Linda Varone | Nurturing Spaces Feng Shui

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Decluttering and Feng Shui: Collection or Accumulation?

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Has Your Collection Become an Accumulation?

Order supports serenity in Feng Shui. An important part of Feng Shui in the West is decluttering, because clutter sucks-up Chi-energy, and creates a heavy and/or scattered energy in a space. As I tell my Feng Shui clients and students: decluttering does not mean Zen-like minimalism, unless that is your style.

beer steins on a shelf Good Feng Shui?
Is this part of a collection or an accumulation? The difference has a big impact on your Chi and the Feng Shui of a space.

It is important to decorate your home with objects, photos and mementos of the people, places and event that you love most. Why? When I ask a client to tell me about a picture or object on display in their home and I see their face light-up I am seeing their personal Chi literally rising. For my client, every time she sees that memento (consciously or unconsciously) her Chi rises. This is one of the most important aspects of Feng Shui.

If you are a collector, be careful your collection does not become an accumulation. It is a slippery slope from one to the other.

Intention

Pilgrim - Roy Collection quilt in red and marigold
A collection is intentional. It has a focus. The Quilts and Color exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is so memorable because the collectors had a focus for their collection: vibrant color combinations in antique American Quilts.

Time

Do you:

  • Enjoy spending time with your collection?
  • Enjoy spending time with other collectors?
  • Take time to be sure your collection is in good condition and is safely stored or displayed?
  • Keep the time you spend on your collection in balance with the rest of your life?

Space

  • Has storage of your collection taken valuable living space in your home?
  • Is display of your collection so crowded there is no “breathing room” between items? I have seen collections crammed and stacked into étagères and cabinets. If they are it makes it hard to see and enjoy your collection. This makes your collection an accumulation of low-energy “stuff”.

Having a collection can be one of the joys of life and nourishment for the soul.
Having an accumulation is an exercise in frustration and waste of:

  • Time
  • Space
  • Money

When you collect with focus you:

  • Know what to look for
  • Spend money wisely
  • Get what you really want.

Paul Pilgrim and Gerald Roy, the collectors of the Quilts and Color exhibition, stayed true to their focus. This meant that they passed over many beautiful quilts on the way to the creation of their collection. The result is a gathering of antique American quilts that sing with bold color combinations that are worked into inspiring designs. Not a tasteful mishmash of all things “Quilt”. A true collection, not an accumulation.

Image by Nicole Acosta

Feng Shui: Beauty Feeds the Soul to Nurture Our Deepest Selves

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Feng Shui Understands The Importance Of Beauty.

“Beauty is whatever gives joy.” –
Edna St. Vincent Millay

feng shui energy lift with handmade quilt
Handcrafted beauty has special meaning and Feng Shui energetic impact.

Recently, at a local artists Open Studios event, I was struck by how much we need beauty in our lives. Feng Shui knows we need beauty the way we need oxygen. We seek it out and celebrate it when we find it. Enjoying beauty is not self-indulgent, it is necessary.

Why?  When we fully experience beauty, we are experiencing a “moment of pure psychological health. We effortlessly build a stronghold against the negative pressures that life inevitably brings.” – Paolo Ferrucci, What We May Be. When we take in beauty we are literally imprinting positive thoughts and feelings on our Unconscious.  We need this to balance out the stressors and negativity we encounter daily. Experiencing beauty also pulls us out of ourselves and connects us with the larger world.

No need to worry about the “good taste” police, it is about what speaks to you. You know you have something beautiful when you find yourself “catching your breath” with pleasure. Tune inward and you will notice your energy (chi) rises.  Beauty truly is in the experience of the beholder.

In ancient China, Taoist landscape artists sought to give each viewer a true experience of the scene portrayed, to bring them the essence of Nature. Children have an innate fascination with nature and the beauty it holds. Reclaim that wonder and look at the world around you.  Bring this beauty into your home or office.

Suggestions:

  • Plants or flowers
  • Objects that are made from natural materials: unpainted wood, clay, stone, and natural fiber fabrics.
  • Mementos or photos of people, places and events that have a special place in your heart.
  • Beauty for its own sake – objects you love simply because you find them beautiful.
  • Handcrafted objects have a special meaning and Feng Shui energetic impact.
  • If something no longer lifts your spirits, it is OK to let it go.  We are all growing and changing, and our tastes change too.  Make room for new inspirations.
  • Look around you. Find the beauty there and bring it close to you. Nourish yourself.

