It's Time for a New Beginning, but Where to Start?

How do we start fresh, begin anew? It’s a question that comes up every year in January, sometimes in February (Chinese New Year or Imbolc). In these days, especially in the United States, it’s a poignant question. So much has happened in the past year that has tested us on so many levels that it’s hard to even recognize that there is an opportunity for something new to begin.

Thank goodness for nature. Despite all that occurs around us, nature continues on with its cycles – sunrise continues, as does sunset; the moon continues waxing and waning; the seasons remain constant and ongoing. It’s an unending reminder that there is always a new day, always a time to begin. The holidays, like New Years, are another reminder. 

Ancient cultures recognized that the cycles in nature didn’t just represent something to inspire stories and legends – like Apollo carrying the sun across the sky – but generated a kind of energy that reflected a specific event. This energy would dictate the timing of ceremonies to benefit from this energy. 

In modern times, we recognize this too. We can feel the expectant energy rising when the sun peaks over the horizon. We can feel the peace that often comes while watching the sun set. There’s a difference in how we feel at mid-day vs. midnight. We know the energy is different, but most of us are not raised to perform ceremonies that celebrate rites of passage or honor new beginnings. 

It is this understanding, that energy changes throughout the day, that also reminds us that on a smaller scale we are surrounded by energy that changes based on the events that occur in our lives. From the tension left in a room after an argument to the celebration of a newborn first coming home or the lethargy and even sadness that sickness can often bring to a space.

In feng shui, we take this knowledge and use it to shift the energy of a space by not only allowing the energy to flow more easily but also ensuring the energy that exists in a space is uplifting and reflects back to us our dreams and aspirations.

But back to the original question. How do we start fresh, begin anew? Start by defining what it is you want in and for your life. What is your intention for your new beginning? It is not just about wanting more money, but the benefits of having that money. It is not just about having a relationship, but having what you feel represents a perfect relationship: joy, love, passion, respect, support, adventure, etc. 

You might think defining this question would be simple enough. In fact, I’ve found that this is a question many clients struggle with because they stay focused on the things they do not want. They will focus on not being sick or not being strapped for cash or not being alone. When this happens, I remind them that our intentions in feng shui act as beacons for the energy we create in our lives, so instead they should focus on things like being healthy, financially secure and a passionate, supportive relationship. 

Once you define what it is you do want, it’s a matter of aligning the energy around you to reinforce it. For instance, if you are looking for a new job, there is a place in your home that is tied to the energy of your career, and if that space is filled with representations of your current job (e.g., files of current projects) or is a storage space filled with clutter, it works against the energy of you finding a new job. Changing this space can be the first step toward a new beginning.

So take a note from nature, that change is constant; and a new beginning is happening every day. And listen to the ancients who honored nature’s events as harbingers and supporters of different kinds of energy. And take action with feng shui, but considering the energy you want to bring into your home and your life by focusing on what it is you truly want in your life. 

And if you’d like to learn more, or would like some support for creating your new beginning, reach out to me at bill@fengshui-24.com. 

Finding the Moment

A beautiful hummingbird at rest

This morning, the hummingbird sat still. As I was on the deck drinking tea, I spotted out of the corner of my eye, the little beauty hovering near one of our feeders. I had just refilled it with a homemade concoction. It got closer, tasted its prize – once, twice and then it sat still.

Considering the energy of the hummingbird and the 80 beats per second required of those wings, it seems like an unusual thing to witness. The wings stopped, as it clung to the small plastic extension created just for this purpose. It was a peaceful moment; and I can’t help but think what it must be like for this miniature creature to finally get a chance to rest. I imagined this must be a celebrated moment to take a breath for this always-on-the-go bird.
 
I also realized, as this happen just a few feet away on the kitchen window, that I was taking a break as well. A break to wonder and admire what was in front of me. I unknowingly took a moment to breathe, took that moment to focus solely on one small, beautiful aspect of nature, and it felt unusual.
 
In these times, the unusual is anything that takes me out of the head space of worry, frustration and anger that appears to be a constant presence. The unusual is anything that I don’t intentionally do to take my mind off the pandemic, the social unrest and injustice so apparent today – like working heads down to produce something at work, going for a walk, making a special coffee or using social media to divert my attention to name a few.
 
