What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui, (pronounced Fung Shway) is an ancient Chinese tradition. It’s all about the study and interaction of man, Earth and the Heavens, and the interconnectedness of all three. Learning a few Feng Shui tips using plants can help to enhance the beneficial energy in our homes and in our lives.

What is the aim of Feng Shui?

It’s all about keeping the good energy flowing, but contained, while deflecting harmful energy. This creates harmonious living conditions.

4 Feng Shui Tips using plants

Tip #1: Bring nature inside – Bringing plants, potted flowers and even fish can improve the Feng Shui in our home by creating greater harmony and prosperity. Plants generate their own energy in a very peaceful way that relaxes and calms. Note: If a plant or a fish dies it is important to replace it immediately.

Tip #2: Choose hearty plants – Plants that can survive harsh weather are symbols of longevity and are often placed around homes. Chrysanthemums, pines, plums, bamboo and even cactus plants are common in Chinese homes and gardens and are preferred over roses or other flowers that bloom and die quickly.

Tip #3:  Select plants for harmony and good luck - Plants that help create harmony and good luck include Peony (Chinese tree variety), Kumquat, Impala lily, Money plant (Dracaena), Chili and Bougainvillea.

Tip #4: Prosperity Plants – choose round leaf plants to encourage prosperity.

Feng Shui aside, incorporating plants both inside and outside our homes just makes us feel better. And isn’t this an easy and beautiful way to enhance beneficial energy in our lives?

The 3rd chakra is located at the Solar Plexus, about 1” below our ribs. It is located in the pit of our stomach. It’s where we get our gut instincts from. Organs associated with the 3rd chakra include the abdomen, stomach, kidney and adrenals.

I experienced major self esteem and security issues when my 1st husband and I separated. I was afraid and anxious and my flight and fright response kicked in and lived with me for many many years, resulting in adrenal fatigue.  My breathing pattern changed completely, something that I wasn’t aware of until someone brought it to my attention. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t take a deep breath – you know, the kind that makes your stomach rise. It felt like I had a ton of bricks weighing down on my chest.

With the help of mediation and participating in The Art of Living weekend seminar I learned to breathe again. I try to practice my breathing meditation daily – it’s a great way to start my day and brings a sense of peace and happiness.

Meditation is generally thought of as a cessation of the though process. It’s a way to quiet our minds and to stop the constant chatter. To better understand what I’m saying, try this simple exercise. For just one minute, close your eyes and try to think of absolutely nothing. What did you experience? Most are surprised at the variety of thoughts that fly in and out of our minds in such a short space of time when we are trying not to think of a single thing.

Meditation is also a component of many different religions, encompassing a variety of spiritual practices that may have different goals. For example, some meditation practices seek to achieve a higher state of consciousness which enables us to commune with our higher self or with our Creator. Other practices focus more on self-awareness and still others focus on relaxation.

What’s really interesting is that medical practitioners are prescribing meditation as a natural healing technique to treat disease including high blood pressure, stress and to help those with asthma breathe more easily.

So whether you’re just looking to reduce your stress levels and live a more balanced life (like me) or if you would like to try meditation as a healing practice – it’s well worth the effort.

Stay tuned for further posts in this series including: Breathing Meditation; Transcendental Meditation; Christian Meditation; Buddhist Meditation.

How does this work? According to Mr. Fritchie, we can perform a simple muscle test using our fingers. These are his instructions:

Using our dominant hand, make a circle with the thumb and index fingers so that the pads of these fingers are touching. I am right handed, so I will use my right hand to make this circle. See diagram below.

Next, take the index finger on the other hand, in this case, my left, and hook it at the point where the fingers of the right hand meet. See the diagrams below.

Now ask yourself a simple question which can be answered with a yes or a no. If the answer is yes then it is hard to pull the ring of the right hand open with the left finger. If the answer is no, then it is easy to break the ring. For example, I asked myself if I had 2 daughters (which I do), and it was difficult for me to break the ring. I then asked myself if I like goat cheese (which I don’t) and it was easy to break the ring. Get the idea?

