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Feng Shui: Wind & Water |
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The No-Budget Guide to Feng Shui
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by Carole J. Hyder |
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Some time ago I was contacted by a dear friend who asked if I would help out a couple she knew from her church. The couple, Jeff and Rita, had fallen on some desperate times, had no money, and was forced to move into subsidized housing. My friend wanted to gift them a Feng Shui appointment.
I’m always cautious about gift certificates because sometimes the recipient doesn’t quite know what to do with a two-hour Feng Shui "gift." I asked if I could speak to Jeff or Rita first to get a feel for their interest in Feng Shui. A brief phone conversation with Rita allayed any concerns or hesitations I may have had about going to their apartment, so we set up a time.
Their apartment was on the fifth floor of an eight-story building. It was modestly, yet nicely, furnished but I could see some challenging structural issues from the minute I walked in. When Rita opened the door to let me in, we had to do this awkward dance around the door. There was a blocking wall so intrusive to the entry space that there was no room to comfortably enter their apartment. She graciously took my coat and led me into the living room. Jeff was not working due to a back condition which prevented him from doing his job as a construction worker. It was his intention to get back into the work world, but he needed to do some kind of re-training first. Before that could happen, he had to get well. Rita had been laid off her job as a graphic artist due to lack of work. She was not computer literate so any future for her in this field would require additional schooling. Until they could afford that, she was trying to pick up some temporary work. Added to this was an unpaid loan made to a relative a couple years ago who clearly was not going to live up to the repayment plan. Their combined unemployment checks didn’t meet their financial obligations, so they were forced to move into government subsidized housing to make ends meet.
One of the first things I wanted to look at was that confrontive wall by the entrance. The space was so tight that the door just barely cleared the wall. Furthermore when the door swung open, it aimed you towards the bathroom. If you wanted to get into the living room, you had to close the door first to get around it. Besides that, on the other side of the blocking wall was the mechanical/storage room. Their furnace was situated so that it ended up in the Health area of their apartment. The restriction of the door was in the Career area.
Now these are challenges I’ve seen before so I quickly and automatically began to list off the adjustments you do if you have a blocking wall, a door that opens the wrong way, a furnace in Health, etc., etc. What I wasn’t expecting was their direct responses to me about each of the items I suggested----"We can’t afford to do that." Don’t get me wrong, Jeff and Rita were very sincere in following the energetic flow of my Feng Shui logic. They strongly wanted to get out of this spot, but they literally had no money. Buying even the smallest mirror was not going to happen. I always assumed if someone could afford a Feng Shui appointment, then buying a mirror, getting a fountain, hanging a crystal would not be a problem. I needed to re-group.
I explained to them that the idea of the mirror on the blocking wall was to give a sense of space, so that the wall didn’t feel so close to the door. But perhaps they might have a painting, a poster, a picture of something that had a dimensional feel to it? Something that would give the illusion of space? No, they didn’t have anything like that. A travel poster? No, not that either. Rita said "Gee, on my last job as a graphic artist, I hand-painted a garden scene as a mural for a client. Too bad, I don’t have a picture of that." I pounced. "Do you have some of your paints here?" "All of them, why?" Before I could answer she figured it out----she could paint the garden scene right on the wall. Her eyes lit up. She began to describe the scene in great detail to Jeff---the birds, the fountain, a little bench. In their enthusiasm I reminded them that their intention was to make "an opening" or "an expansion" for both of them to allow the energy of new and productive careers to enter their lives. Before I lost them in the excitement of the mural, I had to drag them away from the wall. There was a lot more to look at.
In order to avoid the energy from going "down the drain" in the bathroom, I suggested keeping the door closed to the bathroom. That wasn’t going to work because there was no fan in there and they were both concerned that it would get stuffy. We agreed that they would close the door partially to minimize the impact of the toilet, but let it be open wide enough to allow air circulation. The close proximity of the bathroom to the front door sets up the potential for health problems. It seemed to me they didn’t need anything more like that in their lives.
Another health issue is having the furnace in the center of their space. The potential for "burn out" is high with this situation. Typically you place a small mirror on the top of the furnace face-down to keep the fire in check (mirrors being water elements). We had to get water in there in some other way without them having to purchase a mirror. As soon as I said "water" Jeff suggested that they set a bowl of water on the furnace and each day one of them could check it to see that the water hadn’t dried up. Rita pulled out a ceramic bowl they had bought years ago at an art fair. The earth element of the bowl would also decrease the energy of the fire-y furnace. They found a place to set it where it wouldn’t get too hot and filled it up while I was still there.
Due to their situation, it seemed critical to look in their Wealth area for ways to enhance their income. This happened to be in the kitchen/dining area. I knew there was a problem before I asked by just looking at the stove. I couldn’t help but wonder if all the apartments in this building were set up the same way, limiting people in career advancement, burning out their health and now taking money from their lives. What other features were limiting not only Jeff and Rita but all the other people in this building?
The kitchen was by far the most dilapidated part of Jeff and Rita’s apartment. The cupboards needed painting, the linoleum on the floor was chipped and the faucet was leaking. They had no response from the landlord about any of their requests to improve this area. I didn’t have to explain the metaphor to them about money going down the drain just as the drips of water were draining away from the water tap.
Jeff decided he’d approach the landlord to provide them with supplies to paint the cupboards themselves. Since the cupboards were dark brown, he was going to see if he could paint them white to lighten up kitchen. Rita was eager to explore the possibilities of painting some kind of design on the cupboards. I explained the connection of the color purple with Wealth, so she promised she’d consider adding some purple to whatever she did. Jeff was quite sure his brother could fix the faucet for them. Meanwhile, he set a small plant under the drips so that the water could be put to good use.
