You still have time to enter to win the Blue Hill Inn. Entry fee is $150 and 200 word essay must be yours and yours alone. Check out details on this opportunity to be the new owner of this historic B & B: http://winthebluehillinn.com
I have personally seen this inn and can attest to the feng shui being lovely and positive. Downeast Maine without the kitsch– upscale, charming, and a great place to stay. Why not test your luck?
Filed under Architecture, Career, Dreaming, Fun, Giveaway, Interior Design, luck, Wealth & Finances
This bathroom duo has colortastic punch! Designed by architect Carlo Colombo, the red and purple coloration make it the perfect activator / protector if your bathroom happens to be located in the Wealth sector of your bagua. It would also be suitable in the Love & Relationship sector. It can be harmful to your feng shui to have bathrooms situated in awkward locations. That’s when you call in feng shui practice to help strengthen the positive and counteract the negative.
Filed under Architecture, Design, Feng Shui, Interior Design, Wealth & Finances
This poster gives off mixed messages even though everyone is smiling. “Stormy Weather” could refer to Wall Street today.
Want to shake up your chi (energy)? Why don’t you assess your work space and take inventory of any positive or negative symbols that might be dominating your environment while having an impact on your success. What we surround ourselves with directly influences our mood, our emotions, and our drive (or lack of ambition). That’s why those motivational posters with sayings such as “Believe & Succeed” are so popular in corporate culture. In fact, they are known as “Culture Builders” and “Attitude Enhancers” in the corporate art trade. One giant company that makes these products calls itself and its product “Successories“.
Motivational artwork can be classy or cliché. The point is, the posters offer positive reinforcement of our best intentions at the workplace. You wouldn’t hang up a poster that said, “Give Up Now. You’re a Big Loser”. But you might have objects in your office that give off a similar negative vibe. For instance, I recently worked with a client who had a welcome mat at the front door to his executive office. It was a square jute rug with the words “Get Lost!” in bright, fun colors splashed across a black ground. While meant in jest, in feng shui terms he was saying something very negative to his employees, clients, and vendors. The intention was to lighten up, obviously, but the subliminal message on this entry rug was quite blatant and tells Opportunity to go away because it’s not welcome here. I laughed when he told me he bought the rug on deep discount (most people were repelled at point-of-sale by the message and literally “got lost”).
Another client had books on the shelf with titles like “Pain” or “The Tragic Story of…”. Still another had a Hollywood vintage poster that screamed out in giant text, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”. I’m sorry to tell you that for most of us, there is no neutral area in the feng shui bagua to place these emotionally-charged messages. Scout your own space and see if you can find similar book titles or negative imagery that mighty be sapping your career mojo. Go for uplifting messages and fine art that inspires.
Filed under Feng Shui Office, Interior Design, Wealth & Finances
There is something extra soothing about water, isn’t there? Water features are meant to bring good luck in feng shui but only if they are done properly. There are good placements for fountains and there are not-so-good ones. Balance and scale and direction of water flow are also important. Ponds with koi fish are popular, too. I like the idea of river rocks placed at the bottom of a pool like the one shown here from the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond. Sound also comes into play: whether it’s a steady trickle of water or a more substantial waterfall effect, all have feng shui impact.
Photo from Open Spaces Feng Shui
People are most interested in the feng shui of their bedrooms. I’m not surprised since we spend a third of our lives in there! Let’s analyze the bedroom shown above that I got from the Open Spaces feng shui website:
GOOD FENG SHUI:
*The canopy of draped fabric is a good feng shui solution that neutralizes the sloped ceiling. This is also a great solution for too-high-ceilings, creating a cozier sleeping space for you. However, see below for negatives about this particular canopy.
*Pretty, soft colors and expensive bedding are feng shui enhancers. That being said, the sheets could be improved (see below).
NEEDS FENG SHUI IMPROVEMENT:
*There’s only one bedside table and lamp. There should be one on either side of the bed for optimum feng shui balance.
*The canopy has a split down the center of it. It’s better feng shui if the fabric used was all of one piece, symbolizing unity for the couple sleeping here.This canopy could easily be corrected by sewing the two panels together.
*The bed seems to be pushed into the corner/wall. There would be more ch’i circulating if you had the second bedside table and that would act as a spacer between bed and wall.
*The circular metal wall art to the right of the bed is hung too high.Make sure it’s at eye level for best viewing and perfect feng shui.
*Too much yang energy created by square shapes. Bed is square and its posts are also squared, the bedside table is a square, the lampshade is a square. More circular yin energy is needed for balance.
*The bedding color is white and it’s linen. White symbolizes metal and unlike in Western countries, white is the color donned at funerals. The sybolism of sleeping between white linen sheets is akin to a burial shroud. If you are a single person looking for love, avoid this type of bedding. Instead, go for shades of peach, pink, red or a print using these colors on white to break up the white.
For the record, Feng Shui By Fishgirl believes that king sized beds get a bum rap and are misunderstood by feng shui newbies. It is true that queen sized beds are recommended as a feng shui cure for those couples needing more romance in their lives as it brings a couple closer together due to the smaller sleeping space provided. It’s also true that many king sized beds are atop twin boxsprings with a divider down the center–a feng shui no-no that can be cured easily with a device like this one. But the real reason feng shui practitioners did not recommend king sized beds is because it used to be that a king sized bed was as big as you could get, thus you already had achieved the best and there was no room left to expand. That was a problem for attracting wealth opportunity from the universe. If you had a king sized bed you were proclaiming to the universe that you already had attained all the wealth you needed. We now have even bigger sized beds: the California King and even custom mattresses. A regular king sized bed is fine (and provides a better nights’ sleep! Always good feng shui) unless you are a singleton looking to find a mate. Upgrade after you find yours!
