Take a trip around the property outside your home (you might have to get a little feng shui sneaky if you live in an apartment!) and see if the most auspicious feng shui patterns are set up out there. The following is a list of items that are very helpful in each gua outdoors:
FAMILY, half way back on the left – (WOOD) Columnar trees, green wooden furniture, dark flowers, water features, pool, an ocean, streams, gathering places, or “sitting circles” of furniture.
PROSPERITY, far back left – (WOOD) a pool, trees, plants columnar trees, purple or red flowers, water feature, streams, wooden furniture or sculpture, symbols that make you feel like your are so abundant, you can easily give to others.
FAME & REPUTATION, center back area – (FIRE) fire pit, trees, plants, pyramid shaped trees, red & purple flowers, wooden furniture, BBQ, or an outdoor fireplace.
RELATIONSHIP, far back on right – (EARTH) boulders, pottery, pink, yellow & red flowers, rounded trees, multi trunk or pairs of trees (if any), pairs of stones or boulders, earthy paving, or earth mounding.
CREATIVITY, half way back on right – (METAL) metal furnishings and accents (chimes), whites & yellows, metal fencing, round trees, pottery, boulders, earth mounding, whimsical symbols like fairies, children statues, music-making items like chimes, outdoor fields, courts and other play sets, or jovial items that bring a smile.
HELPFUL PEOPLE front right-hand area– (METAL) metal furniture and accents, weeping willows and round trees, symbols of heaven (angels etc.), whites & yellows, boulders, or pottery.
CAREER center front area– (WATER) moving water towards house, dark coloring flowers, weeping or loosely shaped trees, or metal accents (chimes, etc.) a sign (for a commercial property).
SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE front left hand area – (EARTH) earth mounding, mountains, pottery, and rock out cropping, pyramid shaped trees, boulders, blue & yellow flowers, symbols like Buddha and Mary statues, and other religious icons.
HEALTH/CENTER center of property– (EARTH) earth flat surfaces, boulders, yellows & reds, or no trees.
If some part of your life is out balance and things seem to be well feng shuied indoors, you might try tweaking your outdoor spaces to shift the energy to match your intentions. Use the creative and destructive cycles of the elements if you have to in order to find balance. For example, if you have a stream running through the back yard, you might want to counterbalance by adding things displaying wood characteristics (since it uses/reduces water AND feeds fire.)
Here again are the cycles and how they work in relationship to the other elements:
Creative cycle: water feeds the wood, wood fuels the fire, fire makes earth, earth creates metal and metal creates water.
Destructive cycle: Water douses fire, fire melts metal, metal chops wood, wood destroys earth and earth stops water.
And let’s not forget the Reductive Cycle: Water reduces metal, wood reduces water, fire reduces wood, earth reduces fire, and metal reduces earth.
To give you more outdoor items to ponder, here are some typical items found in the landscape, what element they represent, and the parts of the bagua where that element is supportive:
WATER - free form shapes, water features, streams, oceans, pools, bird baths, koi ponds, winding walkways, reverse curve mow strips, black pots, dark flowering plants, black or dark blue chair pads (Career, Family and Prosperity guas)
WOOD - vertical & columnar shapes, plants, trees, wooden furniture and fencing and decks, green pots or chair pads (Family, Prosperity and Fame and Reputation guas)
FIRE - triangular, lights, torches, fire pits, sun symbols, red pots and chair pads, picket fence, red flowering plants, and “spikey” plants (Fame gua and possibly the center of the lot/bagua)
EARTH - flat & horizontal shapes and surfaces, rock outcroppings, mountains, boulders, brick or tile patios, square shapes, earth tone colors and yellowish flowering plants, ceramic pots, beige or yellow chair pads (Center, Skills and Knowledge, Relationships, Creativity & Helpful People guas)
METAL - round & mounded, metal fencing, metal furniture, light posts, flag poles, sun dials, gazing globes, mounds, white pots and chair pads, white flowering plants, weather vanes (Creativity, Helpful People and Career guas)
If you live in an apartment where there is no outdoor living space, or you can’t physically do anything about the outdoor space around you, then do a vision board with intention as a symbol of your landscape. Draw a floor plan of your apartment unit as if it is a single family home, and with clear intention, draw pictures (or glue pictures of the items from magazines – be creative here!) of the items you want to have around you, so that you have envisioned the perfect outdoor spaces that are in balance with the five elements.
Place this “vision” near the front door, so you remember to visualize that outdoor space as you leave the apartment, or hang it up somewhere where you often have time to visualize.
This is just one of the many ways you can practice your visualization skills and actually start honing your “yin” half of the typical feng shui cure. The more you hone your mind, the less physical stuff you actually have to move! (You might not believe I said that – but it’s true!)
The 3 secrets “ritual” that traditional feng shui consultants employ includes visualizing the outcome that they are intending, speaking it (or traditionally, using the 6 true words mantra – sounds like Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum) along with the third secret of a physical gesture like hands in prayer position or other mudra.
Seriously, if you REALLY get this ritual down, you won’t have to move anything to change your life!
Enjoy your new patterns in nature! They will support you well 🙂
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You might not know this but not only am I a feng shui and healthy living expert, I’m a licensed landscape architect. If you’d like me to review your home, business or landscape plans (that you are building or renovating) feel free to CLICK HERE. I’d be happy to help you make the most of your living spaces.
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