You will need to practice this method several times until you get the hang of it. Remember it’s not a strength test, so don’t use too much pressure holding that circle together. Continue asking yourself simple questions as you practice and become more familiar and confident with what you are doing. After you practice this several times, try asking your body questions about the spiritual and physical truthfulness of whatever you are being told about your health.

Being able to trust our own body to give us answers is a skill I think is well worth developing. It allows us to use our bodies as our own personal truth filter. Very cool indeed.

The 2nd chakra is located in the belly area, about 2” below our belly button. This chakra is all about personal relationships, power, sex and money. i.e everything we own

The organs associated with the 2nd charka include our sex organs (uterus, ovaries, and pelvis), large intestine and bladder.

When we talked about the 1st chakra earlier, we said that it was about being part of the group. Here in the 2nd chakra it’s about forming relationships with those who support us and releasing those that stunt and inhibit our growth. When our energy is blocked or not flowing in this area of our body, gynecological problems may result, including fibroids, diseases of the ovaries and other pelvic disorders. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup in Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom, a number of 2nd charka experiences can set the stage for illness.

I had a 4cm fibroid that was completely hidden in the opening of my cervix which was subsequently removed. After reading Dr. Northrup’s book I realized that my 2nd charka energy system was off or blocked in some way and I began to meditate on the relationships in my life to see what bubbled up to the surface. This process has helped me to learn to let go of the pain that I experienced over 13 years ago that I had stuffed way down into this area of my body.

Our 1st or root chakra is located at the base of our spine and serves to ground us to in this world.

We get our grounding or rooting primarily from our family and the society we belong to. This may include being part of a religions or other group. Here we see family traditions and inclusion in the group as being important in maintaining balance in the 1st chakra. When things are out of balance, it’s not uncommon to see physical ailments related to this chakra.

What does 1st chakra energy feel like? It’s the kind of emotion that you experience when you listen to our national anthem or participate in the birth of a child. It’s that touchy feely energy of belonging to something or someone larger that evokes a sense of pride and belonging.

To gain insight and sensitivity about our 1st chakra, it’s helpful to examine our family and societal beliefs and traditions to determine if they are congruent with the way we currently live our life. If they aren’t then we need to see how best to address these inconsistencies so that this chakra remains in balance.

I suffered a devastating trauma about 13 years ago. After years of therapy and the “healing power of time,” I convinced myself that I was ok. But deep down, in my heart of hearts, I knew that I was not ok -it was still there and it was stuffed way, way down.

Yes, our life stories, our thoughts and our beliefs really do become our biology. About 12 months ago I started having bouts of unexplained lower abdomen pain that left me drained and bedridden for the better part of a week with each episode. I shrugged it off initially – after all, wasn’t I always a stomach girl? Every time something stressful happened in my life, wasn’t my stomach the first to say, “Hello there, remember me?” And weren’t we all going through an incredibly stressful time trying to cope with my Dad’s rapidly failing health?

After my 5th attack and a battery of tests and a hospital visit later, I acknowledged what I already knew. (I think we always intuitively KNOW, don’t we?) My body was rebelling and screaming for me to pay attention – to sit up and take notice – to deal with my trauma once and for all. I was scared. I knew enough about the mind/body/spirit connection to realize that I needed to take action now to start the healing process.

Disease is sometimes the result of trauma firmly rooted in place in our bodies. It can cause an energy shift that affects our cells, the very fabric of our body, leaving us open and vulnerable to disease.

With the help of a certified healer and metaphysical intuitive, a Natropath and others, I have been working to bring a sense of balance back into my life. I have also leaned to be gentler with myself, realizing that my life is a journey, with many many lessons along the way.

Each Chakra is related to specific organs in our body, emotional issues and dysfunctions. Chakras are also described as areas where our emotions manifest in our bodies. In other words, trauma, if not dealt with, can cause a disturbance in the strength or vitality of our Chakras and this may lead to disease. In my own case, I know this to be a truth.

According to Dr. Christiane Northrup in her book, Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom, the three lower Chakras are inextricably linked in women. Focusing here will likely offer the most promise as we try to balance and heal our lives.

Stay tuned for further posts in this Series including: Spiritual Wellness:  the 1st Chakra, Spiritual Wellness:  the 2nd Chakra and Spiritual Wellness:  the 3rd Chakra.

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