Art Work Guidelines and Feng Shui

A lot has already be said about art work and how it effects the Feng Shui and Qi of you home. These guidelines have been used for many many years, but at times, you may not realize that some of your own art is bringing you not the right kind of energy into your home that you actually want, and hence into your life.

To ensure all is well and that you are creating the right kind of Qi (chi) in your home with certain artwork, I have created a short list of guidelines to follow which can help you achieve the growth and happiness Qi you wish to have in your home.

Here are some simple guidelines you can follow when you want to enhance good Qi to enter and be welcoming in your home, bringing you happiness, health, opportunities, good news and wealth.

1. Have a family photo of everyone together placed predominately in your home, make sure everyone looks happy in the photo.
2. For single women who seek more love in their life, make sure your art work does not show a lone woman in your art work. I recently removed a beautiful picture from my bedroom since it was a single woman, albeit a gorgeous print of a European Princess, it is not auspicious to have this in my bedroom, as since I am not married, - yet. The same goes for single men, try not to have lone figures of men. With this sort of art, you are sending out a sign to stay single. So photos of couples happily together is what you should seek to have hanging in your home.
   
3. If there is a photo, picture, painting in your home that you do not like, say it reminds you of your least favorite uncle, remove it. You will be amazed at how quickly removing said picture makes you feel better, you no longer have to look at the thing that brings you to have negative thoughts.
4. Any photos that seem to show negativity - I recently also removed antique prints from a children's story "The Pied Piper" And though they were incredible hand-painted illustrations from a well-known artist Kate Greenaway, since the prints showed fear on the women's faces as they ran from the mice, I knew it wasn't auspicious to have in my home. I have since sold them on E-bay for a good sum. Who knew?!
   
5. Don't keep family photos placed faced down in storage as you are 'symbolically' pushing down their energy by doing this.
6. Nor is it good practice to keep photos and pictures under your bed, for the same pushing and blocking of their energy by keeping the photos there.
7. With the age of the digital camera, we now have so many photos, many more than we can ever actually use. Good practice is to remove any unflattering photos of yourself and of others immediately. Doing this once a week in the many folders in your computer, will ensure, that you end up with only beautiful and happy looking photos of your friends, family and self. This in turns help bring only happiness to you and your family and friends.
8. Keep a happy looking photo of yourself on your alter, dresser and one of your mate should be placed here as well. Also include a photo of the two of you together very happy in love. This will also help keep the two of you together, and also helps keep happy energy entering into your relationship.
9. Have a picture of many birds - the more the merrier, especially of a phoenix bird is extremely auspicious. Have this hanging in your living room, bedroom or when you enter your home is excellent to help bring into your home many good opportunities and always good news.
10. A picture of mountains, with moving water is also extremely good to have behind you as you sit at your desk. It is said you can also have these sort of picture placed anywhere in your home, as the moving water is a symbol of wealth growth, and the mountains reflect stability and support from both coworkers, family and even bosses when used in the office.

Art is an excellent way to help create the symbols and images needed to help bring in good Qi to you, your family and your home. Art in particular has been used in Feng Shui practices for centuries to help the energy of a home be improved, and the subject matter in particularly, can be used to further enhance a certain corner or wall to bring in more happiness and wealth into your life.

And though there are so many symbols and interesting images once can use to enhance the Qi in the home, starting with these simple guidelines listed above, will be a good start in ensuring the current art work in your home reflects the positive Qi (chi) you want in your home.

Got 10 minutes? Get Feng Shui

So you are interested in Feng Shui. One thing to note, Feng Shui is not a religion, it does not nor will not conflict in anyway with your own religious views and practices. Feng Shui is more than a way to live, but following some of the simple Feng Shui practices certainly does help one think clearer in their home and office. It helps bring a brighter attitude and overall has a calming effect when done correctly which also allows for good Qi (chi) to enhance your chances of love, happiness, wealth and health.

