by llenore | Mar 1, 2015 | Uncategorized
Sharing Sacred Spaces Sunday with you is very special to me. I often go through life so focused on the “To Do” list, which always keeps growing, I forget to be grateful for all that I have and all that surrounds me. Today, I’m taking time to share one area of my home on which I focused and created a sacred space today.
Sacred Space Sunday Buffet
Here is a buffet we have in our living room. Last year at this time it was stacked to overflowing with papers. During one of my summer “Clutter Buster” programs last year I directed my attention to clearing it. It has been clean ever since. It had the usual holiday decorations on it for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then I changed everything to have a “clean start” for the Western New Year.
Today I put fresh flowers on the right side of the buffet. I had purchased them for one of my client’s Space Clearings, which was rescheduled. So I get to benefit from these lovely flowers instead.
On the left side of the buffet are some long cut branches just starting to flower. Most are branches from pruning my plum tree, but there are a couple of pear branches I cut today in there as well. I’ve tried to do this every year for about 4 years without success, but this year both the branches in bloom and I were in sync. PLUS, having the clean buffet allowed me a place to put them, which is one reason I haven’t had them the last couple of years.
Other items on the buffet are a beautiful blue vase, an ammonite, eagle and bear stone carving from my first Feng Shui class in Toronto, Canada in 1998, a hand-painted ceramic plate from Italy, star candle holders, carved-wood words of “HAPPY” and “PEACE” and finally a wooden wishing well hand-made by my 12-year-old son, Jeff a year before he died.
I haven’t had a place to display several of these items since we started a remodel nearly 13 years ago.
Do you have a SACRED SPACE? What do you have put away that you could bring out to create a special place for nurturing your soul? What brings joy to your heart and fills you with happiness and peace?
Find a place today – even if it is a small area – to create a beautiful, heart-centered, positive energy altar.
For me, THIS is truly a SACRED SPACE on this most magnificent SUNDAY!
by llenore | Feb 19, 2015 | Uncategorized
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Among other things, Feng Shui taught me to celebrate the seasons, moon cycles, cultural heritage, rituals and ceremonies. Let’s welcome the 2015 Chinese New Year – the Year of the Goat, Ram or Sheep. Most people I know are glad to see the end of last year and the beginning of a new year.
2015 Chinese New Year
As the Lunar New Year starts there is a shift in energy from the qualities of the previous animal to the qualities of the new animal. Last year was a “horse” year with all the energies associated. Some of my new clients – those who had not worked with me, hence they didn’t balance the energies within their homes and businesses – said the past year was like “wild horses running amok” and there wasn’t any way I could control them. Many people were working hard as horse and carrying heavy burdens as horses can do. And there was a hesitation to jump over hurdles even when a person could see the “grass was greener on the other side of the fence.”
Do any of those statements sound like the energy of the past year to you? If so, you may want to consider learning more about the energies in and around your environments in order to balance them and take advantage of the great qualities this next year has in store for us.
“Kids” cutting loose! Relax and Let Go of all that no longer serves you. Have Fun!
The Year of the Sheep is very much about communication and hearing all that is being said including that which is being withheld. It was during preceding “sheep” years that “peace talks” and nuclear weapons treaties have been signed.
Another quality about sheep or goats is their ability to climb rocky cliffs as they get to better pastures. But in order to climb those cliffs, they can’t be carrying heavy loads. Our goal this year is one to release all that is weighing us down, whether that be items, negative people, limiting beliefs or anything else that is a heavy burden. It is a year of “Letting Go!”
Goats grazing in pasture
There are greener pastures where we can graze with the others in our herd. Another way to put this is “family, friends and your tribe” are an area of comfort and contentment for the year. Plus, we are not to be worrying about everyone else. This is a year to “TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST!”
Relax and Nurture Yourself During the Year!
Sheep and goats are symbols of nurturing. Goats can give us milk, which makes wonderful cheese as some of you saw me post over the weekend. Sheep provide wool, a natural material that insulates very well – keeping the hot or cold from reaching us.
If last year you felt fractured, lost track of our vision, or worse yet, lost who you are at your core, this year can be a much better year for you. Just remember to let go of that which no longer serves you, climb to a higher ground where you can see your vision and then gently – without carrying the weight of others with you – make you way to the pastures where you can contentedly wander with kindred spirits grazing on the fruits of the land while a Higher Power watches over you.
Again, Gung Hay Fat Choy – HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!
by llenore | Feb 16, 2015 | Uncategorized
This time of year my clients contact me to learn what Feng Shui tips they need to do in order to have a great Chinese New Year – and this year we start the year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram on February 19, 2015. Since the energy of a “ram” seems a little too confrontational for me plus it doesn’t seem like the type of energy all my sources say we are going to be experiencing, I’m choosing to say the Year of the Sheep or Goat.
