Feng Shui Decorating for Enthusiasts

If you're already familiar with feng shui decorating, try these tips to take things even further!

Everyone who loves feng shui decorating starts somewhere, and you did too. But by now you've moved beyond the basics. You've mapped your home, you've read several books on the subject, and you're ready to become a more advanced feng shui decorator. What steps can you take to continue your study?

Fortunately, we live in an information era. Given that, it's not too hard to learn more about feng shui decorating -- with the help of these valuable resources.

Resources for feng shui decorating

1. The internet

If you're reading this blog, then you probably already recognize the internet as a great source of free information. There are all sorts of blogs and articles you can use to get free information on feng shui decorating, or if you're ready to take the next step, you can check out my ebook Feng Shui Decorating for a Fulfilled Life (now only $15.99!). But do beware: anyone can post anything on the internet and claim it's fact. Use discretion and your own common sense.

2. Your local library or bookstore

Good old fashioned books are still a great source of information. If you don't feel like shelling out the cash for them, try the library -- but be prepared to take notes or use a photocopier if you want to hold onto that information.

3. Local organizations and practitioners

Check into your local community and see if you have any feng shui decorating practitioners or enthusiasts willing to form a group with you. Learning is more fun if you can make it a team venture. You might even find a feng shui practitioner willing to meet with your group. Because practitioners or consultants are often kind of pricey, this is best if you can split the cost among several people.

These are the three main resources for learning more about feng shui decorating once you've moved beyond the basics. And of course, you can always email me your feng shui questions -- I'm more than happy to help. Keep having fun as you learn about feng shui decorating, and remember to keep your chi in balance.

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Great Resources for Feng Shui Products

Looking for feng shui products? Check out these sites!

If you live in a small center, it can be difficult to find feng shui products. Of course, you can get creative, which is one of the great things about feng shui: your grandmother's prayer shawl might become an integral part of the chi in your home. But sometimes you just want real feng shui products -- something that evokes that special energy only real Chinese items seem to bring.

If that's the case for you, look no further -- here are some of the best places to find traditional feng shui products online!

1. Futurewords

A site loaded with original, reasonably priced artwork -- perfect for any sort of chi you're trying to create. There are some other feng shui products too, but the artwork is the real jewel of this site.

2. Jade Market

Jade Market is a superb source of all things feng shui. The prices are reasonable and you can get almost any product you can imagine, from simple sets of Chinese coins to massive stone sculptures (assuming you're ready to pay the shipping and handling costs!).

3. Ebay

Ebay is an excellent resource for, well, just about anything, and that can include feng shui products. If you're new to eBay, it's a relatively safe process. Just make sure you check the seller rating before you make any bids. If you see a lot of negative reviews, dodge that auction.

4. Dragon Gate

It's not super cheap, but if there are feng shui products you can't find on these other sites, Dragon Gate is likely to have them. They have a really good, wide selection of products. But due to the prices, I would check elsewhere first.

These are four excellent places to shop online. Don't forget your own backyard, either (sometimes literally -- you can find great bargains at flea markets and garage sales!). Often you'll find a surprising number of feng shui products in your own city if you visit specialty shops and Chinatown. Have fun shopping, and remember that feng shui products should always come in second to focusing on the energy itself.

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!


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The Perfect Feng Kitchen

Create a feng kitchen your entire family can enjoy!

Many people are unsure about how to create a feng kitchen. After all, the kitchen is such a busy place -- and it's somewhere that has a lot of necessities, too. For example, although you should do your best to keep the stove away from the sink (since the conflicting water and fire energies create turbulent chi), you're not likely to remodel your entire kitchen if that's the way things are set up. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to create a feng kitchen without losing your mind! 

Begin by assessing the room itself. Use the ba gua to consider what area of your home the kitchen occupies and how you can use its energies to further that sector. Remember, the kitchen has very strong fire and water elements (as I said above), so it's important to keep that in mind when deciding on placements and tasks.

Tips for a feng kitchen

Having said that, let's consider some practical tips you can use right now to get that feng kitchen up and going:

• The oven should hold the command position in the room. That means that when you're cooking, you should be able to see all the entrances to the room. If you must stand with your back to an entrance, place a guardian image (bird, religious symbol, etc.) on the wall behind you and a mirror above the oven.

