Thoughts Are Things

In my Feng Shui consultations, I often run into resistance to the idea that everything is energy, alive and in motion.  And that thoughts are things.  And that the Universe is responsive to every energetic impulse, with that impulse taking ‘form’ as thought. To most of us, thoughts are intangibles.  

The past is only a record of where we have been in our lives.  And, regardless of what meaning we might have given it, the past does not define who and what we are, nor does the past limit that which has yet to be expressed.  

In order to change your life, your thoughts, your feelings and your actions all have to be firing simultaneously in the same direction.  Make decisions based on where you want to go rather than on where you have been.  Quit driving with your hands on the wheel yet looking in the rear view mirror.

What we see as our ‘present’ can undergo change in the blink of an eye, with a change in our thinking.  

So often, in making decisions that will have an affect on the future, we neglect to look at our surroundings.  But every single thought and expression in life is like a ‘brick in the wall’, building the structure for the future.  If you are not happy with how the structure is appearing, make the changes necessary.  Begin with your thoughts.  Nothing of the future is cast in stone.  It is all subject to change and the dynamics generated from your thoughts.  

This is new thinking for some.

In the workings of Feng Shui, which is really just an understanding of the dynamics of energy and natural movement, the objects and arrangements in a structure are an outward manifestation of the thought behind them.  Every object is a demonstration of the thinking patterns at work.  And how often it is that people are in conflict with what they say they really want in life, yet such is restricted from taking shape because of what they hold onto in their program of thinking.

For instance...Relationship.

Often I am invited to consult where the client wishes changes in the relationship status.  Either s/he wants a partner, or wants improvement in a current situation.  There are many underlying currents affecting disharmony within a marriage or union.  

One example I run into frequently, especially in homes in the midwest, is a split foyer immediately upon entering the front door.  Meaning, ‘split’ agendas, which can only lead to divisiveness.  Yet, ‘split agenda’  was the undercurrent of consciousness from the beginning, with purchase of the house.  Unless some work is done to bring balance and unity so that the ‘two become one’, there will be separation, quarreling, resentment, and quite possibly, divorce.  

Feng Shui cures can be put into place, yes, but what is really necessary is some deep examination of ‘personal agendas’ on the part of each partner.  Access to either upper or lower levels should always be at the left of the entry way, and preferably deeper into the floor plan than at the front door.  

What of the one who is single but desirous of a relationship?  What do I look for upon entering the dwelling?  I keenly observe, listening to the signals that tell me the person is either in a healthy psychological space inviting of a relationship, or of a program of ‘single’ thinking.  

Where two or  more. . .

A ‘single’ space is evidenced in art and objects depicting isolation, emptiness, aloneness; for example, an art piece showing one chair on an empty beach, one of this, one of that.  A single bird, a solitary tree, one flower in a vase.  The art/objects and furnishings were chosen from a consciousness programmed to that of ‘alone-ness’.  Such may work for a monk, but not for one who wants partnership.  Get the picture?   

A healthy space reflects a consciousness that will naturally pull the right person into the situation.  A healthy space has art and furnishings depicting pairs, interaction, exchange, and may involve some ‘re-programming’ of one’s thoughts about partnership.  AND, the space must allow room for a partner, rather than be filled with energy-sucking clutter.  There is no room for relationship if the ‘space’ is filled with the energy dynamics of another.  So toss those old love letters, archive the photos, bless and release the old in order to be open for the new love that will bring balance into that of you that longs for companionship.  

As you begin to reframe your thinking about relationship, you will automatically begin to make changes and bring things into your surroundings and sphere of activity that which will out-picture your desire.  

Start first with your thoughts.  

Energy follows thought, regardless of the situation.  You can change any and every situation --whether health, financial, career, family, creativity, partnership, living situation-- all by changing your thought.  No exceptions, as it is Law. Master Teachers have been telling us that for eons.  

A skilled Feng Shui consultant can help you change your life!

The Color RED

It’s been some years since American households began daring to use the color red on walls and furnishings.  The house with red in it increases ‘life force’ and benefits many times over.  

During the Christmas holidays, red is in abundance, and the cheer brought into the surroundings in everyday occurrence is unmistakeable. Smiles are more evident, exchanged between strangers and friends alike.  Good wishes are voiced among those who normally would not bother.

Is it just that people feel a little more festive because they know it’s the holidays? Could it be the use of the color red?

As the holidays come to a close, notice the subtle shift ensuing when the decorations get put away and the surroundings return to their carefully tasteful and (usually) bland appointments.  Notice that behaviors revert to the colorless --and notably beige-- pre-holiday attitudes.

