Hopefully by now you have had the opportunity to practice evaluating the exterior chi of your home and work place with Feng Shui eyes. The next step is to apply that same awareness to the interior of your home and office. This is a process of increasing your awareness and sensitivity to what is around you and the energetic impact on your body as well as your life. We’ve all become adept at ‘not seeing’ what is in our environments and overriding our bodies subtle reactions that we have come to accept days when we feel irritable, tired or ill. Mindfully evaluating exterior chi and its flow throughout your living and work spaces allows you to locate areas where energy might be blocked, stagnant, oppressive or flowing too strongly, all of which can contribute to anxiety, irritability and low energy.

In Feng Shui entranceway doors are known as the “mouth of chi” for they bring life force energy into a space. Each entryway is a sacred place of transition that brings life support in the form of chi and oxygen. The front door must be in good working order, open easily and all the way and the area around it well lit, uncluttered and welcoming.

Note the size and shape of the entryway, foyer and hallways. The Feng Shui rule is when the hallway or foyer is longer that approximately 12 feet, it can accelerate the chi, causing it to be too forceful. A narrow layout can also constrict the flow of energy, triggering problems such as respiratory ailments and anxiety. Make sure that the area is clear and the chi is moving freely. Think about how different your breathing is after you’ve cleaned out your closet, a drawer or any cluttered area of your space.

If immediately upon entering your home, your view is split in half by a vertical wall that divides your line of sight, the effect is similar to having one eye nearsighted and the other farsighted. It can create an imbalance of the optic nerves. This dynamic, repeated every day over time, can contribute to vertigo or problems with equilibrium.

If, on the other hand, the chi is stopped dead in its tracks by a wall when you enter, you may begin to experience headaches. The metaphor is that you “hit the wall” every time you enter your home. This situation may even diminish your ability to speak out and/or advocate for yourself.

After evaluating your entryway, the next aspect to consider is the impact of the energy pattern elicited by the room that you first see upon entering. Think of the conditioning process that happens over time, every time you walk through the door, seven days a week, 365 days a year depending on what is first seen. Is it chi-enriching or chi-depleting? Of course, I am assuming that you are following the Feng Shui rule that says you must actually use your front door!

Windows are a secondary way that chi enters a space. In Feng Shui, doors represent the voices of the adults and windows represent the voices of the children. If the house has a ratio of three windows (or fewer) to every one door, this is a good balance and no major parent-child power struggles should emerge. Windows also represent our eyes and our ability to see things clearly. If they are broken, dirty or do not work properly, our vision can be affected. Broken panes may trigger small personal and/or business pains.

Lighting along with color, furniture placement, patterns, shapes, artwork, lighting, and window treatments, all contribute to the vital chi of your environment. If they represent you and your current life’s journey in a way that feels abundant and pleasing, that energy will support your health and the health of all the occupants and provide energetic nourishment during times of illness. Without this feeling of vital chi, the occupants may battle bouts of melancholy or frequent cycles of depression. An absence of color can keep your chi depressed.

Notice the vitality and health of your plants and animals. They tell a lot about the health of the home and its occupants.

Pay attention to your desk and stove. Your desk oversees all issues pertaining to work, creativity and opportunities. Position it to face the entryway of the room, but not in direct line with it.
Your stove oversees matters related to finances, health and wealth. It must be in good working condition and used.

Of all the rooms in your environment, the bedroom is probably the most important space in relationship to your health. You spend 1/3 of your life sleeping which places you in the bedroom for more hours than in any other room of your house. When you sleep, your body becomes less guarded as your chi seeks to rejuvenate and replenish itself for the following day. While in this passive, reparative state, you become more susceptible to the surrounding Feng Shui of the room.

Your bed also creates an energetic atmosphere that can have a profound effect on the quality of your intimate relationships and your health. A bedroom with poor Feng Shui can become a contributing factor to the development of illness. When you are sick, the first thing you want is to be at home in your own bed. To reinforce good health or help support the healing process, making your bedroom a comfortable, clutter-free and beautiful sanctuary for intimacy and rest and rejuvenation is essential.

Stay tuned for part 3 in the next newsletter. Suggestions for taking action to mitigate any adverse chi that may be contributing to an imbalance will be discussed.

May you create environments that nourish the expression of your spirit

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