Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox with Feng Shui

featured this month on Over the Moon

The Autumnal Equinox is on September 23rd and marks the end of summer. If you’re familiar with the feng shui “bagua” map, there is an area called “Completion” that’s related to the color white, the season of autumn, the element of yin metal, the number seven and the element of joy.

In the feng shui and five-element philosophy, this time of year is related to the after-harvest. In agricultural times, the harvest was the culmination of the hard work of tending to your crops. The harvest was also a difficult task, but afterward, the farmers could finally rest and relax. It’s a time of celebration and joy.

As we're moving into the Autumn, I wanted to share three ways to bring joy into your home using feng shui.

Bring in Fresh Flowers

Fragrant, fresh flowers attract joy and transformation into the home. My feng shui teachers taught me that the scent of fresh flowers can lift the energy in a home and alleviate depression. The vibrant colors bring beauty into the home and the harmonic, fractal patterns in nature, particularly flowers, soothe and comfort. Place fresh flowers in the entry, living room and bedroom areas of your home for joy. Be sure to change the water frequently and toss any dead material.

Clear Space with the Sound of Metal

In five element theory, metal is related to joy. I love using brass bells or tingsha (Tibetans metal cymbals) to activate clarity and joy into a space. You can also use a metal wind chime. Be sure the sound produced is pleasing to you. The easiest way to use the metal sound is to circumambulate the space, meaning walk around the perimeter. I start at the front door and walk clockwise through the entire space. That metal sound can cut through confusion and darkness and invite joy.

Nine Fresh Oranges

Oranges are used in many feng shui adjustments to bring happiness and joy into an environment. The color orange is related to the earth element which feeds and creates metal, and metal is related to joy. The scent of oranges also invokes feelings of wellbeing and joy. The life-affirming bright scent just makes you happy! The shape of oranges are round, which is also related to the metal element and symbolize completeness. The circle has no end and no beginning but is continuous and complete. Even the number nine is the auspicious number of completion in feng shui. Placing nine fresh oranges in a bowl in the center of a room in your home can inspire joy.

I hope these three feng shui adjustments will help bring more joy into your home and life. 

by Anjie Cho

Ikebana: Contemplative Flower Arranging

featured this week on Over the Moon

As I tumbled off the bus with a heavy bag, I took a deep breath in of the brisk spring air in upstate New York. Before me was a rustic, ten room country house on a beautiful lake—a Buddhist retreat center called Shambhala Skylake Lodge.

As I pushed the large, wooden door open, I was softly greeted by the Tokonoma, or entry alcove, which is a visual focal point when first entering a Japanese home. This alcove contained a scroll with calligraphy and a soft, baby powdery pink ranunculus bloom.

And so began my Spring Kado retreat. Kado means “the way of flowers” and is a contemplative practice of flower arranging using classical ikebana forms. Ikebana is the Asian art of flower arranging. Yes, I was at a week long Buddhist retreat to meditate and arrange flowers! But Ikebana and Kado are not just flower arranging—they are a contemplative practice; meditation in action.

In our first arrangement, we were given Hosta leaves. This plant has full, soft and moist, green leaves with delicate stems. I tried for several minutes to arrange my leaf exactly where I wanted it. I had this vision in my mind and I really wanted the Hosta leaf to stay in this “perfect” spot.

While sitting there frustrated with my Hosta, I heard my neighbor grumble. When I peered in his direction, I couldn’t help but giggle. His Hosta leaf also had a mind of its own.

Although it’s not a flower, this Hosta leaf taught me to not expect something from it which it cannot give.

We can receive teachings from any everyday experience.

Do not expect from a flower (or leaf, or your partner, etc.) that which it cannot give.

I don’t know about you, but this immediately reminded me of many of my relationships and how I believed things would look or be better if it only matched what I had in my mind. If only my husband saw how important it is to put the dishes away in the dishwasher just how I like them. Why does my mother insist on worrying about me even though I tell her everything is great?

But forcing it is like poking the leaf over and over until the stem starts to break down. If the stem snaps, sometimes we can mend it; create a crutch of sorts. And even after all that, the leaf just might end up where it wants to go anyways. Maybe it’s not exactly where I pictured it but hey, it doesn’t look so bad over there. Maybe it looks better than where I wanted it to go.

Whether we are arranging flowers and plants at a Buddhist retreat center or just looking at things in your everyday life, we can receive deep teachings if we pay attention. Ikebana isn’t just arranging flowers, it’s a traditional and contemplative practice that teaches us how to live in harmony and balance with ourselves and the spaces we inhabit. 

by Anjie Cho

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

Turn Your Home Into a Sacred Space

featured this week on Over the Moon 

All of us deserve to have a sacred space that supports and nurtures—mind, body and soul. We all require homes that help regenerate and restore us, and it’s something we can share with others.

Chögyam Trungpa wrote,

“You should regard your home as sacred, as a golden opportunity to experience nowness. Appreciating sacredness begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life.”

When you come home, recognize it as a sacred space for you to inhabit and take care of. Sometimes there are spaces in your home that you don’t dust, use or take care of. You can transform your home into a sacred space by taking notice of the sometimes ignored spaces in your home: the dark corners, the backs of closets or even dining room tables. These disregarded spaces tend to collect dead qi, or life force energy. It’s a good idea to take some time to regularly attend to these areas of your home. You can stir up the energy by dusting, shining a light, adding a plant, or even ringing a bell can create energetic vibrations to lift the qi.

Someone recently told me that it’s almost rude to not engage your sacred spaces, such as an altar. Pay special attention to the special areas that you forget about as well. Is your shrine collecting dust? It may reflect upon your spiritual life. Since stoves represent wealth and health, if yours has not been used in months, that may mean that your wealth and nourishment is not as healthy as it can be. Even a vase of dead, wilted flowers may signal sadness and lack of joy.

Taking an interest in the mundane details of your home may require you to let things go. When an object has fallen to disarray and no longer can serve its role, thank that item and let it go!

Remember—everyone deserves to have a sacred space. Simply pay attention and be conscious, especially of the smallest details. 

by Anjie Cho

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