With regard to the linoleum, Rita assured me they had a rug they could put over the flooring to minimize the impact of such an impoverished look. None of these things were difficult. They were kind of surprised at themselves that it hadn’t occurred to them before now to take care of matters on their own. By realizing that this area reflected the state of their money, fixing up what needed to be repaired became more imminent than ever.
The other issue in the kitchen was their stove. Two of the four burners not only didn’t work, they were missing. There’s a story in Chinese history that connects money, food and fire. If a person is cooking food over a fire, the implied message is that they had some money with which to get this food. The more fires, the more food, therefore the more money. When burners don’t work on a stove, there’s some money potentials that are being missed. Again, requests to the landlord to get this repaired had fallen on deaf ears.
I knew I’d have to work with something they already owned, so I asked if they had a stainless steel kettle, or tea-pot, or a bowl---a wok? No to all these. I was looking for something reflective that they could place on one of the burners that didn’t work to reflect the ones that did. Jeff reminded her of a matching set of candy dishes they had received as a wedding gift years ago. It didn’t take Rita long to locate the two round bowls that had been carefully packed away. She seemed reticent to set these two beautiful and expensive bowls on the stove where they could get spattered and dirty. Jeff’s common sense reminded her that they weren’t being appreciated where they were, so why not bring them out? They could be a reminder to them of vessels with which they could gather their money. He took it further by suggesting they put change in the bowls to begin money flowing. Rita was less than enthusiastic about the idea, but agreed to try setting one bowl on each of the non-working burners.
What also would happen with those bowls is that when Jeff or Rita was standing at the stove, they could look in the reflection of the bowl or bowls to detect anyone coming up from behind to catch them off guard. Metaphorically speaking, they could catch anything coming into their lives to surprise them.
They didn’t have much cupboard space in this little kitchen, so the counter-tops were pretty cluttered. Explaining the connection between creativity and horizontal spaces caused them to regard with horror the condition of their creative energy. Rita began picking up various items declaring that "we don’t need this" or "this is no good anymore" or "let’s throw these out." Within two minutes a huge area had been cleared off the counters. I didn’t want her to get involved in doing a massive cleaning job at this moment in time, but I assured her that she had the idea! Our appointment was coming to an end so I prepared to leave them for now. We all decided that working on the front wall by the entrance would be critical to getting things going for them. This is where they would begin.
Four to five months passed when Jeff called me one day announcing that they were moving! He asked if I’d like to come and see what they’d done before they vacated their space. I couldn’t wait to see their apartment and to hear their story.
Jeff, it seems, had finished his computer training and had been hired by a company to begin the day after he graduated. The money was good and the potential was even better. Rita had been given some free-lance illustration work from her past employer which paid her well. Meanwhile they had furiously worked on their apartment.
The biggest change was the experience coming into their place. Rita had out-done herself. The mural she had painted on the blocking wall was exquisite and breath-taking. It looked as though you could walk though an archway into a garden and down a flower-lined path. You could tell she was proud of her work. The landlord had found it so charming he asked that they leave it for the next tenant. I was still not prepared for what was to come.
They took me into their kitchen where I stood speechless. They had indeed painted their cupboards white. The landlord supplied them all the materials they needed to do it right----primer, sanding equipment, paint, etc. The cupboards looked like a professional had done them. Rita painted the handles a very pale lavender as well as small lavender and green pinstripes around the edge of each cupboard door. The landlord was so impressed with what they were doing that he offered to provide them some linoleum squares to replace their flooring. With new white linoleum tiles and white cupboards, the place looked twice its size. Rita had made a lavender table-cloth for their table. I couldn’t help but notice that the faucet wasn’t dripping and that their silver bowls were over-flowing with change!
Jeff and Rita were moving from here to a townhouse, renting with an option to buy. Slowly but surely they were getting themselves out of debt. They projected that they would be able to purchase the townhouse within 18 months. Yet they admitted they had come to love their space and even had some regrets about leaving!
Not all things were resolved. Jeff was still having back trouble and experiencing sleepless nights. They never did get the money owed them from their relative, despite repeated attempts. However, through their clear intentions and their focused efforts, they were able to move up and out of a space that continuously mirrored to them a message of being blocked and penniless. For this, I shared their pride and congratulated them on a heroic and courageous journey. They have even hired me to work with them on their new townhouse.
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Carole J. Hyder,
Feng Shui consultant, speaker, teacher, author and trainer.
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Carole J. Hyder has accomplished success as a Feng Shui consultant, speaker, teacher, author and trainer.
She has been a Feng Shui consultant since 1992, having studied with Professor Thomas Lin Yun and Roger Green, both master teachers in their respective philosophies of Feng Shui.
She has facilitated hundreds of private residential and commercial consultations in both traditions. She is co-founder and president of the Feng Shui Institute of the Midwest, an organization dedicated to creating standards for practitioners, providing continuing education and community outreach.
Besides being published in countless publications and writing a monthly column for "The Edge," Carole has published two books. Wind and Water: Your Personal Feng Shui Journey is in its fifth edition, has world-wide distribution and has been translated into Spanish and German. Her second book Living Feng Shui: Personal Stories was released in September 2001.
Carole currently spends her time presenting seminars and keynotes. She has developed a six-part training program, Wind and Water School of Feng Shui, which is now licensed by the State of MN.
www.carolehyder.com
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