By Caroline Patrick

Children and Their Rooms

Many Grandmas and young mothers ask where to place children’s bedrooms in the home according to Feng Shui principles. I find the younger ones do better within a few steps to Mom and Dad’s room in the beginning; then, as they began to feel the urge to leave home, support the natural instinct by placing the young person closer to the Front Door or the mouth of Chi, thus

allowing them to get an idea of being on their own.

There are distinct bed positions for children as well as for adults, but I will answer those questions in a later column.

Dear Caroline,

The Universe is certainly amazing.

Acquainted with Feng Shui, but obviously not practicing it, I've been doing some serious procrastinating about clearing boxes (and boxes) of my past which have been cluttering my present over the past several years...

Knowing better, I've intended to get organized, to "Zen-out" my life, but haven’t – and I have definitely suffered the consequences of the resultant chaos caused by my errant ways!

This afternoon I turned to the internet for motivation and information as I face a mountain of clutter and stacks of boxes, with the desire to ‘cure as I clear’ tomorrow ...and in the week to come.

Lucky for me, Caroline, I found your web sites!

Thank you for your writings! I identified with article after article, and ended up reading almost all of them as they touched my reality in so many ways.

Congratulations on your move to the Islands! It is SUCH a gorgeous place! I really identified, too, with your grandchild cravings, and am glad that you are having the opportunity to share your days with yours, now!

My grandson, soon 22 months, is in Oak Harbor (I’m in the San Diego area.) His daddy is in the Navy; they’ve just relocated to Whidbey Island (from Honolulu, so they’re closer...) I can hardly wait to get up there and see them – but the clutter has to go first...and I’ll take a couple of boxes of my son’s childhood with me when I go! I’m sure that my efforts over the coming days will get me there shortly!

Thank you for the many tips, the reinforcement of what I already knew and the motivation to use it all!

It’ll be interesting to watch what unfolds!

I wanted you to know that you have touched me, and that I appreciate you!

A Reader

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for taking the time to send a happy confirmation that my efforts at writing my Feng Shui advice is read and used to help mankind and GRANDMAS! We are a unique group of wise women who have apparently done a lot of things right (or wrong) to have a Ph.D. in smartness. Both of my little ones think I am a bottomless pit of ideas and instant fun. That’s the way I want to keep it, at least for the time being. At 3 and 6 years old, you still have a chance to mold these little people and I’m doing all I can to influence joy in their lives.

When learning we would have permanent "guests" for many months, I wanted the

children to feel as loved and protected as possible. When a child is under the age of 10 or 12, independence is still being developed. Placing a baby or young child near the parents’ bedroom helps the child feel nurtured and safe, since the parents are just a few steps away when bad dreams occur.

I choose a bedroom in the Family Sector or Gua of our new residence. This Wood Element room gives children the energy to grow, learn flexibility and strength. Green is the color for decorating. Stripes represent the upward growth of plants and trees. I placed a small desk on each side of the room with a green shaded globe, with a small mirror for them to see anyone coming into the room from behind. This Feng Shui correction is used to reduce stress so distractions don’t startle a person with a desk facing a wall. I rarely suggest this alternative in a business situation, because the most powerful position for a employee or employer to have is their back to a solid wall.

My next purchases for the room were separate twin beds pushed together for now, as the kids have always loved sleeping together. Next came the yellow bed sheets for health reasons, green and yellow pillows for a headboard to support ideas and a blue-green striped cozy bedspread. A low floor lamp was placed shinning downward next to the bed to encourage reading. A bamboo plant for each desk, a picture of family and a little battery-powered kitty-cat clock went in the Fame section of the desk Two paintings of bright, wild-glowing trees which I had painted for the first grandchild were added to the Family Gua wall and a favorite multicolored round night light was placed across the room to cover the children in healing Bagua lights as they fall to sleep. Animals were added to the shelves and toys were stored behind closet doors and drawers to keep the room’s feeling calm.

Every night they ask for a bath and bed around 6:30 to 7pm. Although these little ones are "normal" during the day, I’m blown away each night as they ask to go to bed!!! Yes, they are my little aliens, as I had to fight my children every night about bedtime for years.

I positioned their chairs at the dinning room table according to a right and left side of the body connection, placing the oldest next to his father’s right side, giving the child the ability to retain his father’s wishes more clearly, by speaking into his son’s left ear, or the Yang side of the

brain.

In the beginning eating was not a pleasant experience, and the children wanted to bargain each bite of food. This habit took several months of working with their diet as peanuts are deadly to the older child and the emergency "eppie needle" is part of our kit which goes everywhere with us. Thus, the fear to eat anything new or different has been passed to the youngest child, watching the emergency room ordeals during his three years.

We have good days and bad days, but the children are growing like weeds and the weather has proven beneficial to their allergies. The rewards of helping wee ones find a balance outweighs the tired nights. We didn’t talk much about your clutter, but I can tell you when toys get scattered all through the house, we all begin acting like little children, as the energy of these plastic parasites multiply and scatter to all the 9 energy centers of the home. The best way to reclaim control of your Career, Family, Money, Partnership, and Health is to throw or give away anything you don’t love and cherish.

Best wishes to you, and I hope you get to visit up this way soon. In February I have four or five classes in Feng Shui, maybe I will see you?

Caroline Patrick

Caroline can be reached at:

Caroline’s Feng Shui Concepts

2511 Commercial Avenue

Anacortes, Washington 98221

(360) 293-2268.

caroline@fengshuiartistry.com

www.fengshuiartistry.com

www.moongateschool.com