Red Holds Energy

The color red has characteristics affecting energy dynamics in most beneficial and invisible ways.  Red holds energy.  The center of the back wall --whether of a room or of a building-- is the area for FAME/REPUTATION/REGARD.  The color it manifests is red, and affects that which animates and enlivens, or Life Force. Used at an entry way incorrectly it will inhibit and stop and repel energy.  Used correctly, it will invite.  An outside entry door painted red will attract.  An interior door painted red will repel.  

A ceiling painted red will cause feelings of oppression, heaviness and anger. A floor painted red will hold beneficial energy that might otherwise leak out of windows. Red is used to energize any area that is ‘wan’ or not thriving just as a person suffering from anemia benefits from consuming red meat.  

Here is a simple little example of a cure with red that was put into place in a most unusual circumstance, a trade show.  Now, a ‘booth’ at one of these things is merely some pipe and drape defining a 10’x10’ space with a long table.

I happened to be showing in a booth, and next to me was a gal whose highly intuitive skills as an animal healer were not attracting any attention whatsoever.  I was impressed with her work, and the book she had authored was definitely worth attention.  

I simply cannot help myself in these situations, and I asked her if I could work some simple magic in rearranging things for her.  I asked her helping friend to run out to a local party store and pick up a red table cloth and some napkins, and several small cartons.  When she returned I spread the red cloth at the center of the table top, upon which I placed her marketing materials and brochures.

I then stacked the cartons to the right end of the table, creating small display towers, draped the red napkins and place her books on top, stacked and standing up so the covers were in an obvious repeated design.  I also had her create a simple handwritten registration form to capture names and email info from visitors so she could followup with them.  This hastily-created 'form' was placed on the table's left.

Within literally minutes, people began stopping by and asking her about their sick animals, and she was off and running.  At one point, I looked over and there was a crowd of people listening to her lecture.  The lectures scheduled for earlier in the day had no audience whatsoever.

I followed two rules:  1) use of red to pull in and hold energy; 2) harmonious inviting arrangements in the form of what is called ‘sleeping dragon’: low on the left, high on the right.

Consider how the use of red might just prolong the feelings of good will that are prevalent during the Christmas season, and also how that same use might energize and spark the flame in an otherwise ‘wan’ or stagnant area.

Give It A Rest!

We are in a most exciting time, and not one of us is here on the planet by accident.  Not only is it the end of a great world age, it is the beginning of an age that is new to all life, new to the cosmos and new to humanity.  The old orders are disintegrating, with new order emerging.  A powerful time! 

Every one of us has chosen this time.  And why would we have done that?  To spend a life making a living?  To live in depression, or in any state that is less than our full potential?  NO.

There is a flow, a movement of...Something.   How can we awaken ourselves to what that 'Something' is?  

Start with Nature. Have you noticed that Nature always thrives?

In answer to their constant questions as to what Heaven is like, Jesus advised the disciples to look at the order and perfection in Nature and her cycles.  One thing always emerges from another, according to a design, a pattern. By attuning to this natural flow we can best order our own lives.

Moon Cycles: Nature's Calendar for Success  -- Right now, as of this writing, December 13, 2012, we are in ‘new moon’, where the seeming absence of the moon indicates a stilling of the earth’s rhythms.  All Nature rests during this span of 3 days when we too should be at rest.  Choosing NOT to rest during this naturally restorative time leads our bodies to burnout.  For we are Spirit Beings and the body we wear is subject to earth's natural rhythms.  To put all aside and take time for ourselves will pay out much bigger than we know.  And, consequently, not to do so, will take its toll.

So accept the gift of rest and renewal during ‘new moon’.  Use this time to mindmap the ideas you would like to bring forth in your life, whether a new job, a new health regime-- whatever it is that you would like to bring forth.  Work with the natural rhythms as shone us in the stages of the moon.

After 3 days of rest and planning in the new moon stage,  notice that new ideas naturally start to show up.  From new until full moon is action time.  Concentrate energy and effort into ‘bringing things to a boil’, with all aspects of planning, launching your idea and projects.  

Then, just after the full moon, shift into a stage of tending to the responsive activity that will naturally occur, having been set into motion with your pre-full moon efforts.

By the last stage of the moon cycle, you will see resolution and results for your efforts, and things will subside into stillness with a new moon again.  Then it will be time to let things gel, give it all a rest, gathering energy for the next ‘wave’ of activity.

