Smarten Uo Your Space

Successful people are smart about what they keep around them. You will often see keepsakes of their interests and achievements, signs of projects in progress and always a well organised space. There may also be a comfortable chair to sit quietly whilst contemplating decisions. What you wont see is clutter, junk or an ailing plant, nor piles of old magazines or paperwork, dreary, uninspiring artwork or displeasing hand-me-downs.
Get your surroundings to nourish and support you to the full. It is acknowledged by behavioural psychologists that when you see things around you that uplift you, inspire you and bring you a sense of joy, you are more likely to feel well and interact positively. A tidy clear space that looks great, maybe boosted by some cheery colour accents, has a huge beneficial effect on health, mood, concentration and productivity.
When children grow up and leave home, it is an opportunity to repurpose a bedroom and create new space for yourself, for work, hobbies, exercise or tranquility; a sofa bed will suffice for occasional overnight stays. When it is time to move, it will help to sell your home faster and more successfully if you declutter all your possessions before the viewings commence. Definitely do that before moving. Taking old baggage with you will only bog you down, rather than freeing you up to enter a new phase of your life.
Here are a couple of stylish Feng Shui design solutions to manage challenging situations. Lighten up dull areas and dingy corners by placing a plant there and concealing a low-level uplighter behind it, their illuminated joint effect is magical. Turn an empty recess into a smart functional space by installing floor-to-ceiling display shelves for decor items like crystals, battery operated candles and plants or flowers, plus books and essential folders
with matching decorative covers. Placing baskets along the lower shelves is a stylish storage solution for often-used small items. Alternatively, add doors to the lower shelves to create a cupboard for toys, games and so on.
Before you give up on tarnished paintwork, try cleaning it with white spirit vinegar and washing up liquid added to warm water. Add a few drops of deodorising essential oils such as Lemon, Lemongrass, Ho leaf or Litsea to the rinse water, then buff to restore a good- as-new sparkle.
In addition to what you can see around you, this is a quick revitalising method to spruce up the unseen subtle energy in your living space. First of all open windows and remove stuck negative energy by clapping your hands or banging on a metal object whilst walking round, paying attention to the corners and beneath furniture. Then spray the air with your favourite essential oils diluted in water and have positive thoughts while you do it. Shake the spray bottle before use to blend the molecules. It can be done whenever you feel the desire or need to refresh the atmosphere.
The prime smart move is to clear your own head space by avoiding decision fatigue. Streamline your wardrobe to simplify choices. Split complex tasks into several mini-steps, making realistic achievable deadlines for each one and sticking to them. Develop the skill of delegating certain chores to give yourself spare time for doing more important things, or just use that time to relax.
An inspiring worthwhile read:
“Getting Things Done, the Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen More ideas for smartening up your space: http://www.fengshui-living.com/blog/2023/4/13/innovative-clutter-clearing

Using Colour In Feng Shui design

Colour has a prominent role in aesthetic Feng Shui design and a vital influence on how our life feels.  Each colour vibrates at its own unique frequency which influences every cell of our body and arouses our senses, although for the most part we take it for granted. Every colour in existence is associated with one of the five Feng Shui elements, each of which are assigned to either one or two compass locations. But that is only the beginning of the story. There are several other considerations that we would draw on in traditional Feng Shui design to reach the most desirable and harmonious colour palette for a client.

How colour is perceived largely depends upon the quality of light it receives and, by degree, upon climate as well. For example, in the temperate Northern hemisphere, a predominance of blues or greys in a North-facing bedroom can look and feel cold, even diminishing intimacy. On the other hand, too much red in a South-facing room can transform passion into aggression. In the Southern hemisphere the reverse would happen. By contrast, the bright, clear Mediterranean light plays wonderful interactions with cool blue hues, whilst vivid warm tones dance with inspiring spirited exuberance.

Apart from orientation of a property, the window dimensions, the function of a room, its ceiling height, whether its shape is wide, long and narrow, or irregular, all play a part in how a room responds to a chosen colour scheme. So in Feng Shui design decision making, we find that the concept of assigning elemental colour choices to their corresponding compass areas is not always effective. We can be far more aesthetically aware, creative, adaptable and effective than that.

Another approach for deciding which colours would work best in a particular room is to balance its yin and yang essence. All colours have many facets, each with variations of tone and clarity, shades, hues and tints. Dynamic bright colours increase the level of yang energy in a room. Sombre, dull colours and earthy textures generate yin energy. For example fiery red is obviously yang, but a gentle pink tint is a gentler, more yin version of red. Appropriate colour balance based on yin and yang creates a space that feels calm and relaxed yet stimulating and satisfying.

Dynamic colours increase the level of yang energy in a room. Subdued colours and earthy textures generate yin energy. For instance, a touch of cheerful turquoise, orange or purple will enliven a room that feels too yin. Conversely, neutrals, taupes and greys will cool down a predominantly yang space. As a rule of thumb, active living areas and the home office space require some yang colour accents. Bedrooms and other quiet areas work better with tranquil, nurturing, more yin colour schemes.

The mood of a space can be strikingly enhanced by introducing appropriate colour accents. Wall paint choice is only one aspect that creates aesthetic colour impact. Artwork, decor accessories, soft furnishings, mood lighting, even houseplants and goldfish, can be used to bring desired colour tones into a room. This Feng Shui design approach to balancing colour energy works very effectively to help create harmonious, peaceful, welcoming and nourishing living spaces.

