Category: Feng Shui

Five Elements – Fire

by Sara • November 21, 2014 • 1 Comment

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Feng Shui there are five elements present in nature: Fire – Earth – Metal – Water and Wood.

Each of these elements have specific characteristics and are represented in our world by certain colours, forms, materials and seasons. They also relate to each other and can be supportive or suppressive to certain areas of your home.

So I’ve decided to do a little blog series on the different elements, how you can recognise them and use them in your home or office to create support, balance and harmony.

First out is fire, seeing as Sydney is scorching hot today and we’re definitely coming into Summer, I thought this to be very apt…

Element: Fire
Compass sector: South
Areas of life: Fame, Reputation & Respect
Family member: Middle daughter
Season: Summer
Body: Heart, cardiovascular system, eyes
Emotions: Joy (and listlessness as in lack of joy)
Supportive colours: Red, burgundy, purple and pink.

So, how can you use this information to benefit you in your daily life?

The South sector of your home represents your fame, reputation and respect. Don’t take this literally. It doesn’t mean that if the South sector of your home is in balance and harmony, you’ll be famous. What it means is that this part of your home represents your reputation on the outside, i.e. how people perceive you in business, at work or in your community.

It shows you what people say about you behind your back when you’re not there. It also tells you how you feel about these areas of your life. Are you generally a happy person, or do you feel a bit listless? Maybe you are feeling burdened or burnt out by having to uphold a certain reputation in your work or as a role model/public figure? Or perhaps people are liking your ideas and what you stand for and respecting you and/or your business or work.

All of this you can “de-code” from reading the messages that your home is sending you from the South compass sector.

So if you find that people disrespect you, gossip about you, or you are generally listless, there are likely imbalances here. If you feel that you are well respected, happy, liked and people want to hear your opinions, the likelihood is that your South sector is in balance already.

To support the South sector and all related areas in you life as listed above, you can add more fire energy here. This can be done with red (purple, pink & burgundy) colours, burning candles (or other live fire that is safe), also your TV or any other electrical equipment will have “fire energy” as well. Plastic materials and bricks also represent fire and will give support to this sector.

If you are feeling burnt out, stressed or are having any problems with high blood pressure or are at risk for cardio vascular diseases, chances are you’ve got too much fire energy in the South sector of your home, and you need to bring it down a notch or two. You can take away from the fire energy in the South sector by either controlling it with water forms (blue colours, real water or glass) or depleting it with Earth forms (such as yellow, brown, beige and orange colours, terracotta, crystals or clay).

I love teaching about this stuff, and when used correctly, the five elements can really make a huge difference to how well supported you are in your home, and in your life in general.

If you have any questions about this, please comment below and I’m very happy to help out.

Warm regards,
Sara

Fire lives in the South sector of your home

Feng Shui, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Personal Power

Are you really ready for change?

by Sara • November 14, 2014 • 3 Comments

Lots of people I meet say that they want to change. Then they don’t. So were they really ready to change to begin with? Or had they bought into some belief that their life would be better if they only changed X Y Z about themselves? Probably.

If that’s the case, I would recommend slowing down, taking some time and really figure out WHO says you need to change? Is it your friends? Is it society? Your parents? Family? Your boss at work? Or is it the quiet, steady voice inside of you saying “enough, let’s do something about this”?

If that’s the voice telling you to change, then change. You’re ready. It’s time.

If instead you hear your father’s voice, your friends, your teachers, colleagues, whoever that is not you, then maybe you actually don’t need to change at all. You’re not ready. This is not the time. So stop beating yourself up, stop “failing” at creating change and instead own the fact that you are not ready. This change that you “want” is not for you. And don’t do it. Let yourself be. Your time to change may come, it may not.

Know this – until you are ready, change won’t happen. You will fight it energetically, emotionally, physically and mentally, even if it is subconscious, even if you don’t know you’re doing it, you will be fighting it. Until you are aligned with your change, it’s going to be a hard slog. And that’s ok.

In that situation, instead of making yourself change because you should, be gentle. Wait for yourself to catch up. Work on aligning yourself with the change on all levels, make sure you can fully own it as yours, and then act on it. It might take time, and that’s ok.

When you are aligned with the change, you will know that it is coming from you. You will be certain it is in your best interest. You will know you’re doing it for you. Then go for it! Changing things up, being creative, learning new things can be really awesome. Change is good when you want it!

But what if you know you want to change, and have no idea where to start?

