Archive for the Feng Shui

Have you ever heard that mirrors are the ‘aspirin’ of Feng Shui? Well, for me, the fail-safe tool for many situations is COLOR!

Color is my favorite Lifestyle Feng Shui® enhancement. I use it everywhere!

Color is the fastest way to completely change the way a space looks and feels. You can create a space that feels e-x-p-a-n-s-i-v-e, or a space that feels intimate. You can create a space that feels warm or cool. You can use pops of color to accent and enhance any area of your home.

But, color doesn’t begin with the walls, or the art or the accents in your home; color begins with you. Your first personal environment is you, and color can work with you or it can work against you. Color can bring your energy up and make you feel good or it can deplete your energy and leave you feeling tired and washed out.

Today’s video is all about COLOR – it’s everywhere you look!

© 2012 Harmony Life Design®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Lifestyle Feng Shui™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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The Bagua is a symbol representing change, it shows how energy moves in the works of vibration. because energy moves in a predicable manner we are able to ‘read’ its movement in a given space through the use of the Bagua Map.

Lifestyle Feng Shui Bagua Map  how-to video

The Bagua is one of the main tools used in Feng Shui evaluations. it has its foundation in the trigrams of the I Ching, the ancient Chinese book of divination. The Bagua is actually a template or grid that is divided into 9 sections. The center section aligns with balance and harmony while the other 8 sections align with the energy of the trigrams, each section represents a different life energy.

There are two different ways to place the Bagua, one based on Cardinal directions and the other based on the entrance to the home or room. The placement used in Lifestyle Feng Shui™ is the 3-Door Method, which is the placement method based on the door to the home or room.

3-Door Method

• Center front = Career
• Left front = Inner Knowledge
• Center left = Family & Foundation
• Back left = Abundance
• Center back = Fame & Reputation
• Back right = Relationships
• Center right = Creativity & Children
• Right front = Helpful People & Travel

To place the Bagua follow these easy steps.

Step 1: Draw the floor plan of the first floor of your home, include all attached structures that share the roof of the home. (Ex: garage, screened in porch)

Step 2: Divide the floor plan info nine equal sections. When you divide your floor plan into nine sections you may find that your rooms do not line up exactly with the Bagua areas. Most of our homes are not architecturally designed in such a way that they divide evenly, a room may flow into more than one Bagua area and that is completely normal. Energy is not limited by structure.

Step 3: Stand at the front door of your home, facing the door. Determine where the front door is in relationship to your floor plan and the Bagua. (Most front doors align with either Helpful People, Career or Inner Knowledge) Once you’ve determined which Bagua area the front door is in you’ll be able to place the other Bagua areas in each of the remaining sections of the floor plan.

Now that you know where each Bagua area is in your home you’re ready to decorate or accessorize the areas you’d like to enhance or improve. Have fun!

© 2012 Harmony Life Design®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Lifestyle Feng Shui™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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Winter blues. We’ve all heard of it but what does it mean? As the days get shorter and the nights get colder many of us find ourselves low on motivation, high in exhaustion and feeling blue.

For some this may translate into an entire season of malaise, spawned by lack of light and energy. For others, our blues may be based in emotions, tied to unrealistic expectations of family, our friends, and ourselves during the holidays. We may experience feelings of boredom due to cold weather confinement, or even a sense of depression due to the sheer number of grey days winter brings.

Can feng shui fight the winter blues?

Feng shui can help you shift the energy around you, and in that shift you change not only the way your spaces look, but you also change the way they feel.

No matter what your experience or how long your winter blues tend to last these 9 powerful feng shui tips will help ensure that this winter season isn’t a season of blues.

