Feng Shui ... incorporates simple, yet practical concepts to create peaceful environments where every possession either brings joy or is useful in moving life forward. — Erica Sofrina
I've long been attracted to feng shui — especially the Western approach, which Sofrina teaches — because it's very much aligned with what organizers try to accomplish. So I enjoyed reading this book, which provided me with a refresher in all the basics, some wonderful stories, and a few "ah-ha" moments.
One such moment came in this story from someone who was attempting to build his own airplane in his garage, but found the project stalled:
Suddenly I realized that by hanging a lot of parts from the ceiling — the engine cowling, wing parts, etc. — I had all these structures that unconsciously felt like they might fall on my head. After rearranging my workspace I'm now more comfortable working in there, and it's made a dramatic difference.As Sofrina notes, we often store bicycles and other heavy objects overhead — and when we do, we need to be sure our nervous systems feel safe.
Sofrina tells tales on herself, too. Here's her own garage story:
In Feng Shui, we work with what is called a Bagua Map. ... This map divides the home into nine areas which correspond to nine key sections of life. ...Of course, Sofrina cleared this all up — and then found her life improving in many ways.
I found I had four key Guas (areas) intersecting in my garage. The Career area was filled with garbage cans and cat litter boxes, the Helpful People area was loaded with broken things, old furniture, and endless boxes of the "unknown." The Creativity and Children area housed bikes with flat tires and the Center was supposed to house my car but couldn't due to all the clutter. No wonder my life was not moving in any direction I really wanted it to!
Sofrina says that feng shui is intuitive; we know when things are out of balance. I find that's frequently true, but it's also nice to have a framework for pinpointing what exactly feels wrong about a space; feng shui can often provide that framework.
Related Posts:
Feng Shui Your Life
Does It Stay or Does It Go? What If You're Not Sure?
Loved this post Jeri, and going to add this book to my list. I also recommend "The Peaceful Nursery" by Laura Forbes Carlin and Alison Forbes. It really helped me think through Feng Shui as related to spaces for kids.
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