Erasing Envirnomental Negativity

I enjoy traveling, seeing new sights and soaking up the culture of other places. I recently had the opportunity to live and work in the Pacific Northwest for six weeks. The Washington coast could not be more different than the Arizona desert I’ve known and lived for most of my life.

Yet, when I returned home, trading the emerald-colored trees, cool temperatures and the snow capped mountain peaks of Hurricane Ridge for the dusty brown, hot and dry Arizona desert, I still felt a sense of relief.

I was home again.

Those who know me and my semi-reluctant camping ways, may assume the relief was because I was luxuriating at the convenience and comfort of a real bed, running water and electricity that wasn’t limited to a campground restroom. You try keeping a lap top and cell phone juiced up without a generator.

But, alas, that was not an accurate depiction of my travels. Three weeks of the trip were spent in a cute, two-bedroom bungalow – complete with cable television and Wi Fi. The temporary abode was also conveniently located and I was able to walk in town and visit book stores, art galleries and eat my favorite treat – pizza. So I wasn’t suffering from a lack of amenities.

But it wasn’t home.

So even though I enjoyed the beautiful setting, met some wonderful people and had the opportunity to exercise without risking heat stroke, I was glad to be home again.

One reason I am happy is home is a place where I can enhance my environment to suit my needs. This is no small matter. I learned from Lisa Montgomery, a feng shui expert in Phoenix, that the circulation or stagnation of an invisible energy called qui (pronounced chi) can have positive or negative effects. This ancient Chinese practice consists of positioning objects, buildings and even whole communities to maximize the flow of energy and have it flow more in harmony with nature. The following excerpt is from my book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within, regarding the results Lisa experienced using feng shui techniques in her own home.

“I saw a dramatic change in three months,” said Lisa. “Once I was able to put feng shui into practice, along with a positive attitude, everything came together. My financial situation, which had been strained, improved. And not just typical things like making more money. I’d enter contests and win. My luck changed dramatically. But, best of all, I felt more comfortable and in balance with my environment. And when you feel balanced and happy, it makes sense that your life is going to be more open for good things to come. Even now, I tell clients, I can’t promise you that feng shui is going to make you rich, although a lot of them do see their money luck change. But I can promise that you will experience more harmony in your home and feel more balanced.”

Not everyone wants to employ a feng shui expert, so here are a few things a layperson can do to enhance qui in their home.

•Give the house a thorough cleaning. Qi stagnates in a messy environment. Not everyone enjoys cleaning, but your life is worth it. Clean up your act and keep it that way.

•Get rid of clutter.

•Box items you don’t use and put a date on it. If you haven’t used it in a year, sell it, give it away or donate it to charity.

•Take an inventory of the things in your house. Pay attention to how each object makes you feel. If you experience a negative sensation, get rid of it.

•Surround yourself with things you love. If that means getting rid of that ugly lamp you inherited from Aunt Tilly, so be it. You don’t wear Aunt Tilly’s clothes and you don’t have to live with her ugly furnishings.

For more tips, be sure to check out the book at
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/11183

In fact, during the Happiness Happens Month of August (and through Sept. 10, 2010) I’m offering a 25% discount on the book.

We may experience setbacks in our lives, but no matter where we hang or hat or pitch a tent, we can take simple steps to erase environmental negativity and embrace the magic within.

Spring Cleaning of Our House and Soul

I’ve seen a few articles about spring cleaning in the newspaper and on television. I’m semi-motivated to do a little seasonal clean-up – but I thought it would be so much nicer to write about it than to actually do it. It reminds me of a former boss of mine who said that every time she had the desire to exercise she sat down until the feeling went away.

I used to be very enthusiastic about cleaning. Needless to say, this “need to clean” has long since lost its luster. I appreciate a clean house, and my house is always presentable, but the excitement of polishing furniture, vacuuming carpets and scrubbing the bathroom is not my idea of a good time.

In my youth, I actually enjoyed cleaning. I’d play my favorite Bonnie Raitt tapes and I’d scrub while grooving to the music. I remember my youngest daughter, Brittany, who was maybe 4 years old at the time, would run through the house with her hands on her ears and yell, “No! No more Bonnie Raitt!” I think I should have played more than one album over and over.

Another one of my pet peeves is clutter. I love getting rid of things more than most people enjoy collecting it. I would love to live a simple life with fewer attachments, but this has never happened because I’m always partnered with hoarders. My mother was a product of the Depression, so she kept everything. Why she thought the utility bill stubs from 1946 would come in handy, I’ll never know. However, it isn’t uncommon, because my spouse, CB, not only keeps everything, somehow my spousal pack rat inherited the family archive of utility bills, doctor bills, college tuition payments etc. as well. All of these items are at least 30 years old – and some are old enough to collect social security.

I don’t want you to think I’m wasteful. When I have things, I do use them. And I am a huge believer in reuse and recycle. But after a while it is time to let go. That is why I felt vindicated when I interviewed Lisa Montgomery, one of the top feng shui practitioners in the southwest, about how to improve the energy in the home.

Here are some tips that are listed in the Home Sweet Home Chapter.

• Give the house a thorough cleaning. Qi stagnates in a messy environment. Not everyone enjoys cleaning, but your life is worth it. Clean up your act and keep it that way.
• Get rid of clutter.
• Box items you don’t use and put a date on it. If you haven’t used it in a year, sell it, give it away or donate it to charity.
• Take an inventory of the things in your house. Pay attention to how each object makes you feel. If you experience a negative sensation, get rid of it.
• Surround yourself with things you love. If that means getting rid of that ugly lamp you inherited from Aunt Tilly, so be it. You don’t wear Aunt Tilly’s clothes and you don’t have to live with her ugly furnishings.

It’s raining today. It’s a perfect daytime for cleaning. It’s not my favorite chore, but I’m going to do it. I see a few stacks of papers to recycle, some magazine that I will donate to the library, and the toilets…well…I don’t need to go into that. Well, actually I DO need to “go” in there, but I digress. Sometimes you just have to buck up and get things done – pleasant or otherwise.

And for those of you who are patiently waiting for the arrival of my upcoming book, Erase Negativity and Embrace the Magic Within, I should have it available on kindle and as an ebook in just a few days. I just need one of the ladies I featured in the book to give me written approval for her chapter. Once that is done, the book will be ready to roll. I just hope my interviewee hasn’t misplaced what I sent to her. Oh well, if she did, maybe it will resurface during spring cleaning.