Posts Categorized: Sense of Space

Amidst all the chaos of 2020, I experienced a good deal of flow through my own use of Feng Shui principles. Among the synchronistic opportunities that presented themselves was the production of a podcast with Matt Coldrick, a brilliant musician whose music I first encountered some 25 years ago. We met in London just a couple of years ago and hit it off and at that time discussed my Feng Shui practice – Matt has an interest in permaculture and lots of philosophical practices – and as the tide turned in 2020, it seemed an ideal time to have a recorded conversation about where energy, music, flow, philosophy, and Feng Shui all intersect.

It was a long and meandering conversation – a river that covered lots of territory through twists and turns – and is one of my favourites amongst the podcasts I’ve recorded.

Matt recently uploaded them to a SoundCloud account for easier listening off the app-based podcast sites – here are the links to the two parts of our conversation, interspersed with music from his album last year, Music for a Busy Head Vol. 2.

Enjoy the flow!

Three years ago I was asked for an interview with Fuss Factory in Toronto about the creative process. It was one of the most enjoyable that I’ve given, with some really thought-provoking questions about aspects of consciousness and creativity – exactly what I love exploring!

This week, they featured me on their Instagram page again as they brought my interview back into circulation, along with a few other thoughts that I’d shared recently about updating our spaces in our current Covid-impacted times.

Click here for the link on their website featuring these latest thoughts along with a repost of the original interview.

With the global shift towards working at home, many people are making some important adjustments to manage making a living while in home environments that were originally designed for other purposes. It is essential to create an area conducive to work in order to both be efficient and keep clear boundaries between your personal and professional lives.

In this post, let’s take a look at desks, one of the most important considerations when working at home or at a dedicated office. You never see a successful company president sitting with their back to the door: they always have what we refer to as Command Position, with the desk in “the seat of power.” With a windowless wall behind you and a view of the entrance to the room, you are supported by the structure of your surroundings and able to see what is coming into your space (symbolized by the door).

This position translates into a mindset of feeling supported by the outer world and being attuned to what is coming your way. This set up requires attention to cables that can easily turn into a mess when shoved behind between the desk and the wall, as well as keeping the desktop under control, since you can’t stack things up against the wall. The level of organization required to have this desk position correlates to a mindset that tracks and organizes work-related tasks as well – a further layer of holistic integrity that this layout supports.

Because of space limitations, this configuration will not always be possible; in life (and feng shui), less-than-perfect is very often the case, so the key is always to make things better to the degree you can. If you must face a wall, try to place something reflective on the desk or wall that helps you see behind you: it might be an actual mirror on the wall (I’d suggest one bigger than the one in this image), a lamp with a reflective base, or just framed art whose glass is reflective enough to make possible a reflection of the door. If you can see even a bit behind you without turning around, you’ll feel more at ease. I also suggest having as high-backed a chair as possible – this means exercise balls are a no-no (they usually are). I’d suggest something that covers the back of your neck and head if you’re going to face the wall.

Personalizing your space is extremely important. Images and objects that inspire and ground you will help you feel more supported and connected to your surroundings and the tasks at hand. Natural vibes around your workspace are particularly nurturing, as being surrounded by manmade furniture and technology all the time gets draining – why do you think we tend to feel revitalized outdoors and in natural settings? Our biological forms love the reminder of where we come from and we thrive in surroundings that respect our physiological form.

While the desk on the right is not in the ideal ‘seat of power’ configuration, the plant and salt crystal lamp – as well as the natural wood of the desk itself – are wonderful enhancements. The lush green of the plant signifies growth, abundance, and vitality; plants also produce oxygen and the voluminous leaves here mitigate the linear shape of one side of the desk. (Of course, plants should be in stable pots and not pose a risk to any electronics in the area.) The salt crystal lamp’s organic material and shaping make it a wonderful decorative accent and source of light. The plant between the desk and window serves as extra insulation to nurture whoever is seated there, the decorative rope lighting around its base being another mood and energy enhancer.

It is important to remember that practicality is of prime importance in any work area (and non-work areas too), but aesthetics help the space to come alive and nurture your innate being so that you can more fully express your unique nature in what you do. Wherever you sit to work, enhance the area aesthetically and do what you can to increase support at your back and a view of the entrance to the space.

And remember: there are a lot of adjustments going on in our lives right now and there is quite a bit of stress for some people as to why we’re working at home. Go easy on yourself. There are usually things we can all usually do to improve, but please be gentle – don’t be worried if things are not ideal. Take steps to improve as you can, and be sure to rest well and step away fully from work when business hours are done.

