Welcome to the March issue of Conscious Design Magazine.

I know you will enjoy our contributions this month. Enjoy a beautiful article on nature from Alisa Rose, Year of the Monkey tips from Yasha Jampolsky and visit Red Rock Temples through the eyes of Elizabeth HeartStar Keller.

Sandy Humby presents an article on Space Clearing as she asks you " Does your house wrap its arms around you as you walk through the door? " Carol Cannon advises us on using our Himalayan Singing bowls. The beautiful works we share this issue are "The Annunciation" by Karen Fitzgerald and "The Ecology of Oneness" by Robert Sachs."
I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have enjoyed connecting and working with all of you ! I hope you will share your stories and tips with us. We all have a light to share !

Blessings,
Renae

By
Alisa Rose Seidlitz, BFQDP, CGBP, GreenAP, GLC

Photo: " Butterfly larvae munching on fennel plant

The very first people who practiced Feng Shui keenly observed Nature. Intimate with the world surrounding them, they designed their dwellings in harmony with the land, for optimal human health and well being.

Today, for the most part, we're living in a world where our designs, and other actions, have disturbed and disrupted Nature on a vast scale. Today, it's imperative, not only for good health, but for the survival of our species, that we once again become keen observers, then take Nature's lead. It's vital that we let Nature show us the way to harmony, instead of overriding it as we have done for so long.

When practicing feng shui, the place to start at home is on the outside, and today, there's a lot to heal regarding the land on which we live.

Dancing to Nature's tune, taking steps in harmonious response to what Nature shows us, makes life easier!
Please enjoy the following, and once again become intimate with the earth on which we stand, garden, and build.

By
Renae Jensen FSII

Showcasing or Staging a home is a great way to create a positive experience for incoming buyers. A home that is staged sells faster and has a higher sale value.
Here are some easy tips to review while preparing your home for sale:

Curb Appeal: Opportunity #1

Clean up landscaping, any weeds, debris. Wash off any mold, cob webs, etc. Invest in a brand new impressive mailbox. Keep the garage closed.-Repair anything broken.

By
By Yasha Jampolsky

We are living in extraordinary times, and this new year of the Fire Monkey will not disappoint. Chinese 4 Pillars (also Bazi), is a treasure chest of deep knowledge of cosmological energy cycles. Understanding where we have been and where we are going, helps us know how to thrive at this moment of time.

While astrophysicists posit that the universe is expanding, the world here on planet earth is also changing at an accelerated pace. Anyone following current events on internet or TV would concur. Some of the changes inspire hope for a better, brighter future. Others are terrifying, undermining our sense of security and in some cases threatening our existence.

Article by: Inhabitat T. Laylin

Photo of the Ridgeline model, part of The Renew Collection. The Renew Collection is Deltec's collection of high performance and net-zero homes.

"A company in Asheville, North Carolina is taking prefabricated home design to a new level with their Renew Collection of affordable net-zero energy houses. While Deltec made a name for themselves with round hurricane-resistant homes, now the company has amped up the energy efficiency by two thirds with their latest home collection, in response to the increasing demand for net-zero energy housing. And these new 'Renew' homes aren't just super energy efficient -- they generate their own energy with photovoltaic solar power and solar water heating, and are surprisingly affordable, with kits starting under 100K. "

By
Elizabeth HeartStar Keller
www.astrojourneys.com

The first time I arrived in Sedona was in 1964, at the age of twelve. I had taken the train from Los Angeles with my best friend to attend summer camp in Sedona at the Verde Valley School. Not many people had heard of Sedona at that time, it was virtually unknown. There was only a hotel, a couple of restaurants and one market uptown, and a few homes scattered throughout the town. There was however, the Verde Valley School, with an excellent reputation of being an outstanding prep school. When we arrived in Sedona, we were driven from the uptown area onto a dirt road that took us all the way to the Verde Valley School campus. Other than the massive red rocks that we drove through was the Chapel of the Holy Cross built right into the red rocks and stood out majestically. I spent two incredible summers in Sedona.

Cliff Perkins, was the headmaster of the school, and was in charge of the summer camp. Cliff knew the elder tribal Hopi Chief named Grandfather David, and he and all the campers were invited as guest of Grandfather David to attend their sacred Kachina ceremonial dances that summer. This was a rare and special honor. While in Hopiland, I remember my thoughts and feelings as we camped out in Hopiland with the tribe and celebrated the harvest dance with the magnificent and colorful Kachinas who appeared from the Kiva, dancing and singing as they passed out the harvest of corn to the families and the carved Kachina dolls to the children. There was so much love and joy that day.

By
Sandy Humby

Does your house wrap its arms around you as you walk through the door?Do you feel safe, nourished, inspired and energised to go back out in the world and share your gifts? If the answer is no, why might that be? And what can you do about it?

I moved about a lot as a child. My parents liked to buy a house, do it up and then sell. I remember a lot of 'drive by' viewings of prospective houses! And my parents discussing the pro's and con's of windows, colours, driveways and gardens. No surprise then that I have been interested in design, colour and beautiful spaces all my life! 

