What do you have near your front door?

If you have nothing there, you have well, “nothing”. The space is empty of life. This can make you feel devoid of purpose or uninspired. The flow of chi passes you by instead of being called forth.

The Feng Shui Alternative
Place healthy, vibrant plants there, and you declare your desire for a healthy, vibrant life. All of feng shui is a metaphor for the way energy works. Make your plant selections based on your favorite colors or plant varieties – what inspires you. Use your front door every day, not only to enjoy this bounty, but to further declare your welcome to opportunities that await.

This week, I was having some bliss of my own on Monday – boating on the St. Croix River. Yep, instead of sitting at my computer, I was out enjoying one near-perfect day of sun and fun with my family.

Getting out of our houses and rejuvenating our spirits in nature is important. We can’t very well rejuvenate our spaces when feeling lethargic from being indoors too long. We end up feeling stuck and unmotivated. But sun is energizing, live plants and blossoming flowers offer life-giving chi. We need some time to get outside and play (detach, not think about what needs to be done) then transfer that energy boost and re-inspired creativity into projects at home later.

On the days when I know I need to buckle down on the computer, I make a point of having:

1) the shades wide open to let in as much light as possible
2) a plant or flowers near me
3) regular breaks outside to warm in the sun
4) music with nature sounds to play in the background

So even when I’m not outside, these things can give me near-to-nature nourishment.

Another thing I noticed right away was a stove in Wealth. Again, working as a destructive cycle for Wood, the stove’s Fire could have the effect of burning up her money.

After observing this I asked her how things were going financially. Andrea admitted she was struggling. She hated being dependent upon others to help support her, and felt frustrated that she hardly had any money to spend as she wished. However, she felt limited in her ability to make more money with the jobs she currently had.

The first thing I recommended she do was paint to offset some of the white. She already had some samples, and we chose a deep, natural green. Secondly, I suggested she place a mirror on the wall, to open up the narrow space. Not only would that “open up” more opportunities for her, but it also would support the Water element, which nurtures Wood and helps money flow. And third, she needed to add some Water near the stove to “put out” the Fire there.

In addition, I recommended that she go through her cupboards and drawers to clear any clutter that could be dragging the energy down, as well as to edit what was on the countertops.

When asked how she feels about the space now, Andrea said she loves it – the color, the way the light feels in the space during the morning, her new plant…she now wants to cook and entertain more. After decluttering, she also feels more organized.

I say, a job well done. And the elements of the transformation were pretty simple, not too time-consuming or expensive to implement. Andrea now has a space which supports her, and one she can enjoy more.

Welcome to Monday Bliss.

“Today, no matter where or how you live, look upon your home through the eyes of Love. Walk around the rooms and offer thanks for the walls and roof that safely enclose you and yours. Pause for a moment to consider all the women who have lost their homes through death, divorce, debt, or disaster. Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that, at this moment, all you have is all you truly need.”

- Sarah Ban Breathnach
Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

Spring has sprung, and that makes us excited to start something new.

Coming soon, in the summertime, a lot of us have more freedom with our schedules, so now’s the time to put our creative ideas into motion. Do you have any projects in mind that you’d like to get into over the summer? Or are you looking to spark some ideas?

Whether it’s gardening, knitting, cooking, writing, scrapbooking, redecorating, painting, taking photographs –making an adjustment in your Creativity area can support your inspired undertaking.

Or, on the inside of your space, place something metal, like a sculpture for artistic inspiration. Something white (the color associated with the Creativity area) like a throw blanket, pillow or rug can also work well to manifest ideas or support.

Did you find this post interesting? What are you going to do in your space? Leave a comment below

One Easy Way:  Have a Clutter Maintenance Mantra
A mantra is a word or short phrase you repeat over and over. It comes from the Hindu tradition, and would be used for chanting or prayer.

This concept can work for you too. If you have trouble managing the stuff coming in, then this’ll be a good way for you to get it ingrained in your head, so it becomes second nature for your being.

Try this:
New thing comes in, old thing goes out. New thing comes in, old thing goes out…

Then make sure you have a place for the stuff that goes “out” easily accessible. Whether it’s trash, recycling or donation boxes, you need to make it easy for yourself to follow through. And no digging things back out later when you have second thoughts. Your gut reaction on what’s to go should be trusted.

The Bagua

For feng shui newbies, the bagua is a chart we practitioners use to locate 9 life areas.

It helps us pinpoint on paper–like a bird’s-eye view–where there are things that can challenge the feng shui of an area (walls, stairs, drains, appliances, missing areas, etc.) and things that can be auspicious, or good feng shui luck (5 element harmony, a good flow, extensions, etc.).

