by llenore | Dec 13, 2023 | Blog, Feng Shui, Good Life, Health, Linda Lenore, Reflect You, Uncategorized
What Works Wednesday –
Towels soaking up the water on the floor
Well, I can tell you what doesn’t work – the cold-water faucet of my washing machine! Out-of-the-blue, without any warning, it broke yesterday!
Why am I writing about this? What does this broken pipe and plumbing have to do with a post where I usually have a photo of a room?
Because there is a deeper connection between our health, our homes, our bodies, and our lives than you may know.
The short explanation is:
Every part of our home represents a part of our body. If something breaks or needs repair in the home, there is a good chance an occupant of the home may be experiencing a health issue related to the corresponding part of the home.
One reason I often share about fixing up the front door to attract “good chi” is because that area of the house represents the mouth, nose, and face of the humans living there. (Actually, animals can also be affected). If you aren’t getting enough good energy to the front door, it’s as though you aren’t able to speak, breath, face people, communicate with them, or even the simple gesture of a smile might be missing in your life.
Here’s the story of the current situation around health issues and the symbolism of our home. I’m going to keep this as simple as I can while making the point.
Many of you know I asked for prayers for my husband and brother a couple of months ago. Both are doing better. Thank you for your prayers.
My husband was having problems breathing while on our vacation. Tests showed he was severely anemic. But what the underlying cause creating this health problem is still unknown. Yesterday he had some medical procedures done pertaining to the gastrointestinal tract.
The cracked/broken cold-water pipe
That part of the body equates to plumbing in the house. Part of the procedure for my husband was the insertion of a pill-sized camera into the intestinal tract. We got home and he took a nap. When he woke up, he checked the monitor of the camera. It was working perfectly. About 20 minutes later he looked and saw it wasn’t working.
Within a 15-minute timeframe the monitor of the camera stopped working and we heard water dripping. The threaded part of the cold-water faucet of the washing machine cracked, allowing water to start dripping. (Sidenote – the washer was not running and was last used 3 days ago.)
A plumber arrived within 40 minutes. He turned off the water to the house. When he TOUCHED the faucet, it snapped off. If the water hadn’t been turned off – or worse still, the washing machine was running – water would have burst all over the laundry! It was that close to bursting on its own.
Now I don’t know exactly what the final outcome of any of this will be, but I do know they are related if only by time. If this were the first story, or only story, like this it would be one thing.
BUT…
This is one of dozens of stories where the house and an occupant’s health show up at the same time.
The broken cold-water faucet removed and sheetrock cut open to reveal the extent of the situation. Water mitigation, drying the walls, and assessing the situation are the next steps.
I have an eBook I will be making available to you for free very soon. I had planned to have it available 2 months ago, but “life happens.” Maybe this whole intestinal camera, monitor, dripping faucet, and snapped pipe to the washer needed to happen simultaneously so I would write this blog, you would read it, and realize you want the eBook with more details on the symbolism of your built environment and your body. Who knows?
One thing I know, I’m calling this a BLESSING.
Why you might ask?
Because if any of this had happened differently, we might not have been home, the washing machine could have been running, I might have been outside or running errands and not been around for hours!
Worse still, we might have been on a 2-week vacation. The water could have gone through the whole house wreaking all floors, walls, cabinets, etc. If that had happened, our well pump would have been running constantly and possibly burned out. I could go on-and-on.
With that said, I’m not saying I’m happy it happened during the holidays. It’s a blessing it happened the way it did. Now I just need to see where this takes us and how it fits into the Feng Shui health of body, mind, spirit, and environment.
“Stay turned” as this situation unveils itself.
by llenore | Dec 4, 2023 | Uncategorized
As the holiday season approaches, our homes transform into cozy havens filled with warmth, laughter, and the spirit of celebration.
Harmonious Home Decorated for the Holidays
While we deck the halls with festive decorations and prepare for joyous gatherings, integrating the principles of Feng Shui can elevate the energy in our homes, creating a harmonious and balanced environment. In this blog, we’ll explore how to apply Feng Shui for the holidays, bringing positive energy, abundance, and tranquility to your festive celebrations.
Clearing the Clutter
Before diving into holiday decorations, start by decluttering your space. Feng Shui emphasizes the importance of a clutter-free environment to allow positive energy (chi) to flow freely. Clear out unnecessary items, donate what you no longer need, and create a serene backdrop for the festive season. This not only enhances the flow of energy but also provides a fresh canvas for your holiday décor.
