Everything You Need To Know About Feng Shui Now

In February people are still in the groove of the new year making changes and adjustments to their life, their relationships, and even their indoor spaces, which makes it the perfect month to talk about Feng Shui. You only have to look at the runaway success of the KonMari Method right now to see that getting organized and making a change has sparked the interests of millions of people worldwide.

These long, grey, February days, with spring hovering on the horizon, and the Chinese New Year upon us, makes right now the ideal time for a Feng Shui reboot of your space. People have more energy around the time of Chinese New Year, so it is a great opportunity to start those new projects and press the reset button.

But what exactly is Feng Shui and how does it work?

What exactly is Feng Shui and how does it work? Well, for a few Feng Shui tips and tricks, I recently spoke to world renowned Feng Shui expert Patricia Lohan.

Lohan is the author of the new book The Happy Home: Your Guide To Creating A Happy, Healthy, Wealthy Life. Lohan has helped thousands of people understand and embrace Feng Shui to achieve their dreams. Patricia lives in Bali with her husband Ken. She has appeared in Forbes, She Knows, Essence, Mind Body Green, and USA Today.

Lohan’s interest in Feng Shui was sparked when she was a teenager.

“When I was 15 we moved houses and we were all getting our own bedrooms so I asked for books about Feng Shui that year and I consumed them.”

Patricia Lohan went to college in Ireland and taught yoga in India for a few years. She used Feng Shui in her own home when she was ready for romance and that’s when she met her husband Ken. It wasn’t long after that when people began asking her how they met and the topic of Feng Shui came up often. People were curious, so she started sharing a bit of her knowledge. Eventually that grew into a full time business and now a book as well.

Background

Did you know that more than one billion people celebrate the Chinese New Year? And it is an ancient belief that the holiday (beginning Feb. 5th this year – today!) is a more powerful time of the year to start fresh. The Chinese New Year runs with the cycle of the moon and lines up with the new moon, rather than a date on the calendar.

“It’s the perfect time of year to take action and declutter to make way for incoming good luck,” says Lohan.

Oddly, ever since I spoke to Lohan by video chat recently, I’ve had the urge to purge. That alone is making me feel a bit more organized and I am nowhere near done. Her easy practical tips make so much sense and are frankly so simple that there’s no harm in adding them to my routine. In fact, I am fully prepared to accept that there could be a lot of merit in applying some easy Feng Shui tips to my home, my office and my life.

Patricia gives clients concrete tips and ideas for easy changes people can make to their environment at home, or at the office, to create energy to achieve things such as optimal health, financial success and lasting relationships. So Feng Shui can help you as a business? According to Lohan that’s exactly right.

“Feng shui is like acupuncture for your home. Every part of your home has a purpose just as every part of your body has a purpose.”

Feng Shui expert on how to re-organize your space for the Year of the Pig

Patricia gives clients concrete tips and ideas for easy changes people can make to their environment at home or at the office to create energy to achieve things such as optimal health, financial success and lasting relationships. While there are many different types of Feng Shui she practices classical and through her business provides consultations via Skype or Zoom.

Pronounced Feng SHWAY, Feng Shui, is an ancient Chinese practice that is basically about balancing the energy in your home to achieve good fortune and harmony. The practice dates back about 6,000 years. You’ve probably heard of yin and yang or the opposites of the feminine and masculine. You might even recognize that those two – yin and yang need to  coexist and should be balanced.

Harmony

A good flow of energy leads to a happy, harmonious, home. Feng Shui isn’t something you need to fear, but more like a means of using simple ideas such as placement of furniture, use of colours, and removing clutter in order to create positive flow. Last year one of my kids began to show interest in this concept actually so when I heard about Patricia Lohan I thought it great timing to learn a bit more. I wondered too if I might apply a couple of these Feng Shui principles in my home.

Here are some quick Feng Shui tips for many rooms in your home:

Patricia Lohan’s Feng Shui Hacks for the Kitchen:

• Keep your knives off the counter – knives represent weapons, and when they are in certain areas they can create a feeling of anxiety and aggression and harness negative energy because of their potential for harm.
• Eliminate red from the kitchen – red is fire and represents anger. A kitchen typically has enough fire from the stove. Good colours to have are earth tones, creams, browns and grey.
• Put out a bowl of 9 oranges – 9 is a lucky number for abundance.

Feng Shui Hacks for the Bedroom:           

• Art, anywhere in your home, is a very basic spot to begin the process of addressing Feng Shui. For instance, Lohan indicated you don’t necessarily want your walls full of old photos of things in the past. Far better to treat them as a vision board of sorts to help attract what you want.
• Be mindful of what images you have on the walls. If you want love, remove single images and to attract love, put up pictures of a couple, people doing things together, or family.
• Clear out under your bed – it’s the under belly area of your home, so having things of emotional importance under your bed could affect your sleep or even produce nightmares.
• Get new Linens / Quilts – upgrading your sheets can create a fresh start and represent a sanctuary for better sleep. In a separate note I just did a post on new sheets and can vouch for the fact that new sheets do give your bedroom a fresh feeling.

Feng Shui Hacks for the Office:

• Desk Position matters – pay particular attention to where you desk is located in a room. The  ideal position is to have a wall behind you and be able to see the door, so you can see what is entering and leaving your work space.
• What’s on your desk – have as little as possible visible on your desk – limit it to a notepad, computer and one picture, maybe of your family (I have a lot of work to do here)
• What are you sitting on – it’s important to have a strong “I’m the boss” chair.

Feng Shui Elements:

• Wood: Green, Brown.
• Fire: Red, Strong Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink.
• Earth: Light Yellow, Sandy/Earthy, Light Brown.
• Metal: White, Gray.
• Water: Blue, Black.

It’s not always dramatic.

According to Patricia sometimes people worry that she is going to advise them they need to move to a new home if the home has a problematic layout or area. “We can fix or work with a lot of things. I would never tell anyone to move homes. There are are many parts to it. It’s a little like a jigsaw puzzle how they fit together.”

If You Just Want to Implement a Couple of Fast Fixes:

Patricia Lohan recommends always start at the front door. The doorway is the space where the energy comes in. It should be attractive and welcoming, as well as working. Buy a new welcome mat and pay attention to the door itself. Everything should be in excellent condition. The handle needs to work and so should the lights. Wash off your door, or give it a fresh coat of paint and in summer of course find some flowers and dress up the front walkway.

Inside:

At a very simple level, art can provide either positivity or negative energy. Start with the art on your walls. Make sure it reflects your goals and vision. If you want to attract wealth and travel make sure your artwork supports that goal.

Let all the broken, old, things go. They attract negative energy.

You could also take a quick look at your bathrooms. Ideally bathrooms should not be facing the front of the home. If they are, then close the doors to the room. Don’t let your wealth and good fortune go down the toilet. Always close the toilet. PUT THE LID DOWN! How many times have you said that before? Here’s proof it matters.

A Feng Shui Moment

Right now Feng Shui seems to be having a bit of a resurgence. Clients who engage Patricia, her husband Ken and their team of consultants are often women, frequently Moms and many are also looking for insight into building prosperity in business as well. When Feng Shui is done in the home, and you put the effort into achieving something you desire, that all builds towards success.

Imagine mindfulness and manifesting applied to the centres of your home and the objects in your home.

You can do the decluttering and tidying, and after you’ve done all that, then Feng Shui is the next level. You could also think of it as  showing gratitude to your home. If you want more information on how to apply Feng Shui to your home and business purchase the book: The Happy Home: Your Guide To Creating A Happy, Healthy, Wealthy Life