by llenore | Jan 14, 2024 | Balance, Beauty, Blog, Calm, Chinese New Year, Color, Dreams, Feng Shui, Health, Interior Design, Mindfulness, Sacred Space, Self Care, Spiritual, Visions - visioning - Vision Boards
Step 6: Aromatherapy and Positive Energy Infusion (10 minutes)
Aromatherapy image & products by West Elm
As our transformative journey continues, immerse your home with the soothing scents of aromatherapy, one that is carefully orchestrated blending Western wellness trends and traditional purification practices.
In just 10 minutes, infuse your living space with the refreshing aroma of citrus or the calming essence of lavender. As these fragrances delicately permeate your home, negative energy dissipates, leaving behind a profound sense of clarity and renewal.
This intentional act ensures that your home transcends the realms of the physical and becomes a sanctuary of positive energy, aligning seamlessly with the very essence of the Chinese New Year. The fragrances linger not only in the air, but also become an integral part of the very essence of your living space.
A vase filled with roses in all their glorious colors brings fragrance and the Five Elements of CTM to create balance. Also, it adds the personal touch to make your home uniquely yours!
Bringing in natures’ natural scents, like a vase of roses or boughs of pine, connects you and your space to the elements of Mother Earth. They create an environment that not only promotes well-being; it exudes an aura of balance since it encompasses the Five Elements of Chinese Traditional Medicine (CTM); the elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This step continues our journey, contributing to the ongoing positive transformation of your living space.
#AromaHarmony #SacredScents
Next Stop: Invoking Prosperity with Part 7
Step 7: Invoking Prosperity with Personal Touches (20 minutes)
Our journey unfolds as we delve into the realm of personal touches to invoke prosperity.
In just 20 minutes, infuse your living space with elements that hold personal significance and meaning. It could be a cherished piece of artwork, a family heirloom, flowers from your garden or the Farmer’s Market, or items that resonate with your aspirations for the dreams you hold in your heart. These personal touches add a layer of uniqueness to your home, deepening the connection between your space and your personal journey.
As you strategically place these items, visualize them as anchors for the prosperity you seek. This final segment is a culmination of our efforts. It allows you to personalize your space in a way that aligns your head, heart, and hands with your goals and dreams – a powerful tool to start the Chinese New Year.
Dreams you hold in a jar called your heart!
#PersonalizedProsperity #HomeAsAnAltar
In embracing the rich tapestry of Chinese New Year traditions with a Western twist, these Feng Shui tips are thoughtfully curated for the dynamic, busy woman seeking a harmonious home. In just a few hours, you can successfully transform your living space into a sanctuary of joy, balance, and prosperity. May your home beautifully reflect the intricacies of your unique journey in the Year of the Wood Dragon!
#HomeHarmony #ChineseNewYearDecor #YearOfTheWoodDragon #WoodDragon #ChineseNewYear2024
by llenore | Jan 13, 2024 | Balance, Blog, Calm, Chinese New Year, Clutter, Color, Feng Shui, Front Door - Entrance, Interior Design, Linda Lenore
Continuing our awareness of our homes as we prepare for the Chinese New Year, we’ve discovered clutter can cause negative energy. We’ve discussed the power of different colors and what they represent. Now we are going to move to other furnishings, more specifically the larger pieces and how they affect the flow of energy.
Living Room with room to move around the furniture and open pathways
Step 4: Furniture Arrangement for Harmony (40 minutes)
As our transformative journey gracefully pauses for reflection, the focus turns towards the arrangement of your living space.
In the realm of Feng Shui, the unimpeded flow of energy is of utmost importance for creating an environment of true harmony. Take this moment to ensure that your furniture placement not only adheres to the principles of design, but also encourages a smooth flow of positive chi.
Visualize this as orchestrating a choreographed dance of energy, where each piece of furniture plays a pivotal role in creating an atmosphere of balance and serenity. The intentional rearrangement that transpires in this segment is not solely for the visual appeal of your home. It’s a deliberate act in setting the stage for daily tranquility.
Can you walk around and through your home easily? Or are you having to squeeze by large or small pieces of furniture? What about plants – are you having to duck under a branch or push one aside?
The human body likes a 3′ wide pathway for the shoulders to feel safe walking through a space. If you have to turn sideways to get through an area, you feel restricted. That’s a sure sign the energy doesn’t flow easily there either; it’s restricted as well. The lower part of the body can sometimes feel okay walking through a space that’s only 2 feet wide, but still that is rather tight for the energy to flow nicely.
In just 40 minutes, you have skillfully crafted a living space that not only invites a sense of harmony; it exudes an aura of elegance. This strategic alignment fosters an environment where you can navigate your daily tasks with ease and grace, creating a haven of balance within the heart of your home.