Balance and Harmony in Decorations
When adorning your home with festive decorations, strive for balance and harmony. Use a variety of colors, textures, and shapes to create a visually appealing atmosphere. Traditional Feng Shui colors like red and gold represent prosperity and good fortune, while green symbolizes growth and health.
Pottery Barn Ad for Festive Front Door Entrance
Avoid excessive or overwhelming décor. To create balance, ensure decorations are evenly distributed throughout your space, including opposite walls. Also have items at eye level, on the floor, and higher up, like on top of armoires or bookcases.
Welcoming Energy at the Entrance
The entrance of your home is a crucial focal point in Feng Shui, as it sets the tone for the energy that enters. Welcome positive energy by decorating your entrance with vibrant, inviting elements. Consider placing a festive wreath, adding a welcome mat, and ensuring that the pathway is well-lit. Crisp, clean energy at the entrance will encourage the flow of positive chi throughout your home.
This West Elm Table Setting is TRENDING because it brings the quality of comfort and conversation together beautifully.
Nurturing Positive Gatherings
Feng Shui encourages the creation of spaces that promote positive interactions and connections. Arrange furniture to facilitate easy conversation. Try to create a harmonious balance between comfort and aesthetics. Consider incorporating soft lighting, scented candles, or essential oils to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for your holiday gatherings.
By infusing the principles of Feng Shui into your holiday celebrations, you can create an environment that not only looks festive but also feels harmonious and energizing. Embrace the flow of positive chi, declutter your space, and adorn it with decorations that promote balance and abundance. The result will be a holiday season filled with joy, connection, and positive energy. May your home be a sanctuary of tranquility and harmony, where the spirit of the holidays can truly shine.
by llenore | Oct 24, 2023 | Fear, Feng Shui, Health, Independence, Linda Lenore, Optimistic, Scary Times, Self Care, Uncategorized, Wellness
Navigating your own health challenges can be one of the scariest seasons.
Baked sweets containing sugar contributed to my many health issues.
This might be for a few reasons: 1. It often commands we address how we might have contributed to the cause of the health issues, 2. It brings up any issues we have regarding independence, and 3. It sometimes makes us confront our own mortality.
As a child, I was sick most of the time. As I’ve gotten older – and wiser – I’ve discovered I am highly allergic to sugar. My mom was always baking cookies, pies, cakes, etc., that I loved to eat! They all contained massive amounts of sugar. My body reacted with sore throats, sinus infections, and pneumonia.
At the time I didn’t know any better. Through trial and error I discovered this allergy. Now I stay away from those sweets knowing what the result will be.
Fear of loosing independence
About a year before my mother died, I became aware she couldn’t balance her checkbook. Then she couldn’t find things and forgot whether she had eaten or not. I had to find what was called a nursing home at that time. Although she couldn’t remember many things, she knew she was being moved from her home. Many seniors have this fear about loosing their independence.
Often an illness will occur for which there is no known logical reason. How should a person handle those situations? The answer: It depends! It depends on many things.
Let me share how I coped with one of mine.
Water-Babies & Moon-Faces
One morning I noticed a few red patches around both my elbows. The next day they had spread, plus there were now the same type of red rash around my knees. The following day it had spread to most of my arms and legs. I got an appointment to see my doctor, a gynecologist, the next day. When I awakened, I was having trouble moving and could barely walk.
Prednisone induced Moon Face
When she saw me, she immediately asked the neighboring dermatologist to fit me in. Biopsies were taken without any answers. By the time they got the results back (which had no conclusive answers), I couldn’t walk and was told I probably would never walk again!
Massive doses of prednisone were prescribed and taken. Slowly I was able to move a little. I started doing water exercises. I lasted 3 visits, then quit!
The reason wasn’t that I couldn’t do it. It was I couldn’t handle being in that environment!!!
Every one of the people in the group were unbelievably negative. They joked about “moon-faces” because the prednisone caused our faces to be big, fat, and round looking, like the moon. They only talked about how horrible they felt and how they felt more worse as time went on. AND they were accepting and integrating into their lives the words they were using to describe themselves.
I couldn’t stand their depression and lack of optimism.
Tomorrow I will continue with what I did to support my own healing.
by llenore | Oct 15, 2023 | Beauty, Feng Shui, Healing Hearts, Health, Linda Lenore, Reflect You, Scary Times, Self Care, Uncategorized, Wellness, You are the LIGHT
Sometimes I am in a fog as to how I should handle something. I can’t see in front of me the steps I need to take.
Scary times happen in our lives. How are we supposed to include “self-care” during those times?
