Tag Archives: feng shui cure
red roses

Using Dried Flowers in Feng Shui – Q and A

by on November 15, 2011 in De-Cluttering, The Bagua

"lifeless" flowers

Question: I am confused regarding dried flowers/cut branches. I have several wreaths and branches. Should I remove all of them from my home? Is there any place in the home these are OK?

 

Answer: First of all, now that the holidays are here, I’d like to say that if you have some dried arrangement temporarily (let’s say a month or less) adorning your table or front porch, I don’t think the chi boogie man is going to come out and get you over it. If you like the look of a temporary arrangement like that and your energies (AKA your life circumstances) are holding strong – go for it. The idea is to always be mindful of what you do have in your house though, so you can make adjustments as soon as you have a desire for something different in your life.

Now, let’s talk about the permanent stuff. First of all, step back and take a quick review of you and your family’s life. If it is going perfectly, with everyone healthy, happy, and harmoniously living in the world, and your home happens to be filled with dried flower arrangements (and has been for years), then by all means – carry on. Remember, “If it ain’t broke, I don’t fix it.” You must have some MoJo going on over there that must be counterbalancing all the dried stuff, so I don’t even want to mess with it.

But if life isn’t perfect and you have chi weaknesses in your bagua somewhere, you may want to consider doing something about the dried stuff.

The chi that you want to attract and encourage to stay around within your home is vibrant, lively and in it’s thriving state. The chi that you do not want in your home is chi that is weakened, “sleepy,” disintegrating, wilting, dying, or seemingly dead. Dried flowers, pampas grass reeds, pussy willow stems, eucalyptus branches, wood shavings, wilted fresh flowers in stinky, stagnant water, moldy and damp fireplace wood, plants with a lot of dead or wilting leaves on them (snip those leaves off!), and (dare I go here?) pet ashes and people ashes all are things in their “diminishing state” in the “circle of life.”

“Preserved plants,” like those palm trees you see in some public places where they look real but they have been injected with something to stop their growth or death, seem to test OK. (Seeds usually have an essence within them that is vibrant and therefore also makes the cut.)

Yes, I have actually done experiments on this (as it is such a touchy subject) and I have observed that when dried stuff is removed, there is a definite chi improvement. (I get  a lot of people resisting feng shui because they desperately want to keep their potpourri and crispy, crunchy arrangements.)

I invite you to experiment on your own. Remove all dead or dying items from your household and lot and track the way life goes for the next few months. If things don’t improve, you either have something that was counterbalancing the dried stuff or you have something else keeping you down (because you should see improvement.)

Stuff that counterbalances dried up, dead stuff: living things (animals, kids, plants, and heck, I’ll even throw fresh vegetables and fruits in here!,) moving items, fresh air circulation, natural light, and bright, lively colors.) Since I’m not lucky enough to see all of your homes, you’ll have to be the judge of this. Remember, feng shui is a guide, based upon years of observations of actions and results.

One last thought, think about what you are willing to allow in your home. I usually lump dried flowers in the same category as kitty litter boxes, toilets, trash cans, dust, dirt and clutter. These are all potentially negative or chi-weakening items. I usually say, if you have to have them, and you have any control over their placement, put these items in a gua that is working very well for you (and might be able to “take the hit,”) and not a gua that is already suffering from weakened chi. (a gua being the part of the home that is associated with a part of your life in the feng shui map, the bagua.)

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Feng Shui Numbers – Q and A

by on November 3, 2011 in General

QUESTION: Why are the numbers associated with your book different than the numbers associated with the guas of other books?

ANSWER: Because I am using the number itself as a cure. I am using the number’s vibrational quality (most commonly found in numerology) and assigning it to the gua that is most closely associated with its particular vibration. You can use this number much the same as you would a symbol of that gua. For example, the relationship gua can be enhanced with matching pairs of objects, right? So the number two  – as in a pair or a couple- aligns with that concept.

Other writers may be using the numbers in a specific sequence (and that sequence may change depending on many circumstances) or may be doing something else depending on the style of feng shui that they are describing. Like I always say, if you know how to mix and match styles, then go for it. Otherwise, I’d choose one style and work with it.