Late in the 1990's alongside my wedding dress design business I had started offering energy healing sessions for clients, weaving my Reiki, Sekhem and other esoteric training, but I was curious - why did one person seem to hold the power of the healing session and make progress and another not? I started to consider whether the home environment was a causal factor.

Our homes hold a matrix of energy that is the sum total of the geology of the land the house is built on and the history of the area, what happened on the land prior to the building of the property. The materials used in construction, i.e. wood, brick, metal, and the geometry of the individual spaces - plus the memory of whatever has happened in the house.

"Annunciation is a call to each of us"

By Karen Fitzgerald © 2016

The tradition of the annunciation harkens to the Christian faith; the angel Gabriel visits the virgin Mary to announce to her that she will bear a son who will be the savior of the world. Mary questions how, as she is without a husband. The angel explains divine intervention, and Mary accepts. Eight years ago when I visited Italy, I made a study of all the depictions of the annunciation I could find. I was struck by the wide range of emotion embedded within the exchanges depicted between Mary and Gabriel. The most powerful were those which also conveyed a deep tenderness.

This complex narrative embodies a number of themes that I feel are urgent in today's world. We are offered the visitation of divine energy frequently: the natural world is suffused with these energies. While our personal experiences of divine energy may lack an angel, they are still urgent, bearing news of our own conscious connection and grounding within the world.

The Ecology of Oneness:
Awakening in a Free World
by Robert Sachs
Copyright 2015

"The inspirational teachings of Bob Sachs have enhanced our lives. Bob speaks from such a pure and sincere place, with love, gentleness, wisdom, and great humility."
Deva Premal and Miten singers, songwrtiters, and renown mantra performers

"We live in a melting pot world where competing worldviews and paradigms contribute to, but are also the victim of collapsing social and political infrastructures. Add to this undeniable climate change and the result is global turbulence manifesting as environmental degradation, wars, terrorism, growing fundamentalisms, pandemics, and increasing levels of despair and anxiety. Yet, there is also emerging what could best be described as a growing tribe of conscious, engaged individuals united in recognition of the interdependency of all sentient life and a vision of sustainability rooted in eco-sensitivity. "

By
Carol Cannon

Sound is an ancient method of creating shifts in energy. Himalayan Singing Bowls have existed for centuries. Originally, they were used as medicine bowls, begging bowls, and simply for eating out of. Today, they are used in a variety of vibrational sound therapy methods. As a Feng Shui Practitioner for over 23 years, I discovered the magic of the "Bowls" 17 years ago at H.H. Dalai Lama's Kalachakra/World Peace initiation. For ten days while there, I daily visited a Nepalese vendor who had a multitude of Bowls. One kept calling to me, and, ultimately, I purchased it and brought it home.

My interest led to certification, where I learned a lot of technical, historical and practical details about how/why an authentic Himalayan Singing Bowl works in a therapeutic process. When working with the Bowls, practice increases ones' proficiency and understanding of their uses. Here are three uses that I have found positive results:

This award-winning 2,080 square-foot eco-house was built with the health of the planet and the health of its owners in mind, using natural materials and recycled products wherever possible, including low VOC paint and polyurethane throughout.

This home won Honorable Mention as the Best Green Residential Project in the Virginia Sustainable Building Network's annual Green Innovation Award competition. Sited to maximize southern exposures and optimize the amount of sun hitting the rooftop solar panels, this 2,080 square-foot home (plus an additional 776 square feet of outdoor deck space) was completed in 2011. Like a supermodel who does not need to be dressed up but always looks good regardless, the basic structure of the house, including the beamed wooden ceilings, speaks for itself.

The Healthy Building Network was founded in 2000 to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in building products as a means of improving human health and the environment. We focus on building products for two reasons: -- First, the US EPA estimates that Americans spend as much as 90% of their time indoors, and can be exposed to unhealthy chemicals there at much greater concentrations than outdoors.

The Mountains are the Heart of Pachamama The Amazon is the Blood that flows through the Heart The Inca have never left the Sacred Temples of Peru, these places of ancient knowledge. We come to know this, as we feel their presence in the ancient temples working with us in sacred ceremony.

In the jungle, the trees are so large that five men standing fingertip to fingertip barely encircle their trunks. Flowers every color of the rainbow and large enough to fill both hands with one blossom grow abundantly. Butterflies, five inches in width, fly freely through the foliage. Monkeys jump from branch to branch. At night, we can hear the call of the jaguar. Our journey takes us deep in the heart of the Amazon, where we stay in beautiful lodgings set within the rain forest.

The Green Building Center provides real estate developers, design teams, facilities managers, and owners with an indispensable, one-stop, sustainable solution for every phase of a project from conception to completion, creating an integrative project delivery experience with our vetted member network.

The Green Building Center provides integrated project delivery services throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. With convenient Centers located in New York City and Lambertville, New Jersey, members have access to collaborative design space, a green construction products showroom, an education center, meeting and conference facilities, and floating desk space. A Center is planned for Philadelphia .