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 | May 5, 2023 | Blog, Childhood memories, Entrepreneurship, Healing Hearts
Cinco de Mayo – Dog, Sombrero & Maracas
I’m not Latina, yet the Hispanic culture is part of my heritage. Many of my childhood friends were Hispanic, although we were not politically correct back then. We said they were Mexican.
My father worked for the railroad often working the Swingshift. The trainyard was in the heart of the Mexican neighborhood. Several times a week my mom and I went there to have dinner with him around 9pm. Sometimes he worked the Nightshift, which meant it was a 2am dinner. We’d have tacos or tamales.
The beautiful California Missions feel like my religious home. Most of my friends were raised Catholic; well, except for my Jewish boy friends. I’ve experienced many healings in and around those Missions.
I took Spanish in high school. I was in my second year of Spanish when my father died. Señor Chavez took me under his wing helping me through that horrible time. He let me slide on homework and asked me to get involved with a community project he ran.
His project was helping the VERY POOR in Duarte, CA. As the Vice President then President of the Future Nurses Club, I created a way for our club to gather food and clothing. We donated it to these families. I spent many hours several days a week with them for months. My Spanish improved – although you’d never know it now. (There’s a whole wonderful twist to this story that I’ll share at another time.)
Moving from Southern California to Northern California I lost a part of my heritage. I forgot my roots. I forgot the numerous trips my father would take us on to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico when I was between the ages of 9 and 12.
Blue 1955 Bathtub Porsche
My father had been laid off work for a while. During that time, he worked at a used car lot selling cars. I’d ride my bike the 2 miles after school to spend time with my dad. Then they “hired” me to wash cars and paid me for it.
When my dad was rehired by the railroad, he was able to purchase a used 1955 baby blue bathtub Porsche. Joining the Porsche Club, they had rallies and planned several trips a year to Ensenada. I was stuffed in the backseat of this small car, hunched over because the roof was so low.
Each trip I would find something I wanted and would purchase with my “carwash” money because I continued to work at the car lot washing cars.
One year I purchased a BIG sombrero, bongo drums, and maracas. Packing all of those into the backseat of the Porsche WITH ME was hilarious! Of course, that was the trip I got the sickest. We had to stop so many times! My dad had to pull over, we’d unload all this “crap” (excuse the language, but that’s what my dad said!) as we were on the side of the road, then I’d get out, throw up, get back in the car, drive 3 miles, then do it all again.
Margarita
When I saw the “Cinco de Mayo” image with the sombrero and maracas, it brought back these delightful childhood memories – memories I haven’t thought about in decades.
I may not be Latina, but my heart and mind rejoice in my youthful memories of tacos and tamales on Cinco de Mayo with our Mexican friends and family. In honor of those wonderful days, I enjoyed tacos for dinner. Yet instead of the childhood Coke, tonight it was an adult beverage – a Margarita.
by llenore | Jan 8, 2022 | Uncategorized
“GAME-CHANGING EVENT! PREPARE FOR CHOICES & DECISIONS” – Part 1
Rat Year 2020 Newsletter Image
This (above and below) is part of what I wrote in my newsletters in early January 2020 before I had heard about COVID – and before we started to experience what COVID would do in, and to, our lives! These thoughts were based on how the “animals” in the Chinese Zodiac affect the energy of the upcoming year, and thus our lives. In hindsight, we can see how these energies played out during the Year of the Metal Rat 2020.
BUT… the prep work is the same for EVERY YEAR. Consider including these tips into your activities and life between now and February 1, 2022 when the Year of the Water Tiger starts!
Transform your life, and the world, by preparing for the Chinese New Year on January 25, 2020. This Chinese New Year is unlike any most people have experienced, unless you are 60+ years old and were old enough to remember, plus aware enough to understand its implications.
The next 10 days as we approach the Year of the Metal Rat I’ll share powerful, and potentially life changing, information in a few newsletters. I hope you will take these gems, internalize them, and integrate them into your life. As the world becomes more interconnected through Internet energy, it’s imperative for us to become more connected to ALL the energies around us, especially our INNERnet – our inner energies, especially our intuition.
First, why “once in 60 years” you might be asking?
There are 12 animals in the lineup for the Chinese New Year and 5 elements, which equates to this formula of 12 x 5 = 60. The “Rat” is the FIRST of the animals, so it is considered to be a VERY AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING for the next 12 years. In addition, it’s not just a new year, it’s a NEW DECADE!
This is a rare game changer! It’s an EXTREMELY POWERFUL time in our lives. Let’s take full advantage of it!
YOUR INNER WORK
Unlock and change the pathways in your brain to remove limiting beliefs that are holding you back from your full potential.
1) Out with the Old – that means everything old!
Yes, let go of old items that no longer serve you (more later on this). More important, get rid of old BELIEFS. You want to “leave behind” as much “baggage” from the last decade and 60-year cycle as you can.
(It is even more important to “leave behind” the “baggage” from the last 2 years! The baggage could be FEAR, ANGER, HURT, GRIEF, and so much more!)
2) Focus only on positive, life-enhancing energy!
Instead of a focus on unjust things in our world or negative, judgmental issues, turn your thoughts and words into positive alignment. Rather than getting upset with a political view or action and jumping on the hysterical bandwagon as other people do, find a cause or action you can support – one filled with positive energy where you are helping people.
Negative words and energy block the flow of energy, causing illnesses. Positive energy fills you body with vitality giving you MORE energy.
3) There are incredible opportunities ahead this year, and you’ll need to make quick, informed choices. Don’t let these choices be based on “other people’s thoughts and perspectives.” They need to be YOUR decisions based on information you glean from reliable sources and your intuition. Steer clear of mass consciousness spread by the media. You’re only “feeding the dragon” of FEAR, actually contributing to more of that energy.
Conclusion – Think back to January 2020. Would these tips have helped you navigate what was ahead?
I’ve heard it said that: “Out of chaos order is created.” Is it possible the chaos we have been experiencing since 2020 is trying to create a more balanced order in our world?
I’ll be sharing more from my 2020 newsletters to help you prepare for the New Year. No matter what New Year it is – whether it’s a Western, Chinese, or Lunar New Year – simple preparation steps can help you create better energy for the upcoming year.