• The kitchen is a magnet for clutter and garbage. Is your garbage can overflowing? Are there rotting candies from last Christmas in the back of the fridge? And do you even dare open the junk drawer? Organize these things to the best of your abilities -- junk has no place in a feng kitchen.

• Keep in mind the room's purpose and decorate appropriately. Food makes a natural and very sensible decoration in the kitchen. I don't mean you should hang lemons from the walls, but a bowl of purple grapes on the kitchen table is attractive, stimulates wealth, and might have the added benefit of encouraging the kids to eat fruit!

• Make sure there's life in your kitchen. Never display dry or wilted plants, including spices (a spice rack is okay, but not a big pile of drying plant leaves). Put the knives away (they cut through vital life energy, even if they're in a wooden block) and keep something live and fresh around, whether it's a plant or the aforementioned fruit in a bowl.

Remember, your kitchen is part of the feng shui triad of health (along with your bathroom and bedroom). Creating a feng kitchen is essential to you and your family's health and well-being!

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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From Bagua to Sheng Chi: A Feng Shui Glossary

Learn the meaning of bagua and other feng shui terms!

If the word bagua makes you blink in confusion, that's okay: you're not alone. The first time I saw it written out that way it took me a moment to realize it meant "ba gua," which I'd always spelled as two separate words. And even that probably means nothing to a lot of people! 

That's why I want to help out anyone confused by bagua, sheng chi, or other feng shui terms. Consider this your mini glossary!

Common Feng Shui Terms

Balance: The ultimate goal in feng shui, balance refers to achieving an equal focus on a variety of areas or elements so that their positive aspects have the most influence in your life and their negative aspects cancel each other out

Chi: Energy

Cures: We often speak of feng shui "cures" for problematic areas. There are certain arrangements in your home that might not be conducive to sheng chi; a feng shui cure seeks to fix that.

Elements: There are five elements in feng shui, not four as in Western astrology: wood, fire, earth, water, and metal. Notice that the element "air" from Western culture is also missing. Each sector on the bagua relates to one of these elements.

Feng Shui: The Chinese blend of astrology, design, and construction that allows you to focus on integrating positive energy in your life

Guardian Symbol: Any symbol that makes you feel secure and protected (traditionally dragons, birds, and religious imagery)

Mapping: The process of figuring out the directions your home faces and applying the bagua to your home, isolating it into specific sectors or areas.

Sha Chi: Negative energy

Sheng chi: Positive energy

Obviously, these are just a few of the phrases you'll stumble across in your study of feng shui. But these are the most common terms found in introductory feng shui material, and they should give you a solid grounding on feng shui language from bagua to sheng chi!

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Chinese Jade and Its Uses

There’s a fascinating and complex history behind Chinese jade. More than any other gemstone, jade has always symbolized wealth, health, virtue, honor, love, and nobility in China. All those virtues in one little stone? You bet. In fact, Chinese jade was so revered that at one time, only the nobility and aristocrats could use it!

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Chinese jade comes in several colors, not only green. The most common colors, though, are green (naturally) and white. Most Chinese jade is actually nephrite, the scientific name for soft jade. Other jades (like hard jade, or jadeite) mostly come from Myanmar. Strangely enough, though, it’s hard jade that is popularly known as Chinese jade -- and has a higher value than any other country’s products.

Chinese Jade: The Stone of Royalty and Much More

Jade has a lot of significance in Chinese history. It was the royal gemstone, used for the emperor’s seal as well as the seal of the first feudal society in Japan. Like rose quartz, it’s often used as a feng shui cure for love and relationship matters.

Chinese jade is used in a wide variety of objects and fashions in China. Just a few of the places you might find jade scattered throughout history include in funeral utensils, musical instruments, weapons, food containers, and of course jewelry. Even as jewelry, though, jade is more than it seems: the Chinese view a jade accessory as part of their own being, not just a piece of jewelry, an they’re unlikely to discard it lightly.

Jade and Your Health

Jade is a beautiful stone, but Chinese jade has many more uses than the decorative. Confucius believed that jade embodied benevolence, loyalty, courtesy, wisdom, and truth. With all those qualifications, it’s no wonder jade became the stone of royalty.