Even though long -term projects will require more than one cycle to accomplish the desired end result, your job is to keep your goal foremost in your mind, and work with the design in Natural Order, rather than fruitlessly against it.  You will indeed see the thing done.  

Or, you may find that, "Hmmm, it’s not what I wanted after all." But the activity you’ve stirred up will lead to "this, or something better."

The nonstop clamor of daytime demands numbs our minds to the 'still small voice within.' Many of us are being ‘awakened’ (in the wee hours, perhaps?) to sense the stirring deep within, a desire for change, for expansion, for more of that which fulfills our true Being.  In that each of us has chosen to be here at this exciting time, something must be wanting to express in a fuller manner, and these wee hour wake up calls are the best way for the Voice to get us to listen to that which gives us Inner Direction.

In that the accelerated movement of Everything-That-Is is caught up in this cosmic shift of our star system, it behooves us to pay attention, ordering our own life activity in accord.   What is it that is stirring within?  That of the Divine is seeking its greater expression through you. Use these wee hour awakenings to tune in and perhaps journal, or pray for direction and guidance.  Then notice what starts showing up in your life.

We are told, “Lo, it is the Father’s pleasure to GIVE you the kingdom.” But ya gotta ask!  I invite you to claim the gifts in natural cycles: REST.  And may you be happy and fulfilled.  

Namaste!

Energy Imprints

Energy Imprints

All-That-Is is energy, whether in something we consider 'alive' or an inert pile of old newspapers. 

A reading of energy-movement within a structure includes everything under the same roofline.  In our country the roofline of the house often includes the attached garage.  

In the preliminary interview with my client, a once-married-now-single 50-something female, she had many unfulfilled goals, one of which was to be able to travel.  In addition, she felt she was not getting anywhere in her career, and was also in constant squabble with her Home Owner Association over one thing or another.  

In reading her lovely 2-story California condo, I sensed a number of areas that were considerably out of whack.  Along with blocked energy and ‘wind tunnels’, there was much stuck energy in the garage. 

The 2-car garage was in good repair, kept very tidy in her meticulous manner of order, as was her vehicle.  She used only half of the garage. 

However, she had allowed a friend to completely fill the ‘unused’ area with items for storage.  In this instance the garage happened to be located in the Helpful People & Travel area of the Bagua matrix we use in Feng Shui.

Her front door was attractively maintained, except for a scraggly bougainvillea vine that she had purposely wired and staked to drape across the door’s small overhang. Stubbornly defying HOA rules that doors and walkways be kept clear and uncluttered, Jean explained she was exercising what she felt was her right to handle her property her way.

The front entry door was in the gua of Career/Work.  

Can you see the obvious? 

That day I helped Jean into many discoveries in how energy was being blocked or whistling past her right out the plate glass windows.  She implemented every one of the many changes I recommended, and here are two of the shifts that started happening almost immediately. 

• Helpful People/Travel:  In asking the friend to make other arrangements, she reclaimed her 'space', enlivened with HER own imprint.  
• Result?  Within weeks, Jean was on her way to Sedona AZ, a long-held dream destination.  
• Career/Work:  In recognizing the thorny vine was not only a sign of her unwillingness to cooperate, but also blocking any movement with her stagnant work situation, she had the vine removed completely.  
• Result?  For the first time in her years with the company, she received a Christmas bonus as a ‘thank you’ from the company president, in appreciative recognition for how she was helping the company’s continued growth and its consequently increasing profit margin. The amount?  $10,000.
• Further, he was planning to move the company to Texas, and invited her to move with them, all relocation expenses paid.  

We are told by Spiritual Masters that life is to be one of joy and fulfillment, with the “Father’s good pleasure to give” us the kingdom.  Yet unwittingly we block such gifts.  Once one cultivates a sense of how energy moves within a confined space, and the imprinting effect our thoughts have on such movement, Feng Shui becomes a matter of common sense.

Color Cures and Formulas

I once consulted for a children's center that was a combination day care and pre-school.  The enthusiastic young teachers had each treated their rooms differently.  Here are two examples of how the behavior of the children in each room was related to color and arrangement.  

In one room the teacher had created 'pod' centers..  She had designed areas where children could sit on a circular rug defining the area and read books, or work at a table together on a science project, or take a personal 'time out' at the aquarium to daydream with the fish they took care of, or rest, or gather around the piano for music.  There were no straight rows of chairs and desks; rather, curved areas designed for creativity and interacting.

