Spring feng shui sweep
By Nancy B. Loughlin
Published in News Press on April 8, 2014. Posted with permission.
No spring cleaning is complete without the feng shui sweep.
Feng shui creates energetic peace and harmony in the home, so no matter what room you’re in, you can get that “sigh,” according to Nan Grover, Cape Coral feng shui consultant.
Grover has been studying feng shui for over 13 years. She explained that everyone has an intuitive feng shui sense.
Space resonates. When you walk into a room, your gut tells you if the energy is clean.
“Feng shui is a 5,000-year-old process that makes all the elements work with each other in a non-destructive cycle,” she said.
The feng shui novice can begin with four basic steps:
Declutter. Everything is energy. The more stuff that accumulates such as piles of laundry, clothes, or DVDs, the more energy stagnates. If your stuff doesn’t move and if it isn’t loved, it’s going to deepen the energetic black hole.
Move through your space and touch every object in your home. Open boxes, snake the underwear drawer, the junk drawer(s), the pantry. Read expiration dates.
Attack your clothes, and be merciless. If you haven’t worn it in six months (seasonal items excluded), or if you don’t like it, donate it.
Ambition jeans? The pants that are two sizes too small? Toss them, and live in the now.
You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. If you are agonizing with the purge, make it a six-month process, Grover suggested. Turn all your hangers so they are facing the same way. Once you wear a shirt, turn the hanger in the opposite direction. After six months, donate what you aren’t wearing.
Is that broken vacuum still in the corner? You may not acknowledge the dusty relic anymore, but your subconscious knows it’s there. Fix it, or pitch it.
Rethink buying in bulk. Having 50 rolls of toilet paper may have saved you a buck, but imagine the space you’ll free.
Clear the energy. Feng shui literarily means “wind and water.” Movement and flow are essential in an energetically-positive house. Get things moving.
Begin by filling a glass bowl with water and float three tea lights. Place a bowl in each room with the intention of clearing negativity. When the lights burn out, throw away the candles, and flush the water down the toilet. Say good-bye.
Next, smudge the house. Light a sage stick or any other herb bundle. Begin at the door and move clockwise through the house. Wave the stick in all the doorframes and windows. The trick isn’t the scent but the movement of the smoke. Wave a feather or your hand to get some motion in your air.
If you are sensitive to fragrances, clapping is a great alternative. Clap your hands around your house, floor to ceiling, all with the intention of moving stagnation. Ring a bell. Blow a whistle. Make it a ritual, and imbue it with significance.
Think ceiling fans, open windows and patrolling house cats.
Ready for more advanced feng shui? Work the bagua. Now that the clutter and stagnation have been cleared, contemplate this home energy map. Sections of each home and each room correspond to different life areas.
In this interpretation, stand at the doorway, and the area immediately in front of you corresponds to your career and life journey. Is it blocked or cluttered? Is it so full there is no room for anything else?
The far right corner is your relationship area. Is it dark or empty? Devoid of whimsy?
The far left corner is your area of wealth. Is it orderly or chaotic?
Do some self-exploration. It’s another tool to learn about you.
Finally, know your feng shui element. Feng shui is not one size fits all. Yes, close the lid on the toilet because your prosperity will be going down the drain. Yes, as you sleep, have your feet pointing away from the bedroom door; avoid the funeral position.
But feng shui is complicated. You are a compass that aligns with the universe.
Your feng shui element is not your astrological sign. Depending on the year of your birth and your gender, your element details the best possible way to empower your energy directions in your home, relationships and work life. Your feng shui element guides your power directions and your power colors for success.
“Like gravity, you do not have to believe in feng shui for it to work. Regardless if you believe in the law of gravity, it exists, and it affects everything you do,” Grover said.
For more information, visit Nan Grover’s website: www.fengshuibynan.com