In terms of health, Chinese jade does far more than just emphasize these positive qualities. Many consider jade a priceless stone (an old Chinese saying holds that gold is valuable, jade invaluable). Ancient medical lore has it that when you wear jade, it warms to match your precise body temperature. This allows it to emit negative ions, or magnetic waves, that have a powerful effect on your body, eliminating toxins and other hazards to your health.

Regardless of your beliefs, jade is a beautiful and very traditional ornament to have around -- or to wear around your neck! For example, check out these handcrafted Chinese jade items. Look into the benefits of Chinese jade -- you won’t be disappointed.


Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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The Importance of the Feng Shui Living Room

Why your first feng shui priority should be a feng shui living room!

A lot of people gravitate toward a feng shui living room, bedroom, or garden, and there are good reasons for these preferences. Gardens naturally lend themselves to serene chi, with their beauty and connection to the earth. The bedroom has a profound impact on our health and love lives. But the living room is vitally important as well, especially for homes with families.

Why Living Rooms Matter

Why does a living room matter? Well, think about it: where does your family spend most of their time? Especially their together time. Every other room in your house tends to be isolated to either a specific purpose (eating in the kitchen, for example) or a specific person (such as a child’s bedroom). The living room is the only room in your house that exists specifically for, well, living.

That’s why a feng shui living room is so important. How you arrange the living room affects your entire family, and that affects the chi throughout your house. Although some experts would recommend starting with the bathroom or bedroom, I always recommend taking a strong look at your living room first, especially for homes with families.

The Feng Shui Living Room

So what does a feng shui living room look like? Well:

• it takes into account each of the people who will be using it and incorporates something they love

• it’s structured around people, not machinery (for example, having all the furniture circling a television screen is very bad mojo for feng shui)

• it emphasizes comfort in its furnishings, and probably has plenty of blankets and cushions around to boot

• there’s room for everyone in the family, plus guests, to sit comfortably

• No one has to sit with their back to the door (or any entrance to the room)
  

In addition, the perfect feng shui living room has some extra touches:

• The five elements balance (in other words, there are touches of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water throughout the room)

• Something in the room speaks welcome to guests

• It is clean and clutter free

• Something alive is in the room besides its inhabitants -- a goldfish, a green plant, or what have you
  

If you follow these tips, you’ll achieve the perfect feng shui living room in no time at all!

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Feng Shui for Bedroom Happiness

Use feng shui for bedroom comfort, romance, and relaxation!

When people ask about feng shui for bedroom and bed, they usually have one of two things in mind: relaxation and romance. And with good reason: these are the two things you should be saving your bedroom for!

This isn’t just a feng shui idea. Most sleep experts recommend keeping your bedroom sacred to rest and romance. In fact, some theorize that many sleep disorders originate from trying to do too much in your bedroom (acknowledging, perhaps, that a busy energy isn’t conducive to a restful one -- science catching up with feng shui at last?).

Feng Shui for Bedroom Rest

In this area, feng shui for bedroom comfort coincides with a lot of advice from scientists and sleep experts -- so even feng skeptics can enjoy these tactics without worrying about looking strange to their family and friends (hint, hint: it’s a great place to start a wishy-washy friend or family member along the path to feng shui!).

Follow these tips and enjoy a more restful, relaxing bedroom:

• Never work in your bedroom: no laptop in bed, studying on the floor, or desks in the corner. In those situations where it’s completely unavoidable, create a physical barrier (such as a folding screen) between your workspace and your rest space.

• Don’t use your bedroom for exercising -- it creates too active an energy.

• Don’t watch TV in bed. In fact, don’t even have a TV in the bedroom: the electromagnetic energy isn’t conducive to sleep.

• Avoid having mirrors in the bedroom as these can reflect sha chi back at you in your sleep.
  

• Position your bed so that you can see the door but your feet aren’t aiming straight at it.
  

These simple tips will help you create feng shui for bedroom relaxation. But what about...

Feng Shui for Bedroom Romance

Obviously, we mainly use our bedrooms for sleeping. But bedrooms also tend to be the romantic center of any couple’s relationship, so it’s worth keeping a strong romantic energy in the room, too. Even single people will benefit from emphasizing romance in their bedrooms, especially if they’re “looking” -- it can help create a receptive energy.

