Yesterday I talked about having a vision board, and tips on how to get started on your own board. Today I want to focus on the rest of our environment beyond the vision board. Take a look around your home.  How do you feel when you look at it? Do the pictures on the walls make you smile? Do you have a feeling of being comfortable? Are you at home in your space? I mentioned feng shui yesterday, and although I am not an expert, I have made some changes around our home that made a big difference (with the help of books from the library and a few friends).

Let’s start with the office.  I’m guessing many of you have a home office.  First, where is your desk located? Mine was in a corner, not only did I face the wall, but my back was to the door.  I had no idea why I felt so bad when sitting at my desk. When I changed the set-up so that I now face the door and am no longer in the corner, I feel much happier sitting at my desk and am more productive! What I found out was that having your back to the door creates a feeling of stress, because you don’t know if someone is coming or going to sneak up on you.  And now that I face the door (but not directly in line with the door), I do feel more relaxed.  My office is a light blue colour, which I find calming.  There are inspirational messages on most of the walls and several plants too.   I used the bagua to help me figure out the best placement for some of these things.

One of the most important things for any room in the house is to get rid of the clutter.  Especially in the office, which tends to be a dumping ground for various papers etc. Every week, I review what is on my desk and either get rid of it, file it or take care it immediately.  Every few months, I do a clean up of the drawers in the office and the bookshelf, which tends to gather more and more books every month!  My goal is to have a library in our dream home, so that Ican have all of my books out in the open, yet organized.

How about the bedroom? This is another area of the home that needs to be clean, simple and decluttered.  One of my strictest rules is no TV in the bedroom. There are many reasons for this, but I choose not to compromise on this point. The bedroom is for reading, sleeping and (fill in the blank). That’s it.  Everything in the room should be focused around this purpose.  Did you know that the way your bed faces can affect your sleep? Again, it’s about placement around windows and doors. Also, keeping things under the bed can also ruin your sleep. Our bedroom is simple, with only a bed and 2 night tables as furniture.  We do our best to keep it clean and neat, and make the bed every morning.  We have a nature theme to the bedding and curtains, which is very soothing.

A few tips for the bathroom – I’ll keep it brief here.  Keep the lid down when the toilet is not in use (yes, this includes men).  I don’t think this requires any more explanation.  I love having positive and inspiring messages on the mirror, and ThoughtSpots make it easier and prettier to decorate the mirror.  Take a look at their website and be inspired!

Depending on the location of your living room in your home, you will want to have photos of you and your partner, and your family in different areas.  Window coverings also make a big impact, and I have used colours that match with the area on the bagua that corresponds to the windows.  We have nice red curtains for our patio doors and blue ones in the kitchen. Plants can also be great when correctly placed. We have used a brown rug to ground the centre of the room – this makes a big difference.  The kitchen also needs accents based on the bagua. This is probably the area that we have the most trouble with, keeping the dishes done and put away is always a challenge (no dishwasher).

Finally, the entrance of your home is very important. Keeping this area free of clutter and well organized is essential.  This can be a challenge for many families, so a quick trip to Ikea may be helpful to organize the space. This space, when well put together, can help to bring wealth into your home.

Feng shui is a beautiful art, and there is so much to learn about it. You can start with books and videos from the library, and it may be worth while to invest in a visit from a feng shui expert.  I recommend consulting with an expert when buying a home as well, you’d be surprised how much of a difference this can make.   If you’ve ever lived in a home where things just “didn’t feel right” you may have inadvertently been in a home that had some very serious feng shui issues.  I have become more open to feng shui over the past few years, especially since I have seen the positive changes in my home and environment.

Do you have a great story about how feng shui has changed your life? Please share your comments.

Create a wonderful day!

How many of you have seen The Secret? Back in October of 2006, I had a chance to see this movie – the original version with Esther Hicks (Lisa Nichols replaced her in the more widely known edition). It had a huge impact on my life in so many ways and was one of the catalysts for my journey and study of personal growth and development. I also used some of the methods to attract my perfect partner, my husband Dan. One of the other skills I learned was creating a Vision Board in order to attract all of the things you desire in your life.  Since then, I have created at least half a dozen vision boards, most recently just before the holidays in 2009.  Many people have asked me about creating vision boards, and it seems like there are vision board workshops at least once a month.  There are books you can buy on building your vision board, and kits that include some of the photos you might want to include. You can google vision board and find programs to create an online vision board as well.

Here are a few suggestions to consider when building your vision board.

• Preparation:
  • Buy magazines that you don’t normally purchase – for example The Robb Report (luxury cars, homes etc), Architectural Digest, Conde Nast Traveller.
  • Save old calendars – many have great quotes and photos (or buy them in February at 75% off)
  • Think BIG and dream your impossible dreams! This is what can be really fun about the vision board. I have a round-the-world cruise on one of my boards – a one year cruise around the globe.
  • Choose quotes and words that inspire you. “I have seen the mountains and they have touched my heart!” is one of my favorites. Words such as: Focus, Power, Inspiration, Leadership, Fun and Love.
  • Instead of using a bristol board, you can purchase a thicker foam board from most craft stores for about $5.  If you are looking for a more permanent board, purchase a frame for a heavier cardboard and frame it. I like to update my dream boards within a year, so I choose the foam board.
  • Before you start, cut out all of the photos, quotes and items that you’d like to have on your vision board.
• Making the Vision Board
  • Find a large, flat surface to lay your board on.

  

  • Arrange the photos in a collage fashion on your board.  You can do this any way you like but for my most recent board, I put together the photos and quotes based on the Feng Shui bagua.  I also included colour swatches from each of the quadrants. There is plenty of information on Feng Shui on the internet and at the library, if you’re interested in finding out more about how it works.
  • Place all of the photos and quotes on the board before you begin gluing. Your photos may or may not overlap, it’s up to you.
  • Use an acid free glue.  I prefer to use rubber cement, but it’s harder to find these days (I think it might be toxic!).  I found a liquid UHU stick that worked well.
• A few final notes:
  • Make sure you’re in a good mood when you create the vision board,you want to have the right energy when putting it together
  • Uplifting music or even having The Secret on in the background can be helpful
  • Your vision board should make you smile when you look at it and create feelings of excitement and joy!
  • Hang your vision board in a place where you will see it several times throughout your day.  And take a moment to stop and look at it when you do walk by it.
  • And if you’re having trouble dreaming big or asking for prosperity – subscribe to Randy Gage’s Success and Prosperity blog – his perspective can be very enlightening.

If you haven’t made a vision board yet, start this weekend! I’m here to answer your questions as needed and look forward to seeing your vision boards when they are completed.  If yours is already completed, feel free to share a photo!