Wind and Water

I teach Feng Shui classes and I am always reminded about how much I love talking about how energy affects us profoundly each and every day. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement of the chi (energy) in and around us. Feng Shui translates into wind and water. The idea of Feng Shui is that our environments should reflect nature and our spaces should reflect balance. We can shift the energy in our environments by attending to colors, furniture placement, the balance of elements, clearing clutter and countless other ways to bring the energy of nature into our homes and work spaces. Our homes also reflect us and the space affects us. If your home is on a busy street the sound of traffic affects you. If your home looks like a museum or a cluttered mess, that affects and reflects you as well. I like to think that Feng Shui can be applied to the energy of our thoughts and the energy of the people we have around us. So, what is the energy of your thoughts? Do you have mostly positive, self affirming, life affirming thoughts? If not, time to Feng Shui and clear up the mind clutter. People often have anxious thoughts. Anxious thoughts bring chaos and fear into your life. "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world (Buddha)." Change your thoughts and you alter how you feel. Fear is based on irrational thoughts. Being aware of what you are thinking, focusing on the positive and changing your thoughts will help you feel more in balance. A client recently complained about her job. She was focusing on what she did not like, the boss, the lack of communication and frustrating customers. After some discussion though, she did not want to quit and actually had more things she liked about the job! But each and every day, she would wake up focusing on the negative and therefore end up frustrated and defeated. The redirection of her thoughts to focus on the flexibility, money, co-workers and job security helped her realize that she was creating negativity and she could shift that by focusing on the positive. Often people fight allowing life to be calm and joyful so they use their thoughts to create worry, fear and doubt. Cluttered thoughts make you feel frustrated and exhausted by life. Another client recently complained that life was terrible and that he felt like he was on an endless treadmill. After discussing his thoughts, he disclosed that he grew up in a very task focused home where there was never time to have fun or play. He grew up thinking that life was all work and responsibilities. He realized that he did not allow himself to have fun at all. Another friend was avoiding taking her children to the park because they would not want to leave after the hour of play. Her negative thought affected her decision. By re-focusing her thoughts on all of the fun she would have with her kids and minimizing the worry about a possible tantrum, she allowed herself to really enjoy the time with her kids. I know many individuals holding onto items in their home from relatives who have passed away. A few items are to honor the person they've lost but a house full of things reminding you of the loss is a distraction, keeping you stuck in the past. Just by bringing awareness to your thoughts (and how your environment reflects your thoughts and feelings) you can begin to free yourself from the illusion and restrictions your thoughts and emotions have been creating. You can create a harmonious life or one filled with fear, greed, negativity and lack of trust. How you view life is up to you. Clearing the thoughts of doubt and worry are important too. Doubt and worry are based in fear and create obstacles and road blocks. All negative thoughts are lower vibrational energy (clutter) and need a little Feng Shui to shift the awareness to the positive higher vibrational energy and allow yourself to release the need to cling to old thought patterns which are holding you back. Bringing nature into thoughts through meditation can help bring peace and calm into your life as well. Feng Shui is about balance and to ultimately achieve balance, you must go within. The answers are within you and quieting your mind through meditation and spiritual connection is a way to access source energy which is pure love versus energy from the world around you which is filled with mindless distractions. The mind is like a muscle you need to learn to discipline, work with, increase flexibility and strengthen. Create the world you want by imagining the person you always wanted to be and begin seeing yourself that way. Reinforce balance by being attentive to also creating an environment that supports you, not hinders you. Be positive, affirm life and affirm others and make the choice to love yourself and life.......it all comes from your thoughts. Thoughts create energy and energy attracts more "like" energy. You are what you think!