Feng Shui in the Kitchen

One of the things I love about our homes is the insight they give us into our inner world. I guarantee in some way you are completely aligned with your living situation. I know, sometimes that really sucks to hear and it doesn't always make sense.

The great news is, there are things we can do about it! For today, let's look at Feng Shui. It is just one tool I use to discover what is going on in my home, and therefore my life. Today, we're going to look at our kitchens. 

There are two ways a Feng Shui Bagua (also known as a map) can be used. We're going to look at both of them to get the most information we can. One uses the compass directions and the other uses the entrance wall of your home or room. The Bagua is commonly divided into 9 sections. You take a birdseye view of your home or room and divide it into equal sections. There are fixes you can make if your home or room isn't a square or rectangle. If you need help, reach out (soulmagicalmichele@gmail.com) and I'll see if I can help, or your can find a certified Feng Shui consultant. 

Let's take the map and place it over the entire home. We'll use the compass method first. You'll get a compass and find north. This is where the entrance side of the Bagua map needs to be placed. So the Career section will be on the north-facing side of your home. Most of us will find this pretty simple as most homes face a compass direction. Take note of what zone or zones your kitchen lands in. 

If your home does not face North, you can also place the map where your front entrance is. Line up the door wall with the entrance or career side of the map. I would suggest if you always use a door other than the front as your main entrance, use that door instead because that is the direction the energy most often enters your home. Again, take note of what zone or zones your kitchen lands in.

With this information in hand, take a minute to notice what your kitchen is like compared to the sections on the map. For instance, my kitchen is mostly located in the knowledge, with some career and a little ancestors when the compass is placed on it. When I place the map over my home entrance, I get the majority of the room in the wealth section with a bit in reputation and ancestors. What connection can I see?

My kitchen is a place where all the family cooks, eats, and doesn't do their chores without major effort on my side. It still has a lot that reminds me of my mom's way. I also have some major deep cleaning to do. My personal development often seems to be about how others view me and honestly, it takes me great effort to take time to read. Something interesting is the career section covers a cupboard that I just started deep cleaning and since doing that work, I have felt a need to get moving on my career again. Like my kitchen that I can't seem to keep clean, my money seems to constantly be a mess. What connections can you see in your kitchen?

Now let's move to the room itself. We can take that same map and put it over the room. We align the entrance side of the map with the wall our door is on. Now, notice what is going on in your kitchen. 

That cupboard I mentioned, it's in the wealth corner. That's exciting. I found as I approached cleaning that cupboard, I was avoiding doing it for many reasons and the deep hidden reason was I didn't want to feel the anger and resentment I associated with it. I have a lot of anger and resentment where money is concerned as well. My relationship corner is another disaster area that needs a deep cleaning. Is it a wonder that I have struggled with relationships and money? Or did my struggle create the mess in my home? Probably a bit of both.

The amazing thing is, you can change things in your home and create inner changes thereby changing your alignment. You can also change your inner world, which causes you to make outer changes. I have one area where I did some inner changes and now I can't stand it getting cluttered so I keep it clean. My alignment changed. When you intentionally create change in both the inner world and change things in your home everything is easier. You're clearing your home and more importantly, you're changing all the things that prevent you from being you.

I want to see you shine and have a home that reflects the essence of you!

Michele

Soul Shine Specialist

Wake up and live!

Fixing the Things That Stick

As I was pondering what to write about today, I thought about my front door. This has been a most challenging area for us.

Our front door has always had a bit of an issue. After a long time, I finally was able to convince my mom that we needed to replace the lock, despite what the landlord thought. The problem was, it was really hard to get the key in and unlock the door. From an energetic standpoint, I was so excited. I just knew that we were going to shift the energy and help us to get unstuck and possibly even move out.

The thing is, locks that won't open, things blocking the way out, and other similar things in our home are affecting our lives. It only takes reading one Feng Shui book to know this. What is happening in our homes is a direct reflection of our lives. Whether the home created the problem or we created the problem isn't as important as actually changing things.

For a while, things were going smoothly. We were able to unlock the door with ease and I was excited. I was even noticing changes in my life. My healing business was even getting more clients and I was beginning to trust that I could support my family on the income from my services.

I then had a friend decide he didn't like the way my door was hanging. His job is all about hanging doors so he's hyper-aware of how doors are hung. I appreciate his efforts and yet, it again we had issues with our door. The new way of hanging interfered with the doorknob. We struggled to turn the knob, making it once again hard to get in and out of the home. I didn't realize until just now that my healing business almost died right after this.

It's obvious to me that this circumstance wasn't just about the door. For some reason, we were recreating the problem with the stuck door. The ability to see a way out was magnified in our lives.

