Feng Shui to the Rescue Newsletter
Helping you attract wealth, harmony, love,
and much more.
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February 2021
Relearning the 3Rs
Like much of the world, I was transfixed when Amanda Gorman performed her poetry reading at President Biden's Inauguration. And, you know I have to mention that headband! Red is the Fire Element that represents passion, emotion, and excitement. How could she fail to ignite our imagination and sense of wonder with that color choice?
My Feng Shui brain also resonated with her alliterative message to:
...rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful.
It reminded me that it's never too late to learn a Feng Shui lesson in a new way. If you're a client, blog reader, or workshop student, you've heard me talk about the 3Rs of Feng Shui clutter clearing. That is, Replace, Repair, or Remove any items that are broken, stained, ripped, or not working to make room for positive energy to find you. Gorman’s description of a house that's "battered and beautiful" is one I find all the time. When I walk into an especially cluttered home, I use my "Feng Shui eyes" to see the underlying beauty that will eventually shine again with a little Feng Shui practical magic. That’s why I included some clutter clearing tips for Chinese New Year in this issue to help you jump start your 3R clearing at the beginning of the year. You don’t have to wait for an auspicious date to give your house a Feng Shui update, but this is certainly a good time to get started.
Since February is Valentine's Day month, I'll make another 3R reference: I urge you to take a break from your everyday world and spend time with someone you love but don't see in person so you can Renew, Refresh, and Relate. This includes family and treasured friends. It doesn't have to be in person - a Zoom or phone call will work.
And, if you're ordering delivery instead of going to a restaurant this year for Valentine's Day dinner, check out my article "Romantic Dining Ideas."
Happy Valentine's Day month! Stay safe and well.
Carol M. Olmstead, FSIA
Feng Shui Master Practitioner
www.FengShuiForRealLife.com
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Tip of the Month
Feng Shui For Troubled Times
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Walk the Dog (and Other Tips for Pet Owners)
Finally, we are starting to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. But, that doesn't mean we aren't all tired of being in various degrees of lock down inside with our families - and also with our pets. Sometimes having to walk the dog is the only excuse to go outside. But on the other hand, caring for yet another creature in this difficult time can add a layer of stress.
The good news is that pets are considered positive, yang energy in Feng Shui because they add activity to our homes. Symbolically, fish represent abundance, dogs bring active chi, turtles symbolize longevity, and cats bring financial success. The love we put into caring for our pets represents positive energy. However, sometimes we inadvertently arrange a home around the needs of our pets in a way that upsets the natural balance that's critical to good Feng Shui.
Pets become negative energy when they are neglected or when you make choices that revolve around the needs of your pets at the expense of the needs of you or your family. And then there are those "ghost pet" odors you don't smell - but your visitors do. You'd be amazed at the number of clients I work with who give their dogs free run outside of the house and never clean up after them. I explain to them that if you live in a house surrounded by poop (that's the polite way to phrase it), poop is what you attract into your life.
I worked with a client who was struggling to find a romantic relationship. She had pictures of her male dogs all over her house and above her bed. The subconscious message was that the alpha dog was already in her room keeping her from attracting a lover. Another client who was facing a difficult time with her health kept her cat's litter box in the bedroom. This was not only unhealthy, but also very unromantic.
Are you attracting what you want into your life? If not, take a good look at how you have arranged your household around your pets:
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Clean up pet waste in your yard and around your home. No exceptions here!
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Keep the fish tank clean, because dirty water represents a cloudy financial future. The best combination to bring wealth into your home is nine fish (eight gold and one black).
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Add furniture that's specifically designed for pets, like climbing towers for cats and beds for dogs to keep them off your own.
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Keep your pet out of your bed if you are having relationship issues. When a pet sleeps between a couple it represents splitting the relationship and deterring romance. If you must have your pets in the bedroom, give them their own beds on the floor.
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The ideal place for the cat's litter box is in the garage, basement, or bathroom, but never in the kitchen or bedroom.
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Ask a good friend to give you an honest opinion of whether your home smells from pet odors, then take care of any problem rooms.
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When your dog jumps on people, barks, and scares visitors when they first enter, it symbolizes struggling with relationships and scaring off love. Consider keeping your pets in another room when you have visitors.
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Avoid keeping pet cages near the cooking and eating spaces, especially the kitchen and dining room, since the pet waste symbolically contaminates your food supply.
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Remove the ashes from deceased pets from inside your home because they represent dead energy.