Follow these tips to emphasize romance:

• Keep the love and marriage sector of your bedroom clean, free of clutter, and full of pink, red, candles, rose quartz, pairs of items -- anything that evokes love.
  

• Treat both sides of the bed with equal respect and make sure one partner doesn’t dominate the room.

• If single, make sure there is physical space in the room for a prospective partner -- ie, space in the closet, the night stand, etc.
  

• Keep one or two romantic keepsakes (NOT from ex-lovers) in the room to help establish the mood.
  

By following this advice, you’ll keep your bedroom sacred to love and rest, enabling you to get more out of both. Remember, feng shui for bedroom life follows the same principle as all feng shui: emphasize the positive chi!

Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Feng Shui Tips for the Bathroom

Use these feng shui tips to keep your bathroom from sucking away your health and prosperity!

When people ask me for feng shui tips, they're often worried about the bathroom. And well they should be: the bathroom is an incredibly difficult topic in modern feng shui. The ancient discipline never accounted for indoor plumbing, and so no allowances were made in centuries of studying chi for a room with this one's... well, particular uses.

Draining Away

The bathroom actually isn't so much a source of sha chi because it's dirty -- although that can definitely be a problem, and many Asian cultures actually have the bath and the toilet in separate rooms. Ask where the bathroom is in a Japanese home, and your confused host may think you want to interrupt your visit to take a bath!

No, the main reason the bathroom becomes problematic is because it has so many darn drains. Drains are never good for chi. Their only purpose is to suck things away as quickly as possible, and unfortunately, that includes chi. That's why it's so important to observe certain feng shui tips in the bathroom.

Fast Feng Shui Tips

There's no "good place" for a bathroom in feng shui, but some places are worse than others. If the bathroom is in any sector you're trying to emphasize, especially the wealth, love, or health areas, it can literally destroy your ambitions. If it's directly over your front door or kitchen, or just off either, that's a particularly inauspicious location.

However, there are some feng shui tips that will help you minimize the bathroom's impact on your chi:

• If the bathroom is in a particularly bad location, hang a full length mirror on the outside of the door (and always keep it closed). This helps to visually redirect chi away from the bathroom and prevent its loss.
  

• Use grounding items, such as earth-based cures, in the corners of the bathroom. Heavy ceramic vases, containers of any kind, and many types of crystals are effective examples of these tools.
  

• Hang a faceted crystal in the center of the bathroom to absorb and redeflect chi.
  

• Keep the toilet and bathroom door closed at all times, and try to cover the drains in the shower and sink as well (or at least close the shower curtain to create a physical barrier for any stray energy).
  

• Hang a 3 inch round mirror on the ceiling (use double sided tape) directly over the toilet. This will redeflect draining chi (and also makes an interesting conversation piece when you have guests!)
  

Following these feng shui tips is the quickest method I know of to undo any potential damage to the status of your home from draining bathroom chi!


Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Should I Use a Feng Shui Consultant?

Wondering about the secrets of feng shui? Maybe it's time for a feng shui consultant!

If you're thinking about a feng shui consultant, congratulations: you've taken the first step towards resolving your life and creating a more fulfilled energy within your home. Feng shui is an incredibly powerful tool and, as a feng shui consultant myself, I have often seen the incredible changes it brings about.

Why Use a Feng Shui Consultant?

There's a lot of feng shui you can handle on your own, but there are times when it's nice to get some outside help. Some of the benefits of a feng shui consultant include:

• Experience -- consultants have been doing this for a long time and understand what they're about
  
  
• An outside opinion -- sometimes, you're too close to a situation to see it properly. A feng shui consultant can often sense things about your home that you can't simply because you live there!
  
• Accuracy -- consultants have studied the craft and know what they're doing. You don't have to worry about a bad compass reading messing up your whole house.
  
  

On the Other Hand…

Of course, there are many reasons people choose not to use a feng shui consultant, too. I understand these, even though I do think (obviously) that the benefits often outweigh the costs. Some of those costs include:

• Actual cost -- feng shui consultants charge a hefty fee. Meanwhile, for a scant amount of money, you could purchase a book on the subject (such as my own!) and take on a do-it-yourself project.
  