I had a phone call recently from a lady buying a condo who was very concerned about the presence of the number 4 in her suite number. For those who don’t know, historically this number has been seen as bad luck because the word for it in all Chinese dialects sounds like the word for death. Therefore, in that culture, the number has an association with death and people avoid using it in addresses and phone numbers.

However, the same culture also views 8 as good luck, stating that it looks like the symbol for infinity but upright. One could choose to see 8 as two times 4 (which it is) and therefore as ‘double death’ but for some reason they don’t (even though death could be seen as being merged with infinity). I believe that this shows that how you choose to see a given number is a matter of interpretation and belief.

I think that whenever we are afraid of something, it’s valuable to articulate the envisioned consequences. What is it that might happen if you live on the 4th floor, or in a home with the number 4 in it? Will there be an earthquake and the fifth floor will drop onto the fourth floor, killing everyone on the lower floor but leaving everyone and everything else unscathed? Only people living there will have bad luck while others will have good luck? Will people sitting in the fourth row of a plane be the ones to die in a plane crash but no one else? Or will the plane crash because YOU are sitting in the 4th row (but not when someone else does…)?

Do things really change if you adjust the numbers associated with an objective reality? In Vancouver’s suburb of Richmond, which has a lot of Chinese residents, a lot of buildings don’t have a 4th floor. And before we start pointing out how silly this might be, let us also be aware that a lot of North American buildings don’t have a 13th floor (airplanes don’t have 13th rows either). Now, whether the number isn’t there or not… the floor which is now the 14th floor actually IS the 13th floor if you count up – so it is just the symbol of the number that’s important? Not the actual presence of the value of that number?

You can see how deep a rabbit-hole this can lead you down.

What is your view of the world and life if this becomes your view of reality?

The fact is that the number four is an important number. Chairs tend to have four legs. Tables too. Do we see them as unlucky because of that? They’re actually far more stable than chairs and tables with three legs. It is a very grounding number, as the even distribution of four corners creates great stability, representative of the Earth element (and we do say ‘the four corners of the earth’).

In traditional Feng Shui, with the application of compass directions, each individual is said to have four lucky directions and four unlucky directions. If we apply the same thought process here, couldn’t the lucky directions actually be unlucky because there are four of them?

Here’s the main thing about this whole issue. It’s an important thing to realize:

We are all going to die.

Even more than this… we are all in the process of dying. We have all been getting closer to death since we were born and we are closer to death in each moment that we live.

What happens when you become afraid of the inevitable? If death IS inevitable (and it is), then does it make sense to fear it? Won’t your quality of life suffer as a result?

If you believe that a number will accelerate your demise, then you will be living with a level of fear as you will always feel a victim to circumstances beyond your control. The number of your street address or suite number? The number of legs on your chairs and tables? The numbers of corners of a book? The four corners and walls of a room? When does it stop? Are all of them bombarding you with death rays that are trying to rid the planet of your presence?

My suggestion: release this fear. Your life is not going to fall apart because a number sounds like a certain word in another language (or even if it is your own language, how is it going to affect you). I am all for associations and connections of ideas – this is how Feng Shui works and a lot of our lives – but some obtuse connections that are fear-based are truly counter-productive and unhealthy.

In the English language, we have the phrase, “1, 2, 3 – go!”, which refers to starting a race or some activity. The word ‘go’ is spoken where the number 4 would be. What if you saw the number 4 as the impulse to take a step, to move forward, to get things done?

It can be difficult to release beliefs when they are ingrained in our culture and accepted by many people. But we all do have choices about what we continue to believe. Rather than the ‘paranoia’ approach to life – that everything is out to get you – how about taking the ‘pronoia’ approach, which states that everything is actually rigged in your favour… to the extent that you believe it is and choose to live that way.

May the odds (and evens too… including all even numbers) forever be in your favour!

I recently came across a quote that really moved me:

Art is how we decorate space. Music is how we decorate time.

This really struck me, as music truly is a powerful experience that virtually every human spends time enjoying, whatever kind of music appeals to them. Since my earliest years, music has been a powerful force in my life. Many of my subscribers and readers might be unaware that I have been actively involved in the classical music field since my late teens, with a special focus in historical piano recordings. In my research into one specific legendary pianist who left behind too few recordings, I helped discover several private recordings and arranged for them to be published – that 1995 set won a German Music Critic’s Award.

While my professional focus shifted to Feng Shui consulting, music has always been a deep love and I still work in that field. And it is no wonder – there is a strong link between the two, as evidenced by the quote above. The classical streaming site Idagio, who had commissioned me to curate several playlists of great historical pianists, asked if I would produce an article for their website exploring the connections between my Feng Shui practice and my musical interests – a brilliant idea and an offer that I accepted with pleasure.

