Lose 10 Pounds in one hour!

If you thought – BS! You’re right – almost. This is a diet that’s not about not eating, Signature - 1nor incredible exercise (although it does involve an exercise!) and, true enough, it only takes one hour. I’m posting useful hints and short bits about starting to get rid of your excess stuff.  It is about losing weight – the cleaning, the storage $, the insurance to protect it, the stolen time justing thinking about where something is.

While I’ve run courses to help people lost their excess, I want to try now a slightly different tack.  I want to help you enjoy yourself as you’re down to what’s really important. So the link I’m giving you here is just a very small start. But the reward can be so enjoyable that you’ll want to follow along and do more -bit by bit. So check out the latest newsletter.

And do leave a comment!

5 Keys to Effective Lighting

It’s amazing how much light affects us, yet most people have little awareness about this important element. Surprisingly, light is not included as one of the 5 elements in Feng Shui, yet it’s affects on us can be just as significant as the other elements. So here are 5 tips to make light work for you.

daylight1) Try to get at least a half hour of real sunlight a day. If you can’t, take Vitamin D3.

2) Don’t place lights sources in back of you. Often kitchens and offices just have overhead lights and people stand at a surface casting a shadow on their work. Under-counter lights to correct this. The less you strain your eyes, the less likely your eyesight will diminish with age.

3) Visible light comes in a full color spectrum. Though most of us can’t recognize the different between a 2500K light source and a 5K source, it affects the colors we see and how we feel about them.  Many people say “use daylight, or full spectrum lights. That’s fine, but the light feels cold and impersonal. It can do the same thing to many colors, making warm color feel cold. We are used to a warmer light. So before you replace bulbs (anywhere!) go to a dealer who has a series flight boxes with the same photo in each. You’ll quickly see which one looks the best to you. That’s the amount of Kelvin you want to get. [Kelvin is the measurement of the light wave length.)

4) If you’re converting to LEDs you are being kind to the environment and using electricity wisely. But make sure you know what you’re getting. Ever notice some new cars have piercingly blue/white headlights? You don’t want that inside. Look for warm white LEDs for inside use.
Storefront5) Want to draw attention to something? Put lots of light on it. If you’re in business, you’d be surprised how that can bring people into a store. Likewise, if you want your party to be mellow and casual, keep the lighting soft.  Soft lighting

One fellow I know made his entire lucrative business lighting restaurants so that women look really good.  He laughed all the way to the bank while his cynics thought he was cracked. How and were you use light is more important than you think.

Want to solve a situation with light? Call Sugeet. He’s not only a Feng Shui expert, he also was an art gallery director for 12 years. Talk about lighting!

A Feng Shui tune up – Windchimes!

Too often I hear people disparaging wind chimes as just another gewgaw to annoy the neighbors.  Beg to differ. Here’s a brief story to help you understand how the ancient art and science of Feng Shui uses wind chimes.

A client loved her new home, but soon realized that she was unable to relax and recharge.See through The home had a beautiful view of the valley, had lots of light, was room, and not cluttered. She called her Feng Shui practitioner wanting it fixed.

Here was a home that welcomed you, inviting you in. Yet once in the front door, all the energy zoomed out those gorgeous picture windows overlooking the valley. As far as the energy went, you could have had 3 or 4 big fans making wind in the home. No wonder she couldn’t relax!

The fix was to use strategically placed wind chimes to disperse and slow the energy. A visual metaphor is possibly a better illustration of what a good wind chime can do.

Picture a tray or plate with sand mounded on it. When wind meets the sand, it picks up grains of and takes them where the wind goes. This is the situation when the home’s chi is lost – right out the beautiful picture windows. Now quietly vibrate that same tray and what happens? The mound dissipates and the sand becomes flat, level. The chi enters the home, gets dissipated  by the wind chime and only later leaves.

Choosing the right wind chime is critical. We’ve all been on vacation where every craft shop and garden center has many, many to choose from.  Some are crafts gone mad. Come are downright clever. Others cute. You need none of these. Look for a wind chime that produces a positive effect on YOUR mood. A good wind chime is a pleasing sound one you won’t mind hearing when the wind moves it.

