 |
 |
| |
| Departments |
Home
Columns, Special
Topics & Features:
The Columns:
Angels, Guides, &
Loving Spirits:
Angel Blessings:
with Dr. Doreen Virtue
Ask Valerie Morrison,
Internationally
Acclaimed Psychic
Trust Your Vibes
By Dr. Sonia Choquette, PhD.
Internationally Acclaimed Psychic Healer & Author
Body Mind & Spirit with John Holland
Psychic Medium, Author
& Teacher
Astrologer's Notes:
Carin Martin,
Astrologer
Donna Cunningham, MSW, Astrologer
Basil Fearrington,
Astrologer
Diana Stone,
Astrologer &
Huna Shaman
Jeff Jawer
Astrologer
Glenn Perry,
Astrologer
Ray Merriman,
Financial Astrology:
MMA Market Week
Noel Tyl,
Astrologer
Daily Aspect Calendar
by Care
MoonWatching with Dana Gerhardt and Friends
Creating Bridges:
The Spiritual &
Philosophical
Act of Power
Discovering the Key to Living Your Sacred Dream
by Lynn Andrews
The BUT Doctor
Healing America's Real Crack Problem One Person at a Time
by Eddie Conner
Avant-Gardening:
Insights by Frank &
Vicky Giannangelo
From The Heart:
Alan Cohen
Teachings from the Western Mystery Traditions: The Esoteric "Paths of Return"
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia
Spirituality in Daily Life: by Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron
The Conscious Column
by David Ault
Spiritual Mastery
for the 21st Century
Dr. Gwen MacGregor
Pearls of Wisdom:
with Care & Aeon
Encounters on the
Shaman's Path with
Dr. Hank Wesselman, PhD.
Anthropologist, Zoologist, Author, Shamanic Healer & Teacher
The Divine Human
by Ornesha De Paoli
Awakenings
by Karen Johnson
Worshipping by Wondering with
Sankara Saranam, MA Founder of the Pranayama Institute
Feng Shui & Chinese Metaphysics:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
by Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
In Practice:
Juliet's Marketing Wisdom
by Juliet Austin, MA Marketing Coach, Author & Consultant
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah Revealed:
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, Kabbalalist
"Letters from Heaven:" Spiritual Guidance from
the Hebrew Alphabet
by Avigayil Landsman
Pet Care:
Dr. Carson's Holistic Animal Care
by Dr. Kathleen Carson, D.V.M.
Tarot:
Moment to Moment
by Gigi Miner
Author, Tarot Consultant, & Teacher
Reviews:
Tarot, Cartomancy,
Oracle Decks,
Books, & Software.
by Bonnie Cehovet,
Tarot Master
Humor:
Wake Up Laughing.Com:
Swami Beyondananda
Features:
Blessings & Messages
Event Calendar
Historical Notes & Data
The MetaPersonals
Opinion-Editorial
News Briefs
Symbols, Seals,
Amulets & Talismans
The What in the
World Department
Trivia & Life's Other
Novel Moments
Interviews:
Watch for Upcoming Announcements
Healing & Alternative
Health:
Living in Harmony-Astrology, Yoga & Ayurveda:
Venkat & Christine Machiraju
"Spirit and Practice
of the Wise Woman
Tradition"
By Susun Weed
Tai Chi & Qigong
by Bill Douglas
The Holistic Mystic,
by Lonny Brown
Medical Intuition: Tune
in to Your Body and Improve Your Health
by Caroline Sutherland, Sutherland Communications
Transformational Healing through the Violet Flame!
by Eva Kettles
Herbs for Health
with Kami McBride
The Directory
The Book Nook
Archives:
Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feng Shuii & Chinese Astrology:
Inside Chinese Metaphysics
Clutter, Order and Feng Shui
|
|
|
by Barbara Finch |
|
|
For years I have been loathe to write an article about feng shui and clutter. There are countless articles about clutter and how important it is to have a home and business that is in order.
But increasingly I have been asked to consul for people whose houses and offices are in a state of extreme disorder. I am not talking about the house being a bit dusty or some papers strewn around, but rather where there are immense piles of stuff inside and/or outside the house, things are broken and the place is very dirty. Often the owners have so much stuff that they no longer even know what they have. Oprah Winfrey has even done a couple of shows over the past few months, showing homes where the owner’s pets have taken over, the house has not been cleaned in months, and there are piles of garbage everywhere.
