Do you know what a nightmare it is to find a house when you're a Feng Shui practitioner? My husband, Oliver, could have gotten fed up with me at this point, as we have been looking for a place to live for over a year, but instead has himself, by osmosis, become an expert.
Each time we walk into a potential home, we play a game. I tell him what issues the inhabitants have had while they lived there and how they could have fixed them if they had the 'know how.' Then Oliver asks the realtor about the owners and why they are selling, Invariably, it is for the reasons I have stated.
A home is a living, breathing entity, with a personality, vibration and influence all of it's own. If you look back at all your previous houses, not just the one you're living in now, you'll notice that life was very different in each. Perhaps your relationships were more harmonious in your last house, compared to this one. Or, perhaps you are making more money in this one, where you struggled in the last. Whatever the case may be, many of those secrets are wrapped up in the layout of the house.
In the coming weeks, I am going to give you some easy and practical ways on how to improve your home's energy and as a result bring more health, wealth, harmony and happiness into your environment and your life. If your life isn't as you wish, you might like to take these tips into account as we move around all areas of your home to help it heal.
I will then move on to give you practical tips in all sorts of areas, whether it is your office layout, relationships, communication skills, diet, your colon. (Lots of people are waiting for that one!) You name it; we are going to help heal it. Think of me as 'Martha Stewart of the soul.' Our focus for now, is the home and where better to start than with the first thing that you see, the mouth of the structure and where opportunities enter. The Front Door.
TIP 1. Make sure that your house number or name is really easy to find and very visible by day or night. If other people have complained to you that they have had problems finding your home or office then it is a sure sign that opportunities have as well.
Julia called me round to help, because she had felt stuck in all areas of her life, in the last year. I had such problems finding where she lived and spent half an hour looking for the house and eventually knocked on someone else's door. It was really frustrating! Now it so happened, that in the last year she had had the front redesigned, she had put up a fancy fence about two feet in front of the front door, covering the entrance and, on top of that, there was no house number visible. I told her to take down the fence, so she didn't feel so 'fenced in' and to allow the front door to be visible from the street.
TIP 2. Ideally, your front door is directly facing the street, so that energy and opportunities can easily come off the road and up the path. If you don't have that luxury and the door is to the side, put lights all the way from the street up the path to the door and you also might like to place flowers up the path as well. This brings energy and focus to the entrance.
TIP 3. Keep the entrance free of clutter. I know many of us like to put coats, shoes and prams by the door, but keep it clear, neat and tidy. Energy must flow freely through the house, starting from the outside and traveling all the way in and around each room.
TIP 4. If, when you walk in to your house, the first thing that you see is a wall, then you'll really have the sense of feeling blocked every time you enter, so make sure you put a large mirror up facing the door, so that it can reflect the outside and opens up the space.
TIP 5. The first room that you see when you enter the house in many ways dictates the energy that governs the house. If you have a foyer or hall, all is well, if you have a living room you will have a sense of relaxation when you enter. If you enter and see an office then that can be great for your career. However, if you have a kitchen or dining room, you might find that you eat more. This one couple I know decided it was easier in their new house to use the back door as the front door, as that was where they parked their cars. However, the first thing they saw when they opened the back door was a fridge and they wondered why they had put on weight in the new house!
You can see, with these first few simple and practical tips, how easy it is to make your home a happier place to live in. Next week, we will be dealing with more romantic matters and how to bring happiness in to your bedroom.
To contact Sophie you can e-mail her at sophie@howhappyis.com.