Be of good chair! Imagination and original design is sorely lacking in the furniture industry. I found some chairs that give me hope that some companies are still design driven (and that’s good feng shui). All photos courtesy of the fantastic blog I New Idea. Good design = good feng shui.
Filed under Creativity & Future Projects, Design, Feng Shui, Fun, Uncategorized
Lots of people get depressed around the holidays. We set ourselves up with expectations that Thanksgiving is the time for families to get together and everything will be perfect and everyone will be happy and have a great time. But human beings and families are NOT perfect! The key is to let go of expectations and accept that we can’t control what others say or do, we can only control our own emotions and responses. Maintaining our own practices and rituals such as our exercise routines, yoga, meditation, prayer, reading, etc will help us remain balanced throughout the holidays. Even so, there’s bound to be something that upsets the ch’i (energy) and pushes our buttons. That’s when you leave the room and go take a walk! You don’t have to be the mediator, the peacemaker, the caregiver. Just take care of yourself. You’ll have more to give to loved ones if you do.
Turkey in a bag
How will you cook YOUR turkey? Mine will be in a plastic self-basting bag like this one. I have done it this way for a few years now and always find it results in meat that’s very moist and savory.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed under Feng Shui, Feng Shui Home, Holidays, Self Help, Uncategorized
"Big Chair (Thomasville)" (c)Katy Allgeyer
SURVIVING IS IMPORTANT
“Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.” ~ Maya Angelou
The runaway success–indeed, the survival for several years of seasons!–of the TV show “Survivor” proves that a large number of the viewing public is fascinated with whether or not they could last under primitive living conditions. Then again, maybe the show’s popularity just proves that people want to see girls in skimpy clothing eating raw kangaroo meat covered with flies.
But regardless of whether or not you watch television, you may be interested to know that many of the principles of Feng Shui originated as survival techniques. The ancestors of our ancestors who lived in caves knew that it was important not to turn one’s back to the cave entrance. If you did, you could be devoured by a cave dwelling beast (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!), or, a rival tribe could come and steal your fire, your food, and your family.
It was in this way that the idea of positioning the bed and the stove and the desk so that the door to the room can be easily seen was born. In this placement, one feels able to relax and “let one’s guard down” (notice the idiom that evolved as a direct result of this principle). Of course, the ideal furniture placement can not always work within the limitations of the architecture of our homes and offices. This is where a Feng Shui expert can offer you alternate solutions to achieve the desired peace of mind.
Ch’i Whiz! It Really Does Feel Different
DO try this at home (when you are bored with eating bonbons and being waited on hand and foot by your husband):
Take a room that has only one entry and place a chair in the middle of the room with the back facing the door. If you have other people around, ask them to give you some time to settle into your room, but eventually have them move around in the hallway outside the door and come into the room occasionally without telling you when they are coming in.
Now, sit in the chair so that you are unable to see the door. Sit there for awhile, try to get a sense of the ch’i energy surrounding you and pay attention to how it feels. Now, try to read a magazine.
Notice how you feel. Do you feel uneasy and unable to concentrate on the magazine? Is your mind constantly wandering to the activity in the hallway and on alert mode so that you won’t be startled when someone comes into the room and surprises you?
Ok, once you’ve experienced that feeling, turn the chair around to where you have a clear view of the door as you sit and read your magazine. Notice how you feel. Is your posture more at ease? Are you able to focus more intently on the task of reading the magazine? You have now witnessed the importance of placement for peace of mind based on the principle of survival.
THRIVING IS ELEGANT
The ancient cave dwellers painted their cave walls mostly to serve sacred ceremonial purposes and did not have to worry about matching the drapery fabric to the wall paint. Today, we express ourselves through the way we decorate our homes and the myriad of choices we make as to color, style, space, objects, art, and placement. But even though we have come a long way from the cave and the necessity of being in constant survival mode, we can feel a connection to our ancestors and benefit from their wisdom by incorporating the principles of Feng Shui into our modern lives.
Filed under Command Position, Feng Shui, Feng Shui Home, Self Help
Feng Shui By Fishgirl blog is now available for Kindle!