This is where I love feng shui as a tool. By knowing what areas of your home relates to what areas of your life, you can start creating positive change from the outside and in. By changing the corresponding areas of your home, you can start bringing on change in these areas of your life.

It’s like tricking yourself into changing without even realising it. When you free up energy in the areas of your home relating to health, your health will start changing as if it were magic. And in a way it is. These areas of your home are now resonating in balance, so your body, mind and soul will want to resonate with that same vibration.

Like attracts like.

And that’s what I teach in my workshops where I tell you how to read your home, so that you can be in control of the change you want to make and support yourself to get there.

I love what I do, and I love what feng shui can do for you!

Here’s to change,
Sara

Are you ready, really ready to change?

Feng Shui, Inspiration, Personal Power

Time to move forward!

by Sara • October 31, 2014 • 0 Comments

I had a great discussion with a friend of mine this morning. We were chatting about how she feels like her life is speeding up at the moment and that this feels stressful. I had a little think about it and then told her that I think that’s absolutely perfect right now. It is as it should be.

I think it’s only natural that life is speeding up at the moment. In Australia it’s full on Spring time. The land is warming up, the sun is getting hotter and brighter, plants are flowering, birds are nesting (and some chicks have even left their nests already!). Nature is stepping it up! We’re moving into summer, and this is just natural.

I believe that if we live in harmony with the yearly cycles of nature, we will be so much better off, mentally, physically and spiritually. I have come to realise as of late how crucial it is to be connected to mother earth, nature, the planet, the great outdoors, whatever you prefer to call it.

We are all beings that resonate with the energies around us. How could what is happening in nature not affect us? Of course it does! So now is the time for rapid growth, for moving forward, for getting things done. The energy is very yang in summer (to use feng shui terminology). It’s bright, light, warm, outwards, upwards, and for us to feel in balance, so should we be.

And I don’t mean that in a way of stressing about things or moving forward faster than what you are happy with. I do think though that now is the time to get off our arses and DO STUFF.

Spring and Summer means time to take action. Time to move forward. Time to execute.

This is why I talked about clutter clearing a few weeks ago, Spring cleaning your home will really give you that energetic space and push forward that is so very helpful at this time of year.

So I have decided to run a workshop to help people get in alignment with the forward moving, creative energies of Spring and Summer. “Change your life with Feng Shui” is a 4 hour workshop where I will teach you techniques to bring balance and harmony to your home and your mind, so that you can set yourself up to be the best version of yourself and go out there and make your dreams come true.

So don’t feel stressed about the fast moving energy at this time of year, instead ride the wave, go with the flow and move forward in creating your life the way you want it to be. Get support if you need it. Come along to my workshop if you want.

Check out the Workshops page on my website for more details. If you’re in Sydney and this feels right for you, I’d love to have you there!

Take advantage of the push forward that is given to you freely by nature and get creative. Execute. Smile. Live. Love. Laugh. And get things done, as now is the perfect time for that!

Exciting times,
Sara

Now’s the time time to move forward – go with the flow!

Feng Shui

Toilet lids – up or down?

by Sara • October 17, 2014 • 0 Comments

I was at a birthday party recently and got introduced to a lovely couple. We started talking and of course they asked me what I do for a living (as you do when you talk to complete strangers) and when I told them I’m a Feng Shui consultant the wife looked at me with a big smile and said:

“So can you please tell him he needs to keep the toilet seat down?” and winked at me.

Now, I know exactly where she was coming from. I get this comment a lot. Mainly from women. Who have been married for a few years. And they talk about the actual toilet seat, not the lid. Funny that, right? But I digress.

On a serious note, what she was aiming at is this belief, or misunderstanding, or I might even call it superstition, that leaving the toilet lid up will “flush all your money down the drain”. And as a result, you will struggle financially in one way or another.

Now this party was supposed to be a fun occasion, a happy celebration of someone’s life, and still, for a split second, I considered launching into a 30 minute explanation of how it really works. On second thought, I just smiled and said in my most serious, expert voice:

“Yes, always keep the toilet lid closed or you will forever be in debt.”

Afterwards I could have kicked myself! I just should never had said that. Why? Because it is a major simplification and misunderstanding of what’s really going on here. And on top of that, it just isn’t true in most cases. Plus, instead of taking the opportunity to actually explain a bit about Feng Shui, I chose the easy way out and instead fed the misconception. So now, here’s a whole blog to rectify all of that.

So what’s the deal with the toilet lid then? Up or down, or doesn’t it really matter?