I had one client who lived in a one-bedroom apartment with his wife and young daughter. He said they needed more room and wanted me to analyze an available, larger apartment in his building. He hoped the larger apartment had good feng shui.
When I arrived and he opened the door, I was shocked to see boxes – hundreds of boxes – stacked along all of the walls up to the ceiling, throughout the entire apartment. The boxes were stacked a few deep, so that he literally had a very narrow passageway into the living room. Boxes were stacked all around so that there was barely enough room to squeeze in the sofa, a television and an end table. Even more boxes blocked most of the light from the balcony. There were also several plants hanging on the balcony that were dead or dying that further prevented much light from coming in.
There was a narrow walkway in the kitchen and then more boxes in the bedroom. There was just enough room for the bed and dresser, and a passageway to get into the bathroom.
Not all of the boxes were sealed. Many were open, and stuffed with all kinds of items, many of them broken, such as old, broken lamps and other things that were not fixable.
To say the place was completely claustrophobic is an understatement. There was no room for air to circulate or for light to permeate their home. The client’s wife came home and, wanting to smoke out on the balcony, had to crawl over some boxes to get outside. I couldn’t help but be grateful that she did not smoke inside, not only for her family’s health, but also because of the fire hazard they called home.
I looked at the other apartment and we discussed its suitability for him and his family. But I could not leave without discussing the huge and glaring problem of the enormous number of boxes in their current apartment.
It took a while for the client to open up, but eventually he told me that his mother had died over a year ago. He had been extremely close to her, and found he was completely unable to get rid of anything she had left to him and his family. Everything reminded him of her and he could not throw anything away, even the broken and unusable things. The problem was, his mother had lived in a large four-bedroom house, and he had stuffed most of her possessions in their little one-bedroom apartment. They also had two storage rental units that were filled with furniture from his mother’s house.
He wept as we talked about his mother and the state of his home. He said he had never thought he would be living like this, but it just overtook them all. I asked him if his mother had loved him. He said oh yes, she had loved him and his wife and child dearly.
I then gently asked how his mother would feel if she knew they were living like this – no room to walk, no fresh air or natural light, and nowhere for his child to play. He looked up with tears streaming down his face and said, “She’d be shocked! She’d be so upset and angry with me for doing this to myself and my family.”
I advised him to get some professional help from a competent and caring space/organization consultant, someone who could help him determine what he should keep, what was usable or not, what needed to be thrown out, given to charity, or sold. We talked about how nice it would be for him to be able to actually use and enjoy some of his mother’s things, rather than have them crammed and crushed inside the boxes. I pointed out that many needy people would love to have any of the excess things, too, and what a nice gift that would be to his mother’s memory.
He thanked me for taking the time to talk about their problems and said he would begin to sort through the items and create more order in his home.
Unfortunately I do not always find out how the feng shui stories end – I left a couple of messages but he never called back to tell me if he had gotten rid of the excess stuff.
Another man contacted me about his mother’s house. She had been having trouble making her mortgage, so he had moved in with her for several months to take over the payments. He warned me that the house was “a mess” but that he hoped feng shui could help them get the house better organized. He kept saying the house was in very bad shape, but nothing could have prepared me for what I found when I arrived.
The grass in the yard was dead and brown. There were broken-down vehicles and large pallets of stuff outside. The carport was filled with all kinds of things – old paint cans, broken furniture, and so on.
When I arrived, he apologized for the house and said, “Believe it or not, we cleaned!” This house was also filled with boxes stacked to the ceiling. Half the living room was full of boxes. There were holes in the walls and the carpet had not been cleaned in years. They had a large family room, but it was nearly filled chest-high with more things. Everything was covered in cobwebs and dust, and you could not get more than a few feet into the room. I could see bulk-size boxes of deodorant, toothpaste and other items, but the savings on having bought them bulk were lost because you could not even reach them.
The bathroom was in a nearly complete state of disrepair. The shower had not worked for years and there were holes in the walls. In the backyard there was more stuff. The garden shed was filled to the roof, and even the tree house my client and his brother had played in as children was stuffed with things!
Another client and her housemate lived in a very hip part of town. They had a great, huge apartment with lots of character. They owned wonderful items that would have made a gorgeous home – were it not for the fact that they had least five times more things than the apartment could hold in an attractive and orderly way.
How is it that so many people have so many things and live in such a state of utter chaos? Obviously for a small minority it can be a mental health issue but, as I said earlier, I have seen more and more houses with way too much. While certainly the vast majority of you do not live like these people, it is safe to say that most of you likely have too much stuff.
