Q&A Sunday: Room with Two Doors

room with 2 doors bagua.jpg

How do I orient the feng shui bagua map on a bedroom with two doors? and what is the best bed position for this room? 

Kristina W., Pismo Beach, CA

Hi Kristina,

Thank you for your question! In general, for any space, you always orient the bagua map with the Kan line aligned with the wall where your primary door is located. The Kan line is the side of the bagua with the guas Gen (self-cultivation/knowledge), Kan (career/path in life), and Qian (travel/helpful people). If you have two doors, you want to locate the bagua based on the formal door, or the door that is most like a formal door.

In this case, we’re looking at a bedroom with two doors. I can see from looking at this floor plan that the room was originally a dining room, and more of a pass-through space. It’s not an ideal spot for anyone to be sleeping, but since this is what you’ve been given, we’re going to work with it.

First, we have to figure out which door is the primary door. I would suggest using the door facing the hallway, because you probably want to enter your room through the hallway and not through the kitchen. Ideally, you want your bedroom to be in a more private area of the home, separated from more public spaces like the kitchen. I’ve drawn the feng shui bagua map on your bedroom using Door #1 as you’ve indicated.

Regarding the bed position, I’ve drawn up what I feel is the best bed location based on the information that I have. If you use Door #1, you’d be in command of the room with the bed positioned as shown. You also wouldn’t have a stove or toilet directly behind you when you’re in bed, both of which present some feng shui challenges. You do have a door partially behind you; I would suggest locking that door, and not blocking it. In feng shui, doors represent the mouths of the inhabitants, so locking or closing a door might mean that part of your voice is closed off. It’s not ideal, but this is what you have and we can work with it.

You also mentioned to me that you are getting a bed frame--that’s definitely the most important thing. You also told me that this is a more temporary living situation. This makes sense, because physically the room is a transition space. It’s not the best location for a bedroom, but do the best you can. 

Good luck, and thanks again for submitting your question!

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 questions!

Q&A Sunday: Laying the Bagua Map on a South-Facing House

Hi! I have been a listener of your podcast since the beginning and I really enjoy your practical approach! I am reaching to you with a question: What to do when the entrance of your house faces south? Is it possible to successfully apply the bagua to a space without getting it all wrong/opposite of where it is supposed to be? 

Eight years ago, I had a consultant come to our house and help me map the bagua and cures. It worked wonderfully! We moved out of state almost five years ago to our current house, and our lives are completely different. I am mostly concerned with my husband's career. We went from having a lot of support and growth in our careers, to being overlooked and feeling completely stuck where we are now. Just yesterday he found out that he lost a big part of the compensation package that was the incentive that moved us to where we live now. How do I activate the career and helpful people areas without feeling like maybe I am doing it in the wrong place? 

Veronica H., Forest City, NC

Hi Veronica,

Thanks so much for listening to the podcast since the beginning! Your first question is: what to do when the entrance of your house faces south. There are dozens of schools of feng shui, and the one that I practice is called BTB feng shui. In BTB, we don’t use the cardinal or compass directions to place the feng shui bagua map. So, from my perspective, it makes no difference whether your house faces south in successfully applying the bagua to your space. 

As far as the layout of the bagua on your current home, I do think the “nagging feeling” is important to pay attention to. However it’s also useful to have trust in the feng shui consultant you worked with, because that’s what the universe has presented to you. 

From a BTB perspective, I think the best way for you to activate the Career and Benefactors areas would be to focus on the bedroom. It’s beneficial to start closest to you, and it’s also going to be easier for you to lay the bagua map in a room as opposed to the entire house. You would stand in the doorway of your bedroom, looking in, then divide the room into a three-by-three grid. If you’re interested in the helpful people (Benefactors) area, that would be on the nearest right corner, while the career (Path in Life) would be the center of that wall that the entry is located on. I think that career as well as Benefactors - helpful people definitely need activation, but also maybe consider the Recognition - Fame area. You said that you were being overlooked, and the Recognition area can help to improve being seen.

When I do consultations, I always ask clients to choose three things to focus on, so this might be a great trio for you to look to in making adjustments. I encourage you to re-listen to the earlier podcasts on these bagua areas and check the blog for suggestions on how to improve the Path in Life, Benefactors and Fame areas. There are many ways to make adjustments here, and I'm certain one will be fitting for you!

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: Inviting Plants Into Your Home

What plants can I invite to my home to eliminate stagnation? My rooms seem to be so cluttered. No matter how much I clean and clean and clean, there is still so much stuff.

Lauren A. 

Hi Lauren, 

Thanks so much for your question! It looks like there are really two parts to the question here. First, what plants can you invite into your home to eliminate stagnation? The second part is about clutter and feeling a bit stuck. This is interesting, because they seem to be connected. You feel a bit stuck, which, in turn, is manifesting in your home as clutter, and you'd like to invite plants to eliminate this clutter. 

We do have some blog posts about different types of plants. You can check those out here. First, though, if your space is really cluttered, it might not be a great idea to add anything. Even bringing in plants is adding more things to your home, and caring for a plant is not easy! You have to take care of plants, prune them, there is upkeep and they need attention! So, you may actually add more clutter and stress to your life by including plants in your space. I do understand the sentiment, since, in general, plants invite growth and help eliminate the feeling of stagnation. In this situation however, this may not be the best move for you. 

You say you "clean and clean and clean"... it sounds like you may feel a bit overwhelmed! May I suggest a few different options? First, you can eliminate nine things each day. If this seems like too much, you can reduce it to nine items per week. This will help get the energy moving and help with your feelings of being stuck. If you do want to add something, you can add fresh flowers. Fresh flowers can lift and open things up, especially if you're feeling stuck and overwhelmed. I love the idea of fresh-cut flowers, because they represent nowness, are cheerful and have a short lifespan. They uplift your space, but the upkeep is minimal, since you'll just need to change the water. And when they expire, you can let them go.

Another way to break up this stagnation is to ask for help. It's great that you've asked me for help, but is there someone in your space that can help out as well? Are there others in the home that can help you clean? You could even hire a cleaning person to help reduce the overwhelm. If you're having trouble thinking of someone to ask for help, try activating the Benefactors area of your home or bedroom. This might actually be a good place for the fresh flowers!

Finally, you can also cut through some of the clutter and stagnation using sounds, like a gong or tingsha. You can even sing! Go around your home, starting at the front door and moving clockwise, and circumambulate the space. I really recommend the metal bells, since that will welcome Metal energy to cut through the sluggishness and get things moving. I suggest using this in combination with activating the Benefactors area and adding fresh flowers. Let us know how it goes!

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!