Feng Shui Tips for Your Home

Have you ever walked into a home, and although everything looks fine, there is something that doesn't feel quite right?

Do you know of a home where the occupants are experiencing similar problems to the previous residents?

Have you experienced misfortune with finances, relationships or health, since living in a particular home?

Feng Shui focuses on the flow of energy in our buildings and environment, and how this energy impacts us on a mental, physical and spiritual level. Every home is unique, and the analysis of the compass direction, floor plan and age of the building allows a Traditional Feng Shui consultant to read the energy map of a home. This energy map is called a Flying Star Chart and it provides insights into what is happening in your life.

The job of a Feng Shui consultant is to improve energy flow and create a space that is balanced, to support your happiness, health and wellbeing. This can be achieved by altering room and furniture layouts, changing traffic flow throughout a building, and by balancing the Five Elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood.

If you don’t have access to a Traditional Feng Shui consultant, there are general ways that you can improve your Feng Shui. Here are my top tips:

• Ensure that the front of your home looks beautiful and inviting, as this represents your ability to attract opportunities into your life. The garden should be well kept and the path to your door should be free of obstacles.
  
• Clear your clutter. Clutter reflects worry, it ties you down, and leaves little room for new opportunities to enter your life. Use the clutter test and ask yourself – do I need it, do I use it, do I love it? Make a plan to remove the clutter, starting small, one drawer at a time.
  
• Mirrors should be placed with care, as they can draw in positive or negative energy depending on where they are located. In general, use mirrors to reflect scenery and beautiful things such as artwork. It's best to avoid placing mirrors opposite an entrance, as people are more likely to be concerned with their appearance than take notice of the home.

• Filling your home with tacky 'lucky' objects will not necessarily improve your Feng Shui, and may have the opposite effect. Properly implemented Feng Shui remedies should blend seamlessly with your décor.

• Avoid decorating your home with unwanted gifts and things you don’t like. Decorating with items you dislike will bring unfavourable energy to your home and stir negative feelings.

• Lift the energy in your living space with beautiful music and fresh flowers. Artificial flowers are fine as long as they are well maintained and free of dust and grime.

• Stale air is stagnant energy, so open windows and doors daily to bring fresh air into the home. Open curtains to bring natural light into your rooms. Use plants in living areas to help recycle indoor air.

• Water features have a powerful influence in Feng Shui, and can amplify the ‘unseen’ energies in a home, whether they are positive or negative. If you have noticed your luck taking a turn for the worse since placing a water feature, try moving it or switching it off.

• If you are considering using a Feng Shui consultant, ensure they are qualified and practice Traditional or Classical Feng Shui.

Finally, take pride in your home and you will feel great about living in it. Your home is a reflection of your life and you can make positive improvements by changing your surroundings.