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 | Aug 21, 2023 | Ba-Gua, Beauty, Clutter, Color, Feng Shui, Feng Shui Schools, Health, Interior Design, Linda Lenore, Reflect You, Self Care, Wellness, You are the LIGHT
For almost a decade grey has been a “go to” color trend creating a host of less than desirable energy – unless you are selling your house.
Charcoal grey kitchen
Then it might be just what you want since a recent Zillow survey states it might actually increase the sale price of your home. Let me explain more why you don’t want to use it.
One of the ways we create grey is by mixing black and white together. In Feng Shui, black equates to water and white equates to metal. Mixed together, they make grey; mixed together the elements of water will rust metal thus reducing the vitality of the space.
Every color has a vibration. Depending on what you want in your life, you may want to either paint specific colors or bring in area rugs or throw pillows with those colors to enhance the energy of your space.
For instance, if you want more energy, red is a great color. If you want more soothing energy, light blues might be a better choice.
Seafood green bedroom
Need a spark of creativity, yellow and orange are great stimulator colors. Green, especially in the sea foam or light moss range, gives a room the feeling it is connected to nature and is a restful color.
Paint is a rather low cost way to give your home a vibrational lift, yet it can also be more permanent than the addition of a rug or pillows. I’m a DIYer, so I do my own painting, but that’s not for everyone. Furniture needs to be moved; trim needs to be taped; flaws in the walls need to be fixed. Maybe changing out the drapes would be a quicker and easier way to jazz up the place to see if you even like the color long term.
As an additional note, all white rooms are out. The addition of bright colors to a white room is in. Also, adding wood in warm hues brings a nice contrast and earthiness to otherwise bland rooms.
Those are some current thoughts on ousting grey from the color choices and taking a risk on some tried and true design tips with color splashes!
As far as Feng Shui is concerned, most of the common sense parts of Feng Shui relate to the science of Color Psychology. This is a science I have studied for nearly 40 years starting in my early days in design school.
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.