Contented goat
As I shared in my post on December 30 to help people prepare for the Western New Year on January 1, 2015, we can do the same activities as I listed there. Plus we can add some more Asian cultural activities or rituals if you’d like.
The Top Ten Tips are:
- Do Activities on the Chinese New Year You Want to Do During the Coming Year: It is said anything you do on the first day of the New year you will do throughout the year. If you argue, there will be arguments all year long. If you clean, you’ll clean all year. f you prepare food that day, you’ll be preparing food all year long. If you play and visit with family and friends, you’ll do more of this during the coming year.
- Clean Your Home BEFORE the New Year: The belief is that by cleaning your home you “sweep away all the bad luck” that accumulated inside throughout the past year. It also makes your home ready to receive the good luck – attracting it into your home and welcoming it. (And don’t clean it the first couple of days of the New Year.)
- Wash Your Hair BEFORE the New Year: (And don’t wash it for the first couple of days of the New Year since that will wash away your Good Luck.) Getting your hair cut BEFORE the new Year is also a fun way to start the new Year with a fresh New You!
- Prepare Food for the New Year Celebration: (And stock up on the food so you don’t have to cook for a few days!) Here is where preparing lots of for and having it in the freezer would come in handy. We don’t want to be going to the grocery store either since that would mean more trips tot he store during the coming year.
- Put Up Red Decorations: Red is the color of GOOD LUCK in the Chinese culture and used in the decorations especially designed for the New Year celebration. If you don’t want to have Asian artifacts all over your home, place some red candles throughout the home, tie red bows on some of your house plants and find a lovely red lamp shade for one of your lamps. You might hang a red tassel from a dresser drawer or on a door handle. Placing a red heart on a north-facing and south-facing window brings exceptional GOOD LUCK.
- Paint the Door Red: This is a great idea if you can do it, but many people either can’t change the door color or wouldn’t be able to do it for the New Year. If that is the case with you, find a lovely flowering plant with red flowers or a yellow mum (Chrysanthemum) in a red pot outside the front door to attract the good energy to your front door.
- Place Flowers Throughout the Home: In Feng Shui they say having fresh flowers in the bedroom brings romance, in the bathroom it brings health and in the kitchen it brings loving relationships. You can also have Lucky Bamboo or houseplants instead of flowers.
- Place a Bowl of Mandarin Oranges, Tangerines or Lemons in the Kitchen: Citrus are considered fruits of abundance whether hang in from a tree or just the plain fruit gathered in a bowl. Place a citrus tree both inside and outside the home if you can. This time of year you can sometimes find the miniature trees at the nursery or flower shops. If that is too much for you, have a large bowl of the rips fruit sitting on the kitchen table or counter. Having a bowl by the front door will also attract GOOD FENG SHUI into and around the home in the way of health, wealth, love, happiness and harmony. Use an even number and eat a pair for Good Luck.
- Set Out a Tray of Eight Candies or Cookies: In the Asian culture, the number eight is considered a lucky number. Having something some sweets out means you will have a “sweet” and lucky life.
- Dragon Dancing, Firecrackers & Noise Makers Ward Off the Bad and Greet the Good: In both Western and Chinese customs the greeting of the New Year is a special celebration. We say, “GOOD-BYE!” to all the old things that happened last year and “WELCOME!” to the New Year filled with hopes and dreams for a better life. In the Chinese culture the fire-breathing dragon burns up all the old energy of the past year. It also lights the path and dances its right up to your front door to show the way for GOOD LUCK to find your door. The firecrackers scare way the bad and make a joyous sound to greet the New Year. Get a bell, temple bells or a wind chime to ring in the New year. Then hang it outside the front door to help show the ways to welcome the New Year.
These are just a few more ideas to help you change the energy in and around your home to say, “GOOD-BYE!” to the old and “WELCOME!” this New Year – The Year of the Goat or Sheep.
by llenore | Jan 30, 2015 | Uncategorized
Some days become anniversaries of the heart and today is one of those for me. It was 25 years ago I signed the legal documents to purchase my home as a single woman even though I had gone through a bankruptcy and was on disability. Hence, this day holds VERY special energy and memories for me.
On Groundhog Day, peek out of the hole in which you are living to see the beauty the world has to offer you.
Do you remember the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray? Do you sometimes feel you are stuck in the same pattern everyday – and often have the negative attitude towards life that Bill had? Wonder if you can get out of the rut, accomplish the things you desire to achieve, have a positive attitude surrounded by people with whom you enjoy spending time and having a contented life? Here are a few thoughts for you to consider around the symbology of the story behind Groundhog Day and the movie with Bill Murray.
There’s this whole thing about the sun and shadow I’d like to explore.
You hear about the “shadow side” we have – a side we either don’t realize we have or a side of us that is supposed to be bad. For the sack of this post, let’s say the shadow side is a part of us we don’t acknowledge.