One of my great strengths is being able to find common threads between things that might seem unrelated, and that was the case here – and there are many commonalities. I had a very visceral and emotional experience in producing the playlist, as I included some music that were leitmotifs in my childhood – heard daily or weekly on radio programs – and hearing them after a long time led to such a powerful memory explosion that I could sense myself back in our family living room in Montreal: the time at which the air was decorated with those sounds was fused with the space and the furniture with which it itself was adorned.

You can read the article here – https://www.idagio.com/magazine/music-for-your-day/living-life-harmoniously/ – and also access the playlist that I curated of the formative music of my first two decades here – https://app.idagio.com/playlists/living-life-harmoniously (this also has its own descriptive text).

I hope you enjoy the article and also the music, if you choose to explore it. My wish is that you recognize and appreciate the richness that music brings you – whatever form that may take – and that you use it to enhance your home and life as well, decorating time with the sounds that make your heart sing.

Feng Shui is such a rich topic that there is lots of room for learning and exploration. Because every aspect of your home reflects part of your being, novices can find it overwhelming. I have aimed to keep my blog posts and videos focused on clear, simple tasks that one can apply in specific areas to make it more approachable and use-able.

I have created an e-book featuring 12 topical themes that fit with the 12 months of the year. These help provide an organizing principle with which to implement some Feng Shui applications, although these suggestions can be put into practice at any time (Christmas decorations perhaps a bit less so).

I’m offering this eBook to anyone who signs up for my new newsletter mailing list. It has recently struck me that as much as I enjoy writing, I haven’t been doing it as much as I could and newsletters give me an opportunity to share some insights – from writings made here, from my Instagram posts, from daily experiences, from consulting and workshop awarenesses. I’m looking to resume regular newsletter sharings with a new account from previous years and therefore building up my mailing list. This new eBook is my first offering for those who sign up.

You can sign up by clicking this link – and you will receive a download link to the eBook in PDF format.

I hope you’ll enjoy the book and find the suggestions helpful. Feel free to comment on this post with any thoughts, observations, and insights!

School can provide some interesting challenges for children. They need study as they grow, and yet they must also play, explore, and rest. Their rooms should reflect these important activities and cultivate each in a holistic way – not always an easy task when so many homes have small rooms for children. How to balance all of these tasks in their home environment?

A child’s ‘job’ is learning (as opposed to ‘studying’ – there is difference), so creating a space of adventure and discovery is important – not “what leftovers are we going to find on the floor today?” but rather a space that encourages reading, experimenting, and inquiry. Their desk needs to be organized and supportive, with a chair that will promote good posture. If they must sit with a window behind them, drawing some curtains while they study can help them feel more settled; if the desk must be up against the wall, have decorative displays that monitor their achievements and goals, as well as the objects of their curiosity (which should surround the desk regardless). Posters of interesting things are great, though perhaps dinosaurs and other creatures that go ‘bump’ in the night would be best in a playroom where they will not come to life as your young’uns approach the land of dreams.

Being able to put ‘study time’ to sleep is essential if they are to avoid feeling pressured to achieve beyond what is truly healthy for them. A desk on wheels that can swing away from the wall and then be put into ‘sleep mode’ once studying is done can help to create a healthy ‘now you work, now you don’t’ attitude. (Of course, the wheels should lock so their studies don’t run away from them…) Putting books and papers back into the school bag when homework is done is a great way to prevent chaos in the morning, additionally providing a clear setting in which to enjoy leisure time. It is not suggested that they study lying on their bed because it creates a fuzzy boundary between school and private time – although reading for pleasure there about topics that truly interest them is wonderful!

Books can provide a challenge because they contain so much information that they can inhibit rest. If possible, place them further away from the bed: this will keep them from feeling some looming pressure or sensing ‘information overload’ while trying to quieten their minds. One book by the bed is fine, but a stack can leave them feeling like they have too much going on.

Play areas are best delineated by an area rug, and toys should be put away after use. Cultivating the habit of returning items no longer being used is best started at a young age and will help children maintain a respectful home space as they age. Similarly, ‘active’ posters of cars, sports players, and various superheroes and villains are best kept closer to the play area and further from the bed (I had an autographed Darth Vader picture as a child – clearly I embraced both Yin and Yang at a young age!).

May your children have their inner balance and innate brilliance reflected back to them in their space.

And… a few reminders from a 2011 feature in the Toronto edition of the 24 Hours paper about how to set up a child’s room for scholastic success:

The topic of clutter is very much in the public sphere and seems inextricably linked with Feng Shui. I don’t subscribe to the belief that Feng Shui automatically equates with minimalism, though both approaches nevertheless have something very important in common: a conscious relationship with your possessions. There needs to be space and appropriate storage for your items so that they not become clutter, a concept that fits with minimalism – but again, it is not required to deny oneself variety or abundance… it’s about the nature of the relationship.

