Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui for Difficult Neighbors

So excited your podcast is back. I'm really enjoying trying to incorporate feng shui into my home. I am wondering if you might be willing to suggest if there is any way to deal with unfriendly, aggressive neighbors? I am starting to feel like I attract them. I'm honest to goodness a normal decent human being/mom with two young kids. I've had to get restraining orders against neighbors and eventually moved to a new home to avoid them. Now, I have new neighbor who is becoming very paranoid and aggressive. I've got a turtle and a frog on the front porch. Would wind chimes help? Appreciate your time and any adjustments that might address neighbors.

Sarah S., Tacoma, WA

Hi Sarah,

Thanks so much for writing in. We’re excited that our podcast is back as well! Thanks for listening!

That’s great that you’re trying to incorporate feng shui into your home. I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve had some run-ins with unfriendly and aggressive neighbors. That’s pretty extreme that you’ve had to have restraining orders against your neighbors and that you’ve had to actually move!

I don’t know if this has happened more than twice, but oftentimes the universe presents us with the same challenges over and over again until we work through them and resolve them. As a general rule, I like to work with issues as they arise rather than pushing them aside, because I know they will come up again. This is not to say that you’re doing this; I’m just speaking in general.

I’m not sure what the turtle or the frog on the front porch does. There are many, many schools of feng shui, and in BTB feng shui I have not learned any adjustments that have to do with putting a turtle or frog on the front porch.

There are some secret BTB feng shui cures you can work with if you work directly with a practitioner, but they’re not adjustments that you share without an exchange of energy and without hiring a consultant. What happens in these secret adjustments is that you transform the harmful people into helpful people. What I can suggest without working with you one-on-one, are ways for you to protect your family while still opening your heart. By doing this, you can transform harmful people into helpful people.

If we look at the feng shui bagua map, you can look at a few areas that may help with the situation. There is the Benefactors area, which relates to helpful people, so you can activate that. You would activate that area in your home, not outside, because you can attract helpful people and transform harmful people into helpful people by becoming a helpful person, and maybe becoming more helpful to your neighbors.

Another area you could address is protection, which you can do by repeating this mantra called Ho’ opono pono:

I’m sorry, please forgive me, thank you, I love you.

Ho’ opono pono is practiced in Huna, a spiritual tradition from Hawaii. The idea is that you ask people that are hurting you to forgive you, because everyone in the community is responsible for everybody else. If some wrongdoing happened in a community, everyone in the community would be responsible, not just the person who did the wrongdoing.

Note: There are other secret feng shui adjustments that look at protection. Again, these are shared through one-on-one transmission.

You can also work to heal any karmic ties you may have by performing one good deed a day for 27 days. This will help to heal any karmic baggage that needs some attention at this point.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes. It may be helpful to find a BTB feng shui consultant in your area. Or, if a consultation with a full-fledged consultant is not something you’re interested in, we have students in our Mindful Design program who offer consultations at a reduced rate, and they would be able to share those secret transmissions with you. If you’re interested in a student consultation, please reach out to us at Mindful Design School.

Thank you for your question, and thanks for listening to the podcast!

by Anjie Cho


Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish. Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com.


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 a Loud Door

How do I remedy a loud shared hallway entry door and my own entry door? When other people’s doors open and close, my door is affected; my door will shake and make loud noises while the other doors are opening and closing. I know that I can somehow remedy my door, but how do I remedy a shared door? What kind of remedy do you advise for both doors? I live in an apartment on the sixth floor. Our build has really long hallways and entry doors are also facing each other. Thanks so much!

Hannah P., Framingham, MA

Hi Hannah,

Thank you for submitting a question to Q&A Sunday. I’m sorry to hear that you’re having a hard time with your neighbors in your apartment building. Doors in feng shui represent the mouth of the home’s inhabitants, so if you have a lot of loud doors, that can mean you have a lot of people talking and potentially arguments. This can be very disconcerting, disorienting and maybe even stressful for you.

Unfortunately, this is more of a mundane question, and you can’t really change anyone else’s door. As you’ve acknowledged, you can certainly work with your own door, but not the doors of others. You could ask to pay to fix the hallway door, but otherwise, this isn’t really something you have control over. There is no feng shui remedy for this sort of situation, because you can only work with your own energy first. You’re responsible for yourself, and no one else is responsible for you.

One option here would be to move, but that likely isn’t the solution you’re looking for. Alternatively, you could befriend your neighbors, which is probably the best course of action. If you get to know your neighbors, who are probably sensitive to the same situation, perhaps you can work together to create a solution. In Buddhist philosophy, you can view a challenging situation like this as an opportunity to use what you have and grow. This is a very challenging situation, and you’ll have to find creative ways to work together with your neighbors in this shared space and find a solution with the help of others.

With regard to feng shui here, you could activate the Benefactors area of your home to attract more helpful people and so that you and your neighbors can help each other. Many people want to activate the Benefactors area so that they can find helpful people in their lives, but don’t forget that this involves you being a benefactor as well!

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

by Anjie Cho


Dive deeper into feng shui to transform your life!

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Create sacred spaces that support, and nourish.

visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com


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!


The Top Interior Design Terms You Need to Know

featured on ElleDecor.com

We've all been there before. You're engaged in a conversation and a term comes up that's left you completely clueless. For that reason, we checked in with interior designers to find out the top industry terms that are worth knowing. Read on for their explanation of designer jargon and consider making use of these words the next time you find yourself in a design chat.

Feng shui is mindfulness of place, noticing all the details in your environment with gratitude and care. When we are present for every moment, we can see the beauty and magic in our spaces and in everyday life.

Definition via Anjie Cho

…read full article


Dive deeper into feng shui to transform your life!

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Create sacred spaces that support, and nourish.

Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com