1. Let the sun shine in! Open your curtains. Sunlight, or rather the lack of it, contributes to the winter blues. When you open your curtains you allow sunlight to enter your home, energizing you and your spaces. In feng shui, sunlight represents fire energy, and fire energy is full of vitality and life.
2. Add colorful accents, pillows, throws, candles, curtains, tablecloths and art in red, orange and yellow. All three of these colors are warm and inviting, and they increase the energy of the space they are in. Using warm colors literally makes your home feel 10 – 15 degrees warmer. And warm feels good when it’s cold outside!
3. Place plants and flowers around your home to literally bring life into your space. Plants and flowers have living energy and vitality, they connect you to nature and in that connection they bring balance. (Think of them as little spots of springtime.)
4. Exercise – it’s not just about losing weight! Exercise helps relieve stress by relaxing your mind, tones and strengthens your body by working your muscles and gives you more energy by boosting your metabolism. With benefits like that, your mood is bound to improve! (Our body is our most important environment, even before our homes – and feng shui believes in creating supportive environments. So get outside and take a walk, go for a run or a bike ride. You’ll soak up some sun and improve your living environment at the same time – sounds like good feng shui to me!
5. Eat healthy. What you eat and when you eat has an effect on your mood and energy.  Try to avoid or limit processed foods and simple carbohydrates. (Sugar, white rice, white bread, etc.) Instead eat complex carbohydrates such as whole grain bread, fruit, vegetables and oatmeal. According to CBS news correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, “…your diet can have a significant impact on your mood. Oatmeal is a great winter option its got lots of fiber and whole grains, it’s warming, it’s comforting and it’s not just for breakfast. Oatmeal can be used in bread and whole grain rolls; it can be used in place of breadcrumbs in meatloaf and much more. Vitamin D can help combat the blues. There’s research linking Vitamin D deficiency and depression — so make sure you get enough Vitamin D. Good sources include fish, eggs and milk “ Don’t’ forget sunlight. Every time you go outside you soak up Vitamin D, another good reason to go for a walk! Tea may help relieve stress — one British study found that those who drank tea found their cortisol levels (stress hormones) dropped almost 50 percent when they drank black tea four times a day.
6. Create a treasure map. Treasure maps and collages capture your thoughts, your desires and intention with a series of images. You select the images from a series of magazines and pictures of your choice. The images you choose should be images that convey the image of what you desire. As you select these images, do so with a spirit of abundance, gratitude and joy. (Click here for Treasure Map how-to)
7. Break out of your routine. In winter, when every day seems cold and grey, it’s easy to find yourself going through the motions, stuck in a boring, tired routine. Shake it up! Go out for breakfast with friends before work, meet friends or colleagues for a warm eggnog or apple cider and talk about the latest books you’ve read, swap colorful accessories with a friend and wear them, change your lipstick color – go bright instead of dark, join a wine club, take that cooking class you’ve been considering, join Facebook and search for your long lost friends.
8. Paint a room in your home. Paint at least one wall in your home a warm, vibrant color. Color transforms space faster and easier than any other decorating tool. Color can change an uninviting, drab space into a personal paradise, full of vibrant energy and warmth. Afraid to paint a room or a wall? Then consider painting the frame of a wooden chair, the legs on the sofa, a picture frame or even a chest of drawers. A few little touches can really help chase away the winter blues.
9. Embrace the things that make this season special. Even if you haven’t thought of winter as special there are many things to enjoy this time of year. The smell of pine, cinnamon and apples. The warmth of a roaring fire. Roasted marshmallows. Hot Chocolate. Special seasonal TV shows, some of my favorites are; Babes in Toyland, Hocus Pocus and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Wear winter clothes you love, for me that means jeans, boots, mufflers and an assortment of coats – if you don’t have any winter clothes you love, get some! When you like what you wear you feel better about yourself and feeling good helps chase the blues away.

Stay positive, focus your thoughts on what you like rather than what you don’t like and the cold winter months will be gone before you know it.

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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Last week hurricane and gale force winds and rain raged through much of Eastern Seaboard. For many it was a disaster, ancient trees were toppled, homes were damaged by falling trees or flooded by rain. It was an incredible sight to see and experience. And now that the clean up is well under way, it’s an opportunity to begin again; time for a new start, a new look and a new direction.

What can feng shui do to help? Feng shui can help create the feeling, the atmosphere you desire in your home, in your yard and in your life. Feng shui is about balance. Balance in our living environments and balance in our lives. And at times like this balance is what we all need.

For your yard – clear out all storm debris, trim broken branches and shrubs, cut down broken or damaged trees and then before you begin replanting, gift your land with a healing ceremony. This doesn’t have to be complicated, a simple moment of silent gratitude while focusing on your intention for your home is enough to begin the healing process. And if you’d like to make it more of a ceremony, consider adding a sprinkle of sparkling spring water charged by the power of the sun to support adaptability, fluidity and a new beginning.

For those of you that have suffered flooding and water damage, doing a ceremony that incorporates water may seem counter-intuitive. It’s not, water is the source of all life, of abundance and holds the cleansing power of new beginnings – exactly what’s needed now. (Water charged by the sun combines the transformative power of fire, the spark of life, and the nourishing and healing power of water.)

