Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/22/09

The precious gem most associated twith his month of November is the mysterious topaz.

This stone has been around for at least the last 2,000 years and has been called one of the precious gemstones that formed the foundations of the twelve gates to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

These stones are often referred to as ‘apocalyptic’ in their nature in so much as they are believed to hold miraculously protective powers when worn.

In the realm of mysticism, the topaz is said to contain a cooling or antiseptic effect, as well as being able to dispel sadness and anger.

It’s thought, as well, to have the ability to relieve all nighttime fears simply by sleeping with it close by.

Some legend even goes so far as to to claim that a woman will most assuredly become happier if she wears the stone.

So why not use this gem to add sparkle inside and out? 

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/20/09

As a devoted and totally adoring mother, I couldn’t be happier to celebrate a day that calls itself ‘Universal Children’s Day.’

If, like me, you are a lover of children everywhere but have one or two or ten in particular that you are helping to steer through life, then the following tips might be very helpful for you:

First, make sure that your child can see the door to his or her bedroom easily and effortlessly while either sitting, standing or lying down in her bed.

That bed should be aligned to the widest part of the room and would do well not to share a wall with a toilet and/or a bathroom.

Make sure that this room stays relatively tidy and clean and has at least one mobile or windchime hanging from the ceiling, encouraging children’s own innate sense of creativity and wonder.

In fact, this adherence to organization and structure holds true at any age.

Bright colors like yellows, light blues and greens lead to bright kids who are happy, healthy and secure.

A light placed anywhere inside the ‘Children/Creativity’ area of their room and turned on will bring brilliant insights and illumination into their lives. 

Hey, they light up our lives, let’s go ahead and return the favor!

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/19/09

The Great American Smokeout’ encourages smokers to quit the habit for just one day in order so they can see that they can actually do it and then quit for a lifetime.

A long, long, long, healthy and happy lifetime.  But as anyone who has ever been a smoker knows, this is not near as easy as it might sound and actually is harder than anyone besides a smoker could ever imagine.

That said, there are some ‘tricks’ or ‘tips’ that might make stopping a little less traumatic than need be: once you make the decision to quit and you are weaning yourself off, every time you go to buy a pack of cigarettes change to a brand that is much less appealing to you. 

Not only will this reduce the pleasure you get from smoking but can also affect your blood chemistry reaction eventually making it easier to stop.  Buy only one pack of cigarettes at a time and when you do think of some place else in your life that money could be much better spent.

DO NOT BUY CARTONS OF CIGARETTES at a time while you are trying to quit.  Each day, starting today, smoke your first cigarette an hour later than you would normally start.  Wait an hour longer than the day prior before lighting up. 

And, lastly, try to take the nicotine out of your system by mixing a half teaspoon of cream of tartar into 8 ounces of orange juice and drink this before retiring for the night. This will help clear the toxins out of your system courtesy the tartar while the orange juice replaces depleted vitamin C. 

If you do this for 21 nights straight, without fail, after that same time period cigarettes will begin to taste yucky and you’ll begin to think it’s easier not to smoke than to light up.  As always, consult a medical professional when necessary. 

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/18/09

M-I-C-K-E-Y Mouse!  Remember when we sang that name waiting for the mouseketeers to come on the television screen and entertain us? 

What?  What do you mean, you don’t remember?  Before there were tweets there were those of us who sang that Mickey Mouse song.  Well, today, you’ll have to move that melody out of your head to make way for another well known one, the Happy Birthday song.

Because today is Mickey’s 81st birthday!  And, well, let’s face it, Disney’s most important icon never goes out of style.

As well that little mouse has made A LOT of money and garnered even more luck for that same studio.

Could it be because Walt Disney knew his Feng Shui and also knew that the mouse or the rat, according to the ancient Shui texts, is also associated with intelligence, street smarts and survivability?

Or could it just be that Disney knew that the rat symbol in Feng Shui represents and activates both career and income fortunes and luck? 

Either way, let’s take a page from the Disney comic book and use an image of the rat if you want to scurry and scamper away with the sort of money that big cheese Walt and his ancestors keep earning and earning and earning. 

Piece of cake!

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/17/09

Today is ‘Homemade Bread Day,’ not a staple on the calendar but a day that recognizes a trend that's making a comeback. The facts are that humans have been eating bread for at least the last 8,000 years.  Though it's made from almost every conceivable grain, it’s the raised wheat form that first inspired man to make this ‘staff of life’ a piece of the food pyramid.

