Q&A Sunday: The Knowledge Area

Guest User November 8, 2020

I noticed that there’s a “knowledge” area on the feng shui map, and I’m wondering what that means?

In case anyone isn’t familiar with the feng shui bagua map, it’s a tool that feng shui practitioners use to assess and adjust the energy of a space. It’s usually depicted as a three-by-three grid, and it’s made up of eight life areas around a center.

One of these life areas is the knowledge area. It’s called Gen in Chinese. It’s also about self-knowledge, self-cultivation, and skillfulness. It’s represented by the color dark blue, the number eight, square and flat shapes, and the element of yang earth. Yang earth is like a big mountain, one that you might climb to the top of to meditate.

To find the knowledge area of the bagua, stand at the front of your home or bedroom looking in, and imagine a three-by-three grid laid over the home or room. The corner that is closest to you on the left-hand side is the knowledge area.

This area of the bagua is related to your spiritual development as well as your skills and wisdom in mundane areas of life such as your career. It’s a great place for a library or a meditation space. Both books and meditation are related to the knowledge area. Reading books can be educational, and meditation assists in your spiritual development. Experience and practices like reading and meditation are really the most impactful way to cultivate yourself, and they may be especially effective if you do them with intention in the knowledge area of your home.

If you want to take it a step further and incorporate color, try a dark blue bookshelf or meditation pillow, since dark blue helps to activate the knowledge area.

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". If you have personal questions, we encourage you to check out Practical Feng Shui or hire one of Anjie's Grads.

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Getting Grounded with Feng Shui

Guest User November 4, 2020

Today I want to talk about getting grounded, and what that means in terms of feng shui. In feng shui, we use the five elements, which is a system inspired by nature. The five elements can be found in your home, as well as everything around you. Earth, one of the five elements, is about grounding, connecting, stability, and self care.

It’s always helpful to get grounded, especially if we’re in our heads a lot. Being in our heads can lead to a lot of anxiety, difficulty, and challenges. Here are a few ways to get grounded with feng shui:

One simple way to become more grounded is to connect with nature through your senses. We often try to think our way out of things, but it’s important to connect through your senses rather than your thoughts sometimes. From the Taoist perspective, clarity arises once you stop thinking. In the Tao Te Ching, one of the verses challenges you to have the patience to allow the muddy water to settle. When the muddy water settles, you can have some clarity. Grounding with your senses can look like connecting with a pet, massaging your feet, or walking around your home barefoot and connecting to the textures on the floor of your home. The floor represents the earth element in feng shui, so that’s a really great way to ground.

Another way to get grounded is to find a place in your home where you feel safe, and to lie down there and allow the earth to hold you for some time. This is a way to let that muddy water settle, and it also helps you get grounded and connect to the earth.

The third thing I would suggest is to notice what elements in your home connect to nature that is alive. Do you have plants in your home? Animals? Do you live with other people? Next, take a moment to give some attention to those living beings. Notice if there has been a living being in your home that’s been neglected, and do what you can to bring more love and attention to that living being. This could even be yourself! I would challenge you to connect to this being without using words, so you can really tune in to your senses.

One more thing to keep in mind is that simple is always more powerful. People often try to make things more complex, but if something is simple you can really get straight to the heart of the matter. In order to keep things simple, start with my first tip: touch into your senses.

I hope this helps you get grounded. Let me know on Instagram if you noticed any shifts!

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: What to Look for in Houseplants

Guest User September 27, 2020

I just moved to a new apartment and am excited to get some new plants! Is there anything in particular I should look for feng shui-wise?

Congratulations on the move, and thanks for your question!

Everybody is loving their houseplants right now, myself included! They’re also great from a feng shui perspective. Indoor trees and plants add positive qi, or life force energy, to a home. They also bring wood energy into your home, which is related to vitality and growth. They’re especially great additions to any area of the bagua where you would like to invite in new beginnings and flexibility.

It’s true that certain plants are better than others when it comes to feng shui, although it always depends on your circumstances. This is why it can be helpful to work with a consultant.

In general, you want to look for plants with soft, rounded leaves, and avoid plants with spiky leaves or thorns. This is because you want to invite in soft, flowing energy. Plants communicate a lot about the kind of energy they will bring to a space through their appearance. Think of the adjectives you would use to describe a certain plant—that’s also how you could describe the energy of that plant. This is why plants with spiky thorns or needles need to be used with more care, and are not usually recommended in feng shui.

I also always tell my students that not everything needs to be a feng shui application. You may have a cactus that came from your grandmother that you really love, and that’s ok! If you love something, it has positive energy around it. There are always exceptions to the guidelines.

It’s also important that the plants in your home, including ones you already have, are healthy and well taken care of. When you’re getting new plants, do a little research to make sure you are getting a plant that’s suited for the conditions of your space. You don’t want to have plants that aren’t thriving because they’re in the wrong environment. Putting a plant in a space where it can’t thrive is like putting a square peg in a round hole, and can cause difficulties and obstacles.

One last thing to keep in mind as you’re choosing a plant is to look for something you love and are attracted to. If you love your plants, they’ll be a source of positive energy!

by Anjie Cho