Spring Cleaning - The Feng Shui Way

This is the first of a series of articles to be posted by Mary Kathleen Stewart, CPIA, and President of Feng Shui Boston & Feng Shui Ithaca. Her features will highlight various aspects of Feng Shui including her specialties in Interior Alignment. Mary earned her Master Practitioner of Interior Alignment at the Institute of Feng Shui in Malaysia and has trained professionally in Space Clearing, Instinctive Feng Shui and creating Healthy Homes & Offices. She has appeared on TV and Radio and been featured in newspapers and magazines. Mary’s mission is to empower you to live with intention and create the life of your dreams.

Every space has energy. When you enter a space that makes you immediately feel light or uplifted, or walk into a room where the atmosphere leaves you feeling drained, you are responding to the energy or “chi” in an environment. Sometimes energy in a home or office can become stagnant or dull. When this is the case, you may feel tired, listless or agitated.

Space Clearing is the art of cleansing and purifying this energy, an ancient practice with roots in various cultures. Spring is a wonderful time to clear out the stale energies from the long, cold winter we experienced and consciously attract vibrant chi into your home and office. Here are some basic steps to get started:

Clear your Clutter. Love it, Use it or Lose it! Choose to surround yourself only with items that bring you joy and are meaningful to you. If your belongings don’t inspire, nourish, support or strengthen you, then it’s time to let them go. Releasing the old makes room for new opportunities and experiences to enter your life. When you are feeling stuck, Clutter Clearing is one of the most powerful things you can do to transform your life. Changes manifest quickly when you really go for it!
Do an “old fashioned” Spring Cleaning. Our grandmothers knew what they were doing when they religiously scrubbed, vacuumed, swept and washed the physical dirt and grime from their homes each spring. Don’t forget to clean old, stale, expired foods that are lurking in your cupboards, refrigerator and freezer.
Open up all doors and windows every morning to revitalize your home and office. Let the fresh air circulate freely for at least 1 hour. The energy will shift instantly. This applies to you even if you have central air. Breathing in stale re-circulated air on a regular basis is draining and unhealthy.
Add “Chi-Stimulators” to your environment. These include: healthy plants, fresh flowers, water fountains, aquariums, prisms, wind chimes, candles, music, and pets. Children naturally radiate vibrant chi. If you don’t have your own, offer to baby-sit for a friend or family member.
Use a metal singing bowl to clear out sickness chi. Whenever a family member becomes ill, walk around the room three times in a clockwise direction while striking the singing bowl with a wooden mallet. The singing from the bowl will help purify the space and stop the sickness from spreading.
Purify your home weekly with sandalwood incense. This will make your energy warmer, softer and more nurturing. Lillian Too recommends performing this ritual every Friday around 6 in the morning or evening. This is believed to be the most auspicious time to purify buildings with incense. Walk in a clockwise direction around the edges of each room in your home with the incense smoke. Leave the windows open while doing this. Spend more time in the bedrooms. Always wash your hands before and after the ritual. Sage, sweet grass and pine are potent purifiers.
Revitalize energy with aromatherapy. For a quick and easy chi boost, use natural essential oil sprays, diffusers, or candles. Orange, lemon, grapefruit, and lime smell delicious and move stagnant chi.
Strengthen relationship harmony with crystals and candles. Add 6 round rose quartz crystal balls in the center of the family or living room to encourage smooth relationships. Six signifies heaven. Burn candles in multiples of 2, 5 or 8 to stimulate love. For more passion, burn 9 red candles! Intimate relationships ignite when you add crystals and candles to the Southwest corner of the bedroom. Cleanse new crystals by bathing them in the sun and a solution of water and sea salt for up to 7 days.
Overcome lethargy with metal bells. If family members are feeling tired and sluggish, ring a metal bell throughout the home to wake up the monotonous chi.
Protect yourself from politics at work. If you are the victim of politicking at work, place a white rooster on your desk and let it peck away all your problems one by one. The rooster energy will clear away all negative energy from an unpleasant environment.

Certified Master Practitioner
Traditional Compass School Feng Shui
Certified Practitioner of Interior Alignment
Feng Shui Boston, Inc.
Phone: 607-266-8088
Fax: 607-266-7888
E-Mail: FengShuiBoston@aol.com
Website: www.FengShuiBoston.com

Spring Cleaning The Feng Shui Way By Mary K. Stewart

Spring Cleaning
The Feng Shui Way

By Mary K. Stewart