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Autumn & The Metal Element

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Filed Under: Feng Shui

Feng Shui & Fall

Fall and the Metal Element - Feng Shui tips

Nature is once again turning and with it, our own internal energies.

Just as the trees are dropping their saffron and cinnabar colored leaves, we too can “drop” what blocks our life-force obstacles, heaviness, mindsets, habits or relationships that no longer serve us.

Autumn is a yin season bringing a time of dwindling light, a mood of melancholy, self-reflection on the impermanent nature of our lives and the beginning of inward contraction. Because the yang energies are weakening and the chi is now more yin in nature, it’s the perfect time to slow down and gather your energies.

This season is governed by the Metal Element, a cold and contracting movement associated with creativity, communication, inspiration and symbols. It’s associated with the emotion of grief, and the virtue of selflessness.

When your Metal element is balanced within you speak up and take action for justice and ethics; are surrounded by benefactors and Helpful People; have strong boundaries and keep agreements; things are orderly and organized; projects are completed on time; and have the ability to let go, flow with change and release what no longer serves.

When your Metal element is unbalanced within, you can be sad or full of regret; lack creativity; are busy for busy’s sake; feel nervous exhaustion; are disorganized; feel isolated; have scattered thinking or mental dullness; and can be judgmental, self-righteous, emotionally cold, stingy, critical or try to “punish” others.

Lifestyle choices to support you in Autumn:

  • Put attention on organizing your finances, budgets, goals, and calendars
  • Finish incomplete projects, sort out your affairs and get things done-but don’t overwork!
  • Get more sleep by going to bed earlier
  • See your acupuncturist and qi gong teacher for support for your lungs and large intestines. Practice deep breathing meditations to strengthen your lungs
  • Eat warm, cooked foods
  • Let go of what’s no longer needed (on all levels) such as old ideas, habits, beliefs and attachments
  • Soak in warm mineral springs and drink mineral waters
  • Do acts of loving kindness for loved ones and strangers for the virtue of selflessness
  • Make time for self-reflection

Feng Shui Cures for Autumn

In Feng Shui, we find the Metal Element housed in two areas of the Bagua.

The “Dui” or children and creativity area (in the far center right area of your home, business, desk or any room) represents children, joy, completion of projects, communication, symbols, creativity and inspiration.

Also in the “Chien” gua which governs benefactors, heavenly help, helpful people and travel. This is in the far lower right area of your home, business, desk or any room.

To enhance your creativity and communication; help finish projects; and welcome benefactors and travel, you can:

  • If you need MORE metal, nourish by adding more Earth (wear yellow or gold, for example)
  • If you need LESS metal, restrain with Fire (lighting candles, having fires, wearing red, etc.)
  • Hang metal wind-chimes outside on the eaves or inside your space and ring manually 9 times ringing out your prayers and wishes for 9 consecutive days
  • Use a water fountain with floating bells
  • Decorate with white or metallic paint; and metallic, reflective or round décor (see my Pinterest board for ideas!)
  • Wear white and metallics together; metallic jewelry; polka dots; elegant fabrics such as cashmere, silk or lace; or highly polished, beautiful and designer styles
  • Keep a brass bell on the creative area of your desk and ring it vigorously and joyfully when you need an energetic boost, creative idea or help staying on track
  • Carry metal amulets in your purse or pocket
  • Sprinkle Chinese Feng Shui coins liberally throughout your home and business (if you order these from me, you’ll receive tens of ways to use these)
  • Use reflective, metallic, round gazing balls in a meandering path up to your front door OR place them in the Children/Creativity and/or Helpful People/Travel areas of your garden

Feng Shui for Celebrating Birthdays

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Filed Under: Feng Shui

Feng Shui your birthday. Feng Shui tips to celebrate your special day.
“Day after day we can’t help growing older.
Year after year spring can’t help seeming younger.
Come let’s enjoy our wine cup today,
Not pity the flowers fallen!”
{Wang Wei}
The moment of your birth is when your personal Trinity of Heaven, Earth and Mankind Luck was established.
Celebrating your birthday each year is a wonderful opportunity to increase your good luck and share good chi!

