I just received a forwarded email with "Fung Shui" as the title... so being the curious cat that I am, I just had to open it (the type-o just made it that more intriguing!
Of course it gave me the whole spiel about sending it on to at least 6 people, lest I be haunted by bad luck. I intentionally ignored this. I like to play with e-fate like that. But the actual message was really nice that I couldn't help but share it. In fact, I guess if more than 6 people READ my blog *fingers crossed* I did my junk email duty afterall!
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want...
FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it..
FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN.. Don't judge people by their relatives.
TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice
TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
More water!!!
Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it.
~ Lao Tzu
I was vegging out on the couch yesterday when I started looking around my apartment and realized that I am completely surrounded by dark browns, blacks, tans and reds. I really like the color scheme I have going on but I feel like it needs more. I have a tendency to keep colors to a minimum to avoid mismatching or disfunction, but I think sometimes it limits the decor. I started thinking that I might need to add some greens and blues... basically I think I need more water in my living room!
So there began my hunt to figure out what water represents in feng shui. Apparently it can be introduced in the actual form of liquid (fountain or aquarium) or in the form of something reflective (mirror, crystal, glass), or in a flowy, wavy object (perhaps a sculpture of some sort?) or in a photograph or piece of art that represents water.
Most of my furniture is very geometrical and dark - bookshelf, television, shoe rack, pillows, ottoman... squares everywhere! All of the art has a red and brown theme. They feel very earthy to me. This must be balanced.
I still haven't gotten far enough in my book to learn about Chi or how to balance and harmonize each element, but I can sense that I need to add some water somewhere in my main living space.
Apparently water can have a draw in the areas of wealth and career because it associates with the flow of money - hey! I have no issues with that!
But I have to be careful where I place this water element. Feng shui has so many rules!!!:
"Do not place water on both sides of your main door. This spells tears, severe loss, a sudden fall from power and, sometimes, even death."
"WARNING: Never have a water feature facing out of your Home or Office. Your Wealth and good Chi could be floating away."
So it looks like I need to either swap out a painting (preferably one facing INTO the apartment) with something blue and flowy or set out some small pieces that are curvy and freeflowing. Gotta break out of that box... literally!
~ Lao Tzu
I was vegging out on the couch yesterday when I started looking around my apartment and realized that I am completely surrounded by dark browns, blacks, tans and reds. I really like the color scheme I have going on but I feel like it needs more. I have a tendency to keep colors to a minimum to avoid mismatching or disfunction, but I think sometimes it limits the decor. I started thinking that I might need to add some greens and blues... basically I think I need more water in my living room!
So there began my hunt to figure out what water represents in feng shui. Apparently it can be introduced in the actual form of liquid (fountain or aquarium) or in the form of something reflective (mirror, crystal, glass), or in a flowy, wavy object (perhaps a sculpture of some sort?) or in a photograph or piece of art that represents water.
Most of my furniture is very geometrical and dark - bookshelf, television, shoe rack, pillows, ottoman... squares everywhere! All of the art has a red and brown theme. They feel very earthy to me. This must be balanced.
I still haven't gotten far enough in my book to learn about Chi or how to balance and harmonize each element, but I can sense that I need to add some water somewhere in my main living space.
Apparently water can have a draw in the areas of wealth and career because it associates with the flow of money - hey! I have no issues with that!
But I have to be careful where I place this water element. Feng shui has so many rules!!!:
"Do not place water on both sides of your main door. This spells tears, severe loss, a sudden fall from power and, sometimes, even death."
"WARNING: Never have a water feature facing out of your Home or Office. Your Wealth and good Chi could be floating away."
