feng shui thread - join in and share your experiences / questions etc

[ziggyziggy]

I'm not sure if this is in the right part of the site but it seemed the most apt...

I was on another thread the other day about hobbies, and said feng shui was mine and a handful of people expressed interest in it, so thought I would start a thread.

A lot of people think it's mumbo jumbo (apologies in advance to you lot!) but where I have made real efforts to change things in line with the "rules" of feng shui it has really helped me to turn my life around in many areas (whether that's a placebo effect, some sort of brain / environment changing link or something a bit deeper / more mystical) so I think it's well worth pursuing for anyone that way inclined or who might want to address a particular issue in their life by trying it.

So anyone with a vague interest in feng shui is welcome to share their experiences here and feedback to each other with what they have done and if it had any effects, or ask questions etc.

Most of it is very practical (such as decluttering, organising, fixing broken things etc) but there are other things you can do to address certain issues or enhance areas of your life (such as pimping out your "wealth corner" etc) which seem to have had a big impact for me. I tend to avoid the massively superstitious ideas and go down a more intuitive route while loosely following the rules.

Anyway - all interested, please join! :-) I'd be really interested to hear if anyone else does any feng shui and has noticed any changes in their life since doing it. Tips etc welcome.

I'd be happy to answer any questions I can although I am in no way an expert or professional, just read up a fair bit on it and been doing it a while. Would also be interested to ask others their advice too.

there's a bit more info about feng shui on the hobby thread here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2441613-I-need-a-hobby-What-are-yours?pg=1

Watching with interest...

Can you recommend any books or websites?

Hey ziggy!! Nice one for starting the thread. Sooo, yesterday I bought a money tree (could only find a jade plant). Now I just need to declutter my money corner. What sorts of success have you had with this stuff?

hello everyone!

re. books I guess off the top of my head the ones that really resonated with me are Karen Kingston's books (i'm not paid to promote, btw!):

• Clear your clutter with Feng Shui
• Creating sacred space with Feng Shui (slightly more "woo" but v interesting)

there are tons of other websites and books, I will post some more later when I think of them!

The books above explain how everything (items, rooms etc) has an energetic imprint, and explains why certain rooms / places have a good or bad "vibe". So, all belongings will pick up the vibe of where they are or who they are with. You know when you go in, for example, an old person's home or the home of a depressed person, and it feels all close and "tired" energy wise, or if you go in a room after an argument you can really feel a bad vibe - this is the "energy" of the place circulating around. It also explains why some places have a bad feeling (eg if something bad has happened there historically, or it's not been cleaned out for years), or a good feeling (e.g. a spiritual place might have a higher energy flowing around - and you can really feel it in those places).

The books also explain how to clear stagnant energy in your home. Energy gets "stuck" in corners, dusty places, where dirt is, clutter is etc, which is why it's really important to declutter, clean etc, to get the energy flowing again, wash curtains etc (stuck energy clings to fabrics, mattresses etc). This will not only make the room feel better but help your life go the way you want it to. Not only this but having too much stuff drags your energy down, particularly if it's unloved, broken or reminds you of something you started but never finished!

I also think that to make space for new experiences, people and things to come into your life you need to make space for them, and purging your physical environment seems to help this change to happen and makes space for it all to come into your life!

So by purging your broken items, clutter and deep cleaning you can change the energetic state of your home / environment and positively impact your life. You can really feel it when you properly deep clean a place, it feels good, doesn't it? That's the energy properly circulating.

What's also interesting is the application of the "bagua" grid, which you can use to affect the different areas of your life, e.g. check the relationships area of your home if that's not going well etc. Even if you don't strictly believe in it, if you change this area of your home with "intention", it can affect your mindstate about that area of your life positively. (Even if it is a placebo effect, it seems to work!).

You can also then apply feng shui cures etc. Things like removing images that are depressing (e.g. person crying, barren landscapes etc), sharp spiky plants (which have sharp "yang" energy), dying or dead plants / dried flowers (which represent dead things and their energy is very "yin"), and replacing them with positive things to lift the energy eg. lush green plants, bright fresh flowers, beautiful pictures that lift your energy. Whatever means something with you.

I will update later with some more of my successes, got to dash for now after that essay!!

Thanks for starting this, ziggy.

I know nothing about feng shui but am having an extension built so there will be a lot of room reassignment. I also need to majorly declutter so have bought the book you recommended to read while I'm away.