I, for one, found I was a very strong woman 25 years ago when I stepped into the fear of purchasing a home when I didn’t even have a job, much less any money saved. I had never been fully responsible for earning money for food, clothing and shelter. This was a huge leap of faith to undertake. So in a way, I was the groundhog in his hole afraid of his own shadow. Poking my head out I must have seen both the shadow and the light – deciding to move forward toward a brighter future. It worked! I’m still in the house I was able to purchase almost 25 years ago.
The “shadow” in this parable also is the symbol of winter – the dark night of the soul. Sometimes when we see that side of ourselves, we want to hide. We go back into our shell for another 6 weeks (or whatever amount of time it takes for us to come out from hiding.) Sometimes we need help to get of this shell. Sometimes time is all that is needed.
Celebrate the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Sheep or Goat – 2015!
One thing for sure, we need to leave the baggage of the old “shadow” behind so we can move forward and enjoy the sunny days ahead. We have beauty within us. We can spread our wings to fly.
I’m seeing this particular Groundhog Day is extremely important for us to take advantage of “leaving the old shadow and baggage behind” since we have a fabulous Chinese New Year about to arrive on February 19. It is the Year of the Sheep (I prefer sheep to goat or ram).
Sheep are critters who can navigate the rock cliffs as well as graze in the fields. But the only way they can easily traverse the mountainous trails is to be unencumbered with “stuff!”
Sheep are very contented animals as they graze the pastures. We can claim the contented energy of this New Year by releasing old beliefs and other detrimental-to-us energy. As you go through the day, think about the old, limiting beliefs or old ways of doing things that no longer serve you.
Just like this groundhog, we have a beauty behind us if only we spread our feathers to let them show brilliantly in the sun, over-shadowing our “shadow” side.
That’s what the groundhog did when he saw his shadow. He went back into his hole for 6 more weeks of contemplation only to come out to view and enjoy sunny days of Spring.
If you can “see the shadow side” of this energy, direct your focus inward for the next few weeks. Heal the hurts. Discard the damaged. Bring out your brilliance! The sun is shinning brightly all year long during the year of the Sheep!
by llenore | Jan 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
Driving along tonight I saw this incredible full moon. I had to stop to take a picture of it.
Powerful energy of the Winter Full Moon can be used to help shine light on your dreams and help you to go inward to give birth to them in the coming months.
Feng Shui teaches us to honor and appreciate all of nature. Part of appreciation is to know when there are Full Moons and when there are New Moons. The energy around us definitely is different under each of these.
With this Full Moon about 2 weeks after the Winter Solstice, its light is ever more important since it accentuates the growing energy of longer days. Tonight is a night to think about how you want your life to expand; go to sleep thinking about this and dream on it. Then spend more time the next 2 weeks going inward to search your soul for guidance.
We just started the Western New Year and yet to have the Chinese New Year begin. This is a magical time between endings and beginnings to set your intentions for a BRIGHTER NEW YEAR!
by llenore | Jan 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Placing meaningful objects around your home creates the symbolism of your hearts desires, setting the energy in motion to manifest them. Here is a sculptured candle of a couple dancing I placed on my “blessings table” for my New Year’s Eve ritual and energy clearing. Secret Feng Shui teachings suggest you set your intentions whenever you do anything related to Feng Shui. My INTENTION is to be able to once again dance with the love of my life! What are your intentions for the New Year?
Why do some people have great success with Feng Shui and others don’t? It’s usually because of their attitude and intentions.
When a person hears about Feng Shui, or reads about it, they start to look at their homes with different eyes. They see things in a way they never considered in their mind’s eye. Visualizing how the space looks is very powerful. Understanding that our physical body doesn’t “read” it the same way as we think we “see” it is the awareness that changes part of the energy.
Another part of the process to change the energy of our environments is to purposely arrange or decorate with a focused vision of what we want as the desired outcome. As part of that process, have a clear INTENTION as you are doing the physical arrangement or decorating. This element of the process works on all levels of your being – physical, mental, emotional and physical – changing the cellular memory on all these levels.
For instance, this last year both my husband and I have had health issues that have prevented us from dancing. Mine has been a partially torn ligament in my foot. We love to dance. It has been a heartache for both of us to not be able to do this activity.
As part of my ritual for the New Year I created an altar and blessings table where I included many items having special meanings and symbology in our lives. One of the items I placed on the table was a beautiful sculptured candle of a couple dancing. In just the last two days I have seen a noticeable improvement with my foot.
What do you want (or don’t want) in your life? Can you find a symbol of it you could display someplace? Is there something you could change in your home to represent your desired outcome? Could you remove something representative of something you want to remove from your life?
Whatever you visualize in your mind’s eye can be a solution to trigger the change you want as long as you do it with a clear and positive (we never want to hurt anyone) intention.
Set your INTENTION in your physical environment for the way you want your life to be while cleaning, organizing, decorating or just enjoying your home. It only takes a couple of minutes of focused, mindful energy to make your home a 3-D vision board for the life of your dreams!
