Q&A Sunday: Kids Study Spaces and Where to Begin with Feng Shui

I like your blog, it is so inspiring. I am new to feng shui and have 3 questions:
1. Is/are there any effective, specific knowledge/ items which help(s) kids to manage themselves to study or encourage(s) doing homework? I am a Tiger mum and have a Pig boy (June 3, 2007) and a Rabbit daughter (May 29, 2011). Based on this info, I would appreciate any recommendation. 
2. I want to practice feng shui. Where should I start ?
3. Do you ship outside the USA?

Oznur R., Turkey

Dear Oznur,

Thank you for your question and compliments, and welcome to the wonderful world of feng shui!

It’s awesome that you have so many questions; it means you’re really interested and curious. In feng shui, you’re encouraged to inquire, test and scrutinize the teachings. 

Your first question pertains to supporting children in their studies and education. In general, it’s recommended that when your son and daughter are doing their homework, they have a desk or a dedicated area to do their work. An area of the dining table is fine, as long as it’s clear and spacious, and accommodates them. When it is time for them to study, have this space become a real desk. It’s also important to locate them in the commanding position of the room, whether at a desk or another study area. This means that they can both see the entrance of the space, without turning their heads, but are not in line with the door. The best location is diagonal from the door. This way your children are in a relaxed place in their space so they can clearly focus on homework. There’s more information about the commanding position here, here and here.

You’re also a Tiger mother, and your son is a Pig. This tells me that you have a good, compatible relationship to begin with. Tiger and Pig are best friends and ideal companions. Your daughter is a Rabbit, so your relationship to her is neutral. But your Pig boy and Rabbit daughter also get along well, because they form a harmonious relationship (along with the Ram). By the way, be sure to check out our post where Beth Grace shares the forecast for each Chinese Zodiac animal this year.  

Your second question is about how to start studying and practicing feng shui. Well I have an exciting announcement! I’m starting a Mindful Design teaching program with my talented friend, Laura Morris. The program is set to launch in the fall of 2018, so keep an eye out! We're excited to teach feng shui from our shared Mindful Design perspective.

Last but not least, yes we do ship to Turkey for most items! You can email us at info@holisticspaces.com if you have any specific questions about that! Be sure to check out our new apothecary items… I think the Focus mist might be perfect for your little ones! 

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: A Kickstart for My Kickstarter

A Kickstart for My Kickstarter.png

How can I expand the mouth of qi for my Kickstarter? Anything, actually, to make it more successful!

Christy P., West Tisbury, MA

Hi Christy,

Thank you for your question about how to make your Kickstarter more successful. Kudos to you for using some feng shui terminology! The mouth of qi is the front door, or a portal, to a space and is an entry for energy to come into your life or home, or in this case, your Kickstarter. So really, this is a question of how to get more energy for your Kickstarter and make it more successful. 

In feng shui, we use the bagua map, and there are three different areas that can help create a more successful Kickstarter project. Kickstarter is a place for you to attract Benefactors, so this would be one area for you to work on and improve: your Benefactors area. Next is the Recognition area, so that people know the Kickstarter even exists. And if you look at the bagua map above, we can create a triad (a triangle) including the areas of Benefactors, Recognition and Knowledge. These are the three ideal bagua areas for you to focus on. We actually refer to this as the Three Harmonies of Fire, and it can create a lot of recognition and fire for support. 

In order to get helpful people to support this project, you, of course, need to attract more people, but to do this, you need to be seen, which is where Recognition, Fame and fire come in. The last area is Knowledge, which includes skills and self-cultivation. Here, I encourage you to consider if you've done enough research and looked into ways to get your Kickstarter noticed. There is a lot of help available through feng shui, but my teachers have always said that the mundane solution is more important than the transcendental solution. So the magic will work, but you also need to do some heavy lifting yourself. 

Start with researching how to improve your Kickstarter (which you may have already done! But do it thoroughly). That, in correlation with the feng shui adjustments, can create success for you. Feng shui-wise, you can create more recognition by activating the three harmonies of fire in your office and/or on your desk. It can be as simple as, in the whole office space, adding a green plant. A living green plant can add fuel to the fire. If you're working with your desk and there isn't room for plants, you can use instead one nine-inch red ribbon in each of the three areas to activate them. The desk and/or office are spaces that connect to your career and business. 

Your product, electronic cases that protect us from EMFs, seems to be really interesting, and I hope that making these adjustments draws more attention to your campaign so that we can see these come to fruition!

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: Feng Shui for Dorm Rooms (And Other Tiny Spaces)

First off I want to say that I truly love your podcast and have learned a great deal of knowledge from listening! I have a question: what are some tips for making a dorm room (small space) in college feel more open & aligned to feng shui principles? It sometimes hard in the dorm rooms because you do almost everything (sleep, eat, study, etc) basically all in the same space since the dorm rooms typically just have a bed, desk, chair and small closet.

Jenna F., Long Island, NY

 

Hi Jenna

Thanks so much for listening to my podcast! That makes me happy!

And thank you for offering your question about feng shui for a dorm room for a Q&A post.

Dorm rooms are similar to studio apartments, albeit smaller! And it is seemingly a challenge for the reasons you listed: it’s tiny and you do everything (sleep, eat, study) in one small space. I would add some other considerations: it’s temporary and many others have occupied the space. 

First plan of attack, laying the feng shui bagua map. It’s just as easy to lay the bagua map on the dorm room as it would be any other room or space. You can lay the bagua on the whole room, and don’t forget your desk. You’re living in a dorm room because you’re studying, so your desk represents your knowledge and studies. Perhaps it could be beneficial to activate the Knowledge area of your room, desk and bed to support your skills and education. You can use a dark blue piece of lapis lazuli, because it’s small but also it can stimulate the mind. Blue fluorite would also be great to help with focus and orderly thought.

You do a lot of different activities in a small dorm room, such as sleeping and studying, and while you’re studying this makes sense that the life areas are intertwined. When you’re in school, the focus is your education, and it will permeate all aspects of your life. But it’s still important to locate your bed and desk in the commanding position. If you can’t you set up a mirror, be sure to read or listen to our other information on the commanding position.

Lastly, since dorm rooms are transitory and there have been many other occupants as well as the energy of others, a regular space clearing may be helpful when feeling overwhelmed. I would suggest our No. 3 Space spray so you don’t need to burn anything, and it’s less intrusive for your dorm neighbors. I also think the temporal nature of the space is a wonderful reminder of the impermanence of life as well. So as challenges come up, it’s reassuring to remember this too shall pass.

Going to college is such an exciting experience, and I'm happy to hear you want to incorporate positive feng shui in this space. It can be so helpful with settling into a new space, especially a small one for studying! Good luck!

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!