 

Here are some special ways to inspire your own celebrations or create very special birthday gifts for your family and loved ones.
  • Send your wishes up to the Heavens by releasing 9 red and gold helium balloons or sky lanterns and watch them disappear into the Sky Dragon’s mouth
  • Release sky or floating lanterns
  • If you know them, perform the BTB transcendental cures of “Planting Auspicious Seeds” and/or “The Golden Cicada”
  • Fill your home with fragrant flowers
  • Practice animal liberation by releasing fish, birds, crabs etc.
  • Take a very special purification bath with sea salt and kaffir lime essential oil or 9 round peels from fresh oranges and “wash away” any inauspicious energies from your previous year and welcome the fresh new chi
  • Express gratitude to your parents for your life
  • Visit your deity and say thank you, thank you, thank you
  • Have a celebration feast including sweet cake (so your new year is sweet!) with wish-making candles
  • Write down your birthday wish and put it with any amulets you carry
  • Receive Lucky Red Envelopes with money inside
  • Have an oracle reading for your new year

You’ll also enjoy these Feng Shui posts by Gwynne Warner

18 Ways to Stay Stress-Free During the Holidays

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Filed Under: Christmas & New Year, Entertain, Feng Shui

Creating Stress-Free Holidays With Feng Shui

If you tend to get exhausted, burnt-out or stressed during the holidays, here are some ideas to support you:

  1. Give yourself lots of restorative and quiet time by doing less (not more!); taking naps, and going to bed earlier-perhaps after a nice warm bath
  2. Don’t use the blinking lights or red ones instead go for the steady lights in cooling blues
  3. Go Zen with the amount of décor you use
  4. Walk in nature

If you tend towards winter melancholy or feel a lack of the holiday cheer…

  1. Accept invitations to be with friends and even host your own party
  2. Play uplifting music
  3. Light fires
  4. Use bright red lights–even blinking!–in your decor

Peace on Earth

Consider contributing to ‘peace on earth and goodwill towards all’ with performing one act of loving kindness each day. You might also wish to offer cash donations to charities, spiritual teachers or organizations inside a red envelope.

Reduce family squabbles and tension by…

  1. Giving your home a good de-cluttering and deep cleaning. Use pine essential oil in your water before you decorate
  2. Removing all sharp things pointed towards your body (“poison arrows”) such as sharp carving knives at the table or furniture that’s placed too close together with sharp edges
  3. Playing beautiful sacred music (the less radio and tv noise, the better)
  4. Peeling lots of fresh oranges and tangerines to uplift your chi
  5. Being careful of too much fire energy (too much red décor or too many lights). You can have bowls of water with floating blossoms or blue lights on your trees to help “cool things down”
  6. Meditating before everyone arrives
  7. Wearing the color pink and using pink sheets on the guest beds
  8. Displaying photos of your family during very happy times
  9. Inhaling peace, silence, joy, love, calm, bright (sound like a carol?!) and exhaling stress, exhaustion, expectations

I hope these Feng Shui tips help you create stress-free holidays for you and your family.

18 tips to help you enjoy a stress-free holiday season!
{Creating stress-free holidays with Feng Shui}

 

 

 

11 Ways to Feng Shui Your Holidays

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Filed Under: Fall & Thanksgiving, Feng Shui

Feng Shui Holiday Lights, Colors, Scents + Sounds

11 ways to Feng Shui your holidays with Gwynne Warner.
{Feng Shui Your Holidays}

1. Add Holiday Lights

During the Holy Days, the amplifying of physical light is a shining metaphor of welcoming spiritual light. You can light candles and fires; hang twinkling lights, and hang colored Swarovski crystal spheres or scatter them on your table’s centerpiece with candles.