The main source of daylight was from the south wall, with a row of windows low enough so children could see outside.  Above the windows, the architects had used glass block to insulate, provide structure yet allow natural light daylight. This meant a constant stream of strong daylight, which was regulated with window shades. The door opened at the left of the room.  The colors the teacher used in the room were medium intensities of cooling greens and calming blues.  

Despite having several of what other situations might label ‘problem’ children, there were few outbursts.  The room was an orderly hum of busy activity.

Another classroom had the same window configuration with exposure to strong southerly sunlight.  Its door opened in the same position as the aforementioned room.  However, the near left wall was painted a flaming raw fuschia color, and it almost felt as if one was bleeding upon entry.  Another wall across was painted an intense bright blue, beautiful on its own, but overwhelmingly oppressive and overactive in combination with the bright pink.  

The teacher was well qualified; the room was well organized.  Still, the ongoing behavior of the children was chaotic, with many emotional outbreaks, and absences from sickness.  

This room required a color correction.  The balancing color to the raw fuschia is a cooling green.  In this case I used a soft green (which is energetically in opposition to red tones) acted as a ‘block’, canceling and healing the raw fuschia, effectively neutralizing the 'bleed-through' from that overly yang and too-warm color.  As the room has the same south facing windows, the calm green paired peacefully with a welcoming creamy white, counterbalancing yet embracing the strong sunlight, resulting in the same effect on young psyches.  The problem behaviors for that room have disappeared and the room continues to fill with eager receptive young spirits.

The rules of color in Feng Shui are --of course-- in alignment with the laws of movement in Nature, in curves.  Each color has a frequency, or an energy quotient.  As most buildings tend to be built in rectangular fashion, the use of color is critical to break up the overly yang/masculine movement created with straight lines. All-white rooms scatter energy, whereas the use of one or more colors--whether in furnishings or wall surfaces-- manipulates it.  

the formula

Keeping the left-to-right circular movement in mind, follow this 'formula' for harmonious pleasing results. 

• LEFT:  Cools, with blue and green tones, will work best at the left side of an entry, and on left walls when entering a room   ‘Left’ is always ‘feminine’ and receptive, thus inviting ease of entry.
• BACK:  Warm red-based hues collect and hold energy, and are used in the back, preventing escape or leakage.  
• RIGHT:  To the right are lighter pastels which carry energy into the unformed future of potentials and possibilities.  
• ENTRY:  Dark colors associated with looking down into a watery pond are best used on the floor or doorway of an entry.  

do's and absolutely don'ts

NO-NO:  A room and its ceiling should never be all nor same tones of one color.  There needs to be room for other color to breathe.  

YES-YES:  A bit of red hue needs to be present somewhere near the rear and/or right  to bring the life of 'fire' into the room.

  

Structures Talk

There is much that is energetically communicated within an enclosed space that most people do not hear.  But I do.

When asked about Feng Shui, I explain it is principles based on 6,000+ years of the laws of energy movement within Nature.  When Jesus was asked by his disciples what heaven was like, time and again his response was to look around at laws evidenced in the perfection in Nature, which offers a perfect system, a balance of constant change that is in harmony with itself.  In confining that movement, whether within walls of a hovel or a skyscraper, we unknowingly affect the dynamics, most often to our detriment.

One rarely considers how a job loss, or marital breakup, or health problem may be related to a change made in the living or work space.  And fewer still understand how a few simple alterations can re-direct energy, perhaps stopping an invisible wind tunnel that channels 'career' energy right out the window.  Or heal a sagging relationship.  Or break up stuck energy in one's 'wealth' area.

In studying a blueprint or a floor plan, I can tell you what has happened to the party who just sold the house, and what will likely happen to the new buyer who lives in the space.   This is because I am highly sensitive to the flow in fields of energy.  All-That-Is is energy, or vibration, regardless of the form it takes.  The structure itself shows me the movement of energy, and how the lives of its inhabitants have been diminished or blessed.

Such things whisper even as I drive or walk pass buildings and houses--and when I actually enter, the chatter really starts!

The Chinese say if you move 21 things in your house, you will change your life.  If you'd like to know more about these principles my workshop coming up in December is for you, more details on my website:  http://www.georgistreetman.com

Change A Room & Change Your Life! 

A 3-hour workshop on the principles of Feng Shui

 at the EastBankYoga Studio located in the 8th & Railroad Center in Sioux Falls SD.  

Thursday evening, December 1 2011, 6:30 to 9:30

             ----------OR------------

Saturday afternoon, December 3, 2011, 1:30 to 4:30 
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