Feng Shui Your Holidays!

By Diantha Harris

It’s hard to believe that we’ve come once again full circle to the end of the year with all its celebrations!
But here it is nonetheless, and it’s time to look at our holiday season through feng shui eyes! To follow are some holiday feng shui “cures.” A cure is merely a way of bringing more attention or energy to an area.

Health: One thing many people go through during the Holidays is stress. Sound familiar? We might have houseguests arriving, presents to purchase, wrap and send, freezers to fill to feed our families and guests, decorating the house, cards to fill out and mail, as well as our daily lives to live!

So what might we do feng shui wise to help with stress and its effects on our health? Try the following:

• Create some time to be alone. If you are lucky, you might have a whole room to call your own. If not, a bathtub will suffice. Turn off the phone or at the very least, let those around you know you are unavailable. Dim the lights, take some deep breaths, and just be. This ritual will affect your health and your home profoundly.
• Don’t succumb to the notion you don’t have time to treat yourself. By taking a mere 10 minutes out of the day to relax, close your eyes, do deep breathing and/or soak in the tub, you will more than make up for those well-invested minutes during the day.
• Use a scent that you love. Some relaxing ones are lavender, chamomile or sandalwood. If you need rejuvenating, use rosemary, eucalyptus or peppermint. Use them in diffusers or in your bath water!
• Take the oils with you and smell them during the day. I recommend you take both a rejuvenating and a relaxing one. Use them as needed. When added to spring water in a spray bottle you can “feng shui” your car or office with scent when you spritz it into the air!

Money: can be an issue around the Holidays as well. It seems as if we never have enough when so much is going out.

Go to the money corner of your home (see below*) and be sure there is no trash or clutter there. I once worked with a client who needed money but when we went to the money corner, we found the trash bin with empty pizza boxes tumbling out. We cleaned it up, placed the bin behind a cupboard door, brought in a vase of fresh flowers, and placed a small bowl filled with coins there. Within 2 weeks they had an unexpected huge check mailed to them! * To locate the money corner, go to your front door and face the house. The money corner is the area that is in the far left corner of your house.

Holiday “Cures”: Another Holiday feng shui “cure” for an area are the Christmas lights that sparkle and glow and create joy by their mere presence.

• Anything that is electronic or electric or that moves (such as a mobile) can be considered a feng shui cure. If you have an area in your home that feels like it needs more energy, put some holiday lights or a festive mobile there.
• Love fresh greens? Wreaths, containers of fresh greens, Christmas trees can all be feng shui cures. Putting lights on the tree or wreaths give an area an extra boost of energy!

Office: You can also feng shui your desk or work station for the holidays.

• On the back left of your desk, create a “cure” for prosperity. This could be a fountain, a green plant, a picture of what you would do or buy with your newfound money, a clock or anything mechanical.
• Keep the top of your desk as free from clutter as possible. When you finish a job, put it away. I have one client who uses baskets or bins for her projects. They can be easily cleared from or brought back to her desk. It works beautifully.

There are many ways you can use feng shui for the holidays. Use your intuition and imagination and create your own supportive “cures” for the holidays!

Diantha Harris is a member of the faculty for Feng Shui Institute of America, the International Academy of Colour Therapeutics, and Colourworks. Diantha is the author of "Simply...Color." She is currently working on her next book, "Simply...Feng Shui" and can be reached at lifepnet@aol.com, or 231-599-9925.