Q&A Sunday: A Bathroom in the Fame Area

I really appreciate and enjoy your podcasts, and have found the one on finding a job particularly helpful. I immediately took the "do one good deed a day for 27 days challenge" and am currently on day 24 first time around :) My easy, go-to good deed is removing rubbish at the entryway of my apartment block. 

My question for you is that the "Fame" area in our apartment is the bathroom and I'm wondering what I can do about it. The bathroom door directly faces the front door, and they are maybe four meters apart. The connecting hallway is very narrow so I feel like the energy is probably just shooting from the door straight down the drain. As this bathroom also has no window, I need to air it frequently (after a bath or shower) by leaving the door open. Is there anything I can do? 

Piera, Hamburg, Germany

Hi Piera,

Thank you for listening to the podcast and for your wonderful question!

AND…Kudos to you for taking on the “One good deed a day” adjustment!! Did you make it through to day 27? I’d love to hear more about it. Interestingly, when I thing of the feng shui of removing rubbish from the entryway to your apartment block, I'd guess that if you were doing this for a new job, it would definitely help to open up how many opportunities would come to you. Removing the rubbish would probably weed out the undesirable jobs to make space for something amazing. I’d love to hear more about your experience if you’d like to share!

As for your question: What can be done about your bathroom located in the Fame area of your apartment? Since Fame is related to fire, it’s not the most ideal place for a bathroom because it can put out the passion and power of your reputation and how the world sees you. You also noted that the front door is directly in line with the bathroom door, approximately four meters (13 feet) away, all connected with a narrow hallway. If you could send along a floor plan, it would be helpful in determining just how quickly the qi is moving out towards the back of the home.

My first suggestion would be to place a mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. Second, I would suggest that if you have to keep the bathroom door open, perhaps use a curtain (like bamboo, a light fabric, or even a Japanese noren) to keep the bathroom out of the direct line of sight from the front door. Another option could be to place something nearer to the front door that blocks the view to the toilet. It’s unhealthy in feng shui to have the toilet be the first thing you see when you walk in the home. Again, I suggest you send in your floor plan to see if that’s possible. Either way, I would go with the curtain option as well to help with this situation.

Again, I'm very excited to hear that you are working on the 27-day challenge. I find it to be a very helpful feng shui adjustment and hope it has been effective for you! Your intuition regarding the feng shui of your bathroom is excellent, and I do hope you'll send along a floor plan or schedule a 15-minute consultation call so we can be sure your fame and passion isn't flowing right down the drain!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

Q&A Sunday: Choosing a Yantra

Mandala Art Note Card Set.jpeg

I would like to buy a yantra canvas from your site, but I'm having a bit of trouble choosing which one would be right for me. I want to focus on health for myself and my family, and I would like to put it in the center of the house to coordinate with the feng shui bagua. Would the most appropriate be the Sun yantra? If not, could you please make a suggestion?

Charmaine B., NJ

 

Dear Charmaine,

Thank you so much for your email and question about yantras. One of the reasons why we developed the “Mandala Matchmaker” is because a lot of people ask me similar questions regarding which yantra is right for them! There are a few different ways to approach the mandala selection.

When I painted my first yantra, I was asked to select which one I was most drawn to. First thought, best thought. This is tapping into your intuition. That’s a wonderful way to select a yantra mandala, because we are often intuitively attracted to what we need. 

As I began to learn more about painting yantras and mandalas, my teachers started teaching me about Vedic numerology - which is also an excellent way to work with things that you need. You can explore your own number and see what challenges and what successes arise from this.

With my Vedic studies, I began to connect the concepts to feng shui. I created a section of the Mandala Matchmaker that relates to your intention. This is also, of course, very useful. I connected it to the feng shui bagua map, because there was a lot of interconnectedness in the two modalities. 

This leads us to your question. You would like to select one based on what you need — which is health for your family, to be located in the center of your home. 

If there is need of great healing, the Mahāmṛtyuṃjaya yantra, on the top right is the best. 

If it's health in general the Ketu yantra, on the bottom right is better.

For both:

The blues/greens are Wood element, which is great for the health/Earth area. It gives a ground for the Wood to root and can break up the stagnation in any Earth.

I hope this helps!

Also, if you need more assistance I’m available for consultations where we can pinpoint and focus on what is best for you based on our specific circumstances.

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