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Clearing for Chinese New Year
The Chinese Lunar New Year arrives on February 12, bringing in the Year of the Metal Ox. If ever we needed to clear out stale energy, this transition from the Year of the Rat to the Year of the Ox is it! The guiding principle in Chinese households to welcome this 15-day celebration is “in with the new and out with the old.” But, you don't have to be Chinese, or even celebrate Chinese New Year, to practice some of this wise advice for cleaning and clearing at the beginning of a new year. In fact, it’s also good Feng Shui practice to clean and clear in anticipation of any special day.
Here are a few Feng Shui tips for clearing out old, stale chi to make room for new, fresher energy to find you:
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Clean thoroughly. Dirt, dust, and trash represent negative chi, so give your home a thorough cleaning. Remember to sweep and dust toward the door rather than into the room. Take a look at your reflective surfaces, including mirrors, the glass in your picture frames, and your lamps and light fixtures. Clean and polish them until they shine, because they reflect your future prospects. Remove items you no longer need or want.
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Clear the slate. Pay off any debts before the arrival of the Lunar New Year so you can start fresh without payments hanging over your head. Reconcile with friends, family, and colleagues, and settle any preexisting disagreements.
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Fix things. Repair anything that’s broken, non-working, chipped, stained, or torn. It’s especially important to stop water leaks because they represent a drain on your prosperity. Replace burnt-out light bulbs so your future shines brightly.
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Check Your pantry, cabinets, and drawers. Get rid of old, expired cans and packages to make room for fresh food. If you find food that is still fresh but you know you won’t use it, donate it to programs that help with food insecurity. Take a look at your dishes, drinking glasses, and serving pieces, and replace any that are chipped or are dull with age. Don’t forget to check out the condition of your plastic storage containers. Match up a lid with each container, then get rid of any without a top.
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Update your clothes. It's customary to buy new clothes and shoes for the Lunar New Year, preferably something in red, the auspicious Fire Element color that attracts positive chi. Even if you’ve mainly been staying home, treat yourself to something new to represent the ability to afford new clothes when things return to normal. Admit you’re never going to match those singleton socks, and get rid of them. Donate clothes that have been sitting in the back of your closet that you’ll never wear the again.
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Display flowers and fresh fruit. After you've completed all of this cleaning and clearing, display a bowl on oranges or apples on your kitchen counter or table. Decorate your home and office with fresh flowers and plants, especially narcissus, azalea, orchids, or lucky bamboo.
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Open your door. Your front door is called the Mouth of Chi because it's where all positive energy enters your home. On the actual start of the Lunar New Year, open your front door to actively welcome positive chi, and invite it to fill your home with good fortune, health, and well-being for the coming year.
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Q: I was separated for several years and now divorced for almost three. However, I don't feel a desire to allow myself to love again. Are there some Feng Shui tips that can help?
A: Your question reminds me of a client I worked with who was divorced for a few years, and said she wasn’t ready for a new relationship. When I looked at her bedroom I saw some things that were repelling a relationship. I gave her a list that included some of the tips in these articles, and suggested she could make these changes whenever she was ready for love. She wrote soon after that she went ahead and made those changes, and she had started dating. Not long after, she met the man of her dreams. [Click here to find out where you can read this success story and others.] I recommend you make some changes in your bedroom and in the Love area of the bagua for your home, so you can be open to the possibilities of finding love. You can find articles with tips for attracting love on my website.
Q: We are almost ready to list our house for sale. Our new home, with a house number that includes a 4, will be ready in March. What lucky numbers should be in the listing price to get the most for our house? Also, I hear there are problems with the number 4 in an address, so now I'm worried about our new place.
A: I'm trained in contemporary Feng Shui, so numerology isn't a big part of my practice. In Chinese Feng Shui, each number has a specific, symbolic meaning because many Chinese believe that numbers have qualities that can affect human lives and daily events. This means that numbers can be misinterpreted in Western culture if the meaning given to them is based on the way they sound in Chinese. You might remember that the 2008 Beijing Olympics kicked off on 8/8/08 at 8:00pm. Eight is a popular number in Chinese Feng Shui because the word for it sounds like the word for “prosperous growth” in Chinese. On the other hand, the number 4 is sometimes considered unlucky in Chinese Feng Shui because it sounds like the word "death" in certain dialects. But, it doesn’t have this association for Western cultures. If you have a number 4 in your address and you are from a country other than China, instead of worrying whether the number 4 is lucky or unlucky, try thinking of four as sounding like the word "more." I don’t have a recommendation for numbers to include or not include in a listing price. I always defer to qualified real estate agents, who have a better understanding of what listing prices work best for specific neighborhoods.
