Q&A Sunday: How to Choose a Crystal

Guest User November 15, 2020

Hi Anjie! I have a question about crystals: I’m feeling really drawn to them but not sure where to start. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you for your question! I get so many questions about crystals, so this seemed like a good one to answer on the blog.

My suggestion is to trust your intuition. Go to a crystal shop near you, or look online, and see what you’re drawn to. My feng shui teachers always taught me to first go with what you’re attracted to, not just for crystals, but other things as well. For example, when clients and students ask me what the best feng shui color is for a certain area of your home, I always ask what color they’re drawn to. Then you can look at what that indicates. I always recommend the book Love is in the Earth by Melody. It’s a really great resource when it comes to crystals.

For example, I recently bought an amazonite amulet that I was really drawn to. I chose it because I really love the shape and colors. Then I looked it up, and found that amazonite is soothing and is especially good for the heart and throat chakras. I’m working on the lower part of my throat chakra right now, so I love that I chose an amulet that will help me work with that energy.

What are you attracted to? What do you love? Go with your intuition, and then look up what it means, rather than the other way around. Once you’ve chosen a crystal that you love, you can wear it or place it in an area of your home. Listen to your intuition as you’re deciding where to place it also. Do you feel like you need it with you while you’re sleeping? While you’re working? It’s really important to pay attention to what your intuition is telling you, because that will give you the most meaning.

I also encourage you to not worry so much about sharing your crystal or making a big deal of it. Just be curious and sit with it.

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". If you have personal questions, we encourage you to check out Practical Feng Shui or hire one of Anjie's Grads.

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Rearrange Your Daily Patterns with Feng Shui

Guest User November 11, 2020

I had a session with one of my healers recently, and she challenged me to start rearranging my day-in, day-out patterns. This inspired me to share some ways you can start to do this in your home. If you reinvent your patterns and how you live in your space, that translates into reinventing the patterns in your life. You can start to loosen your grip on those patterns, as well as open up opportunities to invite in new energies.

One really simple way to reinvent your daily patterns in your home is to rotate the use of your stove burners. Take a moment and think about which of your stove burners is your favorite. Which is the one you always go to? Almost everyone can answer this pretty easily (mine is my front right one!)

From a feng shui perspective, your stove represents your nourishment as well as your career, fame, wealth, and resources. Because of this, it’s important to use your stove every day, even if it’s just to boil water. On top of that, you want to approach how you use your stove with mindfulness. Keep it clean and in working order. Take time to wipe it down daily and check to make sure all the burners are working properly.

What does this all have to do with your favorite burner? If you mindlessly go to the same one all the time, you’re continuing your day-in, day-out patterns. Instead, being a bit more mindful and using a different burner means you’re living from a more intentional place rather than an automatic response. When it comes to your stove, trying different burners can help open up new opportunities for success in your career, fame, and wealth.

I challenge you to go to the stove at least once each day, and try a different burner than you normally would. This way, you’re intentionally making an effort towards something new every day.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: The Knowledge Area

Guest User November 8, 2020

I noticed that there’s a “knowledge” area on the feng shui map, and I’m wondering what that means?

In case anyone isn’t familiar with the feng shui bagua map, it’s a tool that feng shui practitioners use to assess and adjust the energy of a space. It’s usually depicted as a three-by-three grid, and it’s made up of eight life areas around a center.

One of these life areas is the knowledge area. It’s called Gen in Chinese. It’s also about self-knowledge, self-cultivation, and skillfulness. It’s represented by the color dark blue, the number eight, square and flat shapes, and the element of yang earth. Yang earth is like a big mountain, one that you might climb to the top of to meditate.

To find the knowledge area of the bagua, stand at the front of your home or bedroom looking in, and imagine a three-by-three grid laid over the home or room. The corner that is closest to you on the left-hand side is the knowledge area.

This area of the bagua is related to your spiritual development as well as your skills and wisdom in mundane areas of life such as your career. It’s a great place for a library or a meditation space. Both books and meditation are related to the knowledge area. Reading books can be educational, and meditation assists in your spiritual development. Experience and practices like reading and meditation are really the most impactful way to cultivate yourself, and they may be especially effective if you do them with intention in the knowledge area of your home.

If you want to take it a step further and incorporate color, try a dark blue bookshelf or meditation pillow, since dark blue helps to activate the knowledge area.

by Anjie Cho