It wasn't long after that when I started working at my job. This job has some benefits but mostly it's exhausting me. I have really struggled to see a way out of that job. I didn't have the energy after work to work on my business. My clientele ceased to exist. My focus became to recover after work and try to squeeze family in.

Not long ago, I asked my friend to come and fix it. I told him how I appreciated his help but that we weren't able to open the door. The ability to go in and out of the door was much more important to me than the door hanging perfectly.

Since he finished the door, I have found myself refreshed when it comes to my business. I got a sprained knee that has its own message. One of the things that have come is a renewed desire to make my business work, this from the knee and the door being fixed. For me, the door represents clients. When the door is hard to unlock or open, the clients can't see me. It's like the door was closed to that option. With the door fixed, the option for my business to work is available.

Have a look around your home. Do you have a door that sticks? Do you have a lock that's hard to open? Maybe it's a toilet that is leaking or constantly running? What could that mean for you?

Find a way to resolve these in your home so that your home will support you in resolving them in your life. If you are experiencing repeat things, like me with my door, then look deeper into your subconscious thoughts. What is it you believe about yourself? Do you believe you are stuck? What are you going to do about it?

If you want some assistance in resolving issues in your home or soul, let me know. I would love to talk to you about a solution. Send a message to soulmagicalmichele@gmail.com

With love from my heart to yours,

Michele

Intuitive Healer

Healing homes and the Soul's who love them.

Feng Shui or Not to Feng Shui

Today, I want to talk about Feng Shui. It's kind of a challenging subject because I have some pretty mixed feelings.

First, Feng Shui is about the energy flow in your home. A good Feng Shui consultant will have you set clear intentions as you clear, arrange, or enhance your areas. This is a key factor in Feng Shui. It's really about getting you aware of the effect your surroundings have on you and using intentions to change it. I think more and more practitioners are becoming aware that to really make a difference you get to address the inner world as you are changing your outer world.

In Feng Shui, there is a map called a Bagua that you place over a room or building. Although the most popular maps have nine areas, originally this was an octagon they placed over the space. The eight directions came to a unified point in the middle. To make it easier, they put the eight areas to the outside in boxes and then added a middle section that is about health and unity. I think it's based on the idea that you will be in good health when all of the areas of life are balanced.

Traditionally, the Bagua was placed with the bottom of the map over the east wall. If you have studied any Native American cultures and other old tribal cultures, you will find a similar idea. The Navajo Hogan is traditionally supposed to have its door to the east. When someone dies in the Hogan, they board up the door and cut a door in the back to remove the body through. The east is the rising sun, new life to a new day. The sun “dies” in the west. Similarly, new energy comes from the east, which is why ancient Feng Shui used the east wall.

Now, we use the wall that the energy enters your home or room; the front door or room door. It won't matter which direction you face your home. If your door is on the west, you place the bottom of the map with the door wall. The door can be in any of the three sections at the bottom of the map.

For myself, I usually take a slightly different approach. If someone needs the Bagua, we use the Bagua. If someone is more intuitive, I'll guide them to make their own. I'll ask them what area in their room represents money. When they have their own map made, they'll apply it to their house. Remember, intention is a key factor so either method will work great. The important part is that you intentionally change the energy.

One of the things that I don't agree with in Feng Shui is how they use colors and elements. The colors were chosen by a culture that has white as a color for mourning, whereas we use black. This is where I think intuition really needs to come into play. What color represents money for you? If you were to add one of the five elements wind, water, fire, earth, or metal which you would associate with money? You could then use colors or elements in that area as you feel inclined to do. The same goes for symbols. Traditionally, China has a color and symbol that means money. The question is, does it really mean the same to you? Find your own symbol that represents wealth for you.

One thing I do love about Feng Shui is the recognition that all things have a chi, which is really energy. Each item has a story to tell and for you, that story could be a blessing or a curse. This is a part of why clutter is such a problem. If an area of your home is bogged down with clutter, it will bog down your life. Stepping into a world where everything around you makes your soul sing, will create a life that makes your soul sing.

If something doesn't make your soul sing, there are choices. Let it go is just one way. Another way is to clear the energy. This is a lot of what I do with homes. I have already shared a few posts about how I do it with everyday items. Things you can do for yourself, or you can hire someone like myself to help you out.

Whether you choose to follow the Feng Shui map or not, there are many things you can do for your home with clear intentions. Ask yourself where the different areas are represented and then take time to clear them out, intentionally decorate and plan the space.

Is there too much red which is often associated with fire? You may feel like you're burning the candle at both ends. Bring in some other elements to balance out that red fire. Are you feeling stuck in your life? Check out the energy flowing in and out of your home. Does it come in through a clean entrance, inside and out? Does it have a way to flow out? So many questions and solutions are available as you look at what your room, home, or even work environment are telling you.

