Archive for January, 2010

How to Create a True Feng Shui Bedroom

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

How to Create a True Feng Shui Bedroom

A lot of people come across the ancient art and science of feng shui and thing it might be a good way of adding vitality and energy to their lives in as natural a way as possible. Other people want the opposite. They want to create a relaxing, calm environment instead. Whatever your reasons are for finding out more about feng shui, there are a few easy tricks you can use to create a true feng shui bedroom in your home.

Feng Shui Bedroom Tip 1

The most important thing to do when adding feng shui elements to your bedroom is to ask yourself which kind of atmosphere you are trying to create. For instance, do you want to add spice and sexual energy to your bedroom? Or are you trying to make it a relaxing, warm place to encourage restful sleep.

When making up your mind on which changes would be appropriate to make your room into a feng shui bedroom, you need to decide exactly what the room needs and what you need yourself. These two atmospheres are polar opposites of one another and you don’t want to add vibrancy and spice to a room where you just want to get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. Nor do you want to create a relaxing, soothing atmosphere in a room where you want more sexual passion and energy to happen.

Feng Shui Bedroom Tip 2

After deciding what changes you want to make to your bedroom, depending on what kind of mood you are trying to enhance, you will need to totally de-clutter the room. Your bedroom is not an office. Nor is it a laundry room or exercise room. No matter whether you want a relaxing, calming bedroom or one with some energy and vibrancy, clutter is going to stand in the way of you achieving either of these.

Look at any decorating magazine photos and look at the rooms. How many are cluttered up with a variety of objects? Absolutely none of them and there is a reason for this. A cluttered room is simply unappealing. Would you try to sell your house with clutter all over the place? Of course not. You would tidy it up, lose the clutter and make it look nicer. Why not do that for yourself? You will get great results.

Feng Shui Bedroom Tip 3

Color is very important in all aspects of feng shui and the same applies to the bedroom. Dark, warm colors will be relaxing and bold, bright colors will attract energy.

Depending on your decision about what kind of atmosphere you want to create in your bedroom, you might want to choose a soothing color like dark green or brown to relax you or you might prefer purple or red tones to create tension and energy. Don’t go overboard once you have made your decision. Don’t paint every single wall red and match the bedding, ornaments and furniture. There is nothing so depressing or draining than feeling overwhelmed by one single color when you enter a room. You might want to use one main color and have accents instead, or combine two or three relaxing or energizing colors.

If you can apply these three easy tips, you will be able to create a true feng shui bedroom which will either introduce some energy and spice into your life or soothe and calm you, promoting a good night’s sleep.

Wind Chimes: Just Aesthetic or Perfect For Feng Shui?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

How Feng Shui Wind Chimes Can Boost Your Energy

You know how common wind chimes are in Asia – if you are at all acquainted with Asian culture in general and Chinese culture in particular, you’re aware that nearly every home has wind chimes somewhere, whether in the window, on the porch or in the doorway itself. Wind chimes have been in America for a while, but the growing popularity of feng shui has brought them into more American homes than ever before. Why is this?

Other questions to be answered are: how do you use feng shui wind chimes in the home? Where should they be placed? Where should they not be placed in the interests of practicing sound feng shui?

Remembering the Five Elements of Feng Shui

Surely you are already aware of the five elements spoken if in the practice of feng shui: metal, wood, water fire and earth. According to the ideas of feng shui, these elements must be kept in balance, with no one element being allowed to dominate a space. Feng shui wind chimes are often a part of this balance, bringing the elements of wood and/or metal into a room.

Take for instance a room which has a lot of the earth element to it – say a room colored in earth tones. Feng shui suggests that this element should be balanced out with metal. If you have a den colored in earth tones, then a wind chime will be placed there to balance out the earth element with metal. You can place the chimes outside of the room, just outside a window for example, as long as they are visible form the inside.

If you have feng shui wind chimes in vibrant colors like oranges and yellows, they will work well to offset the muted colors of the earth tones in your den and provide balance to the room.

A white kitchen has a bright, clean look, but can also feel a bit clinical. You can balance out this feeling (which is caused by an overabundance of the water element) with the warmth of the wood element. Wooden feng shui wind chimes can be introduced by putting them right outside of the kitchen. Again, this can be outside from a window or door off of the kitchen. The warmth of the wood will balance out the cold feeling of a white kitchen.

Where NOT to Use Wind Chimes for Feng Shui

Feng shui is just as much about what to leave out as it is what to include. For this reason, there are situations where feng shui wind chimes may be unwarranted. For example, if your home tends to be noisy and chaotic, wind chimes may not be such a good idea for your particular case. They should also be left out if you live in close quarters with neighbors who will be annoyed by them or where you live prohibits them.

