I have always been interested in things like Feng Shui and doing things a little differently. Many people consider such things to be a load of nonsense, but from what I can see, the Eastern cultures are very clever, successful and wealthy people, so it can’t all be wrong.
My Feng Shui Interest
For many years I have owned a three legged toad, a tortoise who sits on a mound of coins and multiple laughing Buddhas. When I have found I need help and assistance in certain areas of my life, I have read as much as I can online and in books about increasing the positive energy around me.
As our house and family have grown, as our lives have become a little more busy and complicated, I have struggled to find all the answers so last year, when things seemed to start pretty rubbish at the beginning of the year and then had a gradual decline towards the end of the year I decided enough was enough, so with some financial help from my Mum I took the plunge and arranged for a Feng Shui Consultant to come and spend the day in our home.
Choosing a Feng Shui Consultant
It wasn’t a decision I took lightly; I researched thoroughly online first and selected Vanessa through the Feng Shui Society website. I liked the look of Vanessa despite never having met her before. I felt like I already knew her. If I was inviting a stranger into my home for a full day, I needed to feel comfortable with them, and with Vanessa, I got it right.
Our Consultation Findings
We had a couple of phone calls before she initially came; I sent her floor plans and photographs of our home and told her my main areas of concern. After looking at the floor plans and pictures, she suggested I address several issues immediately.
Bedroom
We had just bought a brand new bed, a cream wrought iron bed frame. Vanessa said that as pretty as the bed was, it offered no support in our lives. We needed to change this to a bed frame with a solid headboard. Funnily enough, our previous bed was made of very thick solid wood, and it was around the time we changed our bed that some of our problems began. You can read a helpful post on Feng Shui bedroom tips on the sleep tech firm Simba’s website, which may give you more insight into your bedroom.
The Power of Pictures
Wherever we had groups of pictures in our home, I displayed them in descending order from left to right, which meant that all of our luck and opportunities were falling away. Vanessa reminded me to always think of the Nike tick and how it goes up at the end. That is how items should always be displayed in the home.
The same goes for any ornaments or picture frames; they should be displayed in pairs, with the tallest item always to the left. Also, pictures are compelling in the home. They need to be positive, forward-thinking and meaningful if they have words. Vanessa has a great video on the Power of Pictures here.
Consider Your Words and their Meaning
In our downstairs toilet, which I decorated last year with the campervan wallpaper, I bought a picture that said “Keep Calm and Carry on Dreaming” with a picture of a campervan. Hubby and I love campervans and hope one day to own one. The problem with this picture was the wording. Vanessa asked if we wanted to ‘dream’ our way through life or if we wanted to ‘live’ it. The answer was simple.
Children’s Bedrooms
The boys were not sleeping well, waking many times through the night and staying awake from early morning, then being tired through the day and playing up because they were overtired. You may have seen on Instagram and Facebook that I had hung a faceted crystal ball in the boy’s bedroom window so they would see ‘fairies’ when the sun shone on it and the lights bounced around their room. This was multiplying the energy in their room, making it difficult for them to sleep. The crystal needed to be moved.
Water Fountain – Disappearing Money
In Feng Shui terms, water equals money and moving water means increased energy in that department. This was something that I knew, and in the past, I had owned water fountains, which I kept in the home. I didn’t realise that not all water fountains are good for money and abundance. (Just think of the huge water fountains in front of the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas).
I bought a new water fountain and placed it in the garden on our patio. It turns out I had inadvertently placed it in my husband’s career corner, and the fountain was one where the water disappeared into the bottom of the fountain; it didn’t create a pool at the bottom, so as fast as the money was coming in, it was disappearing. Within weeks of buying this fountain, my husband was made redundant!! I sold the water fountain.
So, if you want to buy a new water fountain, ensure it pools at the bottom. A pond in the front garden is also good, but make sure the water flows towards the house, not away from it.
My Office was Limiting My Growth
Over the years, I had progressed from working at the kitchen table to a small corner desk in the playroom, similar to the one above. Business had got better but I felt like I had reached a plateau and wasn’t sure how to progress. Vanessa took one look at my desk and said, “nope”. My desk had a shelf that went across the top to stand my printer on. In essence, I was creating my ‘ceiling’ and limiting the space for my business to grow.
She said that I needed a proper desk that I could sit behind in a position of power, not tucked in the corner facing the wall. I needed to be facing the door, with my back to a solid wall and the ability to look out of my window. I changed all of that and haven’t looked back since. My business has continued to grow from strength to strength. For more information on how to Feng Shui your home office, check out my article.
These were just the initial points that Vanessa picked up on before she came to the home. It gave me enough to get me thinking, but I’ll tell you more about that another day.