Good feng shui in your home can help you feel calm and supported during challenging times
We are living in times when most of our familiar structures, on both macro and micro levels, are changing dramatically. The levels of anxiety, fear, worry and sadness can get overwhelmingly high, especially in dense urban areas. While certainly not a complete solution to the difficulties we are facing, feng shui offers many practical tools to help create the energy of balance and harmony in your home; as well as the feelings of safety and stability.
Creating good feng shui does not always require making new purchases. I have worked with thousands of clients and I assure you that you can create better feng shui in your space with what you already have. Good change is often a matter of seeing your items with new eyes, repositioning them, giving them a new look, a new function, and sometimes even a new identity.
In my book “Feng Shui for Healing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Improving Wellness in Your Home Sanctuary” I touch upon ways to alleviate anxiety and stress by applying feng shui in your space; I would like to share some tips here in order to help you create a sense of calm and wellbeing in your home. If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ve heard me many times talking about clutter clearing. If you need an easy clutter clearing system, I have it ready for you in an easy online format here.
It is very important to honestly define your relationship with your home clutter. What is in it for you, why do you hold on to clutter? Depending on how you feel at the moment, it might actually be a good way to channel the energy of worry and anxiety into clearing your clutter. This will shift and elevate both your energy, as well as the energy of your home. If clearing clutter is not possible for any reason, at least create clutter-free zones in the areas where you spend most of your time. The bedroom, living room, and kitchen are always a priority, followed by the main entry and bathroom.
The way to do that quickly if you do not want to actually clear the clutter is to have a “designated” area where the clutter goes for now, which will allow you to liberate the above spaces, and then deal with the clutter at the right time. What makes a good “designated area” for this purpose? Two things: (1) this has to be a space out of sight and away from your daily traffic, so you do not see it all the times, and (2) it has to be contained, meaning you literally designate a corner of your garage, for example, to store your clutter there, and be sure it does not take over the whole space.
Last note before we move on — if you have many family members at home with you all day, including very active children, be sure to help them by clearly defining the areas where they can store their daily “stuff” or by providing easy storage solutions such as boxes, baskets, etc. I am sure many of you already have this system in place with your children, but in case you do not, now is a good time to implement it. Once there is more clarity and breathing room in your home, meaning the energy flows easier, what can you do next?
I suggest to focus on the energy of beauty, comfort, and nourishment. Define what that means for you and find a way to bring this energy into your home. What comforts you, what keeps the energy of joy and happiness alive in your heart? What visuals bring you peace? Are there books with specific titles that you can prominently display? Images you love? Comforting quotes? Pillows and blankets? Are there colors and patterns that you find soothing?
Feng shui-wise, each color brings a specific quality of energy, so to alleviate stress and bring nourishing calm, the best colors to accentuate in your space are: soft pinks, calming sky blues, soft cashmere grays, saturated and/or butter yellows, fresh whites, vibrant greens and warm earth tones. Do your best to avoid or minimize: strong red, strong orange, deep purple colors (Fire element) and an overwhelming presence of dark gray (Metal) and black colors (deep Water). Wood furniture is usually much more comforting — on an energetic level — than metal, and round corners are always preferred to sharp ones, so check your living room and your bedroom for Sha Chi/attacking energy, and Si Chi/decaying energy.
In times of difficulty, it is very important to gently allow the emotions to flow and let the stagnant or suppressed energy be cleansed. The element of Water helps the energy of emotions flow freely, so, for example, a living room with one or two big mirrors will be much more helpful in creating a clear quality of energy and allow the gentle cleansing of emotions than a room with no mirrors at all. There is the potential of more conflict, fights and arguments in a space that has no mirrors, especially if the windows are small, as compared to a space that is saturated with light, expansion, flow and reflection.
The suggestion here is the following: if your living room has a fireplace and/or small windows with little natural light coming in, definitely bring a mirror or two into the room (do not bring a mirror into the bedroom as this is not good feng shui). The best placement of mirrors is in the East, Southeast and North bagua areas of your home. For this specific purpose, choose big mirrors that have a strong visual impact and presence versus small mirrors that mostly serve as decor accent.
To manage the energy of harmony in your home, be sure your East area (associated with the energy of health and family), as well as your Center area (associated with the heart), are as clear and clutter-free as possible. Plants, mirrors, and family pictures in the East bagua area are usually a very good feng shui addition that will strengthen the energy of the East. The Center area of your home thrives on heart-related items and images and usually on a variety of crystals and candles. Playing soft music in the background can help (look for specific frequency such as 432 Hz or 852 Hz, for example). Using an ultrasonic aromatherapy diffuser can do wonders, too. Start with simple essential oils such as lavender, eucalyptus, or peppermint.
Creating a home altar can help in cultivating more trust and peace, as well as bring a comforting sense of support. Adding a variety of soft, natural, colorful textures pleasant to touch can help you relax and feel safe and connected to your body. Fully being in your body makes you feel safe, so the sense of touch is very important, and should be nourished in your home. When you experience anxiety and stress, reassure your body by adding specific items to all three visual levels in your space:
the upper level (the walls)
the mid-level (seating)
the floor level
Bring more cushions and blankets into your living room and your bedroom (be sure to use natural fabrics), see if you can add a rug or two (even if small colorful ones), as well as wall decor made from soft and natural materials (tapestries, macrame wall hangings, etc). Use warm and intimate lighting in the evening, including natural candles, to relax the energy in your home and fill it with soft calm. I love the Himalayan Salt lamps for their warm and nourishing glow they create in any space and for the presence of the two feng shui elements that the salt lamp brings — the Fire and the Earth elements; both good for times with high stress levels.
Try to limit the use of overhead lighting, and see if you can have more than one layer of lighting in the evening. Do not forget about the importance of clearing the energy in your space, this is especially important in times like this. You can smudge, or use several other ways of space clearing described in my book “The Healing Power of Smudging: Cleansing Rituals to Purify Your Home, Attract Positive Energy and Bring Peace into Your Life“. I trust this information helps you to create, (and keep) the energy of peace, nourishment and calm in your home and in your life.
image: potterybarn.com