So it looks like I need to either swap out a painting (preferably one facing INTO the apartment) with something blue and flowy or set out some small pieces that are curvy and freeflowing. Gotta break out of that box... literally!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
More need for a cleansing
I'm just going to keep it short & sweet today, because honestly I've had a rough day and to even try to tackle it here would be overwhelming. But basically Rose and I had a "discussion" last night that left each of us very upset and feeling worn out this morning. Then to top it off, she found one of my 2 pet mice dead in her cage. I'm feeling very emotionally fragile today (especially after conducting a tiny funeral service...) so I lit a bit of dried sage on a plate and let it burn. The smoke was ridiculous! Very interesting that in a moment where there was so much sadness and negativity in the air that it would burn this way. But I feel a little more cleansed. It's like an energy shower for the air around me.
R.I.P. Wendy the mouse. You will be missed :(
R.I.P. Wendy the mouse. You will be missed :(
Monday, January 11, 2010
Art is the most beautiful of all lies...
When we first moved into our apartment this past October, one of my biggest fears was that it wouldn't feel like home right away. Rose and I lived in a townhouse in South Carolina (rented from my parents) for about 2 years and I never felt fully comfortable there. We didn't really settle in until right before we moved and much of the furniture and even some decor was left behind by the previous owners so we just used it. My feng shui book would not approve of this circumstance.
Feng shui is the belief that everything (even inanimate objects) has an energy force. You have to be very careful with surrounding yourself with items that were owned by someone previously because they could carry their energy. I think this is exactly what happened to us in SC. We were borrowing someone else's energy (which very well could have been negative for all I know).
Also, I have a thing against white walls. I was so afraid our apartment would end up looking like a clinical waiting room. I wanted to fill as much of this space as possible... and make it look like "us" as soon as you walked in.
Feng shui is the belief that everything (even inanimate objects) has an energy force. You have to be very careful with surrounding yourself with items that were owned by someone previously because they could carry their energy. I think this is exactly what happened to us in SC. We were borrowing someone else's energy (which very well could have been negative for all I know).
Also, I have a thing against white walls. I was so afraid our apartment would end up looking like a clinical waiting room. I wanted to fill as much of this space as possible... and make it look like "us" as soon as you walked in.
Untitled, oil on canvas
Currently hanging in our dining room
So when we moved into our new apartment up north, I vowed to unpack right away and make the place look and feel as much like our home as possible. My neighbor (and friend found on craigslist - yeah you can do that!) is an artist like myself and suggested that I hang up my art asap. So that very evening, after loading and unloading all of our possessions, we used our last bit of energy to hammer nails all over the walls and hang some of my favorite pieces. I have generated some very large paintings in art classes that I am rather proud of... so these went up right away.
Point of Angst, oil on canvas
Currently hanging above the couch
Immediately after hanging everything, I felt more balanced and welcome. And now, every single day I feel as though this apartment belongs to me more than I ever have in any other place I've ever lived. I love being here... and I believe a good part of that stems from surrounding myself with my art from the beginning. I never hung a single piece of my own work in our townhouse in SC. It made a huge difference. My girlfriend is so happy because she has always wanted me to display my art. It speaks so much about me and communicates not only my style, but who I am. It's as if I have hung a bit of myself on the walls.
Eos Phorus, oil on canvas
Currently hanging in our bedroom
Smudging it away
For Christmas someone in my office gave me a set of sage smudge sticks. She explained that they are burned and used to eliminate negative energy in your home. I was intrigued!
I kept waiting for the right time to smudge my apartment. For some reason, I really wanted it to be at a moment when everything in my home was neat and in good harmony. This never seemed to happen. So, this past weekend, my friends were over sipping some martinis and being the drama queen that I am, I jumped up to tell a story and smashed one of our brand new glasses and almost drenched my laptop in one quick motion. THEN, my friend that is suffering from major back issues was laughing hysterically at a youtube video when our dining room chair completely gave out from underneath him, toppling him to the floor. Call it "bad jou jou" or "maloik" but whatever it was... it had to go! After finishing off a cosmo, I decided to break out the smudge stick.
My friend Courtney, the boho hobo, is a bit more experienced in feng shui and other energy practices... so I had her step me through what to do.
