require that you walk all the way around the bed to get to the master bathroom.

A: Yes, it is considered potentially harmful to sleep in a bed that is directly above the stove.

The stove is a very active (yang) energy. A bed is for sleeping, which is a very yin state of inactivity. When the bed is above the stove you may find that you do not sleep well or that you feel tired and irritable much of the time. It could also indicate heart or blood pressure problems (the stove is a strong fire element, and fire is associated with the heart) for anyone sleeping in that bed. However, that’s just an indication, not a guarantee of problems.

Whether that’s of sufficient concern that you are willing to move your bed to a position where you will have to walk a few extra feet to get to the bathroom is up to you.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: Do you have any advice for me and my husband in regards to finances? We do not work well together on money tasks and the bills pile up and no one wants to deal with any of it because it is such a negative experience.

A: My best guess, based on very limited info, is that some prosperity consciousness study/training is more in order for you at this point than specific feng shui strategies. Without that (which will help you transform your expectations and attitude towards financial chores) any feng shui tactics you might use are not likely to be effective.

If “prosperity consciousness” is a new concept to you, AllAboutProsperity.com is a useful place to start. Learning to let go of those negative expectations will certainly help.

Marital discord about financial matters — lack of defined responsibility for who does what, conflicting priorities, different spending/saving habits, etc. — is extremely common. Money stuff pushes all of our buttons better than just about anything else. I suspect you might get more help from someone like Suze Orman, who addresses such issues in her books and columns, than by looking to feng shui for an answer.

I will say that if you’ve noticed the discord only happens when you discuss finances in a certain area of the home (in the dining room, for example), and that you also bicker about other issues in that space, then there may be feng shui factors involved. You should look for and correct or avoid any sources of sha chi in that room and see if you can talk about your finances more amicably in another area of the home.

If finances in general are an issue–in a broader sense than just dealing with personal/family finance tasks–then certainly you can look around for feng shui factors. But that’s far too broad a topic to be addressed here.

Sorry I can’t be of more help, but feng shui is only one of many “life tools” available to us: don’t reach for the hammer when what you need is a screwdriver.

Hope this helps in some way,
Stephanie R.

Q+A POLICY
The purpose of this Q+A service is to clarify modern feng shui principles and remedies, and to help you make sense of contradictory teachings you’re likely to come across. If you are new to this blog, please read the Q+A Guidelines (see sidebar on left) before sending me a question. Do expect that I will edit your message for clarity and focus, and that it may be several days (or longer) before I post a reply. Keep in mind, too, that you’re getting my personal opinion on the topic. If you ask someone else, you might get a different answer.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog

Q: We bought a raised ranch a couple years ago and our finances are so up and down. Mainly due to my husband always changing jobs. My career is also very up and down in terms of income. I work out of my home in the insurance and mortgage industries, and am also now a new real estate agent/Realtor. But I think a lot has to do with our front door, which is just a few feet from the stairs. The entry is a very small area from which you go up or down. I read somewhere to put a rock on the bottom step going up. I had a small one there and just changed it to a bigger one. Does that help or did I read that wrong?

A: From a feng shui perspective an entry like this (small foyer with stairs leading both up and down) this can indicate increased “ups and downs” in life but is more closely associated with a lack of focus. The problem is that when you enter the house, you are immediately confronted with a “which way do I go” decision. There’s no clear energy path when you step inside the home. This seems to be reflected in the job changes your husband is going through, and your own multi-faceted career.

To some extent, you may be able to lessen this with your décor: use lighting and focal points to influence where your attention goes from the foyer. Brighter lighting, eye-catching imagery, motion (such as a mobile), and sound (a windchime at the top of the stairs) are all possible ways to achieve this.

Those sorts of remedies are usually best placed at the top of the stairs that lead to the upper level, to draw your attention (and therefore chi) in an upward direction from the entry. I say “usually” because if the only rooms on the upper level are the bedrooms and bath(s), then I’d recommend instead that you place your attention-grabbing/chi-directing cures toward the more “yang” spaces of the living room and kitchen instead.

Since you describe the entry area as small, I would be wary of adding anything to that space that will make it feel more cramped, such as a rock at the bottom step. This will add visual clutter and the potential for stubbed toes to your foyer, and won’t do much to define a path of movement one way or the other. Just because a solution is recommended in a book (and that includes any of my books), that doesn’t mean it’s the best remedy for your particular space. Every situation has unique aspects which need to be considered.

I also caution against being quick to see things as a problem. If working in the insurance, mortgage, and real estate fields feels overwhelming or distracting to you, that’s one thing. But if you like the variety don’t feel you have to “fix” it. In my view, multiple sources of income are always a good thing!

Keep in mind, too, that there may be other feng shui factors in your home that are influencing your career and financial experiences. The front door is an important feature of any space, but it is certainly not the only factor.

Hope this helps bring some clarity and focus to how you see your space,
Stephanie R.

Originally Syndicated via RSS from Fast Feng Shui Blog