Using Feng Shui to Create a Home
By Ken Lauher
“Whether you’re in a house or apartment, really “moving in” and embracing the “now” permits you to move forward and create great success in your life and your business. Follow these tips to make any space feel like home.”
It’s very common for clients to call me for a Feng Shui consultation without a clear goal in mind. Many people seek help from experts in Feng Shui and life improvement because they don’t know where they’re going and they don’t know where they really want to go, either. They haven’t found their life purpose, the passion that drives them above all else. It’s no surprise that their surroundings — their home or apartment and their workplace — often reflect this indecision or lack of direction.
I recently consulted with two women who had exactly these challenges following major life changes and was able to work with them to make their space feel more like a home. With the details of their environment taken care of, they were better able to set clear goals and begin to pursue them with new energy and enthusiasm. Today, they are all experiencing wealth, health and happiness in homes that better fit their goals and feels like home.
Maureen of Mamoroneck, NY Following a divorce, Maureen moved into a 3-bedroom duplex with her two sons. While she felt the upper level apartment had potential, it didn’t feel like home. She had been a homeowner for a long time and had always lived in a single family house. She didn’t know how long she’d be staying in the new space, but also knew she couldn’t continue living in the future or past. She had to make her environment comfortable for herself and her family now.
Like many two-story spaces, a staircase sat directly in line with the front door. This can create rushing chi and cause health, wealth and happiness to fly out of the home with all the positive energy. In addition, the stairway was somewhat narrow and dark. By painting the stairwell a bright color and adding recessed lighting, we created a welcoming space that beckoned the positive chi up the stairs to Maureen’s apartment. This also had the result of creating more opportunities for wealth and happiness for Maureen.
Maureen liked certain aspects of the apartment, including a third bedroom that she could transform into a treatment room for her massage therapy business. I suggested she begin to call the space a healing room, and we wanted to make changes that would encourage that mindset.
When I first came in, the room did not feel welcoming or soothing but, most importantly, it didn’t really feel as if it belonged to Maureen. We made the following changes:
- Replaced “fake” incense from a mass market store with real Red Crystal Incense, which has healing properties.
- Added a plush rug to keep patient’s feet warm and soften the atmosphere of the room.
- Added Himalayan Salt Lamps for soothing lighting, to create a true healing ambiance. These lamps produce negative ions to supply energy, cleanse the air and promote a sense of inner peace.
- Added living plants to help bring natures indoors.
Today, Maureen is turning patients away in her private practice physical therapy business; she’s got more work than she can make time to handle.
We also made changes in the main living area which opened up the floor plan and made better use of the space. Her two boys love their new home, and tell their mom that they’re proud to bring friends home to play now. To Maureen, it’s the home and life she’s always wanted.
Merrill, New York City, NY When Merrill first called me for a Feng Shui consultation, she was newly retired and had been moving around a lot. “I was in one apartment for 27 years and now, since 2007, I’ve moved four times.”
I reassured her that she should continue to follow the chi — she wasn’t yet where she was supposed to be, yet each “stop” on her journey happened for a reason and was a blessing. She wanted a Feng Shui consultation for her apartment overlooking Battery Park in New York because, while she knew the apartment was a good choice, she didn’t feel settled there.
I assessed the space, and we rearranged the artwork on the walls and a mirror to improve the flow of chi. But one of the main issues in the space was that Merrill was holding on to items that didn’t fit in the new apartment. This is often a danger for people who move a lot — furniture purchased for one space may not fit or feel right in a new home. Her couch was too big for the room, and she also had a piano that she’d been holding onto since she was 12 years old, which was a gift from her grandmother. I recommended she either sell it or put it in storage to get rid of it. It was taking up space and she never played anymore.
“The piano represented an attachment to my childhood, but I don’t really play anymore. It’s sentimental, but it’s a matter of being that little girl, which is not necessarily good for me,” Merrill said in a follow-up discussion after her consultation.
One of Merrill’s main goals, in addition to simply making the apartment feel more like home was to lose weight. As she shed these items in her space that no longer served her, she saw opportunities to stick to her diet and even get help with her weight loss efforts. She joined Weight Watchers online and, in a chance encounter, met a personal trainer who turned out to be a perfect fit to help her achieve her health goals.
When we get rid of items that are keeping us in the past, we find we’re better able to live in the present and turn our house or apartment into a home. The “now” is where we achieve our goals and find our true selves. Following the consultation, Merrill said, “Clearing out items that didn’t work in the apartment is almost like letting go of the weight. We get attached to certain things that are not necessarily good for us. By letting go, I feel so much stronger within myself.”
What Changes Can You Make to “Move In” to Your Space?
Are you ready to embrace the life you have now in order to create the life of your dreams? Just as Maureen and Merrill have, you can make changes to your house or apartment that will make it feel more comfortable. When we surround ourselves with comfort and truly feel at home in our space, we are unstoppable when it comes to pursuing our goals and the life we really want to live — whether that involves losing weight, making more money or finding romance.
Here are three easy changes you can make today.
- Does your furniture fit the rooms you have now? An overstuffed sofa that’s too large for a cozy living room. A dining room table that doesn’t permit every guest to pull their chair out all the way. A desk that overpowers a tiny home office. If it doesn’t fit, recycle it, freecycle it, give it away or throw it out. Craig’s List is a great resource to sell or give away old furniture locally, as is freecycle.org. When we get rid of things that don’t fit in our space, we are acknowledging the present, living more comfortably, and opening the door for better things to come our way.
- Are you holding on to items you don’t need simply because you used to love them? Like Merrill’s piano, we all have objects we used to enjoy but don’t use any more. Holding on to them says you might be holding on to the person you were in the past — and it’s impossible to move forward and accomplish new goals if we are living as our past self. Why not embrace the person you are today and the things you love right now, instead?
- Does your home look and feel like yours — or does it still hold the energy of the people who lived there before you? When people leave a dwelling, remnants of their energy stays behind and can interfere with the space feeling like your home and also with your pursuit of what matters to you because it can drain your energy. Whether it’s obvious — such as furniture or mementos left behind by past owners, interior design styles — or a less obvious energy in the air, it’s time to embrace your house or apartment as your own. Fresh coats of paint, live plants and fresh flowers can all make your home feel more like yours and help you begin living in the present. Surround yourself with things you truly love to make your house or apartment a home.
Need More Help?
In some cases, an ancient Chinese space cleansing might be in order to truly rid your environment from the negative energy of those who lived there before you. If your current home has seen a foreclosure, a death or a divorce, a space cleansing will invite new, positive chi into the air when other methods may fall short.
Whether you need a space cleansing or just some guidance, it can be overwhelming to begin making changes to embrace your new home after a move. If you need some help, I offer a wide variety of Feng Shui packages to meet any budget. Merrill and Maureen are just two of the many women I’ve helped, and I’d love to help OmTimes readers feel more settled in their space, as well. Visit my website for more details on how to begin living the life you were meant to live today.
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About Ken – One of America’s premier Feng Shui consultants, Ken Lauher helps thousands of people achieve their goals through Feng Shui. He can help you become a money magnet, attract passionate love, jump-start your career and get unstuck. Visit www.kenlauher.com to get your FREE Feng Shui guide and discover the ancient secrets that can help you unlock your true potential.
