People often call me for a Feng Shui help when they are going through life transitions.

  They want to make the most of this opportunity and “do it right.” 

Feng Shui is especially helpful when you are going through life transitions. Some life changes you choose and some are thrust upon you.  Life transitions can be external like moving, doing a major home renovation, or life events like birth, death and divorce. Life transitions can be more subtle, internal ones like career change, empty nesting, and meeting health challenges.
 
 

Use Feng Shui to create a space that supports you, your energy and your vision of what you want to be is very important.

  Just like having the right clothes for the occasion helps you feel confident and do better, so does having the right space for your life transition. The wisdom of Feng Shui helps you feel better, be more focused and more productive in both visible and invisible ways especially during life transitions. In the process of creating the space, your goals and the steps to making them come true become clearer to you. Making choices about something solid, like your home or office, can be both grounding and reassuring, especially when you feel like the rug (figuratively and sometimes literally) has been pulled out from under you.

Arranging your space is a tangible way support the inner work of creating your new life. 

There is an old chestnut about the Chinese pictogram for the word “change”, it is made up of the root words for “chaos” and “opportunity”. We choose how we approach change: as an opportunity or as a catastrophe.

Creating space that positively supports you during life transitions is especially important.

Most subtle are the internal changes of personal growth.

  Take time to reflect on those changes, think about your ideal future, and the steps to make that real. This requires a special space and personal objects to honor that metamorphosis. This is where Feng Shui is most helpful.

Moving, both into a new space and into a new you, are great times to get rid of the old and make room for the new.

  Recognizing that we are constantly growing and developing. This means what had interest and meaning for us in the past may no longer be part of who we are. Letting go of the old, literally makes room for those things that reflect and support who we are now and who we are becoming. It’s OK to let go of the books about a subject or author that you used to love, but have outgrown.  It’s OK to let go of the half finished craft project that you have grown bored with.

Letting go of what belonged to someone who is no longer with you can be emotion-filled.

Get whatever help you need to do this.  Select those special treasures that remind you of the best of that person and the times you shared with him. Photos, gifts and mementos with particular meaning for you should be kept. Ordinary photos, gifts, unused items and possessions can be shared with friends and family or donated to a charity or recycled. Keep those things with the best memories for you.

When a new baby or child comes into your life, every part of your life and your house will be taken over by that little person.

It is especially important to make your own bedroom a sanctuary for you and your partner.  If your newborn is sleeping in your room with you, make sure that it still feels like your room, not a second version of the baby’s room.  Keep your romantic mementos out and visible. Remember, you were a couple before you became parents.

When a relationship ends, that is a time for a clean sweep.

Get rid of as much of the stuff that reminds you of your “ex” as possible.  If you feel it is too valuable to give away then sell it on e-Bay. Notify your “ex” of the calendar date when all of his/her stuff has to be removed from your place, or you will trash it or donate it to a local charity.  No excuses. You are not their free Ready-Stor.

Now that you have made room for your present and future, what do you want to do with it?

  If your creativity is moving from hobby to business, it may be time to move your work table from the hallway into that underused guest room.  I recommended that to one client. She gained not only more space, but closet storage, better lighting, a telephone/internet connection and privacy when she needed it.  She took this idea and made it her own, with big cork boards on the wall to display pictures that inspired new ideas and projects in process – so she could literally step back and really look at them.

One client called her new home office empowering.  It was a visible way to say to herself and the world that what she was doing was important.

Often when a relationship ends there is a need for healing.

  During this time your bedroom may need to be a sanctuary for you.  Be sure there is good lighting, dark rooms hinder healing. Feng Shui suggests you bring in some healthy, lush and colorful plants or flowers.

Enhance the Helpful People (friends) area of your Ba-Gua and the Inner Wisdom/Self Development area as well. Bring supportive people and energy into your life.

 
Bring in elements of whimsy. Place reminders of what you want to do for yourself with your future: travel to a place that you want to see, go to that exhibition that you are interested in, play the music you love, find new friends and partners. Be gentle with yourself. Live in the present and build a bridge to the future.

Lifestyle changes necessitated by career changes or health challenges really benefit from a space specifically created to support that need.

  Whether it is a room dedicated to this or a corner, making a space for exercise, meditation, healthy cooking and eating, creative self-expression will support your efforts.  A space that supports both reflection and action. 

Reflection without action gets you nowhere, action without reflection gets you nowhere faster.

3 steps to creating space for a new you

1- clear out the old and what represents the “Old You.”

2- set up working, creating, exercising, cooking or meditating space with everything you will need to do this and feel good about it.

• Work table, desk, books, lighting, plants, inspiring art and mementos, music, aroma, appropriate seating for activity, rug or floor cushion, supplies.

3- Cleansing ritual Blessing ritual

• soap and water cleaning
• music
• flowers and candles and prayer/intention

Contact Linda for help and support during your life transition.

How has Feng Shui helped you with a new chapter of your life? Share in the comments below.

image by Sid Mosdell