This is also the perfect time to incorporate a feng shui assessment of your property, making improvements to the landscape and yard visually as well as energetically. As stewards of the land on which we live it is up to us to help our land heal – on all levels, and that begins with our thoughts and how we ‘feel’ about our living spaces.

For your home – if you had damage, clear out any items that were ruined or broken. And then, before you rearrange or purchase new items, incorporate the power of a feng shui consultation and space clearing into the process! Create a home that embraces you with a sense of comfort, welcome, style and inspiration. It’s more than how it looks, it’s how it feels!

Paint your walls a fresh new color; pastel, bold or mid-tone, anything new will add a sense of vitality to your home. Arrange your furniture in a different way, move things from one room to another, mix it up, have fun! Simple changes like this will go far in helping you release the stress of the situation.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Every cloud has a silver living.”  Ever wonder what that saying means? It means that after hardship, after a challenge, there is always opportunity. True, it may be difficult to see opportunity when we are caught up in the drama of the situation, but opportunity is always there. We just have to look for it. Incorporating feng shui can help in the process. Getting you and your home back to balance quicker and with greater ease.

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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Have you heard that bathrooms are negative or bad energy? Not sure? The questions below deal with common Feng Shui bathroom recommendations.

• Do you rush around making sure all your drains are covered and toilet seats are down?
• Do you insist on keeping the doors to your bathrooms closed?
• Do your friends think your behavior is a little extreme? OK, I’m just kidding around on that one!

If you’re aware of Feng Shui, then you have also undoubtedly heard something about bathrooms being ‘energy drains’. And I agree, if your bathroom is either an outhouse or a simple hole in the ground. But, if your bathroom is situated in your home (a true modern convenience and for me a necessity), and it’s clean, well appointed and uncluttered than most likely it isn’t an energy drain.

Bathrooms are not havens of bad or malevolent energy. Their purpose is to provide a space that allows us to clean and take care of ourselves. I, for one, am a big proponent of indoor plumbing and all it entails! I think bathrooms are a great asset and enhancement to the quality of our lives.

In fact, in addition to serving our basic needs, most modern day bathrooms also provide us with a place to relax, restore and replenish ourselves – whether that’s in the shower or luxuriating in a nice and relaxing bath. And anything that relaxes, restores and replenishes us fall under the Feng Shui enhancement category, not the negative energy category.

Bathrooms have come along way and the energy associated with them thousands of years ago simply doesn’t align with the reality of our bathrooms today.

A bathroom, like any other room in your home should be clean, well lit, and organized. And it should be a place that welcomes you with warmth and comfort; a place that provides balance while accommodating your needs.

My Feng Shui advice for today’s bathrooms?

• Balance the elements. (In Feng Shui there are 5 Elements, water, wood, earth, metal and fire.)
• Enhance the Bagua area the bathroom is in.
• Make it a place that welcomes and nurtures you. (you shouldn’t cringe at the sight of your bathroom.)
• If your bathroom faces into a main room it’s best to keep the door closed as the bathroom is a private space.
• And, just to be safe, keep the toilet lid down, The toilet is after-all a drain!

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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I was reading a recent issue of Real Simple magazine and found this statistic -

83% - The percentage of human-resource managers who say the appearance of an employee’s workspace
affects their perception of her skill level and professionalism.

Apparently reality is guided by perception and if that’s the case then our perception of our living and working spaces directly impacts the quality of our lives, or our reality. You are strongly influenced by the spaces you inhabit – so much so the impression of others is also affected.

If you don’t like your reality, change your surroundings!

You guessed it; this is where Feng Shui enters the picture. When we incorporate the principles of Feng Shui into our living and working spaces we create spaces that not only look good but spaces that feel good as well. And when a space truly feels good, it is supportive of us, whether that support is for our goals and dreams or for a good impression from our co-workers.

Top 5 Feng Shui tips for your living and working spaces

1. Arrange your furnishings so that you are in the power or command position. This means that you have the support of a solid wall behind you and full view of the room in front of you.
2. Eliminate clutter.
3. Bring in a plant or two to improve the air quality and remove toxins.
4. Increase the amount of light through the use of additional light fixtures and lamps or open the curtains! Light energizes and activates a space.
5. Have a view of something inspiring. This can be a picture, a beautiful piece of art, a plant, or the view out a window. What you see is less important than how it makes you feel…find something inspiring to motivate and energize you.

These five simple steps are a great way to begin the Feng Shui Lifestyle™ process. For more tips, recommendations and articles, visit http://www.examiner.com/feng-shui-lifestyle-in-national. It’s up to you what impression your space makes on others and whether or not it supports you and your desires. You can change your reality simply by changing your spaces!