If you dread coming home to your home, if you look the other way and even stay away from a room in your house, then Feng Shui is for you, especially! It is easier to practice Feng Shui than one would think. Fend Shui does not cost much money, and at times will cost nothing, and in fact, if you are feeling a bit down and out, using some of these Feng Shui practices, will really help uplift your spirits and the energy in your home and office.

I started this Feng Shui thing when I got my lucky zen dog, Theo. With my first book on feng shui, which I have since lent out many times to close friends, has a cover which has been chewed by my then-puppy Theo who has since grown to a whopping 60+ pounds of a shaggy happy dog. I have since bought many books on feng shui and learned a thing or two. But as I learn more, I knew I also had to step back and review some of the simplest of feng shui practices.

As many people have overstuffed closets, rooms and homes, I knew I am not alone. And in fact with limited time, I have learned that removing clutter and donating what I can, is not a dirty four letter word, but a way of life.

So, yesterday, I did something and made an excellent Feng Shui decision, whoo hoo! Now as I work at home, it is particularly easy for me to let stuff land where it may, and clearing clutter for me is seems could be a 24/7 hours job. But since I have much better things to do with my time, like writing and bringing in income I made a simple decision to take 10 minutes out of my day to declutter, but it was more than that, actually. It was to take ten minutes out of each day, go around each of my rooms to quickly attack any area that needed it. So here I share some Feng Shui Spiritual and Spacial Secrets. I returned to some of the first Feng Shui lessons I learned.

As I learn more and more about the wonderful ancient practice of Feng Shui, I am learning more and more about compasses, which direction my house faces, how to find the correct idols and images to help balance energies in my home. I find that Feng Shui has a lot more to do than just making sure your house is clutter-free. In fact there is so much involved, I almost started getting confused. That's when I said to myself, 'Self, let me take a step back. Review and reread what I had learned before delving further into the Feng Shui Deep Sea.'

In fact, and speaking of a clutter-free environment, would you believe a house that its too sparten, and too clutter-free could also be create bad Qi (chi) and the Qi could easily pass right by as it moves too quickly around your space? Thank my lucky zen dog for that! Since, I actually live in my house. Which means, there is mail to be opened, laundry to be put away, things to fix in my house, etc. the long list could go on and on.

So if you want to begin, start small first of all. Your intention is a key factor is making Feng Shui work for you and your family. When you start doing some of the small tasks around your home, you really need to be in a good mind frame reminding yourself, all this work is necessary in creating the environment you and your family need to thrive beautifully.

One of the more important factors, is to allow your inner intuition to help guide you. As you practice Feng Shui you will notice you will become more aware when something is out of place, when your furniture needs to be moved, you will become more sensitive. I had be taught this, but have since been amazed at how sensitive I have become to my surroundings. And if I visit someone else's home, I will immediately notice if I feel comfortable or not and know why I feel the way I do in their homes.

Here is a list of feng shui tasks you can do that take only ten minutes or so that will really help the energy in your home be refreshed. Doing one item each day, you will see not only immediate changes, you will feel refreshed yourself. As you tackle any of these tasks, wash your hands before and after, as you go about actually doing them, do say to yourself, 'Self, I am removing any unwanted negative Qi and am replacing it with good healthy Qi to bring my home and my family wonderful energy'. It really works!

1. Open up your windows, and allow fresh air to come through your entire home.
2. Go around to all your plants, spritz them with water, snip off any dead leaves and water them.
3. Remove any clutter on the desk and table tops. If you have a lot of surfaces cluttered, choose one table, and tackle your way through it.
4. Go through your chest of drawers, and remove ten items that you no longer could use or wear, say like old underwear, missing socks - throw them out!
5. Go through your bathroom, grab all those half empty products, combine the shampoos if you can so you can use them on your dog, for example. Toss out unused lotions and potions what if you haven't used in 6 months - out they go!
6. Clean out your refrigerator of any bad food, including your freezer. Food gone bad, is one of the worst things to have going on in your kitchen in creating stagnating Qi which actually blocks growth Qi.
7. Go to your bookcase, pick ten books that you no longer need and have those books make themselves get to the library for donation.
8. Clean out your car of its junk.
9. Find one box that you haven't even touched since you moved into your place, go through it, toss and donate anything that has got to go. Then find a place for any of the remaining items from the box that you will actually use.
10. Clean and organize your home office desk surface. This will not only make things easier for you to work, but you will help attract good working opportunities and wealth with a clean organized working surface.
11. Clean your mirrors in your home.
12. Completely dust one room in your house.
13. Change any light bulbs that need changing.
14. Pick up any dirty laundry sitting on the floors on any bedroom or in any room. Dirty laundry hanging around on the floors and sitting on chairs in the bedroom also brings in stagnating Qi - yick.
15. Throw out any dried flower arrangement - yes dried flowers bring in killing Qi - one of the worst kinds. Blocks growth. I know Aunt Martha made it for you, but it's really not doing you any good.
    