It does matter. And just not for your finances. The truth is that your bathrooms/toilets don’t always relate to your wealth at all. The area of life they relate to, and therefore have a draining effect on, has got to do with which compass direction they are located within.

So while it is sometimes true that leaving your toilet lid up can have a draining effect on your finances, in no way is this always the case. Sometimes it has a draining effect on your relationships, sometimes on your work, sometimes on your health… And sometimes it’s even good to leave the toilet lid up, so that an unsupportive energy can disappear out of your home! (This one relates to Flying Stars Feng Shui and is a bit complicated, so I won’t go into that right now).

Now, how do you know what’s going on in your home?

You can check out the compass directions of your home and figure out what area your toilets, bathrooms and laundries fall in. The person and area of life connected to that compass sector may end up feeling drained/worn out/low in energy due to the Qi being flushed out of your home via the waste water.

(Important side note: To fully know where your current wealth sector is located, you will need to have a professional Feng Shui consultant calculate your flying stars and locate the “noble” for the current time period, which in 2014 is 8).

And what do you actually do with the toilet lid then?

Keep it closed. Simple. Even if you don’t know what area of life is affected by the location of your bathroom, you can never go wrong with keeping the toilet lid closed. If there is an unsupportive energy there, it will be flushed out anyway when you use the toilet, sink, shower. If there is a supportive energy there, keeping the lid closed will counteract some of the constant drainage and maintain a bit more of that positive energetic vibration in your home.

So there you have it. When in doubt – lid closed. Easy. Sorry boys.

Hope this is helpful! If there are any other things Feng Shui you want to know more about, please let me know.

Cheers,
Sara

Toilet lid up or down? You can’t go wrong with keeping the lid closed!

Feng Shui, Inspiration

How to clear clutter effectively and easily

by Sara • October 10, 2014 • 0 Comments

So for the last few weeks I’ve been focussing on clutter. Firstly why it sucks. Secondly how you can recognise it, and thirdly how to use it to get a move on.

Today we’ll look at how to actually clear your clutter easily and effectively.

The more clutter you have, the bigger a task clearing it out will seem. That’s ok. Don’t freak out. Just decide that you’re the type of person who lives without clutter and go about getting it done. It might help to give yourself a set time each day, say 15 minutes, that you will dedicate to clearing your clutter.

If the daily clearing is not your thing, then you can dedicate 2 hours every Saturday morning, or an hour Wednesday evening or whatever time works for you. Have a look at your weekly schedule and make a commitment to yourself. You can do this, and once you get started, you will notice how much better you feel, and it will get easier and easier.

This is what you do. You set up a three box system and everything that is clutter (brush up here) will need to go in one of these boxes.

1. Stuff to keep
2. Stuff to give away or sell
3. Stuff to throw out

Box number one will be things you love, use or need. So this can be your tax returns for example. You don’t love or use them, but you need to keep them. This box stays in your home. Preferably neatly put away where you can easily access the things you might need.

Box number two can be full of stuff that is functional, nice, practical and useful, but for some reason you don’t like it, or you don’t use it and you don’t need it. Ladies, your “thin clothes” go in this box (and then to friends, the Salvos or Vinnies. OK?)

Box number three will generally hold old paperwork that you don’t need to keep any longer. It will be things that are broken and can’t be fixed. And it will be stuff that is just rubbish.

Now, you might end up in a situation where you’re not sure of whether to keep something or not. What if it comes in handy one day?

I call this “keeping stuff for a rainy day”. In short, don’t do it. Holding on to things you don’t love, need or use “just in case” sends a message to the universe (or god, or whatever you want to call it) that you don’t believe you will have enough in the future to take care of your needs. You think you need to hold on to this thing as you might not be able to find a new one in the future, or you might even be thinking you can’t afford to get another one IF you need to. This creates a mindset of lack. And that’s never helpful.

If you end up worried about the stuff in Box number 2, here’s a trick. Put that box away for 3-6 months and see if you need or miss any of the stuff in there. If you don’t, give it away after whatever timeframe you set yourself. Easy!

So there you have it. This way of clearing clutter is really simple, and it works.

So give it a go!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this blog and the rest of my clutter series. Please get in touch with any questions or feedback.

Here’s to moving forward,
Sara

Easy to use three-box system for clearing your clutter.

