With standard time gobbling up our daylight hours and holiday decorations competing with those of Thanksgiving in retail stores, one cannot ignore the advent of the upcoming season. The anticipation of Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and the Chinese New Year, can whip up a frenzy of excitement in the young, but for those of us who are older, the next few months can be lonely, sad, stressful, anxious and exhausting.
Our and the expectations of others, the juggling of time and budgets, both happy and sad memories, and a range of other factors can contribute to high anxiety. Throw in the economy, world events, the stock market and inclement weather into the mix, and you’ve got the recipe for instant depression!
One of the greatest contributing factors to anxiety, panic and depression is the pervasive feeling of not having control of one’s life. None of us will forget how helpless and vulnerable we all felt on and after 9/11, sharing a psychological and emotional earthquake. But while we cannot control the weather, stock market, dot.com crashes, foreign affairs, and almost everything else about us, as much as we like to think that we can, we each have free choice and control of what we say, think and do.
This empowerment is always there but we must choose to exercise that power, and that’s where feng shui comes in.
Feng (wind/air) and shui (water), are the Chinese words for the ancient art of placement that aligns our energy with that of nature and the universe. It is a proactive philosophy of manipulating the energies in our environment, both interior and exterior, that increases our feeling of peace and well-being. Based on geography, astronomy, astrology, ecology, meteorology, common sense and Chinese herbal and folk practices, feng shui has captured the imagination of the media in recent years.
Here are a dozen things you can do in the feng shui tradition that can help you de-stress the coming weeks and months.
1. CLEAN YOUR CLUTTER. Company’s coming! What better time to get rid of things that are creating a mess in your home? It’s the perfect time to give or throw away things that you haven’t used, worn, seen, read in a year. In feng shui, removing all this stuff allows the energy in your home to move more freely around. Doesn’t it feel refreshing to have a clean and tidy home in anticipation of family and friends visit and don't you feel proud of your home when looks its best? Ask yourself: wouldn’t you like to live like that most of the time and enjoy that wonderful tidiness throughout the year? Don't wait for the new year to make a resolution-start today!
2. CREATE GOOD ENERGY WITH CHARITY. One of the five components of your destiny is charity and philanthropy. Like Bob Hope once said, "If you don’t have charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble in the world." Don’t complain that you lack closet space if yours are filled with unused clothing, shoes, accessories, and other things that you no longer use. The holidays are a great time to create good kharma for yourself by ruthlessly cleaning out those closets and donating outdated and unused items to charities. After the recent wildfires in our state, keep in mind of your abundance and blessings that you enjoy and contribute generously to the less fortunate. Remember: reducing, recycling and reusingis great feng shui as it takes care of our world and each other.
3. CONSULT THE FENG SHUI GUIDE OF COLORS, SYMBOLS, NUMBERS AND ELEMENTS. As you are sprucing up your home for the holidays, follow the important C(olor), A(nimal), N(umber) E(lement) guidelines for automatic harmony by putting everything in its proper compass directions: North (career, business success, communication14+)= Black, water/metal, tortoise, 1; North East(knowledge)=Turquoise/tan, earth/fire, 8; East(new beginnings, health, harmony, prosperity) = Green, spring, wood/water, dragon, 3; South East (wealth, material abundance)= Green/purple, wood/water, 4; South (Long life, happiness, fame, fortune) = Fire/wood, red, summer, bird 9; South West (marriage, motherhood, relationships) = Yellow/white pink/red, earth/fire, 2; West (children, children’s fame, creativity) =White, tiger, metal/earth, 7; North West = Metal/earth, grey/metallics, 6.
4. ENHANCE EAST FOR HARMONY AND HEALTH. Because East is governed by the color green, the animal symbol dragon (Chinese, not Puff ), the number 3 and the element of wood, it is the ideal location for your Christmas tree and other Seasonal greens such as garlands and wreaths.
5. PUT CANDLES OR MENORAH IN THE SOUTHWEST. This compass direction governs relationships, love, romance and motherhood and is enhanced with fire and the colors gold and red. Put your candles in multiples of 2 or your menorah in the Southwest part of a room, or in the fire area of South (happiness) . Use earth materials to decorate this area of each room to strengthen the earth element to promote closeness in your family.