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Clearing for Healing
For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.
- Benjamin Franklin
The things you store in an attic can press down on you and represent an additional “weight on your shoulders.” It's the same for broken and unused things you store in your basement, because they represent an unstable foundation. Kathy is a subscriber to both my blog and this newsletter. Her heart-warming story speaks for itself about how getting rid of things with negative symbolic meaning in both of those locations can make room for positive, healing energy to find her family.
Here’s what Kathy wrote:
My father is 89 and contracted pneumonia 7 months ago. They sent him home from the hospital with two weeks to live. While I was at his home waiting for this, I explored the attic spaces and upstairs rooms of my former childhood home. There I found an enormous number of broken items and stored orthopedic appliances. I tossed all the broken items along with much of the orthopedic appliances, then organized the rest of the items. His nursing attendant was having a garage sale so I gave her all the items that my father would never use and that were still in good shape. A month after the sale there was a flood in the basement. When I cleared up the mess, I found additional broken things. I tossed all of it. Well, as I said, it's been 7 months now, he’s still alive and has begun to drive again. Both the attic and basement remain clear of junk as a symbol of continuing good health for my father and for the entire family.
Wishing Kathleen’s father continued good health for many more years to come.
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NEW! Now also available for Amazon Kindle.
Feng Shui to the Rescue: Rearrange Your Space, Shift Your Energy, Transform Your Life!
My new book is here! Feng Shui to the Rescue includes more than 400 answers to the questions that you - my clients, students, and readers - have been asking for the past 20 years. These are new questions, in addition to those I answered in my first book. I've also included 30 Success Stories (also new!) and 24 sets of topic-specific tips I call Fast 5 to help you avoid problems in the first place.
The book covers the most-asked topics, like these and more:
* Love (finding it, losing it, finding it again)
* Wealth (making it, keeping it)
* Harmony (maintaining it, especially during the holidays)
* Clutter (tidying up)
* Careers & Business (finding jobs and clients)
* Mirrors (placing or removing them)
* Bedrooms & Beds (encouraging sleep)
* Real Estate (buying or selling a home)
Your book is such a treasure trove for me. I love how it's structured --well that makes sense!-- and I feel like I'm imbibing yummy vitamins when I learn new principles on every page, and am further rewarded by the quotations at the end of the sections. I just cannot imagine all the work that went into it as you teach readers, from scratch, these ancient and newly respected concepts and philosophies. What an accomplishment!
Publisher's Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $12.95
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SPECIAL SALE!
Feng Shui Quick Guide for Home and Office: Secrets for Attracting Wealth, Harmony, and Love
Still going strong after 10-years! This is my award-winning book that includes easy-to-follow basics, plus secrets to make the practical magic of Feng Shui work for you. This practical and easy-to-understand volume includes success stories from real people who followed these tips with big results. I've also included a tip-a-day calendar with 366 tips (there's one for leap year) to help you attract wealth, achieve harmony, improve relationships, advance your career, and clear clutter every day of the year. As a bonus, there's a month-by-month guide to clutter clearing.
The Feng Shui Quick Guide for Home and Office is the perfect gift for everyone on your list: clients, colleagues, family, friends, and you. Plus, it's a great way for real estate agents to say "thank you" to sellers and to welcome buyers into their new home.
I used to be a Feng Shui consultant; I'm now retired. I read about this new book and thought it would be a good one to brush up my Feng Shui with. (I already have about 50 books on Feng Shui.) I was very pleased to find that this was not just a re-hash of all the other books. It is a really good synopsis of the important points in Feng Shui, in a style that is easy to understand and apply. The author has done us all a real service in writing this one.
--T.M.
Publisher's Price: $15.95
Sale Price: $11.95
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UPDATED EBOOK
365 Feng Shui Secrets: Daily Tips to Attract Wealth, Harmony, and Love
I've revised my ebook! Want to earn more money? Yearning to rev-up your love life? Looking to create family harmony? Need to control clutter before it controls you? Or do you just need a good night's sleep? The simple Feng Shui advice in 365 Feng Shui Secrets can bring all this and more. For example, you will learn how to do the “Feng Shui Fling” at the beginning of the year (January 1), discover why you shouldn’t keep shoes near your front door (March 16), find out how to get a good night’s sleep (August 20), and read what gifts to give and avoid giving for the holidays (December 6). The tips cover all the seasons, holidays, and celebrations of your life. The calendar of tips in this e-book cover people and pets; love, marriage, parenting, divorce, remarriage, and blended families; your home, your office, and your car; your bedrooms, bathrooms, and every room in your house; your clothes and your closets. This ebook includes tips to help strengthen your relationships with your spouse and your children, your friends and your family, and even some advice if your loved ones are deployed overseas.
