Vision and Clarity for the New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! And welcome 2017!

I can’t believe it’s been five years of blogging now...it’s been amazing journey, and I’m looking forward to more to come! Following last year's choice of the word "inspiration," I want to share with each of you my view for this year: vision and clarity.

With regard to vision, I just pulled a healing angel oracle card titled “Vision.” It reads: 

“A positive outcome requires a positive vision. Visualize everyone involved in your present situation surrounded by light and love — make sure to include yourself also. Your love has the power to influence and transform the current events.”

This card was very enlightening for me, because I think it’s essential to have a positive outlook, and most of us get that, however, what I often forget is to include myself! I'm looking forward to including myself in this year's positive outlook!

Then there's the second part: clarity. Clarity is so important, because it’s about clear seeing, clear vision. There’s precision and brilliance that comes from clarity. It is of the utmost importance to see what’s really there, see things as they are. To quote one of my teachers, Steve Saitzyk: 

“We need to be able to work with things as they fundamentally are and not just how we think, believe, hope or fear they are.”

I tend to get so caught up in my preconceived perspectives of what I believe is “right.” For instance, I was talking to a teacher about expanding my business earlier today. I have it stuck in my mind that I need to hire a particular kind of person, and then everything will be perfect. But when asked to clarify what my vision is, I just want more time. It may or may not be a new staff member that helps with this vision. It seems I need to look and see clearly what my vision is!

Of course, my feng shui twist on how to create vision and clarity is a wonderful way to reinforce your intentions in your physical environment. It’s very simple: clean your windows! I’m talking squeaky clean! In fact, we just called someone to clean our windows. 😃 Your windows represent your eyes and how clearly you see in the world…how do your windows look? For bonus points, use green cleaning products, like our favorite glass cleaning recipe.

Chogyam Trungpa summarized the importance of vision and clarity well, when he wrote:

“ The universe is constantly trying to reach us to say something or teach something, but we are rejecting it all the time”

If we open our eyes and minds to seeing things with vision and clarity (and love), we can hear what the universe has to share. And I promise it will be beautiful. Here's to the new beginning of a year of vision, clarity and listening to the universe! 

by Anjie Cho

Prep Your Holistic Space for Winter with Feng Shui

As the seasons continue to change, from summer to fall, and fall to winter, design in our homes is likely to change along with them. In the feng shui philosophy, there is a theme and science to changing up this decor as you transition from warm, bright weather to colder weather that promotes staying indoors. Feng shui philosophy embraces the same sort of changes in fall and winter as the agricultural world, in which the planting and harvest are done, and it's time for rest and planning. So how do you make your space reflect this?

One great way is to change the color scheme up a bit. Adding earthy colors (like brown, orange, yellow) to your space promotes nourishment and brings the qualities of nature indoors. Natural colors are more soothing and nurturing, meshing perfectly with the idea of turning inward and providing the support we need to stay grounded during cooler seasons.

Bringing actual nature indoors is another excellent way to balance out your space and welcome nourishing energy. You can opt for seasonal decor, like gourds, pumpkins and the like, or turn to traditional green plants, which add life energy and help clean the air in our indoor spaces, a great benefit considering we'll be spending more time indoors!

One design update that definitely adds to your comfort level is swapping out linens and blankets from thinner, lighter summer options to thicker, cozier and more warming blankets and duvets. Opting for organic and Fair Trade takes this a level further, as you're adding warmth in addition to removing harmful chemicals that conventionally produced materials can bring inside.

It's also a good idea to ensure that all your furniture is in the commanding position, regardless of the season. In the feng shui tradition, sitting without a clear line of sight to the door, or directly in line with the door, makes the flow of positive chi difficult. With our backs to the doors, we are not able to see what may be coming at us, and if we sit directly in front of the door, we are hit with all the chi coming into our space at once. Neither is good! Instead, aim to kitty corner your most important furniture so that you can comfortably see the door, while you aren't directly in line. If this isn't a possibility, use mirrors or feng shui crystals to adjust. Both are available here in the Holistic Spaces shop!

Finally, check your lighting! When we're spending lots of time out in the summer sun, lighting in our spaces isn't as important, as we're taking in Fire energy while outdoors. When we begin to turn inward and stay indoors, it's important to ensure that the lighting in our spaces is ample for all our activities, from reading to cooking to preparing for sleep, and that it benefits us where possible (think full-spectrum lighting to imitate the sun).

by Anjie Cho

Being Carefull Podcast: Feng Shui 101 with Anjie Cho

featured this month on Being Carefull Podcast

I'm very happy to be featured on Caroline Kwash's podcast, "Being Carefull". Caroline's podcast and blog are all about self-care, and feng shui aligns so well with that, not to mention it's perfect for the upcoming holidays! Listen in to the "Latest tracks" on the podcast or check out our media page!