Feng Shui Tip: Hit the Pause Button!

In yoga it is said that the way we transition from one pose to another is just as important as doing the actual pose itself.

If you think about it, many things have a transition time. Every time we get out of bed, we make a few positions in order to finally rise up. Every time we get out of a chair, it takes us a few extra steps to reach a standing position. We may not notice it, but it does happen.

The ones who live in a place where there are seasons are now experiencing the transition from summer to autumn. We’re leaving a period that perhaps was filled with constant barbeques, entertaining out-of-school kids, traveling, and playing sports.

Now, we’re entering the going-back-to-school, returning-to-regular- work hours, and checking-out-the-sweater situation.

It’s also a time to pause.

This is one of the best times to replenish you. Sit quietly outdoors and observe how nature is changing. My sunflowers are still in bloom, but I can see a difference in the leaves on the trees. We can really benefit from reflecting now, as we prepare for our own transition to the next point in our lives.

Write down in a journal anything you’ve learned in the past few months. Is there anything that can help you move forward? Have you realized that there is something you don’t like or you are just putting up with? Have you realized that there is something you really want to accomplish?

Reflecting now can only help us in our upcoming future. Mapping out what we are doing for the rest of the year can only makes us more productive. Because before you know it, the crazy holiday season will be here. Soon we’ll be “dropping the ball” (pun intended) and welcoming 2014, even if we’re not ready for it.

For your homework this month: Stop. Pause. Admire nature and relish the transition to your next pose.

Until next month…

Namaste.

Franca

Maybe All You Need is a Music Box

In his book, Speak with Courage, author Martin McDermott cites Harvard professor, Howard Gardner, on his research on students’ studying abilities. “Professor Gardner, in brief, discovered the intellectual equivalent of cross-training: As swimming laps helps with running, playing music helps with math.” If you’re a parent with a child with difficulties at school, you may want to look further into this study. It could be helpful.

Professor Gardner’s ideas on intellectual cross-training echoes a phenomenon we see frequently in feng shui. Commonly, when someone is trying to address a specific issue in their life, looking at another part of their life can shed a lot of insight as to what is really going on.

For instance, if a client calls me because they are frustrated with work or don’t have enough money coming in, we’ll look at the aspects of their space that relates to their self-worth or how they honestly view themselves for clues. This can give us important information to address which may help their initial quandary.

Music is an element in one’s space that we can use for new solutions to issues. It is also a wonderful additive to any life. It can stir up creative juices and help us see things differently. One of my clients was adamant about giving away a baby grand piano. It was taking up an inordinate amount of space and just didn't seem to “go” anywhere. After having a conversation, she learned that the issue was not with the piano itself, but with her not playing it. She then decided to invest some money in it and turn it into a self-playing piano. She kept it.

I’m not saying you have to spend a lot of money to bring music in your life. You don’t need a music room. A music “corner” can do just fine. Here are some pointers as to how to bring a little music in your life.

• If you have an instrument already, take it out and play it whenever you can. It doesn't matter how well you play it, but it’s the fact that you are using it.
• Take note how often you play music during the day. If you don’t play it often, consider turning something on when you are cooking, cleaning, or just folding clothes. And, take note how that activity makes you feel when doing it to music.
• If you wake up to an alarm buzzer or radio station, check to see if you really enjoy what you wake up to. You may want to change the station to a more soothing one.
• Start singing in the shower, even if you sing out of tune. It can help your creative juices flow and perhaps lead to great ideas.
• Consider playing sound music. Listening to the sound of a thunderstorm or ocean waves breaking on shore can really add to a bath or help with filing papers away. The sound of humming birds while dusting can make the room feel even cleaner.
• Add imagery of music in your space. Perhaps get a musical note-shaped note pad, kitchen towels with instruments on them, or frame your favorite album cover. Or maybe a music box may work. Finding imagery that works for your own space is very personal. But take that look to see what might work for you.

