Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui and Morning Rituals

Anjie Cho June 28, 2020

I would like my home to feel more like a sacred space, especially now that I’m spending more time there. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks for your question! One thing that really helps me incorporate more sacredness into my day is ritual. Ritual has been really important to me, even when I was little. I’ve always felt very connected to the ritual aspect of feng shui, and it really helps me feel connected to my home.

How do we bring more ritual into our lives using feng shui? There are a lot of ways to approach this, but a great way to start is to look at what happens when you first get up in the morning, and to create a morning ritual that really supports you.

I’ve been reading The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron, and I really love what she says about ritual. She writes, “Ritual is about joining vision and practicality, heaven and earth, samsara and nirvana.” How can you join vision and practicality in your home? How can you join heaven and earth? In feng shui, heaven is the ceiling and earth is the floor. Earth is always there to ground you, and heaven represents guiding principles, spaciousness, and openness.

For instance, I wake up to an alarm clock that emulates sunrise and sounds like birds chirping, and then I do my beauty rituals. Your ritual could be preparing a cup of tea or coffee, or making your bed. Whatever your chosen ritual, having that daily structure in your home gives you a sense of sacredness in your daily life. Feng shui is mindfulness for your home. It’s about paying attention to all the details in your environment, and noticing how your space affects you and how you affect your space. When we’re aware of this, we start to see that we’re not separate from our environment.

Morning rituals can look different for each person. If you’re not sure what to incorporate into your ritual, I would suggest looking at which of the five elements is most supportive for you. You can take my quiz here to find that out. For me, water is really nourishing, so part of my morning ritual is going to the East River and sitting in meditation by the water. Other ways to connect to the water element in the morning are to take a shower, drink a big glass of water, or listen to water sounds when you first get out of bed.

If wood is really nourishing for you, you could make sure one of the first things you see when you wake up is connected to the wood element, like a houseplant or something green or blue. If you’re fed by fire, you could sit in a room with a lot of sunlight first thing in the morning, or turn on the stove to make a cup of tea. To connect to earth in the morning, make sure the first thing you see when you wake up is brown, or sleep in earthy colored sheets. If metal is most supportive for you, try sleeping in a white room or in white sheets, so that’s what you see in the morning.

Thanks again for your question, I hope that helps!

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 questions!

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui check out the Mindful Design Feng Shui certification program. Laura Morris and I launched our program in September 2018. To get on the list about it, sign up at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com.

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Q&A Sunday: Water-Themed Art in the Bedroom

Anjie Cho May 5, 2019

I read somewhere that paintings of water were bad feng shui. Is this true?

Magalie R., Los Angeles, CA

I have been taught that there are no feng shui issues with having images of water in the bedroom. Actually, I personally have a photograph of water in my bedroom above my bed. I am a water person and love being near and seeing water. It is calming. In four pillars I am yin wood, so water also nourishes me in five element theory.

I have been taught that water elements like fountains and fish aquariums are not ideal in the bedroom. Perhaps this is where the question comes from. The moving water may be too active for some people, and a bedroom is a yin space where we seek out rest and relaxation.

As with most objects in the bedroom, be thoughtful about what the images represent. If you have trouble sleeping, a painting of a rushing river or surfers riding waves might not be so calming. Use your intuition to determine if that piece of art is appropriate for the type of mood you want for your bedroom. A bedroom is there to support and nourish you while you sleep in a passive yin state.

If there is a particular piece of art you are looking to add to your bedroom, please feel free to submit it for Q&A Sunday!

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui check out the Mindful Design feng shui cerfication program. Laura Morris and I launched our program in September 2018. Check us out at www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish.

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!

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Q&A Sunday: Beach Holiday Feng Shui

Anjie Cho August 12, 2018

I would appreciate some Feng Shui tips for a beach holiday (accommodation, beach tote, and so on). Thanks in advance.

Giuliana G., France

Hi Giuliana,

Nice to hear from you again! You always come up with such interesting questions. 🙂 Thank you!

My first thought was…"well I’m not sure if I can answer this one." But, upon reflection, this is very similar to just feng shui travel tips. And I also did take a work vacation to a Greek island in June (I was at teacher a dharma art retreat). I travel quite a bit, especially this year. So, maybe I do have something to share!

For the travel part, whether it be a train, car or especially a plane, there are a few things that I always travel with. First, a hydrating spray. My favorite is Alaska essences Travel Ease, which has essential oils, flower and gem essences to ease with the jet lag. Another wonderful travel aid are hydration tablets. Nuum is currently my favorite. I also carry a feng shui talisman I received from Catherine Woo that is unfortunately unavailable anywhere that I know of…I’ll ask my mentors about it. I always travel with Lotus Wei's Radiant Energy, which works to expand your presence after computer use and travel. It's a MUST for restful sleep while traveling.

When I arrive at my destination, the first thing I do is unpack and make myself at home. Putting your belongings away in a drawer creates a feeling of ownership and relaxation, rather than the chaos of literally living out of a suitcase. Then I tuck the suitcase away. For me, it makes me feel at home and spacious. Your belongings also deserve to stretch out a bit after a long day of traveling. :)

Next, I clear the space, because there can be residual energies from the people who have stayed there before, or just from the people you’re staying with. I think over the holidays, or when you're traveling, you can easily feel sensitive to space as well as foreign energy. By clearing the space, you’re just giving the place a little perk to provide a restful and spacious sleeping situation while traveling. I suggest carrying some space clearing tools with you whenever you travel, such as palo santo, white sage or orange essential oil spray. I prefer room sprays when traveling, because you’re not burning anything. My store sells travel-friendly bottles of each of these.

The beach tote is an intriguing question and can be feng shui relevant. There’s something called fashion feng shui, and if you haven’t heard of it, basically we can use feng shui colors to support and produce the type of qi we want to cultivate. So, you can coordinate your beach tote (or suit or towel…) with the kind of energy you want to embody on your trip. For instance, green if you want some healing vibrant energy. Purple to attract abundance and success. Earthy colors if you want to take care of yourself and do some self-care. Pink if you want to attract a partner. Red if you want to be really seen and noticed. Dark blue if you want to work on self cultivation, like maybe at a yoga retreat.

Finally, since you specifically asked about a beach holiday, we can touch upon the water element. In feng shui, moving bodies of water like the ocean and rivers, provide a natural element that can offer your intentions to the universe. If there’s something you want to give up to the world, perhaps your worries about something or a negative energy, you can let it go into the water. Let the water carry it away. One way to do that would be to write it on a red piece of paper, burn it and offer the ashes into the water that’s moving away from you. Then just leave it up to the universe.

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui check out the Mindful Design feng shui cerfication program. Laura Morris and I are launching our program in September 2018. We have a free webinar “Five Feng Shui Tools Revealed: Must-do business boosters for soulpreneurs and wellness practitioners” coming up, too! check us out at www.mindfuldesignschool.com