As you go about doing these easy tasks, not only are you allowing good energy to enter your home, you really will feel and see the need to do more. And that's the point. You should look forward to getting things organized around your home. You will look forward to going to your desk and working, and coming home to a more beautiful home.

I am really quite amazed, that even after I started this Feng Shui thing over three years ago, I have since moved to a better and nicer place that I can truly call home that encourages my growth in all areas in my life. I have many more good and true friends in my life, my career has grown and I am much happier for it, including having a great love of and in my life that had been missing for many years. I know it has so much to do with following Feng Shui, that it is almost ridiculous not to share what I have learned.

So get to it, got ten minutes? Then get Feng Shui'd! You will love what it does to you, your family and for your home and office!

Energy Renovation For Your Home - What To Do When Feng Shui Fails

Energy Renovation For Your Home - What To Do When Feng Shui Fails
By Sunny Yin Wang

Does your home feel like a harmonious sanctuary? Do you feel relaxed at home? This is what your home has the potential of offering you. If your home does not feel relaxing, you may think that the obvious contributing factors are things like clutter, the décor being contrary to your personal tastes, or the home being in various stages of disrepair. This is often not the case. If you have tried changing the overall appearance of your home, but still did not get the result you wanted, there may be more in the energy field that you do not know about.

Vibrational Residue

Emotions from the builder and/or past residents are recorded in the building materials. Much like music vibration that was recorded on vinyl LPs, the emotions of people as expressed in daily events are also recorded into the solid matter such as building materials, furniture, and books. Some people are more sensitive to these vibrations than others. If you are sensitive, these emotional residues can be a source of lingering distress for you.

Traumatic events that happened at any point in time can have a significant influence on the energy of the space as well. If there has been a death, robbery, violence or trauma of any kind, the energy of the space will most definitely include these vibrations until they are intentionally removed.

Ways to Remove Emotional Residue

Traditional shamanic practice uses burning sage to cleanse the energy of a space. You may find sage at Whole Foods or most metaphysical bookstores. Use a small bowl or shell to catch any embers. When you light the sage, let the flame burn for a few seconds, then gently blow it out. The leaves will continue to glow red and release smoke. As you walk around the area, wave the sage along the walls and corners. Intend to cleanse and release emotional residue and bring forth a loving and soothing energy. Coming from the heart, say any prayer of healing or protection that feels most appropriate. The most important part of the process is the intention. You can follow with opening a window to let fresh air circulate throughout.

You may also use a combination of Epsom salts and 90% rubbing alcohol. Pour the salt into a fireproof flat bottomed container at least 8"x 8" and about ½ inch deep. Use just enough alcohol to dampen the salt. Caution! The container will get hot. Keep hair and clothing out of the way. Be sure to place the container on a heat resistant surface like a stove and away from all flammable materials. Set the salt/alcohol on fire. Allow the flame to continue burning until it goes out by itself. As the fire burns, visualize an intense purifying white/violet light going out in all directions. Repeat the process as needed.

It may be necessary to hire a professional intuitive that can pinpoint the event and the vibration to remove it. Other energy interferences may include the following:


Underground elements include boulders, mineral mines, rivers, lakes, and emotional residue of historical events such as plagues, natural disasters, or burial grounds.