Getting into trouble over wind chimes is not good feng shui after all. Feng shui aims to create peace and positive energy, hardly what having and angry neighbor or landlord will gain you.

What Exactly is a Feng Shui Tree?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

What Exactly is a Feng Shui Tree?

There is a lot of current interest in the Eastern art and science of feng shui. The problem is that many people would like to learn what feng shui is and how it can be applied, but they are receiving conflicting advice. There are many online stores selling feng shui wind chimes, feng shui jade, feng shui crystals and feng shui trees.

Do feng shui trees actually exist and if so, what are they? How do you use them? Are there fake feng shui trees for sale and if so, how do you know? Let’s have a closer look at the answers to these questions and then you can decide whether or not you still want a feng shui tree.

The Five Elements of Feng Shui

You might already know the five elements of feng shui. They are water, fire, wood, metal and earth. These natural elements are able to live harmoniously together in nature and they are thought to bring harmony to your indoor living environment too. This is where feng shui trees can come in useful.

If one of your rooms is very strong with one element, it should be balanced with another. A white bathroom, for example, has a very pristine and clean feel to it because of the color. White is a water color which is associated with cleanliness.

Too much white can make your bathroom feel sterile, cold and almost surgical. A wood element is what is required to tone down the white. You could use a small feng shui tree with brown and gold in an all-white bathroom. You can also use the tree in a white kitchen. White can make a room feel larger and brighter than it is but it can also be overpowering.

A lot of people living in small apartments and homes are encouraged to use white to make the rooms look bigger. This leads to the danger of having too much white, which makes the rooms seem unwelcoming and sterile. This obviously is not a good feeling for the hearth of the home!

The Fire Element and the Money Tree

Some people believe that if you have a feng shui tree in your home and you tie coins to it, wealth will come your way. This is, of course, rooted in superstition rather than logic, which is why many modern feng shui practitioners reject this idea.

There is some use for feng shui trees though. Many money trees have bright red ribbons tied around them, which offsets the golden brown branches. These ribbons can introduce the fire element to any room that needs it. For example, if your living room has a very strong earth element because it is painted in browns, the fire element can help to harmonize the room and be an interesting centerpiece.

Now you can see how and where feng shui trees can be useful. They might not bring the wealth and good luck you were led to believe but they can definitely add an important accent to your feng shui home.

How Feng Shui Crystals Work

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

The Real Truth About Feng Shui Crystals

How did you feel when you first learned that there was so such thing as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus?  As a child, you may have been hurt or upset, but looking back on it now as an adult, do you see how silly it is to believe in those things in the first place?

When speaking about things such as feng shui crystals, many people may be upset to learn that there really is no such thing in the true application and science of feng shui.

As this practice came to the western parts from ancient China, it began to be intermingled with New Age “hocus pocus,” which really adulterated the true art form.  Many unscrupulous individuals realized that they could slap a “feng shui” label on virtually anything and sell it to unsuspecting customers, and one popular item along these lines is the so-called feng shui crystals.

But before you start to feel hurt or betrayed the way you did when you heard about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, let’s talk a bit about the true use and history of “feng shui crystals” and see if perhaps some logic and reasoning might help you out a bit.

The True Principles of Feng Shui

Many people don’t understand how truly simple feng shui really is.  They believe that you need a feng shui reader or expert to explain every minor detail of its application in their home or life, and from this belief sprung the sales of so many items, including those feng shui crystals.  When people believe anything that some “expert” tells them, then of course it’s easier for them to be taken advantage of.

Feng shui really is all about balance, harmony, peace, and positive energy.  There is no magic bullet or talisman that can bring these elements into your life.  For instance, if you and your spouse refuse to talk to each other or if you’re hiding a secret affair, all the crystals in the world are not going to give you a peaceful marriage.  Hang all the feng shui crystals over your bedroom mirror that you want, and there will still be disharmony and chaos in your relationship.

De-cluttering your life is an important part of feng shui, as it’s true that sometimes the negative elements in our lives have more of an effect than the positive.  Removing old and useless things that bring nothing positive to us, and that just simply drain us and make us feel guilty or depressed, can do much to usher in that positive uplifting energy that we’re looking for – more so than any feng shui crystal could do.

When Feng Shui Crystals Are Useful

Of course, some people simply like the look of crystals, whether they are by themselves or are crystal ornaments.  They do reflect light and can add a certain brightness to an otherwise dark corner or room.  If you enjoy your crystal knickknacks for this reason, or just like looking at that crystal dangling from your rearview mirror, then there’s nothing in feng shui principles that says that you must get rid of it.