THE PROCESS: First, I lit the tip of the smudge stick and let it burn for about 30 seconds. I blew it out so that it would smoke, similar to incense. It gives off a very light smell that is a bit floral but with a touch of citrus.
I started at the front door and traced around the frame with the smudge stick. Then, I proceeded around the apartment in a clockwise direction. Every time I reached another doorway, I would draw the smudge stick around it. I entered each room and walked around the outskirts, letting the smoke "bless" each area. I paid special attention to my bed and couch. I also twirled it around a bit over the broken chair.
After I finished, all I had to do was sit the burning stick on a plate and let it extinguish itself. It hardly used up much of the sage, so I can use it again & again!
THE RESULTS: Our apartment honestly doesn't feel much different. But I suppose it's hard to tell. Courtney said that sometimes at her work they will smudge an area after a very negative person leaves and the stick smokes like crazy. So maybe it's a good sign that the stick only let off a little smoke when I used it. I also didn't take my time as I probably should have - rushing through for the first half and then realizing I should probably be allowing the smoke to disappate in each area and take a moment to reflect and let it work it's magic. I think I will give it another go soon!
The use of smudge sticks are a Native American tradition & can be used in many ways - read more here.
I love the idea of using it whenever something negative happens, to cleanse the area and start anew. Whenever I have an argument, sometimes I can literally feel it hanging in the air long after it is over. The lady in my office told me that she smudged the heck out of a chair that her ex-boyfriend sat in regularly after they broke up to rid him of her home. I've been feeling negative energy creep up on me lately - easily slipping into a bad mood, snapping at little things, and just giving in to the "blah" - so I am going to try whatever I can to remove it!
My friend Courtney, the boho hobo, is a bit more experienced in feng shui and other energy practices... so I had her step me through what to do.
THE PROCESS: First, I lit the tip of the smudge stick and let it burn for about 30 seconds. I blew it out so that it would smoke, similar to incense. It gives off a very light smell that is a bit floral but with a touch of citrus.
I started at the front door and traced around the frame with the smudge stick. Then, I proceeded around the apartment in a clockwise direction. Every time I reached another doorway, I would draw the smudge stick around it. I entered each room and walked around the outskirts, letting the smoke "bless" each area. I paid special attention to my bed and couch. I also twirled it around a bit over the broken chair.
After I finished, all I had to do was sit the burning stick on a plate and let it extinguish itself. It hardly used up much of the sage, so I can use it again & again!
THE RESULTS: Our apartment honestly doesn't feel much different. But I suppose it's hard to tell. Courtney said that sometimes at her work they will smudge an area after a very negative person leaves and the stick smokes like crazy. So maybe it's a good sign that the stick only let off a little smoke when I used it. I also didn't take my time as I probably should have - rushing through for the first half and then realizing I should probably be allowing the smoke to disappate in each area and take a moment to reflect and let it work it's magic. I think I will give it another go soon!
The use of smudge sticks are a Native American tradition & can be used in many ways - read more here.
I love the idea of using it whenever something negative happens, to cleanse the area and start anew. Whenever I have an argument, sometimes I can literally feel it hanging in the air long after it is over. The lady in my office told me that she smudged the heck out of a chair that her ex-boyfriend sat in regularly after they broke up to rid him of her home. I've been feeling negative energy creep up on me lately - easily slipping into a bad mood, snapping at little things, and just giving in to the "blah" - so I am going to try whatever I can to remove it!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My backstory (in a nutshell)
Before diving right into my process of introducing feng shui elements into my everyday life, I thought it would be fitting to give a summary of where I am coming from... and why I believe I am in desperate need of as many good vibes as I can get my hands on!
Basically, I am 25 years old... pretty darn vivacious... and an anxious little mess. I am in a commited relationship with another girl named Rose. She's awesome. We are extremely happy together. Don't get me wrong, we've had our rough times - including faux "break-ups," screaming matches and all-around negative attitudes - but I am SURE this is where I want to be in my life and as much as it might make you want to revisit today's lunch, she completes me.