We are working longer hours and have less free time. Cleaning has become such a last priority that many of us are being overridden by our stuff. Too many things that you have held onto and not used for years. Things that were given to you that you dislike, but you feel guilty about getting rid of them. Things that you forgot you even have, so that you wasted money to buy a new one.
But a disorganized home creates a disorganized mind. Most of the people I have met who live like the examples I gave above are oblivious to their clutter until I bring it to their attention. Their lives reflect their houses – messy and out of control – but they expect and hope that a feng shui consultation will fix everything.
Consider this. If you have so much stuff that you cannot take care of it, you cannot take of your home. But your home’s qi is essential to good health, relationships and finances. You live in your home and absorb its energy. Your home’s condition affects you and your family. So you cannot expect good results in life (with or without feng shui) if you are living in a crazy, cluttered space.
Autumn is here! Spring and Autumn give us great opportunities to do a major cleaning, sorting and reorganization. The weather is changing and it is a good time to take a tonic to detoxify your body, and have the oil changed in your car. Why not cleanse your home and office?
Let go of the unnecessary things you own and you will find that you will let go of many unnecessary worries. If you need help letting go, hire an organization specialist who can be more objective in helping you make decisions about your things.
Get rid of anything you have not used in three years. Fix or replace anything that is broken. Dispose of or at least put away anything else that reminds you of a difficult time. You will not believe how wonderful it feels to let go of what you no longer need. As you bring order to your home and business, you will bring order to your family and peace to your mind.
Still won’t do this for yourself and your loved ones? Need more motivation?
After Hurricane Katrina and the awful devastation it left behind, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and have to start again in various parts of the US. Some will have help from insurance and loved ones, but many have nothing and they will need all the help they can get.
Give your excess things to charity. You can go to http://www.charitywatch.org/ to learn more about various charities that you may wish to give to.
Another alternative that I like very much is Freecycle, a network of Yahoo groups. People post lists of things they no longer need but are still usable. You can go to Freecycle’s website at http://www.freecycle.org to search for a group for your geographic area (there are even groups around the world). New groups are forming all the time – there are over 1.6 million members so far!
List members will write posts such as "Offer: Dining Room Set". If someone wants the item, they contact the givee and set up a time to pick up if it is still available.
So, if you won’t clean out your house and get rid of the things you don’t need or want for yourself, how about doing it for all the Katrina survivors and other needy people? They need everything – clothing, furniture, baby items, computers, televisions, kitchenware and much more.
Giving to charity or Freecycle people can help you by giving you an easy and free venue to get rid of your excess stuff. You can have a home or office with better feng shui - more space, a sense of order and comfort, and a calmer, more tranquil mind. Donations can help the Katrina survivors get the things they need to begin again and live with dignity. And it keeps our landfills from overflowing unnecessarily.
Make the time to create a more beautiful and comfortable home and office. Help others by giving away your unnecessary items. You spend so many hours working to afford your home and house yourself and your family. Allow yourself more room to breathe, to enjoy your space and to create better feng shui.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Barbara Finch,
Feng Shui &
Chinese Astrology
Consultant, Writer, Instructor, & Speaker
|
 |
Barbara Finch has been fascinated with metaphysics since childhood. Following a vedic astrologer's advice in 1995, she has studied feng shui and other Chinese metaphysics in earnest with Masters Larry Sang and Peter Leung, becoming an instructor for both.
Using both ancient and modern techniques and methods, Barbara has vast experience in residential and commercial feng shui consultations. She also teaches and writes extensively on Chinese Metaphysics.
Barbara is also a professional Chinese astrologer using Zi Wei Dou Shu, a form of Chinese astrology. Additionally, with Master Leung, Barbara has recently written a correspondence course on The Four Pillars of Destiny, another Chinese astrology. This course contains extensive and profound information on Four Pillars, much that has never before been available in the English language.
Barbara has lectured on Chinese astrology for the American Federation of Astrologers and various other groups.
Continually updating and expanding her knowledge of Chinese metaphysics, Barbara is committed to using this ancient wisdom to help those seeking assistance to best harmonize themselves with nature, time and space.
Have a question or comment for Barbara Finch? Contact her:
Email:
barbara@finchshui.com
Website:
http://www.finchshui.com
|
 |
You'll find it in
The
Directory! |
|
|
|
|
