Feng Shui for Your New Apartment, Round 2

Photo and design by Anjie Cho Architect PLLC

Earlier on the blog we talked moving into a brand new place, clearing the space, laying the bagua and more. Of course, there are many small feng shui adjustments we can make when turning a new apartment into a holistic, nourishing home - so many it's a bit much to cover in one post! So this week we're back with a few more tips on saying "Hello!" to your new home in feng shui-style. 

Add Nine Plants

Yes, nine! It may seem like a big number, but adding plants to your new space is a great way to welcome more life energy. Plants symbolize the Wood element in feng shui, which relates to new beginnings, life, joy and flexibility, all of which are wonderful for creating a new holistic space. Plants also bring nature into your home, which has been proven to increase quality of life, and work tirelessly to enhance indoor air quality. Why nine? It's the most auspicious number in feng shui!

Add a Welcome Mat

Plants welcome positive energy into your spaces, but they aren't the only way. Pick up a black "Welcome" mat, about the same width as your door, and place it at the main entrance to your new home. Keeping a welcoming entrance is great not only for you, when you come home, as well as your guests, but also for positive chi! Black is the most absorbent of all colors and can attract, absorb and transfer positive energy into your holistic space. In addition, black is representative of the Water element, which can increase career success when used in this area.

Fill in Cabinet Space

We're not talking the inside of cabinets, here. Depending on how the kitchen and bathroom are designed in your new apartment, you may or may not have empty space between the top of your cabinets and the ceiling. If you do, it's important to pay attention to these areas, as they can serve as a space for dead energy. Dead or stagnant energy in your spaces can manifest itself as problems with health and prosperity, and no one wants that! To adjust for this, add a plant (maybe one of the nine mentioned above!) or a personal item to this space to transform it into a place of positive energy. 

Hopefully your new apartment is starting to feel more and more like a holistic space every day! These feng shui tips are pretty easy to implement but can make such a huge impact! If you've just moved and are trying out these adjustments, please share your experience and / or send us photos. We love to see the difference feng shui makes in your lives. :) And don't forget to keep an eye out for the final set of feng shui tips for your new space!

by Anjie Cho


If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Love Note from Anjie: Celebrations

Photo by Skylar Zilka on Unsplash

celebrations

today is quiet, the air crisp and dry. I'm visiting my in-laws in Athens, Georgia for my nephew's bar mizvah, an honored rite of passage and celebration at the age of thirteen in the Jewish community.

In feng shui, this time - the fall - is also considered a time celebration, a time to offer gratitude and enjoy the fruition of the harvest. it's important to look at and acknowledge time.

I was thinking about why I like to title these weekly love notes by date. and why I begin by noting the weather at the moment. for me, it's a little celebration to stop - feel - and notice the phenomenal world. what will you celebrate today?

 

Photo by Alexander Tsang on Unsplash

from the Shabbat opening meditation:

WELCOMING DOORS

May the door of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for friendship.

may it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express, hopes to nurture.


a feng shui ritual

One Good Deed a Day

The first feng shui adjustment my mentor Rosalie prescribed for me was "One Good Deed a Day." My go-to deed at that time was to open doors for people. I would literally run to get the door for anyone. But what happened was by opening doors for others, I was opening doors for myself.

Try "One Good Deed a Day" for 27 days...and see what doors you can open in your life!

Photo by Rowan Freeman on Unsplash


Photo by Anjie Cho

Did you see this?

Smoke Blessings

offering tools:

  • dried botanical (you can dry your own tangerine peels or juniper)

  • a candle

  • firesafe container

instructions:

  1. start at your front door, the mouth of qi.

  2. circumambulate the space clockwise, hugging the wall on your left

  3. chanting OM MA NI PAD ME HUM

  4. visualizing the smoke is filling your home with love and protection

  5. close with a humble offering of gratitude


May all you walk through doorways with compassion,

Anjie

p.s. would you like to receive these love notes directly to your inbox right when they’re written? Join our newsletter and you’ll also get special perks only for subscribers!

love note from Anjie - nov 12, 2022

hi!

I was on retreat in France for two weeks just a couple months ago and collected some Juniper from Dechen Choling. It's been quietly drying in the sun near my office window, next to my desk shrine.

Juniper is an evergreen conifer, wood element, and a reminder that even in the coldest and darkest times – there is life. We have the opportunity to create transformation, inspiration, and warmth as the wood feeds fire. The green is everlasting, a constant, and points to the presence of spring, new beginnings and growth.

When we offer a smoke blessing, the botanical is burned and transmuted. The fire and wood creates smoke that rises, lifting our offerings to the heavens. The ashes are earth element, re-connecting our wishes back down to our presence in the earth realm.

 

from instagram

smoke offering with juniper

wood | fire | earth

what do you want to let go and offer gratitude for?

what wishes and blessings can you offer today?

Next week, I'll offer instruction on how to perform a smoke blessing ceremony for your home!


Save the Date

I'll be teaching in Los Angeles on Sun Dec 11th at RA MA Institute. I hope that I can see some of you there IRL!


Special Offer Coming from Mindful Design

there's a special offer coming soon from Mindful Design. I'll share a bit about it here, but if you join the Mindful Design mailing list you will be better notified of all the things we offer there, including special events!

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Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Anjie

p.s. would you like to receive these love notes directly to your inbox right when they’re written? Join our newsletter and you’ll also get special perks only for subscribers!