Archive for September, 2010
Green living and green design are about living in harmony with our environment. Feng Shui is about living in balance and harmony with your environment. Feng Shui has been green all along!
Feng Shui is the oldest form of holistic healing and that is healing through your environment.
What better day than today to learn more about Feng Shui and how it can help you create a living space that not only looks good, but a living space that feels good and is good for the environment. Energetically, all things are connected and through conscious choice and awareness we can improve the quality of our life and the quality of life on earth.
Today we have options and choices in all areas of our life that don’t compromise our sense of style, our sense of taste or our sense of self. We can be who we are and embrace a way of living that is more supportive and beneficial for our health and well being as well as the health and well being of the planet.
- Paint – All major paint companies now have low VOC paints, so finding one you like is easy. One of my favorite paint companies is Benjamin Moore. In addition to their low VOC line, Aura, they have introduced a no VOC line, Natura. Both lines are available in any color!
- Zar offers a broad range of waterborne stains and finishes.
- AFM offers a broad range of waterborne stain colors and finishes, caulk and other household repair products
- Titebond makes great tub & tile caulk, painter’s caulk & kitchen & bath sealant.
- AFM makes sealants for tile, concrete and floors
- Breathe Easy; this company makes low VOC cabinets. They are the perfect choice for your custom kitchen or bath.
- Cleaning products are the easiest change to make. There are so many companies and products to choose from in this category, you won’t have any trouble finding something you like at a reasonable price. It’s as easy as going to your favorite discount store or the grocery store!
- Bon Ami for scrubbing jobs (bathtubs, toilet, etc.)
- Dishwasher detergent – the best I’ve found so far is Ecover, I like the tabs.
- Dish soap – lots of choices, from Seventh Generation to many old, tried and true brands that have embraced green tenants, this is one of the easiest items to find.
- Meyer Cleaning products clean well and use natural essential oils for a fresh scent
- Shaklee products have been clean and green for ages. Effective and cost efficient.
- Clothing – You can find bamboo fiber, organic cotton and wool sweaters, tops and pants through many catalogs, at specialty shops and, of course, online.
- Green towels, rugs and drapery fabrics are now available in most of the major mail order catalogs, at the major home accessory stores and at major department stores. When you see products like these at such a diversity of retailers, you know that organic based fabric, accessories and home goods have gone mainstream.
Making sustainable or green choices is more than a popular trend; it’s about making choices that help you live a healthier lifestyle. To help you in your creation of a healthier lifestyle (let’s face it, we can all do better) see the tips below.
Top 10 Feng Shui tips for Green Living
- Bring reusable bags to the grocery store instead of using paper or plastic bags.
- Start a personal recycling program. Newspaper and boxes are an easy first step!
- Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth or shaving.
- Replace your old incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) with the newest safest energy efficient light emitting diode bulbs (LED).
- Buy locally grown fruits and vegetables (saves on fuel, packaging and more!)
- Group errands together to save fuel (one trip vs. many).
- Pay bills online – saves on paper use and fuel use.
- Use low or no VOC paint for your next painting project.
- Replace your household cleaning products with green cleaning products.
- Incorporate the principles of Feng Shui into your life and create an environment that looks and feels good – and is good for you!
In this world, we are all connected. What we do impacts not only the quality of our life; it affects the quality of life of those around us. All we have to do to change the quality of life around us, is to begin to change how we choose to live our lives.
Choose wisely.
© 2010 Harmony Life, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
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The Law of Attraction and Feng Shui, you’ve heard of them both and you may or may not believe that either of them work. In fact, you may believe as Andy Wibbels does that the Law of Attraction is s@#t! Well maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but what is certain is that it won’t work for you if you don’t believe it will.
That’s the way these things go, it’s not about believing it when you see it, it’s about seeing it when you believe it. So, how does it work?
The Law of Attraction is based upon our beliefs attracting our desires to us. As Jack Canfield states in his book, Key to Living the Law of Attraction, “…the Law of Attraction says that you will attract into your life whatever you focus on. Whatever you give your energy and attention to will come back to you. So, if you stay focused on the good and positive things in your life, you will automatically attract more good and positive things into your life. If you are focused upon lack and negativity, then that is what will be attracted into your life.”