This video from my YouTube series explores three criteria that I believe can help one identify how clutter gets formed and how to prevent it:

Once you have space for your items and put them where they belong – and USE them – you then also need to keep the overall space fresh, and that involves cleaning. I’ve long lamented the fact that we are not well taught how to care for our homes, including how to clean efficiently and intelligently. Growing up it was always a chore – and what child hasn’t resisted the calls to “Clean your room!” … and how many of us continue to resist doing this because of the memory of that command, and when there are other things we’d rather do?

The Busy Bee blog is a terrific resource I’ve known about for years for its wonderful common-sense hints on cleaning and home maintenance. I love this feature about the commonly overlooked places to clean (I would add the top of door frames to the list – especially your front door). It is relatively recently that I came to enjoy cleaning and to be amazed at how easily certain areas can be forgotten and how often they truly need to be cleaned. Even if you can’t see some of these areas, the overall atmosphere of the space – and the energetic reality of it – will become much clearer if you clean these spaces.

Of course folks will say that having less clutter will make it easier to clean – that’s true – but that’s not a reason to own less. Keeping things where they belong and having enough space will enable you to clean just as efficiently. Check this video for some insight, and check the Busy Bee blog for some terrific cleaning hints.

Cleaning is one of the many life skills we are not well taught in school (like accounting – I’m still amazed that budgeting is not a required course in high school), so we have to take it upon ourselves to learn how to manage our homes well. Fortunately the online world has created a wealth of insight and resources!

Happy clearing and cleaning… and living!

 

 

Our physical world is based on opposites: up and down, left and right are physical realities… and with that comes the judgments of good and bad, right and wrong. Navigating such opposition is one of the major challenges of our lives. The Chinese symbol depicting Yin and Yang polarities is a familiar symbol but has far more depth than most believe.

This is one of my favourite topics to talk about and is the subject of one of my recent videos in my YouTube series. It’s one that I’ve often spent an hour or so discussing in my advanced classes and weekend seminars, so obviously I couldn’t get as fully into the topic as I’d have liked in a video that’s aiming to be 5-7 minutes long (I went on for nearly 9 minutes!) – but there is lots of insightful information here that relates to balancing the mindset of opposition, as well as things you can do in your home to create a container that permits opposing forces to exist harmoniously.

I briefly highlight in this presentation that ‘there is no dark side’. In my workshops I often ask participants to point to the light side – but it’s a trick question the reality is that there is no light side, in that what is seen as the ‘light side’ is actually not fully light. (This shows the reality that our answers in life are only as good as the questions we ask.)

The fact that no side is exclusively light or dark is so important in many ways, not least of which is that humans try to hold onto experiences, moods, relationships, and so on when things always change, when the seed of change (and indeed, of opposition) is present in everything. So in fact there is no ‘light’ and ‘dark’ in dualistic physical experience: there is ‘lighter’ and ‘darker.’ Having both of these polarities in a physical space helps to  cultivate a mindset that will help with navigating these sometimes challenging changes.

I hope you’ll enjoy playing with opposition in your space and creating a harmonious environment that supports you in ways beyond what you can see.

Respect is a basic human need, and its lack is the source of a lot of stress for many people. While one need not be praised to the skies, one should ideally be appreciated and respected by those in your life. This theme is one that can be looked at and changed in Feng Shui with the use of the Bagua Map, which examines specific areas of the home in connection with specific topics: in this case, the Fame & Reputation area – the back centre of the home when standing in the main entrance – is the area to look at.

As I explore in this video in my YouTube series, this is not necessarily about ending up on the cover of a magazine, but rather about stimulating recognition and appreciation within your sphere of influence. In this episode, I tell an amazing story about someone who utterly transformed his life with one simple fix. Check it out:

I have often resisted the use of images of famous people in this area, as I want to encourage people to focus on their own accomplishments. However, I realized when my colleague experienced such a shift in this case that an image of someone you appreciate isn’t riding their coattails so much as it is placing an anchor for the energy of appreciation, admiration, and respect.

In telling this tale and in the naming of other hints for this area in this video, I neglected to mention that one should indeed place in this area – if appropriate to the room, of course – an item or items that relate to your own successes and recognition: certificates & diplomas, awards, gifts, and the like can work well here. But indeed, someone you respect can help hold the energy of respect in this space, thereby stimulating that feeling in you every time you see the space.

Click here to check out a few more hints at this other page on my website, including what colours and other decor choices that you can make.