In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, I wanted to share some Feng Shui tips on how you can make your world, your home, your family, your neighborhood and your world more peaceful.
As always, know you can do one, some or all of these Feng Shui tips. I give you many ideas. Pick the one or ones that resonate with you. Never think you have to do all or even some of them. Just doing one little change can, as with all changes, amount to something big.
Make Some “Peace-Making” Tweaks to Your House
Little tweaks to your house can make a big difference in how you feel in it. Here are some Feng Shui tips for you to feel more peaceful in your home.
- Remove memories of bad times
- Remove memories of people who weren’t or aren’t good to you
- Sit next to each other versus across from each other when you eat. This is especially important if you are in conflict with the person you are sitting with.
- Consider removing imagery, art, symbols that is overtly or subtly are about conflict (Many sports images can do this)
- Have your bed, desk, dining area and living room area arranged, so that when you are sitting or laying in your usual place you can see the door. (This makes you feel safer and therefore more peaceful.)
- Put up imagery of peaceful situations, people and memories
- When all else fails or really for any reason at all – put up imagery, reminders or symbols of nature
Happy Up Your Front Door
Your Front Door (the door the architect of the home would consider the Front Door) in Feng Shui is symbolic of the overall energy in your home. Make it feel very welcoming and cheerful. (Think: new welcome mat, wreath, cheerful outdoor sculptures, plants, flowers, flags.)
Clean the area outside your Front Door and inside your Front door well. Get rid of clutter, dirt, dust and messes. Definitely get rid of any dead plants. Also, make sure your door is easily seen from the street, driveway and/or sidewalk. If it is architecturally not possible, consider adding a flag, large plants, lights or flowers on the side of the path to show the way to your door.
Make Your Living Feel Like Your Place for Enjoyment and Personal Time
Your Living Room in Feng Shui is symbolic of your personal life and enjoyment. Make sure your Living Room feels welcoming, peaceful and enjoyable. If your Living Room is also where you work, dine or do anything else, ensure there is a clear delineation between the living space and other area(s). You can do this with a rug or by creating a boundary with decor such as plants/a bookshelf/shoji screens/a lower table etc.
Add Pictures of Your Family and Friends in Your Feng Shui Family Area
Every room in your home has an area that is specifically related to your Family and Friends. To locate this area:
- Stand in the door of any room and face into it. If the room has more than one door, use the door you would most likely use if you were entering this room from the Front Door of the home. (The door the architect of the home would consider the Front Door.) If you don’t know what room to start with, go to the room you use them most.
- Look to the left side of the room
- Mentally divide the left side of the room in three equal-sized spaces
- The middle area is the Family area of this room
- In this area put a picture(s) of your family and friends. Pictures of family/friends together versus pictures of individuals are better, but all pictures of people you enjoy are good. You can also put pictures or reminders of people who you have more tenuous relationships with, with the intention of healing the relationship in a way that is beneficial to the both of you. Good news about Feng Shui is nothing needs to be seen to work, so feel free to stash those pictures behind a piece of art, in a drawer, in a book, behind a piece of furniture, etc.
- Make sure this area is free of clutter, dirt, dust and messes.
- You can do this in one room, a few or all rooms.
Take a Look at the Space Between Your House and Your Neighbors
My husband and I have come to a conclusion when looking for a new house – it is not the house we are buying that is the most important thing – it is who you are living next to that is the most important thing. The house you can change. The neighbors you cannot. To improve relationships with neighbors or to keep healthy relationships with neighbors strong try one, some or all of these:
- Make sure there is not any garbage, unsightly storage, overgrown landscaping or weeds between you and your neighbor
- Put healthy trees, flowers and bushes (if possible) between you and your neighbor
- Put a pretty wind chime between your home and the home of any troubling neighbor. (This is especially good to do if the neighbor makes a lot of noise.)
- Hang a bagua mirror, with the mirror side facing the neighbor, between problem neighbors or all neighbors. This helps keep their energy from impacting you.
Make a Few Changes to Your Yard
Your yard in Feng Shui is symbolic of the energy that surrounds you. To make the world more peaceful, you need to make the area and energy immediately around you more peaceful. With that said:
- Clean up weeds and overgrown landscaping
- Put up cheerful landscape decor such as garden sculptures that make you smile or flags
- Keep the lawn cut and the weeds at a minimum
- Opt for happy, loving imagery and sculptures versus defensive and scary imagery (Think: Happy frogs and flowers over scary lions and gargoyles.)
Add Symbols of Peace and Peaceful People to the Fame & Reputation Area of Any Room
Sometimes it is hard to forget but the world, on many days and in many places, is peaceful. Let’s honor that to encourage more of that. To do this:
- Every room in your home has an area that is specifically related to your Fame and Reputation. This area in Feng Shui is used to help get you the respect and notoriety you want and deserve. It also helps give you courage. Think of it as the area that supports you in what you want to be known for. Let’s make one of things you would like to be known — helping the world be a more peaceful place. To locate this area:
- Stand in the door of any room and face into it. If the room has more than one door, use the door you would most likely use if you were entering this room from the Front Door of the home. (The door the architect of the home would consider the Front Door.) If you don’t know what room to use, I would recommend using the room you are in the most.
- Look to the wall exactly opposite you.
- Mentally divide the left side of the room in three equal-sized spaces
- The middle area is the Fame & Reputation area of this room.
- In this area add reminders of times that were especially peaceful in your life and/or times where you supported a situation to become more peaceful. You can also add pictures of people you know or don’t know who are peaceful, have inspired peace in a way that you aspire to and/or images of peaceful situations. Adding red, triangular-shaped objects and objects that are or are symbolic of fire are great in this area.
Get Rid of Books About Tragedy, Sadness and Conflict
Are the books you keep around you about happy and uplifting subjects, or are they about tragedy, conflict and sadness? It is, of course, important that we all understand the tragedy and pain of our past and present. It is not, however, necessary that we keep this tragedy and sadness perpetually around us. Such topics are not uplifting, and in the spirit of sharing knowledge and understanding — it is best to pass these books onto someone who is interested, donate or sell them.
Make a Wish for a More Peaceful World
If you don’t know where you are going–you will very likely never get there. In the spirit of moving towards a better world, let’s make a wish for it to be more peaceful. . You would do this in your Helpful People & Travel area of any room.
Every room in your home has an area that is specifically related to helpful people in your life and travel. It is called the Helpful People & Travel area. This is also the area where you make wishes. To locate this area:
- Stand in the door of any room and face into it. If the room has more than one door, use the door you would most likely use if you were entering this room from the Front Door of the home. (The door the architect of the home would consider the Front Door.) Start with the room you use the most if you don’t know where to start.
- Look to the closest right corner to you
- This is the Helpful People & Travel area
- In this corner take a silver box with a lid. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can make one out of tin foil. In it, put wishes for yourself and the world as if they have already happened. For example, you could write, “I am thankful everyone in my community feels safe.” or “I am grateful to live in a world where no one is hungry.” or “I am happy to live in a world that chooses diplomacy over violence.” (Here you can also put non-world peace wishes you have for yourself!)