What a beautiful day for a road trip~! We set out in a caravan of two cars, three dogs, good friends and set out for nearby Winston-Salem. First stop? Skippy’s for arguably the best hot dog in America. Lucky for us we live only half an hour away. We scarfed down some cool dogs and then drove up to Mt. Airy, NC and the nearby White Plains Baptist Church graveyard where Chang & Eng Bunker are buried.
The world’s most famous conjoined twins were the original “Siamese Twins” born in Thailand (then Siam). Because of their fame as an attraction with circus showman P. T. Barnum’s American Museum as well as world wide touring, the term “Siamese Twins” was used to denote any conjoined twins during that less-than-politically correct era. When you get to their gravesite, the White Plains Baptist Church has provided a takeaway brochure nearby with some information about Chang & Eng .
These two men were well respected by their neighbors and married two sisters. To find out how that unusual marital arrangement worked out for them, be sure to read the wiki entry on Chang & Eng. Or wait for the upcoming Gary Oldman film to come out which is sure to be fantastic in every sense of the word! Apparently the married twins began with one residence and a bed built for four. The sisters didn’t like that too much (wonder why?) and so eventually they bought separate households and the twins would alternately spend 3 nights with one wife and 3 nights with the other. The feng shui of 3 is much better than the feng shui of 4, by the way.
After the twins fulfilled their original “contract” with an American businessman who purchased them from their parents in Thailand, they began managing their own careers. Personal appearances and promotional merchandise like the paper dolls shown above contributed to their significant wealth. The brothers were born pre-Civil War era when medical procedures were far less sophisticated than they are today. They were joined at the chest by a section of cartilege and their livers were also attached. Had they been born in this century, the Bunkers might have been easily separated. As it was, when Chang died first Eng refused to let a doctor perform an emergency separation that may have saved his life. Eng died within the same day as his brother.
The book “Chang & Eng” written by Darin Strauss is next on my reading agenda–a friend has highly recommended it. This book is also the source material for Gary Oldman’s upcoming movie. This author has also written another book–Half a Life— winner of the National Book Critic Circle Award about a true and horrific event from his life that shaped his path forever. I’ll review them both and get back to you in awhile.
Filed under Celebrities, Feng Shui, Fun, Reading, Travel, Uncategorized, Wealth & Finances
It’s that time of year again: Treasure Mapping time! This is when you can make use of the powerful first new moon of the astrological year to set your feng shui intentions for your life. For 2012 the Aries new moon falls on March 22 next week. Tracy Abbott was my guest blogger and gave us detailed instructions on how to prepare for ==and make== a personal treasure map. Start at this post from year’s past and continue to part 2 at end.
This is a pirate treasure map...click on the links above to see what creating your life on a personal treasure map might look like.
This is a 3D painting trompe l'oil goldfish by Fukahori.
Traditionally, goldfish have always been a very potent feng shui symbol for attracting wealth and all-things-good. Their beautiful gold color has been equated with ancient gold taels (Chinese ingots) for centuries. That’s why I chose the goldfish for the Feng Shui By Fishgirl logo, too (see the last photo below).
A Chinese Gold Tael
One doesn’t need to have actual goldfish to reap the benefits of goldfish ch’i energy. Well chosen art depicting goldfish will do the trick. Speaking of goldfish art, Japanese artist Riusuke Fukahori specializes in it. His techniques of painting goldfish for a 3-D effect and then adding resin to simulate water are truly amazing. Go to the French art blog Art-Spire to watch a 4 minute video of the artist at work. My favorite part of the video is where he uses a regular broom as a paintbrush to paint a gigantic goldfish on a huge roll of white paper. There are also more photos of his work so don’t worry if you don’t speak French! 🙂
Art-Spire, Source d’inspiration artistique / Les fascinantes illustrations 3D de Riusuke Fukahori.
More of Fukahori's painting...don't the goldfish look real?
Want to activate your wealth in your art studio? Create some goldfish art yourself! Having this symbol in your art studio will inspire Creativity & Future Projects as well. Just think of each of those lil golden fishies swimming around as ideas and also individual opportunities coming your way! Goldfish are in motion and that stimulates good feng shui.
Feng Shui By Fishgirl painting by Katy Allgeyer
Filed under ART, Creativity & Future Projects, Design, Feng Shui, Pets, Uncategorized, Wealth & Finances
The forest has so many lush shades of vibrant green. Green is a great feng shui color and represents living plants. Where to use green to enhance your feng shui?
Green works to activate the Wealth Area. It also is a natural in the Wisdom & Knowledge Area of any home or office. You can use a lot of it as your wall color or touches of it in fabrics for furniture and window treatment or just as an occasional accent in accessories. It’s your call.
Green plants enhance the Wealth Area and Wisdom Area of any room. Make sure that your plants are thriving in your environment. Dead plants equal dead Qi (energy).
Green is also the color of cold hard cash in America. Do you think the founding fathers were into feng shui?
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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