Happy Spring Equinox, March 20th. A time of new growth and expansion. In Feng Shui this is the season of Chen (Family) and Shun (Wealth). The element is Wood. Chen refers to mother/father – who gave us birth (and to our siblings). This birth theme is reflected in various celebrations such as Easter and the power of the Resurrection – new life. Chen represents our ability to initiate and begin again. The color is green. Shun symbolizes wealth and represents our ability to open to abundance and prosperity. Purple is the Shun color.
Do you wake up feeling energetic, enthusiastic and optimistic, eager to engage this Spring energy of growth, expansion and to welcome prosperity? Or do you have a hard time getting going, feel sluggish and overwhelmed at home or work? If you need some help, this is the season to deal with clutter. Spring cleaning is a common practice of refreshing and freshening our spaces. Just as excessive weeds in the garden can limit new growth, consider that clutter may be interfering with your full potential for growth.
Feng Shui is all about “energy”. Imagine that there is a thread of energy that connects you to everything in your space. Wikipedia defines clutter as “excessive physical disorder”. Feng Shui defines clutter as “stuck or stagnant energy”. My favorite definition of clutter is “things you do not use, need or love”.
When I first arrive at client’s homes/businesses,I look to see where the major clutter zones are located. This gives me a clue to their current challenges. For example, severe clutter in the garage located in the wealth area, can affect financial flow. This is also true in other areas such as relationships or health. Therefore, tackling clutter in e.g. your wealth areas (far left area from entrance) could help with cash flow.
I recently downsized my home office and also cleared about 60 potted plants off our patio decks. Perhaps my de-clutter process might assist you.
1. Do I use it?
The telephone, laptop, printer easily fit into the “I use it” category. But do I need more than a half dozen favorite pens in my desk? What about the Feng shui handout files that I no longer use? I reduced over 200 books down to 25. Keep those things you use regularly.
2. Do I need it?
This is a tricky one for those of us with “just in case-itis”. I kept 3 assorted sized empty binders and 12 file folders. I filled three boxes with those “just in case” office supplies and gave them away. Be realistic about what you really need: donate the rest.
3. Do I love it?
This question really helped in the garden. There’s a rose bush that season after season has NEVER bloomed – it’s finally gone. The “do I love it” is a good guide to help you decide what to keep and what to let go. Surround yourself with things you love.
4. Energy Check
With objects, pick it up and do an energy check. “Does this lift me up (i.e. makes me feel good) OR does it bring me down? Eliminate from your space, things that drag you down.
5. A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place
This is a fundamental organizing principal. Having downsized my office, there was a lot “more stuff” that now did not have “a place”. I needed to ruthlessly apply the do I need, use or love it reality check to de-clutter and find a place for everything. Do you have a “place” for everything including your cell/i-phone, car keys? Make a habit of putting things back in their place.
6. Mental/Emotional Clutter
Did you ever consider that certain thoughts and feelings could be clutter? For me, fear, worry and anxiety are like clutter in that it keeps me from feeling clear and focused. I have several relatives who live in Sendai – the area most severely affected by the Japan earthquake/tsunami. I wondered every day, if they were all washed away or under the rubble of houses. Each day, I had a CHOICE: contribute to the world anxiety, fear and worry by adding my own worries and fears. Or, I could broadcast more hope and light from the place of the compassionate heart to my heritage, the Japanese people. On Day 5, I finally made telephone contact with my Sendai relatives – a joyful reunion of the heart. They were all OK!
Negative thoughts and feelings are rarely useful. We certainly don’t need them. They are often toxic to us and to the environment. And it does not promote love.
7. Clearing Help
For help with your physical space, consider hiring a Professional Organizer. A great resource is a book authored by several professionals. It includes strategies for organizing everything from your kitchen, closet, garage to office and more. “Get Organized Today”. Cost $24 plus shipping. www.WallaceAssociates.net
Contact me if you need Feng Shui help to anchor fresh intentions and to attract prosperity or need to clear negative, stressed, stuck energies that are inhibiting your moving forward in life. Recent client testimonials: “the day after we implemented your recommendations, bad things stopped happening and many new possibilities began opening up!” “Wow, received a hefty settlement out of court”.
At this time of Spring Equinox rejoice in the capacity of Mother Earth to renew Herself. And let’s contribute to reducing the fear that’s out there in the world by radiating more Light and more Love – the most powerful tools for self-renewal and transformation.
UPCOMING LECTURES:
Feng Shui Dynamics of Integrated Pest Management
Novato Public Library, 1720 Novato Blvd., Novato, CA
Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m. – noon
Sponsored by Marin Master Gardeners. Free
Create a Beautiful and Healthy Garden with Feng Shui
Marin Home and Garden Expo, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA
Saturday, June 4, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
General Expo admission: $10
The Feng Shui Energy of Homes
Marin Home and Garden Expo, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, CA
Sunday, June 5, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
General Expo admission: $10
Wishing you a joyful spring.
Terumi Leinow
Certified Feng Shui and Energy Clearing Consultant
www.spiritoffengshui.com 415-488-4580
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Welcome, the Year of the Tiger. Not just any tiger, but the Golden or White Tiger. The reference to “gold” suggests this is an extraordinary, noble, King of the Beasts. It is also associated with the Chinese God of Wealth. Those born in 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1972, 1986, 1998 are said to be vivacious, impulsive, optimistic, restless and geared for action. They are playful, passionate, sentimental, possessive and romantic. They make great sales people as they can sway a crowd.
