feng shui
The Metaphysical Properties Of Houseplants
Many people who use houseplants to brighten their living space do not realize that they also have metaphysical properties to enhance our spiritual and energetic well-being. Plants, in addition to beautifying our environment, have mystical qualities, and also serve to purify and detoxify the air we breathe.
Herbs are especially powerful and traditionally associated with mental clarity, serenity, and purification. An ancient spiritual cleansing tradition is smudging in which the smoke of burning dry sage and other herbs is used to purify spaces and banish negative energies.
Many herbs are also edible and can be made into elixirs, teas, or potpourri mixes. Delicious and nourishing herbal teas are the perfect way to begin or end a day. Herbs can also be added to healing baths and to enhance nutritious food. Some of my favorites are lavender, mint, rosemary, and basil.
Herbs are easy to grow and do not take up much space. They are no doubt the most versatile houseplant, and even a small apartment can host a herb garden if it has a sunny windowsill.
If you’ve never owned houseplants before, begin with a succulent, such as a cactus or aloe plant. They don’t require much maintenance or watering. Many succulents have spines or spikes, which is why they are associated with protective energies and healing. They are the ‘armor wearers’ of the plant kingdom and keep feelings of despair, gloom, and anxiety at bay. Aloe is also well-known as a treatment for minor cuts, itches, and burns, so grab a piece if you have a slight accident at home and rub some on.
De-Cluttering For Body, Mind & Spirit
For me the average household chore is only temporarily rewarding, because before you know it, the serenity which comes from the cleanliness and order you’ve just created is short lived. Dust and chaos return in a flash!
On the other hand, I find ‘de-cluttering’ much more rewarding, and more so knowing that a lot of ‘stuff’ not used in a while is either going to someone who can use it, or to help in raising funds for one of the animal charities I support.
More frequently these days, people are adopting a minimalist feng shui approach to furnishing their homes – and also in other areas of their lives – because somewhere deep down we all long for the space and lack of gadgets and stuff that our forefathers managed quite happily without.
Much has been brought to our TV screens these days in the way of reality shows about compulsive hoarding, bringing awareness about how the obsession of accumulating a vast amount of things is actually an emotional issue, rather than one of material usefulness.
Advances of modern civilization are generally limited to the material. So, our spiritual and mental progress hasn’t kept up with the material, hence people’s anguished stories, which I feel is accentuated because their spiritual development hasn’t kept up with their worldly achievements.
The benefit of clearing out that which no longer serves us helps in two major ways:
Energy Vortexes And Trauma Imprints
Many places on Earth have high energy vortexes. Just being in the vicinity of these locations can recharge your energy.
Places where these higher energy vibrations can be found include Mount Shasta in California; Shaftesbury and Glastonbury in England; The Great Pyramid of Giza and Mount Sinai in Egypt; Mount of Olives in Israel; Lake Titicaca in Bolivia-Peru, and so on.
However, you don’t necessarily need to travel to these destinations to experience the effect of energy vortexes. Even in your hometown, if you are highly sensitive to energy, you may feel positive and negative energy vortexes in certain areas.
Negative vortexes tend to attract violence and crime, for example, while positive vortexes affect people in a positive way, making them feel lighter and happy and the neighborhood more friendly and welcoming.
Just like wearing certain crystals, finding positive energy vortexes in your area can help you balance out your own energy. To find the best locations, try meditating in your car by parking in various locations in the area where you live. Sense the different vibrations in different areas.
Sometime our workplace or home itself is not the cause for our unhappiness or discomfort. Instead, it may simply be built on a negative vortex.
I once owned a business that was located on a negative vortex. Locals were convinced the place was haunted, but I personally did not agree. I sensed there were deep energy imprints of past trauma recorded in the place. Many people, including myself, encountered some very dark and freaky things there.
Energy Work With Crystals And Stones
Crystals and gemstones are a powerful means of channeling energies and reinforcing manifestation intentions. The energy frequency of some crystals can attract love, romance, abundance and prosperity, while others promote good health, mental clarity, inner peace and letting go of limiting beliefs.
Learning how to use crystals and tune in with their energy vibrations can enrich your daily spiritual practice and give your manifesting efforts a substantial boost.
