Find Inner Peace with Feng Shui
By Ken Lauher
Even amidst the chaos of everyday life, you can use Feng Shui to find inner balance.
I often tell my Feng Shui clients that your home or apartment can relax you, invigorate you and inspire you. At different times, it should do all of these things — and it will if you’ve taken care to balance the chi. Often, this means not just following Feng Shui rules and conventions, but using your intuition to do what feels right. This refers to decor, colors and furniture placement, as well as choices you make in your life, since your space reflects your life and also influences it.
Feng Shui helps us spot patterns of behavior and results so that we can either continue these behaviors to our advantage or change them to get a better result. When you use your intuition in Feng Shui, you begin following the chi to the desired end result… even if the way you get there isn’t exactly what you expected.
At no time is this philosophy more relevant than during the holiday season, when work, home, family and extended family demands may get to be too much. When you feel as if
you have too much to do and not enough time do it, that’s exactly when you need to take time for yourself. Meditating, communing with nature and just surrounding yourself with positive energy and vibrancy will help you get back in touch with your true-self, and give you the energy you need to accomplish your goals.
At the beginning of this month, I shared some ways to organize and arrange your home using Feng Shui to stay grounded and balanced during the stressful holiday season. Let’s explore a few positive steps we can take to keep our personal chi in balance, which will reduce stress and make the holidays truly happy.
1. Meditate – Meditate before important or stressful holiday events, including office parties, family gatherings, or get-togethers that you’re hosting. The more stressful the event may be based on your reaction to it in advance, the longer you should meditate until you feel your chi in balance and a sense of inner peace.
2. Model positive activities unfolding. – If you are picturing an event to be stressful, I urge you to stop and reassess this assumption. Even if it’s “always been that way” doesn’t mean it has to be that way this time. After you’ve meditated and put yourself in a more positive state of mind, take time to play out the event in your mind, visualizing it to occur in an ideal way. Picture everyone in your family getting along. Imagine your boss complimenting you in front of some higher-ups. Your life is your story, and you play the lead role. Make it a role you love to live — first in your mind and then in reality.
3. Find and focus on the word that brings you inner peace – When you’re feeling stressed and even meditation isn’t helping (or if you feel you can’t evoke a meditative state within a crowd of rushing, stressed out people), think of a word you enjoy. This word should rejuvenate you, bring you peace, invite love in and help you view the world optimistically. Repeat the word 9 times. If you aren’t yet starting to feel better — or aren’t exactly where you’d like to be mentally and spiritually yet — say it 36 more times. You can do this as often as you want — up to 108 times or even more, if you need to. (The number nine, in numerology, signals the end of a cycle… If you add up the digits of 36 or 108, they equal nine. Any number that fits this formula works best.)
This will help you break the pattern of negative thought or stress by giving you something beneficial to focus on. Notice how your body feels afterwards… are your muscles still in a state of tension, or are they more relaxed? Is your breathing easy, your heart rate normal for a resting state? If you don’t feel better, continue to use your word until you return to your true-self and embrace a positive state of mind and body where your greatest success and happiness reside.
4. Re-connect with nature. – Evergreens and holly within the home help bring a bit of nature indoors during Christmastime. Embrace these natural decorations of the season. Weather permitting; make time to step outdoors, as well, even if it’s just for a brief walk during lunch. If you live in a big city, there are plenty of sights to see that make it worthwhile … focus on the natural beauty of Christmas trees, children in the park, maybe even the snow covered ground. Surround yourself with natural sights and scents to feel more at peace and less “closed in” during this chilly time of year.
5. Feel good about yourself with healthy lifestyle choices. – Most people believe there’s nothing wrong with having a few cocktails at a holiday party. I don’t want to pass judgment on Your lifestyle choices. But going overboard with anything — whether it’s food, drink or just staying out too late — takes a toll on your body and your self-esteem. The cycle goes like this: You begin negative behavior and then lose control. In the morning, you lack energy. You can’t accomplish everything you had planned during this commitment-filled time. Now you start to feel bad about your choices. So you go out, hoping to forget about it and start fresh the next day. But the same behavior leads to the same run-down feeling. Soon, that number on the scale is climbing up, too, and now you’re feeling worse.
On the other hand, if you make it a point to practice moderation during holiday gatherings, you’ll remain in touch with your true self. You can focus on conversations and the spirit of the holiday. You can spread joy to others and, ultimately, will feel better about yourself, giving you all the energy you need to achieve your goals.
6. Remember what the holidays are all about. – Spending just a few minutes to reflect on the holiday spirit — the reason why most cultures focus in some way on family, friends and giving this time of year, can turn stressful times into celebrations.
I reference Christmas frequently in this article, but that is by no means the only winter holiday that invites us to celebrate love, peace and giving. Wayne Dyer says, “What I tell people is don’t be Christian, be Christ-like. Don’t be a Buddhist, be Buddha-like.” Whatever your religion (or if you don’t follow one at all), practice love, compassion, kindness, concern and peace… all year long but especially now, when we all seem to need it the most.
Happy holidays to all my readers. I am truly grateful for you all and look forward to a healthy and prosperous 2012 together with OM-Times Magazine.
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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.