Scary times can include an unexpected financial expense. Maybe the loss of a job throws you into stress and scare: “How can I make it through this?” or “What next is going to happen?” Often a health issue, yours or a loved one, changes life forever.
I wish I could say I don’t know about these times, but I have. Most people I know have had these situations.
I’m going through one now. I realized I have tools to cope, yet I had forgotten them for several days at the beginning of this event.
It was then I decided to go through memories of “Scary Times” searching for tools. I gently removed protective layers the years have built to find and excavate what I’d used.
Reflecting on life, all the ripples in it, sometimes it is hard to see the reflection or the Light guiding us.
What worked in each situation? Were there common threads? Who were the people I relied upon? Who undermined me and my energy? What tidbits of knowledge did I learn? Did I use that knowledge sometimes and ignore it at other times? If I ignored it, was that a good thing or bad thing? When did I feel most empowered? Where did I go, if anyplace, to find quiet time to think – and feel – the emotions?
In disseminating this information, what protocol could I create for this scary time? How could I weave the information together to create a SafetyNet or warm, fuzzy blanket to comfort me through this journey?
And just what is self-care? Am I being selfish to think about ME during this time? Or is this exactly what my life path has taught me – that the only way I can truly help someone else is if I do take care of me with whatever “self-care” tools I have, whether longtime standbys or newly discovered.
Hence this series of articles has surfaced. It’s an archaeologically dig of my life. I am remembering memories buried deep within my mind. I’m feeling emotions I thought were healed. They aren’t, but they aren’t as painful. In fact, in many cases there is no attachment to them, just the vague memory of a time long ago.
My Feng Shui training has given me many tools to use. The masters I’ve had contributed to an awareness of energy and how to use it – and to use it ONLY FOR GOOD!
We should never interfere with another’s life. Words are powerful. “In the beginning was the Word!” Understanding I am one with the Universe – the One Mind – connects the energy fields. My hope is to raise my vibration – and yours – to a higher-level using words while sharing these stories of how I’ve navigated scary times.
by llenore | Jun 28, 2023 | Balance, Beauty, Blog, Feng Shui, Good Life, Interior Design, Linda Lenore, Order, Uncategorized
WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER USING FENG SHUI?
Feng Shui includes many principles and suggestions, yet the main point is to create an environment that supports your daily life, health, aspirations or dreams, and lifestyle. Unfortunately the way I was taught Feng Shui nearly 40 years ago, it didn’t make sense to me nor was the essence of it boiled down to the main purpose or reason for doing it.
FUNCTION! BALANCE! ORDER! BEAUTY!
Heavy “weight” of the piano is balanced on the other side of the room with the cabinet – and a triangle with the large, dark coffee table distributes the weight of the pieces around the room.
Feng Shui is common sense. Make your home functional. Create rooms that feel balanced. Clear the clutter. Make it beautiful in your eyes – not your mom’s, neighbor’s, or friend’s eyes!!!
For years in my interior design and Feng Shui classes I told my students that using “Feng Shui” principles and objects is actually the last step.
FUNCTION!
First the home has to be FUNCTIONAL. If I told you to do something within your home, but in doing so it made it difficult to walk through your home or you couldn’t accomplish the necessary tasks within your home, you would be irritated with me. You might even send me “bad vibes” – intentionally or unintentionally. Use your common sense when doing anything in your home.
BALANCE!
Second, we want BALANCE in the home. There are many ways to create balance, especially when we use Feng Shui. But let’s talk about balance through the eyes of interior design.
Look at your room. Do you have all the furniture against one wall? Maybe distribute items around the room. Does one wall hold all the TALL pieces of furniture? Or maybe there are several “heavy” pieces on one wall or one side of the room. Again, move them around. Try to have some tall or big pieces on opposite sides or maybe even placed in a triangle within the room like they are in the picture above.
The same goes for low furniture, dark items, or any items that “command” attention. Balance the room in order to have pieces of furniture placed around the room, not just in one area or side. What about artwork? Is it all on one wall? Try to make arrangements that have about the same visual weight on opposite walls. This also applies to having equal weight on both sides of a piece of furniture.
Order & organization in the entry or mudroom
Have any accent colors distributed around the room. Having all the color just on a sofa or one wall throws the room out-of-balance. We want visual balance in heights, colors, accessories, and style within each room. When we add Feng Shui into the mix, we often will incorporate the Five Elements or Yin/Yang Theory.
ORDER!
