BEFORE You Feng Shui - Things you MUST know before a Feng Shui Consultation

Feng Shui is a Healing art. It is meant to inspire, transform, help and assist out clients to achieve their goals. I don?t believe it was ever intended to instill fear, make people uncomfortable in their own homes or worry about changes they make. And yet, that is exactly what I have been seeing lately.

A case in point: On a recent visit to a client I was dismayed to enter a beautiful condo unit and find complete and utter lack of attention to the home. By lack of attention, it had clearly not been cleaned in a very long time as the grime was built up on everything; the entire unit was cluttered with things lining both the furniture and couches. The kitchen went unused and it was almost impossible to step into the bedroom due to the clothes and debris all over the floor. Something had gone horribly wrong and we cleared off a space on the floor to sit and discuss her life and issues.

She was an intelligent, beautiful accomplished person who had previously been both a model and a singer in a band and was now on disability due to a recent accident. She told me that several years ago she still hadn?t found the right partner and had called a Feng Shui consultant for some help and advice on her relationship issues. The consultant pointed out problem after problem with the layout of her home, with her bathroom, with the direction of the front door----the list goes on. In short, she was told by the consultant to move, that this previously lovely condo would never support her nor would she ever have good luck while she lived there.

Flash forward to today and my visit. She had given up she said; what was the point? She did not have the money to move and truly believed there was nothing she could do to help enhance her life. Powerful and absolutely devastating words from someone she went to for advice and inspiration. Now her mindset was and had been misery. She no longer had friends over, certainly had not even opened herself up to the possibility of a relationship and was having a series of misfortunate ?accidents.? She had given up on her home and her life.

Trying to change her mindset after so many years was a daunting task. I showed her all the good points in her home and gave her easy, inexpensive things she could do to change the energy, starting with cleaning up and getting rid of the clutter. I addressed each room with a positive point of view and if something wasn?t ?politically? Feng Shui correct, showed her simple things to change it.

Sadly, I have been seeing this more and more in my consultations. While I truly believe in the many methods to use Feng Shui, I am always mindful to do no harm. In someone?s home or in their Mind. Yet I am finding client after client who has been told their front door faced the ?wrong? direction, the steps in the center of the home would mean constant health issues and everything negative while only providing their clients with expensive methods such as renovations or telling them the house will never support them at all.

I visit Real Estate offices quite frequently to speak on Feng Shui and Home Staging and honestly there hasn?t been one I have been in that wanted to work with a Feng Shui Consultant. Why? For one thing, Feng Shui Consultants never seem to find the ?perfect? home for their client; sometimes it?s the numbers on the door, sometimes it a misplaced bathroom, sometimes there is a ?negative? space and a complete area of the house is missing. Feng Shui consultants, I am told, point out only negative issues.

I am grateful that I attended classes in Feng Shui by such a wide spectrum of the very best teachers and mentors in the field who were able to provide me with a variety of inexpensive and easy to implement ?cures? for all these problems. When we look at a space, we see it through what is called ?Feng Shui Eyes? but these eyes can be positive in nature and instead, show a person or family how the home will support them and how to ?fix? a missing piece, show them the positive aspects of the front door and how to look at Feng Shui through a positive perspective.

We were taught to be healers in every aspect of the word; we are often challenged ourselves with clients who are so hurt and worried about homes they have been told can?t be fixed, that will never support them that their lives have changed so dramatically in a downward spiral.

Look for a Feng Shui Consultant to inspire you, give you the positive, use the beautiful transcendental cures and blessings and simple and inexpensive methods to change your environment for a more beneficial flow of energy. We are, as the wonderful Pamela Laurance inspired in us every day, to be Mindful, to help, to heal, to transform.

Certainly, finding a consultant who has been well trained in a variety of methods and practices from a positive point of view won?t get you ?stuck? in believing you need expensive renovations or that it?s time to move. They are the ones that will be able to transform, to help and heal and inspire. The positive aspects you put into your thoughts are, ultimately, what will provide you with exactly what you are seeking in every area of your life.

Feng Shui Tips For Your Home Office

According to the US Census, about half of all business in the United States are run from the home. Since so many people are working from home at least part of the time, it makes sense to try and keep things running smoothly and harmoniously. To that end, here are some Feng Shui Tips for your home office.

You'll need your compass for some of these tips. Placing items and rooms properly is one of the keys to proper Feng Shui.

If you are able to choose the location of your home office, the best place for it to be is in the North end of your home. The North Sector is often called the Career Sector. If that is unavailable, the Southwest corner is the Wealth Sector, the Northeast is the Skills and Talent Sector, and finally the South is the Fame and Recognition Sector. Do your best to locate your home office in one of those sectors, with the North being the most desirable, and the South being the least.

Some other general Feng Shui Tips for objects within your home office are:

1) Always sit so that there is a solid wall behind your back. This ensures you have support in your life. Never sit with your back to the window.

2) Always place the fax machine, telephone, computers, and cash registers in the southeast wealth sector to attract more prospective business.

3) Arrange your desk to have a clear view of the door, preferably facing the door. If it is impossible to arrange, hang a small mirror so that you can see the door's reflection.

4) Never put a shelf over your desk. The shelf symbolizes the burdens of the world coming down upon you.

5) Try and keep sharp items such as paper cutters, scissors, or the sharp corner of a machine away from your desk. Make sure they are not pointing at the desk. Keep as many sharp objects as possible hidden from view in a drawer or closet. The sharp edges symbolize the cutting of a knife which is a disapproving finger pointing at you.

6) Make sure that you can walk completely around your desk so that your workmates and workload do not cramp you.

7) Avoid clutter at all times and at all costs! Do not have an "in" or "out" tray on your desk. Keep only on your desk what is necessary for what you are doing at the moment.

8) Don't keep cactus plants in your office. The needles of the cactus plants are thought to create negative energy flow.

9) Never arrange your desk in such a way that if the door swings open it will open into your desk. This will cause you to be faced with unexpected situations. If the door jams against your desk, it can block your prosperity.

10) If there are two doors in your office, don't place your desk between them. The good Chi will pass right by you and out the other door.

As one final Feng Shui tip for your home office, a tabletop fountain made of bamboo or flat round stones is always good in the southeast corner to increase prosperity. If your company has a sign or logo, place it in the southeast corner of the office as well. Make good use of these Feng Shui tips and may you be showered with many blessings.

Charles Chang is a Feng Shui enthusiast and author. He enjoys helping others with feng shui tips through his articles and website.