Feng Shui, Inspiration

Your clutter is talking to you

by Sara • October 3, 2014 • 3 Comments

The last couple of weeks I’ve written about what clutter is and how it’s actually a great tool you can use to get to know yourself better and decide what area of life needs your attention next for you to move forward. If you missed those blogs, you read read them here and here.

So how do you listen to your clutter? How do you understand the subconscious messages you’re sending yourself about where you need to focus your energy next to move forward?

Where your clutter is accumulated in your home is the key.

If you have clutter under your bed for example, the likelihood is that you are either a bit stuck around your relationships, or your health, or both.

Clutter in or around your entrance indicates issues with creating wealth and living an abundant life.

A cluttered kitchen might indicate that you struggle with your wealth/abundance and also your health.

So I actually find this very helpful in my consultations. By looking at where clutter accumulates in people’s homes, I can know what areas of their life is not working optimally at this point in time. And together we can then set a plan for how to change that.

If you want to get to know your own clutter, I highly recommend you go to the “Blog Topics” drop down menu to the right hand side of this page and choose “Compass Directions” from the categories. Each of the eight compass directions represents an area of your life and a family member. By reading about what clutter in this area of your home means, you can get a better understanding of yourself and hopefully feel motivated enough to make a change.

Next week I’ll write about HOW to best clear your clutter. It will be a very hands on, practical type of instruction that you can go straight home and use.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or get in touch with me.

To your happiness,
Sara

Feel Good group - Your clutter is talking to you

Your clutter can have something very important to say to you…

Feng Shui, Inspiration

What is clutter?

by Sara • September 26, 2014 • 4 Comments

So my previous blog post was about clutter and how it holds you back in life. If you missed it, you can read it here.

So this pesky thing that is called clutter that is weighing you down and holding you back… What is it really?

Well, there’s the dictionary explanation, that goes something like this:
“To fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner, a disorderly heap or assemblage.”

I find that to not be very helpful in this situation. I read that and in my mind I go: “Yes, but what does that mean?”

There can be disorderly looking heaps that are completely organised. I’ve seen them myself. There are people that can pull an exact piece of paper out of a pile like that. So that’s a not so good looking filing system really. I’m not sure I would necessarily deem it clutter though. There is actually order in that pile.

So, after having observed how it affects me and my clients, this is my definition of what clutter is:

things you don’t love or use regularly
too many things in too small of a space
things that are broken or mistreated
unfinished things
things that make you feel bad
things that are unorganised (and therefore often annoy you)

So with this definition I hope you can recognise the clutter in your home.

Common places for clutter accumulation is the linen cupboard, the container drawer in the kitchen (you know where you have lids with no containers, and the other way around), your sock drawer, the laundry, the garage where boxes with things (and also stuff) seem to live a life of their own, under your bed, and in your whole closet.

So when you look at something, and you’re not sure if it’s clutter of not, ask yourself this:
Do I love it?
Do I need it?
Do I use it?

If your answer is no to all three of these questions, it’s clutter and you would benefit from getting rid of it.

So now you know what clutter is and what it does to you. Next week we’ll look at how you can use your clutter as a compass for finding out what areas in life you need to pay a little extra attention to.

Until then, go on, be brave and do some clutter clearing. Just because you can. You might be surprised at what happens!

Have fun,
Sara

Example of what clutter looks like.

Feng Shui, Inspiration

Clutter – it’s bad for you

by Sara • September 19, 2014 • 1 Comment

“What’s the big deal with clutter?” Someone asked me this question the other day. For a second or two I was just quiet. Where to begin to explain?!

The first words that came out of my mouth were:
“It drags you down. It keeps you stuck in the past and it holds you back from achieving your goals and living the kind of life that you really want.”

Not too shabby of an answer straight off the bat like that, even if I do say so myself.

Clutter accumulates where there is stagnant energy. It also works the other way around: where there’s clutter, the energy is low, slow, smelly, unpleasant and unsupportive.

Clutter drags you down and it keeps your mind occupied with stuff, it invites you to hold on to your past. How? Because in one way or another we’re energetically attached to and connected with everything we own. So the more stuff you have, the more you have to keep track of, the busier your mind is, and the more you focus your energy on the past and what you already have (the good, the bad and the ugly), instead of the future and where you want to go next.

Clutter can be physical, and that’s mainly what I’m talking about here. There is also mental clutter in the form of unhelpful thoughts, worry, anxiety, replaying events from the past, holding grudges etc. etc. etc.

Often times one type of clutter follows the other. So if you are feeling stuck in any area of your life, the likelihood is that you have accumulated some physical clutter and that you’re holding on to some stuff emotionally too.

