FENG SHUI
On my 54th birthday, I received a card from my friend, Summer. In it she wrote, “I just love getting birthday cards with money. . . so, here’s to the start of your birthday money magnet.” Folded in half was a one dollar bill.
At the time, I had been reading a book about feng shui (pronounced “feng schway”). While the in-depth study includes more than I need to know, I was intrigued by one thing. It’s about moving energy. The use of feng shui techniques activates, attracts, and optimizes the flow of energy, or chi, in the home and workplace.
In feng shui, the pa-kua (pronounced “par-kwar”) is a grid used to determine the areas in your home that are connected to specific aspects in your life. The eight areas represented are wealth, fame, marriage, children, mentors, career, knowledge, and family. On the heels of Summer’s birthday card, I dismissed any “mental clutter” as to why I didn’t think it would work and decided to create a wealth center.
Referring to my feng shui book to determine the location of my wealth center, I was to stand inside my front door and look to the far diagonal corner of the house (if you have more than one level, choose any floor other than the basement; you can also do this for your office).
My wealth center was in the bedroom, right where a full length mirror already stood. Perfect. I learned that mirrors encourage chi. So does a hanging crystal, which I had in my office and promptly transferred over. I decided to add a sterling silver book mark and the one dollar bill that Summer gave me. Other things that activate chi are hanging coins on the wall - a silent affirmation of greater abundance - and more light. A fountain or fish bowl would also prove to be helpful. In feng shui, water means wealth.
Within a week, I got a $500 check from someone who finally made good on a loan after two years. In the mail, I received a coupon book with discounts for services that I could use - the local car wash, an oil change, and a facial. The next weekend, a furniture store owner offered to waive the delivery charge without my even having to ask her.
I began to keep a journal to track my prosperity. In the months that followed, the attendance at my yoga classes increased and my home staging business grew. I found a ten dollar bill in the community washing machine and, three months later, a twenty dollar bill in the gutter near my home. Then there was the phone call announcing that I had won a drawing for an IPL skin care treatment worth $300.
Other symbols of abundance include attracting people who have a wealth of information just when I need it, discovering an item from my grocery store list is on sale (instead of buying something because it is on sale), receiving a phone call from someone who makes me laugh, and reading an inspirational message that transforms my day.
I decided not to test the theory although, if you are a skeptic, I encourage you to do so. Stick a hamper piled with dirty clothes or a “catchall” chair in your wealth center and see what happens. After a while, you may notice a problem with cash flow, a lack of motivation to work, or an overall feeling of being in a rut. Then clean it out and see what happens.
Today, my abundance center is sacred s p a c e, and creating it has not only become a magnet for promoting balance, ease, and harmony, but for also attracting a better flow of energy into my life at home. Abundance is our birthright; we only need to raise our “awareness antennae” to embrace it.