For your homework this month: Observe the amount of music that is in your life. And, find ways to add more to it. Keep in mind nature sounds are a form of music. Music can help stir creative juices, find solutions to problems, add a smile to the day, or even just soothe your temper. All of this can lead to subtle shifts within your life, as long as you are mindful of them. And, don't forget if your child is having trouble at school, research what kind of cross-training can be helpful for him or her.

Until next month!

Feng Shui Homework: 9 To-Do's for Your Home Office

Room & Board's Chilton table makes a great home office desk.

Who wouldn’t want to work from home? Ahhhh! Working from home can definitely have its advantages. You save time. You save money on commuting. You can manage your personal obligations in between breaks.

However, some people can’t seem to grasp the balance when working from home. They seem to get distracted very easily, not accomplishing much, or perhaps taking too many naps. Some tend to overeat, aimlessly surf the Web, and watch TV as opposed to the time clock. Before you decide to work from home, you must be really honest with yourself and ask a few important questions. 

• Is a home office the best environment for my personality?
• Will I be able to separate my work life and home life while in one space?
• Do I think I will eat more? drink more? waste more time?

From a feng shui perspective, a working-from-home environment can be a real challenge. If you can’t find a balance between work and your private life, it may cause you more stress than anything else.

Here are the top 9 suggestions to help you create a harmonious work-from-home-environment. And, these tips are 9 in number for a good reason. The number 9 is the number with the highest energy. Hopefully, these suggestions will give you a great jump start!

1. Pick a room or a space as separate as possible from your home life. For example, it is not advised to have your “office desk” in the same space as your living room or TV room. If you have a spare room, use it. If the only extra space you have to create a home office is in the basement, that’s not ideal, but it is doable. Just makes sure you have a lot of uprising energy represented, such as up-lighting, the color green, ventilation, and hopefully some natural light.
2. Make sure you do not put your desk in a vulnerable position. It should be facing the door but not directly in front of it.
3. Your chair should have support by having a solid wall behind it. A window behind the chair is not advised. If there are no other solutions, use heavy drapery to symbolically create that support.
4. Your chair should be comfortable for you. It should give your body good support. Consider one with a high back, armrests, wheels, and the ability to turn from side to side (so good "motion seating"). You don’t want to ever feel that you are "stuck" or rigid.West Elm's Swivel Leather Desk Chair meets all of our feng shui requirements.
5. Be mindful of what you see in front of you when sitting at your desk. Is it a window with a view of the outdoors? This may lead you to daydream and perhaps not focus on work. Is it a blank wall? This may cause you to feel blocked and perhaps curtail your ability to come up with new ideas. Instead, make sure that what is in front of you is inspirational and matches your goals and dreams.
6. Yes, you can have family photos in your home office, but just don’t overdo it. It may subconsciously confuse you and distract you from what needs to be accomplished.
7. Nowadays any office has computers and electronic devices. Make sure you have enough plants to help combat the negative electrical energy that is associated with these devises. Water lily and spider plants are highly recommended.
8. Keep track of your work hours, even if you don’t have to.  If you are in a position where you have to track your hours in order to bill a client, then this is quite easy for you. However, many entrepreneurs accumulate “work hours” working on their own stuff. It’s always important to "clock ourselves in and clock ourselves out." This way we can see how much time we are actually spending on work and on how much time we're really goofing off.
9. Remember to smile as often as possible while working ... even if you don’t want to. This may lead to the occasional unnecessary giggles or laughter. Since you are working from home, chances are that no one will see you, so you don’t have to explain this to anyone! It's always good to lighten your mood.

CB2 has a contemporary range of furniture for the home office.

Feng Shui Homework

Your homework for this month: work on getting your home work space separate from your personal home living space. It may not be easy, but at least start tackling it.

