Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui for a New Pet

What are some considerations to make for a new pet (dog!)?

Jenny Beth M., New York, NY

Hi Jenny Beth, 

Thank you for your question, and congratulations on your new dog! I actually have two dogs, so I do have input on feng shui considerations for a new dog in your space. We have a blog post with insight on this question as well. 

Speaking from my experience and knowledge as a feng shui practitioner and pet owner, I believe one huge consideration is to allow the dog to find its own space in your home. Whether that means a favorite corner with his comfy dog bed or maybe a crate - whatever it is, it's important to give your dog a space of his own. It's also a good idea to locate that space in the commanding position so your dog feels safe. The commanding position governs the location we want to situate ourselves in, and dogs are the same as us. They want to see what's coming toward them and not have their backs to the door. In fact, dogs are even more in tune with that since they're animals! I find that my pups often want to sleep at the foot of the bed or at the door mat to protect us, which is common for dogs. 

You'll also want to take a look at the green plants in your space and make sure they're out of reach to prevent your dog eating them. There are a lot of houseplants that are toxic to dogs. Some of the most common are azaleas, tulips and oleander. One of the first things I did when I got my first dog was to look up all the toxins in a home, and one (for animals) is green plants. 

Another is cleaning chemicals. Dogs live very close to the ground and are very sensitive, so toxic cleaners will affect them more strongly than they might us. Switch to non-toxic cleaners out of consideration for your pet. In fact, switching to non-toxic cleaners can improve the indoor air quality of your space for you as well! Check out some of our posts on non-toxic cleaning options and choose one that fits your lifestyle! 

Congratulations again on your new pet! I hope you really enjoy your new companion. :) 

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

How Feng Shui Can Make The Bathroom The Best Room In Your House

featured this month on MindBodyGreen

Manifest the year of your dreams by going inward. Renew You 2017 is a month of mindfulness during which we’ll share content that guides you to create a deeply rooted intention for the new year. We’ll help you navigate inevitable obstacles with the latest science on habits, motivation, ritual, and more and equip you with tried-and-true techniques to outsmart even the toughest inner critic. 

Feng shui principles applied to your bathroom can create a wonderful place of renewal to release what is unwanted in your life. You can easily transform your bathroom into a symbol of vitality that will assist you in letting go of everything that no longer serves you. Keep your bathroom well-ventilated, well-lit, and full of beautiful and healthy colors like blues and greens. And remember that live plants purify the air and bring vitality and freshness!

Clean with orange essential oil cleaner.

Citrus cleaners, especially orange, are wonderful for cleaning your bathroom. Not only are they great cleaners, but oranges and orange peels are used in feng shui to uplift and clear the energy of a space. The chi of oranges lightens and brightens the bathroom. The scent is cheerful and happy!

You can make your own DIY nontoxic cleaner with 1 part vinegar, 2 parts water, and 27 drops of organic orange essential oil.

...read full article

by Anjie Cho

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Vision and Clarity for the New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! And welcome 2017!

I can’t believe it’s been five years of blogging now...it’s been amazing journey, and I’m looking forward to more to come! Following last year's choice of the word "inspiration," I want to share with each of you my view for this year: vision and clarity.

With regard to vision, I just pulled a healing angel oracle card titled “Vision.” It reads: 

“A positive outcome requires a positive vision. Visualize everyone involved in your present situation surrounded by light and love — make sure to include yourself also. Your love has the power to influence and transform the current events.”

This card was very enlightening for me, because I think it’s essential to have a positive outlook, and most of us get that, however, what I often forget is to include myself! I'm looking forward to including myself in this year's positive outlook!

Then there's the second part: clarity. Clarity is so important, because it’s about clear seeing, clear vision. There’s precision and brilliance that comes from clarity. It is of the utmost importance to see what’s really there, see things as they are. To quote one of my teachers, Steve Saitzyk: 

“We need to be able to work with things as they fundamentally are and not just how we think, believe, hope or fear they are.”

I tend to get so caught up in my preconceived perspectives of what I believe is “right.” For instance, I was talking to a teacher about expanding my business earlier today. I have it stuck in my mind that I need to hire a particular kind of person, and then everything will be perfect. But when asked to clarify what my vision is, I just want more time. It may or may not be a new staff member that helps with this vision. It seems I need to look and see clearly what my vision is!

Of course, my feng shui twist on how to create vision and clarity is a wonderful way to reinforce your intentions in your physical environment. It’s very simple: clean your windows! I’m talking squeaky clean! In fact, we just called someone to clean our windows. 😃 Your windows represent your eyes and how clearly you see in the world…how do your windows look? For bonus points, use green cleaning products, like our favorite glass cleaning recipe.

Chogyam Trungpa summarized the importance of vision and clarity well, when he wrote:

“ The universe is constantly trying to reach us to say something or teach something, but we are rejecting it all the time”

If we open our eyes and minds to seeing things with vision and clarity (and love), we can hear what the universe has to share. And I promise it will be beautiful. Here's to the new beginning of a year of vision, clarity and listening to the universe! 

by Anjie Cho