• Lack of conviction -- if you're just starting out with feng shui, you might want to see it in action for yourself before you spend a bunch of money on one.
  
  
• Inconvenience -- depending on where you live, it may be difficult to find a feng shui consultant (or at least one who knows what they're talking about!)
  
  

Whatever you decide, remember: your consultant is only that, a consultant. The ultimate decisions about your house should rest with you, not a feng shui consultant or anybody else.




Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

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Creating a Feng House

There's more to creating a feng house than just observing the basic principles of feng shui!

Creating a feng house isn't difficult, but it does take a bit of focus and work. While the basic principles of feng shui are necessary to creating a feng house, there's more to it: most of your chi comes from the people in and around your home.

• Given that, there are a few tips you can take to purify your home and create a warm, welcoming, and homey atmosphere for you, your family, and your guests.
  
• Make sure the entrance of your home is particularly welcoming. Never use it for storage and put coats and shoes away as much as possible. Touches like water fountains, green plants, or attractive artwork make a visual welcome when you return home.
  
• Use "air purifiers" to absorb negative chi in your feng house. You can go traditional with this (green plants, candles, incense, a bowl of sea salt) or more modern (a HEPA filter, for example). Small amounts of black in your color scheme also help to absorb negative energy (although too much black creates it).
  
• Observe the old adage "never go to bed angry" to a tee. No matter how mad you are, it's not worth the negative energy that will fester through your house that night. You don't have to resolve the argument, but make sure you give your son/ wife/ husband/ sister a hug and tell them you love them all the same.
  
• Root out and eliminate sources of sha chi in your home. Whether it's an "obligation" item you're keeping around because it was a gift from a rich relative or tokens from failed relationships or their ilk, this sort of negative energy can permeate your entire home, destroying any chance of a feng house.
  
• Balance the elements in your home and your life. Even if you're an overwhelmingly fiery person, you know that you need some water around to keep you balanced. This sort of technique will create a more even energy in your home.
  

Combining these tips with basic feng shui will help you to establish the perfect feng house!


Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

Read more!

Feng Shui Tips to Beat Common Problems

Great feng shui tips and solutions!

If you're looking for feng shui tips, you've come to the right place! I've been studying feng shui since I was at my Grandma's knee, and I’m only too happy to share my experiences.

The best feng shui tips have to be given in person, since it's hard to know what a home's -- or a person's -- trouble is without seeing them. But there are some general feng shui tips that can help you troubleshoot problems in your life!


Problem: I can't meet that special someone!

Solution: Try applying common feng shui images for love: pink and red, the dragon and the phoenix, candles. Focus these in the southwest corner of your home and get rid of any images of one person or tragedy in those areas. For more ideas, get your free report on creating love with feng shui by clicking here.


Problem: My bathroom is in the worst place possible -- it's sucking my love/energy/money down the drain.

Solution: Use earth symbols and crystals to divert the negative energy. As with many feng shui tips, sometimes the best solution is to, in a sense, ignore the problem: a full length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door deflects energy so that it's like your bathroom doesn't even exist.


Problem: My home is an odd shape, and there are corners pointing at me from all directions.

Solution: Whenever possible, soften those corners with fabric wall hangings, folding screens, or some sort of physical barrier between the corner and wherever people sit, eat, or relax. If that's completely impractical, try hanging crystals or wind chimes to soften the energy.


Problem: I love the exposed beams in my house, but I'm worried they're creating unsettled energy.

Solution: You're right to worry, but fortunately there's an easy fix: hang wind chimes (ideally made of bamboo) from the beams to deflect and slow the chi.


Problem: My city/town is terrible -- it's impossible to find good feng shui cures.

Solution: Many feng shui tips can be used without buying a single thing, or by purchasing common items like pillar candles. If you like the idea of trying out some legitimate feng shui merchandise, try shopping online someplace like Jade Market.


No matter your problem, there's usually a way around it -- feng shui isn't designed to create messes you can't resolve. Hopefully these feng shui tips fix some of the more common problems.



Interested in feng shui? Check out my book, "Feng Shui Secrets for a Fulfilled Life!"

Looking for great deals on feng shui products? Try Jade Market!

Read more!