Taking a Cue from Nature

Posted on October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 by Sugeet

Much of Feng Shui comes from studying the way Nature works and utilizing the lessons learned. So what does Fall tell us? I want to suggest several things you can apply to your own life.

First, Nature is slowing down. She is bestowing her bounty on us during harvest. Lessons: First, slow down. We are so overloaded in a culture that pushes us to speed up faster and faster. You are a human being, not a human doing. You’ve heard that many times, but have you tried it for yourself?

Second: take gifts from the sumner and preserve them for the winter. Review your business. Take a look at your finances, especially your income and out expenses. Are they in balance? Make lists of things that need to be renovated, repaired or redecorated during the quiet time of winter. Get the items needed for your favorite hobby, i.e. scrapbooking. What about reviewing your photos with an idea of giving photo books for Holliday gifts?

More from Nature: Leaves are turning the most gorgeous colors. Rich and deep. Earth colors and rich metal colors of gold.. In Feng Shui, we use the Earth colors for grounding, and the golds speak of multidimensional wealth. What are the portions of your life that are grounded, rich and vibrant? This is a time too look, reflect and evaluate such things both in your personal and your business life.

For me, fall has a bittersweet quality to it. I’m sad to see Summer pass. I’m reminded that change is the only constant in our world. Things are dying, and it’s time to let go. It’s time to slow down and reflect and meditate. What are you holding onto that can be let go?

In many parts of the US, there is an ‘Indian Summer’ a time when nights are cool, days are perfect. It often shows up after a cold spell and is sort of a seasonal curtain call of summer passing. That brings me back to the bittersweet quality of Fall.

What is the shape that sums this all up? The symbol we see that even predates the Bagua energy map? It is the Tai Chi – the Ying Yan symbol where dark gives way to light giving way to dark. When it would appear that light is to become complete, a speck of darkness appears. And as the change continues, the dark begins to take over. We see this in the natural world, where there is never a sharp delineation of dark or light. Rather one edges the other out only to have the reverse happen. Can you see this happening in your own life? Your own career?

And the takeaway? Harvest all the good things that have happened this year, and write them down. See how they contain the seeds for your future growth, future prosperity, further happiness. Nurture these during the coming months and be ready to plant them in new, fertile ground next spring.

How far is too far?

Posted on October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 by Sugeet

Let’s go too far. Let’s trivialize a 4,000 year old art and science. Let’s “brand” feng shui into a new sneaker. Ready? Here it is…but just know there are people who will gladly pay $225 and over for these when they are first introduced because there is a whole cult of collectors out there to rebid the price up. Is that good feng shui? I’ll let you decide.Here’s how “Kick on Fire” puts it. And for good measure, here’s how Jordan puts it. Now, do they have ANYTHING to do with Feng Shui? If you can figure it out, please leave me a comment, because I’d like to know!

Beauty is Good Feng Shui

Posted on October 5, 2015October 5, 2015 by Sugeet

Positive Feng Shui can be strengthened using beauty when working with any environment. Yet everybody has their own idea of what beauty is, but not all spaces that an individual thinks beautiful have positive chi. What makes the difference, what makes one space work while another does not? Beauty can be in the eye of the beholder, how do we know when it’s working and when it’s not?

The answer lies in the principles of Feng Shui. Negative energy, or sha chi can remain on a site, and an energy clearing may be qrequirede. No matter what school is followed, the overarching guide is one of balance, harmony and the flow of positive energy. Engage the guidance of Feng Shui and any space can be made prosperous and peaceful.

A client approached me having purchased a long time dry cleaners and laundry business. It was being sold because the cash flow wasn’t sufficient.
We looked at the location and found it was good, but needed to change the look and feel from industrial practical to efficient and beautiful. This was accomplished by changing the front end of the business. The awning was replaced with one that balanced the yin and yang. Healthy plantings were added along the display windows. Inside the clutter of hundreds of clean garments was taken from public view and the counters covered in hammered brass formica. Interior colors were kept to earth tones.

The results made each customer feel not only welcome, but quietly showed them this cleaning service was going to be of the highest quality. The simplicity of the public area made the customer feel individually important. Soon after the completion of the renovation, the business became the profit center of the new owners, even though they had other branches in other towns nearby.

As time went by, the wife passed, and the widower began to become tired of carrying the whole load of the business. Many of the little touches, like the plants in front of the store, began to be neglected. The strip of ground between the sidewalk and the curb became full of weeds. In other words, the ‘face’ of the business started to reflect the owner’s fatigue. He would finally decide to sell the business and retire. However, he was unable to attract a buyer and finally had to let the property be sold at a loss.

It was an unfortunate ending for the owner was a good man who had high standards for the quality of cleaning. But had had he paid the same attention to the physical appearance of his business he did to the cleaning, he would have potentially realized a profit not only the property but the business as well. Mies Van der Rohe, the famous architect, said ‘God is in the details.” A master Feng Shui practitioner keeps that in mind, bringing balance and harmony to each project. A refined sense of beauty is most often the result.