Feng Shui Homework: Let There Be Light

As an unwilling participant of Hurricane Sandy, my family and I were very lucky. We didn't lose our home. We had no major damage. We were only inconvenienced for 9 days without electricity: no lights, no heat, and no hot water. And this experience has strongly reminded me how much I take for granted the power of light. By the third day without light and electricity, I started realizing how dark and cold things can get so quickly.

Light offers heat. It gives warmth. It changes yin (dark) to yang (light). In essence light increases energy. It is a symbol of the element Fire. Fire is a microcosm of the sun and brings that charge of the sun into our space.

If we're lucky enough to have access to light, we can use it to bring uplifting Chi, or life force, into a space. Keep in mind these decorating tips.

• Dark corners can become energized with light.
• A desk with a decent lamp that shines light directly where the work actually occurs is very important.
• Outdoor walkways can become alive with light, and this is a great opportunity to use solar lights.

• If the Recognition and Fame gua of your home (see the bagua chart below) is unusually dark (especially if you're not feeling any recognition at work), keep this area brightly lit, specifically during working hours.
• Consider spotlights wherever possible, because they have an added benefit of raising the Chi upwards compared to a small, low wattage table lamp.

Your Feng Shui Homework

Overall, for the month of November and every month to follow, your homework is to be grateful for light. Use it when you need it. Save it when you can. And be conscious of its many beneficial applications.

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: Enhance "Travel Energy" in Your Home

Franca Giuliani - In my path I have met only a few people who hate traveling. In general I find that most people like it. Personally, I think traveling is a very important factor of life. It gives us a chance to learn new things, meet new people, and think of great ideas - all which can enrich our lives very much.
 

 In feng shui, the bagua sector that represents this energy is found at the front right corner of your space: Helpful People and Travel (in the bagua above, it's listed as "Mentors and Networking"). It refers to the Heaven trigram and Father energy of a family. This is a very powerful sector that emulates authority, control, and soaring possibilities. Having the element of metal, items with round shapes, and grays and whites in this area of your home - even in the front corner of a room - can be very beneficial for enhancing its forces.

Since it also represents travel and mentor support, it's important to have in this space symbolism of travel and symbolism of people or guides that inspire you.

And, yes here's another opportunity to be creative when you're decorating with feng shui in mind. For instance,

• If a bathroom falls in this area, consider using a world map motif as a shower curtain. Start collecting hotel soaps from your journeys and use them as decor pieces.

• If a kitchen falls in this space, you may want to enhance it with cook books for different countries and ethnic foods.

• If here is where your living room is, there's so much you can do! Add an ottoman made of Moroccan fabric, or an item found in a Tuscan country house. Just make sure you pick things from places that you love.

• No matter what room it is, adding something that represents your guides or people you admire is wonderful. Perhaps, frame one of their quotes.

Now, if your space is missing this part of the bagua, don't fret! Adjustments can be made. If you can work from the outside, add a lawn ornament such as a statue of an angel or spiritual guide at the corner point where your space gets squared off. From the inside, add mirrors on the surrounding walls to symbolically push back the space. And, where possible use the element metal, greys and whites, and any item that represents travel.

Your Feng Shui Homework

The month of October is a very powerful time to address the Northwest portion of your space.

Your homework for this month: start to emphasize the traveling energy and travel design motifs within your space, as described above. 

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.

How to Choose Blue for Home Decorating

Franca Giuliani - This September started with the reminiscence of a blue moon (which occurred on August 31). For those of you who may not know, a blue moon is the second full moon occurrence in a given month. Some also say it is the fourth moon to appear in a season. Now the moon is not actually blue, so why do they call it that? There are a few different stories. The oldest one I found was because of a way to describe something so absurd that it would not happen, as in “That will happen when the moon turns blue.” And of course we eventually got the phrase, “once in a blue moon.”

No matter its origins, a blue moon is considered having powerful and magical energies. In honoring this moon, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about what the color BLUE actually means, and how we can use it in our space and lives for better harmony.

Based on a feng shui perspective, BLUE is associated with the North East/Knowledge & Self-Cultivation and the East/Family & Health sectors of the bagua. Really DARK BLUES (almost black) relate to the North /Journey & Career. SKY BLUE is associated with the South /Illumination.

Yes, BLUE is associated with sadness and melancholy. “I feel so blue,” or “I have the blues.” But in feng shui, BLUE illustrates calmness, peace, tranquility, and introspection. Therefore, it's used quite often in bedrooms (a certain shade of BLUE-GREEN can also work) to help with sleep. It can be used where people convene, such as offices, to help avoid conflict. Keep in mind, though, that everyone relates to color differently; therefore,

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Feng Shui, Pets, and Animal Prints

Franca Giuliani - As I always say, our home, our rooms, our closets, and even our office desk all tell us a lot about what's really going on within our lives. And it can be an overwhelming task to tackle the space in order to start making changes. Sometimes what we just need is a push, especially if the space we're talking about seems to be very stale and stagnant.

Sometimes what a space may need is real active chi (the life force). That can easily be acquired by bringing in live animals, such as dogs and cats. And, I should know, because I recently dog sat for 9 days Tara - my “little” big yellow lab - and Zoey - the “BIG” little Havanese puppy. They wiped me out! And they definitely stirred up the chi in my home.

Now based on the Five Element Theory, pets and animals in general represent Fire and bring out a loving spirit in people. So having pets is a good thing. However, it's also a very big responsibility that's not for everyone.

Is there an alternative? The answer is "yes." You can still benefit from the animal spirit without actually bringing in a live animal. Add animal prints accessories and upholstery into your space … and I'm talking about “faux” prints.

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Gratitude and Feng Shui

Franca Giuliani - Here in the United States, the fourth of July is a day of great reverence as we celebrate our nation’s independence. We are grateful.

Sometimes it takes a special holiday to remind us to be grateful. Normally, how often do we go through an ordinary day realizing all the things we are grateful for? Feeling the emotion of gratitude is very important, because it can really help our perspective on life. Remember, I always say that everything is energy. Well, the emotion of gratitude has a very high energetic vibration. The higher your energy vibrates, the better health and happiness you can enjoy.  

Awhile back, I asked one of my clients to walk me around her home and show me what she is grateful of or what illustrates gratitude. I think it was one of the toughest things she ever had to do. Needless to say, I gave her an incomplete for this assignment. Then, I tried a different approach. I asked her to show me objects that she is ungrateful for or depicts ungratefulness. Apparently, that was an easier project for her. She quickly grabbed my hand with enthusiasm and dragged me to her bedroom. With an utter look of vengeance, she pointed to her nemesis: her alarm clock. She then processed to tell me how much she hated that alarm clock. She hated how it looked, and more importantly she hated and was very “ungrateful” of the buzzer sound it makes. “But, it’s an alarm clock. I need it. What can I do?” she said.

“There’s a lot you can do,” I replied. (That’s when I also realized for this particular client, it was not a matter of making a lot of changes - but we could make at least one. This would get her started.) Together we did some research and found the perfect alarm clock for her.

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