Until next month,

Franca

Franca is a Feng Shui Student Advisor and Instructor at Sheffield School; visit her website for more information. If you're interested in learning more about feng shui and interior design, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Feng Shui Homework: Paint a Prettier, Less Toxic Picture in Your Home

 

This is a great time of the year to start and finish projects around the house. One of my own personal feng shui adjustments includes painting a room in my home. And, I must say that it has been awhile since I’ve been paint shopping. Selecting the right color and shade was grueling. It took a few weeks. (Wow, this process is much easier when I do it for clients.) What I didn’t realize was the process of picking out the quality of paint. When I was at Home Depot, I felt like I was at a Starbucks. “Do you want glossy finish, semi-glossy, flat, low VOC, no VOC, etc…?”

VOC stands for “Volatile Organic Compound,” which is a number of chemicals that turn into a vapor and then pollutes the air. It is not only found in paints. It’s also in varnishes, glues, and certain cleaning products. Formaldehyde is a VOC, and so is fish odor. To be environmentally conscious, no or low VOC is best.

Now, I would suggest that even if you’re not planning a painting project, go around your house and see what other toxic items you have. Do you have old varnish cans in the hall closet? Do you know if any of your cleaning products are toxic? Yes, it’s great if something can cut through grease, but what else is it doing to us? Where do you keep the bug spray?

Ideally, all of these products should be stored out of your home. Unfortunately, many homes have attached garages, and that’s probably where all that stuff is. And if you live in an apartment, space is always an issue. I can only hope that at least nothing toxic is underneath your kitchen sink.

If you can, get a shed, put it somewhere on your property, and store the products there. Hopefully, it won’t be too close to your neighbors. But if you safe storage isn't possible, make sure no harmful products are in the kitchen, in the bedroom, or near any place where you spend a lot of time. Just being aware where things are stored can be very helpful.

Feng Shui Homework

I am giving you a big assignment for homework this month.

• Pay attention to the products in your home. Read the ingredients. Look up words you don’t know. 
• Properly store or dispose of anything that is not healthy. 

Educating ourselves is very powerful and an essential step towards having a healthy, picture-perfect home. And a healthy home is a healthier you.

Now, all I have to figure out is if I want a satin finish paint or not. Argh!

Until next month,

Be well,

Franca 

Franca is one of the Feng Shui instructors at Sheffield School; visit her website for more information. If you're interested in learning more about feng shui and interior design, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Feng Shui Homework: Do It!

Here in New Jersey where I live, spring has finally arrived. After a very long winter, it’s trying to push itself onto the scene just like the first daffodil of the season trying to blossom straight through all the dead foliage from last year.

In spring, I always think about the I Ching trigram, Thunder. This trigram refers to the East and represents the power of Thunder and the possibilities of New Beginnings. It also relates to our Elders and Ancestors. Therefore, if you’re smart, listen to the advice that any elders in your life are telling you these days. Their wisdom may be very beneficial to you.

This season brings great uprising energy, so this is the time to be active. If you were thinking about it, it's a wonderful time to start renovating your space. Join the gym you were contemplating to join, or just try that new restaurant you've been thinking about trying. The point is, go ahead and do it!

Feng Shui Homework

Here are some Must Do's for this month.

• Sweep-through your whole space. Yes, literally sweep the floors, clean the windows, and open them even for a little while. (Hopefully, it has warmed up also where you live!)
• If there is any personal unfinished paperwork, finish it. Is there a phone call you have to make? Do you have to update an online account? Should I ask if you filed your taxes? And so on.
• Since the Thunder trigram relates to the element of wood, check to see if there are enough plants in your space. If there aren’t, get one or two, or at least keep some fresh flowers around for this month.
• Stripes are a characteristic pattern of the wood element, so think about wearing stripes this time of year.  

All this can help you prepare for any new beginnings that are to come your way and help move any stagnant energy that might be in the space.

In short, for your homework this month, respect your elders ... and make things happen!

Until next month,

Be well, 

Franca

Franca Giuliani is a Feng Shui Student Advisor and Instructor at Sheffield School; visit her website for more information. If you're interested in learning more about feng shui and interior design, then we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.