#HarmoniousLiving #ElegantFlow
Wreath from Wayfair images
Next Stop: Front Door Elegance
Step 5: Front Door Elegance (15 minutes)
Our journey actually should start at the Front Door because it is the main “Mouth of Chi”! It is the pivotal gateway to your home where first impressions are indelibly etched. If it isn’t inviting, you won’t be attracting all the good that’s available out in the world.
Front Door image from Rejuvenation images
In just15 minutes you can elevate your front door with a touch of elegance. A simple wreath, adorned with fresh or silk flowers or greenery, which symbolizes renewal, can extend a heartfelt welcome to positive energy. Opt for a sleek, minimalist design that seamlessly complements your home’s aesthetic.
Add a new, decorative “Welcome” mat in red or black for a pop of boldness.
What transpires in this segment transforms your entrance into more than just a physical doorway; it becomes a statement of beauty and balance. With minimal effort, you have not only created an elegant gateway that warmly welcomes you home, but you also have set the tone for a living space filled with positivity and style.
#ElegantEntrance #ModernWelcoming
Next Stop: Aromatherapy and Energy Purification
by llenore | Jan 11, 2024 | Balance, Beauty, Blog, Calm, Chinese New Year, Clutter, Feng Shui, Interior Design, Mindfulness, Optimistic, Order, Sacred Space, Self Care, SelfCare, Spiritual
Happy New Year
How’s your New Year going? Have you accomplished the goals you set or stuck to your resolutions? If not, you have another opportunity to make headway by preparing for the upcoming Chinese New Year.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, there is a profound opportunity to seamlessly weave together the tapestry of cultural richness and modern elegance within the sanctuaries of our homes. This transformative series, carefully curated by me, a Feng Shui master, is designed specifically for the dynamic and busy professional women of today.
Together, let’s embark on a journey that skillfully merges Western interior design ideas with timeless Asian customs, introducing not only a sense of calm and beauty but also infusing a touch of the sacred into every corner of your home.
What makes this guide particularly appealing is that each tip is meticulously crafted to be effortlessly incorporated into your routine – whether you do a little each day or take a half day here and there to implement them – each suggestion can be allocated to an hour or less, depending on how much time you have, how much needs to be done, or how much focus into the details you want to spend time wise.
Marie Kondo’s Book: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
Step 1: Declutter Your Space with a Purposeful Twist (30 minutes – maybe a couple times a week if you have several areas of focus)
Our journey commences with a deep dive into the transformative power of mindful decluttering, drawing inspiration from the minimalist philosophy of the renowned Marie Kondo. Beyond the mere act of tidying, this process is an intentional and purposeful endeavor.
As you delicately sift through your possessions, envision not only the reclamation of physical space but also the dispelling of any lingering negative energy. By consciously parting ways with items that no longer serve you, you are engaging in more than a decluttering exercise; you are creating room for the infusion of positive vibes.
This intentional approach serves as the foundational step toward crafting a serene and sacred home where each corner resonates with the vibrant energy of joy and purpose. Imagine a space that not only looks tidy but feels revitalized – a perfect initiation into the auspicious Chinese New Year.
#DeclutterForCalm #SacredSpaceRevival
Next Stop: Create a Westernized Wealth Corner
by llenore | Oct 25, 2023 | Beauty, Better Life, Blog, Color, Feng Shui, Good Life, Healing Hearts, Health, Interior Design, Journaling, Linda Lenore, Mind's Eye, Optimistic, Scary Times, Self Care, Spiritual, Visions - visioning - Vision Boards, Wellness, You are the LIGHT
Here’s what I did
The Artist’s Way – The book that started my journaling journey!
- I started to read empowering books and magazines. (This was long before any electronic readers were available. Coaches, especially Mindset Coaches, were very rare and not in my immediate SOI – Sphere of Influence.
- I came across Julia Cameron’s book, The Artists Way. It talked about journaling and doing “Morning Pages.” This worked for me. I started to be more optimistic. I was “dumping” the negative thoughts and worries onto a hand-written page. After about a week of this I couldn’t handle the negative writing and started writing about how I wanted to be well, walk again, and be able to do all the activities I loved.
- I had learned about Feng Shui about 10 years before. In Feng Shui we learned about the interconnectedness of the home and the body. Since the diagnosis was unknown, all I could do was look at what had been visible – in and on my body – and what my symptoms were.
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- The rash was on the skin and the skin is the outside of the house. I knew the paint on my house was peeling in places. I had someone come and fix it.
Area where the sheetrock was torn because the doorframe had been removed to move the washer & dryer out of the laundry room.
- My knees wouldn’t bend. Those are the “joints.” I had someone fix the joints where the sheetrock seams were located, which had been broken when the previous owner tore out the door in order to remove the washer and dryer from the laundry room. (The reason those joints had not been fixed before I bought the house was because I had bought the home “as is” out of desperation during the divorce.)
