By Caroline Patrick

Foundation of Harmony and Balance

Walking from the front of the property to the left (middle) side dwells the area of the ancient Chinese Bagua named Family and Health. This extended living space provides a perfect side yard to enhance your family’s vitality. Blue and green florals with a touch of yellow are excellent choices for this gathering place.

According to the I-Ching (or Book of Changes, an ancient text used by the Chinese to lay the proper foundation of harmony and balance in their environment), this trigram of the eight-sided octagonal grid placed over the dwelling was given the name ‘Shocking Thunder.’ This belief relates to the growth and expansion of changes which sometimes come quickly. Having a solid family system, this gives the individual comfort and nourishment during good and bad times. The color green is assigned to this Gua, and is a healing color. Use it as your main guide for this section.

Columns, pillars and cones, trees, posts and poles are the shapes associated with Family and Health. From bird houses to fences with healthy green beans and peas growing on the trellises, a swing set, tennis or basketball court and/or workout bench would pull the family to this side of the house. A picnic table covered in a striped cloth would carry out this theme. Animals are also welcome here.

For those health-conscious individuals, include an herb garden. Dandelions are a nuisance for some, but for me they represent health on many levels. The yellow flowers can be harvested and sprinkled in muffins, pancakes, cookies and salads to provide your body with beta carotene. The roots are best dug in the fall since the rich vitamins and minerals are stored deep in the root system. I use them year round to make tinctures (liquid drops). The leaves can be eaten as a cooked vegetable in many dishes. Whether dried or fresh, used as a food or medicine, this simple weed can clear the skin or heal the liver. Acting as a mild diuretic, the dandelion removes toxins from the body, but Mother Nature, the miracle worker, replaces these toxins with potassium, a much-needed mineral.

Coltsfoot, a small plant with a leaf the size and shape of a colt’s hoof, hovers close to the ground. It’s a friendly little addition to the garden and seems to have a perky personality! Used in teas and tinctures, I pick two or three leaves on my morning tea trek and add it to my Lemon Balm and Thyme when my throat is strained and scratchy. Lemon Grass, Lemon Thyme and Lemon Balm, with a few leaves of Nettles, makes a wonderful morning drink to get your motor running.

Mints are my very favorite. My grandmother grew peppermint next to the outside water spigot. She would send me outside for a fresh sprig to ‘snap off’ and add to her zingy lemonade with a red cherry sitting on top. The pink color would run down into the liquid and rest against a squeezed lemon and color the whole glass pink.

Some of the other mint flavors I enjoy are Chocolate, Pineapple and Spearmint. A mint tea poured into a foot bath will perk up those tired feet! Be sure to pot the mints in separate containers as they will gleefully mix when your back is turned.

Bamboo trees are a sacred tree which represents longevity. Millenniums ago the bamboo trunks were the first known firecracker. When groves were set afire to expand the crop spaces, the sealed bases exploded … in fact, the very name originally appropriated to it because of such a loud noise was BAMBOOM, later shortened to bamboo.

Enjoy activating this side yard of your home. Make it a gathering place for fun, love and support to nourish the family, which also extends into the neighborhood.

FENG SHUI A HOME

June 14, 9:45 a.m. We will meet and drive up to a Benicia home for a Feng Shui demonstration. The class will be over around 1:00 p.m. Bring sack lunch. Payment is due one week in advance, space is limited.

Call 707-748-1127 for reservations!

Caroline Patrick will take you through a local home for an on-site consultation! This is the first time she has shared this knowledge with her students. This valuable experience will give you information to use in your own home. Don’t miss this opportunity for visual understanding in the art of placement.

Each room of the home can also be feng shui’d. Children’s bedrooms reveal important information for parents to help their child feel secure and focused in life. Family situations and money cures will be pointed out as she takes you through the bagua of the house.

Caroline’s Arts & Feng Shui Shoppe

129 First St. Suite K

Benicia, Ca. 94510

Phone 707-748-1127

Fax 707-747-9315

1-5 daily, closed Mondays

All clients and students receive a 10% discount on their purchases at the Shoppe open 1-5 daily, closed Mondays.

Caroline is available for speaking and teaching engagements. For consultations, call to make an appointment.

Caroline is a feng shui consultant, artist, herbalist, newspaper columnist, businesswoman, author and teacher. She has conducted over 2500 feng shui consultations. She has taught art for over 35 years. Her weekly column West Meets East can be viewed on her website moongateschool.com. Caroline’s advice is only considered suggestions and she is not responsible for any problems relating from her suggestions. Please consult a physician for any diagnostic evaluations concerning your health.