What are you waiting for?

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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Several months ago I was giving a lecture on marketing and one of the members of the audience asked me a great question. I’d like to share that question and my answer with you.

Q- How do you stay inspired in your business through the ups and downs?

A- I stay focused on what I want to achieve and I set aside time to achieve it.

I may spend that time in a class, a workshop or training, I may spend that time reading a book, attending a networking meeting or simply taking a walk. As long as the time I’m spending is focused on moving me forward in my work and life I know that I’m making progress, and that inspires me!

The single biggest piece of advice I can give you is to believe in yourself and the work you are doing.

3 Powerful Steps to Inspire You-

1. Every day for the next 30 days, begin your workday by writing down everything that you love about what you do. Include all positive aspects of your job. (It’s OK if you repeat things from day to day). Don’t write or think about anything that isn’t going the way you want it, write only about what’s working and what it will be like as it continues to work and grow for you.
2. Know what you do best, what will produce the greatest reward, the greatest quality and quantity of business, then do what you must to get more time to do it! Knowing the best uses of your energy is much more important than trying harder or working longer. To get better results, you don’t have to do anything essentially different from what you’re already doing at the moment. You just have to do more of what you’re already doing that works fantastically well – and STOP doing those things that don’t improve the quality and quantity of your business.
3. Get proactive. What work do you have outstanding-right now? What’s stopping you from completing it? Get organized, get focused and get busy! Contact that customer, write that outline, keep your eye on the big picture. Don’t get sidetracked and let your day take charge of you. You are the master of your thoughts. Are they serving you?

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t? either way you are right.” ~Henry Ford

The point is, you can only achieve what you believe you can achieve. So, whether business is good or not so good, to stay inspired you have to stay focused, and keep learning and growing.

Inspiration and change go hand in hand. Otherwise, inspiration is just a good idea. And a good idea is only that unless you take action and get proactive.

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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Can you lose weight with Feng Shui?

Yes and no.

We all want to lose weight, some of us do it the old fashioned way by exercising more and watching what we eat, others want a quicker easier way to lose weight or at least something that can help them achieve greater weight loss success.

While there is no quick, effortless way to lose weight, feng shui can support your efforts at weight loss.

How to lose weight with feng shui-

1. Clear clutter. When we have clutter our space is literally blocked, energy or chi cannot move freely. This is a similar dynamic to excess weight. When we carry excess weight our energy is limited, we can’t move as easily, our bodies ability to function optimally is blocked. Our inner world is mirrored and reflected in our outer world, making the connection is where Feng Shui comes into play.
2. Reposition the furnishings in your rooms to create ease of movement and flow. This step is about removing excess in your living environment.
3. Release anything that’s broken, anything that you don’t use or anything that you don’t love. Keeping things around that aren’t useful or beautiful takes up space and drains your energy. (Think of it as symbolic fat – it doesn’t have a purpose and it takes up space.)
4. Organize, organize, organize. Start with your bedroom closet and organize your clothing, shoes and accessories so everything is easy to find and has its own space. As you complete a space, move onto to another. Do this is phases, perhaps over several months so you don’t get overwhelmed or discouraged. When our things are organized, we can find things easier and that saves us time, saves us money and makes our life easier.
5. Take care of your health, change your eating habits and eliminate foods that are highly processed, high in sugars and high in saturated fats.
6. Start a simple exercise routine. Even a short, 5 minute daily walk will make a bit difference in how you feel both physically and mentally. Give yourself permission to start wherever you’re at.
7. Get plenty of sleep. Your body needs downtime to rejuvenate and restore itself. A good nights rest is important.
8. Picture yourself, as you’d like to be, in both your minds eye and in the way you speak about yourself…. act as if the weight is already gone. Imagine it as if it is already so. This is a powerful way to shift your perception of yourself. And let’s face it, our perception of our self either supports what we desire or it doesn’t. You can’t achieve something you don’t believe it. So begin to see yourself as you’d like to be and before you know it, that’s exactly what your reality will become!

Losing weight requires changes in our life patterns and in our living patterns. One is not separate from the other. If losing weight is one of your goals, start the process today and tomorrow will be easier!

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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April 22nd is Earth Day, it’s only a few short days away! This year, Earth Day’s theme is themed after A Billion Acts of Green: a people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20. March 27, 2010 was the day of the world’s largest mass cooperation event ever! What was it?  Earth Hour. The world was asked to turn off their lights for one hour to show  support for climate change and over 4000 cities in over 88 countries  participated!