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A Most Powerful Feng Shui Cure – “Other” – Feng Shui Q and A

by on October 29, 2011 in Blog, General, Just for Fun, Nine Traditional Cures

QUESTION: On page 31 of chapter 1 in your book, it talks of “Other” being the most powerful. I do not know specifically what other (s) this refers to. Can you make clear?

ANSWER: When I speak of the cure “Other,” I am talking about a cure that works very quickly and very specifically for you. This cure can change your vibration in an instant, and possibly not do a thing for someone else. Let me give you a couple of examples:

I consulted with a gal who was a writer for several magazines. She procrastinated until the very last minute, but never missed a deadline because she had her “other” cure that would always work. She had a red baseball cap. When she could absolutely procrastinate no longer, she would don the red cap and go sit at her desk. The mere fact that she had the cap on her head gave her the confidence and where- with-all to get the writing task completed on time. That cap meant business to her. It meant there was nothing left to do but write – and write she did.

Now, that cap didn’t look or feel like it had any special powers to me. As a matter of fact, it just looked like an old red cap. But to her, it was just the ticket!

Another gal purchased a pair of Oprah’s shoes somewhere, and kept them in her closet. And whenever she found herself feeling a little beaten up by life, she got out the shoes and stuck them on her little feet. And as soon as she did, she immediately stood up a little taller, a little prouder and a little more confident. As she placed her feet in the shoes she raised her fists and said “If Oprah can do it, so can I!”

It changed her energy immediately. She got invigorated by merely putting on a pair of shoes. I don’t know if it would have worked on me, but it did her – which makes it her “Other” cure.

Do you have something that consistently represents the essence of whatever you may be temporarily missing in life? Perhaps it means “that special something” to no one else in the world but  you. That can be your “other” cure.

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What is “the Reductive Cycle” in Feng Shui?

by on May 10, 2011 in 5 elements, General, Just for Fun

What is the reductive cycle? I read up on it in another book but didn’t quite get it.

The reductive cycle is a cycle that got edited out of my book Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life (those darned editors!) It is the cycle where you can “reduce” an element without totally destroying it.  (Now, this upcoming is an answer meant for someone who pretty much knows the other two cycles – so if you don’t, you might want to pick up a copy of my book first!)

Let’s say, for example that you have a totally white room with a lot of metal furnishings. It is also in the creativity/children gua. As much as you love your totally creative life, you can’t sleep for all the great ideas coming your way. You find yourself dragging around life from a type of “creative exhaustion.” You certainly don’t want to destroy your creativity, but you would like to bring in the reins a bit. With the reductive cycle, you would add water element to that metal space.

Basically the reductive cycle uses the element ahead of it in the creative cycle (see page 37 of my book.) If you want to reduce metal, use water. If you want to reduce water, use wood. If you want to reduce wood, use fire. If you want to reduce fire, use earth. If you want to reduce earth, use metal. It’s like the metal in that creativity gua above is saying “I’m growing, I’m growing, I’m growing, oops, now I have to use some of myself to create water.” It can’t become so powerful because it has a job to do. It has to “feed” the water element. (I’m trying with the visual here, I hope it is working!)

Again, if you area trying to reduce wood element somewhere, you would add fire. Then, the wood is “saying,” “I’m growing, I’m growing, I’m growing, feed the fire.” So it has to take the time to feed the fire and therefore not become “out-of-control wood.” (Wow, I hope this is getting clear to all of you out there!)

Hope that helps!

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Success Story from Reading My Book

by on August 27, 2010 in Success Stories

Many people who have not read my book ask me, “Can you really change your life by just doing some of these simple things in your book?” Here’s a success story from a reader who did just that!

“Your book has had such an amazing impact on my life. Thanks to your suggestions for “cures”, my skeptical husband and I were able to sell our home in one week, land my husband his dream job, and receive $2,500 that we were not expecting but came to us at the exact moment we needed it!
My husband is a skeptic no more and has been urging me to find a consultant for our new home.
Many thanks to you for putting the ancient practice of feng shui in a readable, understandable format!  I wish you luck and success in everything that you do.” M. G.

Sounds to me like she’s being her own consultant and getting good results, but I always say, “It doesn’t hurt to have a fresh pair of feng shui eyes taking a look around.” Between her work and the work of a feng shui consultant coming in, I’m sure she’ll soon attract all the things she wants changed in her life!

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