Moving is a stressful time. Here are 5 Feng Shui tips to help you create a comfortable environment in your new home:
Leave your old baggage behind
If you are like most people, you have lots stuff. Life changes fast and in the process you collect books, clothes, knick knacks, notes and projects – either for later use or because you never got around to throwing them out.
The longer you’ve been in a place the more stuff you are likely to have: books you never read again, clothes you won’t wear again, objects without meaning and so on. It’s best not to take this old baggage into your new home, but to start with a clean slate.
Take only what you love! Before you put anything into your moving boxes, take it in your hand, look at it and note your emotional response. If it is anything other than a good warm feeling, or if it is a necessary item you actually use, don’t put it in the box. This also applies to furniture. Only take what makes you feel good, what is ‘you’.
It is best to start this process early, way before you move. Nonetheless, it also works under pressure. We had to unexpectedly move once with only a months notice and managed to go through everything quickly. We made three piles: what to sell, what to give away and what to keep, and in the end moved with only a quarter of our possessions. It is very liberating, and when you open your boxes in the new place you feel excited about the things that you now find.
Cleanse old energies
Whether you move into a home that has been lived in by someone else or if builders have just finished your new one, residual energy of events, people and emotions tend to remain in the fabric of the space. This is called place memory and it’s recommended to clear this out. In this way, you make the home really your own.
If you are a subsequent resident in a home, do a thorough clean: paint or wipe the walls, wash curtains and carpets if you can’t replace them. Use natural cleaning materials perhaps with your favourite essential oil added. Renew the place with your energy.
Then clear your new home energetically. You can clear away old energies and emotions with the help of sound, smoke, prayers and intention. There are many ways of doing this – you may utilise your cultural or spiritual background. Move from room to room, for example with a sage smudge stick, with singing bowls or chanting. Your intention that commands any old energies to leave is the most important aspect.
Don’t be exposed to poison arrows
A long narrow hallway is like a freeway on which energy travels too fast. It also exposes the area at the end of it, to what in Feng Shui is termed, a poison arrow. This is cutting and it is not comfortable to sit or spend time in its trajectory.
The shape of such long hallway belongs to the WOOD element in Feng Shui. Its fast straight energy may harm the Feng Shui wealth potential of a place or energetically hurt small children or your ability to relax and recharge.
Ideally, energy and people should move through a home like a gentle river in a meandering fashion. Use strategic furniture placement to create gently undulating pathways and to protect your sitting areas from attack. This can be achieved even in non-ideal designs.
In the same way, do not place your bed in the doorway. People tend to develop physical problems in the body part that is cut by the doorway.
Create a cosy corner
Our lives are out of balance. Most of us are too busy, stretched, always on the go. As a culture, we lack sleep, relaxation and downtime. It seems to be an era of Yang excess and Yin deficiency and many of us show the signs of exhaustion for it.
Our homes are a reflections of this. Our living area has the sofa in the middle of the room where it serves as a handy room divider but is not the place you can really relax. Unconsciously, you’d expect someone to jump on your back from behind. We are kept on alert by such unconscious instincts rather than really relax.
To balance this, try to create a cosy corner somewhere – maybe a reading chair or day bed, a space that backs onto a wall and with a bit of side protection and a nice outlook. A cosy corner is a place where you feel held and protected, a seat you can to sink into, where you can chill, listen to music, daydream or nap.
Careful with red tones
Every home has its unique quality and feel. For each room there are different elements, colours and shapes that will harmonise it. With the right colours, a room is harmonious, with wrong ones, it may feel irritating. We always try to support positive and reduce negative energies present with the Feng Shui elements. Here are some general cautions to avoid activating negative energy.
Red tones (orange, pink, reds and purple) belong to the FIRE element. They activate and enhance the EARTH element. Unfortunately there are two types of EARTH energies – one is radiant and good for health and well-being, the other can bring irritation, sickness, disaster and mishap. Both the very best and the very worst Feng Shui energies belong to the EARTH element.
If you use red tones – a red sofa, cushions, paintings or objects – with the good EARTH energy, your home will feel great, comfortable and right. If you use it with the negative EARTH energy, the area will become more irritating and people tend to show their negative sides more often. It will feel wrong.
For this reason, if you want to use reds in an area, try it out with a throw rug or something movable first. Be mindful of how this makes you feel – whether it puts you at ease or on edge. If it feels wrong, remove the FIRE tones. In this case, stick to neutral white, black and grey tones that will appease the negative energies. If it feels right, enjoy! If in doubt a Feng Shui analysis will provide the information of which colours go best where.
Brigitte Seum has been a professional Feng Shui consultant with Soulspace Feng Shui since 1999. Feng Shui harmonises a building with nature. It can create places that not just look good but also feel right, that are radiant, alive and support the people there. Brigitte is trained in traditional Feng Shui as well as healthy and environmental building practices and is available for consultations.