Not too very long ago though, bread was considered a divine substance directly linked with the gods and goddesses of the earth. As late as 17th Century England, bread was floated on the surface of the water to find the body of someone believed to have drowned while, in later times, throughout other parts of Europe, bread was presented to children as a gift that would bless the baby with food for its entire lifetime.

American folklore maintains that anyone moving into a new home should carry in a loaf of bread and container of salt on moving day in order to guarantee full stocks of foodstuffs and much good luck while living under that roof.

So, here now some ways to use breads to enhance your own energies: Twisted breads bring protection while egg bread eaten fresh is said to promote fertility.

Sprouted breads increase psychic awareness while eating seven grain ones attract money. 

And garlic bread, well, garlic bread brings prosperity and abundance. 

Maybe that’s why it’s usually associated with a mint? 

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/16/09

Cabernet reds and maroon merlots; deep scarlets, golds alongside bright ambers and brilliant oranges  -- all adorn the trees this time of year.

And that last color, bright and brilliant orange, is also often associated with the energies of November as much as they are with accorded to the energies of Mondays.

So, that makes this the most perfect day this month to wear something bright and orange in order to reap the benefits and rewards that this hue promises.

Orange is almost always associated with revitalization and is believed, when worn alone, to be able to lift spirits, yours and the ones belonging to all those around you as well. 

Orange is uplifting and anti-depressive and brings a smile to the face. 

It’s also believed that wearing orange alone can move a love affair right down the aisle to the altar.

So, if you were hoping to see an engagement ring under the tree next month, you may want to start prepping during this one. 

Just be a peach and be sure to wear a little something orange the very next time the apple of your eye comes a callin’!   

Feng Shui Tip 11/15/09 - 5 kinds of luck

According to Feng Shui philosophy, there are five different types or kinds of luck that each of us can experience.

The first of these is called ‘Heaven Luck,’ or what we all might know us astrology. This sort of luck speaks to the position that the sun, the moon and all the rest of the planets were in at the exact moment that we were born and can influence and greatly impact our Destiny with a capital ‘D.’

The second kind of luck is ‘Man Luck,’ or the kind of luck that allows you to scratch off a lottery ticket and win five bucks. This is the kind of luck that has you pulling into a crowded Target parking lot at the exact same time as the person in the closest possible parking space is pulling out.

The third type of luck that we can all take advantage of is education. Knowledge is power after all. This one sort of speaks for itself. The more you know, the more opportunities to generate lucky breaks.

The fourth sort of luck speaks to the energy of this day. ‘National Philanthropy Day’ is a day dedicated to giving something of yourself away.

This day specifically speaks to money, but Feng Shui defines philanthropy as any sort of service to community.

After all, whenever you give whatever it is you have to give, well, it’s priceless right?

The fifth and last kind of luck dovetails off that idea of philanthropy as it reminds that what goes around comes around.

It’s karma, the ages old idea that whatever you give out, bad, good or indifferent, you will get back in spades.

On this, ‘National Philanthropy Day,’ why not reach out and give something to someone who is less fortunate that you? Money. A cup of coffee.

A smile. Love, my friends, makes the world go ‘round, but you can make it spin a little nicer, a little happier, a little less anxious.

You have that power. And that’s pretty darn lucky if you ask me!     

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/14/09

The energies today are dedicated to communication.

And speaking of, well, speaking, there is an old (supposedly magical) Ayurvedic recipe that promises that people who drink the mixture will begin to think only the sweetest thoughts as well as whispering lots and lots of sweet somethings in everyone’s ears.

I have clients who have used this recipe to great success when they want to be sure that the person they are speaking with will be predisposed to speaking ever so sweetly back to them.

It says to start out by cooking some white rice with a few leaves of saffron until the rice has a yellow or golden color and a warm, delicate flavor.

Then mix almonds or almond milk and saffron together and boil that for a few minutes. You can also boil almonds and saffron in whole milk to get the same effect. 

You eat the rice and drink the milk and think sweet thoughts and say sweet words.

All anger and frustration disappears and problems become a thing of the past.

Now what could be sweeter than that?

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/13/09

It's Friday the 13th -- and it can be your lucky day, if you're looking to be lucky in love.

Tonight, sleep on pink sheets. And, if you're an unmarried woman looking to get hitched,  also consider painting your bedroom some hue of pink or peach in order to attract that special someone.