Why Beauty is Important and How to Bring it into Your Daily Life

In Your Bedroom

The first thing we see in the morning sets our thoughts and feelings for the day ahead.  The last thing we see at night prepares us for sleep and dreams.  Use this insight to consciously place things where you will see them. Bring the best thoughts, feelings and energy into your daily life.

If your first view in the morning is:

  • Your bedside table – after a bleary look at your alarm clock, what do you see?  Place special framed photos here, or a visual reminder of something you are grateful for.
  • A wall – hang a picture that you really like, or something relating to that part of the Ba-Gua.
  • A window – this is really ideal, you have a direct connection to Nature.  Look up and see the sky.

Bring Beauty Into Your Office

  • Instead of using an ordinary coffee mug as your pencil holder, how about a beautifully crafted wooden or pottery container.
  • Photos, postcards and prints can be placed on your office or cubicle walls
  • Place a picture that is relaxing on the wall where you look up from your computer screen, rest your eyes and mind.

See your personal treasures with new eyes.
The most enjoyable part of my consultations with clients is finding new ways to display their personal treasures. This gives new life and a sense of enjoyment to my clients’ homes.
Have artwork and heirlooms you don’t know what to do with, or have been overlooked?
Contact me for a consultation to bring your beautiful things into the light and enjoy them anew.

image by denise carbonell

Create Your Own Feng Shui Cures to Enhance Your Chi

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Feng Shui is about Chi energy: universal Chi and personal Chi. Feng Shui seeks to balance the Chi of your home or office with your own Chi (5 Element Feng Shui).

When I work with Feng Shui clients I encourage them to display meaningful personal treasures and mementos to lift their personal Chi and enhance the Chi of the space. Personal is the keyword here and nothing is more personal than hand-made art either by a local artist or a loved one (or even yourself). Manufactured items that are not emotionally connected to a beloved person, place or event have no soul and no Chi.

The best way to bring soul and Chi into your home is with hand-made or hand-crafted items. I have a needlepoint pillow on my sofa. I originally made it as a gift for my mother. Every time I look at it I see its flaws (missed stitches and a twist in the decorative binding), but more important it also has a soft handworked feel to the tapestry and I remember how it had pride of place on my mother’s sofa.

If you don’t have the time or inclination for a needlepoint pillow then how about a quick craft project?

sand art mandalas, personalized feng shui cures
Sand Art party mandalas. Creative fun becomes personalized feng shui cures

Last week I had the pleasure of being part of a sand art party at ArtBeat.  We gathered around a table and in an hour (including brief instructions) we had created beautiful designs with colored sand and adhesive cards. We sprinkled and patted and etched our way to bliss.  As we were working on our projects, we were “in the zone.” Time stood still, we were relaxed and totally focused. And we could have kept going a lot longer on our projects if we had the time.

Not only did we create something lovely, but we experienced the joy of un-pressured creativity. It was a peak-flow experience that stayed with us for the rest of the evening.

Check out your local craft store/craft studio for projects for your kids, for your family or for yourself.  I am very lucky ArtBeat is nearby. If looking for crafts find those things that fill the creative zone between a blank canvas (which can be intimidating) and connect-the-dots (which allows for little originality and is boring).  Also avoid things with media character connections – they are limiting, people simply reproduce what they have already seen.

Take a little time to tap into your creativity. It will expand your mind, relax you and bring good Chi to you and to your home.

My next project? A decoupage folding screen/vision board [link], inspired by ArtBeat, to decorate my home and hide my home office desk.  I am amazed how quickly I get into “the zone” when I am sitting on my sofa and cutting out the pictures for my screen. Lots of enjoyable quick little steps toward the bigger result.

How to Have The Best Feng Shui: Express Yourself and Raise Your Chi

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I say this to my Feng Shui clients: The best kind of home is one that expresses who you are and what you love. And as a bonus, when you personalize the decoration of your home, you raise your Chi – whether you are Feng Shui-ing your home or not.

“I see it every day: People trying to create a home that somebody else tells them they should have….if it doesn’t represent you, you’re not going to be happy. Take a beat and say ’Is this something I want to live with, or am I just buying it because I saw it on a TV show?’ ” – Nate Berkus, interior designer, television host and author.

“… your home should not be a presentation to your friends. Surroundings should relate to who you are, what you love, and to what you deem important in life.” – George Lois , mass media expert and advertising provocateur – just don’t say he is the original Don Draper of Mad Men.