6. CREATE A BEDROOM TO REPLENISH YOUR MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT.
Like recharging a cell phone or replacing a car battery, you need to re-energize Your mind, body and spirit in order to keep yourself healthy during the holidays. Remove much of the electronic equipment from your bedroom and surround
yourself with candles, scents, color, soft textures and curves in your bedroom. Bring a balance of the yin and yang in one of the most important rooms in your home. Harmonize with light and dark, straight and curved, active and passive elements, and accessorize with things that have deep, positive, emotional, inspirational spiritual meaning in your life.
7. BRING NATURE INDOORS. Fresh green foliage such as spruce and pine in your home provides pleasant fragrances. The pine tree is a traditional Chinese symbol of longevity. Research has shown that this wonderful tree generates massive amounts of oxygen into the air, so essential to our good health and wellbeing. Blues, greens, reds, golds, and metallics represent all five elements of feng shui: water, wood, fire, earth and metal, and therefore symbolize balance in your life. Use the various materials as well as their colors.
8. CHOOSE NATURAL MATERIALS FOR YOUR HOME. The healthiest types of candles are those made from beeswax or soy. Place them in the earth directions of Northeast (knowledge and self development), Southwest (love, romance, relationships, marriage) and in the center of your home. Beeswax candles do not deprive a room of oxygen when burning as do paraffin candles, nor do they create soot, but rather increase the amount of negative ions in the air so they are healthier for you.
9. USE ROUND OR OVAL TABLES FOR HARMONY. By seating your family and guests at round or oval-shaped tables, no one has to sit at a sharp corner. These shapes foster harmony as there is not hierarchy or rank created by “the head” of a table.( Remember King Arthur and his knights?) Everyone is equally important.
10. KEEP KNIVES OUT OF SIGHT. Put away all knives stored in decorative wooden knife blocks as well as pots hanging from a metal rack from the kitchen ceiling. These metal items destroy the harmony element of wood, stimulating quarrels, fighting and friction in the household. Minimize the use of metal platters and containers at the table (okay for serving or in a buffet) as the metal element destroys harmony (wood). If you must use your silver, weaken or destroy its potency by using a red (fire) table cloth and boughs of seasonal foliage tied with red fabric or ribbon.
11. ENERGIZE YOUR ROOMS BEFORE COMPANY ARRIVES. Before your company comes, mist each room with the scent of lemon, lavender, cinnamon or pine help to relax your guests the moment they enter your home. Increase the active yang energy with lights and soft music. Circulate and spread your energy and good cheer by being a gracious host, introducing your guests to each other to create new energy. Revel and appreciate the company and friendship and support of those who you have invited. Don’t allow small inconveniences or annoyances bother you, nor overdo things. Do everything in moderation to keep yourself at an even keel and balanced emotionally.
12. CLEANSE THE ENERGY OF YOUR HOME AFTER COMPANY LEAVES. Everybody and every thing that comes into your home brings along its own energy, both positive and negative. Within a few days after any gathering, close up your house and holding a lit Chinese smudge stick about a foot away from the walls, go room to room, allowing the gentle smoke to absorb any negative energy present. Lock and leave your home for at least an hour and return to open doors and windows briefly to allow accumulation of all the disparate energies to dissipate.
13. When the party’s over and guests have gone, treat yourself to a hot shower or bath, using a sea-salt based body scrub or bath soak with a peppermint or citrus-based scent to cleanse, purify and refreshen your mind, body and spirit as you congratulate yourself on a great event.
Known as the Feng Shui Lady®, Angi Ma Wong is the celebrity feng shui consultant seen on OPRAH, Regis, CBS Sunday Morning, Discovery and Learning Channels and TIME. She is the best-selling author of 18 books, 8 about feng shui, including her bestselling Feng Shui Dos and Taboos, and consultant to over 100 major residential and commercial developers. www.FengShuiLady.com 310-541-8818 E: angi@FengShuiLady.com 