I was so excited when reading this book, that I started moving items around in my home immediately. I have tried to learn Feng Shui several times before, but it always seemed too complex. This book made it easy and is for any American lifestyle and decor style!
--JT
Amazon Kindle Price: $5.99
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Virtual Consultations Available!
"Feng Shui - Your Way"
When you have Feng Shui questions about your home, office, business, or workspace that go beyond the basics and you need to speak to the Feng Shui Expert, this virtual consulting option is for you! I will customize advice for the way you want to live in your home or work in your workspace. This is especially relevant today when we might need to rearrange our space to work at home and/or educate our children.
We'll schedule a 1-hour Zoom, FaceTime, or phone call to answer your questions and help you rearrange your space, shift your energy, and transform your life. It's your choice—ask about any room, any situation, any clutter-clearing problem, or any issue that needs a little Feng Shui TLC.
The "Feng Shui - Your Way" consultation includes:
- Review of photos or a short video of your space.
- 1-hour consultation by Zoom, phone, or FaceTime.
- Personalized Feng Shui advice and guidance.
- Follow-up coaching check-in so you stay on track.
After you register for the consultation, you'll receive instructions for creating a short video or taking photos, and for scheduling the session. During the consultation, I'll give you practical recommendations to rearrange, reorganize, and reuse what you already have, plus a plan to bring Feng Shui harmony to your space. You can take notes or record the session.
"Feng Shui - Your Way" recommendations typically cover this and more:
- Re-arranging furniture
- Picking the right decorations
- Selecting and hanging artwork
- Choosing the right color
- Finding storage solutions
- Dealing with clutter
- Correcting lighting
- Working at home
- Locating your office power position
- Setting up an at-home classroom
- Re-purposing what you already own
This virtual consulting service is effective, and find out how Feng Shui can transform your life.
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Feng Shui Training Via Zoom
Now, your entire group can learn practical Feng Shui tips from the comfort of their own homes.
I have taught thousands of clients, readers, and students the simple secrets of using Feng Shui to improve their lives, and now I can teach them to you and your group via Zoom. My webinars include customized training that I create to meet the specific needs of your organization, office, or group.
For more than 20 years, I have inspired diverse groups ranging from 5 to 500 with my in-person workshops. Now, I'm offering variations of the same presentations via Zoom so we can all stay home and stay safe.
Click here to see a list of of my webinar and workshop clients.
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Grow Your Business with Feng Shui
My 90-minute, self-paced video course includes tips for activating the Career/Work bagua area, along with simple changes you can make in your home that will advance your career or business. You'll learn six amazing tips that will help you create a space that supports you and your business. Watch as I use Feng Shui principles to conduct a hands-on transformation of a client's workplace and create a dynamic home office that opens the door to success.
People Are Talking About Carol's Videos and Podcasts:
Carol, you're a rock star! I loved listening to the podcast of your interview with "Law of Attraction Talk Radio with Jewels," so I took your class. You continue to be an inspiration to me and have forever changed the way I arrange each home I've lived in since I first heard you speak in 2012. Keep up the good work! --GO
I took your class and watched several of your videos. Excellent! You have an absolute warm and welcoming approach. No wonder you are so successful. --CW
This video class is nothing short of a delicious treat for your career. I loved it! Great practical pieces of advice. Well-taught in a fun, inspiring way. --RW
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Did You Know?
Carol M. Olmstead, FSIA, is certified by the Feng Shui Institute of America and earned Red Ribbon Professional Status from the International Feng Shui Guild.
Articles in the Feng Shui To The Rescue Newsletter are copyrighted, but can be shared with credit to Carol M. Olmstead as author and link to www.FengShuiForRealLife.com.
Feng Shui for Real Life, LLC, and the Feng Shui To The Rescue Newsletter serve as a reference and guide for the principles of Feng Shui and as such bear no responsibility for results that a client or reader experiences. Individual results may vary based on the client's participation and intent.
©2021, Carol M. Olmstead
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