Is your home decorated or staged? Feng Shui uses home decoration/interior design as a vehicle to enhance and balance Chi. But if you are looking for inspiration to create a home with warmth on television, in magazines or online you will be challenged. Two clients I worked with recently were using what they saw in the media, unedited, as the template for the decoration of their living rooms. One followed a theme décor right down to the objects on her coffee table. It was beautiful, but none of it expressed who she was. Another client was inspired by a photo to have deep teal walls. It was beautiful in the photo, but would not work with the rug she wanted to use in her living room. Both clients were open to my suggestions: one to personalize her space and the second about why the teal wall worked in the photo but not in her living room, and what alternative she could use to compliment her rug and get a similar effect as in the photo.

What you see in the media are staged rooms. Not rooms for people to live in. Take time to look at the entire photo and see what elements are working together. Then figure out if it will work for you:

  • Does the room that inspires you have higher ceilings than yours?
  • How big are the windows in relation to the size of the room?
  • Do the colors work with the colors of your rug or sofa (unless you will be getting new everything)?
  • Be aware that a bold color on the screen or the page will look and feel very different when room-size.
  • Where can you place or display your personal treasures? Will they work with the photo décor?
  • Is the lighting adequate for how you want to use the space?
  • Could you really live in the space in the picture or does it represent a dream lifestyle that is not yours?

Trust your instincts and take the inspirations you see and adapt them to make them your own.

When I work with a client, I like to use their personal treasures as Feng Shui cures whenever possible. When I see a photo, painting, or memento I ask them “Please, tell me about this.” When I see their face light up as they describe where they got it, who gave it to them or who or what it reminds them of, then I am literally seeing their personal Chi rise. This response indicates that this object is a very powerful cure. I then collaborate with them about where is the best place to put this cure, relating to the theme of the picture or the emotional association of the object.

Sometimes I work with a client who has few or no personal treasures in their home. Sometimes they will say that a piece of art is a “place saver.”  Life is too short to surround yourself with anonymous art. If you don’t have an emotional connection to something, at least have something that makes you catch your breath when you first see it – that you love for the sheer beauty of it. (This sudden inhale is also a sign of rising personal Chi.)

This rise in personal Chi occurs even if you are not consciously seeing or connecting with this memento of the people, places and events that have positive and nourishing meaning to your life.

Have you decorated your home according to someone else’s idea of “good taste” or the “latest trend”? If so, it is not your home, it is their home.  Express yourself through your treasures. Re-claim your home.

If you doubt your taste or instincts remember: If you are happy with your home, your guests will be happy. Personalize your space.

What have you displayed in your home to help you remember the people, places and events that warm your heart?  I would love to hear from you. Share them as a comment, below.

Feng Shui and No More Anonymous Art

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I encourage my Feng Shui clients to use art and personal treasures as cures. But “anonymous” or generic art does not have the energetic impact of art and photos with personal meaning.

When I was a college student I was invited by a friend to her birthday party, hosted by poet Donald Hall in his home. At that time I was clueless about Donald Hall and his work. As I rang the doorbell I glanced into the foyer and spied a Last Supper on black velvet painting on the wall. With all of my youthful superiority I thought: “what bad taste!”  I was warmly welcomed in by a very gracious Professor Hall. During the party I noticed a Roy Lichtenstein pop art silk screen on the wall and a small Henry Moore sculpture on the coffee table. When I mentioned them he smiled and modestly related the personal story attached to each. What I learned was the importance of art with personal meaning. And… the “good taste police” should have a sense of humor.

best feng shui cures, child's drawing
Homemade art, candid photographs and personal treasures make the best Feng Shui cures.

Recently I have worked with several Feng Shui clients who have filled their walls with “anonymous art.” The kind of framed wall decorations you can find at Home Goods or Target. This is not bad art, it just generic art lacking any life to it or personal meaning. 

One client had nothing representing her family or special someone.  I mentioned this to her and she said she had lots of photos, but they were on her computer. Does this sound familiar? When she showed me her pictures I was bowled over: Great snapshots of the two of them and beautiful photos of a trip to Europe. She had never thought of the treasures she had hidden on her computer. She selected her favorite photos to have printed and framed, and remind her of the people, places and events she loves best.