What’s great about that (What, you just said clutter sucks, right? Yes, I did, bare with me here, there is a point.) is that you can use your clutter for good. You can use it as an indicator of where you’re stuck and what area of your life needs your attention next. That’s a good thing, right? Your clutter is telling you the next important thing to look at.

Next week I’ll help you recognise what clutter is and if you, in fact, have any!

What do you think? Is there any clutter hiding in your home?

Cheers,
Sara

Clutter weighs you down!

Feng Shui, Inspiration, Personal Power

Feng Shui – You don’t have to believe it to see it work

by Sara • September 12, 2014 • 0 Comments

I did a short talk at my local business breakfast this morning around Feng Shui and the value of using it. Preparing for this talk I was going through all the wonderful things I could share that would be of value to the group. And the one thing I kept coming back to was that you actually don’t have to believe in Feng Shui for it to work.

It just does.

Feng Shui works with the subtle energies around us. Some people can feel these energies, some can’t. Some know that they exist, some don’t. Some believe in them, some think it’s all a load of cr*p. Some are hoping that these energies are there, and they don’t have any proof that this is the case.

Well these days there really IS scientific proof that energy exists and that it affects us. And that’s a totally different blog all together. What I’m after today is to get the message across that you don’t have to believe in Feng Shui for it to benefit you.

I personally think that this is great news!

This means that you can have a consultation done for your home or office, and as long as you follow the advice given, you will get the benefits of Feng Shui, whether you believe in it or not.

What you will notice is that magically a problem you’ve been struggling with for a long time all of a sudden is resolved with a wonderful outcome. That business deal that you just couldn’t get across the line before will all of a sudden be happening, and faster and easier than you could ever imagine.

You might find that you sleep better. You could start shedding those extra kilos. You might find the inspiration to start writing your book, or finding the courage to start your own business. Maybe you were single and out of the blue meet your dream partner. If you were getting a bit tired of your spouse, all of a sudden you might feel like you are newly in love again.

All of these things (and more of course) can happen simply because your home (or office) is now resonating with positive energy, bringing harmony and balance to all areas of your life.

So if you have a block in any area of life that has been there for a while, you’ve “tried everything” and you don’t know what else to do about it – Feng Shui can really help.

Donald Trump says this about Feng Shui:

“I don’t have to believe in Feng Shui.
I use it because it makes me money.”

So next time you’re feeling stuck, why not take a leaf out of Mr Trump’s book and use Feng Shui to help you, whether you believe in it or not.

Have a great weekend!

With love,
Sara

Donald Trump uses Feng Shui because it makes him money.

Feng Shui, Inspiration

Are you blocking your wealth creation potential?

by Sara • September 5, 2014 • 2 Comments

A lot of questions I get around Feng Shui are related the topic of wealth and/or abundance. There are many areas of your home connected to wealth and abundance and I’ll give you five quick fixes below that you can implement straight away.

1. Make your entrance open and welcoming
Having lots of stuff in your entrance is detrimental to a free flow of opportunities, energy and people into your home. This is what will bring more money your way, so an easy to find and welcoming entrance is essential for creating wealth.

2. Use fresh fruit
Fresh fruit represents abundance and wealth, and it brings in positive energy to your home, and your body. Have a bowl of fresh fruit sitting on your dining table to send out vibrations of abundance, and you will attract more of the same.

3. Magnify it with mirrors
Mirrors will give you more of what they reflect. So have the mirrors in your home reflect things that remind you of wealth and abundance. This could be a lush, green garden, or the bowl of fresh fruit on your dining room table for example.

4. Burn it up
Make sure you use all of the burners or hotplates on your stove equally. Doing this will energetically support all income earning members of the family to bring in money. It will also support multiple streams income finding their way to you. Why? Because the stove represents abundance and wealth as this is where you prepare your food. So make sure you keep all money channels open!

5. Wipe it down
A dirty, greasy stove top is detrimental to your wealth. Dirt and grease blocks qi and an unclean stove top signals that you don’t care about your financial situation. Make it a habit to clean your stove every time after cooking and you will be amazed at the difference this will make. Not only will you feel good, you may well find that unexpected money making opportunities start coming your way!

There you have it. Five small steps that you can easily implement today to support your own wealth creating potential.

How good is that? 🙂

Yours in abundance,
Sara

A bowl of fresh fruit on your dining table will help you attract more abundance

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