Simply put, your beliefs are what create your reality…to manifest your desire you must align your words, thoughts and actions.
Sending our positive thoughts and desires out into the world!
Design your life experience – don’t just be a casual bystander, be an active participant!
“Until you make the unconscious conscious
it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
~~Carl Jung
Are just thinking good thoughts enough to really change the reality of your world? Sometimes. But I also believe that it’s our responsibility to do all we can to support what we desire – and to do it as though it is already so. What I mean is, act like you’ve already achieved your desired outcome (this is the Law of Attraction part, focus on the positive end result).
And this is where Feng Shui enters into the picture. Feng Shui combines our intention with changes in our environment. Feng Shui adjusts our living spaces by incorporating a three pronged approach, uniting mind, body and speech. The first step…you guessed it, is to establish your intention, your desired outcome. The second step is to state your desire out loud, (similar to an affirmation, you state your desire from a place of positive belief as though it is so). And the third step, is to create a physical reinforcement, in your living environment to support your desired outcome.
Think of these three steps as a magic wheel.
Intention + affirmation + reinforcement = the magic, the energy that makes the wheel turn!
Some ideas for physical reinforcements are:
1. Create a personal altar or display area representing the support and achievement of your intention, this can be as simple as the deliberate placement of objects representing your desire or it can be as intricate as you desire. Size isn’t what’s important. The meaning behind the altar is what’s important. Use this space daily as the focus for your intention and stating of your affirmation.
2. Create a vision seed map representing the support and achievement of your intention. A vision seed map or treasure map is an intentional collage or grouping of pictures and phrases all representing your intention. Hang your collage in a place of prominence to ensure that you see it and are supported by it daily. This is also a great place to state your daily affirmation.
3. Write your intention (remember in positive language as though it is so), on a nice piece of paper and then bury that paper in the soil of a healthy, vibrant plant. Every time you water the plant envision energy and support flowing into your intention and feeding it. This is also a great place to state your daily affirmation.
When you combine the Law of Attraction with the power of Feng Shui, your desires and intention are energized, empowered and enhanced. The wheel starts turning in your direction and magic happens!
Ten years ago I decided that I was going to teach Feng Shui. This came after training in three different schools and working as a Feng Shui practitioner for five years. Initially, I had absolutely no intention of incorporating Feng Shui into my career much less teach it. But as time went by I became more and more drawn to sharing what I knew and teaching others.
I’m a big believer in the power of positive thought, the Law of Attraction. I’m also a big believer in doing the work needed to achieve what I want to achieve. The magic of positive thought for me has been my absolute unwavering belief that whatever I want to achieve is not only achievable, it’s inevitable!
The Law of Attraction – your personal manifestation magnet!
That doesn’t mean that everything I’ve set out to do has worked out the way I intended it to, but it does mean that everything I’ve set out to do has manifested in exactly the manner in which it was meant to. And I had the opportunity to experience and learn from everything I set out to do! How fantastic is that?
Let me give you an example.
Ten years ago I decided to go to a Feng Shui convention in Florida. This wasn’t the first Feng Shui convention available since I had become a practitioner, but it was the first that I felt compelled to go to.
Not knowing why I was meant to be there, I booked my flight, set up my registration and prepared for my trip. Shortly before leaving, one of my teachers, Denise Linn, reached out to our Interior Alignment community to ask if any of us would be at the convention early as she needed some assistance setting up her workshop. Since I was going to be there early I volunteered.
As I walked toward Denise’s meeting room, I was excited and a bit nervous, hoping I’d do a good job and that Denise’s lecture would be as good if not better than her past lectures. (If you’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to hear Denise speak you know what I’m talking about!)
Several of us helped set up the meeting room, from table displays and lighting to seating arrangements, we worked for several hours making the room beautiful, inviting and energized.
The convention turned out to be a magnificent time for me. I met with and visited with all of my teachers, met new people and made many friendships that remain to this day.
A few weeks after coming home I got a phone call from Denise! She wanted to know what I was doing with my practice and what I planned for myself. In my excitement, I shared that I had spent the entire year previous to the conference learning many different methods of teaching, Ecourses, teleseminars, webinars, etc., I was planning to teach Feng Shui and I wanted to be able to reach as many people as possible, as easily as possible and I felt technology was the tool that would enable this.