If you’re like me, you love the convenience of your e-reader device (in my case, it’s a Kindle). I love the feng shui of it…that no trees / paper waste is involved, I don’t have to waste energy heating a library full of bookshelves, and most importantly aspiring writers and authors can self publish and gain exposure for their work. This alternative to the establishment publishing world opens a lot of opportunity for the little guys like you and me. What I’m most excited about is that now Feng Shui By Fishgirl is available via Kindle! Just click this link to go get my blog over at amazon.com. Priced at only 99 cents per subscription with a 14 day free trial period, you’ve got nothing to lose. Amazon.com allows you to purchase kindle items (like my blog or any of their books) as gifts for others. All you have to do is go to the Kindle Store and if you know your friend or loved one has a Kindle and you know their email address, you can purchase a gift for them. That’s what I call simplifying my holiday shopping. But sssssssh! Don’t tell my friends and family they’ll all be getting Feng Shui By Fishgirl Kindle Edition for Christmas this year 🙂
Filed under Feng Shui, Fun, gifts, Interior Design
Mouth of Ch'i
Mouth of Ch’i
What a colorful name for something we Americans usually call “the front door”. But if ch’i flows like a river, and we think of rivers having a mouth that opens to the sea, then wouldn’t it make sense that the point where the river of life enters our personal energetic space be known to Feng Shui practitioners as the Mouth of Ch’i? Don’t worry: you can still refer to it as your front door (unless of course, you are trying to impress your realtor).
Consider, too, that the Mouth is where all nourishment comes into the body. It takes in whatever we feed it, good or bad for us. The obvious implication is that the Mouth is essential and affects the ch’i of the entire building. That’s an important job, and so it has to be dealt with respect. After all, it is also usually the very first impression that is presented to the outside world hinting at who the occupants are residing within that space.
Each room also has its Mouth, but for now, we can think of those more as valves that control the flow of ch’i within the heart/home space. Let’s take a look at the front door in more detail.
What Is Your Mouth Saying About You?
Mouths are also the means for communicating. What is your mouth saying to the world about you? Perhaps, in homage to your favorite M.A.C. lipstick, you’ve painted your Mouth of Ch’i a brilliant red color that is attracting a lot of attention to your home. This can be a very positive thing if more attention and opportunity is what you want or need to bring in. However, if you’ve designated your home to be your private retreat from the world, painting your front door red would stir things up and defeat your intentions.
Maybe you have a front door with peeling paint. The doorbell hasn’t worked in years. There used to be a welcome mat, but now there is just a dirty scrap of leftover carpet flanked by two large potted plants….ooops! sorry–the pots are filled with dirt and there seems to be some dried up sticks pointing upward that must have been lovely plants at some point. Well, it was easy for me to make that mistake since the lighting is so dim. Hmmm…the impression I am getting is that this Mouth of Ch’i hasn’t been to the dentist in awhile.
You may have a front door that is set back from the main structure of the building’s face. Or you may have a privacy screen protecting your front door from being easily viewed from the street. Your Mouth of Ch’i could be made entirely of glass. Or metal. Or wood. Each of these possibilities requires a unique assessment that takes into account the entire Feng Shui picture of the space being evaluated.
By now you get my point that the physical appearance of your entryway is vital to your home’s health and says a lot about you and what you will attract into your life. In fact, there is a reason why so many of us neglect our front doors. It is because here in America, often our garages are attached to our houses which makes it more convenient to enter the home through a different door. Depending on your situation, this could be a back door or side door. The main Mouth of Ch’i has been relegated for infrequent use by company, door-to-door salesmen, and the occasional fire drill.
As you might imagine, all of these factors play a vital role in making a correct analysis of a client’s Feng Shui. Sometimes the practitioner may even suggest deliberately using the back door instead of the front, or vice versa, if the client’s particular situation would be served best with this solution. There are sometimes cases where multiple entrances create a double bagua scenario which can be effectively used to enhance power points if activated properly. Feng Shui is many layered and it is best to have an expert opinion to accurately guide you through the complexity of your individual needs.
Filed under Architecture, Command Position, Feng Shui, Feng Shui Home, Feng Shui Office
I was intrigued recently by a story in AARP‘s November newsletter. It was called “Ways to Celebrate Splitsville”. What to do with wedding rings? Jill Testa came up with the wedding ring coffin pictured above. She’s been getting some play with it in the press (The View covered it) so I thought I should weigh in with the feng shui analysis on it. The idea of finding closure and moving on from a dead marriage is a good one. This item might help you. But it’s only good feng shui if you bury the coffin. Plan an actual ceremony around the burial and Keeping the coffin on your mantel or next to your regular jewelry box (or anywhere in your space) defeats the purpose as the symbol of negative ch’i energy is still present and in fact the coffin symbol is not a happy one either. A better way to celebrate might be to sell those rings and take a vacation with the cash generated. Or donate the money gained to charity. What do you think–is this wedding ring coffin a good idea or a bad one?
