Mind, Body, Home: Transform Your Life One Room at a Time (35 page)

the correlating effect. Just having the intention and following through with it is enough, whether you hire the labor out or do it yourself. The energy of transformation is in the home and as the home undergoes

the change, so will your energy on some level. That being said, if you decide to take on the project yourself, you may gain even more awareness. A friend of mine decided to tile her kitchen herself without having any prior tiling experience. During the project, she experienced

much angst, frustration, and crying, all the time grieving a past relationship. All of the frustration she experienced with tiling was the perfect catalyst she needed to release old emotions.

Upon finishing the project, she had completely transformed her

kitchen and herself. As she was ripping up the five layers of old linoleum to find a rotted-out hole in the subflooring, she realized you can’t hide the past by putting more layers over it. To truly start fresh, you have to go to the root of the problem and fix it there before you can

really move on. Of course, it is not coincidental that it was the kitchen, as it is symbolic of the heart of the home, nurturing, and spiritual transformation. The brand-new floor also gave her a greater sense of feeling grounded in herself than she had ever before experienced. Interestingly, she met her partner a few weeks later.

As you set out to make improvements, notice in which area of the

home you are making the improvement. Or is it a particular compo-

nent, such as a new roof, plumbing, or a couch? Maybe you are deco-

rating a room. What room is it and what is the correlating meaning of

the room? Also notice where the room or area falls on the Bagua Map.

Is your Wealth Corner getting a boost? Consider the meanings of each

and what resonates with you the most.

Integrating Your Mind Body and Home 227

Renovation

A renovation project is a major improvement to your home and will

mirror a renovation of yourself in some aspect. A renovation of a home

significantly shifts the energy as it usually involves adding, subtracting, or moving walls and perhaps even mechanicals and fixtures. It is important to bless or space clear the home after a renovation project to help ground the energy. Are you renovating the entire home or just a room

or section? Again, consider what room or area of the house and where

it falls on the Bagua Map for more clarity on what aspect is being renovated within yourself.

Prior to a renovation project, it is important to consult with a feng

shui professional. All too often a renovation, particularly in the form of an add-on, will shift the energy negatively. Renovating a home may involve interior, cosmetic touches, such as stripping wallpaper and changing light fixtures. But it also may involve completely changing the shape or floor plan of the house by taking down or extending out walls. It is important to understand the implications when adding on to homes.

Adding an extension often creates a Missing Corner in the floor

plan, thereby creating an imbalance of energy. Another common prob-

lem is confusing the energy in the home. When the original blueprints

are created for a home and subsequently built, the energy is embedded

into the home. When rooms are shifted around for different purposes,

the energy conflicts with the original energy of the home. It will take some time for the new energy to ground into the space. If the changes

are too incongruent with the “soul of the home,” then this could result in a more permanent imbalance.

For example, in my current home I was looking forward to building

a screened-in porch on the back. To do so, a window on the exterior

wall would need to be replaced with a door that would lead into the

screened-in porch. It made sense structurally and aesthetically. When-

ever it came time to move forward with the plans, an uneasy feeling

would creep up. It related to the back wall, which was a beautiful ex-

posed brick wall with a picturesque window. It felt like the backbone

of the house and I got an intuitive message that it was not to be messed
228 Integrating Your Mind Body and Home

with as it would significantly disturb the energy of the house. I felt re-lief from the home when we decided not to go forward with the plans.

In making major changes to your home, intuitively check in with

your home as to whether the change will energetically benefit the soul

of the home. If not, then the renovation will not benefit the household either. The change also needs to be in harmony with the original style

and intent of the house. All too often you will see an obvious add-on to a house that is of a lower quality or completely different materials than the original house. Also keep in mind that anytime major work is done

on your home, particularly in removing or adding walls, this is equiva-

lent to a surgery on your home. It will take some time for the space to heal and integrate the new energy. A space clearing is advised to assist this process.

That is not to say that homes cannot be significantly renovated or

added on. Clearly, some homes have ineffective floor plans that need to be rebuilt. Adding on to homes can also provide their occupants with

the energy of adding on some new skill, talent, or untapped aspect of

themselves.

In my current neighborhood, tearing down old homes that are be-

yond repair is common. If it costs more to rebuild the home than build

a new one from scratch, the builder will opt for the latter. And with

price of lots creeping up, it often costs less to buy a foreclosed or dilapidated house than an empty lot. This is common among urban neigh-

borhoods in most cities.

When a home is torn down, the original energetic blueprint remains

in place. This can possibly cause an energetic disturbance with the new home. Because the energy is still in place with the previous home, it

can be challenging for the energy of the new home to ground in on the

same lot. It is advisable to have a feng shui professional or space clearer clear the land and the remnants of the previous energy. The homeowners may opt for conducting their own ceremony or blessing of the land.

This type of energy disturbance may become more of an issue

when it comes time to sell the home. This is often when energy distur-

bances from the land will rear their heads. In a way, the home is asking to be healed and brought into balance. When we can’t sell a home, we

Integrating Your Mind Body and Home 229

often become more proactive and desperate in our measures. Although

usually unconscious of this, we seek to bring balance to the home by

making repairs, planting flowers, decorating, and perhaps even hiring

a feng shui professional. Although we are doing it to sell the home, we are also healing the home.

