Monday, September 24, 2012

Feng shui and the Little Cottage by the River

I have started three posts that were just not inspiring to me, a recap of the weekend and what I have to do this week.. and I thought, this isn't what I want to share today. I want to share something of substance. So, I am taking a small part of the weekend and expanding upon it, sharing it with all of you.

Saturday was the meeting with the creative ladies group. It was a fabulous day, we finished up with putting together vintage patterns, vintage buttons and lovely pieces of wool for P. to sew into coats for the fall. There are some lovely pieces that we put together and all are excited for the finished results! She is going to start a blog of her own, I will be sure to provide a link...

Another friend, E. is working on a book (several to be more precise) regarding pattern shape, form, fit and their relationships. E. has an impressive history of accomplishment in this area as well as a very unique approach (she holds two patents directly related!) It is very important work! She has a very interesting story and her current situation is relevant and valuable to her relationship to the work that she is so passionate about.

Me, I shared a discovery that I had this week about my little cottage by the river.
Early in my career, I studied a bit of Feng Shui. I read a few books, invested in a weekend workshop with Carole Hyder and looked at how the principles would work with how I practice Interior Design.

After all that, I determined that most of it was just good design sense and I already was doing it subconsciously. So, I did not invest in further certification, etc. I use it more as a way of checking my work along with other systems that I am familiar with.

I realized just this week, how this house reflects the new lifestyle that is emerging and is being created. I see how my environment supports what I want. The biggest revelation has been the importance of the subconscious and how it will become more and more conscious for me and how I can work with it in achieving dreams and desires that I may not even be aware of right now. They are emerging..

This revelation came from the fact that my creative tools, materials, supplies... all of it is in the basement. I had to prepare this basement and lighten it up, get rid of the cobwebs and look at what I have. It isn't about getting rid of it all, it is about putting it all out there and seeing how it relates to each other. Then set it up in the most efficient and effective matrix as possible in this space. In dream interpretation, the basement is symbolic of the subconscious, as is any descent into the 'underground' or going into the earth.

The next thing I realized, is this little cottage/house is a perfect rectangle. Every area of the bagua is represented in its entirety. The house I used to live in, was missing wealth and helping people. The other thing I just realized is there were doors that I could not use because they didn't have keys to them. It was like I didn't have access to my own things (life) from different angles. Here, there is no key to the front door, however, I have my front door open often, as I love the light that it lets in and the color is perfect.

The color of my perfect front door is a midnight navy black. It is high gloss, so it has a reflective quality to it. The cool thing about that is.... are you ready for this? The color associated with the bagua of career (which is where my front door is-very ideal- career opportunities will find me! Hooray!) is Black! The element associated with this bagua.. is ... WATER! Water is reflective and often times blue is the reflected color! That is why my front door had to be the color it is! I knew upon my first visit to this house, the color of the front door was all wrong! I saw the color it is as the color it needed to be and now, I know why. It is like the universe is telling me I am in exactly the right place right now and that a great deal is going to change in the next 10 months. There is a lot to get back into balance.

I just realized, the month and half that I was not in a space of my own and everything was in storage (quarantine) was to not take the old energy with me. I needed space to shake off the energy of the last eleven years and be open to the new that was here, waiting for me.


The other things I have done here, that I haven't noticed until this week, is my bedroom is in the wealth corner of the house. I have my bed in the wealth corner and the door is angled, like a true bagua! My sheets are deep purple- the color most associated with wealth! Hmmm, I am liking this new little cottage by the river... A LOT!
I NEED a headboard.. THAT is one of the BIGGEST Feng Shui no-no's! No support and since I am definitely working on the wealth area of my life.. I need a headboard.. I got rid of my other one.

I have also hung my round mirror with the wide silver leaf frame in the children and creativity area. This is serving two purposes I see. Mirrors are associated with water a career element. Metal is the element associated with children and creativity. Metal contains water, meaning, my creativity is becoming structured into my career. My career has over run my house in the past. I have had no structure around it, no clear direction. My creativity is getting addressed. There will be balance in my personal creative expression and the creativity in my career. They are integrated and will enhance each other.
Still some boxes to get moved... it will happen some day! Auughhh!

The other thing that is happening is the children (my housemate has four boys) are starting to come around a great deal more to visit him than they have in the past. This is extremely good for him and his relationship with them! (this is a HUGE adjustment for me, probably the greatest challenge I will face here in this house) I am not used to others just dropping by and walking in without knocking. I feel vulnerable in my space. I feel I always need to be prepared for house guests. Clean house, hair presentable, showered, completely dressed... (Not that I wander around my house naked at all hours of the day- I have no window treatments and live with a guy remember!) My lovely little ladder from William Sonoma is in the area of children and creativity as well as my copper zodiac mold... more metal..It is ok, it is just an adjustment that I am observing.

I need to get something red or orange into the bathroom. This is the area of fame and reputation, there is a little pyramid shaped texture in the glass block in the window. This is good! The shape for the fame and reputation bagua is a triangle.

Each of intersecting gua's have a color, shape and element attached to them. There are 9 bagua's all together.

Tell me .... would you like a diagram of the bagua? With the basic list of color, shape and element to see how balanced your life is? It is fascinating to see where you are loosing energy based on the environment that you live in. I find this information in my practice to have been most helpful and I create interiors that do not look like they have been FENG SHUI-ed!

E. tells me I need to write a book about all of my systems and understanding of color, design... etc. I am not sure how to format or where to start with such a thing.. it is all so interconnected.. maybe that is why I named the blog vibrant threads.. it is all inter connected and all relative to the whole experience of being me!

Maybe there are others out there who could use something like this to understand themselves better?

I haven't taken any photos yet for today, maybe I will expand on this later in the afternoon... so consider this post a rough draft that you all are welcome to comment on..
Thanks for your input!

1 comment:

  1. Just a thought about a possible book. Some--probably many--nonfiction books start as an article or a series of articles, or a talk. And in the last few years more than a few books have arisen from blogs. It could happen that over time your posts will form a critical mass of material that will suggest a topic to explore in greater depth in a book. Keep at it!

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