It’s not about the country you’re from, it’s about the world you live in! What an amazing event! Starting with Earth Hour on March 26th, when the world joined forces in support of sustainable living by turning off all lights to Earth Day on April 22nd, when the people of the world are asked to embrace one simple act of ‘green’ in our everyday lives – even if only for a day!

Click for Earth Hour 2011 video

Green or sustainable living, is living in balance and harmony with our environment and living in balance is the foundation of Feng Shui.We are all stewards of this wonderful world we live in; making choices  that support sustainability, recyclability, and minimal use of our  resources is a great thing! Sounds big and daunting doesn’t it? Well, the good news, it doesn’t have to be. There are simple things each of us can do to make a difference, to make a change.

Top 5 EASY steps to a sustainable lifestyle-

1. Recycle – recycle your glass bottles, jars, cans plastics and paper products. The more we reuse what we already have, the less resources it takes to provide what we need.
2. Food – buy local products as much as possible. If it doesn’t have to travel to get to you, resources are saved. Now you can find local, organically grown food at almost every major grocery and specialty grocery store!
3. Cleaning Products – Cleaning products are the easiest change to make. There are so many companies and products to choose from in this category, you won’t have any trouble finding something you like at a reasonable price.
4. Choose low VOC paints – All major paint companies have something with low VOC’s. A favorite, Benjamin Moore recently introduced two fantastic lines, Aura and Natura. Incredible advancement in paint technology and they’re great quality paints at an affordable price!
5. Lighting – CFL or compact fluorescent light bulbs are easy to find, last a long time and use very little energy compared to standard incandescent bulbs or halogen bulbs. LED or light-emitting diode bulbs are the newest addition in our choices for low energy use alternative bulbs.

Going green isn’t hard and it doesn’t involve strange or unusual choices. In today’s world we can choose the exact same items we’ve always loved and go green at the same time!

Earth Day and Feng Shui – ready to make some ‘green’ changes?

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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One of the main tools used in Feng Shui is the Bagua. The Bagua is a method of mapping a space by designating that certain areas align with specific energy. These areas are known as the Bagua life areas, gua’s, and the 8 Aspirations.

 The Bagua is a template that is placed over the space being evaluated. This could be a home, a room, an office, and property or a yard. The Bagua is comprised of 9 sections, or life areas. (Click here to download a FREE Bagua map with instructions.)

The Bagua is a symbol representing change, it shows how energy moves in the world of vibration. Because energy moves in a predictable manner we are able to ‘read’ its movement within a given space through the use of the Bagua map.

There are eight life areas in the Bagua map, each area corresponds to a particular life energy. The eight life areas are: Career, Inner Knowledge, Family & Foundation, Abundance, Fame & Reputation, Relationships, Creativity and Helpful People. Health sits in the center position.

In Feng Shui there are several different interpretations of the Bagua, the version I use is an adaptation from Black Sect Feng Shui.

How do I place the Bagua on my home?

The Bagua is almost always positioned so that the front door to your home or the door to the room being evaluated is along one of the three front areas of the Bagua. (Career, Inner Knowledge, Helpful People).

To determine where each area is located, stand at the door of your home or the door of the room you are evaluating. As you stand in the doorway you should be facing into the home or room. The center front section is Career. The left front section is Inner Knowledge. The center left section is Family & Foundation. The back left section is Abundance. The center back section is Fame & Reputation. The right back section is Relationships. The center right section is Creativity. The front right section is Helpful People. And Health is located in the center.

Each life area has attributes that are specific to it: color, shape, elemental relationship and the energy of the life area itself. Through the use of the Bagua map you are able to determine where each life area is within the space you are evaluating. And then, based on the life area and the energetic dynamic currently present in your life, you’ll be able to see if there is a correlation between what you see and what you are experiencing.

For example, let’s say that you’ve determined that your Relationship area is in your guest bedroom and this room is full of incomplete projects and clutter. How might this be reflective of your life?

1. It could be that you don’t have room for relationships (clutter).
2. It could be that you have lots of old unresolved issues with past relationships (unfinished projects).
3. And it could be that you’re not ready for a relationship and so the clutter in this room serves as a barrier between you and any potential relationships, others can’t get through to you.

These are just a few examples of possible relationships between the energy of your living space and the quality of your life experience.

Give the Bagua a try, you might be surprised at what you ‘see’!

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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