After sharing, I asked why she asked. Denise then said that she had decided that she was no longer going to teach Interior Alignment and she had felt compelled to call and see if I would be interested in becoming an Interior Alignment teacher and helping her (and several others), create a new program for teachers – and then she said, “but it sounds like you’re already doing your own thing..”
I paused, my stomach fell. And then I said, “Wait, you were compelled to call me and I’ve just spent the last year preparing to be a teacher and now the Universe has literally dropped a school into my lap….YES I’m interested! In fact, I’m honored. Of course I’ll participate!”
Once you make a decision
the universe conspires to make it happen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is the power of the Law of Attraction and Feng Shui at work. Not only did I have an intention, believe in it and myself unwaveringly but I also reinforced my intention by moving forward and learning everything I could to assist me as I embraced the next phase of my career. I physically affirmed my intention by bringing it into the physical realm through active engagement and learning. And the Universe did the rest by literally bringing the school to me!
I believe that anything is possible if you want it enough to do the work necessary to achieve it and to embrace what you desire as though it is so.
What the mind of man can conceive,
the mind of man can achieve.
Napoleon Hill
Next week I’ll share some tips to empower you with the Law of Attraction and Feng Shui – it’s almost as easy to achieve as it is to think it – but Feng Shui makes it even better! See you next week!
© 2010 Harmony Life, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
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I’m often asked what attracted me to Feng Shui. My first introduction to Feng Shui was through books. The first Feng Shui books I read were; Interior Design with Feng Shui by Sarah Rossbach, Feng Shui Made Easy by William Spear and The Western Guide to Feng Shui by Terah Kathryn Collins. My interest and attraction grew steadily stronger with each book. I found that while Feng Shui was ‘new’ to me, it was also very familiar and that was intriguing. How could something I had no experience with seem so familiar? I believe that Feng Shui was familiar to me because it is a practice that resonates deeply with who I am and where I am from.
My ancestral heritage includes Chinese, Hawaiian and Native American, all cultures that practice Feng Shui – though not all methods and techniques are the same, the foundation of each practice shares a desire to live in harmony with nature and our environments. I believe it is this ancestral heritage that responded deep within me as I began to read and learn about Feng Shui.
Initially, I had no intention of studying Feng Shui but as I read more books it became clear to me that much of the practice could not be found between the lines of text and if I wanted to really learn I was going to have to train.
My first Feng Shui training was BTB, or Black Sect Feng Shui, my second, Essential Feng Shui® and my third, Interior Alignment®. Each of my trainings has provided me with a deeper understanding and appreciation of Feng Shui; its many layers and perspectives. Of all my trainings, the one that resonated the most with me was and is still Interior Alignment®.
With Interior Alignment® I felt as though I had stepped through a portal to myself, a place where I was embraced by what ‘I know to be so’, and from that place of knowing I learned additional ways of ‘seeing’, ‘feeling’ and understanding.
The beauty of Interior Alignment® is that it embraces a synergistic blend of methods and techniques from many cultures and practices: Feng Shui, Hu’na, and Native American to name a few. How it embraces them is by combining various bits from each, the core form school foundational aspects and energetics of Feng Shui, the loving connection between our consciousness and our environments from Hu’na, and some of the ceremonial aspects, beauty and power of Native American thought, technique and ceremony.
It is this unique combination that makes Interior Alignment® more than just Feng Shui. In fact, the name Interior Alignment really sums it up nicely. It’s about aligning who you are and what’s important to you with the places you inhabit, visually, energetically, and spiritually. Interior Alignment uses the energy in our homes as a tool for healing and transformation.
Studying and practicing Feng Shui has completely changed my life and my work in ways I could never have imagined when I picked up that first book back in 1995. Life still has its ups and downs, its challenges and joys – but all in all it’s a great life filled with wonderful people, experiences and opportunities. Do I think Feng Shui is responsible for all this? I think Feng Shui has helped establish a sense of balance, comfort, harmony and inspiration in my life and from that place the rest has been much easier. It’s a Feng Shui Lifestyle!
At the end of the day, when the places we live in support us energetically, visually and spiritually they stop being a house and become a home.
And home is where I want to live.
For more information about Interior Alignment training click here!
© 2010 Harmony Life, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include the copyright and link above.