If you wish to learn more about Feng Shui design, “Unlocking the Key to Feng Shui” an interactive free Introduction seminar with Master Howard Choy, will be held live on Zoom on Saturday 9th September 1pm -2.30pm UK time and our six months ECOFS professional level training course commences on 20th October.

Please contact me to express interest and to join us.

More information about Howard Choy and our European College of Feng Shui courses can be found on fengshui-living.com/coursesdetails

With warm wishes

Sylvia

Sylvia BennettAccredited Feng Shui Master Practitioner

ECOFS Training Courses Coordinator

Architectural Design Consultant

Subtle Environment Surveyor

Celebrating the Qing Ming Spring Festival

The Qing Ming Festival (Remembrance of Ancestors Day or Grave-Sweeping Day) is celebrated on April 5th, the first day of the fifth solar term in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Qing Ming literally means clear brightness. It is a day of purification, during which people deeply connect with their ancestors and with nature. One of the most ancient and significant Festivals in the Chinese year, it is similarly observed throughout Malaysia,Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Japan.

Traditionally the most important activity at the Qing Ming Festival or just beforehand, is for people to honour deceased relatives by cleaning, weeding and beautifying their burial place (known as tomb sweeping). Then they usually place fresh flowers or food there, light incense and pray for peace, health and good luck for their family.

Qing Ming is also known as the Spring-Outing Festival. A day to take an enjoyable family trip walking and exercising in nature, tree planting and other nature associated activities. Promoting happiness and good health, it is a celebration of life after paying homage to departed ancestors. People fly kites of various bright colours during the daytime. Illuminated lanterns are attached to the kites after dark and the sky is filled with hundreds of them, all resembling twinkling stars. The kites are symbolic of good fortune.

The Qing Ming Festival day is held at the start of the Dragon month, the time when temperatures rise and nature is encountering a huge transformation. It is the sign for farmers to do their Spring planting, also a sign to do some spring cleaning at the natural transition of the seasons

Sustainable Feng Shui Design

Sustainable building construction and environmentally considerate living are at the forefront of the changes we are being encouraged to embrace into our lifestyle, and increasingly inspired by climate change precautions. Well, there is nothing new in that. It is as ancient as traditional Feng Shui, a name first found in existing texts that date back some 2000 years. However archeological evidence of its practice can be traced further back to the mid-neolithic era, the time when arable and livestock farming communities with permanent village settlements first became established in China around 7000 BC, a transition facilitated by the global climate warming that followed the last ice age.

During that prehistoric early agricultural period, people lived in constant touch with the spirit of the natural environment. Like other ancient settlements found worldwide, Chinese dwellings were built using sustainable natural materials, mostly stones, mud, reeds, leaves and wood, that could either be returned to the ground from whence they originated or recycled to construct new dwellings, a practice that lasted through millennia until being replaced by the advancement of modern living.

These days it is inconceivable to live without the creature comforts of central heating, double glazing, electronic devices and so on. But the quality of indoor living environments is being challenged and depleted by various modern building materials and furnishings, disposable items and personal life choices. This is why it is becoming more important than ever to help reunite people with the essence of natural harmony. A healthier and sustainably harmonious balance can be restored by introducing the natural Feng Shui elements of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal appropriately into your living space and by making various adjustments based on the Feng Shui principles of yin and Yang.

For example:
Open windows and doors wide to release unhealthy residues and receive a sustaining qi circulation of fresh air indoors. Refresh the atmosphere with only pure natural essential oils.
Healthy houseplants will look after you by improving indoor air quality and absorbing CO2, but plastic ones will only gather dust. Plants have a very useful role in sustaining your home and your wellbeing, their element is Wood growing in Earth and the container can be Wood, Metal or ceramic Earth, also Water or Fire can be introduced through its colour.

A moving fresh water feature will enhance the ecology of your living space and in Feng Shui the Water element is associated with potentially sustaining progress, prosperity and communication.
Conserve rainwater drain-off loss by channelling it to create a rain garden or wildlife pond that will attract and sustain biodiversity. And if you can, plant a new tree as a sustainable gesture to the planet.

Use natural materials in preference to artificial ones that are not biodegradable or cannot be recycled. Where possible too, avoid using over-packaged and throw-away disposable items: eg.use rechargeable batteries and buy unwrapped fresh produce, preferably locally grown.
Check the origin and composition of your purchases. Many well-made, locally manufactured items can be found with some investigation, quite often at a similar price to imported goods from cheaper producing countries.

If you are refurbishing a property, wool and straw both make very effective and sustainable insulation materials. Agroforestry management, sustainability and regeneration programmes highlight the advantages and durability of wood-framed buildings, whilst timber beams are a preferable solution to steel girders or concrete pillars. When redecorating, use organic and natural eco- wall paint, especially if a family member has any allergies or respiratory health conditions.

These are just a few examples of ways to apply Feng Shui principles so that your living environment and your wellbeing and health will thrive more sustainably. This ecologically significant aspect of Feng Shui is a fundamental part of its underpinning intention, which is to connect people more closely with the harmonious and supportive flow of nature.