Grandmaster Lin Yun predicts 2010 will be immensely profitable for those in the East and in the West, marginal for those in the South and North. We will continue to see sporadic natural and manmade disasters throughout the world such as floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. Economically he predicts that in the spring of 2010 the economy will show renewed strength. However, the price of oil and gold will continue to rise, leading to inflation.
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays as it carries the spirit of joy and hope for prosperity. From a Feng Shui perspective, engaging in some of the popular Chinese cultural practices, like those listed below, is a great way to give yourself an energy boost and pave the way to a truly prosperous 2010.
CLUTTER CLEARING
Clean and clutter clear the house or business before February 14. This is a tradition to “sweep away any ill fortune and make the way for good luck”. (No cleaning on February 14). In Feng Shui, pay particular attention to the entrance to your front door, a symbol of the mouth or receiver of chi (universal life force). Ensure there is an easy, visible path to the door. For businesses, check that the number – signage of your building is clear, clean and visible.
Remember that clutter is “stuck energy” and that a tendril of energy connects you to everything you own and have in your space. The area that has the most clutter is often a clue, depending on its location, that you may be experiencing challenge in relationships, money, career, health or creativity. I recently tackled my neglected office closet and it was easy to get into overwhelm or become discouraged. What helped me was to focus on “I’m making space for something new to come in.”
Clutter clearing also goes beyond just physical objects. This may be a good time to review your relationship to people and activities. Do you feel depleted or energized after spending time with certain people or an activity? Do you say “yes” out of obligation? Perhaps it’s time to “let go” of energy depleting people and activities that no longer help you feel good.
CELEBRATE
Celebrate with the family, friends and community who enhance your joy. February 14 is also Valentine’s Day that commemorates love. And also a good excuse to eat chocolate! Dark chocolate is high in antioxidant and magnesium. Even better health benefits are derived from raw cacao, which contain anandamide, known as the bliss chemical, a neurotransmitter found in raw cacao. It makes you happier and more joyful! Two outrageously delicious brands to look for at Whole Foods or to order on line: www.sacredchocolate.com and www.coracaoconfections.com I know the owners of both companies and they are highly energetic, passionate young men excited about sharing their products to promote health and planetary well being.
BEAUTY
It’s a custom to wear something new, or the color red on Chinese New Year’s Day. The color red is considered auspicious and said to boost confidence, self-esteem and stamina. Often, elder’s place money in red envelopes and give them to the children to promote happiness. Bowls of tangerine and oranges are good symbols of prosperity. Homes and business are often decorated with plum blossoms (which are beginning to appear on the west coast). A blossom that appears in winter, the plum blossom is a metaphor for strength, resilience, longevity and the ability to overcome adversity.
ENERGY CLEARING
Imagine if you never vacuumed or cleaned your home/business how that would affect your health. Energy clearing addresses the invisible build up of stress from the accumulation of negative emotions such as fear, depression, and worry. Please contact me if you need an Energy Clearing to help you remove invisible clutter and move forward in life, or a Feng Shui tune up to help you anchor positive intentions for the Year of the Tiger. I highly recommend a yearly energy clearing and Feng Shui tune up.
“Acknowledging the good that is already in your life is the foundation for all abundance. Start by acknowledging and recognizing abundance without. See the fullness of life all around you. The acknowledgment of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within.” Eckhart Tolle
Terumi Leinow
Certified Feng Shui and Energy Clearing Consultant
415-488-4580
What happens, though, when you leave the studio (in your cute workout wear) and begin to move? Let’s say you’re having coffee with a friend. You, being the true-blue listener you are, have only your friend’s interests at heart….not your posture. But if, say, just for a moment you drifted to your back muscles, or where your pelvis is sitting in that coffee-house chair (OMG! Does my friend know I’ve diverted attention away from her story that I’ve already heard three times?), what kind of cues would you pick up about your own posture? Or, what about your ability to walk up that trail (alert to dog poop to the right, step sprightly!), ride your bike on the bike path, hit the golf ball, swing that tennis racket, or dance your famous cha cha cha. What happens to your posture then? Are you able to challenge yourself a bit more?
It’s hard work to put into action the beautiful body mechanics you can achieve in the studio, isn’t it? But that is the whole darn point! I’m sure you love a good challenge, so here is mine to you:
Picture yourself becoming as free with your movements as you can be. If your muscles could sing, they would harmonize with their neighboring muscles. Imagine your elegance and feel that your true strength comes from deep within. Enjoy the benefits of knowing that all your hard training is paying off. Try to not be afraid of moving a bit faster, reaching a little farther, clicking your heels together 4 times, instead of only three, and repeat: There’s no one like me. There’s no one like me. There’s no one like me. You can do it! And, you can do it because the isolated Pilates movements are not really isolated at all. They are sequenced and balletic and rhythmic. Pilates teaches you to pay attention. But as a student of Pilates you may find the ultimate test is putting all your lessons in stability to the test…in motion.
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