Welcome to the February issue of Conscious Design Magazine. We want to thank Woody Chan for his insights into the Peach Blossom energy of 2016. LuAnn Cibik, Coach Gwyn, Diantha Harris, Carol Cannon, and Sandy Humby have brought some interesting and valuable info to us. Enjoy it all.
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
LuAnn Cibik, MEIA, CSC
Inner Harmony

In our modern culture, there is an unconscious belief that MORE is BETTER. The more jam packed our schedules are with meetings, activities, events, then we must be important and successful. The more objects we have in our homes (décor, games, electronics, memorabilia), then the more abundant and happy we must be. The more stuffed our offices, our filing cabinets, desks, even floor place, then we must be a very very important, hard working and valuable human being.

Yet, sometimes, when things are so full, there is not room for something new, big, or important, no matter how much you wish to fit it into your life.

In Interior Alignment® Feng Shui and Space Clearing, we work with our clients on releasing things from their homes and offices that are not a part of the future they desire. Many times people associate feng shui with moving what you have to create better flow or that you are adding items with special power to enhance the energy of a space. While that is a part of it, there is no sense adding things when subtracting some items might make more room for the desired future to appear.

By
Woody Chan

Traditionally, Chinese families often decorate their homes with peach blossoms for the new year. Peach blossom is a symbol of great business success. It is also the remedy for enhancing people relationship luck, especially with the opposite sex. According to the rule of "romantic relationship star", if you were born in the year of pig, rabbit or goat (refer to the table below to find out), you will have a much better luck of love from the opposite sex with the placement of peach blossom. Thus, if you are still single, make sure to have it at home for the new year.

Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit
How technology will help Hawaii achieve 100% renewables by 2045.

Hawaii's commitment to become 100% renewably-powered by 2045 has positioned it at the forefront of renewable energy adoption and grid modernization. How the state will achieve its ambitious goal is still largely undetermined. Hawaii's aggressive mandate is already catalyzing a flurry of partnerships, including that between Stem Inc. and Hawaii Electric Company, along with many others capitalizing on Hawaii's potent distributed solar and energy storage market. With high expectations and an imperative to increase the state's energy resiliency, the Hawaii State Energy Office approached GreenBiz Group to bring VERGE to Hawaii.

VERGE Hawaii (June 21-23) leverages the unprecedented partnership between the Hawaii State Energy Office and GreenBiz Group to convene hundreds of the most progressive leaders from government and military, utilities, disrupters and other key stakeholders to identify the innovative solutions and partnerships necessary for the state to meet its goal.

Plus, VERGE Virtual's unique ability to broadcast the event to thousands of decision makers around the world will help ensure the lessons learned in Hawaii are amplified. Other hallmarks of VERGE including VERGE Accelerate and the VERGE Microgrid create a refreshing, high-energy ecosystem that inspires action, while effectively positioning our customers as leaders in this progressive marketplace.

A little known "secret" place of sacred history and widsom located in Arizona, US and shared with us by Navajo Medicine Man Sam Tso

Butterfly Mesa, at 6500 feet elevation, is located north east of Flagstaff, Arizona, by the Navajo Nation border. This volcanic, juniper woodland along the San Francisco wash is the home of Sam and Lisa Tso.
This area is rich with petroglyphs, ruins and lots of wildlife. It serves as a scenic backdrop for Sam's healing work and ceremonies, as well as his classes, workshops and healing circles.

By Carol Cannon, BBEC, Certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant

Bau (Building) Biology, the science of how buildings affect human health, is an important companion for Feng Shui consultants. One of the main challenges our human bodies face is being surrounded by a sea of electro-magnetic fields. Elevated fields can disrupt the pineal gland, which regulates the production of melatonin. If melatonin is not being produced, then a person cannot get the deep, necessary sleep that helps in recovery from a day in our modern, technological world.

As a Bau-biologist, I try to help my clients create an environment with measurements as low as if a person were sleeping outdoors in a forest. Over the past decade, many of my clients were experiencing health issues that we were able to pinpoint sources of elevated electromagnetic fields affecting them. By either reducing the fields or moving the person to another location, many were able to begin the road to recovery.

By Coach Gwyn

Has your zip and commitment come and gone? If you're in a bit of a seasonal funk, you are certainly not alone in your discontent. From global news to our very own personal challenges, many people are less satisfied than they'd like to be and want - something 'more' for themselves and for those around them. Perhaps you feel like you have little control over events or outcomes, or feel somewhat envious of others, or feel isolated, or are constricted by financial fears, or are distracted by the needs of others in your life. Maybe something else that has you feeling less than enthused.

Also, if you are someone who says "I will be happier_(if/when)" then this information is for YOU because you do not know yet that you have the ability to embrace your Best Life, your something 'more' right at this moment

Consider this- All you desire is already yours, right now.

Soft, Comfortable and Organic !

Made from 100% Fairtrade Certified GOTS Certified Organic Cotton (including GOTS Certified Kapok pillow fill)

Kapok is soft as silk and made from plant fibers, similar to feather down in feel and texture.