Some of the better ones are tuned to certain musical keys. You’ll resonate with one over the others. That’s the one for you.

Two manufacturers of high quality chimes are Woodstock and Music of the Spheres. You can listen to them online. See how they affect you. (These are just suggestions, I have no affiliation with either.) Pick the one that draws you – that creates pleasure. Then hang that one where the Feng Shui Practitioner suggested.

Of the client? Her practitioner brought her a wonderful one (she later got 2 more!) and she feels 100% different.

Sound is one form of energy that Feng Shui works with. Used correctly, sound can change your life! (You get a ‘tune-up’ for your car…what about a tune up for yourself?)

The Teacher got Caught

Recently my refrigerator went down and had to be replaced. The new was deeper than the old. Once in place, the new frig New Refrigeratorwould prevent the pantry door from opening. I got the men to remove the pantry door. OMG, I forgot that the back of the door had a 6 self storage unit on it filled with food. That one move required a total redesign for the pantry. It meant eliminating so much: unused spices, cans of unusual stuff I had not used in years….

Next came the realization I have more than enough. In fact, I have TOO MUCH. Time to dredge the depths of closets, drawers, the storage places and remove “stuff” clogging up the areas.

Once the pantry was done, what about the other parts of the kitchen? The coat closet? The dresser drawers. etc.,etc.,etc.

Now I have 20 grocery bags full of stuff to be repurposed to others, sold, or donated.

And even after that, there’s so much left!

The teacher needs to be practicing what he preaches!

My wish? Those who enjoy what I coach would allow me to help them. You may know I recently ran a series of webinars and free teleconferences. They were singularly unsuccessful, and what follows was typical when I surveyed folks as to what was wanted, needed and what they would do about it.

Clients wanted me to give Feng Shui cures for their home. But the home was full of very confused energy, due to the owner’s multifaceted interests and pursuits. They felt if I gave them some Feng Shui cures, all the confusion would dissipate and their life would change. If we were in the kitchen, they wanted the finished dinner and I, as their cook, would provide it. What didn’t they see? Certain things would have to happen and happen in a certain order before dinner could appear. They could’t expect a calm, serene, and nourishing home (or ‘dinner’ of the example) until they became willing to clean out the clutter. Once done, clarity would become evident, or at least visible.

However, the clients would not, could not, face the challenge. Instead they wanted a device, or an object, or an arrangement, that would give them their desired result.  I don’t have a magic wand, I have a very useful tool kit. I can help facilitate, coach, offer tools that work, but I don’t have a magic wand. More importantly, Feng Shui is an art and a science, when used properly, harmonize the person(s) and their environment.

They did not seem to be in touch with the fact we co-create.

My point? If we want change, we have to be willing to do something different. Just as getting a new refrigerator showed me that I needed to clean out my space, sometimes what isn’t obvious at first has been staring me in the face for a long time! Who, in this materialistic consumer society of ours, couldn’t use greater clarity? Being swamped with all our material goods, we don’t see that we can do it, and do it together is far easier!

Once cleared out, the next steps appear. That’s part of the magic!

Want less frustration and anger?

I’m amazed at how many readers admit to having clutter but clean it up and clear it out? Denial and procrastination come galloping forth. So today I find another’s  well written argument for clutter removal and revamping life. Join the conversation,

http://tinyurl.com/kejy4d3

let’s hear what you have to say.

How important is your front door?

If your home is considered as a body, the front door is the mouth. The chi (energy) comes in through the door and fills your home.  If you want to help insure that positive energy comes in, pay attention to what Feng Shui has to say!

Someone is approaching your front door. It is dull, perhaps cluttered, not terribly attractive.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat mood gets conveyed to the approaching visitor? Nothing very positive, nothing very welcoming. When you open your door, you are greeted with, at best mild positive to negative and angry. You’ll have to deal with that.

But let’s change the picture. You stand at the end of the walk and visualize what would lift your spirits, make you want to come into the home? Flowers? A wonderful, colorful door, outlined by a trim that sets of the color of the rest of the house?  A welcome matt in good condition, and a pleasing door knocker or a wreath reflecting the season.