This moment was a treasure. These moments, as small as they might be, are what we all need right now. With all the change happening in the world right now, these small things are what will help us to stay balanced.
 
Not everyone has a chance to see a hummingbird in a day, but everyone has a chance in the day to see something that makes them stop, for a moment, and breathe. It may be something in nature, like a beautiful cloud or a gentle breeze, it could be an unexpected find in your home of something you thought you’d lost, it could be a memory triggered by a song; it could be a thank you out of the blue from a co-worker.
 
All we need to do is be open to experiencing these moments. And when they occur, because they will, recognize them for what they are: an unexpected gift to you, a break from the world of worry or stress, a chance to breathe.
 
Imagine, all of us, taking a break, every day, for a moment.

Finding Gratitude In These Times

These days, it isn’t always easy to find gratitude, especially when facing our own individual challenges or, as is the case now, seeing and experiencing the anxieties and fears that come with a global pandemic and social unrest.

In these times, it’s more important than ever to find way to stay grounded and focused on what fills us with gratitude so that we may find balance in our lives.

This can be a daunting ask. When I am filled with frustration, anger and uncertainty, it’s difficult to feel grateful for what’s happening in my life. Especially for those activities where I spend much of my time, like my sometimes high-stress job.

I’ve found a key, though, that makes all the difference. Start small.

Instead of trying to feel grateful for a life that is dependent on 10- to 12-hour days spent in frustrating situations doing work that does not always feel aligned with what brings me joy, I focus on tea.

You see, since I’ve been sheltering in place, working from home, I try to have a cup of tea every morning. It’s green tea. I pour it in a cup that my daughter made when she was three. The cup comes with a saucer. I hold that cup and I am grateful. Grateful for her. Grateful for my wife who took her to the ceramics class and likely held the mug so my daughter could get her little painted fingers all over the cup. Grateful to be able to have a moment to think of them and enjoy the tea before starting my day.

The nice thing about starting small is it’s easy to find other small things that bring me joy: my dog stealing my shoe because she wants to play; standing in the middle of nature and accidentally capturing a beautiful image of trees above; spending time with family on a recent vacation that included visiting my youngest daughter’s college she’ll be attending in the fall. And yes, it’s the same daughter who designed my cup.

When you combine all these things, it is so clear how lucky I am and why I have so much to be grateful for no matter what may be happening in a given day or even in these times.

Sure, the fears, anxiety and frustrations still exist, but I have a touch stone of gratitude that is always there.

So what small things in your life are you grateful for so you can find balance?

A Soulful Conference as a Catalyst for the Soul

I’m on the way back from a conference where I had the honor and privilege to speak about a topic I love, be surrounded by the energy of healers, modern-day mystics and change makers, and perform ceremony. So to say my heart, head and spirit are full would be an understatement.

The Home for Your Soul conference, sponsored by the schools of Interior Alignment® and Soul Coaching®, focused on the many “homes” for our soul – from the physical structures we live in each day to our physical bodies.

There was so much great information so I wanted to share a few great insights that really resonated with me that I thought would be valuable to anyone unable to attend. Unfortunately, I can’t share everything as there isn’t enough space in the blog (but pay attention to future blogs for more 😊).

A new way to create balance

I’ve always thought that balancing my life between the corporate world (I work for a marketing company as a VP of Project Management) and the unconventional world of feng shui, space clearing and energy work, was about dividing my time equally between the two.

What if that isn’t the case though? What if instead it’s a much more dynamic existence? One in which I can focus on both as part of a whole of who I am and what I do? It’s not about dividing my focus between the two but bringing the two together, allowing me to pull from both when focusing on either.

For instance, as I focus on feng shui, allow my corporate mindset to help drive results; and while I focus on my corporate job, consider the energy in a situation and how I can either support the energy or help to adjust it to align better with the intention of the situation. Powerful stuff.  

A state of rediscovery

There are so many of us going through changes in our lives – some big, some small – and what I realized as part of one of the presentations is that often we find ourselves in a state of rediscovery: rediscovering what it is we want, what it is we are able to do and perhaps most profoundly, who we are.