A major problem that we face is my family. They were re-Baptized in a modern Christian church after moving to the South over 5 years ago. Their discovery of religion has introduced a lot of issues in our relationship. For a very long time, my parents, sister and I have fought about my "lifestyle" almost constantly. Obviously, we don't see eye-to-eye. As I get older, I've realized that fighting them is not productive and I just need to be sure of who I am and live for what I know is right for me. I have very strong moral beliefs and am a spiritual being - but still on a very long journey to finding that part of me.
Another major hurdle is Rose's health. She is just a bundle of ailments! She has random fainting spells from low oxygen levels. She experiences severe migraines and back pain. She also suffers from stomach disorders - most of which we believe to be from an ulcer. And just recently, doctors discovered a tiny tumor inside of her eye that they feared was cancerous. After multiple tests and tons of stress, we found out that it is benign but must be re-evaluated every 2 months because it could easily become dangerous. And the kicker is - if it DOES turn to melanoma, she will have to get her entire eye removed. I plan to be her support through everything, as I have been for the past 7 years we've been together. But it's rough. Sometimes I want to give her a little bit of my healthiness just to get us by. She has been in and out of work and school. But luckily she is extremely driven and passionate... and we have amazing friends and her family as support.
Now my mission is to find all the good vibes in our lives that I can and bring them forward. I want to remove anything negative and balance our exterior so that our world can be in alignment. I thought the ideas of feng shui seemed perfect for this. I will be learning almost all of this as I go. Growing up, I considered myself a rather devout Catholic and didn't really know much else in the world. Now, I am making my own choices about my beliefs and discovering spirituality in all elements. I am very intrigued by more ancient practices and I can't wait to see what results!
Basically, I am 25 years old... pretty darn vivacious... and an anxious little mess. I am in a commited relationship with another girl named Rose. She's awesome. We are extremely happy together. Don't get me wrong, we've had our rough times - including faux "break-ups," screaming matches and all-around negative attitudes - but I am SURE this is where I want to be in my life and as much as it might make you want to revisit today's lunch, she completes me.
A major problem that we face is my family. They were re-Baptized in a modern Christian church after moving to the South over 5 years ago. Their discovery of religion has introduced a lot of issues in our relationship. For a very long time, my parents, sister and I have fought about my "lifestyle" almost constantly. Obviously, we don't see eye-to-eye. As I get older, I've realized that fighting them is not productive and I just need to be sure of who I am and live for what I know is right for me. I have very strong moral beliefs and am a spiritual being - but still on a very long journey to finding that part of me.
Another major hurdle is Rose's health. She is just a bundle of ailments! She has random fainting spells from low oxygen levels. She experiences severe migraines and back pain. She also suffers from stomach disorders - most of which we believe to be from an ulcer. And just recently, doctors discovered a tiny tumor inside of her eye that they feared was cancerous. After multiple tests and tons of stress, we found out that it is benign but must be re-evaluated every 2 months because it could easily become dangerous. And the kicker is - if it DOES turn to melanoma, she will have to get her entire eye removed. I plan to be her support through everything, as I have been for the past 7 years we've been together. But it's rough. Sometimes I want to give her a little bit of my healthiness just to get us by. She has been in and out of work and school. But luckily she is extremely driven and passionate... and we have amazing friends and her family as support.
Now my mission is to find all the good vibes in our lives that I can and bring them forward. I want to remove anything negative and balance our exterior so that our world can be in alignment. I thought the ideas of feng shui seemed perfect for this. I will be learning almost all of this as I go. Growing up, I considered myself a rather devout Catholic and didn't really know much else in the world. Now, I am making my own choices about my beliefs and discovering spirituality in all elements. I am very intrigued by more ancient practices and I can't wait to see what results!
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