My kitchen sink is in my wealth area. Is my fortune going down the drain? What can I do?

Thanks for starting this thread, ziggy. I always claim to be a sceptic and then get fascinated by stuff like this. I've even read that first Karen Kingston book you mentioned!

It's actually been on my mind since we moved into a terrace - here, all the terraces have a passageway to the back, so everyone goes in the back way and the front doors are only used for post. I'm wondering what kind of negative effect that could be having on the energy in the house and can't believe I'm actually asking that ?

hello all, it's nice people are interested! so many questions... :)

i'll try to answer with my limited knowledge as best I can...

temporarily - drains, toilets, sinks etc in any area apparently means the chi can drain away, so in your wealth corner it's probably a good idea to do something about it. There are a number of things you can do to counteract this, apparently...here are a few suggestions

• counterbalance the "draining" downwards by using things that go "up" to lift the energy such as upward growing lush plants, or pictures such as butterflies, trees or plants (to indicate upward growth), anything that lifts the energy even if it's just a picture.
• tie a red ribbon around the pipe under the sink, like a guard against the chi going down (although this sounds a bit superstitious I think the act of doing something like that in itself makes you feel like you have done something and impacts your mind to feel it is having an effect).
• you could put something that moves there, anything moving generates chi - this could be a pretty hanging mobile or a waving cat statue or something like that. (Also maybe wind chimes although you're best to google about those - not sure if putting them in the wrong place can cause issues)
• keep your sink and that area nice and clean
• keep your plumbing good - apparently leaky taps / bad plumbing indicate wealth just flowing away so get them fixed
• keep a plug in place even when not in use to stop the chi flowing away
• ensure there's no junk or storage of dirty stuff under your sink (even junk inside cupboards can affect it, it's not a case of out of mind out of sight with feng shui!).

BabcNesbitt

• and here's a link about back door / front door query, as it's not relevant to me I don't know so much about it but I guess as long as both doors are maintained well and usable that's good news! (there are bound to be more links but this is the first one I came across)

fengshui.about.com/od/faq/f/feng-shui-fron-door-main-door.htm

Detective Lund - glad you are interested!
really sorry but I know nothing about open plan spaces as I've only researched stuff relevant to my own place.
here is a link though which might help (there are bound to be many more!):

• openspacesfengshui.com/feng-shui-tips/2013/11/three-feng-shui-tips-open-plan-living-room/

What one of them says about the "command position" is probably important and relevant to you - e.g. make sure when you're in your main "sitting" area such as in front of the TV, you can see the main entrance door, as it makes you feel better to do this and puts you more in a control position. If you can't see the doorway you're more susceptible (at least psychologically) to danger or the unknown.

There are indeed links between different areas, I think wealth is really helped by the helpful people area being in good shape, as you need other people to help you achieve wealth (such as good clients, employees etc) and I also heard it's worth doing work on your "family" gua to help the wealth one along (best to google it) as I think this helps with basic stuff like paying the bills, being organised etc... (I vaguely remember this from one of the books I read).

Also each room has its own bagua, exactly the same as the main room, so each room is subdivided into 9 and the grid placed over the door area the same way as you woudl for the main one. So if for example you didn't have a wealth area (due to having an extension or an L shaped house) you can strengthen the wealth corner of each room a bit to help counterbalance the lack of a main one, for example. That said you don't need to go crazy organising every corner of every room, it's just helpful to do that if you want to strengthen an area of your life, for instance. Also if there is one main room (e.g. living room) you spend a lot of time in it's worth checking out each bagua corner of it and making amends accordingly.

Hope this helps everyone.....a lot to take in! I think the main principles really are declutter, clean and lift the energy of every room. then focus on the other stuff slowly over time.

BTW I hope the above is reasonably accurate, but I don't claim to be a professional so wouldn't want to mess up someone's life with the wrong advice. It's a good idea to read up on these things yourself and make your own decisions and use your own intuition as well when applying changes etc, this means much more than what books say etc. Also a lot of them contain contradictory info so just go with what means something to you.

I read Karen kingston's clear your clutter and it helped me to ditch things with negative energy such as letters I'd kept that brought me down.

I curious about the bagua grid. I think the far right corner is meant to be love and relationships? But is it more important to concentrate on the far right of the house, the plot or a particular room?

hi rummi, yes the far right corner (as you are facing inwards from the front door) is the relationships area

i would say if you want to focus on relationships you should focus on the far right corner of the house, or if you have an odd shape house (e.g L shape) and are missing that area you could concentrate on the plot that fills where it should be (eg part of your garden) or you could concentrate on the far right corner of each room, to compensate for your missing area. That said there's no harm in concentrating on the far right corners in all rooms (to super charge it I guess?), or at least in the rooms you mainly use, as well as the main relationship area of your house.