It can be a daunting task, and we could all use some support through these changes. Feng Shui, Space Clearing and energy work as a whole are great tools by which to do this.

In Feng Shui, it’s important to assess our physical space – identifying what in it supports us with connections to great people, places and events in our lives (e.g., the picture of that great trip with friends you love) to remind us of what we want and don’t want in our lives (e.g., like that chair that once sat in your childhood home but reminds you of childhood punishments). In Space Clearing, we work to shift the actual energy – changing how it feels to you by removing stagnant energy and replacing it with lighter energy charged with your intentions to better support you through times of change.

Rediscovery does not have to be a solitary journey, and there are ways we can help one another through them.

Be a leader for my tribe

Stepping into our power, no matter our line of work, can be a challenge. We often pay more attention to our doubts, worthiness and obstacles than we do on the things we want to achieve, our successes along the way and our larger than life dreams.

This recipe of negative thinking distracts us daily, making it difficult to see the possibilities and opportunities right in front of us. Or worse, telling us not to even try because there’s no real way something like – insert new idea here – could turn into your dream.

The thing is, though, it’s not just us who are affected. There is a tribe of people out there who are of like mind, like spirit, who are struggling just like we are, to feel empowered to make positive powerful change in the world. And if we focus more on what you can’t do than what we can, we become just another anchor in the old ways and limit our ability to help create a new, more vibrant and powerful perspective.

What next?

I admit, I feel like I’ve heard similar messages before, and yet, here I still am – balancing worlds, trying to rediscover myself and not truly stepping up to be a strong leader for my tribe. I also recognize the repeating cycles in life, and it’s not worth beating myself up over my perceived “delay.” 

The next step is actually fairly simple: take action. Feel free to join me.

Using Nature as Your Guide

Our homes represent a reflection of who we are. We can look around us and see colors and style that we selected, family and friends among the pictures and gifts, tokens from adventures we’ve taken, and rooms that help us relax and rejuvenate.

When we feel out of balance, want a change in our life of some sort, we look at our homes as a place to shift the feel or energy in our lives, seeking some additional level of support for that change. This is at the core of what we do in Feng Shui, and when we do, we turn to nature as a guide, incorporating aspects of nature into our home through color, pattern, texture, energetic flow and the like.

Why do we do this?

Consider that when we walk through nature, multiple scientific studies have shown, our bodies and minds receive great benefit – reduced blood pressure, improved immune systems, greater clarity in our thoughts. We in essence reset ourselves to be in alignment with the natural rhythms all around us. It creates greater balance for us mentally and physically.

This should come as no surprise, as at the core of Nature is the need to create balance as represented by The Tao. Comprised of the divine masculine and the divine feminine, it shows how without light there is no dark, without action there is no stillness. So if the nature of our universe is to find balance, then it is within our nature to find balance as well. Hold that thought.

I define being in balance as being at one with our soul’s purpose. So the better we understand our true selves, our souls, the closer we are to being in balance and a state of contentment. And while in Feng Shui, we try to do this by bringing more of nature into our homes, what happens when we leave our home? Where do we find balance then?

All around us. Think again about the nature of the universe – to create balance. Then if we look around us, among the sights, sounds and feelings we experience in Nature, we can use the outdoors as our guide. Now consider how unique each of us are – some of us are morning people, some night owls, some of us are highly driven while others prefer to observe and analyze, some of us grew up in urban environments while others in the arid deserts of the world.

When faced with this level of variety, finding balance can be a very unique endeavor – as unique as each of us. So then how does Nature do this? Help each of us find balance? It is by helping us to get grounded enough to remember who we are. It is by reminding us every day of who we are based on what we are drawn to in Nature. It is by establishing signs that speak to each of us individually based on our own life experiences.

Of course, we play a role in all of this. It is to listen and take action accordingly. When Nature tells us to pay attention, we should. When Nature reminds us that there is more to life than being a cog in the wheels of corporate enterprise, we should focus on the difference we make or want to make in the lives of the people we see every day. When Nature points us toward our soul’s yearnings, we should follow it.  

Nature guides us every day, in sometimes subtle and not so subtle ways, all in an attempt to help us find ourselves. Are you paying attention?