Energy vortexes on ground level or in mid-air, whether it be outside or inside your home, very often create energy imbalances.

Neighboring structural beam lines or those in your own house can project a laser like energy that disturbs your peace. In the city or within suburban subdivisions where houses are located very close to one another, beam line influences can be a problem.

High tension power lines or transformers carry a very strong resonance. It has been documented to influence human health.

Traffic movement adjacent to the property can have a significant impact, particularly when the traffic is directed towards the property.

Energy portals are hotspots that are accessible from multiple dimensions. They are commonly used for inter-dimensional travel by beings of other realms or by humans who have capability for mind/astral travel.

Spirits (non-physical beings) in other dimensions can co-occupy the same space with us. Depending on the kinds of beings, some may appear hostile if treated harshly, while some are actually beneficial for our well-being.

These are influences that traditional Feng Shui practices will not be able to resolve. It is very important to consult an experienced, intuitive Energy Renovation Professional for effective solutions. Doing so can bring peace and tranquility to your life, while putting a smile on your face!

About the Author:

Sunny Wang, BA, MATT, RTSM is trained in kinesiology and is a life long energy sensitive and intuitive. She has talked to "dead people" since she was very young. She also makes personalized energy jewelry. Her specialty, similar to Feng Shui, is the energetic restructuring of homes, offices, and land. Her websites are http://www.EstateOfHarmony.com and http://www.InsightfulSpirit.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sunny_Yin_Wang http://EzineArticles.com/?Energy-Renovation-For-Your-Home---What-To-Do-When-Feng-Shui-Fails&id=1181476

Clutter (of Any Kind) Will Kill A Deal

Clutter (of Any Kind) Will Kill A Deal

By Ellie Marshall

Yesterday, I was doing a Feng Shui consultation in a client's home, a beautiful duplex apartment on Park Ave, in NYC. Gorgeous apartment.... except she had a clutter problem with pictures & books.
Don't get me wrong, the apartment was decorated to the nines; but on every table was a sea of pictures. On every chair, under desks, on ottomans...well, you get the picture, were books. It was a true hoarders dream come true. My client has a clutter problem.

Clutter comes in many forms. Some people who clutter, specialize in collecting only one or two category of items- i.e. books & pictures. But believe me, this is just as toxic as accumulating random items. Just because things are stocked in nice, neat piles, does not overcome the fact that it is still clutter.

The apartment had a heavy, dense feeling because it was housing so much clutter. It is a very large duplex, but the rooms that housed the endless sea of pictures and books looked smaller and felt tight. Yes, the client had bookshelves. Many custom made, beautiful bookshelves in three rooms. But the books were sprouting up in neat piles all over the floor.

As a Feng Shui practitioner, my job is to address clutter with my clients, help them work through it and move it out of their lives. When she told me she was about to put the home on the market, more of a red flag was raised in my mind. Clutter devalues a home. Clutter kills deals.

I would like to share with you some of the ways I work with my clients to successfully part with their clutter.

1. Start the process by helping them eliminate a little of the clutter. Then, tell them to keep up the process with a friend or housekeeper or even a professional (Feng Shui practitioner, professional organizer).
   
2. People are very attached to their items, so suggest that they should try living with less for a few months. Tell them their items are "going on a vacation". (I am not kidding) This type of wording, I have found, helps them severe the ties and is very effective to ease them into removing unused items.
   
3. Remind the client that moving with items that are no longer used will end up costing them money. The reality is: moving is expensive. The more you move, the more it will cost you.
   
4. Assure them there items will get a second life somewhere else. Explain that there are people in the world who could really use and would treasure your old items. This makes the client feel better and helps expedite the process.
   
5. Be Prepared! Have phone numbers of services that will remove the items from the client's home. This could be: The Salvation Army, A local chapter of The Boys & Girls Club of America, local library (for books), Junk Removal Companies (LIKE 1-800-got junk.com)
   

By understanding the attachment your seller has to his clutter, the better equipped you are in helping him clean up and clear out his home. This of course makes your listing a cleaner, lighter, brighter home that will sell.