Renting Your Home

As a result of the housing crash in 2008, many homeowners found

themselves as landlords. Without the ability to sell their home, but with the need to move for a job or relationship, many people ended up renting their home. I found myself in this predicament. I thought being a

landlord would be easy. I found great tenants who paid like clockwork

and appreciated the home.

However, within a few months, I started getting phone calls about

random issues—from leaks to freak accidents to pest issues. None of

these were issues I had ever experienced while living there. What I realized was that their energy was manifesting through the home in random

accidents and urgent maintenance needs. The home was in constant need

of repairs beyond anything I had experienced while living there.

It is common knowledge that renters will never care for a home

like its owner, but their mental and emotional issues will also manifest through the home. Because they are not responsible for the repairs, there is an almost reckless abandon with their emotions in a space. This of

course is not the case with all renters as many people have an innate appreciation of their personal space. If you rent out your home, just know that not only are your tenants residing there physically, but emotionally as well. When you rent a home that you have lived in, your energy and

that of your renters are both intertwined in the space. This is a different dynamic than homes purchased and rented for investment purposes.

Moving

Moving is one of the most stressful times in our life. When we move,

it is a literal and energetic uprooting of our energy. It affects us on all
230 Integrating Your Mind Body and Home

levels—the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. Our home

is our center, our grounding, and our sense of self. When we move, this all gets thrown up. For a few hours, days, or weeks, depending on the

process, we are in transition and unclear of who we are. When we land

in our new space, we start all over in getting acclimated to the energy of the new space. As we start to unpack and put our personal stamp on

the space, we start to feel home again. We are home again among our

books, pictures, and other belongings that hold our energy, memories,

and emotions.

Moves always accompany major transitions in our life. If you think

back to the times you have moved, it most likely coincided with a major occurrence. They usually indicate an ending and a new beginning. We

move because a job begins or ends, a baby is born or a child goes to college, starting a new school or graduation, the start of a relationship or the ending of one. We even refer back to periods of our life based on the house in which we lived at the time. A move marks a new chapter in

our life, allowing us to start anew. It is a time to evaluate what you want to change and do differently in your life as the new home will allow for a new beginning. It holds a new energy that will allow for new opportunities.

Prior to or upon moving into a new space it is important to rec-

ognize the home as its own unique soul. Approach the home as you

would in getting to know anyone in a new relationship. It is advisable

to space clear the home prior to, or soon thereafter, moving in. Have a ceremony or blessing for the home. If it feels appropriate, you can even name the home thereby honoring its energy. In doing so, you will also

be honoring yourself and your time while living there. Recognize the

significance of the home in your life and how it can support you with

where you are in the current phase of your journey.

Just as important as honoring your new home is honoring the home

from which you moved. For some spaces, we can’t get out fast enough.

Perhaps it holds bad memories and emotions or represents a phase in

life that we would rather forget about. On the other hand, there are

those spaces that are so difficult to move from. They hold special mem-

ories and it feels painful to remove ourselves from the space as if we are
Integrating Your Mind Body and Home 231

one with it. In either case, however, it is imperative to have closure with the space. There is no right or wrong way to do this—it should be done

intuitively. The overall goal is to say
Thank You
to the space, thereby honoring your time while living there. In doing so, you will have emotional closure.

Each time I move from a space, I have some time alone with the

home. After the moving trucks have left, I go to each room. I think

back on all the memories—the good and the bad—and let them wash

through me. I then say
Thank You
to each room and to the house as a whole. On an energetic level, we are taking back parts of our energy

that would otherwise remain in the home. By having closure with the

home, it helps clear the space for future owners as well. It is when we deny or try to stuff our emotions that they continue to haunt us (and

the home) in some way, or the same emotions and patterns follow us to

our next space. Honoring the previous home will allow for a brighter

new beginning going into the next home.

Feng Shui for the Planet

Mahatma Gandhi stated, “Our contribution to the progress of the

world must consist in setting our own house in order.” Regardless of

whether he was referring to our “house” literally or figuratively, the

message is that we each have personal responsibility for taking care of our individual lives represented through our living spaces.

If we each put our own home in order—whether it is using feng

shui principles to bring about peace and harmony or decorating our

home to where we love coming home—we are bettering our lives and

the Planet. If we each take care of the plot of space we take up on the Earth, it will be an even more beautiful world in which to live. This, of course, carries over to businesses and municipality spaces as well, but the change has to start in our personal spaces and how we treat and

love ourselves. This is consistent with Gandhi’s more famous quote,

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Our spaces are so important to our overall health and wellbeing and

their importance has been vastly overlooked. Restaurants and retailers

232 Integrating Your Mind Body and Home

know that the vibration and feel of a space can make or break its busi-

nesses. Design, feng shui, and the overall feel of a space has become

paramount in our economy—from the sleek design of technology

products to the real estate market. Corporations are also realizing the importance of space with regard to employee retention. Forward-thinking companies, such as Google, Facebook, and Apple incorporate com-