Also with relationships you should also focus on the bedroom for obvious reasons (wherever within your house it is). Apparently doing things like making space in your closet for a new person, having two nightstands, ensuring your bed is accessible from both sides, having things in pairs rather than singles (such as two lamps, two ornaments etc), to represent relationships. Also clear out anything in your bedroom that represents exs (photos, letters etc) or even general family photos, you don't want them watching over your private space for obvious reasons.

Other important things in the bedroom are to make sure under your bed is clear so the chi can circulate freely. Also if you have things like shoes, paperwork - anything really - the energy of it can be very active and stop you having a good nights sleep. The purpose of a bedroom should apparently be sleep and sex only, so it should be clear of clutter, tvs etc, to make it conducive to those things. Also beautify it or make it a sensual place to be in. I think when you start preparing it for the purpose of such it changes your mindstate about relationships in general so you will be more open to new relationships or improving existing ones.

All that said I need to improve my currently non-existing relationships! I have a DS sharing my room (aged 2.5) so it's not really been my focus for the last year but now he's older maybe I should feng shui it all appropriately and see what happens!

Finally re relationships it doesn't only refer to love relationships but also to relationships with anyone - friends, colleagues etc so they can be enhanced in that bagua too.

Thank you ziggy. From the front door the far right downstairs is the kitchen, upstairs the bathroom. So I have attempted to clear it or at least tidy it (work in progress though). There's far too much clutter in those areas. And I concentrated on the furthest right corner.

great rummi, upstairs and downstairs is what's needed, make sure you do your bedroom too to make it conducive to great relationships ;)

get the clutter out and give it a good clean then think about what you can put there to make it more relationship friendly...pictures of people you fancy or your partner (if you already have one), or anything really that means something to you about the relationship you want to have :)

in the Karen Kingston book she goes on about this woman wanting an active guy but could only get slow lethargic men who were really lazy! when she went to her house she had a fat sedentary buddha statue in her relationships corner, when she replaced it with an action figure she found the right guy. So what you have in that corner can have an impact, think carefully about anything you place there or that is already there that might be affecting it negatively.

That's a funny story about the fat Buddha!

I went up to check the bathroom and there was a wall paper scraper in the right hand corner. Ive moved that. It's been there a while but I couldn't go to bed knowing it was there tonight!

Hi ziggy, this is really interesting, I used to be quite interested in feng shui but haven't thought about it for ages. A while ago I put some fish that I had made out of clay into my friendships area and I have recently got back in regular contact with a very dear close friend, so maybe it worked !
The problem I have is that the money area of my house is our toilet room (separate loo and bathroom). I always used to put the lid down to stop all our money going down the drain ( we are often a bit skint) but I often don't remember and no one else ever does it. I need some tips on how to improve finances through feng shui...maybe I need some plants and a waving cat, I have always wanted one of those!

I must look into this.

Before I met DH I really wanted to meet someone decent who wanted to get married and settle (previous relationship was rubbish then kissed quite a few frogs!). So... I got rid of quite a few clothes and created space in my wardrobe. I just cleared some space for someone else. Literally, within a month or so, DH showed up.

Probably need to declutter and then look at the specific areas. My career definitely needs a bit of work!

really interesting, cupcaketin! thanks for sharing. yes that's the kind of thing that seems to work well, little things like the fish thing you mention, little and often seem to induce change or events that seem related! I usually do a little thing like that (move something into my relationship corner or career area) when I want something specific to happen such as improve my social life, or get a new work contract, and it generally works.

re. your toilet area - yes I would defo put a plant in there, anything lush and upwards growing to counteract the downflow. You could try a mexican fortune tree or something. The wealth corner apparently is a "wood" area so anything indicating wood - a tree-like plant, etc might work. I have pictures of birds in my toilet, apart from being pretty they represent opportunity flying into your life (so in the wealth corner maybe financial opportunity?) as well as lifting the chi up, as they fly. So you could do anything like this - butterflies, birds, etc.

Make sure your loo and bathroom is nice and clean. Clean out any cupboards, and behind things fully. Ensure any waste bins have lids (these attract negative chi). Something like a waving cat or a mobile would be good.