Ellie Marshall has studied with the most respected masters in the art of Feng Shui. She blends her Feng Shui training along with her corporate background at Seventeen Magazine and American Express, which make her a truly unique, intuitive Feng Shui Practitioner. Her area of expertise is working with and teaching large corporations, such as PepsiCo, Crain's Investment News & Houlihan Lawerence. She does on site residential and commercial consultations all over the world. She lives in Westchester County,NY and has a strong client base in New York City, Westchester and Fairfield County. During her 1982 visit to China, she was honored by receiving a private tour of the Forbidden City & a rare, old Feng Shui book from a Feng Shui Grandmaster. Her love of this ancient art was then kindled.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ellie_Marshall
http://EzineArticles.com/?Clutter-(of-Any-Kind)-Will-Kill-A-Deal&id=1182010

New Moon Feng Shui Rituals for Wealth, Happiness and Health

The New Moon in any given month is when the moon's energy becomes especially ying and it's the perfect time for many who follow Feng Shui when they know it's time to renew the Qi within themselves and within their homes.

The new moon is waxing into the full moon and therefore it is strengthening with each every passing day until the full moon arrives when the moon and its ying energy is at its strongest. There are other rituals to do on the full moon, but I will share those with you in another article.

With the start of the new moon, it is the perfect time to ensure you start any wealth building feng shui tricks you may already know, though I will list some of them here for your convenience. These are said to really help attract wealth luck and career luck, if done faithfully, and with the right intentions.

With a simple internet search, you can easily find when the next new moon will be. But for the next few months the dates are as follows: May 5th, June 3rd, and July 3rd for 2008. It is on these dates, when the new moon begins that you should do any and all of the following Feng Shui tasks.

• renew fresh sea salt in your 'kitchen' wealth bowl. (this can be a dark blue mug placed in a dry area of your kitchen counter)
  
• refresh the sea salt in the little container or plastic wrapping in your wallet.
• refresh sea salt that you may have place into the corners of your home.
• give your plants (which signify wealth growth) a fresh misting of water, turn them around so their other sides can receive the wonderful sun and light. - This is also a good time to trim and remove any unhealthy leaves that may be on your plant.
• write with a red pen, a dollar sign on your right palm - place this on your left palm, if you are a lefty. It is said you should do this every morning from the start of the new moon until the full moon. This will help attract money luck and increase wealth opportunities to come your way.
  
• make sure you are not keeping your shoes lined up by your front door, as this is said to have your 'money and opportunity luck' symbolically walk out the door.
• Light incense, open your windows, turn on the lights, and walk around each of your rooms blessing each room and all occupants of your home/office for health, happiness and wealth.
• Do a quick decluttering of all your table tops, remove the piled junk mail, and remove any garbage from your home.
• Wash your crystals with sea salted water to cleanse them of any dust, and to refresh their chi energy. Also great is to allow them to soak up the sun, during this new moon day to re-energize their strength.
• Clean out any bad food from the fridge (bad stale food equals killing Qi), add fresh fruit to your dining room table bowl - which reflects and can also attract an increased bountiful family life.
• Refreshen any 'still water urns' with fresh water that you may use to calm noisy neighboring walls or near your entrance door.
  

As with each passing day and night as the moon grows with its energy into the full moon, you can be assured the Qi in your home can also grow. There are so many wonderful tasks one can do to keep and ensure growth in your home and life by following the various Feng Shui techniques. And so many do not require much time or money. But do following these simple techniques you will find your own self being renewed with refreshed Qi (chi) as well as the energy on your home, so that the best can be brought into your home and into your life.

With following these new moon Feng Shui techniques you will find new opportunities coming your way quite easily to help attract for wealth into your life, an increased happiness within and not only will you feel 'it', you will see the difference in your attitude within yourself and those among your family members. In turn, this refreshed Qi during the new moon phase can be a big boost in attracting more wealth, happiness and greater health to you and in your home.