If you need help with what to ask or even an outside perspective or guidance, this is one of the things I offer. Of course, I'm always thrilled to clear out the “chi” as well. 😊

With love from my heart to yours,

Michele

House Intuitive

Healing homes and the people who love them.

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere

I have been decluttering for years. I've read a lot of books and I feel like I have a great grasp on the concepts.

From Feng Shui studies I learned that all of our stuff has energy. That energy affects us. Sometimes it's positive and sometimes it is not.

If we keep something out of guilt, that energy of guilt is stirred every time we see it or think about it. When I say see it, I mean every time your subconscious brain that takes in 10,000,000 times more information than our conscious brain can process sees it. It's always there affecting your subconscious.

The same goes for things that we keep because it reminds us of people. Sure, if that reminder lifts us up, then that's a great thing. If it reminds us of heartache, it's not the best thing. This is why after my divorce, I let go of my wedding dress. It was hard because a part of me thought it would be good to keep for my daughters. The reality was every time I saw it, I felt like a failure and a little hopeless about my future. I don't need those kinds of reminders.

When we let things go, the subconscious mind is free to think about other things. Energetically, you're also freeing up that energy to return in a more supportive way. I've heard of people releasing things and then having money show up. My girls release clothes and then somehow end up with just as many as they started with. 😏 I find that right after I release a bunch of stuff, I get a bunch of answers. The energy wants to support us but when we hold tight, it can't do that. Let your things go and you allow the energy to return in a supportive way.

From the FlyLady, I learned that sometimes we need baby steps. This is truly a concept for the overwhelmed. If you don't know where to start, just starting with a little is a positive thing. There's another concept out there that disagrees with this, but I'll get to the why of that in a minute.

Her use of rules and routines is super important. Not all of her rules make sense for me, but when they don't I can replace them with rules that do. No matter which system you use for decluttering, you must have some rules in place. An important one is putting things back in their homes after you've used them.

The FlyLady is about getting out of that funk. Getting dressed in the morning. Getting a routine in place. Getting at least something done each day. The first priority in the home is getting decluttered. Her system takes things a little slower than a big declutter. That's needed for some people. As she often says, "You can do anything in 15 minutes." She gives you a plan and a limit so you can keep the overwhelm at bay.

From Marie Kondo, I learned the value in doing the decluttering all in one go. I also learned the value of doing one category of things at a time.

Marie teaches what she calls tidying and doing it in one go. Really, she's talking about decluttering. Getting it all out at once. Don't drag it out. Make it an event. After that big event, you're left with daily maintaining. Putting things back after you use them. When you buy new, letting go of the old. You're left with regular housecleaning not decluttering.

When you do this, you have a huge sense of accomplishment. You can see the results and feel them right away. You're not dragging it out for years. Sometimes that daily declutter idea sounds great but then after a couple of weeks, you stop. Other times, you're decluttering less than you're bringing in. Other times, you just have so much stuff that a few things each day doesn't feel like it's getting anywhere. When you do it Marie's way, you don't have that dragged out feeling or that giving up energy. It's just done.

Another concept is the categories. I've heard some people complain about these. They like doing an area or a room at a time. I get it. I tend to like doing areas myself. The problem is we often keep things in multiple areas. We have bookshelves in 3 rooms or towels upstairs and downstairs. Let's not even mention where all the pens could get stored!

I've read other books and learned other things, but these are some of the biggest impacts.

FlyLady says routines and declutter first. If you can't follow the KonMari way. then if you spend a few minutes every day tackling the clutter it'll work. If you can take longer each day or better yet hire someone to help you be accountable that's even better.

Sometimes we have to work in layers. Maybe for a while, you follow FlyLady routines and for one week spend your declutter efforts in one room, followed by the next week in another room as FlyLady directs. After a while of doing this, you'll be able to take it another layer and work in categories like Marie says. Pull all of the clothes out from wherever they are. Pull out all of the books no matter what room they're in.

Sometimes we need to hire someone, paid or not. I think part of the success that comes with the KonMari method is for those actually working with her. She helps keep them accountable and gives them specific assignments. Some people find having a friend or group helps keep them accountable. Either way, when you have that accountability you seem to get more done in a shorter time. Some people need that money spent on a coach to keep them motivated. (If you're looking for one, I'm available for remote and possibly on location coaching. Schedule a consult.)

Wherever you're at or whatever level of effort you can do, remember there is great value in letting go of what doesn't bring you joy. More on that in another post. I think this one is long enough. 😉

With lots of love from my heart to yours,

Michele