Filed under Feng Shui, Love & Relationship, Qi
Check out this article on the New York Times blog and tell me if YOU think it’s good feng shui to have a famous neighbor. I once lived in an apartment building that Florence Henderson also lived in. While it was sometimes unsettling to have “Mrs. Brady” in the elevator with me, other than that there was no negative side to it. Tell us your story if you live near someone famous!
Filed under Celebrities, Feng Shui, Feng Shui Home, Fun
While the scandaltainment industry was rocked this week by the news of the Penn State child abuse charges against its former assistant coach and the surrounding coverup, I couldn’t help but wonder about the children in this matter and whether or not they are receiving the help that they need. In all the news reports I’ve seen in the media, few if any have focused on how to protect your kids from a situation like this. The statistics above are from RAINN, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network. With 1 in 4 girls being sexually assaulted before she turns 18 and less than 60% of victims ever reporting the abuse, it’s not really surprising that the boys involved in the Penn State case did not come forward on their own.
What is child abuse? Darkness to Light an organization to end child abuse describes it as such:
Please go to the Darkness to Light website for the expanded 7 Steps to Protecting Our Children From Child Abuse
STEP 1 : Learn the facts
STEP 2: Minimize the opportunity
STEP 3: Talk about it
STEP 4: Stay alert
STEP 5:Make a plan
STEP 6: Act on suspicions
STEP 7: Get involved
Filed under Family & Health, Feng Shui, Healing Energy, Health & Fitness, Self Help, Uncategorized
It’s so much fun when other people hit the “like” button on my Feng Shui By Fishgirl Blog because then I am made aware of their website or blogs, too. That’s how I recently discovered re:loom rugs on Polly Hoyt Nance’s blog. These wonderful, colorful rag style rugs are made by homeless and low-income individuals from upcycled materials. Proceeds support weavers’ salaries and the Initiative For Affordable House to reduce homelessness in Georgia. Repurposing AND supporting good causes like re:loom = good feng shui and make a useful gift as well. Don’t you think this is a great way to celebrate the holidays?
Laziness can often cost us money. How? I’ve discovered that if I take the time to followup on things like searching for a better plan or returning faulty products, it often pays off in even bigger ways. Here are some Feng Shui By Fishgirl tips on where to find some money where you might not think to look…
*Switch Services We switched our TV & Internet service recently to another company. Then the previous company came back to us with an offer-we-couldn’t refuse at a fifth of the price we were originally paying with them, plus they paid off the contract with the new company.
*Stay Loyal Alternatively, if you are loyal to one TV company, then get in the practice of calling your cable company and asking them what they’ve done for you lately for being a loyal customer—you’ll be offered special gifts such as 3 months free upgrade to premium HBO packages etc that can save you big bucks both in your monthly bills but also in your entertainment expenses (staying home to watch your new premium channels will save you money). Ask and ye shall receive.
*Go Monthly No Contract Cellular Get rid of your land line and go with a monthly cell phone service that doesn’t require a contract. Boost or Virgin both have rock bottom plans ($20 month for basic, $30 month for an upgrade plan that includes 1500 min talk and texting) that will save you lots.
*Write Letters Don’t be afraid to complain if you are unhappy with a product or service. You will be surprised what you might get. We were unhappy with the condition in which a high end ping pong table arrived. We got a second table for free. Airlines often give credit vouchers. Food companies give product or coupons. Taking the time to write a letter–rather than watch TV–can pay off for you and give you customer satisfaction. Plus you’re helping the company improve their goods and services and that’s good feng shui.
*Bring it Back How often do you come home from the grocery store only to discover that some of the food items you bought were spoiled or beyond the purchase date? It’s happening more frequently now that the economy is forcing staffing cutbacks at retail chains. Don’t just toss it away. Put it aside and take it back to the store the next time you shop (don’t make an extra trip just to return an item as then you’re leaving a bigger carbon footprint AND paying for gas). You’ll get reimbursed and sometimes an additional voucher for replacement product.
*Consolidate Your Shopping Which brings me to another tip: group your errands together so that you only make one trip and save gas. This is better for you and for the planet!
SHARE YOUR TIPS with us in the comments section!
Filed under Feng Shui, Getting Organized, Self Help, Uncategorized, Wealth & Finances
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