- I continued the process by changing my thoughts from “symptoms” and “poor me” to my desired outcomes! I saw myself wearing beautiful shoes again and having the ability to dress up, go out of the house, and enjoy the beauty of life. I wanted to see the sunlight from outside, to wear bright colors, and dance. Then in my mind’s eye I saw a stained-glass window with all the colors of the rainbow. I saw where it had to go in the house.
Before photo of living room when we started the remodeling. – Living room sheet rock removal 4-27-05
- From that point on my mind was on a creative journey. I wrote daily about visions I saw for the house. The visions looked at every part of the home, finding what was wrong or broken or didn’t work for me. These visions included ways to change it, making it beautiful.
Years before I was guided to name my company, A Beautiful Center of Light. During this time the real birthing of my company into a material form occurred. This process showed all the things I needed to change in my home and what to do.
I didn’t know how I was going to pay for any of the work. I didn’t know how this was going to heal my body.
But… the process healed my body! And the money came to do the work on the house.
The multi-colored stained-glass window placed in the living room where I saw it in my Mind’s Eye years before!
They still don’t know what I had or what caused my illness. It really doesn’t matter now. What does matter is I learned how our home is an extension of us. We are connected to it and it to us.
I continued to journal for many years and then stopped. When I went back to reading my journals, I decided I wasn’t going to do any more writing like that. It was so negative and depressing. I tossed the journals because I never wanted anyone to see how far down the dark hole I had gone. They contained an energy I needed to release from my body at that time, not keep to remember or share.
Closeup – Multi-colored Stained glass window
Journaling has helped many people and may be exactly what you need and want to do. It definitely did help me. But the journals themselves were not something I wanted to keep in my space once I was healed.
If you’d like to learn more about the connection between our body and our home, I’ve written an eBook on this called, HOME: A Reflection of SELF! Check my website for a free copy of it or contact me to receive it.
I think you will find the information fascinating and helpful!
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 19, 2023 | Feng Shui, Health, Interior Design, Linda Lenore, Self Care
Get help – It takes a village
Now we’ll focus on a few things for you!
- Get help – lots of it! I was fortunate to have my daughter & son-in-love living with us at the time. We all had our chores or ways we helped. My son did the yard and cooking. My daughter took care of Hilory’s business and the house. I did my business and took Hilory to appointments. It takes a “village” to take care of someone just like it takes a “village to raise a child!” Create your tribe or village!
- Find something you love and are passionate about that you can do during this time. This ONE THING I think saved me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in this situation.
I needed to create handouts for an interior design class I was teaching. What happened after about the 7th day was mind-blowing! I realized I needed to write a book. I allowed spirit to take over and I was its muse. Words poured out of me easily. The handouts became the book, The Gift of the Red Envelope. I wrote for all but 2 days of the 42 days of radiation (I took Good Friday and Easter off).
Think positive thoughts!
3. I was so connected to spirit I couldn’t have a negative thought!
This is one of the most important things I can share with you!!!
Only be around positive people! People who believe miracle happen! People who hold good thoughts!
That’s when I learned, “We can’t afford the luxury of any negative thoughts!” That’s when I realized I had followed the plan that was set in motion for me to provide me with the SELFCARE TOOLS I needed to make it through this horrific time.
These were SCARY TIMES! I had numerous “talks” with my Creator on many levels. My emotions were all over the map – from anger, begging, fear, to hope, etc.
- My question to you would be –
Follow Your Soul! It knows
If you are in the mist of scary times, what could you give all your energy and focus – to give your body, mind, and spirit – to create?
I think that is one of the greatest SELFCARE tools you can have.
- Another tip –
Help them find a dream 20 years out to focus on where you both are doing something together! It could be seeing a child (or grandchild) graduate or get married. It might be traveling on a long-desired vacation. Maybe it’s buying a dream home, car, or airplane.
If they can get deeply emotionally attached to the dream or desire, their brain starts figuring out how they are going to be able to do it, shifting any negative thoughts.
- Use Feng Shui. Find the corresponding location of the health issue in the home.
Ba-Gua
I’ve often felt helpless during a loved ones’ health challenge. It can be devastating. I’ve found if I change or clean up an area of the house that correlates to the affected area of the person’s body, it shifts the energy for me, the person, and the home.
For instance, with Hilory and his throat cancer, I cleared the boxes that were blocking the hallway because the hallway is associated with the “throat” of the home.
I’ve written an eBook on this called, HOME: A Reflection of SELF! Check my website for a free copy of it.
A few examples are: 1) the doors represent the mouth, and the windows represent the eyes, 2) bone issues could be the wood studs or framing of the home, 3) even the various systems like heating and plumbing represent things like our arteries and lungs.
Change it, fix it, beautify it! Find something that needs to be done with the home in the associated area of the body. In the process, you’ll shift any negative energy in the person’s body while improving your home’s energy.
#SelfCare #Self-care #BodyMindSpiritHealth #HealBodyMindSpirit #TheHealingDesigner
