So this post is essentially a book review of Mind Body Home: Transform Your Life One Room at a Time by Tisha Morris. Everything I know about Feng Shui I learned from this book. BUT! The cool thing is that reading it made me want to know waaaay more.
According to her website, Morris is an Interior Designer, Feng Shui Consultant, energy healer, life coach and yoga instructor. Oh, and she was also a practicing lawyer before she became a New Age hippie superwoman. You go Tish!
The basic theme of the book is that your home is a mirror of your energy. It is a combo of past energy from previous residents and the land it is built on, plus the present energy that you bring to the home. You change the energy and the energy changes you. The most dumbed down explanation of Feng Shui is that it balances all of this energy so that your space is peaceful, productive, cozy, warm, or any other positive adjective you can think of. Feng Shui is MAJORLY complicated, so what I like about this book is that there are some very basic tools that you can put in to place without having to be a “Red Ribbon Member of the International Feng Shui Guild” like our friend Tisha Morris. Here are my faves:
Numero Uno: The Bagua Map
The Bagua Map is a feng shui tool used to determine where certain areas of your life fall within your home. (p. 74) Its basically a map that has 9 squares which correspond to different areas of your life and home. The front door is always located along the bottom edge. So mine falls right in the center in the “Career and Life Purpose” square. From there you transpose the map onto your floorplan and analyze what’s going on in that area of your life. I put the Wellsmann Family Dreamhaus’ layout into the Bagua Map below:
So it made sense that we always felt like our creative energy was stifled in our old office since it falls in the “Creativity and Children” square, and yet it was such an afterthought/junk room! The Bagua map also has us making sure we keep the door to our bathroom closed since the front door aka “the primary mouth of Chi” opens about 10 feet away from it. That means that all of the Chi (energy) that comes in the front door can go right down the literal and symbolic drain if we’re not careful. IMPORTANT LESSONS!
Here are some of the questions you should ask for each section of the Bagua Map:
- Go to this area of your home. Look around objectively as if its someone else’s home. What jumps out at you, positively or negatively?
- Does this area seem to flow or feel constricted?
- Are there any items that conjure up old memories? If so, are the memories happy, sad, bitter, sweet, guilty, regretful, resentful, stagnant?
I think this is such a simple and useful exercise. You’d be surprised how much you can figure out about life OR home problems with this exercise. Fighting with your partner? Maybe you have a bunch of unwanted junk and garbage in your Love and Relationships section?
Numero Dos: Space Clearing.
Okay yeah, so this is a SUPER important and again, EASY PEAZY way to transform your space. You HAVE TO, you NEED TO, you SIMPLY MUST clear the energy of your space from time to time. Definitely when you first move into a new home, when something big happens in the space, or when you just feel some weird vibes. Morris gives several options for different tools you can use:
1. Sage Smudging. This is by far the most popular method. All kinds of cultures throughout history have used sage in energetic ceremonies. NOW YOU CAN TOO!
All you have to do is buy a smudge stick (most natural food stores have them and all new age stores do) light it, and the smoke (combined with your mental intention) clear out any yuckiness. Pro Tip: My Medium Doug says that you can save money by pulling some of the individual twigs of sage out of the stick rather than lighting the whole thing. I did this once but it can get a little messy. Also, have some aluminum foil on hand to smudge out the burning sage when you’re done. ALSO be aware of smoke detectors. This is where Doug’s trick about not using the whole stick can come in handy. Less sage, less smoke. You get it.
Anyways, Morris says you can also use sounds from bells, chimes, drums etc. to clear a space, as well as salt. The idea is pretty much the same:
1. Prep your energy. Are you in a good place? Are you feeling good/healthy?
2. Set an intention. Do you have a specific reason for this space clearing? Is there a particular energy you want to leave or to you just want to bring something new in? Did some jerky ex just move out? Or on the flip side, did you get a fabulous new couch?
3. Clear the space with your sage, bells, salt or whatever. Don’t forget the corners and nooks.
4. Invoke the space. Finish er’ off with some incense or a fancy candle and a reiteration of the positive energy you want to bring in. DONE!
Numero Tres: Your Stuff and Your Issues.
The second half of the book is all about how parts of your home, the walls, the pipes, the couches etc. are all symbolic of parts of your life. The floors (basement, first floor, second floor, attic) represent our levels of consciousness. Your plumbing represents your emotions. Your heating and air system represents the lungs of your home and therefore YOUR own lungs.
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?! Well, if you’re having problems with your basement, ask yourself what’s going on with your subconscious. Are your pipes leaking all the time? Maybe you need a good cry! Is your AC not working? Maybe you’re holding your breath because of stress. Morris goes into detail about EVERY aspect of a home and it’s correlation to your body/mind. Here is the link to her whole list. You can thank me later:
http://www.tishamorris.com/wp-admin/images/QUICK-REFERENCE-OF-MIND-BODY-HOME-CONNECTIONS1.pdf
The chapter on bedrooms was of particular interest to me because it was very specific on a subject close to my neurotic heart. I am ashamed to admit that my household has suffered from a bad case of nightstand inequality for years now. Mine was so wide so we couldn’t fit another one on Dave’s side. I searched high and low for nightstands that were narrow enough for us each to have one and never found ANYTHING that wasn’t one million dollars. Well, Tisha Morris came along and lit a fire under my ass to get this sucker SOLVED:
“Nothing tells me more about the state of a relationship than the nightstands.”
OH MY GOD, REALLY?
“I have had couples’ relationships shift dramatically simply by changing or adding nightstands. It represents the equality (or lack therof) in the relationship.”
YIKES!
“It is important to have a nightstand on each side of the bed. “
OH BOY.
“Secondly, you want the nightstands to be of equal weight. While they don’t have to match, they need to be approximately the same height and density.”
OKAY!
THE NEXT DAY I looked on Craigslist and sure enough, there were two matching-ish nightstands that were narrow enough to fit in our space. For $25 each they’re pretty nice too! They aren’t EXACTLY the same size, but close enough. I replaced the hardware and I’ll probably refinish them with a different stain but that’s a post for another time…
For now, you should go buy this book. I’m serious. It’s awesome. AND CLOSE YOUR BATHROOM DOOR FOR PETE’S SAKE!
http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738736945
The moon is in Cancer and the Witches say, “Avoid oversensitivity.”
HAUSWITCH 