I used to think of Feng Shui, which in literal terms means wind-water, as a means of rearranging a space. Recently, I found out that Feng Shui is also used to describe personality and a way of life.
I don’t pretend to be an expert at Feng Shui, but I’m fascinated with its principles. Feng Shui can be symbolic and draw from mathematics or formulations, much like the western horoscope. It simplifies our everyday routine so that we can welcome abundance into our homes. Feng Shui instills the principles of five elements, earth, fire, metal, water, and wood.
These five elements represent elements of our persona. The sixth element, wind, is about cleansing. To me, wind symbolizes the spirit. All these elements here on earth are elements we need to survive. The wind, or air, element (spirit or breath of life) helps everything flow better. When all of these elements are balanced, they work harmoniously together in the physical and abstract realms.
I’ve learned how clearing the house sometimes goes beyond getting rid of bad energy. In the simplest of terms, it’s about getting rid of clutter, old patterns, and ways things operate. In doing so, questions emerge like, “Why do I walk around this chair, instead of moving it so that I can walk more easily?” or “How do I tackle this pile of paperwork so that I don’t feel so overwhelmed?”
When we take time to look and feel about our space from different perspectives, we begin to realize blockages. I call this “spatial awareness.” When life becomes busy, self-sustaining homes help to connect the body to the mind.
When my parents died, I tackled their house and had to learn to let go. Eight hundred bags and boxes later, I realized how many things were not needed, used, or even remembered. Clutter erased them from usefulness and pleasure. The old saying, “a cluttered house is a cluttered mind.”, rings true. My mom had terrible ADHD. Maybe, if I helped her clear out that house sooner, I might have lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders. Now I understand that this lesson is here for me, and I know that my mom is helping me from “heart above.”
After I tackled my parent’s house, I reflected on my emotional triumph. I recognized that clearing my parent’s house made it so much easier to let go of stuff in my own stuff. The easiest way to tackle monumental jobs is to take baby steps, for small things in their accumulation combine to become big things. A grain of sand is just sand, but together with other sand, it can become a beautiful beach.
Abundance
A lot of people sell their unwanted things, but I say that if it’s hanging in your space until you find the time for a garage sale, or set up an eBay account, let it go. How many of us have time for a full-time job and a part-time job? Look into “paying-it-forward” to someone that would appreciate your unwanted items, and how the abundance you will receive will come in other ways. What I realized recently is that being efficient relates to letting go of the things that clutter our house and our minds. This applies to action throughout the day, so when you build a list keep it small and consider breaks, adequate time, and balance. Make sure your list is realistic and well planned.
I know that when I work in my office and before I begin the day, I need everything to be in its place. I neaten my piles before I leave my office, and set an intention for the next day. I check my e-mails before I start the day, and reassess my list of things to do. I always did this, before I understood Feng Shui, but it didn’t mean that I never felt overwhelmed or that I neglected my ritual sometimes. Tending to a space is a good tool, but we also have to look at other things and other spaces in order to transform workflow into life-flow. Abundance isn’t just about monetary things, it’s also about well-being, time, happiness, love, and wellness. All of these things allow your free spirit to sore.
Co-Creativity
At times it can be quite overwhelming to achieve a smooth life-flow, and balance it with health and home. Just because you organize your space and your lists, doesn’t mean you leave enough time in the day to fulfill expectations. Time management is just as important. You need to leave time on the list to rest, ponder, play, eat and socialize.
Being in the creative field, sometimes leads to creative blocks, just like writer’s block. This holds true to any action or thought. So, taking time for the self can invite more harmony into your life, by providing more efficiency in your actions and ideas.
In the creative world, you can’t just make a list of things to do; you also have to be thoughtful about the process and leave yourself enough time for inspiration. I call this thoughtful action, and it works beyond the creative job. Taking time to think things through, makes for efficiency when you have to bring a task to completion. We have to leave time to clear our heads in order to find clarity of action. We need time to be creative in our lives. The mind is the hardest space to clear, and that is why it starts with space and time, and this leaves you with time to create.
Feng Shui Formula
I would like to simplify meanings for the 6 elements; grounding (earth), growth (wood), intuition (water), action (metal), passion (fire), and spirit (wind). If we balance all of these aspects of ourselves, we will find more fluidity or flow. Everything we do becomes much easier and much more kinetic, and it becomes much easier to push the kinetic “wheel of life”. When we simplify, we find love or spirit in everything we do, no matter if it’s a creative project, work, family, or even a mundane task. We find love in the mundane when we find love in the flow of balance in our lives. In order to achieve this, we must rid ourselves of all those things that block our free spirit, and then this grounding action allows our intuition and passion to help with self-growth, and our free spirit is allowed to co-create.
Namaste,
Lesley Wexler, heartabove.net