Feng Shui

Map Your Way to a Better Life

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Wendi Nitschmann

I’ve been thinking about maps lately. I miss them. Even the awkward, too-big ones that you can never fold up in exactly the same way as they were when you first opened them.

550px-ChooseRightMap-1

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some GPS (except for the one in my new car, which always tacks on an extra 30 minutes to every ETA and sometimes leads us to a field in the middle of nowhere instead of to the soccer game).

What I love the most about a map is its potential.

And options.

The potential to show you the easiest way to get to where you want to go. And then, just in case you make a wrong turn somewhere, there are always the alternate routes, or the options.

How cool would it be if there was a map for your life? 

Guess what? There is!

It is called the Bagua, and it’s basically an energy template that represents your whole life.

It’s your starting point in Feng Shui, and it looks like this:

bagua-map

Each room of your house plays a role in your life, and your environment reflects your personal well-being and inner balance. The Bagua is set up like a grid that shows where the different aspects of your life are represented in those rooms.

You align the grid with the front door, which should enter one of the three bottom areas. The front door is important, since it is where the energy (chi) enters into the home. It should be clear of debris,well lit and welcoming. (If you use another entrance other than the front door, align the Bagua with that entrance.)

You can see in the Bagua above that certain colors and elements are associated with the different areas. These are used to enhance the energy in those areas. It’s as easy as incorporating wood furniture into your Family Room or silver picture frames in your Travel and Helpful People room, or even putting red drapes in your Love & Relationships room.

You can stretch or squeeze the map to fit your particular house, but if you have missing areas you will need to address those. You can do so by using feng shui “cures.”  It can be as simple as adding a deck or covered porch, or even just an outdoor light or landscaping feature. (I’ll talk more about that in another post.)

If your house has additions that alter the shape, don’t worry. These can be beneficial.

So what have you got to lose? Why not start mapping your own life?

You can start by printing or sketching a Bagua and then look at it as the potential you have to make your life better!

Then see where your options lie: where you can begin enhancing the good energy around you to make your life better.

If you want to read more about bringing good energy into your home, go here.

Let me know what you think. And please share if you know someone who might be interested!

Categories: Feng Shui | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

Your Worst (Inner) Critic

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Wendi Nitschmann
English: Book illustration, "The Critic&q...

English: Book illustration, “The Critic”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are anything like me, you are your own worst critic.

Way too hard on yourself.

Worrying too much about what you should have done instead of patting yourself on the back for what you did do.

And maybe even struggling to take the first step that will lead you down the path towards a fulfilling life. A life in which you are able to do what you really want to do.

Whatever that might be.

I have taken a few steps myself, but I have to constantly remind myself to be positive, and even more important than that, to think positively.

So to keep me on track, I’ve been going through some old feng shui newsletters from Vicky White, Feng Shui Practitioner. I saved them because they are easy reads and they help keep me focussed.

I’m going to adapt some of them, to make them more relevant to me (and hopefully you). Here’s the first one…..

A simple 4-step process to train your inner critic to tell you the whole truth.

1. What’s your critic telling you? It’s most likely in the form of a judgment or criticism. One place to start is to look at one of your goals that isn’t happening. For me a good example has to do with writing. You too might be hearing:

You’re out of control, you’re too scattered. Look at you finding a million other things to do rather than sitting down at your desk and writing. You’re so weak willed. You’re useless.

This is your critic expressing anger – and anger is usually all you hear.

2. What’s the fear your critic is expressing? I’m afraid you’re sabbotaging yourself and you’re just going to keep finding excuses not to write. And you’ll never be that person you know you can be. I’m scared for you.

This is your critic expressing fear.

3. What’s the request your inner critic would like to make? I’d like you to make a list of things that truly need your attention, and schedule a time to do them each day.  Then schedule time to sit down and write. Make a plan, and cross things off the list as they get done. This will help you feel a sense of accomplishment when things get done, and you will be more likely to write without getting distracted.

(Keep asking your critic for what she’s requesting of you until you get some really specific requests.)

4. What’s the love behind your critic’s anger? I love you and want the best for you. I want you to experience the transformation that comes from having your energy flow freely in your body. I want you to be able to do what you want and feel good about it because I love you so much. Do you understand?

This is the hardest thing to hear. But it is the most important. It will give you the freedom, the permission, to do what you want to do.

Your critic really does have your best interests at heart – the trouble is she’s not telling you the full story – she starts with her anger and more than likely that just makes you feel more frustrated because you start believing you really are useless so what’s the point?

Look to see where you may be blocked in going for your goals. What’s your critic telling you? Make sure you get the full story – your critic’s fear, request and love as well as her anger. Then you’ll have some action steps to take and you will have turned your inner critic into your coach.

Adapted from:

©2009 Vicky White, The Feng Shui Coach

If you want to start bringing  good energy and luck into your life, here is a great way to do it!

Categories: Feng Shui, Writing | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

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