Lastly, wear rose quartz on your left wrist while looking for Mr. Right.

Soon, everything will be rosy in the romance realm.

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/11/09

It's ‘Veteran’s Day,’ or, in Canada, 'Remembrance Day,’ while in other parts of the world it’s known as ‘Armistice Day.’ 

But, mostly, here in the U.S., we mark today as ‘Veteran’s Day,’ a uniquely American holiday remembering those who have died bearing arms in the name of life, liberty and the ability for each of us to go ahead and pursue whatever happiness looks like to and for us.

These brave women and men whom we celebrate today died doing their duty for God and to Country.

When President Wilson first proclaimed this day to be a legal holiday in this country he called it, “A day dedicated to the cause of world peace…” 

Let us all, every one of us, contribute to those same energies this day as we bring those same energies of peace to our place by bringing the ‘peace’ fruit into our homes.

The word ‘apple’ in the East sounds exactly like the word in Eastern languages that speak to all of the qualities and characteristics associated with ‘peace.’

As a result, the apple should, according to Feng Shui, be regarded as having a soothing and calming influence when displayed anywhere inside the home.

In many customs and traditions the apple is considered a token of peace and harmony and is therefore included in gifts that come bearing same.

Why don’t you put a big bowl of fresh apples anywhere inside your living space today?

That way you not only honor those who have fought and died, but you also contribute to the idea that there can be peace on earth.

In fact, let there be peace on earth and, my friend, let it begin with you.

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/10/09

I have so many readers who are always asking me how they can find ‘the one’ -- their soul mate, the person that they are meant to spend the rest of their life living happily ever after with.

There are many practices in the Feng Shui pantheon that speak to finding and then consequently keeping the man or woman of your dreams, however, on this, ‘Forget Me Not’ day, I want to share a little sumptin’ -- sumptin’ that will merge and marry these two energies together.

If you blend two drops each of rose essential oil, jasmine essential oil, bergamot essential oil and damiana essential oil to a quarter cup of almond oil (as the base) and then wear this mix as a perfume or aftershave you are sure to be remembered, very, VERY fondly, long after the initial introductions have worn off.

Believed to be stimulating and highly effective love attractants, these oils, when mixed together with loving intention, have been used as charms to help draw new partners or even to help to strengthen existing relationships.

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/9/09

The energies of this day ask us to remember ‘The Night of the Broken Glass’ or what has become known as Kristallnacht.

For it was on this night in 1938 in Nazi Germany there was a coordinated attack carried out that left some 91 Jews dead while some other unfortunate 25,000 to 30,000 were arrested and deported to the death or concentration camps.

All this between the time the sun went down and then rose again the next morning.

This one night saw consequences of violence that included the destruction of more than 2,000 Synagogues, the ransacking of tens of thousands of businesses and homes as well as the beginning of a genocide program that continues to haunt civilized man to this day.

Protection was nowhere to be found. And, well, humanity was apparently absent that night too.

Feng Shui says that hanging bird feathers around the perimeter of your front door or entry, especially ones that you have gone outside and collected from open areas yourself, will, like the blood of the lamb over the door, keep everyone who lives inside the space safe and protected.

As you affix these feathers of protection to your doorway why not say a silent prayer for all of those who had no protection when they needed it most?

And then say one of gratitude for all of those who keep us safe and free to this day.

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/8/09

It's National Parents as Teachers Day, so here's an easy way to use feng shui to further the success of your students.

Place a globe in the room in which they study. This will engage energies boosting grades and activating better study habits as well.

Graduates should place the globe inside the ‘Fame’ area in order to invoke energies of world recognition and opportunities.

Either way, any student can completely take advantage of having the world as her oyster as long as she has one at her fingertips, literally!

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/7/09

It's ‘Bittersweet Chocolate and Almonds Day,’  honoring the dark and sweet chocolate that's been een often called ‘the food of the gods.’ 

The trees of this delicious delight, although native to South America, were bought to Mexico by the Maya before being extensively cultivated by the Aztecs and Toltecs.

Those cultures and many more since believe that chocolate in any form can be used to increase the ability to both give and receive love as well as to increase that same ability where money is concerned.

And then we have almonds. Legends say eating five almonds before drinking alcohol can prevent intoxication. Iranians use almonds to cure insomnia, while nursing mothers all over the world have been told that eating almonds can increase lactation while reducing headaches and guarding against the evil eye.