Creating ORDER throughout the home brings a sense of peace into the space. CLUTTER is a big issue in many homes. Often it is because the function of the task doesn’t have the proper furniture or layout to complete the task easily. File cabinets, containers, lighting, seating, and other necessary tools are usually missing or not conveniently located to handle the situation.
Setting up a regular time schedule to work on decluttering and organizing is often a tool used to help. I block off the needed time for these tasks on my calendar. When doing the work, I set several short time segments back-to-back instead of one LONG time to accomplish things.
BEAUTY
As the phrase by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford in her 1878 novel, Molly Bawn, states: “BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder.”
What do you consider beautiful? What style furniture do you like? Is it the comfort factor, sleek lines, or big & masculine? What colors do you like? What colors do you dislike? Do you like lots of objects on shelves and flat surfaces? Or are you a “less is more” kind of person?
This is a discovery process as we are constantly changing and growing. As we mature, are exposed to different cultures and lifestyles, and expand our consciousness in the world around us, our tastes and preferences evolve.
Creating a living room that is functional, beautiful and reflects your style is the goal in Feng Shui.
COMMON SENSE, STYLE, & REFLECTION OF YOU
The challenge with our lifestyle and way of thinking these days is we don’t use common sense. We are bombarded with advertisements and other people’s agendas to the point we often forget common sense. We have become brainwashed into thinking we “need” the latest product or device to make us happy and complete.
What’s your style? Do you even know? Many of the women I have worked with during my career as an interior designer have not a clue what style they like. They see a room display at a store or in a magazine and they try to mimic it in their home… but not quite! The cost, size (of the furniture or the room), color, or material doesn’t work for some reason. Hence, they are forced to change parts of the overall image. Bottomline, it just doesn’t work.
Why do you have the furniture you have in your home? Did you inherit it? Find it at a garage sale? Brought it from your college days? It was in your husband’s friend’s house, he didn’t want it, and told your husband to take it? These are just a few of the hundreds of “mistake” furniture my clients have had in their homes.
Ultimately with your home, using these common sense qualities of interior design – AND FENG SHUI – will improve your life. Yes, Feng Shui is the common sense aspect of interior design.
Make your home a reflection of who you are at your core essence. What are your values? What do you believe? What do you cherish? Where do you want your life journey to take you? How do you see yourself? Does your home reflect that image?
If you follow these principles, you’ll understand why considering and utilizing Feng Shui in your home will make you happier and help you achieve the life you desire.
by llenore | Apr 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
– https://resources.wellcertified.com/articles/climate-change-and-human-health-doubling-down-on-our-planets-greatest-challenge/?utm_campaign=Newsletters&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_bXFHacK-YNIusJXTEwUd1ittlRz3z6XUd1bWXD7nw9ng0ahdI-B
Enough with the fear-based climate change pictures and stories. Negative motivation has not been my way of taking action for 4 decades! I respond to positive thoughts, ideas, and co-creation. What about you?
This photo is from a 2021 article from International Well Building Institute. (The link will take you to it.) It mentions how seeing smoke-spewing factory stacks and polar bears clinking to the last piece of ice don’t move people to action.
In sharing approaches used in educating parents about climate change, a couple words about the fear-based approach with which I could resonate were: paralysis, sacrifice, & scarcity. We often see and hear so much it causes overwhelm, especially with all the other issues we deal with day in and day out.
The only message that resonated with parents about making healthier choices for the students was: “A green school can offer your child that extra opportunity to succeed.”
As a parent – and now grandparent & great-grandparent – I’ve seen firsthand how the health of everyone is affected by poor IAQ (Indoor Air Quality), lack of sunlight in rooms, and other building/construction techniques once thought to be traditional “good design/build practices,” yet are outdated by newer technology and scientific data.
Fear-based Earth Day
Several statements in the article resonated with me. Here’s one:
“The effect is magnified because we know that there’s a great deal of overlap between what’s good for people and what’s good for the planet. Investing in electrification, selecting low emitting materials and optimizing natural light are climate mitigation and human health strategies. It’s an approach that benefits all of us.”
As a woman who has experienced the death of a child, personal health issues due to toxic chemicals, and loved ones who have been victims in different forms of climate-related disasters, my focus for several decades has been to create healthy and nurturing environments for businesses and families to thrive.
As such, I leave you with this heart-felt quote from the article:
“In order to be effective, climate messages must tap into our intrinsic motivations. It’s our universal aspiration for ourselves to be healthy, for our families to be well, for our businesses and communities to thrive. That’s what moves us to act.”
#EarthDay #ClimateChange #HeartfeltEarthDayMessage #HealingOurPlanet