I also do things like put there symbols that really mean wealth to me - such as a gold bar money box, or (if you're that way inclined) an image of a tarot card or rune that means "wealth" or something, or some fools gold - iron pyrite (very pretty), or any symbols denoting wealth.

I also heard putting a mirror on the outside door of your bathroom can deflect chi flowing away. And little ones above drains or something (Google it).

keep your bathroom in tip top condition generally - and anything you have in view should represent abundance - so nice quality (not stained / old) towels, a few nice luxury toiletries etc. Buy yourself some new towels!

Apparently also the colours of green, purple, red are good for wealth area. I like Goldy yellow (which also reminds me of wealth) so use this in my wealth area as i don't really like purple etc.

Also pimp out your helpful people area and your family one too which apparently support this area.

And enhance the wealth corner of each room in the same way, esp rooms you spend a lot of time in.

In general, cleaning your oven is meant to be good for wealth!

Finally a general checking of your front door area (clear from obstructions, junk) and make it nice and bright will attract good chi into your life.

Phew that's a lot to do!! Good luck, just try a handful of things and let me know how you get on...

Well it's all really clean, bins have lids etc. I am going to redecorate soon, I think I need to incorporate birds and butterflies then, in some pictures (we have a horrible ship picture at the moment of dh's that I didn't want anywhere else, it s a stormy picture which probably doesn't help). I will look for some plants for the window ledge I think....I need to look at the wealth area of the main rooms as well, to see what I can do. I did the grid thing when we first moved in, I might revisit it. My front door is lovely from the outside, lots of pretty pots, and I have just redone the hall to make it less cluttered and more welcoming. My oven hasn't been cleaned in ages though......

This is a really interesting thread Ziggy.

I've read the Karen Kingston book 'Clear your clutter with feng shui' and it's inspired me to get rid of some clutter. The only problem is, I seem to run out of steam and it never gets finished.

The baguas are interesting. I've been single for a long long time and in the relationship area of my bedroom is my overpacked, not been sorted for ages wardrobe with clothes I will fit into one day . Right in the corner of that wardrobe is my wedding dress. Co-incidence maybe?

Oh, cupcaketin, my oven hasn't been cleaned for ages either!

sounds like you're mostly there already cupcake :-)

yes stormy picture could mean stormy finances so changing it might be a good idea.

some abundant flowers in a vase or pictures of some, anything that symbolises abundant growth is a good idea.

when you are watering any plants in this area visualising you are watering and nurturing your finances and that as they grow your finances do too - this seems to work well.

finally in general I also think it's worth looking at every area as they all work together, so having a cluttered or dirty or messy looking area with depressing symbolism anywhere in your house might impact another area detrimentally - just in general it helps everything to be in balance.

oh dear Matilda, I think you need to get rid of that wedding dress!! It symbolises a broken relationship (am presuming you are divorced?), so maybe it needs to just go!

Also do clean out that wardrobe and see what happens...

btw, my oven is long overdue a clean too... I'm not perfect at all this stuff and have a lot of stuff i need to work on as well...!! just a lack of time (am wondering if I could overcome the lack of time with feng shui. hmm will think on about suitable cures....

also matilda the decluttering never ends, maybe focus on doing one area at a time, one drawer a day or one room a week

then when you're done some more needs doing... i schedule a declutter every 6 weeks into my calendar, you need to be ruthless about it, but I know what you mean about running out of steam...focus on small victories and keep going, when you try to do too much at once it's so overwhelming! the Marie Kondo book is good on how to do it although it's quite a full on way of doing it her way...

oh btw matilda, just thought - hope I wasn't being presumptuous re. the divorce, if it is something else like being widowed I apologise...if so maybe just move it somewhere else as I understand it would have sentimental value. Or maybe just releasing it would open up new avenues romantically!

Don't worry, Ziggy, I got divorced years ago! I should have said. I don't know why I've still got my wedding dress, probably just been avoiding making a decision about it. Yes, I agree it does need to go, but getting rid of it isn't easy.

I like the idea of scheduling a regular declutter and just doing bits at a time. It is overwhelming trying to do everything at once.

So I've cleaned the far right corner of my bathroom (which is in relationship part of bagua). I've read that earth element is important. So what can I put in that corner! I've got an orchid?or something else is needed?

My bathroom is a sky blue colour and I was thinking of accessories, I don't have soap dishes etc so was going to get stuff. What should I look out for?