Pillow size is 20 x 12

Renae Jensen, FSII

In Feng Shui, the master bedroom is the room that has the strongest influence on our "chi" - or life force. The master bedroom can set the stage for good health, positive relationships, and prosperity in all areas of our lives. The bedroom is the place where we can finally let our guard down - we can close our eyes and let go. The bedroom needs to honor the individual chi as well as the couple chi.

Visualize your bedroom as your private cave, nest, retreat, and sanctuary. This is the place to revitalize yourself, rest, dream, play, sleep, read, and romance.

Sexuality is often the theme here , but not the universal goal of everyone. If we are designing a bedroom for ourselves or for a client, we need to honor current needs as well as support future goals.

By Jerry Yudelson:
"Reinventing Green Building is a unique insider's critique of why certified green buildings are failing to provide large-scale carbon reduction. It is a potent vision for the future that the green building industry needs NOW."

Jerry Yudelson is the president of Yudelson Associates, green building consultants. He has trained over 3,000 people in the LEED green building rating system. He chairs Greenbuild, the world's largest green building conference, and has written six books on green building, including Green Building A to Z (New Society Publishers).

By
Sandy Humby

There is something special about the Rose, she holds a favoured place in many people's hearts and memories. Most people I have met on my journey with the Rose have a story that somehow links with a powerful heart opening experience. Perhaps they were gifted Roses by a loved one or were transfixed by the sheer beauty and aroma of a Rose which touched them deeply.

As we come round to Valentines Day this month the traditional gift is a red Rose, she is the Rose that whispers 'I Love you' the red colour being connected to the base chakra and passion.

But what is it about the Rose? Why is the archetypal country cottage vision one with Roses around the door? Or the magnetic calling to walk through an arbour or archway of Roses if you spot one in a garden.

The Rose truly holds magic within her petals -

By
Diantha Harris

It's great to be writing for Conscious Design again. I was thrilled when Renae Jensen invited me to contribute an article (thank you Renae!). Being in alignment with one's environment is such a gift we can give to ourselves so I welcome this magazine back with open arms.

I come from an interior design background where I first learned about the power of color from a teacher who taught about the psychological effect color has on us. When I heard that, my heart beat a bit faster, my eyes widened, and I knew I had found my calling

From there I learned about energy through Reiki and Healing Touch. Then it was on to Aura Soma, which taught about healing with color, and then to Feng Shui where I learned how to use color to effect the environment which in turn effects our lives.

Sedona, Arizona - Green Home For Sale
Beautiful radiant heated luxury green home with natural wood, stone and hand formed Iron finishes. This custom home is loaded with many extras and was constructed using the latest alternative high efficient green materials. Amazing red rock, mountain and valley views, backed to 1000's of acres of national forest. Relax and enjoy the custom handcrafted luxury this home has to offer..
$2,900,000

Architect designed and constructed from the highest quality & strength green materials such as #1 rated superior ICF construction with up to 13? thick concrete filled walls, Conklin commercial roofing, Icynene insulation, natural stone and wood radiant heated floors including the garage. Main subfloor contains over 5? of Stealth Fiber reinforced Concrete, upstairs floor contains a special high strength Gypcrete subfloor. This home is so efficient that it has earned an Energy Star rating of 5+ (highest rating).

" A practical approach to green building"

The Green Building Initiative® (GBI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in resource efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings. We advance this mission through credible and practical green building approaches for more sustainable communities.
Our strategy for accomplishing our goals takes two parallel avenues: the Green Globes® building rating system for private commercial buildings, and the Guiding Principle Compliance - a program tailored to federal building sustainability requirements.

By Inhabitat
Tafline Laylin

"A Japanese company is preparing to open the world's first robot-controlled farm. The facility is designed to produce 11 million heads of lettuce each year, and it's expected to ship its first crop in Fall 2017. Relying on lessons learned from their first farm in Kameoka, SPREAD says their new business model will cut labor costs by 50 percent. The company claims sustainability is at the heart of what they do, and that the new 47,300 square feet Vegetable Factory in Kansai Science City will also reduce construction costs by 25 percent and energy demand by 30 percent. "

As Organizing is so vital this year, we want to feature from our archive a wonderful article by Jill Butler

The issue is storage, or is it? What to do with all that stuff. Lurking in the closets are things to try on to see if they still fit. I hate trying on my old favorites because I'm afraid. My body has shifted, shape-shifted. How dare it. Gratefully, some things still work. Pants I wore this weekend I've had for 25 years. I love these white pants. I loved them from the first day I bought two of the same. Hallelujah, something old is to be kept and continues to be appreciated and fitting.

But there's more lurking at the back of the closet waiting to be discovered. The "comfort habits" of old ways of thinking; the assumptions about life and what works and what doesn't. Old ways of being are asked to be tried on. Some things (ideas) pinch, some are discolored, some are simply out of style. Goodbye! Well, maybe not so easily.

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 .