But is crucial to keep in mind that the energy effects of crystals and stones work in subtle and nuanced ways. They are not decisive metaphysical tools that will instantly transform your life from one day to the next. They are not miraculous; they are just accomplices on your journey.
How do they work? Each crystal or stone has its own magical essence or metaphysical power that arises from its particular energy frequency. This unique energy signature is determined by its molecular composition and crystalline structure.
A simple way to get started with crystal work is to classify the metaphysical properties of minerals and stones by their color. This will help you quickly identify the ideal stones for a particular purpose and effectively use them in your day-to-day life. But, of course, keep in mind that this is only a classification in general terms.
Yellow: energy, success, improvement, joy.
Blue: water, healing, communication, inspiration, calm.
Keep Your Home Safe From Toxic Energy
Your house is your sacred space. It is hallowed ground. It is the place where you and your loved ones regenerate, and find renewed strength and inner peace. For this reason, the energy in your home must be kept healthy and clean.
Some people believe it is okay to temporarily allow toxic people and other sources of negative energy into their homes, and then try to meditate, pray or smudge it away with sage later on, when it becomes a problem. I do not recommend this approach.
It is not always that simple or easy to get rid of negative energy. It tends to linger, especially when it is very aggressive, or has an extremely low, dark vibration. It may require a lot of repetitive spiritual cleansing work, and your firm intention, to be properly dealt with.
I used to take in people in need, who temporarily needed a refuge or safe haven. But I learned a difficult lesson. While I had the best intentions, and my heart was in the right place, I wasn’t actually helping them. Most of them only went on to damage my property, steal my belongings, or hurt my feelings in some way. All of them somehow took advantage of me. And they always left my house, and my heart, in a mess.
These days I will donate, advise, offer a ride, or even a shoulder to cry on. But no one comes into my home anymore, especially since I started having children. My home is now sacred, holy territory. And I keep the energy pure in every possible way.
The Need For Empath Self-Care
In times of great stress an empath may neglect their own needs in favor of others, and start to lose the unique perspective they bring to the world.
Since most empaths, by their very nature, want to help others, finding a balance between using their gifts, while practicing self-care, can be tricky. Simply put, it’s easy in these times for empathic people to become overwhelmed.
Empaths feel the energies of the world much stronger than others, and can pick up on the subtle changes in the emotions and intentions of those around them. The empath serves as both a mirror and a prism to the world and its energies. Being an empath feels as if your ‘personal filter’ has been turned off, and naturally, there are many things in our noisy, hectic world that can trigger empaths.
Whether it be the chaos of others arguing or fighting; the feeling of getting lost in a crowd; the sense that others are being phony or inauthentic; or just too much on one’s emotional plate all at once; the empath may begin to withdraw, or even shut off from the rest of the world, when it all becomes too much.
Think of an empath’s ability to pick up on energies like a motion-alarm system which is constantly being tripped by any form of movement or activity. In this case the motions are the energies, emotions, and forces which shape our world. The empath has to deal with the stresses of this constant barrage.
Not only is the empath surrounded in modern society by constant incoming sensory stimuli: flickering images, flashing lights, loud music, conversations, and ambient noise, but also moving in though an ocean of all kinds of good and bad energy. Finding time and space to shut off all the noise, and block out all the negative energies, needs to be part of an empath’s daily self-care routine.
Let’s Make The Most Of This Gift Of Time
There is a cheesy saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” It may be somewhat cheesy, but it is a brilliant metaphor. You still have those lemons. They are still terribly sour and inedible. But now you’ve added your own sweetness to them.
In recent months we have all suddenly been presented with a sometimes overwhelming new paradigm. Many of us are spending more time at home. Before the pandemic, many of us often wondered where our time went? If we only had more time!
This is especially true for those of us with young children. I have often said I feel like I only have 10-hour-days to fit everything into, including sleep, since my children were born.
It’s interesting to talk to my clients who are currently still going in to work, and often stressed for time, as compared to those clients who are fortunate to work from home, or have a reduced work schedule, or are currently unemployed. They are like parallel universes.
If you currently have the gift of time on your hands, make good use of it. It will lessen your depression and anxiety, and it will help you to think of this unusual time in our lives, which is only temporary, with more fondness and sentimentality. With the internet, so many options are open to us, and the possibilities are endless. Before all of this, I even learned how to crochet and knit online! I am now a very proud intermediate crocheter… and novice knitter.