Monthly Archives: May 2012
Space Clearing with Essential Oils: Palo Santo
I’ve written before about Space Clearing with incense. Another way to clear negative energy from your space is by diffusing essential oils. Palo Santo is a powerful one to use.
Diffusing essential oils vaporizes them with water to emit them into the air. To do this you need a bottle of essential oil (preferably high-quality, therapeutic-grade), filtered water and a diffuser. In a typical home diffuser, you drop some of the essential oil into the reservoir filled with water, fill a separate reservoir with more water, connect the two and turn it on.
Not only does diffusing make your home smell fresh and lovely, all essential oils have different attributes. Some are calming, some are energizing, and some even kill airborne bacteria.
P
alo Santo essential oil happens to have space clearing attributes. It’s obtained from the Palo Santo tree. The bark of the tree was traditionally burned by the Incas for the purpose of removing negative energy for spiritual purification. The name “Palo Santo” means “holy wood” in Spanish. It has a sharp, medicinal scent, by which you can tell its strength.
Good Times to Do a Space Clearing:
After decluttering
After an argument or heated discussion
After you or a family member has been ill
Before you move into a new space
After remodeling a space
After bringing new furniture into a space
For more about how to diffuse essential oils, or to purchase these and other Young Living Products, contact me.
Clutter in Check?
You’ve heard of a “head” check? Well how about a “clutter” check?
Never underestimate the effect of clutter on your life. Whenever I meet people who tell me they are stuck, I know that if I visit their homes I will almost always find lots of clutter. Clutter accumulates when energy stagnates.
Healthy energy is moving energy. Think what happens when a pool of water stagnates. Very soon it becomes murky and starts to smell. This is similar to what happens energetically when people live surrounded by clutter.
- Karen Kingston
Do a clutter check TODAY:
Do you have some?
Where is it?
What do you plan to do about it?
Negative energy in your home affects you whether you realize it or not. So realize it, and get the energy moving again, for your health and vitality.
Monday Bliss: Rearrange Your Furniture
Welcome to Monday Bliss. Each Monday I post an idea for something to do to help you start the week feeling Bliss instead of Blahs. This week, shift the energy in your space by physically moving some things around.
I rearrange my living room furniture probably once every season. Not only does it give me an energetic lift, but also a fresh perspective on life. Moving furniture changes the way energy flows. It also gives you the opportunity to clean – vacuum and dust under and around things, which contributes to making the space feel new.
Sometimes I try out a furniture arrangement and it doesn’t work. To tweak things, I rely on my intuition, (how it feels) to say, have the chair on the other side of the room, or angled a certain way. I also rely on my eye for balance. One of the principles of feng shui is to use nature as your model. In natural perfection, there is beauty and harmony because of balance. Two things are important then, when rearranging furniture:
1) Things are evenly spaced and have equal visual “weight” around the room and
2) The energy can flow freely up, over, under and around things
Try out something new this week. And let me know how it goes…I’d love to have you post a photo on my facebook page
Enhance the Feng Shui of Your Front Door with Flowerpots
It’s that time of year again – when we can place real life-giving chi near our front entrances to liven them up. Paying attention to the area around the front door is essential for calling positive energy into your home.
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.
Monday Bliss: Rejuvenation By Nature
Welcome to Monday Bliss. Each Monday I post an idea for something to do to help you start the week feeling Bliss instead of Blahs.
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.
Real Life Story: Financial Makeover
I was asked to help a young woman with the feng shui of her apartment in Minneapolis. (We’ll call her Andrea.) I gave her advice for things to change around the space, but the one place she needed it most, and where miracles really started to happen after making changes, was in her kitchen.
- Before
Her narrow, galley-style kitchen was situated in the Wealth area of the Bagua. I immediately observed tall white cabinets and white walls. Besides the oppressive, tight feel of the kitchen’s design, white is not the color to have in Wealth, as it represents the Metal element. Metal does no good for the Wood element which resides in Wealth, because it works in a destructive cycle – cutting down on the chances for growth and upward movement financially like an ax.
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.
- After
I returned a few months later, after she’d made the changes, and the room had transformed. It definitely felt richer, more inviting. When I asked Andrea what she’d seen shift in her financial situation, she said this is the best off she’s been financially in a long time. She feels much better – more independent, and she’s had more opportunities come along to make money. She’s even gotten better at saving.
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.
Keep clutter under control and make your home work for you. Contact me today to schedule a complementary, no obligation 15-minute phone session, to discuss how we can make it functional, beautiful, and uniquely yours.