West Meets East©

By Caroline Patrick

Move Your Desk, Change Your Life

Simple changes can affect our lives in momentous ways. There have been few times in my Feng Shui career that I have suggested a client consider moving. After Mapping the Home, a course which I continue to teach, the student or client can immediately see what changes need to be made. The Bagua, or eight-sided template, when placed over a floor plan guides the practitioner in making Feng Shui decisions.

My next question to the owner is what is right and what is wrong in your life? If problems such as relationship troubles, health issues, or lack of money continues, then I may want to see as many floor plans as the person or family can remember. A repeated blockage seems to evolve as each house drawing is compared to one another. It is fascinating how our comfort zone is formed through our early environmental living spaces and we continue to choose the same type of floor plan through a learned process, or is the design comfort chosen by our subconscious? As you can see, Feng Shui can be very topical or a study of the physical and spiritual.

After many years of studying the application of this ancient Chinese system, I still can change a person’s outlook about his business and give him/her a money boost, by just simply changing the position of their desk. I received two calls this week from clients that were amazed when they took my advice. Face incoming business to take advantage of a prosperous New Year. Welcome the energy of abundance. This particularly applies to home offices, even if you never see your customers or clients at home. Place awards and certificates behind your desk on the wall. Make sure you set in a super chair and the back has no opening. Please refrain from filling the room or area with stuffed toys, grandchildren’s drawings, or religious pictures unless the clergy is your profession. Keep your desk cleared giving new business a space to grow. Add a live money or bamboo plant to encourage growth of the company and appropriate Feng Shui artwork for a powerful Chi boost! Check my website for 5 Element Images.

How many twists and turns must you encounter before your office is found? Long dark hallways act as Yin receptors. Yang or sun energy must be added to business spaces for a successful outcome. A home office is better located near the front of the house or the far back left room of the home called the Wealth Gua. The company president should always occupy the office at the back of the building to ground his business. I have witnessed many managers and presidents take a loss of money and position when relocating to a front office. Place your employees in the front offices to help the business grow.

Another simple way to increase business is location, location, location. I’m sure you have heard this advice over and over again, but it is still true when starting a business. The number 9 or a series of 9`s or a total of 9 is a bonus for a great location. Many banks have this address by choice or accident. Try to avoid 4, 44, 40 or 444 or a series of 4’s as this is a great grounding number, the Chinese consider it heavy and unproductive and the sound of 4 in their language is similar to the word death. I have lived in two houses with this address and did okay, but looking back it was a location in which my work never seemed to end. Although I am part Cherokee and the four directions are sacred to me, I have decided for myself to choose 9 and 8 phone numbers and addresses as they are like a catalyst for success.

Hang a quartz crystal in the entryway, or make sure fresh flowers are added to a space for 27 days in a row (replace every three days with fresh ones). Adding 2+7=9 lifts the energy of the room to the completion number of auspiciousness. New vibrant life welcomes you every day and lifts your spirits. No wonder fresh flowers and plants are ceremoniously given at weddings, funerals, birthdays, hospital visits or as a lover’s gift.

Remember to unload closets, which represent the bowels of the home, under the stairs clutter, the veins of your body or any space that has become stagnant. To improve all three aspects of yourself make sure the entry to your home, business or doorway of any room isn’t blocked. Remove and trim outside dead limbs and make the entry beautiful. Next is the stove. If the cook is not facing the room when cooking, place a mirror over the stove to open your vision of the world and allow the cook not to be startled from someone coming up from behind. A wind chime above the cook is also a great correction. And the last most important is your bed. How old is it, are you in a commanding position? Is there a toilet in view? This is bad for the health. Hang a partial curtain of fabric, bamboo curtains or close the door between you and the toilet as it will drain your energy while you sleep. Get rid of past relationships by changing mattresses or better yet, buy a new bed with a solid headboard for a new start.

Try these simple hints for a prosperous New Year. Map your home to find out where you are stuck. Make an appointment for a New Year phone consultation, as they are an easy way to learn where you have been blocking your future. Email for a consultation.

Caroline Patrick, Feng Shui consultant/practitioner, teacher/speaker, Feng Shui artist and writer, lives in the San Juan Islands, off the coast of Washington. Her weekly newspaper article called WEST MEETS EAST is a popular Feng Shui advice column. She enjoys answering your questions, when possible. Some questions will be chosen for publication with the permission from the reader. Enjoy her new 5 Element attached-folding cards which can be used as a Feng Shui enhancement or correction in any space. Larger prints of several selected paintings are also available. For consultations, speaking/teaching engagements and art evaluations contact her at caroline@fengshuiartistry.com or visit her websites at www.fengshuiartistry.com and www.moongateschool.com.

Any suggestions given in this column are only for entertainment. Please contact your physician for any medical or herbal advice or diagnosis. Caroline Patrick is not responsible for any misuse of her advice or suggestions.