Feng Shui Space Blessings

Guest User September 21, 2022

In feng shui, we see spaces as alive. Like other living beings, our spaces have energy. They absorb the qi of the people who live and spend time in them, and they can also hold onto energy from people who used to live there. This is called predecessor qi, and it’s not always the most helpful. It can sometimes make us feel stuck and contribute to challenges.

If you are feeling like there is stuck qi in your home, I would recommend a space clearing, which I like to call a space blessing, to shift the qi. You can think of space blessing or space clearing almost like a shower for your home. How refreshed do you feel after you’ve taken a shower? Space clearing provides the same kind of refreshment to your home.

There are many different ways to do a space blessing. Here are a few of my favorite methods:

Clear your space with sound

Using devices like crystal singing bowls, metal singing bowls, bells, or even your own voice is a wonderful way to transform stuck energy. Try starting in the middle of each room in your home, and allow the sound to resonate outwards. You can also start at your front door, ringing a bell or singing an uplifting song, and move clockwise throughout your home. Hug the wall on your left, and visualize your home being purified, uplifted, and filled with rainbow light.

Clear your space with botanicals

You can also shift the qi in your home by burning botanicals. This is a way of connecting to the heavens, and the smoke helps to transform the energy of your space as it rises. You can consider which botanicals resonate with you and which ones grow near you, and then purchase or make a bundle that you can burn. You can then gently light the botanical above a fireproof bowl, and walk clockwise around your home as the plant material is burning. As you do this, visualize your home being filled with rainbow light. You may also want to chant or sing while you are walking around your home.

Clear your space with oranges

Oranges are also often used in feng shui as a space blessing tool. Oranges are very auspicious, and they have a lot of yang energy. You can keep a bowl of fresh oranges in your kitchen and allow the scent to uplift the energy in your home as you’re peeling and enjoying them, or you can cleanse your home with a mist made with fresh orange peels or orange essential oil.

I hope this inspires you to refresh the energy in your home!

by Anjie Cho

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

5 Ways to Embrace the Summer Solstice

Anjie Cho June 22, 2022

It's officially summer! As of yesterday, the 2022 summer solstice, we've moved from spring to summer and are welcoming the fire season after a cold winter! The earth will travel its closest to the sun today, bringing longer days, warmer weather and the official beginning of a new season in the northern hemisphere. We're always fans of the summer season, and in feng shui terms, it's a great time to refresh your space and prepare for the coming fire element. Here are our favorite ways to switch to summer in a holistic space!

Clear Your Space

I recommend space clearings on a regular basis to my feng shui clients. They are great ways to refresh the energy in your home, send stagnant energy on its way and welcome positive qi to your space. There are any number of ways to clear the space, but I prefer the BTB feng shui orange peels method or our Holistic Spaces white sage mist during the summer months! The Space white sage spray is finally back in stock, and it's also perfect to travel with during the summer. You don't always want to burn sage when you're staying away from home, so the mist is a brilliant way to clear the space of that guest room without setting off any alarms!

Clean Out Your Closet

We all know the value of closet space, and though it might be necessary to leave out a few warmer pieces for the spring season, summer is hot and vibrant, and it's the ideal time to pack away those winter clothes and make space for light, comfortable summer clothes. You may even find there are clothes you haven't worn that you can get rid of! Each piece of clothing that leaves your space leaves room for a new, quality piece you love. Check out some of our past posts about cleaning out the closet!

Stock Up on Fruits and Veggies

Just as we change our eating habits at the beginning of fall, winter and spring, the summer season brings with it a new list of optimal foods, most notably raw fruits and veggies. With the rise of the heat, fruits and veggies offer a healthy, nutritious way to cool the body, and many (think lettuce, watermelon) even contain a high amount of water to help combat the fire season! My favorite thing is to make watermelon juice. Be sure to juice the rind, too! Watermelon rind contains a wealth of nutrients not found in other fruits and can even help improve blood circulation!

Swap Out Design Accessories

If you changed up your holistic space to get cozy during the cooler months, it's time to switch back to breezy, cooling accessories for your space. Replace darker colors with light blues, greens and pastels; swap heavy drapes for thin curtains; opt for airy, organic linens and maybe even throw in a few summer-themed pillows! Check out this My Favorite Things post for some of our favorite summer design accessories.

Add the Water Element

June is the peak of the fire season, and the best way to balance out excess fire is to add water. You can do this by adding actual water, kidney shaped items, dark blues and blacks and representations of water. Check out some of my favorite ways to add water to a space!

by Anjie Cho

Mindful Design Feng Shui School: Energy. Meditation. Sacred Space.

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

Say Hello to Your Home

Guest User February 23, 2022

burning incense on tray with other objects in soft focus in background — Photo by Denis Oliveira on Unsplash

In feng shui, we talk a lot about qi, which is life force energy. It’s very similar to prana, but it’s more than just your breath. For instance, when someone is no longer alive, they no longer have qi. They don’t have that sparkle in their eye anymore.

Your home also has qi, and the qi in your space can influence your past, present, and future circumstances. It has the imprint of qi from previous inhabitants, including people who lived in the home as well as visitors who spent time there. It also has your energy, of course, because you live there, and the energy of people who have lived on the land. Your home also holds the energy of people and things around it.

This goes for anything you bring into your space as well, including second hand objects or old furniture. In the feng shui that I practice, which is called BTB feng shui, we look at energy being imprinted on our space, and the energy of our home means the home is alive. It’s a shamanic practice.

We want to acknowledge that our spaces have energy. If you’ve been feeling unacquainted with your home, if your home doesn’t really feel like home, or if you feel chaotic, it might be a good time to check in with your space. Say hello to it. You can offer your home a gift, or you can simply speak to it and thank it for all that it’s done to support you, especially over the past couple of years.

Another thing you can do to reset the energy in your home is to do a space clearing. One of my favorite ways to clear space recently is with palo santo and a candle. A candle is a great way to bring some fire energy into a space, and you can also use it to light a botanical that you use for space clearing. Instead of palo santo, you could also use sage, a bay leaf, another type of plant, or even incense.

I encourage you to take some time to say hello to your home, and to feel gratitude for how much your home supports you. Then, you can bless your space and clear it by burning a botanical.

by Anjie Cho