So what better marriage than a merger of these two magical foods?

Indulge and enjoy on this day.  Maybe we can change the axiom to “a bittersweet chocolate and almond bar once a day will keep that ole' doc away?”

Daily Feng Shui Tip 11/5/09

This day and consequent ‘Bonfire Night,’ commemorate the plot that British subject Guy Fawkes participated in while watching over the gunpowder in efforts to eventually blow Parliament, the British King James I along with it, off the face of the planet.

Although Fawkes and his fellow countrymen planning this plot had their own burning desires and reasons to set their intentions ablaze, the plan was eventually foiled before its final execution when Fawkes was found out and the plot was blown to smithereens.

But something about his zeal and passion has obviously resonated as Fawkes seems to have left a lasting mark on both history and pop culture with blazes and bonfires taking place in the British Isles on this night even to this day.

I think that Fawkes must have known his Feng Shui since that philosophy says that using the fire element can make your name both known and respected in the community at large.

Look, Guy might have his yearly bonfires but you can heat up your own ‘Q’ factor simply by placing and then lighting nine red candles in the ‘Fame’ area of your home and/or office.

This Feng Shui 101 cure promises to create both recognition and reward for all and any of your efforts even if the opposition thinks it might be closing in!

If you practice this adjustment then all those who oppose will more than likely only meet with one word, one that Fawkes knew well:  Kaboom! 
 

Daily Feng Shui Tip 2/10/09

Chew on this: Today is National Toothache Day, so I feel like it’s my duty to remind you to check your calendar and see when the last time you went to the dentist was!

No kidding, for years now there are many of us in holistic practices that have been trying and trying to get the word about the link between gum disease and various other illnesses that can then spread systemically throughout your body.

Only very recently has much more information become much more available to the public regarding this very relationship of how what’s going on inside your mouth has a tremendous impact on what’s happening inside all the rest of you.

If you get a simple toothache and need some relief while waiting to see a professional, then dip a sterile cotton ball in the juice of a freshly squeezed lime and put that on the ache itsef to help it temporarily abate.

Or you can rub a little cinnamon on the infected area (as well as sprinkling some in your wallet to help find the money to pay the doc!)

And, then, if and when you do have any dental work done, be sure to drink a cup of two of pineapple juice every day for two weeks before and two weeks after.

This will help reduce both inflammation and discomfort that can sometime follow dental procedures.

Just bite the bullet and call your dentist today.

You’ll be happy (and smiling!) that you did.

Daily Feng Shui Tip 2/8/09

Remember that part of the movie "Mary Poppins" in which the kids and their parents all rush to go and fly a kite all the while singing that catchy little tune? 

“Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height, let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring!” It seems that those kids really did know how to let their spirits soar right alongside the flowing tail of their kite.

But whether or not they knew that flying a kite is great Feng Shui remains to be seen.

Being that this is "Kite Flying Day," we can take a brief spin back in history and learn that the kite was actually first invented by the Chinese over 2000 years ago for military purposes.

But then with the inauguration of the Ming Dynasty during which peace and stability prevailed, kites became recreational in nature.

In Feng Shui, kites can be recreational as well as representational, as in the theory that envelopes Tibetan wind flags, you can use a kite to promote and put your own intentions and goals out into the Universe.

Simply find any kite that you can imprint and, with a red or black pen, write a word or draw some symbol that describes your wish, your dream. 

Then on any clear, sunny and windy day take those wishes out and let ‘em soar “up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear,” and now, your intentions and their rewarding results will be right up there too!

Daily Feng Shui Tip 2/7/09

When he wrote that “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” clearly, Charles Dickens didn’t know his Feng Shui or he would have known that through these teachings, obstacles turn into opportunities and bad times into blessings.

He himself started out his professional career working torturous 10-hour days inside a London boot-blacking factory.

But that factory gave him fodder for the literary classics that he was soon to pen, gracing the world with a legacy of literature that endures to this day.

In celebration of this, his birthday, and in order to bring balance to your space and make all of your days “the best of times,” place a lamp or a light or even just a lit candle into the "Knowledge" area of your main floor.

Let them burn brightly for at least three hours. This effort is believed in Feng Shui to bring elucidation and education and an incredible lightness of being into your home and into your life.

This cure is, quite literally, a true page turner!