2. Add Holiday Scents

A wonderful way to uplift your spirits is through scent. Especially uplifting are fresh orange and satsumas; displaying fresh pine boughs or burning evergreen scented aromatherapy candles, or burning frankincense resin on hot charcoal.

3. Add Holiday Décor

A living holiday tree embodies the Chinese Five Element of Wood and encourages growth and new beginnings. Place your Christmas Tree, Solstice Tree or Tree of Life in the corresponding Bagua area of your life you wish to enhance. Now add the colors in candles, decorations, ornaments and electric lights to amplify that energy.

4. Helpful People

Glittery, gold or silver candles and baubles; angels; gold or clear Swarovski crystals; or metal bells

5. Fortunate Blessings + Prosperity

Presents–the ones you’re giving and ones you received; chocolate Hanukkah gelt; purple-red, green and gold Swarovski crystals, lights and glass balls; 3 coins on red ribbon; goldfish ornaments.

6. Spirituality and Wisdom

The Three Wise Men; religious representations and figurines; blue Swarovski crystals; burning frankincense and myrrh incense

7. Fame + Reputation

Stars; menorahs; candles; red Swarovski crystals; red fairy lights

8. Health

Healthy green plants; bowls of fresh fruit; Wu lou ornaments

9. Children + Creativity

Dreidels; toys; or metal bells

10. Relationship

Pair of red, pink or white poinsettias or candles; sweet things; photos of you and your beloved one during happy times during the holidays

11. Family + Friends

Green garlands (no drooping ends, though!); Christmas or Solstice tree; green ornaments; or wooden nativity scenes

 

A Potluck of Feng Shui Cures & Adjustments

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Filed Under: Feng Shui

Feng Shui Cures & Adjustments: Part 1 of 2

A Potluck of Feng Shui Cures & Adjustments.

Since it’s the season of picnics and backyard potlucks, I thought it would be fun to do a pot luck of Fengshui cures for the summer. Here’s something for everyone! Enjoy!

To grow your business profits:

  • Make sure you have a strong financial foundation with a sturdy, rectangular-shaped wooden desk which will activate money growth, accomplishing tasks and paying attention to details.
  • Because glass is fragile and breakable, it lacks financial support; contracts and deals can easily “fall through;” you can experience distracted chi; and can create an unstable, fragile, “financial crash” foundation for your business.

To activate business opportunities:

  • Place a mirror under your phone or cash register (shining up)

To attract prosperity chi:

  • Burn frankincense resin or diffuse in pure essential oil form

If you don’t have any money coming in:

  • Start using your front door rather than garage to enter your home

If your house is “under water:”

  • Make sure you don’t have any blue ceilings
  • Don’t hang your mirrors too high (can’t see self)

To attract lucky opportunities:

  • Light three red candles at the front door. Hold one high above head and then to the bottom of the door. Now circle 3 times clockwise at the front door.

To change bad luck into good luck:

  • Perform the Taoist practice “walking the dragon” on a bright clear day with few clouds in the hour of the dragon from 7am-9am. Walk on undulating terrain starting uphill and later, going downhill; turn a corner at least 3 times so that you’ve “turned the corner of your bad luck” and troubles will come to an end.

If you’re feeling lazy or uninspired:

  • Hang a 5-rod metal wind chime at the center of your bedroom and manually ring it often, visualizing vitality and forward movement

If you’re feeling unhappy, fearful or angry:

  • Turn on every light in house-bright light for 3 hours/day x 7 days
  • Open your blinds and curtains at every window to let natural light stream in
  • Imagine bright light

If you’re feeling depressed:

  • Clear clutter from the floor
  • Steam clean your carpets

If your home or business feels tired or lethargic:

  • Play a singing bowl, walking clockwise 3 times in each room

If you have nagging problems that won’t go away:

  • Check to see there aren’t lights burnt out at any entrance

To improve your relationships with people (family members, colleagues, clients, etc.):

  • Carry the 12 Zodiac Animals with you

To support your family’s health:

  • Make sure to illuminate dark areas of your home to increase life force, as dark spots in the home can eventually create dark spots in the body leading to disease
  • Replace any burnt out bulbs within 24 hours

When you need clarity for a decision or way forward:

  • Clean all your windows (inside + out) with the 3 Secret Reinforcements visualizing clarity
  • Clear all horizontal surfaces of dust, extra things
  • Keep your entry well-lit inside and out
  • Use the front door to go in and out for 9 consecutive days so it opens to new opportunities.Ring the door bell and announce yourself as you cross the threshold.
  • Hang a wind chime at your front door and ring often to invite new opportunities
  • Add the color blue to the Spirituality|Knowledge area of your home
  • Clear out all clutter from underneath your bed
  • Take down all art at eye level for a few days to clear your mind, view

Feng Shui Tips That Will Take You Places

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Filed Under: Feng Shui, Moves, Travels & Vacations

Feng Shui &Travel

As a lover of Feng Shui, I believe in the Chinese saying that “wherever you go you bring good luck with you.”

This summer whether you’re glamping, boutique-hoteling or Airbnb-ing, these Feng Shui practices can help you have the best trip ever.

Feng Shui your vacation Gwynne Warner

 

Before You Travel + Personal Protection

  • If possible, choose an auspicious travel day and/or auspicious day for your Chinese Zodiac animal from the Chinese Almanac to begin your travels.
  • Before leaving, take a metal bell and face east to ring the bell 9 times. Turn in a clockwise direction to face all of the other 8 compass directions, ringing the bell 9 times in each direction ending facing east once again. This ritual helps avert bad luck for travel.
  • Perform “Walking on Six Feet of Red Cloth” and “Avoiding Harmful People” from the BTB traditions.
  • Bring a talisman or amulet with you for safety and protection.
  • Perform “One Good Deed” every day.
  • Carry the “12 Zodiac Animals” for good relationships with everyone turning all into benefactors.
  • Perform the “3 Secret Reinforcements” (to remove known and unknown obstacles) often!
  • Essentials to have on hand to conserve your precious life-force and not leak away your energy with too little sleep would be ear plugs, an eye mask and neck pillow.
  • Drink lots of pure drinking water; move (bring an ipod and dance in your hotel room!); get a massage; meditate; take naps and so on.
  • Have fun!!! Experience new tastes, sounds, smells and sights to continually adjust your chi!

Airline Travel

  • Tie a 9″ length red cloth or wide ribbon around your suitcases handles.
  • Attach an auspicious talisman or amulet to your luggage.
  • Choose airlines whose predominant colors are bright and clear green, blue or lucky and auspicious red.
  • If you’re afraid of flying, wear red to feel empowered. You can also wear solid black for protection.
  • Wear a talisman or amulet.
  • Write the name of your hotel, airline and flight number and your name on separate pieces of paper. Wrap these in a piece of aluminum foil (or place in a silver box, if you have one). Place this bundle in the Helpful People/Benefactors/Travel area to help avoid delays or travel difficulties.

Road Trips + Driving Safety

  • Keep your car super clean (especially windows and mirrors to help eliminate distractions and encourage clear thinking, responses) and well maintained so you’re safe.
  • Create a beautiful environment with: a selection of music that calms you down as well as lifts up your energy; essential oils of sweet orange or kaffir lime in a plug-in aromatherapy burner; put a flower bud vase in your car and keep a fresh, fragrant flower; have an image of the divine and/or your beloved ones.
  • Have regular cleansing and blessing ceremonies in your car but especially before you travel. Use fresh orange peels, burn chen pi, ring bells, burn sandalwood or juniper incense and clear the negative chi.
  • Some believe that 3 white feathers in your glove compartment and hanging a bird on the rear inside window offer protection.
  • Perform the BTB Secret “Driving Safety” cures.

Read more about Feng Shui in your hotel stay here.

 

To bless means to wish, unconditionally, total, unrestricted good for others and events from the deepest wellspring in the innermost chamber of your heart.

{Pierre Pradervand}