Laura@mainelynautical.com

Laura@mainelynautical.com

Someone approaching your home now is greeted by a home that welcomes and invites. Without their knowing it, their mood has been positively affected by the energy of your home. You brighten and lighten their mood without even saying hello.  Is it important? Could it make your life easier and more positive? Yes. Take a critical look at your entrance and make it as wonderful as you can. It will be well worth it.

Oh – you come in through the garage? Use the front door at least once a day. Don’t close the mouth of chi just because you car is more important than your home and the people who come to it!

Part 2 – What to Shred and When

Shredding is great fun but not if you shred the wrong documents. Here’s your guide:

Monthly

Credit card receipts after reconciliation with the credit card statement. Don’t shred receipts needed for tax purses or warranties. Attach those receipts to either the user manual or the warranty.

Shred cancelled checks and debit receipts [again excepting those needed for taxes or warranties. My bank has a picture, front and back of all my checks, so a paper copy, mailed by the bank is redundant.]

Yearly Shredpaper-shredding-machine1

• Monthly retirement and investment account statements after they are reconciled with their year end statement.

• The monthly bank statement IF you have reconciled with the year end statement.

• Pay stubs after reconciliation with W-2s, 1099s or equivalents, the IRS has their own copy!

• Repeating monthly bill. Check it against last year’s to see that there is not some freak leak. [My utility company gives me a usage graph this year and last year, so I don’t need to do this comparison and I can just shred last years statement.]

After 7 or 10 years:
• Year end bank statements [if  not needed for tax purposes]

• Any titles, deeds, or surveys to any cars and/or property not owned for 7 years.

 NEVER SHRED

• Certificates of birth, divorce, death.

• Military service records [I have been hearing a horror story of a retired serviceman who is trying to get disability, only to have the Army “losing” his records….]

• Wills and Trusts, revocable and non revocable

• Power of Attorney documents

• Social Security reports

• Year- end retirement statements and policies

• Loans and mortgage paid-in-full docs

• Diplomas and transcripts

• Medical records

* Current resume

• Evaluation and receipts of valuables [art, silver, jewels]

Many of these documents really belong out of the home. A Safe deposit box is good. But make sure someone else who you trust is also on the safe deposit list and has a key. Why? If something happens to you, you die or are incapacitated, they can get whatever is needed.

Next up: Organize what you have and lose even MORE paper!

Synergize the new system

Diving deep into our excess ‘stuff’ keeps showing me more and more levels on cleaning and healing that need sto happen before ou lives can Really be under our own control. But many minds are so much better than just one. Are you willing to jump onboard and help me? I want to know where you have the most problem – where you get caught as you try to clean up and clean out the clutter in you life.  Be specific so we can explore it together.  This is a very rich field, one ready for the mining. come help me unearth the Gold!  Many thanks.

Animal Feng Shui

Some years back I did a newsletter about pets and Feng Shui. All of a sudden, it’s a major blitz on the International Feng Shui newsletter!  Only confirming what I realized quite some time back. BUT, rather than stroking my ego, I wanted to say this next issue is going to be about the Feng Shui of animals. Fo instance, my alpha cat Bhodi does Reike and there’s a story around that. If you have a story about your animal that includes how well they read energies, I’d like to get it. I will include them in the newsletter (depending on how many show up!).  Please send them to me just by clicking here.

Lighting as a Tool

In the midst of the dark days of winter, you become intimately aware of how light affects mood and disposition. In Feng Shui, different qualities, color, and intensity can be used for specific effect. You know this when a candlelit dinner suggests romance and a dank, dark day suggests crawling into bed with a good book. Using lots of bright light can enliven a party, whereas bright fluorescent lighting can make you want to escape. Some people are actually nauseated by the wrong fourescent bulbs. What’s to learn from this? When buying a lamp, or reducing your electric use by using compact fluorescent bulbs, pay attention to the Kelvin rating of the bulb you want to use. [Kelvin is the temperature of the light ranging from cold to warm.] A good lighting store will have boxes where the same photograph is lit with different lamps. Find the one that you resonate with and use that. All of us are different and respond differently, but it’s worth the time and effort if you’re going to enjoy your home or business, rather than finding yourself in a poor mood.