What heart-warming photos do you have buried in your computer? Pick out your favorites and have them made into prints. You can burn the photo files onto a disc or zip drive (your 11 year old can show you) and take them to your local drugstore or photo shop. Or upload them to one of the online photo services. If you want to fine tune your pictures you can edit them on free photo software like Picasa. I found it great for cropping out parked cars in the foreground of my London vacation pictures, or to zoom in on a people picture for a close-up (no one’s knees are that attractive. 😉 )  For professional quality developing check out photopipe.com.

If none of your photos are frame-worthy, then look at online art and photograph sites like Art.com, iStockphoto or National Geographic for something that speaks to you.

You deserve better than empty walls or anonymous space fillers. Just do it!

My own to-do: enlarge and frame a snapshot from my mother’s 80th birthday hot air balloon ride!

Update: I had the enlargement printed and framed. It greets me every morning as I wake-up and reminds me of the true treasures of my life.

photo by The Paessels

Cultivating the Seed of Happiness

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“In Buddhist texts, consciousness is said to be a field, a plot of land in which every kind of seed has been planted – seeds of suffering, happiness, joy, sorrow, fear, anger, and hope. The quality of our life depends on which of these seeds we water. The practice of mindfulness is to recognize each seed as it sprouts and to water the most wholesome seeds whenever possible.”  – Thich Nhat Hanh

The Seed of Happiness
The Seed of Happiness

I came across this quote recently. It has stuck in my mind so much that I just have to write about it this month. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to know that focusing on happiness, joy and hope is better than focusing on sorrow, fear and anger. But as Americans we add our own twist on this positive outlook. We want bigger, better and faster or we won’t be happy. And if we work really hard, we will have this kind of happiness – in the future. What happens is many of us overlook the blessings of the present moment while we are straining to see into the future.

As a Feng Shui consultant, I encourage my clients to have images and symbols of what they are striving for in the appropriate area of the Ba-Gua. This is best balanced with connections to the present.

  • I encourage you to have reminders of what you are grateful for in the present around you.
  • Are you grateful for family and friends? Have photos of them nearby. (I suggest that you have current photos as well as older ones.)
  • Are you grateful for good health? Place a plant where you can enjoy one of the miracles of life.
  • Are you blessed with your faith or a spiritual teacher? Have a photo, statue or written blessing where you can see it.

One of my teachers, Denise Linn, suggests the best place for these mementos is on your bedside table or near your bed. Place them so they are the first thing you see in the morning – to create a positive and mindful mindset for the day – and see the last thing at night – to set the stage for sweet dreams.

I have photos of my family near my bed. Recently I added a picture of my late mother taken on a hot air balloon ride we did on her 80th birthday. Her joy in that moment radiates from the picture.

What kinds of reminders of your blessings do you have around you? Let me know and I will share them with my readers next month.

photo by the yes man

Feng Shui and the Power of Photos: Tap into their Chi

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As you may know, I believe personal mementos can be powerful Feng Shui cures. During a consultation, when I ask a client “Tell me about this [photo/painting/knick-knack]” and their face lights-up, I know I have just witnessed their personal Chi rise. Raising or enhancing  your personal Chi is an important part of what Feng Shui cures do for you.

Feng Shui family photo with positive chi.
Love, joy and Chi radiate from this family photo. These are the kind of photos that energize the Chi of a space as well as your personal Chi.

While traditional Feng Shui cures are great, personal treasures with powerful positive emotional associations and energetic impact are your best cures. They may already be in your home simply waiting to be discovered.
 
 
 
 
This article will briefly explore:

  • The Power of photos and personal mementos
  • The importance of up-to-date photos to celebrate your current blessings, and
  • How to use the energy of the past and present to enhance the future.

In some clients’ homes I will see delightful photos of family, friends, and special places, but these photos are from years ago. When I ask if they have any current photos, I may get a genuinely puzzled response. Honoring the past is important, but you also need to actively celebrate you current blessings in the form of photos and mementos of the people, places and events you love the most.

Chi expresses itself in space and time. The Chi that radiates-off mementos of the past combined with the Chi connected to reminders of your blessings in the present creates a powerful energetic momentum for blessings in the future.  I am NOT suggesting you turn your home into a gallery of photos or museum of mementos, but be conscious of having reminders of your present life blessings where you can see them and be aware.

As the holidays approach, this is a great time to plan for snapshots of your favorite people and events. Then, make sure to get those pictures out of your camera and off your computer to a local or online photo developer and display them!

On a personal note  – I am on the hunt for a frame for a great photo of my brother and sister-in-law taken on a day trip to Santa Barbara. I look forward to again seeing their happy faces on that day.

photo by fuzzysaurus