Since I’ve been a certified practitioner for 5 years now, I pretty much go around with the bagua in my head–making space assessments practically everywhere I go based on my educated guesstimate for where the 9 areas fall. And that’s what I did for my new place.

Similar to the way some think they’ll “get around” to dealing with a room’s clutter, I was always going to “get around” to drawing out the bagua. I’ve still made many feng shui adjustments, but there’s just something powerful about looking at things on paper. You get insight on another level, and catch things you’ve missed before.

Lately we’ve been having some water issues–water leaking and water damage. In feng shui terms this means trouble with money–money leaving you and problems with managing it. Umm, no thank you.
I was all over getting those things fixed.

Another water issue I hadn’t been aware of, which I only noticed after drawing the bagua out, was the number of drains in the Career area (5) and 1 in the Wealth area. Drains are the feng shui equivalent of money or chi being sucked away. After learning this, we are keeping our stoppers closed.

What better way to keep our health goals top-of-mind
than displaying a constant reminder?

If your health intention is to:

lose weight

eat only whole foods

keep up with/start an exercise routine

…display something in your space to put some added power behind it. The Health area, then the kitchen are probably the most appropriate spaces, but if the bathroom mirror or next to your bed so you see it every morning and night works better for you, do it there.

Doing a feng shui adjustment, we say the feng shui magic happens on a “transcendent” level. You put a bowl of apples in your Health area, and now you have more energy? The mystery of how is not for us to understand.

But besides “transcendent” adjustments, we must also make adjustments on the “mundane” level – keep healthy foods stocked in our homes, make the right choices when we go out, stay on track with exercise. Having that bowl of apples there works for our conscious minds, every time we see it, to stay focused on what we intend.

What are your health goals? And how do you plan to implement feng shui to back them up? Please share by leaving a comment below.

P.S. If you have clutter in your Health area, or some other feng shui inhibitor, you’ll need to deal with that or your adjustment will not help you find success. It could even keep you from it.

Reignite passion for your space by giving it a good rub-down. Be intentional about what you’re clearing from each area as you remove dirt, grime and get things shining again.

“Cleaning creates an empty space where something new–
life–can happen…this is sacred work, creating hallowed ground–a space that is returned to its cleared wholeness.”  Kathryn L. Robyn,  Spiritual Housecleaning, Healing the Space Within by Beautifying the Space Around You

After nurturing your space, you will feel it can nurture you better. Instead of down, you can feel revitalized, ready for something new – perhaps for a lovely blessing to come your way.

Thieves Household Cleaner

My Favorite Cleaning Solution
Thieves multi-purpose cleaner not only smells amazing – like cinnamon and cloves – it does a great job of shining things up. And you hardly need any of the concentrated solution to fill an entire spray bottle or bucket. Since it’s so concentrated it lasts a long time. It seems spendy for one bottle, but then you realize you’ll have that bottle for a year or so, depending upon how much cleaning you do.

The best part about it is that it’s 100% natural, so it’s safer than most all-purpose cleaners, for the health of your family and pets. But it’s still strong, due to its unique blend of essential oils.

Click here for a video about Thieves  To order, please contact me.

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Could you use a jump-start on creating order in your home office?
Click Here for your ticket to FREEDOM, PEACE OF MIND and HAPPINESS about being able to GET MORE WORK DONE FASTER in a well-designed workspace.

Jessica Hoelzel, SpaceRejuvenata

I want to make the world a better place. This is my gift. Some care for the sick, some help the needy – my mission is to provide support to bring new life to your home. So it nourishes your spirit instead of drains the life out of you.

To do this, I draw on my fierce aversion to clutter and command order. I listen to what the home and home-dweller need balanced, mix in some creative ideas and there you go. A space transformed. Given new life.

So what’s going on in your space? You’ve got to tell me, because I need to know how to help.

• Are you having a clutter challenge in a certain area?
• Do you want to know if something about your house is good feng shui?
• Planning a change to your space and want to know what direction to go?

Please ask me. I’m launching monthly SpaceRejuvenata E-Tips very soon. It’ll have a column called “Ask the SpaceRejuvenata”. So submit your questions to me and I’ll do my best to get them answered either in SpaceRejuvenata E-Tips or on the blog. Include a picture if you can, and your name will remain anonymous.

I’m so excited! I can’t wait to hear from and help YOU.
Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to SpaceRejuvenata E-Tips in the upper righthand corner of this page – so you can be sure the very first issue lands in your inbox!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Could you use a jump-start on creating order in your home office?
Click Here for your ticket to FREEDOM, PEACE OF MIND and HAPPINESS about being able to GET MORE WORK DONE FASTER in a well-designed workspace.